Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player after winning his second straight batting crown while leading his team to the playoffs.

Mauer received 27 of 28 first-place votes and 387 total points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees was second with 225 points, followed by teammate Derek Jeter, who had 193. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers had the only other first- place vote and finished fourth with 171 points.

Mauer’s batting average of .365 set a single-season record for a catcher and made him the first player from his position to win three batting titles.

“It’s all I’ve really ever known, ever since I’ve been in pro baseball,” Mauer said on a conference call with reporters. “There’s been a lot of expected of me on the offensive side as well as the defensive side.”

Mauer, 26, played in 138 games after missing 22 with a lower-back injury. He had 28 home runs and 96 runs batted in, both career highs, for the Twins, who won the AL Central Division with an 87-76 record.

The Twins were swept by the eventual-champion Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. Voting for the award was done prior to the postseason, where Mauer batted .417.

Mauer won his second straight Gold Glove Award this month as the best fielding catcher in the AL and Silver Slugger Award as the best hitting AL catcher.

Eight MVPs

He’s the eighth catcher in league history to be named MVP. The last previous came 10 years ago, when the Texas Rangers’ Ivan Rodriguez took the honor. The Yankees’ Yogi Berra won the award three times (1951, 1954, 1955), and other AL catchers named MVP were the Yankees’ Elston Howard in 1963 and Thurman Munson in 1976, as well as Detroit’s Mickey Cochrane in 1934.

Mauer’s batting average broke the record for a catcher of .362, set by the Yankees’ Bill Dickey in 1936 and matched by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mike Piazza in 1997.

Asked if he thought he’d have even more impressive offensive numbers playing a different position, Mauer said: “That’d be something I don’t want to find out too soon.”

“Although it beats you up mentally and physically, I like being back there helping out my team,” he said.

Contract Future

Mauer earned a $100,000 bonus by winning the award, the Associated Press reported. His contract expires following the 2010 major-league season, and he said he has no timetable for negotiations on a contract extension.

“It’ll take care of itself when it needs to,” said Mauer, who was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. “I definitely enjoy playing in front of my family and friends here in Minnesota. It’s all I know. Can we win here? Yes, and that’s ultimately what I would like to do.”

Jeter, 35, also won a Gold Glove for his play at shortstop this season, batting .334 with 18 homers and 107 runs scored for the Yankees, whose 103-59 record was the best in Major League Baseball.

Jeter was a runner-up to Mauer’s teammate Justin Morneau in voting for the 2006 AL MVP.

Teixeira, 29, led the AL in RBI with 122 and shared the league lead in homers with 39, tying Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena. Teixeira, playing his first season with the Yankees, had 107 runs scored, a .292 batting average and a Gold Glove performance at first base.

Yankees Awards

Teixeira’s runner-up finish marked the 21st time a Yankee finished second in MVP voting. The team’s 20 MVP awards are the most in baseball.

Cabrera, 26, hit .324 with 34 homers and 103 RBI in his second season with the Tigers.

Mauer joins four other Minnesota Twins named AL MVP: Morneau; Zoilo Versalles in 1965; Harmon Killebrew in 1969; and Rod Carew in 1977.

Mauer said he grew up in St. Paul within about a mile of where Hall of Fame players Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor, as well as former All-Star Jack Morris, were raised.

“To put me into that group is definitely an honor,” Mauer said. “It might be something in the water.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 23, 2009 16:06 EST