Joe Mauer Undoubtedly baseball's most valuable player

Theres always that ongoing debate on who the best player in baseball is.  Some might say Pujols.  Some might say Alex Rodriguez.  Other names could include Felix Hernandez, Evan Longoria, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, or even Ryan Howard.  When it comes to the value a player brings to their team, there is no better pick than Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer.

When the Twins had the first overall pick in 2001, there was no doubting he was the perfect pick.  Not only did he grow up in St. Paul, but was a standout high school athlete, being all-state in 3 different sports, and was on a football scholarship to FSU as a QB.  Hall of famer Paul Molitor said he had "the best swing he had ever seen", not to shabby coming from the mouth of a man enshrined in Cooperstown.  It was pretty clear this kid was going to be something special.

Nearly a decade later, it seems as if we are experiencing something special.  At the age of just 28, he is being mentioned in the same breath as players like Puckett and Killebrew in terms of where he stands in Minnesota baseball lure.  He became the first catcher to win the AL batting title in 2006 when he batted an astronomical .347, the first of three batting titles by Mauer.  His best offensive year came in 2009, when he hit 28 HR, 96 RBI and getting the AVG/OBP/SLG triple crown (.365/.444/.587) in just 138 games.  This was enough for writers to vote Mauer as the AL MVP.

Defensively, Mauer has won the last three AL gold gloves at the catching position, and led the league in runners caught stealing %, at 53%.  To add to that, Mauer has been the leader of Minnesota pitching staffs that have ranked as one of the better pitching staffs in baseball over the course of Mauer's career.

When considering the value Mauer brings to the Twins, it is like no other player currently playing in the Major Leagues.  Given the way he works with the pitching staff, the way he controls the running game behind the plate, and the affect his bat has on this lineup, he has qualities that not even Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, or Josh Hamilton have.  Without Joe Mauer, the Minnesota Twins would be a much different ball club.