Joe Mauer is in his first 12 months of eligibility on the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America’s Corridor of Fame poll, becoming a member of different newcomers together with Adrián Beltré, Chase Utley and David Wright.
The longtime Twin might be one of the fascinating Corridor of Fame circumstances in latest reminiscence. Few catchers have ever reached the offensive peak that Mauer had from 2006-13. But, voters may battle with Mauer spending his closing 5 seasons as a primary baseman with league-average offense and retiring at 35 years previous.
Nonetheless, this is without doubt one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball historical past and can garner loads of assist. Listed below are 5 explanation why Mauer belongs in Cooperstown.
He is cleared the bar for Corridor of Fame catchers
This is a easy method of viewing Mauer’s Corridor of Fame case by means of the lens of Jay Jaffe’s JAWS system, which measures a participant’s profession WAR averaged together with his seven-year peak WAR.
By JAWS, Mauer ranks seventh amongst catchers (47.1) and is surrounded by Corridor of Famers. The six catchers forward of him are all enshrined in Cooperstown: Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, Ivan Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk, Mike Piazza and Yogi Berra. Simply behind Mauer are Invoice Dickey, Mickey Cochrane, Gabby Hartnett and Ted Simmons, all of whom are additionally within the Corridor of Fame.
JAWS and WAR will not be the be-all, end-all statistics nevertheless it’s in all probability essentially the most helpful method of figuring out a participant’s Corridor of Fame case. By contextualizing a participant’s efficiency (defensive place, run setting, dwelling ballpark, and so forth.) and what they did on the peak of their powers, you get a good suggestion of how they examine to their counterparts. By this measure, Mauer is a slam-dunk for Cooperstown.
Few catchers have approached his degree of offensive success
Mauer’s .388 OBP trails solely two gamers (Cochrane and Wally Schang) who logged a majority of their video games behind the plate and had not less than 5,000 plate appearances. His .306 batting common ranks fourth, whereas he trails solely 11 catchers together with his 124 OPS+.
His total batting success is nice sufficient in itself nevertheless it’s his peak years that make him stand out. From 2006-13, when Mauer was a full-time catcher, he was one of many high hitters within the Majors.
Throughout that point, Mauer had a .327 batting common that trailed solely Miguel Cabrera’s .328 BA (min. 3,000 plate appearances), whereas his .410 on-base proportion trailed solely Joey Votto (.419). Mauer’s 139 OPS+ was simply one of the best amongst catchers and solely trailed 10 hitters.
In 5 of these seasons, Mauer had a 140 OPS+ or higher, which means he was 40% higher than the league-average hitter. He additionally gained the 2009 AL MVP Award (171 OPS+ and seven.8 bWAR) and took dwelling the AL batting title 3 times (2006, 2008-09), which leads us to our subsequent level…
Three-time batting champions are near-locks for the HOF
Say what you’ll about batting common — which isn’t the all-encompassing statistic it was once (for good motive) — nevertheless it’s nonetheless helpful when speaking a few man who had seasons wherein he averaged .365, .347 and .328.
Extra to the purpose, the precedent for gamers with three batting titles is kind of telling. Mauer is only one of 29 hitters in MLB historical past to win 3 times, with Josh Gibson (within the Negro Leagues) being the one different catcher to tug off the feat.
Amongst that group of hitters, 22 of them have made it into the Corridor of Fame. Two of those that aren’t there — Cabrera and Jose Altuve — ought to make it sooner or later, whereas Pete Rose shouldn’t be eligible.
Once you’re on the lookout for elements that may take a candidate from a perhaps to a sure, being a three-time batting champion may very properly push Mauer over the sting to be elected.
He was top-of-the-line gamers of his period
As you possibly can collect, Mauer’s prime years have been really exceptional for somebody who suited up as a catcher. When evaluating HOF circumstances, it is essential to contextualize what a participant’s efficiency was like throughout his finest years, and the way it in comparison with his friends throughout that point.
Utilizing the identical 2006-13 prime, Mauer racked up 40.6 WAR, seventh-best amongst all gamers. Forward of Mauer in that stretch was Albert Pujols, Utley, Cabrera, Beltré, Robinson Canó and Justin Verlander. Exterior of Canó — who was twice suspended for utilizing performance-enhancing medicine — all of those gamers are both doubtless or doable Corridor of Famers.
Mauer’s peak was minimize quick, too, on account of brutal concussions behind the plate that led to him completely shifting to first base for the 2014 season and coping with imaginative and prescient issues for the remainder of his profession. After the transfer from catcher, Mauer performed in simply 5 seasons — accumulating 10.5 WAR in that point — and was accomplished at 35 years previous.
Whereas some voters could dock him for longevity, it is essential to recollect the calls for of being an on a regular basis catcher. For eight seasons, Mauer was not simply one of the best offensive catcher within the sport — he was top-of-the-line gamers interval, grouped with names like Pujols, Cabrera and Verlander.
He is arguably the face of the franchise for the Twins
From a purely statistical standpoint, Mauer is clearly within the operating for high gamers in Twins/Washington Senators franchise historical past. Mauer’s 55.2 WAR trails solely Walter Johnson (152.4), Rod Carew (63.8) and Harmon Killebrew (60.5).
It is the remainder of his story that solely provides to his intriguing HOF case. You are in all probability properly conscious that he was the homegrown native child (born in St. Paul, Minn.) chosen first total by the Twins within the 2001 MLB Draft. To ship on that promise for his hometown Twins is nothing wanting unbelievable. It is the form of script you’d see in a sports activities film.
Whereas these causes have largely centered on his precise manufacturing, there’s benefit in Mauer’s story as additional assist for his case. The BBWAA says that “voting shall be primarily based upon the participant’s report, enjoying skill, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the staff(s) on which the participant performed.”
That final level — contributions to his staff — is abundantly clear while you take a look at his manufacturing and affect on the Twins franchise. Not having his title represented in Cooperstown can be a disservice to Mauer, the Twins franchise and the game of baseball.
