Joe Mauer haters are a myth

[Tuba]

Obviously the title is hyperbole, but...

 

After seeing the retirement speculation and some national and local pundits weigh in...

 

WELL??? Joe Mauer has HATERS. Could it be your neighboors? Could it be YOU!!! Sleep-walking-hating at 3 a.m! 

 

The proud idiots of twitter and facebook. There is no shortage of idiots for any subject.

 

Could it be that national and local writers (including some of the named personalities from this site) are ultra-exposed on these platforms and have extrapolated an inaccurate snapshot of Joe Mauer sentiment from a small but vocal minority? Then exacerbate the problem by reporting how much Twins fans allegedly hate Joe Mauer?

 

The silent majority stand with Joe!.... right? 

[SweetOne69]

I don't think anyone truly hates Mauer, I think that they are just disappointed that with his size and strength that he wasn't a perennial 20+HR hitter for his career.

[jud6312]

Yeah, definitely don't "hate" him. Just don't like that he essentially became Slow Ichiro.

[puckstopper1]

I agree with the previous comments. 

 

I also think that what people "hate" is the notion (perceived or real) that the Twins could not spend more money on quality players because they were paying Mauer so much.

 

And people also "hate" that the Twins are paying Joe more than they are getting in return - production wise - on the field. 

 

And finally people "hate" Joe's perceived lack of leadership and the fact that he was not able to lead the Twins to a World Series title.

 

So, lots "hate" around Joe, but not directly at him.

[jimmer]

There are fans, some on this site, who constantly rag on Mauer every chance they get, even when the discussion has nothing to do with him. They also attack his character (which is supposed to be against site policy), not just his performance. In fact, even when he does well his performance is ignored or even worse ragged on because it's not often enough. At least one newer regular has spent years dogging Mauer all over the internet and bashing anyone who dares to say good things.

 

Overall, on this site, every time an article is written in here that says good things about him, it's game on for bashing.

 

Yes, there are straight up Mauer haters. Have to be blind not to see it on this site alone, much less around the internet.

[Number3]

I don't believe "hate" should even exist. It is the worst possible emotion and should only be reserved for the rarest of cases. The biggest victim of hate is the hater, not the hated. I think the best word for Mauer is "underachiever" and I don't think it is off the rails to feel that he has basically coasted through his contract and has provided no leadership or inspiration whatsoever. He is constantly treated as a superstar while his performance on the field has been that of a journeyman "dime a dozen" player. I know, I know OBP. Big whoop.

[nicksaviking]

****Moderator Note****

 

This thread needs to stay civil, if you're not sure if you're getting close to the line, then it's probably better to reconsider what you're writing. The premise of this thread alone is borderline trolling. People are allowed to like Mauer without being homers. People are also allowed to criticize Mauer without being haters. Any generalization of other posters is not allowed on this site.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I don't believe "hate" should even exist. It is the worst possible emotion and should only be reserved for the rarest of cases. The biggest victim of hate is the hater, not the hated.

This part is spot on... well, I'd argue hate should be reserved for no one I guess... but that's more philosophical.

 

I think the best word for Mauer is "underachiever" and I don't think it is off the rails to feel that he has basically coasted through his contract and has provided no leadership or inspiration whatsoever.

This not so much. None of us have any idea if he coasted. I think it's fair to be disappointed in his production with this contract, or his inability to change his hitting approach. I think it's a bit unfair to assume he coasted. I get that you "feel" he did and think that's fine, but quite a bit of "personal feelings" quickly get portrayed as fact. On that, I give him the benefit of the doubt unless he basically comes out and says otherwise. That's the character assassination part that I think Jimmer is getting to, and he has a point. We cannot make assumptions like this about a person's character, especially someone that none of us know.

 

Edit:  Also of note, this is a mod warning. Let's keep our feelings out of our facts. 

[Craig Arko]

I actually don’t know Joe intimately enough to reach a conclusion.

[LimestoneBaggy]

My reaction to Mauer's potential retirement reaction: Joe is essentially that  boyfriend/girlfriend you had, and you broke it off because you were an idiot and didn't realize what you had all along. 

 

You don't know what you've got, till it's gone....or some other equally bad Cinderella song.

[diehardtwinsfan]

You don't know what you've got, till it's gone....or some other equally bad Cinderella song.

I thought it was Amy Grant.

[Craig Arko]

I thought it was Amy Grant.

Sigh. Joni Mitchell.

 

“They paved paradise; put up a baseball park...”

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

Sigh. Joni Mitchell.

“They paved paradise; put up a baseball park...”

 

guess that makes you old or much more versed in the music scene than I... or both... 

[Craig Arko]

guess that makes you old or much more versed in the music scene than I... or both... 

You flatter me. But wine and chocolates are more effective.

[gunnarthor]

I think some folks are super-sensitive to any criticism of Mauer and equate that with "hating." He's a fine player, border-line hall of famer.* Some people think he wasn't able to adapt his game as well as he should have and others think the concussions tragically cut short his prime. Both sides could be right.

 

I won't miss him like I missed Santana, Hunter and Morneau, my three favorite non-Puckett Twins but his peak was pretty fun to watch and those Twins teams were really something. His 09 season is underrated, in my view. But that was nearly a decade ago and since then, he's been down more than up. 

 

 

* I tend to think he'll get in easier than many do but we'll call him border line for now.

[Thrylos]

[Vanimal46]

He's one of, if not the most polarizing player in Minnesota sports.

[laloesch]

What bugs me is that he never was able to win a world series as an mlb player.  Especially that 2006 team.  The FO and ownership never put enough pieces around him, Santana, Morneau and a few others to get them over the top.

[ashbury]

The silent majority stand with Joe!.... right? 

I have no idea how to answer this.

 

Ten years after he retires, I will happily cast my non-existent ballot for Joe in the Hall Of Fame.

 

I do not care for his role or performance on the 2018 squad, the recent grand slam notwithstanding, and with the guaranteed contract coming into the rearview mirror shortly I do not wish for him to be on the 2019 roster.

 

So, am I standing with him, or not?

 

More broadly, I'm not so interested in threads that try to characterize wide groups of people as idiots, whether proud or otherwise, nor lump fellow posters into one of two binary camps. If this "poll" was an attempt at satire it was not successful.

 

/Edit...

Meanwhile, the moderators had a bit of a discussion, and since posters' opinions have been expressed by now on both sides, on a topic that (as formulated) probably shouldn't have seen the light of day in the first place, we are closing the thread.