Joseph Patrick Mauer might just get in first ballot

[JPM]

My daughter goes to school just outside of Cooperstown. Just might have to make the trip.

[JPM]

So far he has been on 5 of every 6 ballots turned in. Looking good. If not then next year is a shoe in.

[Miley Cyrus]

Never heard of him. I'd like to see Joseph Patrick Mauer get inducted though.

[Jaamz]

Whats up Clark!...i miss the old twinschat battles!...good times!..lol...Cant wait to see DH stroke out when it happens!...lol

[feekdogg]

From Philly sports reporter Marc Narducci's rationale on who he voted for:

Here is where the debate starts. The knock against Mauer is that while he was an excellent catcher, he only played the position for a decade. Due to concussions from catching, he moved to first base for the final five seasons. He caught 70 or more games eight times. In total he caught 921 games, making 885 starts as a catcher.

In those 10 seasons he hit .323/405/.469 with a 135 OPS+.

When somebody does something historical, the feeling here is that it should add to his HOF candidacy. Mauer is the only catcher to win three batting titles, in 2006, 2008 and 2009. In those three years, he caught 120, 139 and 109 games respectively. He batted .347 in 2006, .328 in 2008 and .365 in 2009.

During those first 10 seasons, he was a six-time All-Star, won an MVP (in 2009) and finished in the Top 10 four times. Mauer also earned five Silver Slugger awards and three Gold Gloves.

Is that enough production in a decade of work?

Due to the demands of the position, we think so.

Plus, how much did the toll of catching and the injuries contribute to the decline after he switched positions?

His final five seasons were well below HOF worthy – .278/.359/.388 with a 105 OPS+. Never a big home run hitter, he hit 38 of his career 143 home runs in the final five seasons.

Still, even with the decline, here are his career statistics – .306/.388/.439 with a 124 OPS+.

Only eight HOF catchers have a higher career rWAR than Mauer (55.2).

He certainly did enough in his years as a catcher to make this ballot.

[tbgh]

I always told dh how shitty his mauer takes were. And they were historically bad. Well it appears the reasonable posters win out.

Either way I’ll be in Cooperstown in July to see whoever gets inducted on my way to the twins Mets series that Monday.

[feekdogg]

There's a Twitter account that tracks the tally on voters who made their ballots public. It's only 15% of ballots, but Mauer is on 81% of them.

[Hornets]

Winfield
Molitor
Morris
Mauer

CRAZY that there will be FOUR HOFers that grew up in a close proximity of one another...CRAZY!

[D_H]

My daughter goes to school just outside of Cooperstown. Just might have to make the trip.

No chance

If Thurman Munson is not in the Hall of Fame, lil Joey will never get there


https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/04/ ... on-it/amp/


In: Beltrán, Beltré, Helton, Hunter, Jones, Rollins, Sheffield, Wagner.

Not selected: Abreu, José Bautista, Mark Buehrle, Bartolo Colón, Adrián González, Matt Holliday, Víctor Martínez, Mauer, Pettitte, Brandon Phillips, Ramirez, José Reyes, Alex Rodriguez, Francisco Rodríguez, James Shields, Utley, Omar Vizquel, Wright.


Lolololololo

[JPM]

Bahahaha

One guys ballot. You may want to check the other 123 ballots that have been revealed so far. Running at 82% right now. IF not this year then soon for sure. It's over.

[ForCaleb]

Miss you Clark!!

[Miley Cyrus]

Miss you Clark!!

If only it were the same Clark as that in the old KFAN board days.

[SKOLMN]

Big twins fan growing up, but I never believed he was hof worthy. Good stats but never impacted winning. Never hit for power, yet in his mvp season (which was also a contract year for him) he all of a sudden erupts for 30 hr’s, gets his big extension in the offseason, then goes back to mediocre hr numbers the rest of his career made me always suspect he juiced that offseason prior

[DC4MVP]

Not necessarily here but It's so sad that TWINS FANS...I repeat TWINS FANS are so actively rooting for Mauer to not get into the HOF. Not just first ballot, but at all.

