JAWS and the 2024 Hall of Fame Ballot: Joe Mauer

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2024 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this 12 months’s poll, and different candidates within the collection, use the device above; an introduction to JAWS may be discovered here. For a tentative schedule and an opportunity to fill out a Corridor of Fame poll for our crowdsourcing venture, see here. All WAR figures seek advice from the Baseball-Reference model until in any other case indicated.

Joe Mauer was considered one of baseball’s best hometown-boy-makes-good tales. A former No. 1 general select of Cretin-Derham Corridor Excessive College in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2001, he spent the whole thing of his 15-year profession with the Twins. Regardless of a listed peak of 6-foot-5, he excelled at catching and was additionally an elite left-handed hitter, with a fast, compact stroke and impeccable judgment of the strike zone. Between his excellent two-way performances, his good-looking beauty, and his healthful public persona, he was an excellent face-of-the-franchise participant. He performed a central function in serving to the Twins, who had been focused for contraction simply 5 months after he was drafted, to 4 postseason appearances. Alongside the best way he made six All-Star groups and received three Gold Gloves and three batting titles apiece, to not point out the 2009 AL MVP award.

Alas, the Twins had been swept in every of their playoff collection, and for all of Mauer’s accomplishments, his profession was punctuated by accidents, beginning with a meniscus tear within the second recreation of his rookie season. Publish-concussion issues compelled him to hold up the instruments of ignorance and shift to first base; his energy, which had solely intermittently proven up even in the very best of instances, with one season of greater than 13 homers, dissipated upon transferring to the workforce’s stunning new ballpark; and a few section of the fan base blamed his eight-year, $184 million contract extension for the workforce’s obvious monetary limitations. Finally, he selected to retire at age 35 as a result of continued concussion-related problems.

All of that’s proof that Mauer’s story wasn’t a fairy story, besides, it was an ideal profession. So nice, in reality, that Mauer ranks seventh in JAWS among catchers regardless of its limitations, and that’s with out accounting for his above-average pitch framing, an element that may develop into more and more essential to grapple with in upcoming Corridor of Fame debates. Even with out a bonus for his upstanding character (the unique intent of the notorious clause within the voting guidelines), he’s eminently worthy of a spot within the Corridor of Fame. Whether or not he’ll get there on the primary strive is one other query, nonetheless, notably amid a crowded subject and an voters that has not solely develop into a lot much less beneficiant recently but in addition has hardly ever handled even the obvious honorees amongst catchers with acceptable respect.

Joseph Patrick Mauer was born right into a baseball-saturated household on April 19, 1983 in St. Paul. His grandfather, Donald C. “Jake” Mauer Sr. (born 1931) had a quick skilled profession within the White Sox group; his three older brothers performed professionally as nicely, with John Mauer (b. 1922) taking part in for impartial groups earlier than and after World Conflict II and Ken Mauer (b. 1927) taking part in within the Dodgers’ chain (which had a St. Paul affiliate) from 1944 to ’48. Baseball Reference comprises no data for both Hank Mauer (b. 1926) or Jake Sr., although an April 12, 1954 newspaper clipping within the Waterloo (Iowa) Courier notes of the latter’s launch by the White Sox-affiliated Waterloo White Hawks of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League: “Launched had been… second baseman Jake Mauer. Mauer was not formally on the White Hawk roster however was below contract to the Colorado Springs membership.”

Jake Sr.’s 2020 obituary says his baseball profession was reduce quick by polio. A 2006 Sports activities Illustrated profile of Joe by Kelli Anderson makes reference to Jake Sr. and his three brothers and tells a unique story, one which supplied a cautionary story:

Jake had his shot within the early Nineteen Fifties. A lefthanded hitter with energy who performed shortstop and third base, he was alleged to be higher than his three older brothers, all of whom performed within the excessive minor leagues. However his time with the White Sox’ Class A affiliate in Colorado Springs was temporary. His efficiency was hobbled by a very enthusiastic social life, and his profession ended with a knee damage after 4 months. “I assumed I might play ball and drink and get together and chase girls, however it catches as much as you,” says Jake. “I’ve harped on that with Joe: Don’t make the identical errors I made. Concentrate on taking part in the sport. Concentrate on being the very best participant you may be.”

