Author: Mark

From Anthony Castrovince on MLB.com:

The St. Paul, Minn., kid made good on his 2001 selection as the No. 1 overall Draft pick by his hometown Twins to become a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time batting champ and the 2009 AL MVP. He was a member of four division-winning Twins teams.

Though his catching career was cut short by concussions and five seasons as essentially a league-average first baseman complicated his Cooperstown case, Mauer made enough of an impact at his primary position to stand among the greatest to ever don the tools of ignorance. His .306 career batting average is tied for the sixth highest among catchers with at least 3,000 plate appearances, and his .388 on-base percentage is tied for third. He’s the only catcher with three batting titles, and his total of 44.6 bWAR during his 10 years as the Twins’ primary catcher from 2004-13 was by far the best at that position in that timeframe.

Joe Mauer was a huge part of my childhood and, as I am also a left-handed hitter with a tendency to hit to the opposite field, a baseball idol. He’s someone I can always hold up as an ideal of Minnesota: kind, humble, and driven.

I remember sitting in my long-term AirBnB in 2018 after moving to San Diego one September afternoon, watching what would be Joe Mauer’s final game in Minnesota. In his final at-bat he cracked shot to left-center field as he’d done so many times, and hustled out a double. To cap off the game, they introduced him as a catcher in the top of the ninth. He warmed up the pitcher, threw down to second, and caught the first pitch of the inning before being replaced. Despite being at the end of his career, and not having caught in five years, you could see the command he held behind the plate paired with the smoothest mechanics I’ve seen.

I cried then, and every time I see the clip I tear up.

It was only in the span of 2009–2011 when he won MVP and ended up on the cover of MLB: The Show that I realized he wasn’t just our hometown hero, he was nationally recognized. As a kid, it’s hard to understand what bleeds outside your world. But he was never a superstar because he was so reserved. With a few exceptions, his TV presence was for local commercials or focused on the Twins. He rarely spoke out. He led quietly by example for his entire career.

So, it was such a delight to see the people I read and interact with online largely getting behind his Hall of Fame candidacy, pushing for him to get on during his first stint on the ballot. Having that come true means more to him, I’m sure, than anyone Twins fans. But it still means a hell of a lot to us.