On Sunday afternoon, one of the greatest players in Minnesota Twins history will find his place in Cooperstown.
Joe Mauer will be entering the Hall of Fame, joining the likes of Rod Carew and Kirby Puckett as Twins players to get there on their first try. Mauer got into Coopertown as a first ballot Hall of Famer, which is the perfect capstone to his illustrious career.
He's more than just a stats guy, which he clearly had enough of to get into the hall in the eyes of voters. Mauer is a classic romanticized baseball story; born and raised in Minnesota before going on to be the face of his hometown team.
Plenty of ballplayers have grown up rooting for the team they end up playing for, but the way Mauer lived up to the hype in truly special ways. He carried the weight of being the No. 1 overall pick, never once letting the bright lights blind him on his journey.
He's the only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles, and enters Cooperstown as a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time Gold Glover. He’s also the only catcher in history with a career .300 batting average, .380 on-base percentage and 2,000 hits, and managed to win the AL MVP in 2009.
That's how you live up to the hype.
At every point in which he could have left -- whether it be to Florida State for college or in free agency -- he stayed. Mauer always chose Minnesota in ways superstar players never did before, and it meant everything to fans who loved him as much as he clearly loved them back.
Now everyone gets to celebrate the most special moment of Mauer's career together on Sunday. He'll enter the Hall of Fame, but just like he did his entire career he's bringing Minnesota along with him.
What TV channel will the Joe Mauer Hall of Fame ceremony be on?
Mauer isn't the only player being unducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. Jim Leyland, Adrian Beltre, and Todd Helton are also going to be getting their plaques and will be giving speeches.
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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