Joe Mauer looks to return to form with Twins

Twins first baseman Joe Mauer had his worst season as a hitter last year, but he also got a chance to play on a winning team for the first time in four years, alongside some exciting young prospects.

It's amazing to think that Mauer, who turns 33 April 19, is the second oldest player on the Twins roster, about four months younger than Ervin Santana. But Mauer said he still believes this season can really build off last year's success, if the team's young prospects can continue to improve.

"I think we're really excited," he said before the season opener last week. "We have a lot of young talent, and you know if we can harness that and get guys going and get some experience I think we could have a great season. We're really looking forward to it, but we also understand we have a lot of work ahead of us. But I think everyone here is welcoming that challenge."

A lot has been made about Mauer's low batting average last season, but he said he's feeling better this season than he has in some time.

"I'm feeling pretty good," he said. "You know the last couple of years have been a little bit of a grind for me, but I'm excited with how far I've come along and how good I feel [coming out of] spring this year."

He added that he feels good about the steps he and the team have taken to help with the blurriness that affected his vision last season.

"I feel really good. I've come a long way, and I'm excited how far I've come," Mauer said. "I'm excited for the season, and yeah I'm looking forward to our team as a whole."

"He has been great," Mauer said. "I've been working with Roger the last couple of years, and he has been a big part of how good I'm feeling. He's doing well, and he's [made] the trip down to Florida to make sure I'm doing the right things.

"Just trying to find new ways and do things differently to make sure I can get out on the field every day and perform. I'm definitely excited."

Mauer started the season hitting .308 with a home run and two RBI in the four games entering Saturday, and he is showing a lot of confidence at the plate. While much of the talk around the Twins has been their upcoming prospects, Mauer is looking to rebuild his career after some down seasons compared to his best.

"Last year was a tough one for me personally, and there were some things I did well and some things I can definitely improve on," he said. "That's what I'm trying to do is work on having a more consistent year and work on some of those things that didn't go so well for me last year."

Mauer has looked very comfortable at first base this season, and he talked about working with former Twins manager Tom Kelly — who also helped turn Justin Morneau into a world-class first baseman — at spring training this year.

One of the things Mauer has had to consider the past few seasons is how defenses are approaching him with shifts along the infield and outfield. Mauer routinely hits line drives that are right at the defensive shift, which has affected his average. He has at times tried to beat the shift with bunts down the third base line and other approaches. He says it's something players have to counter with their approach.

"Shifts have become pretty popular over the last couple years," he said. "I think batting averages as a whole have gone down, but that's the thing about baseball is you're constantly making adjustments and you have to make adjustments yourself."

Mauer was asked if he'll still primarily take the first pitch, and responded with good humor. "I have been getting grief for that for 13 years," he said. "If it's there I'll hit it. I think I have done pretty well putting together at-bats, but if it's there I'll hit it."

Mauer was asked if any of the young prospects impressed him at spring training, and he mentioned pitcher Pat Dean, the 2010 third-round draft pick who is at Class AAA Rochester.

"I've seen a couple of young arms in live batting practice that were pretty good," he said. "I heard Dean was a lefty starter in Triple-A last year and he had a few games. I got to face him in live batting practice and he looked pretty good. I know he's a guy that didn't get a whole lot of talk out there, but we have a lot of young, talented guys. It's just trying to get them developed as quickly as we can."

JOTTINGS

• I wrote last month that the University of Minnesota should consider hiring Bob Stein as athletic director. Well, the 68-year-old Minneapolis attorney, who formerly was a Gophers and NFL football player and president of the Timberwolves, announced in a news release Friday that he is pursuing the job. "Minnesota has the greatest improvement potential of any Big Ten school and I think I have the experience, credentials and motivation to help make that happen," Stein said in the release.

• Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is so fond of Chad Greenway you have to wonder if there's a chance the veteran linebacker, who plans on retiring after this upcoming season, could join the coaching staff in some way for the 2017 season. Greenway has said before he wants to remain active following retirement, and he'd clearly be a great coach.

• PollStar released its 2015 worldwide concert ticket sales rankings, and the Target Center came in 57th with 296,226 tickets sold in 2015 while the Xcel Energy Center came in 77th with 212,042 tickets sold.

• The Wolves have lost some very winnable games this season to some mediocre teams. But if you want an impressive statistic, look no further than the fact that they are the only team in the NBA to have won at Golden State, Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers this season.