Joe Mauer is your American League’s Most Valuable

Joe Mauer took 27 of 28 votes to win the American League MVP Award unanimously, edging out Mark Texeira and Miguel Cabrera very easily. And rightfully so:

Mauer, the first catcher to lead his league in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging (.587) in the same season, was listed first on all but one of the 28 ballots cast by two writers in each league city. He was second on that other ballot to score a total of 387 points, based on a tabulation system rewarding 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.

Mauer, 26, is the only AL catcher to have won a batting title and the only one in either league to have won three of them. His .365 average, the highest by a catcher in major league history, surpassed his prior league-leading figures of .347 in 2006 and .328 in 2008. Mauer posted career-high totals in home runs (28) and runs batted in (96).

He did not start the season until May 1 due to a back injury and helped keep the Twins in contention for the division title following the loss to injury of first baseman Justin Morneau, the 2006 MVP and ’08 runner-up. Mauer batted .378 with two home runs and 14 RBI in the club’s final 21 games of the regular season.

Mauer was always a great hitter. This year, he added some serious power to his game. We got to enjoy his MVP type stuff on our fantasy baseball team. This past year will probably go down as the best that Mauer has in his career. We’re glad a goodfella like Joe won the AL’s most prestigious award.

At the end of the day, it’s nice to see those small and mid market teams bringing home awards like the Cy Young and the MVP award.