Joe Mauer is Going to the Hall of Fame

Joe Mauer, the longtime catcher and first baseman for the Minnesota Twins, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in January by the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America). In his first year on the BBWAA ballot, Mauer earned 76.1% of the vote, putting him just above the 75% required to earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Mauer will be joined on stage this Sunday by third baseman Adrian Beltre, first baseman Todd Helton, and longtime manager Jim Leyland.

Mauer, a career .306 hitter who won three batting titles and was the 2009 MVP, was the top backstop in the American League for a decade, hitting .323 with a 135 OPS+ for ten years (2004-13) while earning six All-Star berths while winning three Gold Glove Awards.

A concussion that prematurely ended Mauer’s 2013 season resulted in a mutual decision between the player and the team to move their franchise player to first base. Mauer spent five middling seasons as the team’s first sacker before retiring at 35 after the 2018 campaign.

Mauer, a native of St. Paul, MN, was grateful to spend his entire year as a member of the Twins.

“For me, I grew up a Twins fan, watching the team and wanting them to win… It’s a special place, a special community, and I’m happy to be a part of it. I’m excited for ‘Twins territory’ and everybody back home as well.”

— Joe Mauer (Hall of Fame Press Conference), January 25th, 2024

An All-time Great Hitter as a Catcher

Early in his final campaign (2018), Joe Mauer became just the 10th player in MLB history who started at least half of his games as a catcher to collect 2,000 hits. The list of the other 9 includes 7 Hall of Famers (Ivan Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk, Yogi Berra, Mike Piazza, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench, and Ted Simmons) and two who are not (Jason Kendall and A.J. Pierzynski). Kendall and Pierzynski each finished their career with an OPS+ below the average of 100 (Mauer’s career number is 124).

Mauer’s career batting average (.306) is tied for the fourth-highest for any catcher with at least 5,000 plate appearances in Major League Baseball history, behind Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey, and Piazza. His career on-base percentage (.388) is tied for the third-best for catchers all-time, behind Cochrane and early 20th-century star Wally Schang.

No other catcher in baseball history can match Mauer’s three batting championships (in 2006, 2008, and 2009), and only fourteen players overall have more than Mauer’s three batting crowns.

In this piece, I’ll briefly recap Mauer’s 15-year career and then render a verdict on whether he deserved election to the Hall of Fame.

Cooperstown Cred: Joe Mauer (C)

Elected to the Hall of Fame in 2024 with 76.1% of the vote (1st year on ballot)

• Minnesota Twins (2004-18)
• Career: .306 BA, .388 OBP, 143 HR, 923 RBI, 2,123 hits
• Career: 124 OPS+, 55.2 WAR (Wins Above Replacement)
• 2009 A.L. MVP (28 HR, 96 RBI, led A.L. with .365 BA, .444 OBP and .587 SLG)
• 2nd best batting average (.323) from 2004-2013 (to Miguel Cabrera)
• 6-time All-Star, 3-time Gold Glove Award winner
• Career: 9th best fielding percentage for all catchers, 6th best for all first basemen

(Cover Photo: USA Today Sports/Brad Rempel)

This piece was originally posted on April 13th, 2018, when Mauer collected his 2,000th career hit. It has been updated in anticipation of his induction into the Hall of Fame on Sunday.

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Joe Mauer: Career Highlights

Joseph Patrick Mauer was born on April 19, 1983, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Jake Jr. and Teresa Mauer. For multiple generations, the Mauer family was a baseball family. Joe’s grandfather played in the White Sox organization, and his brothers Jake Mauer III and Bill Mauer also played in the Twins’ organization. Joe played football, basketball, and baseball for St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall High School and was the only athlete to be chosen as the USA Today High School Player of the Year in both football (as a quarterback) and baseball (as a catcher).

The left-handed hitting Mauer hit .605 during his senior year and only struck out once in four years in high school. Thanks to his exploits on the diamond, Mauer was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the #1 overall pick in the 2001 amateur player draft. Mauer started his professional career in the Appalachian League (at the age of 18) and hit .400.

He spent another three years in the minor leagues before making his major league debut with the Twins on Opening Day on April 5, 2004, a few weeks before his 21st birthday. Mauer logged six plate appearances in two games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before injuring his left knee, requiring surgery that put him out of action for two months. Mauer returned on June 2 and started most of the team’s next 37 games before being sidelined for the rest of the year due to continued soreness in his knee. He finished his truncated season with a robust slash line (.308 BA/.369 OBP/.570 SLG) in 122 plate appearances.

Mostly healthy in 2005, the left-handed-hitting Mauer had a solid sophomore campaign, slashing .294/.372/.411 in 131 games while serving as the Twins’ primary starting catcher.

Joe Mauer’s Star Years (2006-2013)

Joe Mauer made it to the Hall of Fame due to his eight brilliant years as one of the top players in the game. At 23, he won the first of his three American League batting titles by hitting .347 (with a .429 OBP and .507 SLG). He also swatted 13 home runs while driving in 84. Mauer’s performance (along with Cy Young winner Johan Santana‘s) was good enough to lead the Twins to a 96-66 record and the A.L. Central title. (Minnesota was swept in the ALDS by the Oakland Athletics). Mauer earned the first of his six All-Star berths, the first of his five Silver Sluggers, and was 6th in the A.L. MVP voting.

