Joe Mauer Retires From Major League Baseball After 14 Seasons, All With The Minnesota Twins

By Jordan Long

The Minnesota Twins ended the 2018 Major League Baseball season at 78-84 missing the postseason by 19 games.  The Twins thought this could be the end of the career for one the top players in their history, Joe Mauer.  He took his time to think about his baseball future.  Mauer decided it was best for him to retire from baseball after 14 years, all in a Twins’ uniform.

                Mauer first appeared for the Twins in 2004.  That season he played in 35 games and hit .308 with 17 RBI’s and 6 home runs, a taste of what was to come for him.  His best season at the plate was in 2009 when Mauer hit a career best .365 with 96 RBI’s and 28 home runs, the only time he smacked more than 20 home runs in a season.

                This past year, Mauer was still able to hit the baseball for base hits.  Those moved his teammates on the base paths.  He ended up with a .282 batting average and added 48 RBI’s and 6 home runs.  Mauer was showing his age at 35 years old.  It was time to say goodbye to baseball.  According to ESPN, Mauer said “After much consideration I have decided to retire from playing baseball. The decision came down to my health and my family. The risk of concussion is always there, and I was reminded of that this season after missing over 30 games as a result of diving for a foul ball.”

                Mauer leaves the game appearing in 1,858 games for the Twins.  In those contests he hit .306 with 143 home runs and 923 RBI’s.   At the plate, Mauer was always a tough batter to strike out because he didn’t chase the ball out of the zone.  He struck out 1,034 times in his entire career.

                It wasn’t just his bat that help the Twins win games, but his glove as well.  Mauer rarely dropped the ball when playing at catcher or 1^st base.  He committed an impressive 30 errors at catcher and 19 at 1^st base.  For his fielding, Mauer won 3 Gold Gloves from 2008 to 2010.

                The Twins made the postseason 4 times with him.  They never advanced past the American League Division Series.  Unfortunately for Mauer, he didn’t perform well during the playoffs with a .275 batting average and only 1 RBI.

                Mauer made the right decision to retire.  He couldn’t play at the MLB level any more.  Mauer won 5 Silver Slugger awards as the top offensive player at the catcher position during his career.  He was also voted into 6 All-Star Games. 

There wasn’t much left for Mauer to prove in the game of baseball.  The only thing missing is a World Series ring. The Twins are not in position to make a run at a World Series in the next few years.  He saw that and knew it was his time.  The next step for him is for the Twins to retire his jersey.  He did enough for the franchise to earn that honor.