Joe Mauer, who spent his 15-year major league career with his hometown Twins, is one of 12 new names appearing on the ballot for the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame.
Joe Mauer added to the Hall of Fame ballot five years after retirement
The former Twins catcher and first baseman won three batting titles and was the AL MVP in 2009.
November 20, 2023 at 9:50PM
Mauer was the American League MVP in 2009 and is the only catcher in major league history to win three batting titles. Concussion issues forced him to move from behind the plate to first base for the final five seasons of his career; he retired after the 2018 season at age 35.
There are approximately 400 Baseball Writers Association of America members who are eligible to vote. To gain election, a player must get 75% of the vote, and voters can list up to 10 names on their ballot.
The other 11 players added for this year — nominees must have 10 seasons of major league play and have to be retired for five years — are pitchers Bartolo Colon and James Shields, catcher-designated hitter Victor Martinez, second basemen Chase Utley and Brandon Phillips, third basemen Adrián Beltré and David Wright, shortstop José Reyes, first baseman Adrián González and outfielders José Bautista and Matt Holliday.
They will join the 14 holdovers from last year's ballot.
Scott Rolen, named on 76.3% of the ballots, was the only player elected last year. Todd Helton received 72.2%, Billy Wagner 68.1%, Andruw Jones 58.1% and Gary Sheffield 55%. Sheffield will be in his tenth and final year on the ballot. Other holdovers — players who got at least 5% of votes last year — are pitchers Mark Buehrle, Andy Pettitte and Francisco Rodríguez; infielders Jimmy Rollins, Alex Rodríguez, and Omar Vizquel; and outfielders Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán, ex-Twin Torii Hunter and Manny Ramírez.
Mauer won batting titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009. During his MVP season he hit .365 with career highs in home runs (28) and runs batted in (96) while becoming the first catcher in either league to lead the majors in on-base average plus slugging percentage (1.031).
Beltre, a five-time Gold Glove winner at third base, had 3,166 hits, and is 15th in extra-base hits and 31st in home runs (477).
Colon pitched for 11 different teams, including the Twins in 2017, and was 247-188 over 21 seasons.
Votes are due by Dec. 31, and results will be announced on Jan. 23.
Talk of competing for the best players or of a potential new owner wielding big bucks doesn’t change this: They are last in popularity among the four major men’s pro sports.
