Joe Mauer's accolades keep going up, topped on Nov. 23 when the first catcher to win three batting titles celebrated his first MVP award.
Mauer, 26, earned 27 of 28 first-place votes, running away with the award after a 2009 season that saw him earn him his third batting title, second Gold Glove and third Silver Slugger award.
His .365 average was the highest for any catcher in history.
For the Twins, the award shines the spotlight on the top of the offseason to-do list.
Mauer's contract expires after the 2010 season, after which the catcher would be eligible for free agency. The Twins will work this winter toward locking up the St. Paul, Minn., native with a long-term contract that is sure to be a franchise-record in both money and term.
"Do you think if he finished second, the price was going to come down?" general manager Bill Smith said to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "So, no, Joe said it perfectly: 'Today, let's celebrate the MVP award, and we've got time to work on the other stuff.'"
Mauer has said many times that he believes his contract will be addressed when necessary, although the Twins certainly would like to address it before spring training.
For the time being, Mauer told reporters, he was hoping to enjoy his latest achievement, one the hometown hero was having a difficult time grasping, despite all indications late in the season that the award would be his.
"It's pretty surreal to hear (those words), 'AL MVP,'" Mauer told reporters. "My dream was to make it to the big leagues, and now that I'm here, I'm an MVP. I can't really describe it."
Mauer's season was made even more impressive because of how it started -- on the sideline. He missed the first month of the season after laboring to recover from offseason surgery to remove a kidney blockage.
He wasn't able to participate in any of spring training, and the Twins were uncertain for some time what it would take to get Mauer back on the field.
Mauer came back on May 1, hit a home run on the first pitch of his first at-bat of the 2009 season and never stopped. For much of his first three months, his batting average stayed north of .400, and he became the first player since George Brett in 1980 to lead the AL in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
On top of all of that, his teammates and the organization laud the quiet catcher's humility.
"He's a special player with special skills that you can't teach," Smith said. "But he has character you can teach; his parents have done a marvelous job."
Said teammate Justin Morneau: "To be that good and that humble, you're going to earn a lot of respect, and he's getting a lot of respect in our clubhouse."
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