Mauer Picks Up Legend Torch From Puckett

[Ted Schwerzler]

When Joe Mauer played his final game as a Major League Baseball player on September 30, 2018, he donned the catcher’s gear again, leaving Target Field in tears. It’s been five short years since he left the field, and some were uncertain about his place in baseball lore, but like Kirby Puckett before him, the parallels again meet in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Mauer grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and attended Cretin-Derham Hall. He was as decorated as they come in high school, and had similar abilities to fellow St. Paul native Dave Winfield in that baseball, football, and basketball were all sports he dominated. The Twins took Mauer with the first overall pick in the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, and while Mark Prior was there, Mauer was the correct choice.

When the dust settled on his career, plenty was made about whether he would ultimately wind up in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at all. He had suffered myriad injuries, and despite being among the best to ever catch at the highest level, his time behind the plate was cut short due to concussions.

Having established himself as a fan favorite and legend for Minnesota fans, the hope was that maybe Mauer and Kirby Puckett could again be linked in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It was the former that celebrated many individual accolades, while it was the latter that brought home the rings. Being remembered as a one of the best ever isn't something that has to be achieved in the same way, and both can be looked back on as one passes the torch to the other.

The parallels between the two run deep, though. Sure, Puckett was a Chicago kid, but his new state quickly adopted him. Taken third overall in the 1982 draft, the franchise came up with some extra dollars to sign him during the now-defunct January draft. He was just a 22-year-old and spent time at Elizabethton, Visalia, and briefly visited Toledo before debuting as a 24-year-old in 1984.

Baseball was a different sport back then. Puckett finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, trailing only Alvin Davis and Mark Langston, despite posting a lackluster .655 OPS. He didn’t replicate his .296 average in year two, but playing 161 games with a .288/.330/.385 slash line, he earned MVP votes for the first time in his career. Exploding with 31 homers in year three and growing into that stocky and stout figure, Puckett was named to his first of 10 All-Star Games and grabbed his first Gold Glove and Silver Sluggers.

Similarly to Puckett, Mauer experienced something of a slow burn. Debuting three years younger at 21 years old, it was in 2006 that the legend started to grow. His .347 average won the American League batting title, and like the legend before him, Mauer finished sixth in MVP voting, while earning All-Star and Silver Slugger nods.

It was the highs and lows that may have separated Puckett and Mauer the most. In just his fourth major league season, the Puckett-led Twins won the franchise's first World Series. He led the league in hits that year, and nearly captured an MVP award, finishing third in the voting. Just four short years later, Puckett and the Twins would do it again. This time he made "the catch" and was named the ALCS MVP. After four more years of star production, it all ended for the outfielder. With an injury that would forever change his everyday life, Minnesota couldn't allow Puckett to move positions and make something else work. It was over.

On the flip side, Mauer captured his first All-Star appearance in 2006 while winning the first of his three batting titles. Three years later he would win the MVP award with an otherworldly set of numbers in 2009. The individual awards had started to rack up, but team success was futile. Playing in 10 postseason games, those Minnesota teams never won one of them, and any thought of a World Series was well into fantasy land. Mauer finished with just one extra-base hit and posted a .641 OPS. Without an abrupt end to his career, Mauer played a few more years before his traumatic brain injury caused him to spend his final 680 games at first base. The position didn't play to his same strengths, and the level of production didn't generate the accolades.

Although how both Puckett and Mauer got to the finish line was different, the overall production rings relatively in sync. The center fielder was slightly more of a power producer, while it was the catcher that wielded an otherworldly ability to find open places on the field. They both played an incredibly productive version of defense, and their tools went far beyond limiting them to a single dimension or two. Unfortunately, both also saw their careers cut short due to circumstances beyond their control, although one was more understood than the other.

The year Mauer was drafted is when both Puckett and Winfield found themselves enshrined in bronze. That could have been foreshadowing no one saw coming. Puckett and Mauer have been connected from the start, and they again cross paths at the end. The newest Minnesota member of the Hall of Fame becomes just the third-ever first-ballot inductee from the organization and joins Puckett as the only other to play their entire career for the Twins.

Kirby closed the chapter on his baseball life in 2001, exactly when Joe began writing his. When asked about who his favorite Twins was as he signed off of his post-induction call with MLB Network, Mauer quickly noted that it was Puckett. Just like the legend he watched growing up, the place has now been taken on his.

 

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[Ctwink]

Yeah they are exactly the same other than Puckett is in hindsight considered to be probably the worst 1st ballot HOF selection, an overall weak HOFer, and his good guy persona was shown to be a gigantic lie which ultimately got him fired from his dream job and getting roundly vilified for his double life.  Puckett was an absolute SUPERMAN for those of us who grew up on 80's and 90's Twins baseball, but let's be honest here.

Mauer is a decent 1st ballot selection, already a better HOF selection, and I'd be shocked if he turns into Curt Schilling....

[Ted Schwerzler]

54 minutes ago, Ctwink said:

Yeah they are exactly the same other than Puckett is in hindsight considered to be probably the worst 1st ballot HOF selection, an overall weak HOFer, and his good guy persona was shown to be a gigantic lie which ultimately got him fired from his dream job and getting roundly vilified for his double life.  Puckett was an absolute SUPERMAN for those of us who grew up on 80's and 90's Twins baseball, but let's be honest here.

Mauer is a decent 1st ballot selection, already a better HOF selection, and I'd be shocked if he turns into Curt Schilling....

I don't disagree with you, but it seems to get pushback every time it's brought up. Joe is definitely an amazing human being and there shouldn't be character concerns there at all. I don't know that anyone believed he was a slam dunk 1st ballot guy though, despite me being ecstatic for it.