| Despite their small payroll, the Minnesota Twins | | | | 2001 after playing his high school ball in St. Paul, |
| simply felt they couldn't afford to let the best | | | | Minn. In the contemporary sports scene, a |
| catcher in the league walk out the door. The | | | | franchise having a hometown hero as its biggest |
| Twins recently signed Joe Mauer to an eight-year, | | | | star is unbelievably rare, and if the Twins hadn't |
| $184 million contract extension that will keep one | | | | put up the big money to retain his services, it |
| of the league's top players in Minnesota for much | | | | would have been a terrible blow to the entire |
| of his career, if not all of it. With such a big | | | | organization. Though it is certainly a hefty |
| contract, it's a big victory for Mauer, of course, | | | | contract, it should bring the type of long-term |
| but it is also a huge win for the fans of a team | | | | success for the franchise that will leave the |
| that was recently targeted for contraction. The | | | | previous talks of contraction in the distant past. |
| move will also ensure that <a rel="nofollow" | | | | Perhaps most importantly, the contract extension |
| onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' | | | | also will allow the Twins to focus entirely on the |
| outgoing/article_exit_link');" href=" Twins | | | | upcoming season, which should have them in the |
| tickets</a> will remain at a premium around | | | | middle of another hot divisional race. The Twins |
| Minneapolis. | | | | will also open their new stadium, Target Field, this |
| For the Twins, signing Mauer wasn't simply on the | | | | April with Mauer as their poster boy and an |
| wish list moving forward; it was a complete | | | | exciting future ahead of them. Backed by Mauer |
| necessity. Mauer isn't only the best catcher in | | | | and their state-of-the-art new stadium, the Twins |
| the game; he's also one of the game's overall | | | | are no longer one of the have-nots in Major |
| best hitters, not to mention the reigning AL | | | | League Baseball and have a great chance of being |
| MVP. While many assumed that Mauer could be | | | | a competitor year in and year out. |
| among the top hitters in terms of batting average | | | | Target Field is not as much of a hitters park as |
| since he was originally drafted, his development as | | | | the Metrodome was, which could cut into Mauer's |
| a power hitter has caught nearly everyone by | | | | power numbers, but he is such a complete hitter |
| surprise. In a shortened season due to injury in | | | | that his overall effectiveness isn't likely to be |
| 2009, Mauer hit 28 homeruns and drove in 96 | | | | diminished in any way. Under head coach Ron |
| runs while posting an absurd .365 batting average | | | | Gardenhire, the Twins have also been a team |
| – a number unheard of for a catcher. | | | | that stresses fundamentals above all else – a |
| Mauer ensures that the Twins will have their | | | | trait that will likely work to their advantage in a |
| one-two punch of Morneau and Mauer in the | | | | stadium where the ball won't carry as well as the |
| middle of their lineup for quite some time. Even | | | | Metrodome. |
| with a smaller payroll than the most celebrated | | | | Regardless of the field, however, Mauer's signing |
| teams in the league, boasting two perennial MVP | | | | proves that even the smaller teams in the league |
| candidates in the heart of their lineup should | | | | can compete when they build through the draft |
| maintain their overall competitive viability moving | | | | and choose carefully as to who they tie their |
| forward. Mauer also is renowned for handling | | | | futures to. Mauer has helped rejuvenate a |
| pitchers very well, which should contribute to the | | | | franchise that was only recently on the brink of |
| development of younger pitchers and help them | | | | an abyss and it looks like he will maintain their |
| reach their potential in the big leagues. | | | | prominence for many seasons following this one, |
| But Mauer isn't simply a great player; he's also a | | | | making the signing not only a win for the Twins |
| symbol for the entire franchise. Mauer was | | | | but for baseball as a whole. |
| drafted by the Minnesota Twins first overall in | | | | |