When he grew to become a widower at age 48, Jake Sr. moved in with Jake Mauer Jr., a trophy engraver who spent his weekends teaching his sons, and his spouse Teresa. Grandpa Jake supplied day care and “preached the virtues of hitting,” wrote Anderson:

“Should you can hit,” he’d say, “they’ll at all times discover a place for you.” He tried to get the older boys to emulate his fashion and hit lefthanded, however they wouldn’t chew. “Then sooner or later Joe [then a toddler] picked up a plastic bat lefthanded and whacked a little bit seaside ball,” says Grandpa Jake. “I stated, ‘Ho-leee! We have now a lefthander!’ His brothers tried to get him to hit righthanded, however I advised them to go away him alone.”

These brothers would each have skilled careers throughout the Twins’ group. Infielder Jake Mauer III (b. 1978) was drafted out of the College of St. Thomas within the twenty third spherical in 2001 and performed down on the farm for 5 seasons earlier than elbow issues compelled his retirement. He then spent 2008–17 managing of their minor league system, overseeing future Twins equivalent to Luis Arraez, José Berríos, and Byron Buxton. His final workforce, the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, featured Nick Gordon and LaMonte Wade Jr. and completed first within the Southern League’s North Division; they had been declared co-champions after a hurricane compelled the cancellation of the finals. Pitcher Bill Mauer (b. 1980), a non-drafted free agent, pitched within the Twins’ group from 2003 to ’05.

When Joe was 9, Jake Jr. invented and later marketed a tool to help hitting referred to as Mauer’s Quickswing, which makes use of a tilted PVC pipe, “a singular delayed gravity-drop design to assist batters develop higher bat pace, hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and muscle reminiscence.” Younger Joe and his brothers spent hours within the household basement honing their craft with the Quickswing. At Cretin-Derham Excessive, Joe was a three-sport star, incomes two All-State honors as a guard in basketball, and USA Right now‘s nationwide participant of the 12 months honors in each soccer (as a quarterback, in 2000) and baseball (2001); he’s the one athlete ever to win each. He was additionally Baseball America’s Excessive College Participant of the 12 months, the primary of quite a few high rankings bestowed upon him by the publication.

Following within the footsteps of Cretin-Derham’s Chris Weinke, the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner (and beforehand a minor leaguer within the Blue Jays chain), Mauer signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Florida State. With Mark Prior considered costlier to signal, the Twins selected the native boy with the primary decide of the 2001 draft regardless of the soccer threat and signed him for a bonus of $5.15 million; Prior, chosen second by the Cubs, acquired a $10.5 million package deal, together with a $4 million bonus and a five-year main league deal.

Mauer started his skilled profession with a flourish, hitting .400/.492/.491 in 130 plate appearances for the Twins’ Rookie-league Elizabethton affiliate; he didn’t homer however vaulted to no. 7 on BA’s High 100 Prospects listing the next spring. He spent 2002 at A-level Quad Cities and cut up ’03 between Excessive-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain, hitting a mixed .338/.398/.434. On the energy of his 80-grade arm and the assumption that his recreation energy would finally present itself (“Twins scouts insist he has the facility to sooner or later hit 35–40 in a season if he needs to,” to cite BA), he entered 2004 as the sport’s no. 1 prospect. He additionally had a transparent path to the beginning job because of the commerce of starter A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants, a heist that fetched Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser. The 20-year-old Mauer made the Twins out of spring coaching and went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks towards Cleveland on Opening Day; his first base on balls got here towards CC Sabathia, and his first hit was a single off Rafael Betancourt.

