This is a big week for former Minnesota Twins great Joe Mauer.
On Saturday, Mauer will be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame — the 38th player to be enshrined in franchise history. It might also be a preview for what could happen in January.
Mauer's been crushing the ball since his tee ball days back in St. Paul. Like a lot of Minnesota kids growing up, Mauer idolized his home-state baseball heroes, fantasizing that someday, he would be a big-leaguer like them.
“I was Kirby Puckett, I was Kent Hrbek, you know, I was all sorts of guys," Mauer said. "(Ken) Griffey was a favorite, but as a baseball player, when I was young, I had the Kirby Puckett leg kick back there."
What Mauer developed into over the years was a remarkable three-sport athlete. A baseball star at Cretin-Derham Hall for sure, but has was also an outstanding quarterback. He had a strong arm, was tough and smart. Mauer was the 2001 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
He was also an all-state basketball player. An overall great athlete, but always, humble.
“I think of myself as an ordinary 17-year-old, likes to go out and have some fun,” said Mauer back in 2000.
But baseball was his first love. And 23 years ago, it just so happened the Twins held the first overall pick in the amateur draft. And Mauer was their guy.
"This is a big day for this organization," said then Twins general manager Terry Ryan. "He certainly has chance be an impact player or we wouldn't have taken him this high."
Mauer went No. 1 overall in the draft, and the rest is history.
A 15-year career in the big leagues, three American League batting titles as a catcher, an MVP in 2009, and a six-time All-Star. His number seven retired.
In 2010, he signed a record Twins contract for eight years and $84 million, yet it was a deal that some Twins fans believe worked against him.
“He was coming off an MVP season," said Star Tribune sports columnist Patrick Reusse. "When he signed that March. it was one of the great moments in franchise history. And then later on, (fans would say) 'They gave him too much money.' No, they didn't. He gave them a bargain."
Mauer did indeed become the baseball star he always dreamed of growing up in St. Paul. Now, the club will honor him on Saturday as he goes into the Twins Hall of Fame.
“It's a big deal. A big deal to Joe. It's a big deal to the Mauer family. It's a big deal to St. Paul," ," said Dave St. Peter, Twins Team President. "My only regret on it is that Joe's dad will not be here to see it."
“My dad played a huge role in who I am today,” said Mauer.
Mauer's Dad, Jake, passed away in January at the age of 66.
“It's funny, I find myself saying a lot of the same things that he told me as a kid," Mauer said. "'We're burning daylight,' was one of his big lines. My girls and Chip sometimes, you know we've got to get moving and there's things to do, and I'll say, 'We're burning daylight.' And I was kind of shaking my head. I'm like, 'Oh, my goodness.'"
The Twins honor could be a precursor for January, when Mauer appears on the ballot for the first time for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Randy Shaver: "Have you let yourself think about what could happen in January?"
“To be honest, yes and no,” said Mauer. “It's tough to think about because it's something that's tremendously humbling to be in the conversation, to be talked about, that possibility could happen.”
There seems to be little debate that Mauer will get in, it's just not certain he'll get in on his first try.
“I think it's going to happen," said LaVelle E. Neal, Star Tribune sports columnist. "I don't know if it's going to happen on the first ballot, but I think Joe will have his day in Cooperstown."
Some 400 baseball writers will begin filling out their Hall of Fame ballot in November. Until then, Mauer's focus is on Saturday.
The kid from St. Paul, growing up idolizing Puckett and Hrbek, joining them and other heroes in the Twins Hall of Fame.
“Being a kid from St. Paul and being able to put on the Minnesota Twins uniform for 15 years and be able to play in front of my family and friends and go out there and compete against the best in the world is, is still sometimes I got to pinch myself,” said Mauer.
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