...vote Joe Mauer the 2009 AL MVP.
This should have been a no-brainer for the writers. Unfortunately for that group, however, nothing is ever cut and dry. In addition to posting one of the all time great TWINS seasons, he put up a season that no other catcher has ever done either, period.
Mauer secured the AL statistical "triple crown" by leading in OBP, Slugging and OPS. He also secured his third AL batting title in his young career. In addition, he played 983 innings at baseball's most demanding position and set personal records in dingers and RBI's...all while missing the first month of the season due to a back injury.
There are, of course, those delusional people who seem to think that the Yankees' Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira need consideration. However, let's compare shall we? You'll quickly see that these people are morons. First, Mauer's .365 average is heads and tails above either candidate and his .444 on base percentage is 38 points higher than Jeter's and a whopping 61 points above Tex's. This is despite the fact that Jeter hits leadoff in the lineup (in front of Tex, Damon and A-Rod) and Tex hits in front of A-Rod...meaning both should see plenty of pitches worth hitting. Second, Mauer's slugging percentage ranks above BOTH other players. This fact certainly outweighs Tex's 11 extra home runs. And considering the fact that Mauer drove in 96 runs with (insert your sheatheap .220 hitter here) hitting in front of him diminishes Tex's 122 RBI with Damon and Jeter in front of him. Third, Mauer's OPS is the only one cracking 1.000 at 1.031. Neither other player comes close. Hell, Mauer's 1.031 OPS is the best OPS posted by a Twins player...EVER. That means more than Killer, Knoblach and Carew. Finally, Mauer's Value Over Replacement Player (or how much better he is than the replacement level catcher) is a freakin' RIDICULOUS +91. That's a good 34 points over second place's Jeter (which is impressive for Jeter actually) and more than TWICE that of Mark Teixeira. Of course, what this shows is that it's MUCH harder to come by an AL catcher that will do what Mauer did, than it is to come by an AL Shortstop or First Baseman that will do what Jeter and Tex did, respectively. The only real fault of Mauer's is his missing the first month of the season. However, he played in 138 of the 141 remaining games (28 as DH) and caught 983 innings. In other words, he missed the first month but played damned near every single game after that and logged almost 1000 innings at baseball's most taxing position in the process.
This really shouldn't have been a debate. The man had the best statistical year of any Twin EVER and of ANY baseball player since early 80's George Brett....an he plays freakin' CATCHER.
End of discussion.
WAY TO GO JOE!!!
