Maybe the best idea is to bust the Twins MVP award into three pieces. After all, without relief pitcher Joe Nathan, catcher Joe Mauer and first baseman Justin Morneau,the Twins would have a roster of apprentice carpenters and no master craftsmen.
The Twins finished their season last night with an 88-75 record. Nathan saved 39 of those games. This was the fifth consecutive season the 33-year-old right hander, one of baseball’s best relief pitchers for several years, saved 36 or more games, a club record.
The Twins had quality starting pitching with their young staff but the bullpen, other than Nathan, was erratic. The Twins probably made the playoffs because management declined the option of trading Nathan during the off-season when it seemed a new contract might not get signed.
Mauer hit .328 and won his second American League batting title in three years. He established career highs in RBI, 85, runs scored, 98, and at-bats, 536. His No. 3 batting position in the lineup made him the perfect hitter to be on base for the power hitting Morneau.
Mauer also caught a career high number of games for the Twins, 139, according to baseball-reference.com. He was a team leader including for his direction of the young starting pitchers. At 25, Mauer solidified his reputation as a player that many executives would consider building a team around.
Morneau struggled in September, perhaps worn down by the long season and providing power on a team that hit an American League low of 111 home runs. In his last 10 games, Morneau hit .135, with no homeruns and one RBI. Last night he was hitless as was Mauer as the Twins lost their tiebreaker game for the Central Division to Chicago, 1-0.
The Twins couldn’t have been one of the surprises of the 2008 major league seasons without the 25-year-old Morneau who drove in 129 runs and hit 23 home runs, both team highs, while batting .300. His 370 RBI over the last three seasons is among the best in franchise history. He played in a career high 163 games, 156 of them at first base where his defense is exceptional and he established a big league career best four errors in 2008, according to baseball-reference.com.
To win, a ballclub needs players to play various roles during the long major league season but when the Twin Cities Baseball Writers Association votes on the team MVP, it’s a no brainer that the winner will be one of the Twins’ triplets.