He is the American League’s best player, playing at one of the most demanding positions on the field and yet he excels at every aspect of it.
All-Star catcher Joe Mauer made the Minnesota Twins fans extremely happy yesterday by putting an end to speculation he might leave the franchise by committing the next eight years of his baseballing future to the club.
“I love putting on a Minnesota Twins uniform, It's a real thrill to be able to do this for the rest of my career. I have to tell everybody here I'll give you everything I've got. My ultimate goal is to win a World Series. I'm looking forward to doing that. Thank you for coming, and let's get back to work tomorrow, eh?” Mauer said
His services have come at a cost however, $184 million over the course of the deal and it includes a full no-trade clause. Indeed the cost is high and only two people in the history of baseball have signed more lucrative contracts than Mauer’s, Alex Rodriguez twice and Derek Jeter, but he could have demanded much more on the open market if he had so wished.
As a hometown kid the catcher took quite a considerable discount to stay at home, many believe he could have commanded a salary in the region of $250 million. But being a hometown boy all he ever wanted as a kid was to play for the Twins, now he gets the chance to do so for the rest of his career.
He was taken as the No.1 overall pick in 2001 ahead of Mark Prior and the news that he is staying with the Twins will be encouraging for Major League Baseball who have been under pressure to look into the disparity between the big market clubs and the small market teams such as the Twins.
Mauer hit .365 with a career-best 28 home runs and 96 RBIs last season after beginning the year on the disabled list while recovering from a back injury. He also won his second gold glove and took the AL MVP award, taking 27 of 28 possible first place votes.
The signing becomes even more important for Twins considering they are moving to a new stadium in just a few weeks, a new stadium without a star player could have been a disaster for the franchise.
And with their closer, Joe Nathan, injured for the season the Twins had to give their fans something to smile about. Mauer is just that and during his press conference the three-time all-star thanked the people who helped him with all his success.
"There are a lot of people in this room who I care a lot about, I'm kind of getting emotional. There are a lot of people who helped me get to this point,” Mauer said.
Come the end of 2018 it will be everyone thanking Mauer.
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