Joe Mauer, 40, is inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. It is the 38th.
Minnesota announced on the 28th (Korean time) that Mauer was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame. Mauer was selected by Minnesota with the 1st overall pick in the 2001 draft. He made his big league debut with Minnesota in 2004 and played for the same team for 15 years until retiring in 2008. He showed a stable side as a catcher and also played first base for his final five years.
He drew attention for his excellent hitting ability. He played in 1858 games in his career, with a batting average of 0.306, 2123 hits, 143 home runs, 923 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.827. He won the batting title three times, the most ever for a catcher, and was also named MVP in 2009. He appeared in the All-Star Game six times, and won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove five times and three times, respectively.
“I think Joe Mauer deserves to be in the MLB Hall of Fame,” Minnesota President Dave St. Peter said. Even experts think so. The question is whether he can enter the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. This time, he hopes that being inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame will give him a boost in the press corps vote to be held in December of this year.”