Only 60 players in the entire history of baseball have made the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Joe Mauer became one of them on Tuesday, when the Minnesota Twins legend was voted into the Hall of Fame where he will forever live among titans of the game.
Mauer was joined by Adrian Beltre as first ballot Hall of Famers in this year's class, and the two of them are now among the mere 17 percent of players in Cooperstown to be in that exclusive club.
It's truly rarified air, but Mauer reaching the Hall of Fame the way he did was bigger than just watching another franchise icon reach baseball immortality. Mauer was born and raised in St. Paul, spent his entire 15-year career with the Twins, and is at his core a Minnesotan.
It's what made him so relatable as a superstar and is why the reaction to his Hall of Fame election was such a powerful moment for everyone who watched his career.
Twins fans celebrate Joe Mauer making the Hall of Fame on the first ballot
Twins Twitter was a magical place all season, from Opening Day right through the incredible postseason run, and it's part of what made Mauer reaching Cooperstown even more special.
It wasn't just some legendary ballplayer culminating his career by reaching the Hall of Fame -- Joe Mauer is one of us. That's the energy Twins fans brought while celebrating the historic achievement on Tuesday.
I am UGLY CRYING right now https://t.co/9EpkPZqpJa
— commissioner shayla (byron buxton enthusiast) (@shaylarz) January 23, 2024
He freaking DID IT.
— Megan (Dahl) Knops (@mntwinsfan07) January 23, 2024
FIRST BALLOT HALL OF FAME MEMBER JOE MAUER 💙❤️😭🥹🥳🏆#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/HgnrREC39s
I haven't tweeted since Oct. (can't stand the vileness & negativity here), but I want to say congratulations to Joe Mauer. We @Twins fans got a chance to witness the excellence of a 1st ballot Hall of Famer! That's generational stuff. Congrats, Joe! We appreciate your hard work!
— Seth Kaplan 📺 (@Seth_Kaplan) January 23, 2024
“This must be the place”
— hannah (@HannahBrugman) January 23, 2024
Cooperstown. #HOF #JoeMauer pic.twitter.com/lTDTTDvM3s
No words. It's so awesome to see Mauer be appreciated on a national stage. https://t.co/Lt5tHh0ioG pic.twitter.com/AwkMdQp556
— Cody Pirkl (@CodyPirkl) January 23, 2024
FIRST BALLET HALL OF FAMER https://t.co/8d8EEivswR
— 10,000 Takes (@10k_Takes) January 23, 2024
I’m not crying, you’re crying!😭💙❤️⚾️ https://t.co/PHeoSAqULI
— Courtney Plante-Sieberg (@SiebergsTheName) January 23, 2024
Joe Mauer. Hall of Fame.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) January 23, 2024
Believe it.
It’s official…Joe Mauer is a Hall of Famer! pic.twitter.com/qt8BbEjoGj
— Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) January 23, 2024
Mauer won five Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves, went to six All-Star Games, and won three batting titles and polished it off with an AL MVP. His .9951 fielding percentage ranks in the Top 10 all-time among catchers, collected over 2,000 hits and his 55.2 career WAR that ranks seventh among catchers all-time.
He's more than a legend, he's a Minnesota icon who already ranked up there alongside the likes of Prince, Bud Grant, and Paul Bunyan. His reaching the Hall of Fame is not only the culmination of everything he did in his career, it's a badge of honor that everyone back home will wear and pass down like an heirloom.
Mauer is set to be inducted on July 21st, where he will be joined by Beltre and Todd Helton. The Twins also announced that the Hall of Famer will be honored on August 3rd.
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