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Joe Mauer's Biography
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Joe Mauer is a professional baseball player with the Minnesota Twins. He is known for his well rounded play being both a top offensive and defensive player. Mauer won the American League MVP in 2009.
Where did Joe Grow up?
Joe Mauer was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 19, 1983. Joe came from a long line of baseball players. Both his dad and his grandfather played professionally and his dad was a baseball coach. He also had two older brothers who liked to play baseball.
Joe grew up in St. Paul just a few miles from where the Twins played. He was a huge Twins fan growing up, which is pretty neat since he is now their best player. He went to Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul.
Did Mauer play any other sports?
When Joe was in high school he played a lot of sports in addition to baseball. He was a stand out basketball player where he played point guard and averaged better than 20 points per game. He was all-state his junior and senior seasons. In football, Joe was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He led his high school to its first state championship and was named the USA Today Football Player of the year. He was offered a scholarship to play football at Florida State University.
Of course Joe was also an outstanding baseball player in high school. He was the USA Today Baseball Player of the year becoming the only athlete to win the title in two different sports. He only struck out once in his entire four-year high school career and batted an amazing .605 his senior season.
Where did Joe Mauer play in the minor leagues?
Joe was drafted as the overall number 1 pick by the Minnesota Twins. The Twins had considered taking pitcher Mark Prior, who was widely considered the top prospect and the most ready to play immediately in the majors. They decided on taking the home town kid, however, and have never looked back.
He spent his first year playing for the Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League. He didn't disappoint, hitting .400. The next season he moved up to Single-A and played for the Quad City River Bandits. He was named Prospect of the Year in Single-A. The next year he started out at the Fort Meyers Miracle in High-A and later was promoted to Double-A to play for the New Britain Rock Cats. He had a great year and was named 2003's Minor League Player of the Year. The next year he was promoted to the Major Leagues.
What position does Mauer play with the Twins?
Joe plays catcher for the Twins. Catcher is considered one of the more difficult positions to play. Joe, however, has done a great job, especially for a young player. He won three consecutive gold gloves from 2008 to 2010 to make him one of the best defensive catchers in the game.
Fun Facts about Joe Mauer
- Joe led the voting for the 2010 MLB All-Star game.
- He used to share a house with teammate Justin Morneau until Justin got married.
- Joe is known for his trademark long sideburns. The Twins even had a sideburns night where they handed out fake sideburns to the first 10,000 fans.
- Mauer is the only catcher to win the American League batting title (best batting average).
- He signed a $184 million contract with the Minnesota Twins in 2010. There is an 8 year no-trade clause in the contract. I doubt the Twins had an issue with not trading the home town hero.
- Joe was on the cover of the PS3 game MLB 10: The Show. He was also in some of the TV commercials (which were really funny!).
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