Twin wins MVP

It was a pep talk in early June -- well, more of a kick in the pants -- that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire gave to first baseman Justin Morneau that seemed to turn the slugger's fortunes in a snap. It turned them so dramatically that yesterday Morneau was answering questions from the national media after being named American League Most Valuable Player.

In a close vote, he edged Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter by 14 points, 320-306, while Red Sox DH David Ortiz, a close friend of Morneau's, finished third with 193.

"He's my boy," said Ortiz, who appeared on all 28 ballots and had one second-place vote, 11 third-place votes, but no first-place votes. "I'm very happy for him. He had a great year."

In balloting among 28 baseball writers (two from each AL city), Morneau received 15 first-place votes and eight second-place votes; Jeter had 12 first-place votes and 14 second-place votes. Twins pitcher Johan Santana, who won the AL Cy Young Award, received the other first-place vote.

Although Jeter was considered the favorite, Morneau's batting prowess was directly linked to a rise in the Twins' play. That meeting with Gardenhire took place after a June 6 game in Seattle in which Morneau stranded five runners in a 4-2 loss.

Three days later, Morneau hit two homers against the Orioles. Whatever had held him back was gone for good.

The Twins were 25-33 through games of June 7; thereafter, they had the best record in the majors, 71-33, and Morneau had the best batting average in the majors, .362. Also from that date on, he had the most hits in baseball (145) and the most RBIs in the AL (92).

"Gardy just wanted me to play to the best of my abilities," Morneau said. "He lit a fire underneath me. I got a little more motivated. I just felt something in my swing from that point on."

Morneau finished with a .321 average (seventh in the league), 34 homers (tied for 12th), and 130 RBIs (second to Ortiz). The Twins surged past the Tigers to win the AL Central, then lost in the first round of the playoffs to Oakland.

Morneau had been disappointed in his 2005 season, when he hit .239 with 22 homers and 79 RBIs. His so-so career to that point -- and general manager Terry Ryan's decision to release Ortiz in 2002 -- was raising some concerns in Minnesota. Then Morneau started slowly again in April and May.

"I learned from last year that once things didn't go my way, I got really down on myself and I started to beat myself up," he said. "My hitting coach, Joe Vavra, was in my ear every day. We did the same work in April as we did in September.

"He kept telling me, 'You're gonna have a good season. I can see it coming.' He said, 'Don't worry about this, you're swinging the bat well. Keep working, Stay consistent. We're going to have a good year.'

"He never let me get down on myself."

Morneau, who as a native of British Columbia becomes the second Canadian to win an MVP award, said he had no inkling how the vote was going to turn out. He had heard of a New York Post report that it might be a tie. He heard he had finished second.

"Last night, I was saying I don't expect to get it," he said. "I might have given myself a 50-50 chance. I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment if I didn't get it."

The first Canadian to be an MVP, Larry Walker, was one of the first people to call Morneau to congratulate him. Morneau had met Walker at last spring's World Baseball Classic, when Morneau was playing for Canada and Walker was a coach. Walker, who retired from baseball after the 2005 season, signed a bat for Morneau at the WBC, writing, "To Justin: Make Canada proud."

It's quite a run of MVPs for Canada. Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks are the reigning MVPs in the NBA and NHL.

It also marks quite a run for the Twins, who also had the AL batting champion in catcher Joe Mauer and the Cy Young winner in Santana. Lefthander Francisco Liriano seemed to be on track for Rookie of the Year honors until an elbow injury derailed him; he made only two starts after July and had to have surgery that is expected to keep him out all of next season.

Three Twins finished in the top 10 in MVP voting, with Mauer sixth and Santana seventh. Minnesota's Joe Nathan had the most points (six) of any closer in the voting.

"That says a lot," said Morneau. "I'd love to play here my whole career."

Morneau, who earned $385,000 this past season, praised both Jeter and Ortiz for the great years they had.

"Derek Jeter, the way he played in that market with all that pressure, certainly deserves something like this," Morneau said. "Papi had a great year, as did Frank Thomas and Jermaine Dye. There were so many guys who had MVP years."

There were certainly those who felt Mauer, who handled the Twins' fine pitching staff, was more valuable. There were those who thought Santana kept the Twins afloat.

But in the end, Morneau had a direct link to the Twins' upswing. In that respect, he was the most valuable player to his team.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.