Alas, the subsequent evening Mauer tore the medial meniscus in his left knee whereas sliding in an try to catch a foul ball, although the Twins solely grew to become conscious of the damage after he singled and stopped abruptly whereas being waved house. He underwent surgical procedure and missed practically two months, returning on June 2. Dr. Joel Boyd, who carried out the surgical procedure, “advised the Twins’ medical doctors that it’s inevitable Mauer can have issues as he adjusts to the fixed pressure that catching places on knees,” based on a report by ESPN’s Phil Rogers. Mauer went hitless in his first three video games again earlier than connecting for a tiebreaking three-run homer off the Tigers’ Esteban Yan. “I don’t know what it’s about superstars, however they do these issues,” supervisor Ron Gardenhire stated… after Mauer’s sixth main league recreation. No stress, child.

Mauer was hitting .308/.369/.570 with six homers in 122 PA when he was sidelined once more in mid-July as a result of continued soreness in his left knee and didn’t play once more that season. The Twins, who completed first within the AL Central, hoped to activate him to function their designated hitter had they gotten previous the Yankees within the Division Collection, however they misplaced in 4 video games.

Issues about Mauer’s knee lingered into the spring, however except for minor aches and pains, he remained wholesome, taking part in in 131 video games, catching in 116 of these, and hitting .294/.372/.411 (107 OPS+) with 9 homers and a couple of.8 WAR. It was a strong marketing campaign, however the Twins went 83–79, slipping to 3rd within the AL Central. Although he’d been BA’s no. 1 prospect once more, he wasn’t truly eligible for Rookie of the 12 months voting as a result of he’d exceeded the utmost for days on a roster earlier than September (45).

Mauer broke out in 2006, hitting .347/.429/.507 with 13 homers. He made his first All-Star workforce and joined Deacon White (.367 in 1875), Bubbles Hargrave (.353 in 1926), and Ernie Lombardi (.342 in 1938 and .330 in 1942) as the one catchers to win batting titles to that time; Buster Posey (.336 in 2012) is the one one to take action since. Mauer’s 144 OPS+ ranked seventh within the league, his 5.8 WAR fifth, and he positioned sixth within the AL MVP voting. Aided by a Cy Younger-winning marketing campaign by Johan Santana and an MVP-winning one from Justin Morneau (who had simply 4.3 WAR however 34 homers and 130 RBIs), the Twins received 96 video games and the AL Central, however they had been swept by the A’s within the Division Collection, with Mauer going simply 2-for-11 with out an extra-base hit.

Mauer signed a four-year, $33 million extension in February 2007, shopping for out not solely his arbitration years but in addition his first of free agent eligibility. A quad pressure restricted him to 109 video games and a 118 OPS+ that season, although he nonetheless produced 3.9 WAR. He rebounded to hit .328/.413/.451 with 9 house runs in 2008, successful his second batting title to hitch Lombardi as the one different catcher with a number of titles. In the meantime, his 5.6 WAR ranked seventh within the league, his 134 OPS+ eighth. He made his second All-Star workforce, received his first Gold Glove, and completed fourth within the AL MVP voting; once more, Morneau positioned above him regardless of a decrease WAR however higher counting stats.

It tuns out, Mauer had been taking part in although ache brought on by a blockage in considered one of his kidneys. He underwent surgical procedure to appropriate the issue on December 22, 2008, which restricted his offseason conditioning; he couldn’t run or carry weights. As camp opened, he handled irritation of his proper sacroilac joint, which saved him out of main league motion till Might 1, 2009. He homered off the Royals’ Sidney Ponson on his first swing of the season, although, then simply saved hitting. By means of June 16, he was batting a scorching .429/.497/.756 with 13 homers in 42 video games, matching the profession excessive he’d set in 2006. At a degree when he was nonetheless chasing .400, Sports activities Illustrated’s Tom Verducci checked in:

The key to Mauer’s success is his serenity, his minimalist motion and emotion. He’s the Ben Hogan of hitters, bringing the candy spot to the hitting space with no extraneous motion. “I feel the most important factor about my swing is I don’t have lots of stuff occurring,” he says. “Guys have totally different triggers for timing, and my timing could be very easy.”

