Sunday afternoon in Cooperstown will be the culmination of an entire era of Minnesota Twins baseball. Joe Mauer, the Kid from St. Paul, is entering the Hall of Fame, delivering on the promise he showed when he came to the team back in 2001.
It's hard to overstate just how incredible it is that Mauer lived up to the hype the way that he did.
He was drafted No. 1 overall by Minnesota and was charged with being not just the future of the Twins but carrying the weight of an entire state on his shoulders. It's not bias or hyperbole to say Mauer was baseball LeBron James, as he made a name for himself as a native son of St. Paul and matured from a multi-sport high school star to the face of his hometown franchise.
Not only did he turn in a Hall of Fame career, but he actively did so while wanting to remain at home. Every time the opportunity arose for Mauer to leave -- whether it be to Florida State for college or the New York Yankee sin free agency -- he picked Minnesota over everything else.
He's more than just a ballplayer, he's a Minnesota icon up there alongside the likes of Paul Bunyan and Prince. Mauer's legacy has long bene solidified in the hearts of Twins fans, but on Sunday he'll enter baseball immortaility and truly do so as one of us.
Joe Mauer Hall of Fame induction: Everything Twins fans need to know
When will the Hall of Fame ceremony begin?
The speeches won't start until around 12pm CT, but coverage from Cooperstown is expected to happen all throughout the morning. While only one day is dedicated to the induction itself, the entire weekend is going to be a celebration of baseball and the great players who have graced the game throughout its existence.
Saturday will feature the Prade of Legends down main street, starting at 6 pm ET, which will feature all of the new inductees taking what amounts to a victory down Main Street.
Who else is being inducted with Joe Mauer?
While Mauer is the main attraction for Twins fans, he's not the only player getting inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. He'll be joined by three other legends: Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, and Jim Leyland.
Beltre spent his Hall of Fame career down in Texas with the Rangers, while Helton was with the Colorado Rockies. Leyland enters the Hall of Fame as one of baseball's best managers, having coached legends of the game like Barry Bonds, and Justin Verlander and is the only member of this year's class to have won a World Series.
Leyland had a front row seat to most of Mauer's Hall of Famer career, having managed the Detroit Tigers from 2006 until 2013. The two of them going in together feels right and is a reminder of how good the AL Central used to have it.
What TV channel will the Joe Mauer Hall of Fame ceremony be on?
The Hall of Fame speeches will be exclusively aired on MLB Network, with viewers at home able to stream the action on MLB.tv.
Here's all of the information you need to know:
- Start Time: 12:30 pm CT
- TV Channel: MLB TV
- Live Stream: Fubo | MLB.tv
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