JANUARY 25, 2024:
Extended version:
Newly elected Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Joe Mauer poses for a photograph with his family in the plaque room after a news conference Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Cooperstown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
JANUARY 24, 2024:
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – One of the favorite sons of the Minnesota Twins earned baseball’s highest honor Tuesday (Jan. 23, 2024) when he was voted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Hall of Fame inductees require a 75 percent vote among the voters of the Baseball Writers Association of America and Mauer made it with 76.1% of this year’s vote. A native of St. Paul, Joe Mauer passed on a full ride football scholarship to play quarterback at Florida State when his hometown Twins selected him first overall in the 2001 baseball amateur draft. He played his entire 15 year career with the Twins and became a 6-time All Star, winning three batting titles and also the 2009 American League Most Valuable Player Award. Mauer is the only catcher in history to win three batting championships, but he also won five Silver Slugger Awards as the best hitting player at his position and three Gold Gloves for being the best defensive player at his position. A series of concussions forced him to vacate the catcher’s spot and Mauer spent the last five years of his career playing first base defensively. Normally a power-hitting position, Mauer’s stats at first base were fairly pedestrian, which undoubtedly caused some voters to leave him off their Hall of Fame ballots. But his numbers during his years playing the game’s most demanding position are undeniable. Mauer joins the great Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez as the only catchers to ever be inducted in their first year of eligibility, five years after retiring from the game. He is joined in this year’s Hall of Fame class by Adrian Beltre, who starred at third base for four teams over a 21-year career, and Todd Helton, one of the game’s best hitters during his 17-year run with the Colorado Rockies. Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place July 21 in Cooperstown.
Story courtesy of DRG sportscaster Brian Oakland.
Mauer reacts to the news:
Mauer’s son distracted him:
Mauer on 5 years between end of career and being accepted into the hall of fame:
Mauer wishes he could have played catcher longer:
Joe Mauer.
January 23, 2024.
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Twins.
Extended version:
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, MN – Minnesota Twins legend Joe Mauer has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Mauer received 293 votes (76.1%) of 385 ballots and will join Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Jim Leyland (Contemporary Baseball Era Committee) in the Class of 2024. Induction ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, July 21 at 12:30 p.m. CT on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York. The Twins and their fans will also honor Mauer’s historic induction with an in-ballpark celebration prior to Minnesota’s Saturday, August 3 game vs. the Chicago White Sox at Target Field; more details will be announced at a later date.
Mauer, 40, joins Harmon Killebrew (1984), Rod Carew (1991), Kirby Puckett (2001), Bert Blyleven (2011), Jim Kaat (2022) and Tony Oliva (2022) as the seventh player to go into the Hall of Fame as a Twin, as well as the third Twin (Carew and Puckett) to be elected on the first ballot. He also becomes the 13th person in Twins/Senators franchise history (1901-present) to have a plaque in the Hall, including the Washington Senators’ Walter Johnson (1936), Clark Griffith (1946), Sam Rice (1963), Heinie Manush (1964), Goose Goslin (1968) and Bucky Harris (1975). This summer, Mauer will join Dave Winfield (2001), Paul Molitor (2004) and Jack Morris (2018) to become the fourth St. Paul native to be enshrined into baseball’s most distinguished group. He is also just the third catcher in baseball history to be elected on the first ballot, joining Johnny Bench (1989) and Iván Rodríguez (2017).
“On behalf of the Pohlad family and the entire Minnesota Twins organization it is our absolute pleasure to congratulate Joe Mauer on his deserved first-ballot election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame,” Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter said. “Few people have embodied the values and spirit of the Minnesota Twins like Joe Mauer; from the moment his name was called on draft day in 2001, Joe has been a true hometown hero and a cornerstone of our organization. His humility, leadership, kindness and care for others, paired with his unparalleled excellence on the diamond, have made him a role model for generations of youth across our region.
“Today is a special day – for the Mauer family, for the Twins and for all of Twins Territory.”
