Minnesota Twins: Five things that defined Joe Mauer’s career

The Minnesota Twins will honor one of their legends as they will retire Joe Mauer’s No. 7 jersey on Saturday night after a brilliant 15-year career.

On Saturday night, the Minnesota Twins will welcome Joe Mauer into elite company by retiring his No. 7 jersey. With that honor, Mauer will be the eighth Twin to have his number retired along with Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Tom Kelly, Kent Hrbek, Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett, cementing himself as one of the franchise’s all-time greats.

While Mauer’s legacy is a little foggy to some due to a massive contract and a lack of playoff success, there is no denying the impact he had on the franchise during his 15-year career. When he was drafted by the Twins as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 MLB Draft, he was just a kid heading to a team that had been dormant since winning the World Series in 1991.

When he retired last winter, the Twins franchise was alive and well and had a new legion of devoted fans. In fact, Mauer became the face of a franchise that was starving for one ever since Puckett hung up his cleats in 1996. He became one of the key figures on a team that won four division championships after his 2004 debut.

Mauer may be a polarizing figure to some, but there is little doubt he deserves this honor. In this piece, we’ll take a look at some things that made Mauer one of the Twins’ all-time greats and what it could mean in relation to a possible enshrinement in Cooperstown.