Minnesota Twins star Joe Mauer announces retirement

A Minnesota Twins legend, catcher Joe Mauer has decided to call it career, announcing Friday that he would retire.

Easily one of the best catchers of the early 21st century, Joe Mauer, who played his entire career for the Minnesota Twins, has announced his retirement from baseball. He wrote an open letter to Twins fans – it can be found here.

Mauer, 35, is a six-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger recipient, a three-time Gold Glove winner and a three-time recipient of the AL batting title. In addition to that, he won the MVP award in 2009 thanks to an absurd .365/.444/.587 slash with 30 doubles, 28 homers, 96 RBI and 94 runs scored.

A first overall pick of the Twins in 2001, he played parts of 14 seasons for Minnesota, tallying 143 home runs, 923 RBI, 52 stolen bases, 428 doubles, and a tremendous cumulative slash line of .306/.388/.439 in over 1850 major league games.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Mauer, along with former teammate Justin Morneau, anchored the Twins lineup for years, bringing a sense of excitement to the team. Though Morneau has since himself retired, Mauer continued to play out the rest of the 2018 season, slashing .282/.351/.379 with six homers in 127 games, adding 48 RBI and 27 doubles to his totals.

On top of his esteemed career, Mauer was consistently known as a classy, respectful ballplayer, appreciating the game around and always playing the game the right way. He was a staple in Minnesota and for over a decade served as the face of their franchise.

While many have asserted that Mauer is a likely future member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, many others have simply ceased to engage in that debate in favour of enjoying and celebrating the brilliant career of one of baseball’s most respected players. Joe Mauer leaves the game as a central figure of baseball in the 21st century, having played 14 years of excellent, solid ball. Though he will be missed, Twins fans have years of memories with which to remember him by.

It is the end of an era for the Minnesota Twins, but this may not be the last stop for Joe Mauer.