Joe Mauer

[Ybone]

The 2nd highest batting average of any catcher ever, how on earth is that terrible? Imagine how good he would be if there were some hitters around him so they would have to pitch to him in critical situations like tonight when he won the game. Big mistake by Cleveland.

[RumRiverRat]

The 2nd highest batting average of any catcher ever, how on earth is that terrible? Imagine how good he would be if there were some hitters around him so they would have to pitch to him in critical situations like tonight when he won the game. Big mistake by Cleveland.

Who cares that he help the Twins win a meaningless game.

Mauer is the reason the rest of the team is composed of AAA level players or lower.

The Twins are garbage and their overpaid and mediocre at best catcher is the reason.

[Hoyt4]

Sorry but he will be in the hall a fame with out question and he does deserve it.

[nofishfisherman]

Mauer is the reason the rest of the team is composed of AAA level players or lower.

Mauer is not the reason the rest of the team is full of AAA players. The blame for that belongs to the front office. They have the money to sign better talent they just refuse to. They said once they moved to Target field they'd have a pay roll of $100 million, well they did for a year now they've cut it back to only $75 million. If the Twins wanted to they could sign another player and pay him more money than Mauer and they'd still be under the $100 million level they had said they'd be at.

I'm never going to blame any player for signing a big contract like Mauer did, I'd have done the same thing and so would everyone here. Its not like he has become a different player after his contract. He's been the same player his entire career. The Twins knew what they were getting when they signed him and he's lived up to that expectation. Just because he signed a big contract doesn't mean he's going to become a different player, he is who he is. Is he overpaid, yes. Is it his fault, no.

If the Twins would spend that extra $25 million per year they cut from the payroll this team could look a lot different and it would probably make Mauer look a lot different.

Put more good bats in the line up around him to protect him and find guys who can get on base ahead of him and you'd probably see his numbers improve.

[Hoyt4]

Well said NF

He would get better pitches maybe even better power #'s but that will not happen till they put better players in front of him. Going to be this way for a couple more years.

[eyebenband]

Catch 22 with Mauer...if the Twins had let him go and he did great with his new team, the naysayers would be saying, see we should have kept him and Carlos Gomez. We let Gomez go because people wanted him gone, and his first few years with MKE, he did nothing either.

We kept Mauer, and the naysayers are mad because we paid him

too much...it was the going rate for an MVP and batting crown

winner. Geez, get off the guys back for a change and enjoy

what he does. Do we want Drew Butera back?? That would have

been his replacement at the time.

[Kidd]

Anyone who thinks Mauer is overpaid simply doesn't know the game.

Reminds me of all the knuckleheads that want Mauer to change his swing so he can hit a few more HR.s

[blue_healer_guy]

Put better players around a 2 hitter? As the common man would say...... IALTO COMING!

[dfv87]

Is dfv87 a Pohlad?

If it means I could get an inheritance... I am willing to be!

[eyebenband]

Here is Charlie Walters take on Joe...

If you compare Joe Mauer's $184 million Twins contract and performance with those of the Angels' Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter, and the Brewers' Ryan Braun, you'll see the Twins got a deal.

Pujols, 33, with a $240 million contract that will guarantee him $30 million during the 2021 season, is batting .254 with 17 home runs.

Hamilton, 32, has a $125 million deal that will guarantee him $30 million in both 2016 and 2017. This season, he's batting .223 with 14 homers.

Rodriguez, 37, has a $275 million contract paying him $28 million this season even though he hasn't played because of injuries. When he last played, in 2012, Rodriguez hit .272 with 18 homers. He was paid $32 million in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Jeter, 39, is being paid $17 million this season and has played in one game because of injuries.

Teixeira, 33, who has a $180 million contract paying him $22.5 million this injury-laden season, is batting .151 with three homers in 15 games.

Braun, 29, suspended for the rest of the season for alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, has a $121 million deal worth $19 million in each of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons. He was hitting .298 with nine homers this year.

Meanwhile, Mauer, 30, playing for $23 million in each season through 2018, is hitting .324 with eight homers

[rundrave]

Here are some more:

C.C. Sabathia, 32, is owed another $96 million through 2017 by the Yankees.

The Mets are paying Johan Santana $25 million to not pitch this season, after paying him $21.6 million to not pitch in 2011.

The Twins aren’t losing because they don't spend money. They’re losing because they haven’t developed quality starting pitching.

[B. Amish]

the pirates (i think) are still paying bobby bonilla over 1 million a year. yes, the same bobby bonilla that retired like 12 years ago.

[B. Amish]

Quote:

The Mets decided it best to buy out the remaining $5.9 million dollars of Bobby Bonilla's contract in January 2000. Instead of paying him the $5.9 million dollars at the time, they struck a deal where payments would be deferred until 2011. Commencing in July 2011, Bobby Bo is to receive $1.19 million per year until the year 2035.

oops, it was the mets. here's the shortened version of the story.

[thatoneguy]

Here are some more:

C.C. Sabathia, 32, is owed another $96 million through 2017 by the Yankees.

The Mets are paying Johan Santana $25 million to not pitch this season, after paying him $21.6 million to not pitch in 2011.

