Joe Mauer participant of 2006 Major League Baseball season
2006–2008
In his 2006 season, Mauer became the first catcher in American League history to lead the American League in batting average, finishing with an average of .347. Mauer's performance during the months of May and June garnered attention from the national media. He recorded a .528 batting average over the first ten days of June and hit .452 over the course of the month. He was also the first player since Mike Piazza in 1997 to reach base four or more times for five consecutive games. On June 12, Mauer was named the American League Player of the Week by Major League Baseball for his performance the week of June 4–11, during which he hit .625 (15-for-24) with five doubles, 4 RBI and two stolen bases.Mauer recorded his first five RBI game June 26, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mauer followed that up with his first career five-hit game on June 27, also against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was also named MLB Player of the Month for June after batting .452 with a .624 slugging percentage and .528 on-base percentage, 11 doubles, 14 RBI and 18 runs. Along with Johan Santana (Pitcher of the Month) and Francisco Liriano (Rookie of the Month), Mauer was part of the first-ever single-team sweep of MLB's three monthly awards. On July 2, Mauer was selected by the players to his first All-Star Game. Mauer appeared on the cover of the August 7, 2006 issue of Sports Illustrated.Mauer finished the 2006 regular season with a .347 batting average, edging the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter and Robinson Canó to win the American League batting title and become the first-ever American League catcher to win the crown and the first catcher to claim the title since Ernie Lombardi in 1942 with the Boston Braves.  His .347 average was the highest in the Major Leagues, a feat not achieved by the previous three catchers to win NL batting titles. He was the youngest player to win a batting title since Alex Rodriguez in 1996. After going 2-for-4 in the last game of the 2006 regular season, Mauer confessed to reporters, "When I told you I wasn't thinking about the batting title? I was lying. I've never been that nervous in my life. I haven't felt anything like that since Opening Day as a rookie." Mauer won his first Silver Slugger Award in 2006, along with teammate Justin Morneau.
On February 11, 2007, Mauer agreed to a four-year, $34 million contract with the Twins to avoid arbitration. The deal ensured that Mauer would remain in Minnesota long enough to play in the Twins' Target Field in 2010. On July 21, Mauer hit his first career inside-the-park home run against Angels pitcher Scot Shields.  It was his fifth home run of the season, and there were two players on base when he hit the homer. It was the first inside-the-park home run by a catcher since Kelly Stinnett did it for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005. Mauer finished the 2007 season batting .293 with seven home runs and 60 RBI in 109 games.In 2008, Mauer became the first American League catcher to win the batting title twice when he led the AL with an average of .328. He also recorded nine home runs and 85 RBI in 146 games. On July 6, Mauer was announced as the starting catcher for the American League in the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Mauer underwent surgery for kidney obstruction on December 22. Mauer won his first Gold Glove award in 2008, announced on November 6. He finished fourth in the balloting for American League Most Valuable Player, behind Dustin Pedroia, Justin Morneau, and Kevin Youkilis.