Week 18: Joe Mauer

The Minnesota Twins apparently decided August was when they would finally show up and play some good baseball. They had five wins and only two losses last week and took a series against the top team in the American League Central, Cleveland, three to one. During this mini-hot streak, the Twins' offense has been lead by Max Kepler, Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer. Since the Twinkies will always have a special place in my heart, it makes sense to honor one of them this week. I presciently named Kepler my MLBoyfriend a month ago; however, despite his terrific performance last week including hitting three home runs in one game, I'm not ready to make him the first player to win the title twice. I have a completely irrational dislike of Brian Dozier--don't ask me to explain it because I can't--so he is out of the running. That makes Joe Mauer the obvious choice for my MLBoyfriend this week. I can't say I'm mad about that.

Mauer had a great week with 14 hits in 25 at bats including one home run. For a guy not generally known as a power hitter, he had an impressively high OPS of 1.663. Mauer scored 8 runs in those seven days and batted in 9.

As a hometown boy, Joe Mauer is the representative of the Twin Cities franchise. He even showed that the Twins run in his blood in fathering twin daughters.

Like all long-term relationships, Mauer and Twins fans have had their ups and downs. Last year, he even courted controversy in growing facial hair well after baseball (and, indeed America) had achieved peak beard. For the record, I went again popular opinion in liking Joe better with a beard.

Much of the kvetching has come after Mauer's completely understandable move from catching to first base. That mostly reflects nostalgia for his amazing career as a catcher in which filled up a very impressive trophy chest of awards. I'll admit to missing seeing him in catcher's gear.

It didn't help that prior to this week, his season was not going great. Still, there's no chance of him going anywhere as he has a "bullet proof" no-trade clause. In their heart of hearts, most Twins fans don't want him to go away anyway. It's hard to imagine going to Target Field without the chance to see this smiling face there.

For my part, it's nice to have an MLBoyfriend that I actually have a chance (however slim it may be) of meeting. So, Joe, consider this not just an honor but also an invitation to go fishing sometime either at my lake house or yours--on second thought, let's make it yours.