Observations About Seeing Joe Mauer in Person at a Rock Concert

[RandBalls Stu]

Twins Daily correspondent RandBall's Stu went to a concert in Minneapolis on Wednesday. So did Twins legend Joe Mauer. This is his story.

Image courtesy of David Berding-USA TODAY Sports

 

My day job is copywriting for a local independent regional craft brewery. That brewery also hosts concerts in its backyard, often featuring popular recording artists from around the world. Occasionally, those shows attract local and even national celebrities.

On Wednesday, popular Sad Dad favorites The National played a killer show there. (If you’ve never heard of them, that’s fine, but just know that Taylor Swift has).

As I wandered around the grounds, one of my friends said, “Hey, Joe Mauer is here.” I didn’t believe them. I guess I don't really know what Joe Mauer's musical tastes are, other than "What You Know" being his walk-up music for 100 years. Then a local journalist mentioned that he chatted with Mauer and his wife for a bit. Given that he covers baseball for his job, I took him at his word. And sure enough, standing there just to my right and towards the front of the stage? Joe Mauer, Cretin-Derham Hall Class of 2001. These are my observations.

• He’s tall! You know how some athletes look “normal” on TV because they’re surrounded by absolute leviathans? Joe Mauer is crazy tall!
• He was wearing a baseball cap. On brand! That’s what he wore at his old job!
• He did the classic “dad at a rock concert head nod,” for when you’re not going to throw horns or dance, but still want to rock out a little bit without making a scene.
• Reliable sources tell me his wife is a huge fan of The National and indie rock/alternative in general. I share those interests, which gives me the wild hope that I’ll run into the Mauers at the McLusky show at the Turf Club in December so we can shout along to “Reformed Arsonist Seeks Child Bride.”
• I didn’t bother him to say hi or buy him a beer. Let the guy enjoy retirement and go to shows. I also remember how much his last contract was worth thanks to years of numbskulls getting mad at him on talk radio and god’s own internet for hitting singles and making $23 million per year. He probably doesn’t need a Furious on the house.
• That said, Joe, if you’re reading this and want some IPAs, let me know. Perkins has my phone number.
• There’s no way Joe Mauer is reading this.
• This also means I didn’t ask him about Rocco pulling Joe Ryan during a no-hit bid. Had I done this, I hope someone reading this would have the decency to beat me to death with a shovel.
• The last time I saw him in person was the game where he got the concussion that ended his catching career. This was a better day!
• This was the most famous person I’ve seen at work since Woody Harrelson attended a Gary Clark, Jr. show while in town filming a movie. Apologies to Jason DeRusha, who I think is a very kind man but he wasn't on Cheers.

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[Johnny Ringo]

I have been around Joe several times and he is the nicest guy on this planet. Period. End of story.

People who criticize him over the money are morons because anyone would have taken it.

"Hey Bob, we want to double your salary.

"No thanks boss. I drive truck just for the aesthetic." 

But more importantly, as Bonnes' buddy Gleeman would tell you; with a 55 plus career WAR,  it can be easily argued that Joe was significantly underpaid in his career.   

In one of my conversations with Joe, I asked him about his favorite away city. His reply surprised me. 

"Kansas City."

Me: "Really? Good barbeque. Decent ballpark. Why? Did you have great numbers there?"

Joe: "Not really. I just like that I could bring my family down and people would leave me be."

I let that soak in. So many players fight desperately for the last bit of the spotlight when their career is done.  (Insert Dan Gladden joke here.)

So congrats Stu on passing on the Ryan question and allowing Joe to enjoy the show undisturbed. Leave him be folks. Leave him be. 

[MGM4706]

Numbskulls? Oh you mean the fans that wanted to actually "Win" rather than watch a singles hitter and who knew his contract kept the Twins from ever investing in real Pitchers?

[DJL44]

33 minutes ago, MGM4706 said:

Numbskulls? Oh you mean the fans that wanted to actually "Win" rather than watch a singles hitter and who knew his contract kept the Twins from ever investing in real Pitchers?

Yep, numbskulls.

[sorney]

If Gardy would have been forward thinking, ( bat Mauer leadoff instead of 3rd for most of his career), the numbskulls would be far less.  Dude was elite hitter.  Just not elite power hitter.

[tony&rodney]

48 minutes ago, MGM4706 said:

Numbskulls? Oh you mean the fans that wanted to actually "Win" rather than watch a singles hitter and who knew his contract kept the Twins from ever investing in real Pitchers?

