When I say that Joe Mauer is my
favorite Twins player, I know that I am in a pool with a bunch of different
people. He is the consistent All-Star catcher and without him, Minnesota would
never have a shot at being chosen for Fox Baseball’s Game of the week on
Saturday afternoons.
The
reasons I love Joe Mauer are the same reasons that I love guys like Neal
Broten, and new Wild player Zach Parise (welcome home prodigal son), they are
from the Greatest State, Minnesota. Despite Joe’s talent, and the possibility
of getting more money, he stayed and wanted to finish out his career here in
Minnesota.
There
was the hiccup in Mauer’s career that gave me a scare of another “just our
look, Minnesota sports” moment. In 2011, he was plagued with injuries and at
one point he even started at 1B to give his knees a break. After signing that
giant contract, I facing the reality that the twins might have paid all that
money for a AVG. specialty, first basemen rather than a power hitter.
In
2012, we saw the old Joe Mauer return and we continue to see him being a
consistent threat for the Batting Title with current OBP and AVG. numbers being
in the top 5 or fringe top 5 in the MLB.
ESPN
reporter Jayson Stark, stated in his blog on April 18 that as baseball fans “we
don’t know how good we have it.” He focused on the players Cabrera, Kershaw,
and Mauer. It reinforced my faith in Joe as a hitter and how blessed the Twins
are to have this hometown hero.
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