Showing posts with label Joe Mauer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Mauer. Show all posts

Monday, July 22, 2024

Joe Mauer: MLB & MLBoyfriend Hall Of Fame

Yesterday, Joe Mauer became the first former MLBoyfriend to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame


I was originally going to post the video of the induction ceremony, but, honestly, it's not that exciting. So, instead, let's look at this one I came across of some of Joe's greatest defensive plays. It's much more fun to watch.

Similarly, the pictures from Cooperstown didn't really catch my eye. Instead, here's a few of Joe looking super cute at various times in his career.





Congratulations, Joe Mauer! You are the first inductee into the MLBoyfriend Hall Of Fame!

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Joe Mauer

It's an MLBoyfriend first! A retired player wins the title. As always, I looked at the top players of the week, but as I thought about it, the highlight of the week in baseball for me was Joe Mauer being inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall Of Fame.

A quick look at some of the stats and achievements that got Mauer into the Twins Hall of Fame:

  • Career batting stats: .306 average, .388 OBP, 2123 hits, 143 home runs.
  • 2009 American League MVP--with 99% of the vote.
  • The only catcher to win the American League batting title--and he won it three times.
  • 3 Golden Gloves, 5 Silver Sluggers, and 6 All-Star Games.
Of course, the fact that Joe is from St. Paul and spent all 15 years of his career with the Minnesota Twins made him a shoe-in for this honor.

In addition to all the honors listed above, Joe Mauer has won the MLBoyfriend title 3 times on his own--and once in group effort. Let's take a look at a couple of the pics from his wins during his playing days.

August 8, 2016:
Joe Mauer's 1st MLBoyfriend title.

October 1, 2018:
Joe Mauer's last win as a player.

While I wasn't at Target Field for his induction into the Hall Of Fame, I was there the night the Twins retired Joe Mauer's number.

Congratulations, Joe Mauer! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Week 27: Joe Mauer


Since this may well be my last chance to name Joe Mauer my MLBoyfriend, I'm going to take it. 



Joe had a very good week at the plate with a .379 average, .903 OPS, two RBIs and nine runs. On Tuesday, September 25, he reached base for the 3,073rd time breaking Harmon Killebrews on-base record for the Twins.



But, of course, it was Joe's emotion final game of the season--and, quite likely, career--that won him the MLBoyfriend title. If it was, indeed, his last game, the Twins and their fans gave him the perfect send off including a brief return to the catcher's position.



You may have noticed that I've been calling him "Joe" rather than by his last name which is my usual practice in this blog. That's because Joe and I have a real history together. He was my MLBoyfriend once during the first year of this blog and again this year.  He also shared the title with the rest of the Twins starting line up after they had an incredible game that I got to witness in person last year.

Monday, April 16, 2018

Week 3: Joe Mauer


So this happened on Thursday....



...and with his 2000th hit, Joe Mauer won the title of my MLBoyfriend of the week.




Joe Mauer is the 285th player in Major League Baseball history to join the 2000 Hits Club and only the third to reach that mark while playing for Minnesota Twins.


Mauer's timing could not have been better. The Twins next three scheduled home games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were postponed due to the freak spring blizzard that dumped over a foot of snow on Target Field. If he hadn't hit his 2000th hit on Thursday, he would have certainly hit it on the road instead of in his hometown (well, St. Paul is his hometown--so I guess you'd call the Twin Cities his hometowns).

Monday, September 18, 2017

Week 24: The Minnesota Twins September 12th Starting Line Up

Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton, 2 of my 9 MLBoyfriends,
celebrate at home plate on September 12th.

I made one last trip to Target Field before the season ends. Last Tuesday was a beautiful, warm evening in the Twin Cities, and it turned out to be a great night for Minnesota baseball--I'm not just talking about the weather. The Twins shut out the San Diego Padres 16-0. They had a whopping eighteen hits in the game and seven home runs--the most homers the Twins have hit in a game this season, and the most that have been hit by a single team at Target Field in the seven seasons it has been open. By the way, the Twins had another first in that game: they are the first team to hit one home run in each of the first seven innings of a game in the history of Major League Baseball.

I knew I would end up choosing a Twin for my MLBoyfriend this week. But which one? They all played so well. Then, I remembered that it's my blog, so I can change "the rules". This week, for the second week in a row, I have multiple MLBoyfriends. It's not just two this time but nine. Yes, the entire Twins starting line up from September 12th have won the coveted title.

1. Brian Dozier, Second Base



Brian Dozier it the first homer in Minnesota's first at bat of the game. My Week 19 MLBoyfriend went three for four in the game. In addition to his home run, he hit a triple and a single making him just a double short of a cycle.

2. Joe Mauer, First Base


Joe Mauer had a good game on Tuesday with one hit, one run and two RBIs; however, he did not deserve the celebration in this photo. But that's okay. While all the other pictures in this post are from the September 12th, I couldn't find a good one of Mauer in that game (which is sort of strange considering how photogenic the former MLBoyfriend is). So, I cheated and used this adorable picture from May 5th when he hit the first walk-off home run of his fourteen year career.

3. Jorge Polanco, Shortstop



Jorge Polanco got his only hit of the game in the second inning but it was a doozy--a two run homer.

4. Eduardo Escobar, Third Base



Eduardo Escobar was another Twin whose only hit was a home run. I guess if you're going to go one for four with two strike outs, that's the best way to do it.

5. Byron Buxton, Center Field



Unfortunately, my Week 21 MLBoyfriend, Byron Buxton did not hit a home run during the game. He did have a hit and scored a run. He also made a great catch in center field, but that seems to happen at least once a game with him.

6. Eddie Rosario, Right Field



Eddie Rosario had an excellent game going two for five with two hits, two runs and two RBIs. His solo homer came in the sixth inning.

7. Robbie Grossman, Designated Hitter



Robbie Grossman went two for five in the game scoring two runs. Also, he's pretty.

8. Jason Castro, Catcher



If I had to choose just on MLBoyfriend from the game, it would have been Jason Castro. He was the only Twin to hit two home runs that night. He had three hits, three runs and four RBIs.

9. Ehire Adrianza, Left Field



I almost feel bad for Ehire Adrianza. In any other game, his two hits, two runs and one RBI would be considered an excellent showing for the last batter in the lineup. His effort my have been overshadowed by the fireworks of his teammates, and the literal fireworks at Target Field, but I noticed and he totally deserves to share the glory of the win and of being my MLBoyfriend.

Congratulations to all nine of my MLBoyfriends this week! Brian, Joe, Jorge, Eduardo, Byron, Eddie, Robbie, Jason & Ehire, thanks for showing me such a good time at Target Field last Tuesday. By the way, this was my view of the game--an excellent one for watching those home runs fly over the wall.


PS: Honorable mention goes to Kennys Vargas who took over for Joe Mauer late in the game. Vargas hit the last of the Twins' seven home runs--a three run dinger in the seventh inning.

Monday, August 8, 2016

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.