Minnesota Twins: The Top 5 Catchers in Franchise History

No. 1: Joe Mauer

Seasons: 2004-2018 (15 Seasons)

Who else could it possibly be? Joe Mauer is one of the most iconic Minnesota Twins players of all time, defining the franchise for 15 years. The only question was which list to put him on, catcher or first base? Mauer had his best seasons at catcher, and played over 2,700 more innings at the position.

Joe Mauer ranks at or near the top of every single list for the Twins. He is in the top 6 in: WAR, OBP, games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, walks, runs created and so many more. That doesn’t even include the stats where he ranks in the top 25. Mauer was a star in the league for a long time.

He is best known for his offense, winning three batting titles, and four Silver Sluggers, hitting over .300 eight times, knocking in 923 RBI, and hitting 143 home runs. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times (he finished 19th one year as well), winning the award in 2009. He consistently lead the team in hits and is ranked 222nd all-time in hits in Major League history, with 2,123.

His defense was underrated as well, as Joe finished with three Gold Glove Awards and 5,381 putouts at the catcher position alone. If you add his numbers from first, his total climbs to 10,707. His dWAR of 2.9 may not seem like a super number, but it is really strong and his .995 fielding percentage is excellent. Twins fans often like to make an argument that he was overpaid in his contract, but as Fangraphs points out, he definitely wasn’t (via @tlschwerz).

Joe Mauer is one of the top 5 players in franchise history, and easily the best catcher the team has ever seen. His number was retired in 2019, and he should enter the Twins’ Hall of Fame shortly. The only question left for Mauer is whether he is Cooperstown-worthy, and if they consider his excellence at his main position, he is all but a lock.