When most people talk about Joe Mauer they understand he is one of the best catchers to play in recent memory. In his 6 years in the bigs he already has two batting titles. His career batting average is .322 and has only 250 strikeouts. Last year he was an All-Star, Silver Slugger, won a Golden Glove, and was 4th in the AL MVP voting. Still, with all these credentials I dont think he gets the credit he deserves. Just look at the year he is currently having.
Because of how catchers get a lot more days off due to the physical strain of the activity Mauer's 122 at-bats do not qualify him for the league leaders yet. As the year goes on this will of course change but this really does do his year a great injustice. Mauer is currently hitting at a .410 clip with 12 dingers (career high - 13) and only striking out 17 times. He also has an OPS of 1.292, which if were carried out for the rest of the year would be the 7th best mark of all-time (behind Bonds and Ruth a couple of times).
So how is he somewhat a forgotten superstar? Well for one he's a catcher that doesn't play everyday. Or, maybe he loses some fame because he isn't flashy. He is one of those guys who plays the game the right way, isn't loud or obnoxious, and doesn't get in trouble. Or, maybe its because he plays in boring Minnesota instead of New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago. Whatever the reason is it's not a good one.
As Joe matures as a baseball player and becomes more and more comfortable as a major league baseball player I think he could realistically be the next player to hit .400 in a season. I know we aren't even to the All-Star break yet but I'm not necessarily saying he will do it this year. With the style of play he posesses, he could honestly be the first player to hit over the milestone since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941 one of these days.
dude can't hold a a candle to wieters, is this a joke
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