MVP - Justin Morneau

Even though I stated earlier this week that I would vote for Derek Jeter for MVP, I was pretty pumped to hear today that Justin Morneau took home the trophy.
This is a guy who last year batted .239 with a .304 OBP, 22 homers, 79 RBIs and was nearly sent to the minors.
Even this year, while his power numbers were steady all season long, he was still hitting in the .220's in late May, and while the Twins weren't seriously considering sending him to the minors, there was building concern that Morneau would perhaps never become the all-around five-star hitter they had hoped.
Then, from June 8 on, he batted .362 with 92 RBIs, and helped carry the Twins to the AL Central title.
Good as Joe Mauer was, if there was a big spot, there was nobody you wanted at the plate more than Morneau.
His final numbers, .321, 34 homers, 130 RBIs, are very Kirby-like.
Another reason I felt like Morneau was more deserving than Mauer was the big seasons had by Cuddyer, Hunter and even Mauer himself.
Morneau's presence in the lineup as a bona fide power threat changed the entire Twins lineup, and changed the way pitchers pitched to their hitters. If Morneau had batted .235 all year, there's no way those other guys put up the numbers they did.
A big bopper makes everything better, and for years that's all we wanted in Minnesota. Now we got one, and he's the MVP.
I think it's especially cool because the MVP award has always seemed to exist outside of the Twins as an organization. No matter how good Kirby Puckett was, he never won the award, and in past years, the Twins haven't ever really had anyone who warranted serious consideration. Even when the Twins started winning this decade, they were doing it largely with secondary stars. The MVP award was reserved for the Big Guys - the A-Rod's, Giambi's, Bonds' and Guerrero's.
Maybe Morneau didn't deserve the MVP - I don't care. For the first time in my life the AL MVP is on my team (along with the Cy Young winner and the batting champ), and that's pretty cool.