joe mauer is in my hall of famer collection

i am continuing to feature some of the remaining members in my hall of famer collection who aren't inducted (yet), but who i think are deserving. here's joe mauer and the card that represents him in my hall of famer collection:

that's a 2020 topps archives signature series 2015 topps triple threads buyback autograph, numbered 1/1. here's the back:

so far, most of the players i've featured that aren't members of the hall of fame are ineligible (joe jackson, pete rose) or eligible but not enshrined due to association with performance enhancing drugs (barry bonds, roger clemens, rafael palmeiro). joe mauer is a different case. he won't be eligible for election until 2024, but his candidacy will be only dependent on the evaluation of his accomplishments as a major leaguer.

mauer won three batting titles as a catcher. he was the first (and is still the only) american league catcher to wear that crown, and he was the first catcher to do so since ernie lombardi in 1942. aside from mauer and lombardi (who won two batting titles), only bubbles hargrave and buster posey have won even one title while catching. i believe that his .328 career batting average as a catcher is the highest at that position all-time.

i had the privilige of seeing mauer play in person many, many times - more times than any other player in my hall of famer collection, in fact. it began with his major league debut on april 5, 2004 and ended with a game near the end of his career on august 1, 2018. in between, i saw him play in person about three dozen times if not more, and hundreds of times on tv. his at bats, especially early in his career, were can't miss parts of any twins telecast even though he often took a first strike down the middle. watching him spray balls around the park reminded me a bit of fellow twin legend rod carew, but mauer seemed to hit the ball harder. ultimately, he became known more as an opposite field hitter, and teams shifted to counteract that tendency. still, he retired with a .306 batting average, so he still got his hits.

aside from his debut (you can read more about that here) and the last time i saw him in person (he hit his final career triple that day), a few games stand out to me that i was able to witness, including a 3-game series against the dodgers in 2006. i went to all 3 games, and had tickets a few rows up from the dodger dugout. mauer put on a clinic, going 11 for 13 in the series with a double, a triple, a walk, and six rbi. there were at least two standing ovations as i recall. it felt a bit like a coming out party as he raised his average to .392 after that late-june series en route to his first batting title.

another game that stands out to me was one that i traveled with a friend and our sons to kansas city to see. it was july 26, 2010 and zack greinke was pitching for the royals. no matter - the twins hit for the cycle in the top of the first inning, highlighted by a danny valencia grand slam, but also including a mauer rbi single. mauer (the reigning american league mvp) wound up 5 for 5 in the game, with a double, a home run, three runs scored and seven rbi. he had a shot at a sixth hit, but manager ron gardenhire sent a pinch-hitter up to the plate for mauer in the eighth inning. i texted that same friend that i traveled with for that game during the last weekend of the 2018 season, wondering if we should head to target field just in case mauer hung up his spikes after the season. we ultimately decided not to, and so missed out on one last opportunity to see him play.

one of my connections made during my travel baseball coaching days was a guy who worked for the twins and had some good stories about mauer and his athletic ability - not just in baseball but football (he had a scholarship to play quarterback at florida state that he turned down) and basketball as well. i was able to meet mauer in person a few times at various events and was able to chat with him a bit on a couple of those occasions. in fact, somewhere i have a photo taken with him after one of glen perkins' charity runs. he always seemed approachable and friendly, and it was great to see him play his entire career as a twin.

i fully expect mauer to be enshrined in cooperstown, although it might not be in his first year of eligibility. he's definitely a hall of famer in my book.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic

nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75

eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

lou gehrig - 2010 topps tribute relic 96/99

rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99

mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99

paul waner - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

zack wheat - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic 

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic

ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000

roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000

sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

ralph kiner - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph

juan marichal - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great autograph

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50

ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43

jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000

billy williams - 2013 topps museum collection autograph 054/199

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

joe morgan - 2001 upper deck hall of famers cooperstown collection signature jersey

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph

tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

nellie fox - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33

larry doby - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments autograph

nolan ryan - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59

kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck retro sign of the times autograph

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50 

dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rickey henderson - 2016 topps tribute certified foundations of greatness autograph 49/50

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90

greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15

frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70

craig biggio - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 019/333

randy johnson - 2019 topps tek high tek autograph

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

chipper jones - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 11/60

jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini 1/1

jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23

edgar martinez - 2017 topps tribute walk off autograph 17/50

ted simmons - 2013 panini golden age historic signatures

larry walker - 1997 donruss signature series authentic signature

joe jackson* - 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

rafael palmeiro* - 2016 topps tribute rightful recognition autograph 98/99

alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph

david ortiz* - 2017 topps clearly authentic autograph 02/25

adrian beltre* - 2019 topps tier one talent autograph 56/70

ichiro* - 2019 topps museum collection archival autograph 02/25

joe mauer* - 2020 topps archives signature series 2015 topps triple threads buyback autograph 1/1

*not currently in the hall of fame

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.