1983
Born April 19, 1983
St. Paul, MN, USA
Joe Mauer Marquee Hall of Fame 2024
b. April 19, 1983 · Minnesota Twins 2004–2018
He was born in St. Paul and never played for another club. He won three Gold Gloves behind the plate and five Silver Slugger awards, and was chosen for six All-Star teams. His 2009 season brought 191 hits, 28 home runs, 96 runs batted in and a .365 average, and with it the American League Most Valuable Player award.
He caught 920 games, the last of them in 2013. A concussion that season left symptoms which did not clear, and he never caught again; he spent his final five years at first base, 547 games of it, and at designated hitter. He turned thirty that April, and the thing that made him valuable was over.
He kept hitting. He finished with 2,123 hits, 143 home runs, 923 runs batted in and a .306 average across fifteen seasons; the 28 home runs of 2009 were more than twice his total in any other year. The writers elected him in 2024 on the first ballot, with 293 of 385 votes, four more than he needed.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 6 | 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 |
| Silver Slugger | 5 | 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 |
| Gold Glove | 3 | 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Player of the Week | 3 | 2006, 2009, 2016 |
| Player of the Month | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| MLB Players Choice Outstanding Player | 1 | 2009 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 2009 |
| This Year in Baseball Hitter of the Year | 1 | 2009 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 2006 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | MIN | 35 | 107 | 18 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 1 | .308 |
| 2005 | MIN | 131 | 489 | 61 | 144 | 26 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 61 | 64 | 13 | .294 |
| 2006 | MIN | 140 | 521 | 86 | 181 | 36 | 4 | 13 | 84 | 79 | 54 | 8 | .347 |
| 2007 | MIN | 109 | 406 | 62 | 119 | 27 | 3 | 7 | 60 | 57 | 51 | 7 | .293 |
| 2008 | MIN | 146 | 536 | 98 | 176 | 31 | 4 | 9 | 85 | 84 | 50 | 1 | .328 |
| 2009 | MIN | 138 | 523 | 94 | 191 | 30 | 1 | 28 | 96 | 76 | 63 | 4 | .365 |
| 2010 | MIN | 137 | 510 | 88 | 167 | 43 | 1 | 9 | 75 | 65 | 53 | 1 | .327 |
| 2011 | MIN | 82 | 296 | 38 | 85 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 32 | 38 | 0 | .287 |
| 2012 | MIN | 147 | 545 | 81 | 174 | 31 | 4 | 10 | 85 | 90 | 88 | 8 | .319 |
| 2013 | MIN | 113 | 445 | 62 | 144 | 35 | 0 | 11 | 47 | 61 | 89 | 0 | .324 |
| 2014 | MIN | 120 | 455 | 60 | 126 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 55 | 60 | 96 | 3 | .277 |
| 2015 | MIN | 158 | 592 | 69 | 157 | 34 | 2 | 10 | 66 | 67 | 112 | 2 | .265 |
| 2016 | MIN | 134 | 494 | 68 | 129 | 22 | 4 | 11 | 49 | 79 | 93 | 2 | .261 |
| 2017 | MIN | 141 | 525 | 69 | 160 | 36 | 1 | 7 | 71 | 66 | 83 | 2 | .305 |
| 2018 | MIN | 127 | 486 | 64 | 137 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 48 | 51 | 86 | 0 | .282 |
| Career | — | 1858 | 6930 | 1018 | 2123 | 428 | 30 | 143 | 923 | 939 | 1034 | 52 | .306 |
On this day & linked events
2004
Major-league debut: Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer made a major-league debut on April 5, 2004.
2018
Final major-league game: Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer played a final major-league game on September 30, 2018.
Image: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0