There are many people who I have known who are serious baseball people. Some made it their career and others were just aficionados who players, coached, did both, or were totally just into the game. Every single person I have met or know who falls under the above categories hold Joe Mauer in the highest esteem. Mauer is a consensus top ten catcher in baseball history. He signed a long term contract with his home town team for far less than he would have received on the open market and as the face of the franchise was worth well more than the contract. His contract never impeded team spending in even the slightest fashion, a fictional fallback of those who choose their own reality. Mauer will soon be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. I totally understand why Kansas City would be a favorite place to work for an athlete.

[kenbuddha]

1 hour ago, MGM4706 said:

Numbskulls? Oh you mean the fans that wanted to actually "Win" rather than watch a singles hitter and who knew his contract kept the Twins from ever investing in real Pitchers?

... beating dead horse...
Ownership told us they'd be able to spend half of the Target Field revenues on payroll. Therefore they should have been spending approximately $125M. When they had a payroll of $82M in 2013 or $85M in 2014 how did Mauer's contract keep them from spending that extra $40M per season? After that they went up to $108M for 3 seasons, again tell me how Mauer's contract kept them from spending the extra $20M each year?

Man. Pay attention.

[DJL44]

27 minutes ago, sorney said:

If Gardy would have been forward thinking, ( bat Mauer leadoff instead of 3rd for most of his career), the numbskulls would be far less.  Dude was elite hitter.  Just not elite power hitter.

I love when the Mauer haters praise Luis Arraez for being the same damn hitter

[D.C Twins]

Twins were and are tremendous lucky to have him as part of the organization. 

He earned every penny and absolutely could have gotten more.

Don't forget that he sold plenty of tickets for the owners as a true hometown hero in addition to what he 'earned' through his elite performance. 

[bean5302]

Joe Mauer would have refused the beer. Did you have any milk?

[garn from vancouver]

i'm here to tell you from personal experience meeting loads of famous folks - you don;'t want to get too close. they'll generally disappoint you. also, from experience with him, woody is crazy.

[MN_ExPat]

6 hours ago, MGM4706 said:

Numbskulls? Oh you mean the fans that wanted to actually "Win" rather than watch a singles hitter and who knew his contract kept the Twins from ever investing in real Pitchers?

[rwilfong86]

He seems to be a pretty nice guy and lowkey down to earth. 

[rwilfong86]

6 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I love when the Mauer haters praise Luis Arraez for being the same damn hitter

Mauer and Arraez have similar personalities I believe, which is one of the reasons Twins fan love Arraez so much

[D. Hocking]

8 hours ago, Johnny Ringo said:

 So many players fight desperately for the last bit of the spotlight when their career is done.  (Insert Dan Gladden joke here.)

Are you suggesting that the next time Joe has to give a speech at Target Field he is not going to make comments how his wife filled out her shirt?

I heard an interview of Trevor Plouffe somewhere where he was asked about Mauer and he said he was closet hysterical,  He also said you assume him being that nice is somewhat an act when you meet him and then at some point you realize, he is that nice.

I probably err on the side of being too much of a Mauer homer, but I will still see internet comments or tweets about a sports event and someone manages to bring up Mauer's contract or bilateral weakness.  I want to say, it might be time to let it go and move on.

[DJL44]

15 hours ago, D. Hocking said:

Are you suggesting that the next time Joe has to give a speech at Target Field he is not going to make comments how his wife filled out her shirt?

Or spend 5 minutes trashing Randy Bush. That speech of Gladden's would be considered a train wreck if it was spontaneous. It's even worse knowing he had a year to practice a speech (and years of experience on the radio) and that's what he came up with.

[Old School BB Fan]

On 9/16/2022 at 9:43 AM, kenbuddha said:

... beating dead horse...
Ownership told us they'd be able to spend half of the Target Field revenues on payroll. Therefore they should have been spending approximately $125M. When they had a payroll of $82M in 2013 or $85M in 2014 how did Mauer's contract keep them from spending that extra $40M per season? After that they went up to $108M for 3 seasons, again tell me how Mauer's contract kept them from spending the extra $20M each year?

Man. Pay attention.

You’re trying to educate that percentage of fans who generally prefer to keep small numbers of sheep around at home for company. They’ll never get it.

[Old School BB Fan]

On 9/16/2022 at 10:05 AM, DJL44 said:

I love when the Mauer haters praise Luis Arraez for being the same damn hitter

Except Mauer won 3 batting titles, an MVP award, 3 gold gloves, 5 silver sluggers, and was a 6 time All Star all before he had TWO nasty concussions that took away a lot of his depth perception and converted him into Luis Arraez.

Almost the same.