A quad strain limited Mauer to 109 games in 2007 (and he regressed to a .293/.382/.426 slash line) but rebounded in 2008, winning his second batting title (.328 BA, with a .413 OBP and .451 SLG), which was good enough to finish 4th in the MVP vote. Mauer also won the first of three consecutive Gold Gloves in ’08.

Mauer’s best season was in 2009 when he won the slash line Triple Crown; he led the league in BA (.365), OBP (.444),  and SLG (.587). He also set career highs with 28 home runs and 96 RBI, helping make him a nearly unanimous choice as the A.L. MVP. The Twins returned to the playoffs but were swept again in the ALDS, this time by the New York Yankees.

The Move to Target Field (2010 and Beyond)

In 2010, two things changed in Joe Mauer’s life. First, the Twins moved from the much-maligned Metrodome to the brand-new outdoor ballpark, Target Field. Second, the normally cost-conscious Twins, with the new revenue stream afforded by their sparkling new park, decided to pony up for their hometown hero, inking Mauer to an eight-year contract extension worth $184 million.

Mauer continued his stellar play, slashing .327/.402/.469. Mauer’s power sagged, however, in the new park; he hit just nine home runs with 75 RBI. Only one of those nine dingers occurred at his new home ballpark. All told, in 2010 and the eight years since, Mauer hit just 32 home runs at Target Field in 2,469 plate appearances, the equivalent of four full MLB seasons.

Still, his terrific overall hitting and defense were good enough for an 8th-place finish in the MVP vote. The Yankees once again swept the Twins in the ALDS.

2011 was the one “lost” year within Mauer’s eight-year peak. Appearing in just 82 games in an injury-plagued campaign, he hit a career-low .287 with just three home runs and 30 RBI, and the Twins lost 99 games after having had winning records in eight of manager Ron Gardenhire’s nine seasons with the team.

The Twins didn’t improve in 2012 (winning 66 games), but Mauer rebounded; he slashed .319/.416/.446 with 10 HR and 85 RBI and finished 19th in the MVP balloting.

Mauer had another strong campaign in 2013 (.324/.404/.476, 11 HR, 47 RBI), but his season ended on August 19th when a foul ball off the bat of the Mets’ Ike Davis hit him in the mask. Mauer suffered a concussion and didn’t return for the rest of the season because of headaches, bouts of dizziness, and sensitivity to light.

When Mauer finished the 2013 season (his 10th in Major League Baseball), he was a career .323 hitter with a 135 OPS+ and a 44.2 WAR. Only four catchers in the game’s history had a higher WAR for their first ten seasons (Hall of Famers Bench, Piazza, Carter, and Cochrane).

The Second Phase in Mauer’s Career at First Base

The Twins decided to move Joe Mauer to first base starting with the 2014 campaign. The move to first base coincided with a decline in his offensive statistics. Although he qualified for the batting title with 518 plate appearances in 2014, he posted paltry numbers, hitting a career-low .277 (.361 OBP/.371 SLG), slugging just four home runs while driving in 55.

The 2015 season wasn’t much better: he hit .265 with 10 home runs and 66 RBI. His park-adjusted OPS+ was 98, the first time he posted a below-average number.

Mauer revealed in 2016 that, in the years since moving from behind the dish to first base, he continued to suffer from blurred vision, a residual symptom from his 2013 concussion.

Anyway, after a brilliant eight-year run as a future Hall of Fame catcher, Mauer became a light-hitting first sacker. In 2017, he hit .305, his first campaign with a batting average above .300 since his final year behind the plate.

2018, however, was a disappointment. In 126 games, the Twins first baseman hit .282 with six home runs and a paltry 48 RBI.

On September 30th in Minnesota, on the final day of the season, Mauer’s eventual decision to retire became apparent. On that sunny day at Target Field, Mauer came out of the dugout in the top of the 9th inning wearing the tools of ignorance. It was the first time Mauer had donned catcher’s gear since August 19, 2013, when the concussion ended his season.

Mauer received one pitch from pitcher Matt Belisle, stood up, and walked to the mound. Shortly thereafter, manager Paul Molitor replaced Mauer with another catcher, Chris Gimenez.

To the majestic soundtrack of The Natural, Mauer waved to the crowd and took a final bow to his adoring fans. The choreographed exit confirmed to the baseball that Mauer would likely be hanging up his spikes, ending his superb 15-year career in Minnesota.

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A little over five weeks after his retirement announcement, the Twins revealed that they would retire the uniform number 7 worn by their longtime catcher turned first baseman. Mauer joined Harmon Killebrew (#3), Rod Carew (29), Tony Oliva (6), Kent Hrbek (14), Kirby Puckett (34), Bert Blyleven (28), and Tom Kelly (10) as former Twins whose numbers are retired by the team.

Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame Case

In some minds, because of his peak offensive performance at a premium defensive position, Joe Mauer was an easy call for Cooperstown. On Hall of Fame expert Jay Jaffe’s JAWS list (seen on Baseball Reference), Mauer ranks as the 7th best catcher in the game’s history. If you believe in JAWS, the Hall doesn’t need a bigger boat; it already has room for Mauer.

Mauer gets credit for his good numbers as a catcher, but it should be noted that, even when catcher was his primary position, he started many games at first base or as the team’s designated hitter.

Mauer only caught 100 games five times in his career. His 921 career games behind the dish are just 154th in history. Compare that to Yadier Molina, who retired in the fall of 2022 and is considered a strong future Hall of Fame candidate. Molina caught 2,184 games, more than double Mauer’s total and 4th most in history. Only Buck Ewing, a 19th-century player, has fewer games while donning the tools of ignorance for a Hall of Fame backstop than Mauer’s 921.

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When I originally wrote this piece in 2018, my thought was that if Mauer could keep playing, surpass 2,500 hits, and keep his career batting average over .300 (he finished at .306), he would make it into the Hall. If he had remained healthy and if he had been given the opportunity to be a full-time player for an additional three seasons, Mauer would have had the chance to reach that milestone by 2021, his age 39 season.

Advantages of Retiring Early

Given that Joe Mauer retired at the age of 35, the question was whether Minnesota’s favorite son’s Hall of Fame resume was good enough to get him a Cooperstown plaque.

There are some advantages to having retired early:

• Because he was no longer an elite hitter, Mauer was dragging down his “rate” stats every year. At the end of the 2013 season, his last as a catcher, Mauer’s career batting average was .323, and his on-base was .405. At the end of his career, his BA was .306, and his OBP was .388. If he were to have continued to post mediocre numbers as he did in 2018 (.282/.351/.729), he would likely have dragged his career average below .300, a line of demarcation to which some Hall of Famer voters ascribe a high value.
• When building a Hall of Fame resume, it’s not helpful to have nearly a decade of work that is merely average. Mauer was an average player for his last five seasons. He did nothing in those five seasons to add to his Cooperstown credentials in terms of statistical black type, All-Star appearances, or presence in the MVP voting.
• If Mauer had kept playing in 2019, he would shortly have logged more than 50% of his career starts at first base or DH, not at catcher. His statistics are Hall of Fame worthy if he’s considered a backstop, not a first baseman or DH.

The disadvantage to early retirement is that Mauer could not pass 2,500 hits or a WAR of 60.

Joe Mauer’s Brilliant Eight Years (2006-2013)

On balance, Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame case was better off for ending his career in 2018. He was primarily a catcher for ten years and a first baseman for 5. That makes him a catcher when it’s time to make a Cooperstown call.

Mauer had a truly remarkable run of eight years (2006 to 2013) where he posted offensive numbers worthy of any position on the diamond. For the record, for that eight-year run, here is how Mauer ranked statistically:

• 40.4 WAR (6th best in MLB, behind Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, and Adrian Beltre)
• 139 OPS+ (8th best, behind Pujols, Cabrera, Ryan Braun, David Ortiz, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, and Prince Fielder)
• .327 BA (2nd best, behind Cabrera)
• .410 OBP (tied for 1st, with Cabrera)

In these key statistics, Mauer is right up there with the game’s best hitters, all of whom played much less demanding positions.

When it came time for his Cooperstown verdict, what Mauer also had going for him was a full career in one city. Part of a Hall of Fame case is having a story, and playing in one city has traditionally yielded bonus points to any Cooperstown candidate.

Conclusion: Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame Worthiness

My two cents: Joe Mauer is worthy of his Cooperstown plaque. He compares very favorably to the inducted catchers from the first half of the 20th century. He compares less favorably to the inductees from the last 30 years (Bench, Fisk, Carter, Piazza, Rodriguez).

The best comparison among contemporary backstops is Buster Posey. The Giants catcher has a hitting profile similar to Mauer’s, and his career was even shorter than Mauer’s. He finished with just 5,607 plate appearances (Mauer had 7,960) and finished with just 1,500 hits. Posey also won an MVP trophy and has the intangible edge of being the catcher for a team that won three World Series titles. Posey will hit the BBWAA ballot in 2027.

Then there’s Yadier Molina. The Cardinals catcher, a 10-time All-Star, 9-time Gold Glover winner, and 2-time World Champion. Because of the Gold Gloves and championships, Molina has a better Hall of Fame “story” than Mauer but has vastly inferior offensive numbers. Molina will be eligible for the Hall in 2028.

Personally, I’m a “Big Hall” guy. To put it another way, I believe that the players from the last 50 years should be represented in the same proportion as the players from the first half of the 20th century. Thus, for me, there’s room for Mauer, Posey, and Molina.

Congratulations, Joe. Good luck with the speech on Sunday.

Please follow Cooperstown Cred on X @cooperstowncred.

Thanks for reading.

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