The Twins aren’t losing because they don't spend money. They’re losing because they haven’t developed quality starting pitching.

+1

[mrklean]

Instead of paying him $5.9 mil they are gonna pay him $20+ mil overtime?????

[Scott M]

Yep, google "How bobby bonilla landed the luckiest baseball contract ever" His money owed plus interest! Bobby Bo can thank Bernie Madoff!

[dfv87]

They were talking on KFan this AM with Rosen (trying to get him going) but the fact that someone is even suggesting it...

"Fans" were questioning that Mauer took 6 days off for the birth of his twins... (Born 4 weeks early and each weighing 4 lbs and change, but both healthy) and wondering why he didn't rejoin the team in SEA for the last 2 games of the series after his allowed 3 days by MLB. He chose to stay home and not be paid for those 2 games. He then rejoined the team back here in MN for the KC series. They are asking if he would have done this if the team was in a playoff race or if the road trip was another week would he have missed 2 weeks instead etc... Basically questioning his commitment to the team... Rosen did not take the bait, I will!

Anybody who thinks or even suggests that a player put the team ahead of his family is just plain nuts. You should re-evaluate your life and priorities. I know no father, worth anything, that would put a baseball team ahead of his new family (wife and kids). Whomever suggested this is really a poor human being.

[nofishfisherman]

I've heard a lot of talk about that as well. In my opinion its just a bunch of bored sports writers that are tired of writing about a meaningless baseball team.

Joe did the right thing. The babies appear to be healthy but sounds like they are still in the hospital so it makes perfect sense that he wants to be there with them and his wife.

At the end of the day baseball is a job. I go to the office everyday, Joe goes to the ball park, but both of us are just going to work. There is no father worth anything that will put his job above his children and family. Doesn't matter what his job is or how much he gets paid.

My wife and I just had our first child 2 months ago and I took a week off and no one was wondering how I could dare put my family in front of my job.

[JBMasterAngler]

As a father of 2 premature babies (not twins), I can fully relate to Mauer's situation. I actually quit a job when my daughter was born 3 months early. So I wouldn't have had any problem with Mauer had he even taken another week or 2 off.

[rundrave]

I would guess that just by the weight and how early they were born that his twins were in the NICU? As a father of twins, I think everyone has a story that is unique with newborns. With that said I believe other NICU parents can find something common with their own experience.

Props to Joe for being there as a husband and father, his family needed him more than we needed him on the field.

[Big Dave2]

Anyone who thinks Mauer is overpaid simply doesn't know the game.

[greebs]

When you put it that way.....ouch

[thatoneguy]

So it's Mauer's fault that the rest of the lineup sucks, and nobody drives him in when he gets on base and he often bats with nobody on? Interesting take.

Also, what's Mauer's OPS and what's Dozier's? No single stat tells the whole story, but OPS is as good a yardstick as any. I'm guessing Mauer's is likely 140-150 points higher.

If you want to argue that Mauer is overpaid, have at it. I assume you know how much revenue he adds to the franchise in terms of ticket and merchandise sales in addition to his on-field production, and so are making an informed statement.

The thing that most people forget is that Mauer was signed to this contract after having what was one of the best seasons by a catcher in baseball history, at an age when he was coming into his prime. There is no way anyone would have predicted the effect Target Field would have on his HR numbers (which is what many hardball noobs get hung up on).

[Big Dave2]

So it's Mauer's fault that the rest of the lineup sucks, and nobody drives him in when he gets on base and he often bats with nobody on? Interesting take.

If it's just because the rest of the team sucks, why is it that Dozier has more RBI and runs scored than Mauer? For a half million? You could pay Dozier 10 million and it would be a bargain compared to Mauer. Do you think Dozier is worth 10 million?

Also, what's Mauer's OPS and what's Dozier's? No single stat tells the whole story, but OPS is as good a yardstick as any. I'm guessing Mauer's is likely 140-150 points higher.

Yes Mauer's OPS is 140 points higher but who cares about averages? That's the point of my post, to show that averages don't mean as much as real production numbers. You can have all the numbers you want but if you don't put runs across the plate you're not going to win many games. If your guy making 23 million isn't going to produce these runs, who should?

If you want to argue that Mauer is overpaid, have at it. I assume you know how much revenue he adds to the franchise in terms of ticket and merchandise sales in addition to his on-field production, and so are making an informed statement.

I'm just a fan, not a stakeholder. I don't get anything when he sells a jersey so why should I care if he can line the pockets of the owner and MLB? How many jerseys will he sells when people finally start figuring out that he and his contract is the reason the team is losing? A couple more years of this type of losing and no one will be buying Mauer jerseys or any other Twins merchandise because no one will care.

The thing that most people forget is that Mauer was signed to this contract after having what was one of the best seasons by a catcher in baseball history, at an age when he was coming into his prime. There is no way anyone would have predicted the effect Target Field would have on his HR numbers (which is what many hardball noobs get hung up on).

His home run numbers never existed except for one year. I certainly never expected him to be a perennial power house. He was signed to this contract because of all the "hardball noobs" who were "hung up" on Mauer being a home town hero.

[B. Amish]

go field a team with 9 doziers's if thats your point. the rest of us will keep our sanity.