Such a shitty fan base.

[Tommy_Hawk]

Not necessarily here but It's so sad that TWINS FANS...I repeat TWINS FANS are so actively rooting for Mauer to not get into the HOF. Not just first ballot, but at all.

Such a shitty fan base.

What does it say about him as a player, that fans root against his induction?

I root for Torii (comparable stats compared to Rolen) and Johan to get in, even Joe Nathan (although he's a longshot). Mauer, I'm lukewarm on.

[DC4MVP]

Not necessarily here but It's so sad that TWINS FANS...I repeat TWINS FANS are so actively rooting for Mauer to not get into the HOF. Not just first ballot, but at all.

Such a shitty fan base.

What does it say about him as a player, that fans root against his induction?

I root for Torii (comparable stats compared to Rolen) and Johan to get in, even Joe Nathan (although he's a longshot). Mauer, I'm lukewarm on.

It says more about the fans than the player.

You can blame it on Mauer all you want but Minnesota Twins fans....and Minnesota fans in general suck. Most fan bases would be campaigning for their .204 hitting utility player to make the HOF and some of these jackasses are acting as if Mauer was useless. Because why? He took the Pohlad's money...the same money those same people bitch about them not giving to players?

Guess what? They'd hate Mauer even more if he went to Boston or New York where he probably would have made a shit ton more money in endorsements. He stays here and people hate him anyways.

I've never seen a fanbase who turns against players as much as Minnesota fans with Mauer and Cousins being two of the biggest recent examples. Shit, diehard Vikings fans actively rooted against Randy Moss winning a Super Bowl with New England because he was TRADED away.

Minnesotans are so insecure and have a complete "what have you done for ME lately?" attitude.

Mauer is the last homegrown Twin that will sniff the regular ballot HOF for the next 20 years. The first since Puckett in 2001 and insecure jackasses who couldn't start for their JV baseball team want to see him fail to get to Cooperstown because he didn't hit enough dingers while the guy was getting concussions behind the plate.

Ohh, and a lot of those same fans would lick Byron Buxton's sweaty feet no matter what despite him playing 20 games a season.

Pretty sad when national writers with no connections to Mauer like him more than his own fans.

[Da Gas Man's Ghost]

I don't think that Mauer should be a first ballot HOFer but I have no gripes if he is. During those batting title years, he was something. And had his career continued on even close to that level, then he's a no-doubter. But it really tailed off to the realm of good but not great. His batting average wasn't amazing enough to justify the lack of power. He was ELITE in the first half of his career and good for the last portion.

His career stats aren't that good with two significant exceptions:
1. His WAR (or JWAR whatever) is fantastic and 7th all time for catchers. All 6 ahead of him are in the HOF.
2. He had three batting titles as an AL catcher. One is a fluke, two is amazing. Three is elite.

So I will be happy when he gets it because he gave me some great memories AND he is a really good dude. I don't think he had the career of a first ballot HOF but it's not the most egregious error if he gets in first ballot.

[Hornets]

Not necessarily here but It's so sad that TWINS FANS...I repeat TWINS FANS are so actively rooting for Mauer to not get into the HOF. Not just first ballot, but at all.

Such a shitty fan base.

What does it say about him as a player, that fans root against his induction?

I root for Torii (comparable stats compared to Rolen) and Johan to get in, even Joe Nathan (although he's a longshot). Mauer, I'm lukewarm on.

It says more about the fans than the player.

You can blame it on Mauer all you want but Minnesota Twins fans....and Minnesota fans in general suck. Most fan bases would be campaigning for their .204 hitting utility player to make the HOF and some of these jackasses are acting as if Mauer was useless. Because why? He took the Pohlad's money...the same money those same people bitch about them not giving to players?

Guess what? They'd hate Mauer even more if he went to Boston or New York where he probably would have made a shit ton more money in endorsements. He stays here and people hate him anyways.

