Joe Mauer won the AL MVP on Monday almost unanimously, receiving 27 out of 28 first place votes. He lead the AL in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587), the first AL player to top all three categories in the same season since George Brett in 1980. He also had a career high 28 home runs and 96 RBI’s and won his second straight Gold Glove.
But more importantly, Joe Mauer is really cool. He’s got super-model-dating good looks, just like Tom Brady…only with way sweeter sideburns.
The comparisons don’t stop there. They both have strong, sturdy, one syllable All-American names: Tom and Joe. You can’t be cool with an “ee” at the end of your name, just ask Jo-EY Harrington .Why do you think it’s TIM Tebow and not Tim-MY Tebow.
They both are also super-cool under pressure. Tom Brady won three Super Bowls and has had countless 4th quarter comebacks with no-name receivers like Deion Branch and David Patten, while Joe Mauer carried the Justin Morneau-less Twins to a come-from-behind AL Central title with protection from studs like Nick Punto and Delmon Young. Mauer also batted .378 after Morneau went out for the season with a back injury on Sept. 12.
Oh, and another cool thing about Joe Mauer–he probably could have gone pro in football too–as a quarterback. He was the 2001 Gatorade National Player of the Year in football as well as baseball. Who knows, he could have been the Tom Brady of football, too.
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