St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols plans to apologize to Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard for the way he was portrayed in a recent interview about the NL MVP, USA Today reported Monday.

Pujols, who finished runner-up to Howard in the balloting, was quoted last week as saying, "I see it this way: Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't deserve to win the MVP."

Pujols said he's "angry" about the way the interview came out and said Howard was "deserving of that award," USA Today reported.

"I feel so bad because I love Ryan Howard," Pujols said, USA Today reported. "I never said he didn't deserve the MVP. He is deserving of that award. He earned it. That's why he got it. I'm not trying to defend myself; I just want to tell him that I'm sorry for all of this because he earned the MVP. The last thing I want to do is spoil this for him."

Pujols said his comments were misinterpreted, USA Today reported.

"The way that came out hurt me big time," he said, the newspaper reported. "I'm very angry about that."

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