A day Minnesota Twins fans have waited almost two decades for finally arrived. Joe Mauer, after a career that spanned 15 years and so many accolades we lost track of counting, was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mauer made it in on the first ballot, becoming part of the exclusive 17 percent of inductees to get the call in their first year of eligibility. He wasn’t the only player who got in that way, as he’s joined by Adrian Beltre who also made it in on the first ballot. Only 60 players in the entire history of the game have such a distinguied honor, and Mauer becomes the third Twins player be in that club.
Both Kirby Puckett and Rod Carew were first ballot Hall of Famers as well, which means across the board Mauer is in absolutely iconic company.
Tuesday was the culmination of everything he set out to do, both for his career and for the state that rallied behind him the whole way. Mauer is a Minnesotan to the core, and that shone through while he was receiving his Hall of Fame call.
Joe Mauer accepted his Hall of Fame call in the most Minnesotan way possible
It’s a magical moment for any player to get the call that they’ve been voted into Cooperstown. Mauer got emotional, but he remained purely Minnesotan the whole time. There’s really no other way he could have accepted the call, and no other way we’d have expected him to.
Just watch and get the tissues:
A moment we’ll remember forever 🥹 pic.twitter.com/y7WIqhZUGi
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) January 24, 2024
We thought that when he retired we’d never get another iconic Joe Mauer moment, yet here he is turning one in. It’s a short clip, but everything about it is what made him such a relatable and likable figure not only among his native Minnesotans but to baseball fans everywhere.
Mauer was always humble and he never lost touch with his roots. From his days playing high school ball to his entire career to now, he’s the same person he was when we were all introduced to him over two decades ago.
It’s moments like this that players will never forget, but Mauer is more than just a ball player we all watched. He’s one of us — a Minnesotan — and that’s never been more apparent than when he received his Hall of Fame call.