From the very beginning, catcher Joe Mauer was destined to be a Minnesota Twins legend and a baseball star.
Some might say that ever since he was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2001 by the Twins, they knew he was going to make the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
We can’t tell you how many players are supposed to cover that exact career path and get lost along the way, so what he did still carries tremendous value.
Mauer was chosen as a Hall of Fame member on Tuesday, getting in on the first ballot by narrowly clearing the required 75-percent voting threshold.
Some knew he would be a star when he was taken in the draft.
Others by just watching him hit minor league pitching; and others when he made his MLB debut in 2004.
When did he think he was going to make history?
We will let himself explain that one.
“When did Joe Mauer know he could hang with the Big Leaguers? When he went 2-for-2 in a Spring Training game off his now @baseballhall teammate, Roy Halladay. ‘To me, it was the World Series.’ – Mauer,” MLB Network tweeted.
When did Joe Mauer know he could hang with the Big Leaguers?
When he went 2-for-2 in a Spring Training game off his now @baseballhall teammate, Roy Halladay.
“To me, it was the World Series.” – Mauer pic.twitter.com/MhEUMgy0ML
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 25, 2024
Halladay was one of the best pitchers in baseball back then, so going 2-for-2 against him must have felt good.
It gave Mauer the confidence to make it as a big leaguer and start showing the best of his talent.
He was among the greatest hitting catchers in history, with a career batting average of .306 and three batting titles.
He also won the 2009 AL MVP award and accumulated 2,123 hits throughout his career.
Mauer started a Twin and retired a Twin, with no other teams in between: he was the legendary one-team star.
His place in Cooperstown is well deserved.
The post Joe Mauer Reveals When He Knew He Was A Star appeared first on The Cold Wire.