Joe Mauer’s Cooperstown Case: Examining the 2024 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot

Mauer should be elected on the first ballot. I'm not sure that the writers understand how difficult being a catcher is and it is has only become more challenging in the 21st century due to the reams of information. 

Catchers are rarely elected on the first ballot. I believe only Ivan Rodriguez and Johnny Bench have been elected their first opportunity and Mauer is not as good as either of them. Yogi Berra didn't get elected his first ballot and neither did Carlton Fisk. The Hall of Fame has not inducted as many catchers as players at other positions. Mauer has a lot in common with Ted Simmons and it took Simmons nearly 30 years to get elected. Bill Freehan made 11 all-star teams and has a ring and he died without being elected.

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Relievers are among the least represented groups in the Hall

I feel like this quote was put into the article just to troll me. Relievers are pitchers and there are plenty of pitchers in the Hall of Fame. Most relievers who have been elected shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame because there are several starting pitchers better than them from the same era who haven't been elected. The only relievers who deserve induction based on the standards set for starting pitchers are Rivera, Wilhelm and perhaps Gossage. Eckersley deserves his honor because he was a damned good starting pitcher before he went to the bullpen. I'd much rather David Cone get honored than Billy Wagner because Cone was a much, much better pitcher. Relievers are the MOST overrepresented group in the Hall of Fame.

34 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Mauer should be elected on the first ballot. I'm not sure that the writers understand how difficult being a catcher is and it is has only become more challenging in the 21st century due to the reams of information. 

I think the national media and baseball writers from other parts of the country hold Joe Mauer in greater esteem than some of the locals here in the Twin Cities (Dan Barreiro, are your ears burning?) and even (sadly) quite a few Twins fans. I would not be shocked for Mauer to make it on the first ballot, especially since many of the "not on the first ballot" or "if Player X wasn't unanimous, Imma make sure no one is unanimous!" guys are either gone from the voting ranks, have changed their ways, or are simply minimized.

Mauer was a truly great player, an elite catcher who could do damn near everything. His swing was spectacular, his eye at the plate impeccable, and he was a leader in the clubhouse as well. (I think his mentorship and leadership late in his career was notable, handing out game balls and so forth) I wish he'd gotten the Gold Glove he deserved at 1B; having that kind of additional singular trait (winning a Gold Glove at two very different positions) would have helped the narrative, but Mauer is worthy regardless.

He's one of the best catchers of all-time, and was awesome to see him play his whole career as a Twin.

I sincerely believe he would be a first ballot HOF IF he didn't have injuries move him to 1st base.  But, with that said, nothing wrong with going in on the 2nd ballot either - as long as he gets in.  Glad he's voted on by national media and not only Twins writers and fans where he was never looked upon as favorably as he should have been.

If Joe Mauer played for the Yankees, Red Sox, etc.  there would be no discussion here.  He would be flying in on the first ballot.  The fact that this is even open for discussion continues to show how political the HOF is.

12 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

If Joe Mauer played for the Yankees, Red Sox, etc.  there would be no discussion here.  He would be flying in on the first ballot.  The fact that this is even open for discussion continues to show how political the HOF is.

Thurman Munson played for the Yankees and he didn't get elected. There is no pro-Yankee bias among recent players, in fact it may hurt players in the voting.

7 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Thurman Munson played for the Yankees and he didn't get elected. There is no pro-Yankee bias among recent players, in fact it may hurt players in the voting.

A player that died about 45 years ago is not "recent" in my book.

Munson is probably one of the most egregious omissions from the HOF, but the scuttlebutt is that writers did not like him because of his personality.  That, and he never led the league in any offensive category, hurt him in a time when writers were more concerned about counting numbers.

Coast bias is real.  That is why Derek Jeter is considered a god and George Brett is just really good. 

IMO, he just misses this year and gets in next year.

Just my very humble opinion, but I have lost all respect for the BBWAA.  Morneau didn't even get a second year ballot?  So, although I  respect the HOF, I don't think it's as glorious as it should be.  And yes, I do think the flyover America teams are ignored to a degree vs. east coast and west coast teams.  Jim Kaat,  Bert Blyleven, Tony Oliva?  What took so long?

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Coast bias is real.  That is why Derek Jeter is considered a god and George Brett is just really good. 

That must be why they elected Bernie Williams, Don Mattingly, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens so quickly.

The only bias I've seen in HoF voting seems to be an anti-Detroit bias. There are a lot of Tigers who deserve to go in who can't get any traction.

15 minutes ago, Heiny said:

Just my very humble opinion, but I have lost all respect for the BBWAA.  Morneau didn't even get a second year ballot?  So, although I  respect the HOF, I don't think it's as glorious as it should be.  And yes, I do think the flyover America teams are ignored to a degree vs. east coast and west coast teams.  Jim Kaat,  Bert Blyleven, Tony Oliva?  What took so long?

