After a slow start to his tenure in Yankee pinstripes, Mark Teixeira delivered in May. He led all major leaguers with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs for the month, and he scored 25 runs in 28 games.

The player who ranked second in May homers and RBIs is a more compelling story. Twins catcher Joe Mauer missed all of April with a bad back, but returned on the first of May and stroked 11 home runs and drove in 32 runs over the next 31 days.

What makes Mauer’s run production compelling is that the left-handed hitter nearly matched his single-season high of 13 home runs in a single month. Mauer, who turned 26 in April, already has collected a batting title -- the first American League catcher to do so -- and he hit a major league-high .414 in May. As for his power, the Twins haven’t pushed the St. Paul native to develop a power stroke. It seems to be developing on its own, and Mauer may be on the verge of becoming a far more dangerous threat at the plate.

In May, Mauer ranked among the Twins’ top sluggers. His home-run total fell one short of the most for the month since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. Harmon Killebrew powered 12 bombs in May 1964, and Mauer matched the 11 that Killebrew delivered in May 1961.

Mauer also flirted with Minnesota’s highest RBI total in any month. Killebrew also holds that mark with 37 in June 1969, followed by Mauer’s 32 in May and Kent Hrbek’s 31 in July 1984.

For the 2009 season, among players with at least 100 plate appearances, only San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez has hit homers at a faster rate than Mauer:

Fewest AB per HR, 2009
(minimum 100 PA)

Adrian Gonzalez, SD. . . . 8.71
Joe Mauer, Min. . . . . . .9.00
Albert Pujols, StL. . . . . 10.69
Carlos Pena, TB. . . . . . 10.94
Luke Scott, Bal . . . . . .11.00
Adam Dunn, Was. . . . . .11.13