…Mauer is so calm he appears to alter the physics of the sport. As a result of his swing is so compact, he can wait longer to decide to pitches, which has the impact of stretching the 60 toes, six inches between the pitching rubber and residential plate. “He sees the ball longer than any hitter in baseball,” [bullpen coach Rick] Stelmaszek says.

Mauer couldn’t keep the .400 common and barely missed surpassing Babe Phelps‘ .367 from 1936, the high-water mark for a contemporary AL/NL catcher, hitting .365/.444/.587. He received not solely his third batting title but in addition the “Slash Stat” Triple Crown — the one catcher who’s ever executed so. Moreover, he led the AL with a 171 OPS+ and positioned second behind Ben Zobrist with 7.8 WAR. After hitting a modest 29 homers over the earlier three seasons, he clubbed a career-high 28 in 138 video games and 606 PA; although he missed the season’s first 22 video games, he performed in all however three of Minnesota’s final 141. The Twins received a Sport 163 tiebreaker towards the Tigers to say the division title, however regardless of Mauer’s 5-for-12 displaying, they had been swept by the Yankees within the Division Collection. Within the AL MVP voting, Mauer acquired 27 out of 28 first-place votes.

The 2009 season was the Twins’ closing one within the much-derided Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Anticipating the income increase that will include the transfer to outside Goal Discipline, and fearful of shedding their hometown star after buying and selling Santana to the Mets and watching Torii Hunter signal with the Angels, they inked Mauer, who was heading into the ultimate season of his four-year deal, to an eight-year, $184 million extension. It was the fourth-largest contract to that time after Alex Rodriguez‘s 10-year offers of $252 million and $275 million and Derek Jeter’s 10-year, $189 million deal. The Twins, who opened the 2009 season with the majors’ seventh-lowest payroll at $65.3 million, based on Cot’s Contracts, jumped to tenth at $97.7 million in ’10, when Mauer was making $12.5 million; they’d climb to ninth at $113.2 million the subsequent 12 months, when the catcher started receiving his annual $23 million salaries.

The place the Twins and their opponents ranked ninth within the majors with 189 homers on the Metrodome in 2009, they hit simply 116, the majors’ fourth-lowest whole at Goal Discipline in ’10. Mauer’s whole sank to 9 as he battled proper shoulder woes and chronic left knee ache, however he nonetheless hit .327/.402/.469, good for a 140 OPS+ and 5.9 WAR (each tenth within the league), to not point out his third straight season because the beginning catcher on the AL All-Star workforce. The Twins improved to 94 wins and claimed their sixth AL Central title in 9 years however had been once more swept by the Yankees, this time with Mauer going 3-for-12. A blown name within the Eleventh inning of a 3–3 tie in Sport 2 by left subject umpire Phil Cuzzi on a Mauer drive loomed massive:

After the season, Mauer underwent surgical procedure on his left knee to alleviate discomfort brought on by the plica band, a fold of tissue that strains the knee and that typically will get irritated by overuse. Shortly after camp opened, Gardenhire revealed that the catcher had acquired an injection of joint lubricant into the knee. Mauer was “miffed the pictures are public,” based on considered one of many reports that expressed his disgruntlement. He issued a clarification, saying, “It’s extra of a preventative factor simply to ensure I’m good to go for the season. It’s actually not that massive of a deal and I form of want it wasn’t on the market, however right here we’re.”

Although he inaugurated his new contract whereas making the Opening Day lineup, Mauer performed simply 9 video games earlier than touchdown on the disabled listing with what the Twins termed “bilateral leg weak spot” — a obscure phrase describing a mysterious constellation of signs, and one which did the catcher no favors in a state with a hockey-toughness mentality. “Maybe it’s time to ask Joe for a few of these tens of millions again,” wrote the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Jim Souhan in an ugly hit piece, calling Mauer “the softest of stars” for lacking over two months. Followers started to boo him. It didn’t assist that Morneau was sidelined by a ruptured disc in his neck as nicely, that after lacking half of the 2010 season as a result of a career-altering concussion.

