Twins Almanac: Joe Mauer's Contract, Hall of Fame Managers

Mauer was one of the best players in MLB when he signed the contract. After that, he wasn't.

Paul Molitor is one of just two Hall of Fame players to be named Manager of the Year. Can you name the other one?

Frank Robinson won MVP with Reds and Orioles.  Manager of the year with Orioles in '89

48 minutes ago, Kirby Killebrew said:

I strongly disagree

2010   batted .327, 9 HR, 75 RBI, OPS .871, all-star

2011    injured, played half the season, batted .287, 3 HR, 30 RBI, OPS .729

2012   batted .319, 10 HR, 85 RBI, led league in OBP at .416, OPS .861, all-star

2013   batted .324, 11 HR, 47 RBI, .880 OPS, all-star

last five seasons his batting averages ranged from .261 to .305; his OPS ranged from .718 to .801

I'll take that out of anybody!

Plus, you have to add the impact of signing Mauer to the fan base. I remember when I heard that Mauer had signed. I totally expected him to sign somewhere else since the Twins would never put up the kind of money he could attract on the free agent market. I was shocked, surprised, and excited because the Twins actually kept a star player. After watching guys like Santana and Hunter go elsewhere, the Mauer signing gave me faith in the organization. The deal was good for Mauer, good for the Twins, and good for fans.

Now, the 2010s were not exactly a bright spot in Twins history but I may have given up watching if Mauer had ended up in pinstripes.

The Twins made so much money off of Joe Mauer that it makes any discussion of his contract superfluous. Mauer was the best bargain of the Pohlad era from a financial point of view. 

I was listening on WCCO to catch the Eddie Bane fantasy game. He really was a flash in the pan though.

Another flash in the pan was Jim Hughes. He managed to have a winning record that first year in the majors (16-14), but it was a smoke and mirrors thing really.

He started out with a 6-0 record throwing that palm ball and his ERA was something like 0.87 for May in 1975, but in the next outing, he couldn't get out of the second inning against the Red Sox as they lit him up like a cheap box of fireworks. They started waiting on the palm ball and his fastball wasn't that impressive. I was really hooked as a believer in Hughes by that time though.

He wasn't horrible that first season, but at times he couldn't throw a strike to save his life. The next season, he wasn't very good. I had his APBA card for 1975 and he was considered a "C" grade pitcher. (Oddly, that was the year Tom Kelly was at first base for the Twins.)

4 hours ago, Aerodeliria said:

I was listening on WCCO to catch the Eddie Bane fantasy game. He really was a flash in the pan though.

Another flash in the pan was Jim Hughes. He managed to have a winning record that first year in the majors (16-14), but it was a smoke and mirrors thing really.

He started out with a 6-0 record throwing that palm ball and his ERA was something like 0.87 for May in 1975, but in the next outing, he couldn't get out of the second inning against the Red Sox as they lit him up like a cheap box of fireworks. They started waiting on the palm ball and his fastball wasn't that impressive. I was really hooked as a believer in Hughes by that time though.

He wasn't horrible that first season, but at times he couldn't throw a strike to save his life. The next season, he wasn't very good. I had his APBA card for 1975 and he was considered a "C" grade pitcher. (Oddly, that was the year Tom Kelly was at first base for the Twins.)

The Twins started calling him "Bluegill" Hughes during that hot start, after Catfish Hunter. DIdn't end well, but it was a fun start.

14 hours ago, Kirby Killebrew said:

I strongly disagree

2010   batted .327, 9 HR, 75 RBI, OPS .871, all-star

2011    injured, played half the season, batted .287, 3 HR, 30 RBI, OPS .729

2012   batted .319, 10 HR, 85 RBI, led league in OBP at .416, OPS .861, all-star

2013   batted .324, 11 HR, 47 RBI, .880 OPS, all-star

last five seasons his batting averages ranged from .261 to .305; his OPS ranged from .718 to .801

I'll take that out of anybody!

Last year's first baseman had an OPS of .749 and people were excited.  We might get that this year, but with a lot less defense than either Joe or Santana.