| Mauer’s Milestone |
| By Sally Haase June 9, 2013 Saturday afternoon the Minnesota Twins started a three game series with the Washington Nationals. It is the first time the Twins have been to our Nation’s Capitol in a number of years. The Twins also got to see their former teammate- Denard Span out in centerfield of RFK Stadium. Span got a couple of hits against the Twins and the Twins won the game in 11 innings. One of the four runs the Twins scored was off the bat of catcher Joe Mauer. Mauer’s solo home run in the fifth inning broke the 2-2 tie and it was the 100th home run of Mauer’s career. It took him ten season to reach the century mark in home runs, but that is not Mauer’s game. He will hit for a higher average and drive in runs with doubles or get on base to score runs via a walk or a base hit. Mauer’s career batting average is .323 and reaching triple digits in home runs puts him in elite company among active players. The three other players who have a career average over .300 and 100 plus home runs are Ichiro, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera. Four vastly different players, but four players likely to be enshrined in Cooperstown when the time comes. Ichiro uses his speed to pick up infield hits to achieve his high career average. Mauer is not the fastest runner around but will use his savvy and bunt his way on base when the third baseman is playing too far back. And Pujols and Cabrera do not have the speed and would never be asked to bunt because… well would you want to be the manager who asked Pujols or Cabrera to bunt? Catchers on a major league ball club are usually good defensively or offensively, managers will give up a few passed balls if the catcher can knock the ball out of the park on a regular basis and vice versa. And lets remember how much catchers get beat up when they are on the field. The constant up and down into the squat, the foul tips that bite you anywhere from the head to the toes, and the blocking of pitches in the dirt. It’s quite a workout behind the plate for all catchers, and there are times when a catcher’s offense slumps because of it. The Twins do not have to sacrifice offense or defense when Mauer is in the lineup, which is what makes his career numbers even more impressive. |
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