Mauer performed simply 82 video games, hitting a skinny .287/.360/.368 with three homers earlier than an higher respiratory an infection was pneumonia and ended his wretched season — one during which the Twins misplaced 99 video games — in mid-September. Happily, he got here again robust, batting .319/.416/.446 (140 OPS+) with 10 homers in 2012, main the AL in OBP for a second time (all different catchers within the AL, NL and bygone Nineteenth-century leagues have executed so simply twice) and producing 4.4 WAR in a career-high 147 video games. Simply 74 of these had been behind the plate, with 42 at DH and 30 at first base.

Mauer was within the midst of one other excellent season in 2013, hitting .324/.404/.476 (142 OPS+) with 5.5 WAR, when a foul ball off the bat of the Mets’ Ike Davis hit his masks on August 19. He suffered a concussion, was positioned on the seven-day concussion disabled listing, and didn’t play once more that season. When he had tried to return, complications, bouts of dizziness, sensitivity to gentle, and different post-concussion signs prevented him from doing so. After the season, Mauer consulted with physicians on the Mayo Clinic in addition to workforce medical doctors. He and the Twins concluded it might be finest for him to cease catching and transfer to first base — a place opened up by Morneau’s free company — on a everlasting foundation.

“After I saved gathering data, to be trustworthy with you, it wasn’t actually even a call,” he told reporters. “I saved looking to see if it was going to be OK, if it was going to be protected for me to return there and catch, and I simply wasn’t discovering that… All it might take is one foul tip in pitcher’s batting apply, and I’m out for 2 or three months or much more.”

Heading into his age-31 season, Mauer nonetheless had 5 years remaining on his eight-year deal, and it was obvious given his modest energy that he would have trouble offering the extent of offense anticipated from a primary baseman. He finally grew to become robust sufficient defensively to supply important worth, however from 2014 to ’16, he hit a mixed .267/.353/.380 (103 OPS+), averaging simply eight homers and 1.8 WAR.

Mauer did have another distinctive season, nonetheless. In 2017, he hit .305/.384/.417 with seven homers and a 115 OPS+. Boosted by his 13 Defensive Runs Saved (third amongst all first basemen), he completed with 3.9 WAR. His efficiency helped the Twins to a Wild Card berth, however as soon as once more they bumped into the Yankees; Mauer went 1-for-5 within the loss.

On April 12, 2018, Mauer singled off the White Sox’s Aaron Bummer. It was his second hit of the evening and the two,000th of his profession, a milestone I noted right here at FanGraphs due to its significance in Corridor of Fame deliberations (a subject I’ll take up later on this cycle with the case of Chase Utley).

On Might 11 towards the Angels, he was shaken up diving for a foul ball. He performed one other six video games earlier than being eliminated within the fifth inning of a Might 18 contest as a result of whiplash-like signs, at which level supervisor Paul Molitor revealed that Mauer had additionally been coping with steadiness points and sensitivity to gentle. “We ran by way of the protocol final evening,” Molitor stated, “and there was no definitive reply there so far as what precisely is ongoing, however given his historical past … it appears to be like to me prefer it’s gonna be no less than a number of days.”

The Twins positioned Mauer on the injured listing with a cervical pressure and concussion-like signs. “(On) the drive house, the signs began to actually form of pour on,” Mauer later said. “That’s why you didn’t see me for a pair days.” He reduce quick an on-field exercise at Goal Discipline on Might 30 because of the return of signs; he had hoped to take a seat within the dugout to check his tolerance for the noise ranges of a recreation. “Hitting, I felt fairly good, however taking groundballs and transferring round is form of once I began to really feel a few of that stuff, so we form of backed off… I’m not there but.”

