Still with the Minnesota Twins as of this writing ((actually Minnesota is the only team he has ever played for), Joe Mauer has a case for being the best hitting Catcher ever, or at least being named as the best hitting Catcher for Batting Average.

Actually, let’s give him that one now.

Again, did we ever say this would be fast?

We here at Notinhalloffame.com have completed our next all-time top 50, this time that of the Minnesota Twins.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:

1. Sabremetric tallies while with that team, mostly WAR.

2. Traditional metrics and how they finished in their respective league overall.

3. Playoff accomplishment.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

Here is something else worth noting: While the Minnesota Twins really don’t acknowledge much of their Washington Senators past, this is part of it according to the official history of the organization according to Major League Baseball. The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame may not have any Senators in it, but this list does…until MLB tells us not to recognize this as franchise history.

The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in our news. They are:

1. Walter Johnson

2. Rod Carew

3. Harmon Killebrew

4. Kirby Puckett

5. Joe Mauer

So which team is up next?

The New York Yankees, the most successful team in North American team sports. Look for that in a week.

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support.

We have a significant retirement to discuss in baseball as Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins has elected to retire from the game after playing 15 seasons in the Majors, all of which were with the Twins.

Mauer made his announcement in an open letter to the fans that will run in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Mauer cited a desire to maintain his health and spending time with his family to retire from the game at age 35. His last contract came to an end this year.

The first overall pick of the 2001 Amateur Draft, Mauer would make his debut in a Twins uniform in 2004 and was cemented as the starting Catcher the following season. In 2006, he would win his first of three Batting Titles, leading all batters with in the American League with a .347 Batting Average. He would win his second Batting Title in 2008 and his third in 2009 with a career high of .365. Mauer would also finish first in On Base Percentage (.444), Slugging Percentage (.587) and OPS (1.031) and he would have a career high 28 Home Runs. For his efforts, Mauer would be named the American League Most Valuable Player. Mauer would continue to be productive with four more seasons over .300 and he would also have a second season (2012) where he would lead the AL in On Base Percentage.

The Catcher retires with 2,123 Hits and a .306 career Batting Average with five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves. He will be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024. It is definitely worth mentioning that Joe Mauer is one of 22 MVPs to remain with one team. The other 21 all entered Cooperstown.

The Hall of Fame candidacy of Joe Mauer is strong. He retires with a decent bWAR of 55.1, which eclipses the average Catcher’s bWAR of 53.5 and he has a higher JAWS of 47.0 than the average Hall of Fame Catcher, which is 44.0. As a former MVP, and being one time regarded as the best in his position bodes well in his favor.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank Joe Mauer for the wonderful on field memories and we wish him the best in his post playing career.

As most of the regular visitors to Notinhalloffame.com are aware we are (very) slowly putting together our top 50 players of every franchise in the “Big 4” of North American sports.  After that is completed we will take a look at how each organization honors their past players and executives.  

As such, it is important to note that the Minnesota Twins have announced that they will retire the number 7 of Joe Mauer, who retired at the end of the 2018 season after playing all 15 of his seasons with the team.

Joe Mauer first suited up for the Twins in 2004 and in 2006 he would breakthrough with a Batting Title (.347) won his first Silver Slugger and went to his first All Star Game.  Already establishing himself as the best hitting Catcher in the American League, Mauer went on a three year tear (2008-10) where each year he was an All Star, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glove winner and won two Batting Titles and was named the American League MVP in 2009 and in the other two years he was a top ten finisher in the MVP race.  Mauer would switch to First Base and would go on to two more All Star Games at that position (2012 & 2013).

He retires with 2,123 Hits, a Slash Line of .306/.388/.439 and a bWAR of 55.2.

Mauer joins Harmon Killebrew #3, Tony Oliva #6, Tom Kelly #10, Kent Hrbek #14, Bert Blyleven #28, Rod Carew #29, Kirby Puckett #34 and the league retired #42 of Jackie Robinson.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Joe Mauer Middleton for earning this very prestigious honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that yesterday the Minnesota Twins retired the number 7 of Joe Mauer.

Mauer was the number one pick in 2001 and he would make the Twins roster in 2004 where he would play until his retirement in 2018.

Spending the first half of his career as a Catcher and the second half as a First Baseman, Mauer was one of the best hitters for a time winning the American League Batting Title (2006, 2008 & 2009) had seven .300 seasons and a career Batting Average of .306.  Mauer would win the 2009 MVP with AL leading sweep of the Slash Line (.365/.444/.587).  He retired with 2,123 Hits and a bWAR of 55.0.  His JAWS of 47.0 puts him above the average HOF Catcher (44.7) and he is a strong Hall of Fame contender.  He is eligible in 2024.

Mauer’s #7 joins Harmon Killebrew (#3), Tony Oliva (#6), Tom Kelly (#10), Kent Hrbek (#14), Bert Blyleven (#24), Rod Carew (#39) and Kirby Puckett (#34). 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Joe Mauer and the late Steve McNair for earning this very prestigious honor.

In a tumultuous year that was not normal for anything and everything including baseball, one thing that might be back to normal is voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Granted, the 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has 14 returning candidates, with just about every one of them owning cases for induction that range from borderline to compelling.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com thought it would be fun to take a look at the major awards in North American team sports and see how it translates into Hall of Fame potential.

Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential.  In basketball, the team sport with the least amount of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher.  In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact.