Selection to Baseball Hall of Fame ends ‘crazy couple of months’ for Joe Mauer

Joe Mauer had his cellphone on speaker, positioned on the table in front of him, as he leaned forward in his chair.

He rubbed his hands together and repositioned himself as he listened to the voice on the other end, Jack O’Connell of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

“I think the last time I spoke with you was notifying you of your American League MVP and I have a much bigger message for you today: The baseball writers have elected to you to the Hall of Fame,” O’Connell said. “Congratulations, my friend.”

Mauer rubbed his right hand on the top of his head and shook his head as his family quietly reacted.

“Wow, Jack, that’s unbelievable,” Mauer said. “I don’t even know what to say.”

Mauer has until July 21 to work on his induction speech in Cooperstown, N.Y. He joined Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and manager Jim Leyland (Contemporary Baseball Era Committee) in the 2024 Hall of Fame class. The Twins will honor Mauer’s induction with a pregame celebration on Aug. 3 at Target Field.

Justin Morneau, the other half of the M&M Boys that defined the Twins for years, joined MLB Network’s broadcast after Mauer’s election was publicly revealed.

“I was maybe more nervous than you were leading up to this thing,” Morneau told Mauer. “It was truly an honor to watch you work. You were the best at your position. You were the best at what you did. I was tearing up today when I got the news.”

Mauer, one of 273 players elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, joined Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez as the only catchers to be voted into the Hall of Fame during their first year on the ballot. His stats speak volumes — three-time AL batting champion, 2009 AL MVP and six-time All-Star while winning five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves — but that was only a part of his résumé.

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Pitcher Max Scherzer, likely a future Hall of Famer, told Sports Illustrated he invented a cut fastball specifically for Mauer. In 2014, during their 37th career plate appearance against each other, Scherzer struck out Mauer swinging for the first time with his new pitch. Two at-bats later, in the same game, Mauer hit a two-run double.

“If I was going to get a ball inside on Joe Mauer, I was gonna have to throw it behind him,” tweeted former Oakland A’s pitcher Dallas Braden, who gave up seven hits in 15 at-bats vs. Mauer. “The dude is about as storybook as it gets — from hometown hero to living legend enshrined forever in baseball glory!”

Morneau narrated an MLB Network video essay that aired before Mauer was announced as a Hall of Famer. The guy who was a Minnesota icon after starring at Cretin-Derham Hall, Morneau noted, was now realized by everybody as a baseball icon.

Mauer grew up watching his hometown Twins. His family had four tickets to watch Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, and as the youngest brother, he was the one left at home.

He turned into the face of the franchise and the league’s most prolific offensive catcher for a generation.

Mauer garnered 293 votes on 385 Hall of Fame ballots (76.1%), four more votes than the 289 required for induction. He is one of 60 players elected during his first year on the ballot. Bench was the only catcher with a higher vote total on his first year on the ballot (96%).

“You’re everything that the Hall of Fame embodies,” former Twins pitcher, LaTroy Hawkins, said in a video. “You’re a leader, an incredible player, an even better individual.”

“Thankful that I got the opportunity to get a front-row seat of greatness for five years,” former Twins outfielder Denard Span tweeted.

“On first base at Target Field during a game,” longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto tweeted, “I turn to Joe, ‘Used to watch your batting vids every day after school,’ I tell him. Joe smiles and responds, ‘That’s incredibly generous of you. Thank you!’ At 34 years old, I was starstruck meeting him. Now, he’s HOF! Congrats, Joe!”

When Tuesday arrived, Mauer said he didn’t know what to think about his Hall of Fame chances. He intentionally kept the invite list small, bringing over his mom, Teresa, and brothers, Bill and Jake, to join him, his wife, Maddie, and children, Emily, Maren and Chip. After the announcement, his basement began to swell with more people.

“It’s been a crazy couple of months,” Mauer said. “I’m glad I won’t have to do that next year and the year after that.”

Mauer, the last Twin to wear No. 7 before his number was retired, fittingly was the seventh Twins player elected to the Hall of Fame.