Joe Mauer is Hall of Fame Worthy

Joe Mauer was drafted #1 overall by the Minnesota Twins in 2001 directly out of Cretin-Derham Hall high school; a hometown kid with lofty expectations and the weight of the entire state on his shoulders. When a player is drafted high the pressure is already immense, they're pegged as a talent that's expected to turn the tides of a franchise and bring that fanbase success after years of being in the gutter. That pressure becomes exorbitant when that talent is a local product, especially in a state like Minnesota that isn't a hotbed for top tier players but, has a rich history and a diehard baseball following. This was THE guy, the player every Twins fan rooted for harder than anyone that came before him because he was ours, and that pressure formed the diamond Twins fans had hoped for.

Often there are growing pains associated with the elevation to the Major League level but not in this case. Coming up as a 20 year old Mauer showcased from the jump what made him so special; the guy could flat out rake, hitting .308 in his call up year as just a glimpse of what was to come. From his first full season in 2005 through his age 30 season of 2013 he was nothing short of all-time great for the catcher position racking up 6 all-star nods, 5 silver sluggers, and the MVP award in 2009. In this span he slashed .323/.406/.466, accumulating 1381 hits in 1143 games played and walked more times than he struck out. All of this offensive output at a position that historically has been predicated on defense first. Well, he was also excellent behind the dish, winning 3 gold gloves and being largely in the mix most other years. This isn't a prime that should be taken lightly, he was the best catcher in the game for a long stretch of time and that demands respect.

After a concussion in 2013 Mauer was moved to 1st base in attempts to prolong his career even though he had just started the all-star game, won a silver slugger, and was a gold glove finalist at catcher. This position change coincided with a dip in his offensive output, slashing .278/.359/.388 from 2014 through his final season in 2018. These numbers are a far cry from his peak stretch of dominance but they're still respectable, winning player type figures especially for an aging player with lingering symptoms from the aforementioned concussion. Plus, they were accompanied by gold glove caliber defense at 1st, widely considered to have been robbed of the award in 2017 when he blasphemously wasn't even a finalist. Had he won that gold glove he would've been only the 3rd player to win the award at two different positions since its inception in 1957.

The other great catchers of his generation; Buster Posey and Yadier Molina are pretty universally considered to be Hall of Fame shoe-ins but, when you compare the career numbers of the three Mauer stands out. Mauer accumulated 55.2 bWAR (Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement) in his 15 year career, Posey totaled 44.8 in 12 years, and Molina just retired with 42.1 after 19 seasons. Mauer had 2123 career hits, Posey 1500, and Molina 2168. 3 Gold Gloves for Mauer, 1 for Posey, and 9 for the all-time backstop Yadi. The one thing both Posey and Molina have that Mauer doesn't? Team success. 5 World Series rings between them while Mauer never even won a playoff game. This is more of an indictment on the Twins organization than it is of Mauer. Baseball is a total team sport, no single player can will a team to success no matter how dominant they are (i.e. Mike Trout).

Joe Mauer never felt the pressure; he exceeded what was expected from him by his hometown fanbase and became an all-time great, somehow admonished in retrospect because of organizational ineptitude and an old school approach at the plate. Peak Joe Mauer was one of the best pure hitters in the history of the sport, an elite defender at the most important position on the field, and a model of consistency. These are the traits that set Hall of Fame players above the "Hall of Very Good"; players elite in certain areas but average in others (i.e. Torii Hunter), players with a well rounded game but lacking a peak that stands above its constituents (i.e. Omar Vizquel), or players that flashed plaque potential but were unable to stay healthy enough to accumulate counting stats (i.e. Grady Sizemore). Mauer doesn't fall into any of these categories; spectacular in every facet, a peak that makes an indisputable argument for best pure hitting catcher of all-time, and a career workload that tops his seemingly HOF bound peers of Posey and Molina as well as a majority of the catchers already enshrined in Cooperstown.

Poor team success should not be a blemish on a players Hall of Fame resume for a sport that requires teammate success in order to win and, I see no other valid argument that could keep Joe Mauer out of the Hall. He's the only catcher in MLB history (since 1876!) to win 3 batting titles and has the highest career batting average in games played at the catcher position (.329). He's 10th on the all-time hits list for catchers, only 72 hits behind 5th and he's the only one of the top 10 that didn't eclipse 1900 career games, 54 games behind the next lowest total in Mike Piazza who only has 4 more hits than Mauer.

That 2013 concussion ended Mauer's illustrious catching career at just 30 years old, plaguing him with blurred vision for the remainder of his career, and effectively leading him to retire at 35 after slashing .282/.351/.379 in his farewell season. He was so good that he built a Hall of Fame worthy resume on: 10 years of absurd production behind the plate, 5 years of elite defense at 1st paired with above average offense all while visually impaired, and a career cut short which limited his counting stats. Joe Mauer was a special player with an unorthodox approach to the game, he always took what was given to him and that often meant slapping singles into left field or drawing a walk. To a non-Twins fan, his style and dominance didn't jump off the screen like a 450 bomb does, he was surgical, taking any pitch and putting it where he wanted. An art form similar to Greg Maddux painting the black and always being in control of the at-bat, except Mauer did it from the batters box. He was always as relaxed down 0-2 in the count as he would be up 3-0, regularly working 10+ pitch walks or lacing a ball into the gap, he was always in control.

The baseball world misremembers how good Mauer actually was, the narrative on his career clouded by the postseason successes of peers at his position instead of the individual body of work. The stats and accolades don't lie when put into context; Joe Mauer is Hall of Fame worthy.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference:

Joe Mauer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com