7 belongs in the Hall of Fame A look at Joe Mauer's candidacy to be enshrined in Cooperstown. In about 4 1/2 years, Hall of Fame voters will be faced with the question of whether Joe Mauer belongs in baseball's Hall of Fame. Mauer had a smaller window of greatness than someone like Dale Murphy. The legendary baseball Hall of Fame and Joe's manager, Paul Molitor once said that Mauer has the best swing he has ever seen. Mike Trout then again, if Ted Simmons didnt make it Mauer wont. 28.9k members in the minnesotatwins community. His career numbers put him among HOF catchers. Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame Chances. Pedroia is probably not picking up enough from age 33 to 37 to boost himself. Ultimately unless he manages to catch a second wind, which is very unlikely considering he's going into his age 34 season, he ends up Hall of Very Good. Manny Randhawa, Matt Kelly and Do-Hyoung Park . No comment on Pierzynski being a top 25 (#23) in HOFM among players not eligible yet. Take of that what you wish. That doesn't take away from what he accomplished as a catcher but when you add it all together I don't see a HOF career. Welcome all to the 2020 edition of the r/BaseballHoF ballot. It's kind of complicated. That being said, the real debate involves Mauer's case to… Twins are getting sub-James Loney offensive production out of Mauer at a premium power position. Mauer won’t be eligible for induction until 2023 at the earliest, but judging from the lack of retirees expected this season, he could benefit from a lack of competition. In some minds, because of his peak offensive performance at a premium defensive position, Joe Mauer is a Hall of Famer already. He's gonna hang around the ballot for a couple years, but honestly he shouldn't make it. He's been an excellent fielding first baseman though. That isn't going to cut it. No way he is HoF bound. Along with being a 6x All Star, 5x Silver Slugger, 1x MVP, and season where he hit .365. The device dropped balls down a tube from eye level and released them at waist level." Eh, Mauer's peak was better than Posada's. Some years ago, during Mauer’s prime as a catcher, I asked Johnny Bench, the greatest catcher in baseball history, about Mauer’s Hall of Fame potential, whether he … The Batting Titles. Maybe it would have been better if Mauer just ended his career early lol. According to how Baseball-Reference measures a player’s career against the average Hall of Famer, the average Hall-of-Fame-caliber catcher has 53.6 rWAR, a seven-year peak of 34.8, and 44.2 JAWS. His decline post-2013 was too quick and too steep for him to be HOF-bound. Like Posada, he may survive a few years on the ballot, but he won't make it in. [Serious] Joe Mauer's Hall of Fame Shot. But he’ll still be a Hall of Fame catcher someday. And, as you noted, that he'll be spending so much of his career at 1B and DH will raise offensive standards to a level that Mauer simply doesn't match, especially in the power department. From 04-13, Mauer posted a slash of 323/405/468 873 ops and 135 OPS+. Since he's become a full time 1B/DH (2014-2016) he hasn't slugged higher than .389 in a season. He would rank 14th and … Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. We use cookies on our websites for a number of purposes, including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising. The contribution of Mauer's father also cannot be ignored. All in all, a very impressive resume, but was it Hall of Fame worthy? New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, The subreddit for the bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players.