Following the unveiling of the athletes who will be included on the ballot and who could enter the Baseball Hall of Fame this season, a few names catch my attention.
In addition to the dozen former players who will be offered at least a second chance, the list of new draftees includes the names of José Bautista, Bartolo Colon and Joe Mauer.
Bautista played an important role in the history of the Blue Jays, while it was in Toronto that he emerged from anonymity to become a hitter feared by opposing pitchers. It was only in the Jays uniform that the Dominican garnered honors including representing his team in six consecutive All-Star Games. Bautista also had seasons of 54 and 43 long balls while playing north of the border.
In Bartolo Colon, Expos fans recognize a pitcher that the team had acquired at a very high price from the Cleveland Indians in 2002. At that time, we had already been having fun for several years dismantling the franchise in order to move it to Washington .
Colon headed to Montreal with Tim Drew in return for the services of Lee Stevens, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore. The latter three had very good careers afterwards while Colon left the following season. In the Expos uniform, Big Sexy won 10 games in half a season.
To me, former Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer represents the perfect profile of a Hall of Fame athlete.
Mauer spent his entire career in Minnesota, where he had a .306 batting average in 15 seasons. An excellent defensive receiver, Mauer was a real offensive threat. It is rare to see a player playing in this position achieve so much success on offense.
For me, the native of Saint-Paul possesses human qualities that transcend and go well beyond athletic skills. Mauer has represented his sport and his city in an exemplary manner over all these years in addition to being a model of consistency.
Few players choose to stay in the same city throughout their career and Joe Mauer chose to be a proud representative of the Twins until 2018. At 40 years old, it seems like he just to retire. Will he receive enough votes for the doors of the Temple to open to him in his first year of eligibility? The question arises, but for me it’s a safe bet.
In an era where people question cases of doping and cheating, an individual like Mauer represents, conversely, a career based on good values.
Joe Mauer won the MVP title in the American in 2009. He has five Silver Sticks and three Golden Gloves in his collection. He represented the Twins in six All-Star Games. Moreover, he won the batting championship in his league in 2006, 2008 and 2009. In 2009, he showed a batting average of .365.
