Top Twins Players Not in the Hall of Fame: Joe Mauer

Jaffe presents the case for anyone to understand and see - Mauer is a first ballot HOF player. Jaffe and Jaws aside, Mauer is a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee. Phenomenal athlete and baseball player, he was underrated by too many.

Mauer is a first ballot HOF player. 

I agree, but the same should have been true for Blyleven. HOF voters don't always get it right.

yes, he's a Hall of Famer. I suspect he won't get in on the first ballot, in part because there's still a bundle of voters that haven't been purged yet that believe in not voting for guys on the first ballot unless they meet some other undefinable characteristics for being in the "inner circle".

I wish he'd gotten that deserved Gold Glove for one of his seasons at 1B; that last piece of hardware would have sealed it for some voters, especially because it's one of those things that doesn't happen, guys winning a GG at 2 different positions.

But the hardware is there, the batting titles are there, the MVP & all-stars...the decline was sudden, but he was still productive at 1B. It wasn't like he stopped contributing, and the 2018 season was pretty darn good.

The only thing guys like Bill Dickey or Mickey Cochrane have on Joe is rings; the only thing Gabby Hartnett has on him is longevity (and Mauer's peak was definitely higher) and all of those guys are deserving Hall of Famers. Piazza was a bigger slugger, but Mauer did everything else as well if not better, making them about equal as well. Heck, Mauer was right in the same lane as the immortal Yogi Berra excepting post-season heroics.

Mauer is in the same class of players as Dickey, Cochrane, Hartnett, and Piazza. That's an easy Hall of Fame player. If the rule is you don't get in unless you're Johnny Bench or Pudge Rodriguez...then you're not electing another catcher for a very long time, if ever.

Mauer was fantastic by any test and should go in first ballot. I can't penalize him for not having the rings; that was a team failure. Mauer did everything that was asked of him and was a wonderful player. He even turned into a terrific clubhouse leader in his later years mentoring a young team. 

I'm on Team Joe, always will be.

Yes - his problem is that he was not HOF worthy at 1B and that is what many will remember since it was most recent.

But Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat will still rank 1 and 2 as the best that did not get in. 

I've wrestled with this topic for years because unlike many other inductees, Joe's candidacy worthiness is actually a question rather than a given. Accolades mentioned in this article obviously can't be argued. Many personal accomplishments. Percentages we've rarely seen from his position. Then I look at his production stats: season averages in pretty much every category qualify as mundane (or worse). Even his career production numbers are meh. I remember some of his personal highlights but not a terribly high number of game-clinching, dominant performances. Also, career post-season numbers: .275/.341/.300, with 1 run and 1 RBI in 44 plate appearances. Yikes.

Love Joe, but no way is he a first-balloter. MAYBE eventually, but I’m not yet convinced. I’m open to it, but not quite there yet.

If someone is among the top ten at their position in the history of the game .... how are they not a sure-fire first-ballot hall of famer? I'm going to defer to Jaffe to argue this one for me. I get really confused why Joe Mauer doesn't get the proper recognition he deserves for his career. No matter what your age, it is unlikely the Twins ever have another catcher in your lifetime that matches his skills and performance level. 

First Ballot. I'm not biased at all. Anywho, I think he has a lot of the off the field/character stuff that the old-timers want in HOF inductees. He was very charitable and did a lot for promoting the game as well. Plus, as you said, his stats at his prime are untouchable. 

(btw, this is my first comment since the loss. I guess I am finally over my end-of-season blues.)

I believe Joe is deserving of induction (as are, IMO, Oliva and Kaat). But guys like Dimaggio, Killebrew and others didn’t get in first ballot. Joe DiMaggio had to wait, Joe Mauer should as well. First ballot induction should be rare, reserved for the Aaron, Mays, Mantle,Griffey,jr, and Maddox types.