Joe Mauer is retiring after 15 major league seasons, six All-Star games, three Gold Glove awards, three batting titles and 2,123 career hits, all with his hometown Minnesota Twins.
“Thank you, Minnesota Twins, and thank you, fans, for making my career as special and memorable as it was,” Mauer wrote in a full-page ad that will run Sunday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Because of you I can leave the game I love with a full and grateful heart.”
Mauer’s eight-year, $184 million contract expired the day after the World Series ended, creating a natural parting from the game he grew up with in St. Paul, less than 10 miles from the downtown Minneapolis ballparks he called home with the Twins.
“The decision came down to my health and my family,” Mauer wrote. “The risk of a concussion is always there, and I was reminded of that this season when I missed 30 games as a result of diving for a foul ball. That’s all it took this time around and it was all I need to bring me back to the struggles I faced in 2013.”
I’m glad Mauer is trying to avoid further brain trauma.
Mauer had a long peak, from seasonal age 23 through seasonal age 30. In that time he posted a .327/.410/.473 slash line. In 2009 he won the average triple crown, leading the AL in BA, OBP, and slugging percentage. His power disappeared after 2013, but he still managed to post very good OBPs, keeping him a bit valuable. Baseball Reference has him at 55 WAR. He probably doesn’t make the Hall of Fame with that. He will go down as one of the greatest Twins ever.
He was a pleasure to watch play, and made a pretty good commercial.
from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2Dwujuv
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