Twins legend Joe Mauer talks spending Hall of Fame career with 1 team
Joe Mauer entered the Baseball Hall of Fame last year with a career that’s getting rarer each MLB season as he spent it all with the Minnesota Twins.
Mauer, who is from St. Paul, Minnesota, and was the No. 1 overall pick of the Twins in 2001, played each of his 15 MLB seasons with the organization. He was a one-time American League MVP, hit 143 home runs, batted .306 and was an All-Star six times.
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Todd Helton, Tony Oliva, Derek Jeter, Edgar Martinez, Mariano Rivera, Alan Trammel and Chipper Jones were among the recent inductees who have spent time with one team their entire career. Future Hall of Famers like Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper, Justin Verlander, Mookie Betts, Max Scherzer, Manny Machado and many others won't be able to say the same thing.
The idea of having loyalty to one team for an entire career is something fans have debated since the advent of free agency in sports.
Mauer told Fox News Digital it "meant a lot" to him to be able to play with one team – essentially his hometown team – for his entire career.
"I grew up here in Minnesota and rooting on the Twins. [I] had the dream of playing in the big leagues, [and] for me being in the position in my draft year [and] the Twins having the first overall pick and selecting me, it really is pretty crazy and something that I am so thankful for.
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"But for me, I think a lot of guys would like to wear that one uniform for their career, but sometimes it is not up to them. You know, they get traded or … things don’t work out, or it might work out in a different place. So I’m thankful for the opportunity I had in Minnesota, was proud of wearing the Minnesota jersey every day of my career and thankful I was able to do that for 15 years."
Mauer admitted that he still has to pinch himself a bit after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
But he did lament that there was one thing missing on his nearly perfect resume: a World Series ring.
"First thing to come to mind is I would’ve loved to win a championship," he told Fox News Digital. "Obviously, when I signed with Minnesota and kind of re-upped with Minnesota, I signed there with those aspirations. It didn’t work out. We always tried, and I felt good about when I did sign that we had an opportunity or chance to win, to win the whole thing.
"But that is sports. There is only one happy team at the end of the year. You keep trying to get better and get yourself over the hump. I was able to play with some really good teams and be a part of some really good teams. I think if something was missing that it would be that. But obviously, looking back [at] the effort that myself and my teammates put in, I wouldn’t change a thing."
Mauer is set to compete in the American Century Championship golf tournament next month at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club.
Fox News' Connor McGahan contributed to this report.
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