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Morneau trails Carew in All-Time 9 vote

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By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com

09/22/09 10:01 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS -- Justin Morneau's breakout season in 2006 earned him the American League MVP Award. But was it a strong enough season to be considered the best one ever by a Twins first baseman?

That's something that Twins fans can debate right now.

More than 4.1 million votes have been cast since the 9/9/09 debut of the "All-Time 9s," a platform for fans to debate the greatest single-season performances for all 30 Major League franchises. The voting marks the start of MLB.com's Lineup Card campaign, a gathering place for the posting and never-ending discussion of the greatest past and present lineups.

Here's a look at how Twins' closest races are shaping up:

So far fans have said that Morneau's season of .321, 34 HR and 130 RBIs in '06 is only good enough for second place among seasons by a first baseman. Morneau trails Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who batted .388 with 100 RBIs and 128 runs scored in 1977, by a little over a 1,000 votes.

When it comes to the best season by a shortstop, Zoilo Versalles (.273 average, 19 homers, 126 runs in 1965) and Roy Smalley (.271 average, 24 home runs, 95 RBIs in 1979) are neck and neck for the top honors as they're separated by just a few hundred votes.

Races that seem to be runways are at catcher, where Joe Mauer's career 2009 season isn't going unnoticed by fans. The AL MVP candidate has a healthy advantage in the battle for the best season by a Twins backstop.

Gary Gaetti and Corey Koskie have also proved to be no match for the legendary Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew at the hot corner.  Killebrew's '69 season, where he batted .276 with 49 home runs and 140 RBIs, has him ahead of his third base competitors by several thousand votes.

Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.