Mauer missed 25 video games and misplaced 53 factors of on-base proportion between the purpose of his newest damage and the tip of the season, ending at .282/.351/.379 (100 OPS+) with 1.4 WAR. With two five-year-olds at house and spouse Maddie pregnant with the couple’s third little one, he reassessed his priorities however performed his playing cards near the vest. Whereas he hadn’t formally made up his thoughts relating to retirement, the Twins hatched a plan for him to make a one-pitch cameo behind the plate within the ninth inning of the season’s closing recreation, along with his household in attendance. Right here’s the spotlight reel, together with his closing hit, a seventh-inning hustle double. After one intentionally-outside pitch from Matt Belisle to Yoán Moncada, Mauer visited the mound and acquired a hug from the pitcher and a prolonged ovation because the theme from The Pure performed over the Goal Discipline public handle system. The catching cameo begins at 1:56; you would possibly wish to watch out for the oncoming mud storm as referred to as by White Sox play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti:

Said Benetti in a component that’s not inside that clip however that also provides me goosebumps: “None of us will get to decide on how we’re remembered on this planet. However within the recreation of baseball, each on occasion, a participant so particular to a city will get to decide on how he walks off the sector for a closing time. If that is it for Joe Mauer, a becoming, touching and heat send-off on a cold day within the Twin Cities.”

Mauer waited till November 9 to announce his retirement, writing a letter to followers that cited his concussion points:

“The choice got here right down to my well being and my household. The danger of concussion is at all times there, and I used to be reminded of that this season after lacking over 30 video games on account of diving for a foul ball… I’m quickly to be a father of three and I discover myself eager about my future well being and its impression on my household greater than I had years in the past… If I had been to proceed taking part in this recreation I might wish to accomplish that with out reservation and I now not really feel that’s attainable.”

Three years later, with concussions and younger youngsters at house, Posey made a similar exit.

…

To place it bluntly: BBWAA voters have executed a horseshit job of electing catchers for the Corridor of Fame in well timed vogue. Up to now, simply two have been elected on the primary poll: Johnny Bench in 1989 (53 years after the primary election!) and Ivan Rodriguez in 2017. Each had been eminently worthy, rating first and third in WAR and JAWS amongst backstops. Gary Carter, an 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner who ranks second, wanted six years to achieve entry in 2003. Carlton Fisk, who battled accidents early in his profession however recovered to set every kind of longevity data, made 11 All-Star groups and ranks fourth in JAWS; he wanted two years. Fifth-ranked Mike Piazza, a 12-time All-Star who stands because the best-hitting catcher in AL/NL historical past, wanted 4 years, although PED allegations performed a job in that delay. Sixth-ranked Yogi Berra, a three-time MVP and 10-time champion as a participant, wanted two years. Eighth-ranked Bill Dickey, an 11-time All-Star and eight-time champion, acquired votes in 9 elections (not counting runoffs), although to be honest, that tally started earlier than the five-year ready interval was established; he was elected in what would have been his third 12 months of eligibility by trendy guidelines. Ninth-ranked Mickey Cochrane, a two-time MVP whose profession led to 1937, the 12 months after the primary Corridor election, wasn’t elected till a decade later. Tenth-ranked Gabby Hartnett, whose profession led to 1941, wasn’t elected till ’55, and Eleventh-ranked Ted Simmons went one-and-done in his solely BBWAA look in 1994; he wasn’t elected till the 2020 Fashionable Baseball Period Committee poll.

In all, simply 16 non-Negro Leagues catchers are enshrined, counting Roy Campanella, whose 10 years with the Dodgers made him BBWAA-eligible lengthy earlier than his Negro League stats had been thought of a part of his main league totals. That whole of 16 is tied with third basemen for the fewest at any place apart from relievers and DHs. When it comest to evaluating the place that could be a very powerful on the diamond and is definitely essentially the most bodily demanding, voters have dropped the ball repeatedly. Constraints on taking part in time and susceptibility to damage are likely to suppress catchers’ offensive totals, which places them at important disadvantages once they’re in comparison with different place gamers. The comparatively current introduction of pitch-framing metrics helps to shut a number of the gaps in the case of worth, however it additionally limits the scope of historic comparisons. It’s towards that backdrop that I’ve been awaiting — anticipating and typically dreading — the response to Mauer’s candidacy since his closing seasons as a primary baseman. Significantly given his place change, we haven’t had a BBWAA candidate fairly like this in my 23 years of Corridor protection courting again to my pre-JAWS days.

