Twins Hall of Fame ceremony ‘was emotional for me,’ says Joe Mauer
Not surprisingly, Joe Mauer used his Twins Hall of Fame induction speech to honor his late father, Jake, during a pregame ceremony on Saturday at Target Field.
“I knew he was watching every game,” Mauer told a crowd of about 35,000 before a 6:10 p.m. game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Father to Joe, Billy and Jake, Donald Charles “Jake” Mauer Jr. passed away from a heart ailment Jan. 17. He was 66.
“I talk to (my children) a lot about my dad, and about how much I appreciate him — now more than ever,” Mauer said during his induction speech.
From a dais in front of the pitcher’s mound, and near a seated audience that included Twins Hall of Fame members, former teammates and coaches and family and friends, Mauer made his first public comments about his father, who with his wife, Teresa, raised his three boys in a house on Lexington Ave. and sent them to Cretin-Derham Hall.
“It was emotional. For me, it comes in waves,” he told reporters after the ceremony. “Obviously being here, one of the places he loved to come to, but not a surprise it comes back to the surface. But glad I got through it. Wasn’t easy, but I’m feeling pretty good now.”
All the Mauer boys became players in the Twins organization, with Joe going on to win three American League batting titles and the 2009 AL MVP Award, his brothers becoming coaches — inextricably linking the family with the franchise.
That reality hit Mauer, he said, when his Hall of Fame plaque was unveiled in front of fans in an afternoon ceremony in the Target Field plaza.
“It’s unique,” Mauer said. “It’s family. I mean, the Minnesota Twins are a family to us. It’s kind of like one big family, really. Walking through there and to see that response. It was fun to see that response from (my) kids, because they see me in a different light at home. Which I like.
“But for them to experience it, I think that was pretty cool. I actually can’t wait to talk to them about it and hear what they thought.”
Mauer’s children — twins Emily and Maren and son Chip — all threw out ceremonial first pitches, caught by their father. Longtime teammate and friend Justin Morneau introduced Mauer at the ceremony, and former teammates such as Jason Kubel, Denard Span, Joe Nathan and Matt Guerrier were among those seated in the infield, as were his wife, Maddie, and mother, Teresa.
Also there was Paul Feiner, who as a member of the 2000 Elk River team was the only high school pitcher ever to strike Mauer out. Feiner brought out the three ceremonial baseballs for the first pitch.
“He told me I had a better at-bat the turn before,” Mauer said. “I don’t remember that but I remember swinging and missing and, obviously, being upset walking back. Yeah, I think he threw me a curveball and I remember he had a pretty good one.”
Mauer played 15 major league seasons, all with the Twins, who used the first overall pick in the 2001 amateur draft to select him out of Cretin-Derham Hall. He turned down a scholarship from Bobby Bowden to be Florida State’s quarterback and made the majors without playing in Triple-A.
He won the AL batting title in 2006, 2008 and 2009 and was the league MVP in that last season after hitting .365 with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs.
He also won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award for certainly one of the greatest major league seasons ever recorded by a catcher. His .444 on-base percentage is still the MLB record for a catcher, as are the three batting titles.
Asked if he had the urge to pick up a bat on Saturday, Mauer said, “No.”
“It’s funny. When I do get that urge — and I do get it every once in a while — I look back on what it took for me to get out there every night,” he said. “Then I’m like, ‘OK, I think I’m good.’
“I think that (urge) doesn’t go away. I think if you asked Tony Oliva or Rod Carew that question, they’d probably answer the same. That’s what I miss most about the game, stepping in the box and competing. And then being on the other end of it, too, trying to figure out how to get guys out.
“I love the game and I miss playing it, but to play at this level, it takes a lot, a lot of sacrifices, and I think I’m in a good spot right now.”
