Proper Name: Joseph Patrick Mauer
Born: April 19, 1983
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 215 lbs.
Age: 23
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Position: Catcher
Experience: 3 years
2007 Salary: $3,750,000
High School: Cretin-Derham Hall HS
College: N/A
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Mauer was a three-sport athlete, baseball, football, and basketball, for St. Paul's Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders. He was a good enough athlete, even back then, to make it into a Sports Illustrated issue as a "Face In The Crowd."
Mauer has always been a good hitter. In his entire high school career, Joe only struck out once. That’s right in four years he had ONE strikeout. He also set a
And that’s just what he did in baseball. Mauer was also the quarterback of Cretin-Durham’s football team his senior year. That season, Mauer completed 178 of 288 passes (62% success rate) for 3,022 yards and 41 touchdowns. And, he only gave up two interceptions that whole season. Not only is he a stud baseball player who doesn’t strike out, but he’s a stud QB who doesn’t throw interceptions. Mauer led the Raiders to two consecutive state championships and was named Gatorade’s National Player of the Year. Parade and USA Today both named Joe Player of the Year, AND he was named a Reebok/ESPN High School All-American. This is for football, his second sport. He wasn't too bad at basketball either, though I won't bore you with more of his stats.
Joe Mauer passed up a scholarship to play quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles, one of the best programs in the nation, and enter the Major League Baseball draft. The Minnesota Twins selected him with the number one pick overall.
Joe was All-State in basketball for his junior and senior seasons.
Joe Mauer quickly rose through the minor league ranks (in just 3 years) and made it to the Minnesota Twins and you know the rest of the story up to this point. Joe Mauer in 2006 bats .347 and becomes the first catcher in baseball history to lead the Majors in batting average. Mauer was racking up huge numbers, honors, and awards in high school and now he's already starting to rack up in the Major Leagues too. Many scouts say that Joe Mauer has the best swing they've ever seen in the history of baseball. It just seems like there is nothing this kid can't do.
Oh, and did I mention he's mildly good-looking and single? Mauer modeled for Perry Ellis in the 2004-2005 off-season. And in 2006, Mauer dated former "Miss USA", Chelsea Cooley, but he ended their relationship in November of the same year. Apparently she wasn't perfect enough for Mr. Perfect. Joe was very cautious about even admitting that she was his girlfriend, always saying something like "Uhh, we're still getting to know each other." When asked if he was still dating Ms. Cooley, he said "No, that's over. That ended in, I think, November. I'm single. I'm young." That's right ladies. Joe Mauer is single and presumably looking for someone to warm up these cold spring nights.
Especially now that he doesn't have Justin Morneau to cuddle with. In 2006, Justin moved in with Joe, in part because he was struggling with things on and off the field. Of course, Joe would be the one to straighten him out. The two shared Mauer's townhouse in St. Paul. For a great story about what it was like for the two of them to live together, check out this Sports Illustrated story.
However, in the off-season, Justin purchased a home across the river in Mendota because he wanted to be able to live with his girlfriend, a little-talked about Minnesota native. When asked about Justin moving out, Mauer said "He's got a girlfriend. He knows the rules. At my house, no live-in girlfriends." Justin acknowledges that he knows the rule and says "I couldn't pick Joe over my girlfriend." I think both parts of that are cute--that Joe has a rule about live-in girlfriends (even for his own girlfriends) and that Justin likes his girl enough to both protect her from the media and to move out to be with her.
I think it's safe to say the Batting Champ has won a place in our hearts for good. If you have any questions about Joe or would just like me to post more pictures, please let me know. Also, check out the Joe Mauer Fan Club web page.