We’ll begin with the elephant within the room: Mauer caught solely 921 video games, a complete that ranks 154th all-time. Of the 16 catchers within the JAWS pool, 13 caught 1,451 video games or extra, the exceptions being Campanella (1,364 together with Negro Leagues video games however not the uncounted variety of non-league video games he will need to have performed early in his profession) and Nineteenth-century backstops Roger Bresnahan (974 out of a complete of 1,446) and King Kelly (584 out of 1,456, however with extra worth there than within the 750 video games he performed within the outfield, which his why he’s counted as a catcher).

Even on the outset of his profession, Mauer’s peak — formally listed at 6-foot-5 however generally known as 6-foot-4 — made him an anomaly, and it was broadly presumed he’d be unable to spend his whole profession behind the plate. That proved to be true, albeit not for the explanations anticipated. Through Stathead, for the reason that begin of the twentieth century, simply 12 gamers listed at 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6, together with Mauer, have caught even 10 video games in an AL/NL season, with solely eight reaching 100 in a season, and solely three — Mauer, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Matt Wieters — doing so greater than twice. Solely that trio and Larry MacLean (1901–15) caught greater than 501 video games of their careers.

It’s not onerous to know why. With additional peak typically comes additional weight, which interprets to additional stress on joints already overtaxed by a lot squatting and contorting. Often if a tall novice catcher is a proficient sufficient hitter, he will get moved to a much less bodily demanding place earlier than he reaches the majors; Jayson Werth is a prime example. Mauer might need had an extended profession had he adopted that path, however wouldn’t it have been a greater one? We are able to’t know.

No matter peak, it’s due to the impression of catching — figuratively and actually, as we all know the hazards of collisions and concussions — that I consider we should always nonetheless be evaluating Mauer to different gamers who spent the substantial parts of their careers behind the plates. There’s a motive none have reached the milestones equivalent to 3,000 hits and 500 house runs that every one however assure induction; Piazza’s 427 is tops within the latter class, and 31 of these got here taking part in positions apart from catcher.

Anyway, among the many 68 gamers who performed no less than 50% of their non–pinch-hitting video games behind the plate and accrued no less than 5,000 PA within the AL, NL and Nineteenth-century leagues, Mauer ranks Eleventh with a 124 OPS+. Elevate the bar to six,000 PA, and he’s eighth of 36; increase it to 7,000, and he’s sixth of 20. Let that sink in: solely 20 gamers who’ve spent a majority of their careers behind the plate in these leagues have even reached 7,000 PA, the cutoff I typically use once I’m reporting rate-stat rankings for position-playing candidates equivalent to David Ortiz, Gary Sheffield, Larry Walker, et al. Ten of the 20 are within the Corridor, together with 9 of the highest 11 in OPS+, with Mauer and Jorge Posada (121 OPS+) the exceptions.

Letting go of the PA cutoffs however nonetheless sustaining the proportion one, Mauer ranks sixth when it comes to batting runs (Rbat), the offensive element of bWAR; his 239 trails solely Piazza (418), Cochrane (273), Bench (269), Gene Tenace (259 because of a .388 OBP in simply 5,527 PA) and Dickey (244). For each that class and OPS+, Mauer might need regressed had he spent longer behind the plate or within the majors in any respect. Nonetheless, we’re speaking about rankings on lists which are far fewer in quantity than the variety of catchers within the Corridor.

