Joe Mauer to retire.

[VikingFan2k2]

Mauer, 35, retires after 15 seasons with Twins

One of the classiest guys in the history of the Twins organization. A fantastic player in his prime who's career was derailed by injuries.

He didn't have a big personality and his massive contract rubbed a lot of people wrong, but he couldn't control getting a concussion. MN fans, including myself, were way too hard on him.

I don't think he gets to the HOF, I don't think the numbers are there. Had he stayed at catcher, he could have though.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

I always thought he was a really good ballplayer and made the transition from catcher to first pretty easily. It's definitely becoming more and more of a rarity now that a player stays with the same team for his whole career, which is something that makes me respect him more.
I'm with you, I'm not sure if he'll make it into the Hall of Fame or not. He had really good stats but Hall of Fame worthy remains to be seen. I think a lot will also depend on who'll be up for election that year.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

joe mauer's case for the HOF is such a weird one IMO... If he stayed as a catcher, i think he would deserve it... But playing 600+ games at first and under 1000 games at catcher makes him become judged differently... More like a first baseman... and his Power numbers were just a liability for first base...

 

[navamind]

really tough one. dude's one of the greatest hitting catchers of all-time, but he had under 1000 games at catcher and he was pretty blah as a 1B/DH.

 

[tducey]

All the best to him in retirement, Hall of Famer? I think he has a case for it.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

I think time away from the game will allow some perspective. I still think he falls short, but voters will be kind. 3 batting titles and an MVP. Nothing to sneeze at for a 5 year peak.

 

[broncosmitty]

Not sure his 1st base time will be a hinderance.


He'd get voted in for being an all time great catcher. Moving to first doesn't take anything away from that. But Yadi still writing his own story could hurt him. Not sure who I'd say is the best catcher of their generation.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I think he'll stay on the ballot for all 10 years, but he'll max out at about 50%. There may be a slight boost because he played with one team for his entire career. At catcher he'd be on the short list of GOAT at the position, but he was well below average offensively at 1st base which will hurt his case. If he'd won the Gold Glove that some argued he deserved a couple years ago at 1st it would have helped him a bit, since he'd have won Gold Gloves at two positions. Not getting close to any of the major milestones for a hitter will hurt his case.

 

[navamind]

I think time away from the game will allow some perspective. I still think he falls short, but voters will be kind. 3 batting titles and an MVP. Nothing to sneeze at for a 5 year peak.

His 2012 and 2013 seasons were some of his best years at the plate IMO. So I wouldn't call him a guy with a 5-peak career.

Batted .321/.410/.460 with a 141 OPS+ and 10.0 WAR over that two year span.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Man, time flies, it just seems like he was the young budding star ...

 

[navamind]

Man, time flies, it just seems like he was the young budding star ...

35 is a fairly young age for a baseball player to retire at, especially a possible HOFer.

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

35 is a fairly young age for a baseball player to retire at, especially a possible HOFer.

Yeah, but he suffered another concussion this year. Another baby due any day now. Molitor getting fired, and not wanting to play anywhere else.

 

[navamind]

Yeah, but he suffered another concussion this year. Another baby due any day now. Molitor getting fired, and not wanting to play anywhere else.

Can't say I fault him at all. Just stating it's a fairly young age, or at least it seems like it.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

35 is a fairly young age for a baseball player to retire at, especially a possible HOFer.

True baseball players can go longer...

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

He had a great season and a few more really good. He dropped off quickly and ended up being a mediocre 1B for a good chunk of his career. 55 career WAR. Not good enough for HOF.

 

[navamind]

He had a great season and a few more really good. He dropped off quickly and ended up being a mediocre 1B for a good chunk of his career. 55 career WAR. Not good enough for HOF.

60 WAR is probably not a good threshold to use for catchers. WAR seems to underrate catchers historically. His 55.1 WAR ranks 8th all-time among catchers. Even if you ignore his 2014-2018 seasons (when he didn't catch), his 44.7 WAR would still be in the top 20. That sounds like a pretty great peak for a catcher IMO.

Catcher JAWS Leaders | Baseball-Reference.com

And for instance, if you go by fWAR, there's only 109 5+ WAR seasons by catchers.

Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Catchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

60 WAR is probably not a good threshold to use for catchers. WAR seems to underrate catchers historically. His 55.1 WAR ranks 8th all-time among catchers. Even if you ignore his 2014-2018 seasons (when he didn't catch), his 44.7 WAR would still be in the top 20. That sounds like a pretty great peak for a catcher IMO.

Catcher JAWS Leaders | Baseball-Reference.com

And for instance, if you go by fWAR, there's only 109 5+ WAR seasons by catchers.

Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Catchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

He'll be a similar case to Utley.

 

[The Q]

Mauer, 35, retires after 15 seasons with Twins

One of the classiest guys in the history of the Twins organization. A fantastic player in his prime who's career was derailed by injuries.

He didn't have a big personality and his massive contract rubbed a lot of people wrong, but he couldn't control getting a concussion. MN fans, including myself, were way too hard on him.

I don't think he gets to the HOF, I don't think the numbers are there. Had he stayed at catcher, he could have though.

He's a lock.

He's been as good as Posey through the same time frame as a C.

 

[CaptainStubing]

i always had a man crush on him. seemed to carry himself properly on and off the field.

 

[navamind]

Twins to retire Joe Mauer's number