catcher to lead the league in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage in a single year, and the first player to lead the American League in all three since George Brett did so in 1980. Mauer's .365 average, which is the highest mark among catchers (with at least 3.1 plate appearances per game) since 1901, and the highest by a Twin since Rod Carew's .388 in 1977, led Major League Baseball. Mauer also won his second consecutive Gold Glove in 2009. Mauer was named the American League's 2009 MVP by a near-unanimous decision (27 out of 28 first place votes). On March 11, Mauer was diagnosed with inflammation in the sacroiliac joint by team doctors following a magnetic resonance arthrogram. He was unable to take part in team workouts during spring training due to the pain in his lower back, which he first began experiencing late in the 2008 season. Mauer missed the start of the 2009 regular season and returned on May 1. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored in his first game back, hitting a home run on his first swing of the season. He returned May 1, and had the best month of his career. Mauer hit 11 home runs and drove in 32 RBI, becoming the first-ever Twins player to reach that mark in a single month. During the week of May 18–24, Mauer led the major leagues in batting average at .458 (11–24), RBI with 13, and runs scored with 12, also hitting 4 home runs and accumulating 25 total bases. On May 26, he was named MLB Player of the Week for his performance. Through the month of May, Mauer lead the major leagues in average at .414, on-base percentage at .500, and slugging percentage at .838, in addition to his home run and RBI totals, earning him his second Player of the Month Award honors. Mauer appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for a second time on June 24. An additional 25,000 copies of the magazine were sent to Minnesota for the occasion. He was selected to the 2009 MLB All-Star Game as the starting catcher and participated in the Home Run Derby, losing a tiebreaker to Albert Pujols in the first round. The Twins trailed the Detroit Tigers by seven games in the American League Central division at the start of September, but rallied, winning 17