Joe Mauer all set to return behind the plate full time for Minnesota Twins - MLB News
Joe Mauer is one of the names that did extremely well for the Minnesota Twins in 2012. This was his ninth season with the Minnesota ball club in the Major League and he posted one of his best years with the bat.
Joe was glad to have a normal offseason this year after previous to off-seasons were filled with recovery work and he had to follow a specific regime to get back in health.
"It's been a nice, normal offseason," Mauer said. "The last couple years have been concentrated on specific work or a sickness or stuff like that. It's nice to get after it."
The 29-year-old expects to be spending his time behind home plate this upcoming season. During the 2012 season, he split his duties between first base and as a catcher. He himself believes that he will be performing his duties as a catcher though he is willing
to take any spot that he is required to by the team.
“I think I'll probably do more catching," Mauer said. "A lot of the reason I went over to first base, especially early in the season, is we really didn't know what [Justin] Morneau's situation was. That's the way I've been preparing for the season, to be
the everyday catcher. I can go over to first if they need me to do that."
He is even fine with being assigned as a designated hitter if the team needs him in that role.
During the 2012 season Joe played 147 regular season games, the most in his nine year career. He posted an excellent .319 batting average and an on-base percentage of .416. Mauer was able to have 174 hits, scoring 85 RBI’s and going long on 10 occasions.
His career numbers with the bat are even better, posting a .323 batting average and an on-base percentage of .405, close to what he posted in 2012 season.
His fielding was not bad either, posting a .993 fielding percentage both behind the plate and on first base.
The left-handed hitter is aware that his team has a lot of expectation attached to it and he believes that the team has what it takes to deliver. The last two years have not been as good as the Twins would have liked but Joe believes they can do better this
time around.
"We expect to win around here -- everybody does," Mauer said. "Since I've been here, we've been pretty darn good.”
Joe Mauer is an excellent hitter who can certainly play an important role in the success of the Minnesota Twins in the upcoming 2013 season. One hopes that he can continue his great work with the bat and behind the plate.
With better performances by other players and a good effort by Joe, the Twins can soon be back at the top of their game.
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