Joe Mauer Inducted Into The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame

Minnesota Twins logo

Joe Mauer was honored during a pregame ceremony as he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame on Saturday. After the Twins retired his number in June 2019, it was only a matter of time before he was elected into the Twins Hall of Fame. Next up for Mauer is joining baseball immortality with his eventual election into the Baseball Hall of Fame and of course, joining other Twins legends with a statue outside of Target Field. It’s not a question of if but when.

It was only fitting that the other half of the M&M boys—teammate Justin Morneau—introduced Mauer during the pregame ceremony. He spoke of what Mauer meant to both the city and the franchise. During his 17-minute speech, Mauer addressed how lucky he was to play his entire career for the Twins. He spoke about the lessons he learned from his mother and late father. Mauer never took it for granted that he was able to play for his hometown team.

In being inducted to the Twins Hall of Fame, a pennant honoring Mauer’s induction will join the other inductees in Target Plaza. A photo of the pennant outside of Target Field will replace the above logo following my ballpark tour in September. The team presented him with a print and his three children threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

The St. Paul, Minn. native was drafted by the Twins as the first overall pick in 2001. He would make his MLB debut in 2004 and retire fifteen seasons later in 2018. He joins Tony Oliva as being the only players in Twins history to accomplish that. Mauer mostly played defense as a catcher but the Twins later moved him to first base as a way of extending his career. He put in a final appearance as a catcher on the final game of his career. His 2,123 career hits as a Twin are only second to the late Kirby Puckett. He certainly has the accolades:

• 2009 AL MVP
• 6-time All-Star
• 3-time AL Batting Titles (only catcher to do so in the American League)
• 3 Gold Gloves
• 5 Silver Sluggers

Mauer’s Twins HOF induction comes a few months before his name appears on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. One would think that his offensive stats as a catcher should get him elected in the Class of 2024. It should help in his favor that he was a career .306 hitter. If Mauer’s accolades aren’t enough, one should take a look at Jay Jaffe’s JAWS ratings where Mauer ranks 7th for catchers:

• 55.2 career WAR
• 39.0 7yr-peak WAR
• 47.1 JAWS
• 4.8 WAR/162

The following are the averages for the 16 catchers previously elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame:

• 3.6 career WAR
• 34.7 7yr-peak WAR
• 44.2 JAWS
• 4.7 WAR/162

I never got to see Joe Mauer play in person but he was one of those players who I always enjoyed getting to watch on TV and following his stats through the years. When I looked at box scores in the paper or on MLB.com, I would always look to see how Mauer performed. After the first half of his career, one had hoped that he might get to 3,000 career hits but it wasn’t meant to be. In any event, Mauer is the type of player that one would describe as a class act.

I’m not in the BBWAA but as an IBWAA member, I look forward to casting my ballot for Joe Mauer during his first year of eligibility on the IBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. He belongs in Cooperstown.