Throw in Mauer’s barely above-average baserunning (price eight runs), double play avoidance (-5 runs) and fielding by way of Defensive Runs Saved at each catcher and first base (19 runs), and his profession whole of 55.2 WAR ranks ninth, each amongst gamers with no less than 50% of their non–pinch-hitting video games performed at catcher (which Stathead makes use of) and those that accrued the plurality of their worth as catchers (which JAWS makes use of). The opposite 10 within the high 11 of both class are all enshrined. Mauer’s whole is 1.6 WAR above the place customary.

As for seven-year peak, Mauer’s 39.0 WAR ranks fifth behind solely Carter (48.4), Bench (47.2), Piazza (43.1), and Rodriguez (39.8), 4.3 WAR above the usual. All seven of his peak seasons are from his catching days (his 3.9 WAR in 2007 is tied with that of his standout season at first, ’17), which is to say that he’s not gaining any traction from his late-career transfer. Certainly, it’s due to the positional changes and his decline as a hitter that his WARs at first base weren’t larger. When it comes to JAWS, his 47.1 ranks seventh, between Berra (48.7) and Dickey (45.9), and it’s 2.9 factors above the usual.

Above the profession customary, above the height customary, above the JAWS customary: That’s a straightforward Corridor of Famer proper there, or it needs to be one when you’re in any respect aware of the system, notably as we’re speaking a couple of participant with no recognized connections to PEDs. Are you aware what number of place gamers clear all three requirements, don’t have any PED hyperlinks, and are exterior the Corridor however eligible as of this poll? It’s a brief listing: Mauer, the first-time eligible Adrían Beltré, and long-lost Bobby Grich, who fell in need of 2,000 hits and for some motive has but to seem on a small-committee poll. That’s it.

We haven’t even talked about pitch framing. For the previous a number of years, I’ve used a system cobbled collectively from each our framing stats (which return to 2008, the beginning of the Pitch f/x period) and people of Baseball Prospectus, the place Max Marchi got here up with the Retroframing methodology utilizing referred to as strikes above common going again to the daybreak of the pitch depend period (1988 onward). Mauer was about 38 runs above common for these early years (2004–07) and 28 above for the later ones. Utilizing FanGraphs’ model of WAR, which includes our framing numbers, and a runs-to-wins conversion primarily based on seasonal numbers (someplace within the 9–10 run vary) for the BP ones, Mauer provides 3.8 WAR to his whole. After I do a JAWS-like calculation utilizing these adjusted fWAR figures, his fJAWS is 2.6 larger than his JAWS:

Piazza, an unheralded framer in his day however truly an distinctive one primarily based on Retroframing, has an fJAWS 11 factors larger than his JAWS; that of Rodriguez is 0.6 decrease. I’m forgoing the upcoming discussions relating to Posey, Molina, McCann, and Martin for the sake of house, however these are 4 of the very best for whom now we have fdata, and we’ll be doing them a grave disservice if we don’t incorporate these figures into future Corridor deliberations. And when you’re of the thoughts that framing is by some means dishonest as a result of it takes benefit of the restrictions of umpiring, each as regards to what’s sensible and what’s humanly attainable, be aware that the league itself publishes its personal framing numbers on Baseball Savant and has inspired their proliferation elsewhere, as Lewie Pollis pointed out. That is an formally accepted a part of the sport.

Anyway, I’m of the thoughts that Mauer is worthy of a spot on each voter’s poll, and he’ll definitely be on mine. I’ve been bracing for the likelihood that he received’t get to 75% this time, each due to the BBWAA’s monitor file and since his case requires some digging and comparability. With Beltré and holdover Todd Helton (72.2% final 12 months) the obvious honorees amid a crowded image that features Sheffield (55% in his ninth 12 months), Billy Wagner (68.1% in his eighth), and Utley, I projected that Mauer could be elected subsequent 12 months alongside Wagner in my most up-to-date five-year electoral outlook. I stay optimistic about his possibilities long-term, however I dearly hope BBWAA voters can perform a little to make up for previous sins by beating that timetable.