Bound for Cooperstown: Joe Mauer elected to Hall of Fame on first ballot

Longtime Twins great is officially a Hall of Famer.

Joe Mauer is officially a Hall of Famer. 

Mauer, a St. Paul native who spent his entire 15-year career in a Minnesota Twins uniform, was elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday on his first time on the ballot, receiving votes on 76.1% of ballots cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America; 75% is required for election to the Hall. 

Joining Mauer in the 2024 Hall of Fame class are Adrian Beltre and Todd Helton. 

Mauer was the No. 1 pick in the 2001 MLB draft out of Cretin-Derham Hall High School, where he struck out just once across his four-year high school career and was the first high school athlete ever to be named USA TODAY's High School Athlete of the Year in two sports (football and quarterback). He made his major league debut three years later on April 5, 2004, and while his rookie year was cut short due to a meniscus tear, it was clear early his career would be something special. 

Tom Verducci says that Joe Mauer was so good Max Scherzer created a cut fastball just to strike Mauer out pic.twitter.com/gvxs2E2ykM

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) January 23, 2024

In 2006, Mauer became the first catcher in American League history to win a batting title, hitting .347 for the year. He won the American League battling title for a second time in 2008, when he finished the year with a .328 average. 

That set the stage for an even more special 2009 season, when he led the American lead in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587) — the first catcher ever to do so and the first player to accomplish the feat since George Brett in 1980. He also led the lead with a 1.031 OPS that season. Mauer won the American League MVP that season and won his second straight Gold Glove Award.

Mauer won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award in 2010. For his career, Mauer was a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger and a three-time Gold Glover.

After the 2013 season, the Twins moved Mauer to first base permanently after he suffered a concussion the previous season, wanting to further protect him from injury. At first base, Mauer started his 13th Opening Day in 2017, matching Harmon Killebrew for the franchise record — breaking the record a year later. 

Mauer finished his career with 2,123 hits, 923 RBIs, 143 home runs and a .306 batting average. He still holds MLB records for highest single-season batting average for a catcher (.365) and highest single-season on-base percentage for a catcher (.444). He also has the most batting titles ever won by a catcher with three. 

Mauer became the 38th member of the Twins Hall of Fame on Aug. 5. Mauer said then he was "filled with gratitude" to be honored by the organization that he represented for his entire 15-year career. 

Now, he'll forever be remembered in Cooperstown, N.Y., becoming just the seventh Twins player enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

2023 member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame class Joe Mauer salutes the fans in a pregame ceremony before a game with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Target Field in Minneapolis on Aug. 5, 2023 :: Bruce Kluckhohn / USA TODAY Sports