After the season will Joe Mauer be voted American League MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America?  “If Mauer played for the Yankees he might be a shoo-in,” said Gregg Wong.

Wong is a former sportswriter for the Pioneer Press and his assignments included covering the Twins.  “There always tends to be a bias tilted toward (favoring) major media markets,” he said.  “Who do you see on TV each weekend? The Red Sox and Yankees.”

It’s not that writers across the country are predisposed to favor players with those teams but the exposure of major market teams showcases their best players.  That advantage could impact the MVP voting in favor of New York’s Mark Teixeira or Derek Jeter.  Boston’s Jason Bay will receive votes, too.

Teixeira leads the American League in RBI, is tied for the lead in home runs and ranks second in slugging percentage.  Jeter, the Yankee captain, is fourth in hitting and third for on base percentage.  He also became the Yankees’ all-time hits leader this year. Bay is second in AL home runs and RBI’s.

Mauer, at 26, is headed toward his third career batting title, hitting .367 right now.  He also leads the American League in slugging percentage and on base percentage.

Wong said the first criteria the writers use for voting is to look at the “numbers.”  But there’s more involved including team success.  The Yankees have won the East Division and their record of 102-56 is the best in baseball.  Boston will be a wild card team and the Red Sox record (91-66) is among the best in the majors. The Twins, 82-75, are still trying to catch Detroit in the Central Division race and finish better than seven games over .500.

The long list of past MVP winners is dominated by players who were on winning teams, sometimes pennant winners.  Only a few times has an American or National League MVP played for a losing team.

There’s no absolute MVP voting definition for the writers to follow, though, and that could help Mauer.  Certainly the Twins would not be even close to what they are without him.  Wong views Mauer as “the best catcher” in baseball and a complete player.  He said Mauer is even a “great base runner.”

Another Mauer asset is his likeability.  He’s no quote master with the media, and tends to be shy, but you’re really having a bad day to develop a disliking to our hometown guy.

In a “toss up” voting situation for the MVP award involving a perceived jerk and nice person, writers will “lean toward the good guy,” Wong said.  The personality element, he added, could not only help Mauer but also Jeter.

In what looks like a close vote for 2009 AL MVP, Mauer’s teammates could certainly help him by finishing strong and winning the Central Division.  That won’t be as much of an asset to Mauer as being with a team having the best record in the league, but it will help.

Comments Welcome

Gophers’ coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners that fans will be pleased when they see the passing ability of second team quarterback MarQueis Gray.  He said fans are already excited about glimpses of the freshman running the ball but it will be “even more exciting” to see Gray as a passer.

Gray’s minutes have been limited in the team’s first four games but last Saturday was his busiest day.  He ran five times for 34 yards including an 18 yard run.  For the season, the 6-4, 222-pound Gray has eight carries for 51 yards, while not attempting a pass.  He has, however, caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Eric Decker.

Decker describes Gray, who coming out of high school in Indianapolis was among the top rated dual threat quarterbacks in the country, as the “most athletic” player on the Gophers.  Gray’s playing time is going to be limited, though, because of junior Adam Weber’s experience and his ability to pass and direct the team.

“I just think there’s certain instances in every game where we’re going to utilize MarQueis,” Brewster said.  “We want to do it without totaling disrupting the game.”

That means the Gophers have a plan built around playmakers Weber and Decker, and also the team’s tailbacks. “Flow of the game” will dictate playing time for the 18-year-old, Brewster said.

Gray is still learning the system but, like the rest of the players, knows he has to be ready.  Someone could get hurt or for another reason not be able to play.  “You must prepare as if you’re a starter,” Brewster said.  “Next man up.”

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevel coached Brett Favre in Green Bay and he told Sports Headliners “nothing surprises me with him.”  That even includes Favre’s miracle throw to Greg Lewis on Sunday that gave the Vikings a 27-24 lead with two seconds remaining in the game.

Despite all the comebacks that Favre has led over the years he was at a loss for words in describing what happened on Sunday when the Vikings shocked football fans with a dramatic win that not only was a lead story on local news but also nationally.

“It makes you feel great,” Bevell said.  “I am excited for him.  I am excited for coach Childress.  I am excited for our team.  It was a storybook ending for one game.  He made a great play.”

At times during the game the crowd had been surly about the Vikings’ play calling.  One instance was the team’s final possession at the end of the first half.  The first play was a run and some fans assumed the Vikings were trying to run out the clock with no intent of scoring points.

On second down the Vikings began passing and reached the 49er 19 yard line.  But Ryan Longwell’s attempted field goal was blocked and returned for a 59 yard touchdown by Nate Clements as time ran out.  The 49ers had a 14-13 lead at halftime because of the touchdown.

Bevell said the coaches try not to be influenced in their play calling by the crowd and weren’t in this instance.  He said the team has two goals as the half comes to a close, possess the ball or score points.

Comments Welcome

A local TV executive said the Vikings-Packers game next Monday night is likely to have a 50 rating in this market place, and that Super Bowls produce ratings in the 40’s.

Vikings coach Brad Childress had no trouble sleeping after Sunday’s dramatic win over the 49ers. A tired Childress was in bed by 8:30 p.m.

Vikings vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix told Sports Headliners that the No. 1 selling NFL jersey in the country is Brett Favre, with Adrian Peterson No. 5.

Earlier this week the Gophers’ 2010 football recruiting class was ranked 35^th in the country by Rivals.com and 39^th by Scout.com.

Rivals ranked Ohio State’s 2010 basketball recruiting class No. 1 in America.  The Gophers weren’t in the top 20. https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=992682

Steve Erban of Creative Charters is offering fan transportation to Gophers road games including Penn State where there are only a few remaining seats on the plane going to State College, Pennsylvania.

Wide receiver Eric Decker, whose 8.75 catches per game ranks No. 6 in the nation,  has 48 percent of the team’s receptions.  Gophers coach Tim Brewster said the team will continue “to script ways” for Decker to receive the ball.  He also said Decker is the “best wide receiver, bar none” in the country.

The Gophers are one of nine teams in the Big Ten that don’t have a bye.  Wisconsin, which plays the Gophers on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium, has two byes as does Illinois.

It’s easy to identify Joe Mauer as the Twins’ MVP, but even though Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel have experienced career seasons, our No. 2 choice is reliever Joe Nathan.  Nathan is second in saves in the American League with 45, a career best after topping his previous high 44 with a save in yesterday’s 3-2 win over Detroit.

It was no surprise that the Twins and Tigers split yesterday’s double header in Detroit. A sweep of a doubleheader happens only 26.2 percent of the time, according to Wikipedia and information from the Elias Sports Bureau, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubleheader_(baseball).

The Gopher hockey team is No. 6 in the USA Today/USA Hockey preseason men’s rankings.  It’s the 10th straight year the Gophers have started the season ranked in the top 10.  Minnesota begins practice on Saturday and has a 4 p.m. exhibition game at home on Sunday against British Columbia.

The Gophers have been picked to finish fourth in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in media and coaches polls.  Denver is the preseason favorite in both polls with defending champion North Dakota picked second and Wisconsin predicted third. Both polls selected sophomore Gopher forward Jordan Schroeder as the league’s preseason player of the year.

Former Timberwolves owner and Minneapolis native Marv Wolfenson is living in La Jolla, California.

Comments Welcome