Mauer was selected first overall by the Twins in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall High School and played 15 major league seasons all with the Twins, joining Tony Oliva as the only player in club history to do so. He hit .306 (2123-for-6930) in his career, with 428 doubles, 30 triples, 143 home runs, 923 RBI, 1,018 runs scored, 939 walks, a .388 on-base percentage, a .439 slugging percentage and an .827 OPS in 1,858 games. His 921 games as a catcher are the most in Twins history, with 920 coming before his move to first base in 2014.
The 2009 American League Most Valuable Player was named to the AL All-Star team six times (2006, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’12 and ’13), earned a Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award five times (2006, ’08, ’09, ’10 and ’13), earned three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards at catcher (2008, ’09 and ’10), and won three AL batting titles (2006, ’08 and ’09), the only catcher in AL history to have done so. The St. Paul native ranks first on the Twins all-time list in doubles (428) and times on base (3,087); he is also second in games (1,858), hits (2,123) and walks (939); third batting average with runners in scoring position (.334) and fWAR (53.0), fifth in RBI (923) and batting average with the bases loaded (.378), and 13th in home runs (143).
Over his 15-year career, from 2004-18, Mauer ranked second among his peers in on-base percentage (minimum of 7,000 plate appearances), third in batting average, fourth in three-hit games (179), fifth in walks, sixth in runs created-per-27 (6.24), seventh in hits, tied for ninth in doubles, 12th in wOBA (.360), 13th in OPS, 14th in games played and 16th in RBI. He finished in the top five in the AL in batting average in six different seasons (also 2nd in 2013, 4th in 2012 and 3rd in 2010) and in the top five in on-base percentage in seven different seasons (top 10 in on-base percentage 7 times).
Among all players in American League/National League history (1901-present) whose primary career position was catcher, Mauer ranks (minimum of 5,000 at-bats) first in walks and batting average on balls in play (.341), third in on-base percentage and doubles, fourth in batting average, eighth in OPS and runs created (1,187), and ninth in hits.
His number seven was retired by the club on June 15, 2019 and he was inducted into the Twins’ Hall of Fame on August 5, 2023. He has received several team-related awards over the years, including Most Valuable Twin (2009, ’10 and 13), the Bill Boni Award for Twins Outstanding Rookie (2004), the Sherry Robertson Award for Twins Outstanding Farm System Position Player (2003), the Dick Siebert Award for Upper Midwest Player of the Year (2006, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’12, ’17 and ’18), the Carl R. Pohlad Award for Outstanding Community Service (2008), the Bob Allison Award for team leadership (2018) and the Kirby Puckett Award for Alumni Community Service (2021).
Mauer and his wife, Maddie, have been very active in the community since the beginning of his major league career. They have been longtime supporters of Gillette Children’s, hosting the Mauer and Friends Kids Classic event in some form every year since 2016. The Mauers also donated a playroom at Gillette Children’s St. Paul hospital, which provides a welcome break from medical treatment for the pediatric patients. The room is called Gillette Field and has sports-themed items and decorations encompassing all sports, not just baseball.
Mauer also serves as a spokesman and annually hosts a bowling fundraiser for the Highland Friendship Club, an organization dedicated to providing work and recreation opportunities to people with developmental disabilities. The bowling event, which includes multiple local celebrities, brings awareness to the organization and provides needed funds for their work. He also wrote the forward for local sportscaster and author Joe Schmit’s new book The Right Thing to Do: the Joe Mauer Story; all proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Thumbs Up and the Highland Friendship Club.
He has been a supporter of and fundraiser for the Crescent Cove Respite & Hospice Home for Kids in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota since the center’s opening in 2018; it provides support and compassionate end-of-life care for children and families dealing with life-threatening conditions.
Additionally, Mauer has spent countless hours, both during his playing days and after his retirement, signing autographs at TwinsFest and helping raise money for the Minnesota Twins Community Fund. He has also participated in the Twins’ Winter Caravan since the beginning of his career, visiting with community groups and connecting with fans across Twins Territory and the Upper Midwest.
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