The Minnesota Twins have had some great players through the years. From Rod Carew to Paul Molitor to Justin Morneau, the Twins have always had a superstar to rally behind.
Joe Mauer is that player for the 2018 Minnesota Twins. The St. Paul native has been the picture of consistency throughout his career. Mauer is poised to lead this franchise into the future heading into his 15th season in MLB.
Mauer, or as I prefer to call him “Captain Consistency“, has been the lynchpin for this organization since day one. The “Hometown Hero” label inevitably brings along with it a great deal of pressure. However, Mauer has handled that pressure the same way he handles an 0-2 count, with nerves of steel.
Outside of his monster season in 2009, when he hit 28 home runs, Mauer has not been a power threat. However, Mauer is an on base machine for Minnesota. Furthermore, up until the last few seasons, the man rarely struck out.
Mauer averaged only 56 strikeouts with a .326 batting average between 2005-10. He also averaged a .406 on base percentage and 70 walks a season over the same period. He managed this consistency while averaging 134 games a season and playing predominantly behind the plate.
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However, Mauer has not shown the same plate discipline over the previous six seasons. Between 2012-17 he averaged 94 strikeouts per season. Not bad numbers in this age of baseball, but not the numbers Mauer exhibited early in his career. Mauer is still the man in Minnesota however, and that isn’t changing any time soon.
What does the future hold for Mauer?
Mauer continues to excel for the Twins. He hit .305 with a .384 on base percentage in 2017 showing no signs of slowing down. Moving to first base has only benefited him and should enable him to prolong his career.
Minnesota shocked the baseball world in 2017 by making the playoffs and Mauer was a huge part of making that happen. The farm system is stocked and poised to help keep this team stay in contention for the foreseeable future. Having “Captain Consistency” in the middle of the lineup will only help this team contend.
Next: A look at Mauer and past Twins batting champs
Mauer is now and forever will be a Minnesota Twins great. He will be remembered as one of the greatest offensive catchers of all time and has a legitimate chance at the Hall of Fame. However, his career is far from over and delivering a World Series title to Minnesota would be a nice cherry on top.