I've never seen a fanbase who turns against players as much as Minnesota fans with Mauer and Cousins being two of the biggest recent examples. Shit, diehard Vikings fans actively rooted against Randy Moss winning a Super Bowl with New England because he was TRADED away.

Minnesotans are so insecure and have a complete "what have you done for ME lately?" attitude.

Mauer is the last homegrown Twin that will sniff the regular ballot HOF for the next 20 years. The first since Puckett in 2001 and insecure jackasses who couldn't start for their JV baseball team want to see him fail to get to Cooperstown because he didn't hit enough dingers while the guy was getting concussions behind the plate.

Ohh, and a lot of those same fans would lick Byron Buxton's sweaty feet no matter what despite him playing 20 games a season.

Pretty sad when national writers with no connections to Mauer like him more than his own fans.

I love Joe and Kirk and I agree they are underappreciated, both as athletes and as human beings. The angst towards Joe by many here clearly goes back to the massive contract he signed. Everyone rejoiced at the time and were elated that the Pohlads did what they had to do to keep him here. Mauer and Morneausy were in the absolute prime of their careers and as fans we were salivating at the thought of having both of them in the lineup for years to come. Well, almost immediately things came crashing down....Justin got the concussion that basically ruined the rest of his Twins career and then Joe was not able to replicate the big HR season he had just before signing the contract. Then he started getting hurt and the concussions eventually led to him finishing his career at first base. The fan base felt like it had the wind knocked out of it and for some reason they would not give Joe a pass even though his injury issues clearly diminished what could have turned out to be a simply amazing career...

[DC4MVP]

What does it say about him as a player, that fans root against his induction?

I root for Torii (comparable stats compared to Rolen) and Johan to get in, even Joe Nathan (although he's a longshot). Mauer, I'm lukewarm on.

It says more about the fans than the player.

You can blame it on Mauer all you want but Minnesota Twins fans....and Minnesota fans in general suck. Most fan bases would be campaigning for their .204 hitting utility player to make the HOF and some of these jackasses are acting as if Mauer was useless. Because why? He took the Pohlad's money...the same money those same people bitch about them not giving to players?

Guess what? They'd hate Mauer even more if he went to Boston or New York where he probably would have made a shit ton more money in endorsements. He stays here and people hate him anyways.

I've never seen a fanbase who turns against players as much as Minnesota fans with Mauer and Cousins being two of the biggest recent examples. Shit, diehard Vikings fans actively rooted against Randy Moss winning a Super Bowl with New England because he was TRADED away.

Minnesotans are so insecure and have a complete "what have you done for ME lately?" attitude.

Mauer is the last homegrown Twin that will sniff the regular ballot HOF for the next 20 years. The first since Puckett in 2001 and insecure jackasses who couldn't start for their JV baseball team want to see him fail to get to Cooperstown because he didn't hit enough dingers while the guy was getting concussions behind the plate.

Ohh, and a lot of those same fans would lick Byron Buxton's sweaty feet no matter what despite him playing 20 games a season.

Pretty sad when national writers with no connections to Mauer like him more than his own fans.

I love Joe and Kirk and I agree they are underappreciated, both as athletes and as human beings. The angst towards Joe by many here clearly goes back to the massive contract he signed. Everyone rejoiced at the time and were elated that the Pohlads did what they had to do to keep him here. Mauer and Morneausy were in the absolute prime of their careers and as fans we were salivating at the thought of having both of them in the lineup for years to come. Well, almost immediately things came crashing down....Justin got the concussion that basically ruined the rest of his Twins career and then Joe was not able to replicate the big HR season he had just before signing the contract. Then he started getting hurt and the concussions eventually led to him finishing his career at first base. The fan base felt like it had the wind knocked out of it and for some reason they would not give Joe a pass even though his injury issues clearly diminished what could have turned out to be a simply amazing career...

Yep 100%.

