| Leslie Monteiro. 13th July, 2006 - 4:17 am
 KFAN’s afternoon drive-time sports talk show host Dan Barriero has mocked Joe Mauer as Baby Jesus because the Twin Cities media has been talking about how he is going to be the next best thing before he played a major league game. As derisive as it is, this nickname seems to fit in a way because he is carrying his hometown team to greatness this season. Baby Jesus is becoming a man with each passing game based on how he comes through in the clutch. As a result of him leading the majors in batting average and the way he has played since mid-May, Baby Jesus is now called an All-Star. He was with his teammates Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano in the All-Star Game at Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
The selection is well-earned. He is having a very good season as his performance speaks for itself. He leads the majors in batting average at .378 and is the Twins’ best hitter period. The best thing about his success this year is that he gets the big hits when the game is on the line or when the runners are in scoring position. He is one of the big reasons why the Twins have played great baseball these last few weeks. The loquacious Ozzie Guillen could have snubbed him for his own catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, but the way Joe has played this season, he had no choice but to pick him especially with him getting all the player votes.
He received a huge voting boost by the fans in recent weeks. That is a huge boost considering that he was not even in the top ten for catchers being voted in. He got an increase in votes based on his performance and has done a very good job with his play on the field ever since the Brewers series in mid-May. His play has made everyone notice, prompting the fans to stand up and cheer for Mauer whenever his name is announced by the Twins’ public announcer.
He has been getting lot of publicity in the front page of the Star-Tribune and on sports sections of the Star-Tribune and Pioneer Press and Twins announcers Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven have been encouraging fans to vote for Joe on Twins telecast. They also remind them by wearing those “Vote for Joe” buttons that the Twins have distributed to the fans in a home stand few weeks ago. He has been getting national notoriety with him chasing .400 and the fact that he has been one of the big reasons why the Twins have played well in the last few weeks. Those are the reasons why his votes went up. What is remarkable about his vote tally that he finished in the top three and he was almost 17,000 votes short of being a starter. If he keeps playing like this next year, he will definitely be a starter in the Midsummer Classic at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
He also got player votes which sealed his selection to his first All-Star Game. The fact that he got lot of player votes shows that he not only has arrived as a major leaguer, but he is well respected by his peers. Opposing players and other teams managers have been raving about his talent when their teams play the Twins. He is also praised for his humility and his approach to the game. He is not a guy that does much talking. He is like a normal human being who goes to work and go home after the work is done. He is simply refreshing and that is why he is appreciated not only by his teammates, but other players in the league.
The best part about Joe’s success is that he is developing leadership skills each day. He does a great job scouting the opposing players with his pitchers daily. He calls a very good game with his pitchers. He always encourages them when they do great things and he always supports them when they have tough times. He really does a good job giving his pitchers a clear state of mind when they are in a jam and most of the time; they get out of it thanks to Joe’s leadership. Joe is learning how to be a good leader each day through experience. He is starting to prove that he has that “it” factor to succeed such as coming through in the clutch. He seems to excel and enjoy getting the big hit when his teammates are clogging the base. He is providing fear to the opposing pitcher when he is at bat in big spots like that. Great teams need to have guys like that and the Twins never had that type of player since the late Kirby Puckett retired.
He is not only doing a great job of hitting, but he does great things as a catcher that does not get talked about on television or in the newspapers. He calls a great game with his starters. He knows how important that is because that runner could advance to second or to third if the ball goes past the backstop of home plate. He has a very good arm as he has a very good ratio of throwing runners out when they steal. It is very rare that any player steal bases when Mauer is catching.
The kid from St. Paul is quickly becoming a man in Minnesotan’s eyes. He is playing well beyond his age. He approaches the game as a veteran instead of a kid as he does not let hype or press clippings get into his head. He will get better and better as he gets older. His home run numbers should go up in a few years. It is good to see him do well considering that everyone is worried about him being a bust or the fact that he would be injury-prone due to the wear and tear of being a catcher. He is going to be a guy that will be fun to watch for years to come. |
