NewsMauer could add AL MVP to hardware
Twins catcher up for several awards, including top honor
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
11/09/09 2:10 PM EST
MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Mauer has already been named the American League's Player of the Year for 2009 by his fellow players and by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. So could his first AL Most Valuable Player Award be far behind?
November 23 is the date that Twins fans should circle on their calendars, since it's the day when they'll learn whether or not Mauer will take home the prestigious MVP honor.
Mauer is considered a leading contender for the 2009 AL MVP Award, given out by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, following a season in which he led the AL in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587). Mauer earned his third batting title, making him the first catcher in Major League history to accomplish the feat. The Twins All-Star catcher also set career highs in home runs (28) and RBIs (96) as he helped lead Minnesota to another AL Central title thanks to a late September push. And Mauer, 26, accomplished all of it after missing the entire first month of the season due to lower back inflammation. As the award season starts to get in full swing this week, the expectation is that Mauer will be in the running for his share of hardware -- not just the MVP Award. Baseball's award season unofficially kicks off on Tuesday when the American League Gold Glove Awards are handed out. Mauer won his first Gold Glove last season for his defensive work behind the plate, and he could possibly make it two years in a row for the honor. On Thursday, the Silver Slugger winners from both leagues will be announced. Mauer and Justin Morneau each took home the honor for their respective positions in the AL last fall, and at the very least Mauer is a sure bet to repeat. Despite being hampered by a stress fracture in his lower back that caused him to miss the final three weeks of the season, Morneau still batted .274 with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. But the late-season dropoff and strong seasons by other first basemen such as Mark Teixeira and Miguel Cabrera will likely leave Morneau out of the mix this time around. Twins fans will have to wait two weeks until they learn whether or not Mauer will take home the most prestigious of the awards -- the AL MVP. But next week, there will be at least one more member of the Twins who will be up for one of the major awards. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is expected to be among the leading vote-getters for AL Manager of the Year, which will be announced on Nov. 18. Gardenhire helped the Twins to an 87-76 record and their fifth AL Central title in eight seasons. Minnesota sat seven games behind Detroit on Sept. 6, but rallied to go 17-4 over its final 21 games, defeating the Tigers in a thrilling 12-inning, one-game tiebreaker at the Metrodome to clinch another trip to the postseason. Gardenhire has yet to earn the honor of being named AL Manager of the Year, but he has finished second in the balloting four times since taking over as the Twins skipper in 2002. It's possible that Gardenhire could finish runner-up yet again, considering the job that Angels manager Mike Scioscia did in leading his club throughout adversity to yet another AL West title, as the Halos endured the passing of young starting pitcher Nick Adenhart in April.Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