Trust me....I *get* why Twins fans are down on Mauer. The entire "bi-lateral leg weakness" escapade was fucking weird. I have my own theories that it was something deeper than that that the team/doctors didn't make public (I still say it was head related). But there's a reason why catchers usually don't last long behind the plate...they get their ass kicked and their knees are subjected to things that the human knee isn't built for especially in the days when catchers could get bulldozed.

I'm sure I come off as defending Joe like his mom would. I'm not even a big Mauer fan nor do I think he's a 1st ballot type of player (3rd...4th is about right) but just seeing Twins fans not wanting him in the HOF *at all* is just stupid.

It's just a weird dynamic that the fans can't appreciate what the guy did for the organization when he could have pulled a Hunter and left.

Like I said, Minnesota fans are strange....some fans take sports things personally like Mauer personally wronged *them* by not hitting for power the rest of his career.

Insecurities of flyover country residents.

[JPM]

Miss you Clark!!

If only it were the same Clark as that in the old KFAN board days.

Same Clark since 2005

[Miley Cyrus]

Miss you Clark!!

If only it were the same Clark as that in the old KFAN board days.

Same Clark since 2005

Then you woulda remembered the Twins rube that was outed some years ago.

[ForCaleb]

It says more about the fans than the player.

You can blame it on Mauer all you want but Minnesota Twins fans....and Minnesota fans in general suck. Most fan bases would be campaigning for their .204 hitting utility player to make the HOF and some of these jackasses are acting as if Mauer was useless. Because why? He took the Pohlad's money...the same money those same people bitch about them not giving to players?

Guess what? They'd hate Mauer even more if he went to Boston or New York where he probably would have made a shit ton more money in endorsements. He stays here and people hate him anyways.

I've never seen a fanbase who turns against players as much as Minnesota fans with Mauer and Cousins being two of the biggest recent examples. Shit, diehard Vikings fans actively rooted against Randy Moss winning a Super Bowl with New England because he was TRADED away.

Minnesotans are so insecure and have a complete "what have you done for ME lately?" attitude.

Mauer is the last homegrown Twin that will sniff the regular ballot HOF for the next 20 years. The first since Puckett in 2001 and insecure jackasses who couldn't start for their JV baseball team want to see him fail to get to Cooperstown because he didn't hit enough dingers while the guy was getting concussions behind the plate.

Ohh, and a lot of those same fans would lick Byron Buxton's sweaty feet no matter what despite him playing 20 games a season.

Pretty sad when national writers with no connections to Mauer like him more than his own fans.

I love Joe and Kirk and I agree they are underappreciated, both as athletes and as human beings. The angst towards Joe by many here clearly goes back to the massive contract he signed. Everyone rejoiced at the time and were elated that the Pohlads did what they had to do to keep him here. Mauer and Morneausy were in the absolute prime of their careers and as fans we were salivating at the thought of having both of them in the lineup for years to come. Well, almost immediately things came crashing down....Justin got the concussion that basically ruined the rest of his Twins career and then Joe was not able to replicate the big HR season he had just before signing the contract. Then he started getting hurt and the concussions eventually led to him finishing his career at first base. The fan base felt like it had the wind knocked out of it and for some reason they would not give Joe a pass even though his injury issues clearly diminished what could have turned out to be a simply amazing career...

Yep 100%.

Trust me....I *get* why Twins fans are down on Mauer. The entire "bi-lateral leg weakness" escapade was fucking weird. I have my own theories that it was something deeper than that that the team/doctors didn't make public (I still say it was head related). But there's a reason why catchers usually don't last long behind the plate...they get their ass kicked and their knees are subjected to things that the human knee isn't built for especially in the days when catchers could get bulldozed.

I'm sure I come off as defending Joe like his mom would. I'm not even a big Mauer fan nor do I think he's a 1st ballot type of player (3rd...4th is about right) but just seeing Twins fans not wanting him in the HOF *at all* is just stupid.

It's just a weird dynamic that the fans can't appreciate what the guy did for the organization when he could have pulled a Hunter and left.

