MILWAUKEE -- According to baseball fans, of the more than 130,000 putouts in 2008, none was better than Gabe Kapler's well-timed leap into the stands at Dodger Stadium.

Kapler's grab was chosen as the year's top play in MLB.com's annual This Year in Baseball Awards presented by State Farm, which was voted on by fans. A record 12 million votes were cast, eclipsing last year's total of 9.6 million.

Kapler garnered 16.4 percent of the vote to edge Cubs center fielder Reed Johnson, who made a diving catch in Cincinnati on April 25. Johnson's play received 15.9 percent of the vote, followed by Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran's homer-saving catch (14.9 percent) and Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera's unassisted triple play (14.4 percent).

Top Play was by far the most hotly contested of the 13 TYIB categories, and Kapler came away with it -- fitting, considering the way he pulled back what would have been a Russell Martin home run on Aug. 16 in Los Angeles. Center fielder Mike Cameron and right fielder Corey Hart made highlight-reel grabs in the same game, an eventual 4-3, 10-inning win.

Kapler, playing left field that day, drifted toward the corner and tumbled over a short wall and into the seats. He emerged with the ball and the second out of the inning.

"Some days you have an opportunity to make a play, and today was one of those plays," said Kapler, who has since become a free agent. "A lot of that has to do with getting there at the right time. ... What a good win for us."

In addition to Kapler in the top play category, Brewers nominees included Ryan Braun for best hitter and top moment (his go-ahead home run in the regular season finale against the Cubs), CC Sabathia for best starter and best performance (for his complete-game win over the Cubs in the regular-season finale) and general manager Doug Melvin for top executive.

The results for other TYIB awards will be rolled out over the rest of the week:

• Wednesday: Manager and Executive
• Thursday, Closer, Setup Man and Starter
• Friday: Moment, Postseason Moment and Performance