Joe Mauer for MVP?

Joe Mauer, catcher for the Minnesota Twins, is deserving of the 2009 American League MVP award, no questions about it. Simply put, who else could possibly deserve it more? I will now give my reasons for Joe Mauer being deserving of this year's award.

First off, Mauer led the American League in hitting once again for the third time in the last four years and had the highest batting average of his career. He is also the only catcher in baseball history to win more than one batting title. This year, Mauer also began to finally hit the homeruns that all fans have been expecting for his entire career. In my mind, Mauer was the complete player in the American League.

Secondly, in my mind, in order for a player to win an MVP award, he has to help his team more than any other player in the league and I believe that Joe Mauer did just that. I truly believe that without Joe Mauer's contributions to the Twins, there would have been no possible way that they would have made the playoffs. Take away Mauer's .360-plus batting average, his 25-plus, homeruns, and nearly 100 RBIs, and his very timely hitting, the Twins would have been eliminated long before the one-game playoff with Detroit, and the ALDS seriers with the Yankees.

For example, take another MVP candidate, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees. He had great numbers this past season (but not as great as Mauer's), but take him away from the Yankees and there is still a great team there. With the rest of the firpower in the Yankee lineup, they still make it to the postseason without Jeter, unlike a Twins lineup without Joe Mauer.

The third, and maybe most important reason why Joe Mauer should win the MVP award is that the players and managers have elected him the American League's Most Outstanding Player, according to the "Power Trip Morning Show" on KFAN 1130 AM in Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 30, 2009.

There are many players in the American League that had great numbers this past season but none of them put up the numbers that Joe Mauer did. Also, none of these of players affected the success of their teams as much as Joe Mauer did during the past season. These are my reasons why Joe Mauer should be chosen as this year's American League Most Valuable Player hands down. I encourage any of the voters out there that may read this to take these thoughts into consideration as they cast their vote!