Like I said, Minnesota fans are strange....some fans take sports things personally like Mauer personally wronged *them* by not hitting for power the rest of his career.

Insecurities of flyover country residents.

Great discussion here. Not wanting Mauer to be a HOFer is just DH trying to stir the pot.

From a personal perspective, I wasn't "upset" at Mauer for the bilateral weakness issues, how it was handled by the medical staff and management should definitely be scrutinized. If the guy is hurt or extremely sore after intensive rehab and training, he can't help that. My opinion looking back is he probably should have been shut down that year, but there was so much pressure to repeat his MVP type season from two years before that the shit-show just snowballed and Mauer doesn't have type of personality to say anything and take control of the situation.

I think it was reasonable for fans to question why the power numbers dropped in dramatic fashion after his MVP season. Remember, he was only 27 at the time. Was it the new ballpark?? Maybe. His legs?? Likely. But he still hit .327 that year which is still incredible.

With all that said, catching took a toll on his body. But is arguably the best hitter in franchise history. I think he should be a first ballot HOFe.

[Hornets]

I personally would choose Carew, Oliva, and Puck as better hitters than Mauer but they were all great. One thing that I have always wondered is that one year where he hit 28 dingers. Never came even close to that before or after so why so many that year? Just luck? Don't think anyone has ever accused him of being on roids that season but it just was so out of normal for him.

[Tommy_Hawk]

Dude never won one postseason game. So he literally is in the "1st Ballot HOF" discussion but never propelled the franchise toward a lasting destiny. Has any other HOF'er never won a postseason game (besides Mike Trout)?

He's the Captain of the team. Gets a once in a lifetime contract. Takes up space in the lineup providing zero power. Hometown kid. Never won in the postseason in over 4 tries? Then you guys wonder why Twins fans think he's a phony.

[DC4MVP]

I personally would choose Carew, Oliva, and Puck as better hitters than Mauer but they were all great. One thing that I have always wondered is that one year where he hit 28 dingers. Never came even close to that before or after so why so many that year? Just luck? Don't think anyone has ever accused him of being on roids that season but it just was so out of normal for him.

The easy/dumb argument is that the Metrodome catered more to Mauer's hitting style BUT he only hit 48 home runs between 2004-2008 at the same building so you can't use the switch from Metrodome to Target Field as the reason he never replicated it.

It could be something like it sometimes takes a bit for a player to develop power, he finally did, and then he didn't/couldn't use his legs as much while swinging once they started to get injured in 2010.

Maybe it was concussions.

Maybe it's as simple as that he was just one of the best line drive hitters of his time and line drives are usually singles/doubles.

Maybe heading into 2010, the Twins had Morneau, Delmon, Thome, Kubel, Cuddyer and told Mauer to get on base for those guys as they had plenty of power hitters in the lineup.



It's honestly the biggest mystery of his entire career.

[Hornets]

Dude never won one postseason game. So he literally is in the "1st Ballot HOF" discussion but never propelled the franchise toward a lasting destiny. Has any other HOF'er never won a postseason game (besides Mike Trout)?

He's the Captain of the team. Gets a once in a lifetime contract. Takes up space in the lineup providing zero power. Hometown kid. Never won in the postseason in over 4 tries? Then you guys wonder why Twins fans think he's a phony.

But what I don't think is fair is labeling HIM a phony. The guy LOVED sports and was an incredible athlete in THREE sports. Never came across as entitled. Never acted arrogant. Never was a problem in the clubhouse. Just an introverted personality who preferred to just go out and play a game that he loved and was fortunate to be able to do so for his entire career in front of friends and family in his home state. Many here wanted him to be something he wasn't and when he didn't fit the way they wanted him to that's when the negativity started to take hold. We can be disappointed that he was not part of a championship team, but thinking he was a phony just doesn't make sense...

[Tommy_Hawk]

Dude never won one postseason game. So he literally is in the "1st Ballot HOF" discussion but never propelled the franchise toward a lasting destiny. Has any other HOF'er never won a postseason game (besides Mike Trout)?

