Joe Mauer grew up in St. Paul, destined for this.
The legendary Minnesota Twins catcher, a hometown kid who never left, was immortalized on Sunday at Target Field.
The Twins unveiled a bronze statue of Mauer. His pose is that of a catcher coming out of his stance to throw.
“One of my favorite things to do on the baseball field is to throw runners out,” Mauer said at the unveiling. “And I’m looking at this right now — looks like I’m going to throw someone out.”
Mauer was a three-time batting champion for the Twins, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last summer.
The Twins have seven statues in the plaza at Target Field now, including Mauer, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Tom Kelly.
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Mauer got to throw out the first pitch at Sunday’s game, too.
It was a different perspective for Mauer, who went on the mound and delivered a strike to his former first base teammate, Justin Morneau.
“That’s Joe Mauer,” Morneau said. “He’s from St. Paul. He’s one of us. He was humble, he was competitive, he was kind, and he was the best catcher ever to put on a Twins uniform.’”
Mauer is grateful for his time with the Twins.
“When Twins fans come to the ballpark and see this statue,” Mauer said, “I hope they’re proud like I am.”
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