Joe Mauer deserved this: Let’s all salute his call to the Hall

There is no straight shot when traveling to Cooperstown, N.Y. You can fly into Albany, N.Y., and then drive about 60 miles to get there. Or fly into Syracuse and drive nearly 70 miles. The other option is to fly into Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and drive just over 100 miles to reach small-town America.

Those are the choices facing Twins fans if they want to be present on July 21 for the induction of Joseph Patrick Mauer into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

As for Mauer? His idea of a straight shot was lining an 0-2 pitch to left-center field.

He took a 15-year route to the Hall, a journey that ended on Tuesday when the Hall of Fame announced that Mauer was part of a three-player class that includes Adrián Beltré and Todd Helton.

And being elected on the first ballot — just the third catcher to do so — is a dunk on those who criticized Mauer for not hitting for enough power or never leading the Twins to a postseason series win. Stop obsessing over what a player couldn’t do and enjoy what he was able to. Mauer could fall behind 0-2 in a count and still be in control of the at-bat.

Mauer has earned the right to sit at the table with the titans of the sport.

He’s the 13th player with Twins ties to be elected to the Hall of Fame. More impressively, he’s the fourth from St. Paul, joining Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Jack Morris. Of this St. Paul Fab Four, Mauer is the only one drafted by the Twins and who spent his entire career with the Twins.

When you arrive at a destination, it’s natural to think about the beginning. Mauer’s beginning was off Lexington Avenue, tussling with his brothers Bill and Jake in the front yard of their St. Paul home. And anyone who has driven down Lexington Avenue knows that it’s not a side street.

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Mauer’s journey was launched by being in a sports-intensive family with parents who threw their children into every activity. His skills were developed by coaches throughout St. Paul at places like the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center and the Griggs Park playground. Legendary St. Paul youth coach Bill Petersonnever had a chance to work with young Joe because he was too good for the level Peterson was coaching.

Mauer’s divine procession to baseball’s grandest honor should be savored by those closest to him, as well as the coaches and teammates who worked with him from rookie ball in Elizabethton, Tenn., to the four playoff teams on which he played.

He was a three-sport star at Cretin-Derham Hall, where football coach Mike Scanlan and baseball coach Jim O’Neill guided him to being named the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year in both sports.

By then, Twins scouts were attending games in all three sports as they evaluated such a rare talent as their potential first-overall pick of the 2001 draft.

“His accuracy was an eight,” said Terry Ryan, the general manager at the time, referring to baseball’s two-through-eight scouting scale. “His receiving was an eight. His hands were an eight. His makeup was a 12. You can fudge numbers as you go through evaluations of this amateur stuff. If you have makeup and you can hit, hitters play. If you can hit, you are going to the majors.”

With that, the Twins made him the top pick over Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira. And they never had to look back. An MVP award in 2009. Six All-Star selections. Five Silver Slugger awards. Three Gold Glove awards. Three batting titles — the most by a catcher.

And now, a plaque.

Mauer’s first manager in the pros was Rudy Hernandez at rookie ball in 2001. His last was Molitor in 2018. In between were dozens of coaches and hundreds of teammates who witnessed part of Mauer’s journey to the Hall. And Twins Territory pulled up a chair for 15 seasons.

On Tuesday, that journey was completed.

Last stop: Cooperstown.

Mauer is on his way.