He's the Captain of the team. Gets a once in a lifetime contract. Takes up space in the lineup providing zero power. Hometown kid. Never won in the postseason in over 4 tries? Then you guys wonder why Twins fans think he's a phony.

But what I don't think is fair is labeling HIM a phony. The guy LOVED sports and was an incredible athlete in THREE sports. Never came across as entitled. Never acted arrogant. Never was a problem in the clubhouse. Just an introverted personality who preferred to just go out and play a game that he loved and was fortunate to be able to do so for his entire career in front of friends and family in his home state. Many here wanted him to be something he wasn't and when he didn't fit the way they wanted him to that's when the negativity started to take hold. We can be disappointed that he was not part of a championship team, but thinking he was a phony just doesn't make sense...

His MVP season was phony. What are we even talking about here?

I get it: "He's One Of US", but some Twins fans aren't from MN. We don't have the natural bias.

[ForCaleb]

Dude never won one postseason game. So he literally is in the "1st Ballot HOF" discussion but never propelled the franchise toward a lasting destiny. Has any other HOF'er never won a postseason game (besides Mike Trout)?

He's the Captain of the team. Gets a once in a lifetime contract. Takes up space in the lineup providing zero power. Hometown kid. Never won in the postseason in over 4 tries? Then you guys wonder why Twins fans think he's a phony.

But what I don't think is fair is labeling HIM a phony. The guy LOVED sports and was an incredible athlete in THREE sports. Never came across as entitled. Never acted arrogant. Never was a problem in the clubhouse. Just an introverted personality who preferred to just go out and play a game that he loved and was fortunate to be able to do so for his entire career in front of friends and family in his home state. Many here wanted him to be something he wasn't and when he didn't fit the way they wanted him to that's when the negativity started to take hold. We can be disappointed that he was not part of a championship team, but thinking he was a phony just doesn't make sense...

His MVP season was phony. What are we even talking about here?

I get it: "He's One Of US", but some Twins fans aren't from MN. We don't have the natural bias.

His MVP year wasn't a phony, it was an outlier. Many MVP's have had years like this. Maybe not to the extent of Mauer, but close. I don't think it's that abnormal. I could be wrong.

[Tommy_Hawk]

But what I don't think is fair is labeling HIM a phony. The guy LOVED sports and was an incredible athlete in THREE sports. Never came across as entitled. Never acted arrogant. Never was a problem in the clubhouse. Just an introverted personality who preferred to just go out and play a game that he loved and was fortunate to be able to do so for his entire career in front of friends and family in his home state. Many here wanted him to be something he wasn't and when he didn't fit the way they wanted him to that's when the negativity started to take hold. We can be disappointed that he was not part of a championship team, but thinking he was a phony just doesn't make sense...

His MVP season was phony. What are we even talking about here?

I get it: "He's One Of US", but some Twins fans aren't from MN. We don't have the natural bias.

His MVP year wasn't a phony, it was an outlier. Many MVP's have had years like this. Maybe not to the extent of Mauer, but close. I don't think it's that abnormal. I could be wrong.

Im not going to stop being a Twins fan and start liking the Yankees if Mauer gets in, but I don't think he's the best thing to grace Odin's green earth. I think Santana and Hunter belong in before he does.

[ForCaleb]

His MVP season was phony. What are we even talking about here?

I get it: "He's One Of US", but some Twins fans aren't from MN. We don't have the natural bias.

His MVP year wasn't a phony, it was an outlier. Many MVP's have had years like this. Maybe not to the extent of Mauer, but close. I don't think it's that abnormal. I could be wrong.

Im not going to stop being a Twins fan and start liking the Yankees if Mauer gets in, but I don't think he's the best thing to grace Odin's green earth. I think Santana and Hunter belong in before he does.

I hear you. I just think it’s way easier for Mauer to get in based on the position he played compared to, let’s say, Scott Rolenz