Joe Mauer RUMORS & NEWS

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Remember when the early talk was about how Joe Mauer was striking out at an alarming rate (for him)? Remember when there was some concern about this experiment that had the Twins' franchise catcher hitting second? Well, uh, strike that from the record. Mauer is back to being..." April 17

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer takes foul tips off his catcher's mask all the time, but this one was different. When Steve Pearce fouled off a Pedro Hernandez fastball in the second inning on Sunday, April 7, the ball smacked off the top of Mauer's helmet and ricocheted at least 30 feet straight up in the..." April 08

Twinkie Town "I was in the shower the other day when I began considering Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame case. Indeed, these are the things I think about during life’s mundane tasks, such as grooming, taking out the garbage, and working at my day job. It was a year or so ago that a writer, whose name I’ll withhold..." February 13

MLB.com "With Joe Mauer coming off his worst professional season in an injury-plagued 2011 campaign, the Twins set up a blueprint to keep him on the field in '12. The plan worked to perfection, as Mauer ended up setting a career high in games played with 147 while returning to the elite form that makes..." January 27

St. Paul Pioneer Press "The United States is scheduled to play Canada in the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix on March 10. That could mean Twins teammates Joe Mauer (catcher) and Glen Perkins (pitcher) of the USA team could face Twins teammate, first baseman Justin Morneau of Canada. "(Morneau's) been talking a lot..." January 24

Twinkie Town "As understandable as it is that people might be reticent to support the decision of certain players to participate in the World Baseball Classic, it's easy to have respect for those players. You don't even have to compare it to the Olympics. If you watch the World Cup of soccer, or rugby's Six..." January 17

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Much has been made -- and will continue to be made -- about who should win the MVP award in the American League. Though the award won't be announced until after the playoffs, only regular-season stats count. And it can be framed as a debate over old-school stats (Triple Crown winner Miguel..." October 08

Twinkie Town "One of the biggest challenges facing Twins interim-GM Terry Ryan this offseason will be the distribution of assets. Essentially, Ryan has a handful of guys who can play first base, another bunch that can play outfield, and then a handful of spare parts. I consider Ryan Doumit one of the former..." October 03

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Joe Mauer on Tuesday went 0-for-3 with a walk as the Twins lost 4-3 to Toronto in the penultimate game of the season. His chances of a fourth American League batting title are very slim, but he had a reason to feel good. Mauer has 637 plate appearances this season, establishing a career high...." October 03

Minneapolis Star Tribune "With three games to go, Twins catcher Joe Mauer has a fourth batting title well within his reach. Mauer went 3-for-4 in Sunday's loss to the Tigers, raising his average to .323, while the league leader, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, went 0-for-3 with a walk, falling to .325. All this came on a..." October 01

Minneapolis Star Tribune "On Sept. 26, 2011, Joe Mauer trudged into the Twins clubhouse with sleepy eyes and a strained voice. Diagnosed with pneumonia two weeks earlier at the Mayo Clinic, the three-time American League batting champion was a shell of himself, still down at least 15 pounds from an early-season viral..." September 30

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Miguel Cabrera was asked last week how badly he wants to win the Triple Crown. "You know," he said. "I'll leave that up to God." Yes, well, Joe Mauer should have something to do with it, too, and the Twins catcher and Tigers third baseman will have a head-to-head matchup of sorts this..." September 28

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Yankees left Target Field on Wednesday with two victories in three games -- and liking their chances to win the AL East a little more after watching CC Sabathia's signature performance against the Twins. The Twins blew a chance to win a season series against New York for the first time..." September 27

Twinkie Town "Yesterday in a comment thread I said that I had discounted Joe Mauer's chances at winning another batting title. It seems that was just a mental process, since I made the following prediction in my second half crystal ball: Joe Mauer wins his fourth AL batting title Mauer's second..." September 26

Michigan Live "For the first time in the last 15 games, Miguel Cabrera was held without a hit. Despite drawing a seventh-inning intentional walk, Cabrera went 0-for-3 at the plate Tuesday night with a strikeout, flyout and groundout against the Kansas City Royals. The result? His batting average dropped..." September 26

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Joe Mauer pulled within six points of Miguel Cabrera for the American League batting lead in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader, but by day's end, Cabrera was batting .331, compared to .323 for Mauer. After going 3-for-4 in Game 1, Mauer went 0-for-5 in the nightcap. Cabrera went 1-for-4 in each..." September 24

