Minnesota Twins to retire #7 in honor of Joe Mauer

Tuesday morning the Minnesota Twins announced the plans to retire #7 in honor of Joe Mauer, the 8th retired number the franchise will have retired.

The Minnesota Twins at a press conference at Cretin-Derham Hall High School, have announced they will retire #7 in honor of Joe Mauer.

Mauer becomes the 8th person in Minnesota Twins franchise history to have their number retired, joining #3 Harmon Killebrew, #6 Tony Oliva, #10 Tom Kelly, #14 Kent Hrbek, #28 Bert Blyleven, #29 Rod Carew, and #34 Kirby Puckett. #42 Jackie Robinson is also retired across the entire MLB. A date for the ceremony has not yet been announced, but will take place during the upcoming 2019 season.

In classic humble Joe fashion, Mauer thanked the Minnesota Twins and expressed deep gratitude for the honor, as well as an appreciation for the opportunities many people gave him along the way.

The honor is the latest of many impressive accolades Mauer has earned over the course of his career. He retired as an MVP winner, 6-time All-Star, 4-time Gold Glove winner, and 5-time Silver Slugger. The St. Paul native finished his career in the top 5 Minnesota Twins of all time in many different categories, including the all-time leader in doubles.

Mauer made his retirement official earlier this fall after completing his 15th year in the MLB. In the 2018 season, he added several milestones to his resume, including surpassing 1,000 runs scored, 2,000 hits, 900 RBI, and 900 walks.

Mauer is not eligible for baseball’s Hall of Fame until he has been retired for 5 years, but when that time comes, he will have a compelling case to join collection of all-time greats in Cooperstown. If he were to be elected, he would become the 4th Hall of Famer from St. Paul, MN to be inducted, joining Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, and Jack Morris.