Justin Morneau would be like 100th in line to be elected to the Hall of Fame among eligible first basemen. Kaat and Oliva took so long because there were (and still are) better players from their era to induct instead of them.

3 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Justin Morneau would be like 100th in line to be elected to the Hall of Fame among eligible first basemen. Kaat and Oliva took so long because there were (and still are) better players from their era to induct instead of them.

So, are you saying that Kaat and Oliva should not be in the hall, or that there are other players not in that should be?  Either way that's on the BBWAA.

I do not know if Joe gets in first ballot.  I think he should, but I think many writers will look at the end of his career as not close to his peak, and want his counting numbers higher.  I think he will get in, but some writers feel passing on year 1 and building up sends some sort of message as to they were HOF but not as dominate kind of thing.  It actually might be he has to get in on a committee vote.  He had a stretch as not just best hitting catcher, if he had more power, ever, but one of best hitters in game at the time. If he played his whole career at catcher he would be first ballot, but writers will use his transition, due to injuries as a reason to slight him. 

Kirby and Joe were similar in that both had injuries that impacted their career length, but both were absolutely fabulous for a period of time.

I think Kirby got in first ballot in part due to his infectious personality.  Writers from all cities just loved him.  He also had the playoff success that Joe does not have.

I believe Joe will get in, but it may take a few years, and that's OK.

1 minute ago, Heiny said:

So, are you saying that Kaat and Oliva should not be in the hall, or that there are other players not in that should be?  Either way that's on the BBWAA.

I look at Hall of Fame voting using the question - "Are they the best player from their era not inducted?" For both Kaat and Oliva the answer is No and has always been No. I'm fine if they want to honor them but there is a list of players who are better choices who are still left out.

For Mauer, he's clearly NOT the best player on this ballot but he's probably in the top 10 which means there should be room for him to get a YES vote. IndianaTwin is correct that voters generally keep voting for someone who they voted for previously so they aren't likely to add Mauer and drop Helton, for example.

1 hour ago, IndianaTwin said:

Last night on MLB Network, the talking heads compared the five-year peak of Mattingly with the five-year peak of Mauer and noted that Mattingly didn't get close at all. Then one said, "Mauer will get some points because he did this as a catcher." 

"Get some points" because he was a catcher? That he did this as a catcher is his point!

If you looked at just his numbers as a hitter he would not get in, but I agree, the voters should look at that in the scope of him being a catcher for his peak career.  Had he been moved off catcher to play a different position it is likely he would have started his career earlier.  I remember Tom Kelly said if he was not a catcher he could have hit MLB pitching at 19, but he was not ready to catch MLB pitching at 19.  He also would have likely had less injuries and played more total games.  The voters should not just look at his numbers, but look at them in light of catching.  

One thing that will hurt Joe is his lack of personality, lack of post season success.  Neither should play a factor, but voters vote for all kinds of reasons. 

2 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

If Joe Mauer played for the Yankees, Red Sox, etc.  there would be no discussion here.  He would be flying in on the first ballot.  The fact that this is even open for discussion continues to show how political the HOF is.

Political????

Joe Mauer was the best baseball player in the world in 2009 and he was very nearly the best player in the world for quite a few more years. He is deserving of being in the Hall of Fame. It's unfortunate that the Hall of Fame has a lot of undeserving members as well.

Arguably the best catcher in MLB for about an 8yr stretch, multiple All Star, Silver Slugger, and Gold Gloverz and did a couple things no catcher has every done in history, like 3 batting titles.

Absolute 1st ballot HOF in my opinion.

Joe will get into the hall of fame  , it's just a question of when !!!

He had great years as a catcher  and the concussions  ended his catching days , yes he should have won a gold glove that 1 season at first base but the voting doesn't always go the way it should ( see politics for an example ) ...

Cody wrote Mauer as a hometown hero ,  I'm not so sure he was a hero but he was a good hometown boy  and I liked watching him play  ...

His lack of personality  will hurt his voting some but it shouldn't  , he wasn't a rah rah guy in leadership  but he led by example  , that's Joe Mauer ... 

3 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

Catcher with....3 batting titles.  5 silver slugger.  3 gold gloves.  That alone should get him in on 1st ballot 

I believe he has the record for the highest BA & OBP for a catcher in a season also

Catching is a premium position & Mauer is one of the best in most aspects at catching. He took a lot of pride in his defense because he had to work at it, hitting came more naturally. The Twins raked while he was catching until he got hurt (wish he hadn't). Catching is much more important than many care to believe. Unless you hit a bunch of HRs  you don't rate. I wish we had another Mauer right now.