Twinkie Town "In case you're wondering -- you're not -- I'm putting the overrated/underrated series off until the offseason. I think there's better items to attend to in the interim. Much digital ink has been spilled regarding the treatment of Joe Mauer by the Twins faithless so far this season. And while..." September 19

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer is back in the thick of another American League batting title race and it has his juices flowing. "I'm not going to lie," he said. "That'd be nice to get back up there and win it." Mauer went 3 for 4 with two walks in a 6-5, 12-inning victory over the Indians at Progressive Field..." September 19

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The season series between the White Sox and Twins is over, a series that Chicago dominated. The White Sox shrugged off a first-inning home run by Joe Mauer on Sunday to blow by the Twins 9-2 and win 14 of the 18 games between the teams this season. Chicago outscored the Twins 113-77 in the..." September 17

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Joe Mauer was set to start on Tuesday against the Royals, a team he's batting .425 against this season and .355 (in 116 games) in his career. But the All-Star catcher was hit with back spasms right before batting practice and was scratched from the starting lineup. Ryan Doumit replaced him..." September 12

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer hit his third career grand slam and Chris Parmelee hit a three-run homer as the Twins swept a doubleheader with an 8-7 win over the Royals in front of 23,189 on Saturday, Sept. 1, at Kaufmann Stadium. The two homers gave the Twins an 8-2 lead after two innings but starter Liam..." September 02

ESPN.com "Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer has cleared waivers, according to a report by Fox Sports. The network's website reported late Tuesday, attributing an unidentified "major league source," that Mauer was placed on waivers earlier this week. Twins general manager Terry Ryan declined..." August 30

Foxsports.com "Here's the first test for the Boston Red Sox, the first chance for general manager Ben Cherington to demonstrate what his newfound commitment to "discipline" in player acquisitions truly means. The Minnesota Twins placed catcher Joe Mauer on trade waivers Tuesday, according to a major-league..." August 29

ESPN.com "With the Twins reportedly putting starting catcher Joe Mauer on waivers earlier this week, speculation has started growing about whether the Red Sox would consider putting in a claim on him and possibly working out a trade to bring him to Boston. After all, the team had been high on the..." August 29

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Twins hometown hero Joe Mauer has been placed on waivers for the purpose of gauging trade interest in the all-star catcher, according to a report on FoxSports.com Fox's Ken Rosenthal, citing a major league source, said the Boston Red Sox might be interested in making a deal for Mauer, who is 29..." August 29

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins catcher Joe Mauer has played All-Star Games in Pittsburgh, New York, St. Louis, Anaheim and Kansas City. If he is picked again in 2014, he will get a chance to play in his own back yard. Commissioner Bud Selig will be at Target Field on Wednesday for a news conference at 4 p.m.,..." August 29

Twinkie Town "Over at TwinsBaseball.com, Todd Wills makes a brief mention of Joe Mauer's impending date with Minnesota Twins history. Primarily: that he's about to break Earl Battey's games caught record for the franchise. Mauer's already broken Battey's record for games started at catcher, as Mauer's now..." August 27

Minneapolis Star Tribune "With two outs in the ninth inning Saturday night, Darin Masroianni drew a huge walk for the Twins, bringing Joe Mauer to the plate in a tie game at Safeco Field. Mariners manager Eric Wedge summoned lefthander Lucas Luetge, who quickly fell behind in the count 3-0. Mauer had the green light,..." August 19

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Twins were down to their final strike Saturday, lamenting a night of missed chances at Fenway Park, when Joe Mauer changed everything with one swing. Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves threw a 95-miles-per-hour fastball over the plate, and Mauer drove it over the Green Monster for a three-run..." August 05

Boston Globe "Owners John Henry and Tom Werner returned from the Olympics in London Saturday night, but they did not witness any gold-medal performances from the team they own. As dramatically as Pedro Ciriaco had stroked an eighth-inning pinch-hit homer to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead that became 4-2 on a..." August 05

St. Paul Pioneer Press "For the 43rd time this season, Joe Mauer came to the ballpark on Monday, July 23, and saw his name in the lineup as something other than the Twins' catcher. That's one more time than he has arrived to see that he'll be behind the plate. Mauer is essentially a part-time catcher now, spending..." July 24

MLB.com "Halfway and then some into the 2012 season, several star players are serving notice that they're all the way back to their normal high form after a year or more off-track. More often than not, their teams are benefiting from those players' return to their standards of excellence. The AL..." July 19

