— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 30, 2018
Now that I've dried my tears from an amazing final game for the 2018 Twins, I want to look back at Mauer's career. He will always have a special place in my heart because he was the first superstar I ever watched for the Twins who started and ended his career in front of me. You should check out other writers who can lay out their thoughts on Mauer better than I ever could (Aaron Gleeman, Derek Wetmore, and Dan Hayes are a good place to start, but there are many others) but to me, his career goes two separate ways. Let's take a look at some of the ways I will remember Joe Mauer.
1. Best In The Business
Joe Mauer is really, really good at baseball. He went into the 2001 draft as a Minnesota kid who could do it all athletically, including famously striking out just once in High School. Still, there was a large collection of fans who wanted the Twins to use the 1st overall pick on USC pitcher Mark Prior. The Twins made the right choice, as Prior had a great start to his career before it derailed because of injuries. Mauer currently has the 4th highest WAR ever for a 1st overall pick, behind generational talents Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr, and Chipper Jones.
Even after his decreased numbers at 1st base, he currently has a career slash line of .306/.388/.439, and an OPS+ of 124. His OBP of .388 is the 5th highest among active players, behind Superstars Joey Votto, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, and Miguel Cabrera. His .306 career batting average is behind Cabrera, Jose Altuve, Ichiro (who is still listed as a current player), Votto and Trout on the active list. That's some really impressive company. He also did this while playing the majority of his game at the most grueling defensive position.
Mauer had one of the most memorable seasons for me when he won the 2009 MVP, hitting .365/.444/.587 with 28 homeruns. He did that while playing just 138 games, because he missed the first month or so of the season because of injuries.
Mauer is the only catcher ever in the American League to win a batting title, and he did it 3 times. In games played at catcher, Mauer collected an OPS of .890. That's the 3rd highest for the position all-time. Add in the fact that he was a really good defender (3 time Gold Glove winner) and Mauer was one of the best players in the MLB for a decade. Then you add 5 average to above-average seasons at a more offensive-oriented position, and that makes for one spectacular career.
2. Criticism
Even though he was a great player, it wasn't enough for a collection of the Twins' fan base. Mauer did some things that have never been done before on a MLB diamond, but he will be remember by some for the things he couldn't do.
Getting on base was and will always be Mauer's most valuable skill set, but for years he's been criticize by his lack of homerun power. Aside from his pop-up year in 2009 when he hit 28 bombs, Mauer's highest total was 13 in 2006. In his 15 years in the majors, he hit single digit homeruns in 9 of them. He's also penalized for his lack of RBI production, never breaking the 100 mark in a single season, despite hitting .334 for his career with runners in scoring position.
Mauer is one of us, so he is a quiet kid who doesn't like to put the attention on himself. That led him to be criticized for not being the vocal leader who would yell and rally the troops. However, there's a lot of articles out there about how Mauer was a great teammate. Just look at how all the players are talking about Sunday's game and you can see what type of impact Number 7 had on the organization.
Media members also took Mauer to task because of his lack of "toughness" and not willing to stay on the field. There was also the bilateral leg weakness fiasco from the Twins' front office that added to the fire that Mauer wasn't always willing to "rub some dirt on it" and get out there and play. Plus, there was and still is a notion that Mauer should never have gotten out from behind the plate. However, Mauer suffered a very serious brain injury that clearly affected his on field production (career OPS of .873 before the concussion and a .746 OPS after) and he decided to move out to 1st base to protect his overall well being after his playing days were over.
Last but certainly not least, Joe Mauer's contract. After years of winning battling titles while making a below-average salary, he signed an eight year contract where he made 23 million dollars a year. While he didn't produce as well as he did in his earlier years, that's pretty common for long-term deals in baseball. The idea that Mauer's contract was a hindrance on the team never made sense to me. The league doesn't have a salary, so the team's payroll can technically be as high as the ownership would want. Also, the team handed out bad contracts to starting pitchers that weren't that much less than what Mauer was making, so that had a bigger reasons for the teams struggles in my mind.
I'm rambling here. Joe Mauer is an amazing baseball player that didn't deserve all the hate that he got from this fan base. From what I've read and heard, he is a class act on and off the baseball field, which is more than we can say for other players who are put on a higher pedestal in this market. I hope Mauer finds himself in the Hall of Fame (which Jay Jaffe's JAW Measurement shows he has a good shot) but if he doesn't I will continue to wear my beaten-down shirsey with pride.
No comments:
Post a Comment