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Joe Mauer is back. After an injury marred 2011, he's keeping himself in the lineup, he's a candidate for another batting title, and he's catching like a Gold Glover again. Those truths became apparent to anyone who kept their eyes from glazing over Tuesday night, as the Twins defeated the..." July 18

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Joe Mauer detractors are losing ammunition in 2012, though perhaps not at the same rate they are losing steam. He's been far more durable this season than in 2011, even if critics will note that roughly half of his at-bats have come at a position other than catcher. He went into Monday..." July 17

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Joe Mauer says he is puzzled about why the Twins hold the worst record in baseball, because the star catcher believes the team has a lot of talent. "You know, that's part of the frustration," he said. "We have a lot of talent, we have a lot of young players and they're learning how to play the..." July 16

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer has played 14 games at first base this season, which hardly qualified him for the all-star ballot at that position. Still, he was good enough for American League manager Ron Washington, who sent the Twins' lone representative to the 2012 Midsummer Classic into the game as the first..." July 11

Minneapolis Star Tribune "After Sunday night's 13-inning loss at Texas, Twins catcher Joe Mauer had to hustle to Kansas City for Monday's All-Star festivities, so he hitched a ride on the Rangers Express. The Rangers have eight All-Stars this year, so they chartered a jet and invited the Twins' lone All-Star to tag..." July 10

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan are teammates again, if only briefly, representing the American League in the All-Star Game. It was a difficult return trip for both. Nathan missed 2010 after blowing out his elbow and sputtered through 2011 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Mauer was limited to..." July 10

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Funny the way 2011 has, for a vocal coterie of Minnesota Twins fans, come to define Joe Mauer, as if the previous seven seasons had never existed. As if the first half of 2012 had never happened. For some, Mauer isn't so much a local hero anymore; he's just another overpaid, pampered..." July 10

Minneapolis Star Tribune "When healthy, Joe Mauer hits. The first half of the season has been a reminder of what he can do when he's not battling knee or shoulder injuries, pneumonia or other ailments. And not just hit, hit with the best of them. Mauer is headed to his fifth All-Star Game on Tuesday in Kansas City..." July 09

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer might not want to talk about another American League batting title, but it's better than talking about bilateral leg weakness, right? At this time last season, Mauer had missed 56 games and was batting .236, and the only questions he got were related to his health. At the midpoint of..." July 05

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Joe Mauer hit his third career home run at Target Field on Saturday, June 30, an opposite-field liner than just cleared the fence in left in a 5-1 victory over Kansas City. "It felt good," he said. "It felt good to hit a ball out there and be rewarded for it." Mauer hits a lot of line drives..." July 01

Minneapolis Star Tribune "With Joe Mauer ready to start a game for the first time in six days, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire gave Justin Morneau a break Saturday, putting Mauer at first base and leaving Morneau on the bench. "He's ready to catch," Gardenhire said of Mauer, who was out with a bruised right quad muscle...." June 24

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Joe Mauer has hit a speed bump in his recovery from a bruised right quadriceps. The Twins had hoped that Mauer, who had made solid progress before Thursday, would be able to catch in the bullpen as part of his recovery process. "That didn't happen," Mauer said. He said there's still..." June 22

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Joe Mauer sprayed balls all over PNC Park before Wednesday's game and jogged around the bases without a limp. But he's still on pinch-hit-only status. The Twins haven't said for sure, but with only one game left in the series, Mauer might not start again until a weekend series against..." June 21

St. Paul Pioneer Press "That knee Rickie Weeks gave Joe Mauer over the weekend was still felt by the catcher and his team on Tuesday, June 19, when the Twins started a three-game series at PNC Park without one of their best hitters in the lineup. Mauer was available to pinch hit late but not in the starting..." June 20

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins catcher Joe Mauer was limited to pinch-hitting duties Tuesday as he continues to recover from a bruised right quadriceps muscle. Mauer was injured Sunday when Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks made a questionable slide into him despite having a clear path to home plate. Mauer did some early..." June 20

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins catcher Joe Mauer remains day-to-day because of a bruised right quadriceps muscle, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said Monday. Mauer got kneed in the quad by Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks on a slide into home plate Sunday. Mauer remained in the game for five more innings and got three hits,..." June 19

Minneapolis Star Tribune "A frustrated Joe Mauer pointed to where Rickie Weeks kneed him in the right leg nearly six hours earlier. "It didn't feel very good," he said. "It's pretty stiff." After winning a 5-4, 15-inning marathon against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Twins catcher had forgotten about the sore hamstring..." June 18