Re-signing mauer
There was one thing that catcher Joe Mauer couldn't wait to tell Twins general manager Terry Ryan when he talked to him on Sunday morning -- that he couldn't be more excited to be behind the plate for the opening of the team's new ballpark.
Mauer gave himself that opportunity when he agreed to a four-year, $33 million deal with the club on Sunday. The contract will keep the St. Paul native in Minnesota through at least the 2010 season, when the team's new ballpark is scheduled to open.
"To know that I'll be playing in Minnesota for the next four years is a great feeling," Mauer said. "Just to be able to be behind the plate when the new stadium opens is something that I'm really looking forward to. Growing up here as a fan, I've been waiting for an outdoor stadium. And having watched all that's transpired to get it, it's going to be special to be playing when it opens."
Mauer, 23, became the first catcher to win an American League batting title and the first catcher to lead the Majors in hitting with a .347 average last season, along with 13 home runs and 84 RBIs. It was a season full of accolades for the No. 1 pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft as he was also named to the AL All-Star team.
All offseason the Twins had made clear that one of their goals was to sign some of their young talent to long-term deals and Mauer's contract was the first that the club was able to accomplish.
"We're talking about a player that is very talented," Ryan said of Mauer. "With his age, talent, the way he carries himself and the respect he has for everything that surrounds the game, we're talking about a special player in a lot of ways. Those are the types of people you would like to reward when they go out and show you that they are going to get the job done."
This was Mauer's first year of arbitration and the deal will carry him through what would have been his first year as a free agent. Mauer said that he was always interested in discussing something long-term with the club and it was more a question of when it would get done rather than if it would.
"For me, it just made sense especially being from Minnesota and wanting to play here," Mauer said of the multi-year deal. "It made a whole lot more sense than to go on a one-year string. I'm real happy with the deal and to now just focus on the baseball side of things."
There were some health concerns early in Mauer's career as his rookie season (2004) was cut short by a knee injury. Talk began about whether Mauer would be able to handle the physical strain of the catching position but he has had no problems since that year.
It's been Mauer's ability to battle through all of that talk and attention focused on him that made it easy for Ryan not to be concerned about giving the young catcher a long-term deal.
"He's not a guy to rest on any laurels," Ryan said. "He's got a lot of pride and he wants to be better. He's been around the league a little bit and certainly been through the postseason now. His health issues are behind him and I don't think there is any question that Joe has the ability to take his game to greater heights."
Mauer, who was out in Arizona for his scheduled arbitration hearing that was to take place Tuesday, celebrated the deal on Sunday by playing a round of golf in the Phoenix area. For Mauer, it's the final bit of fun before he heads back to Florida to focus on baseball and trying to improve upon what he accomplished in '06.
"I'm glad to have it all done and focus on just playing baseball for the next four years," Mauer said.
The Twins also had intentions of trying to sign AL Most Valuable Player Justin Morneau to a long-term deal this offseason, but he recently signed a one-year contract worth $4.5 million.
The team now has just one arbitration-eligible player left this offseason, right fielder Michael Cuddyer. Along with signing Mauer and Morneau, the team also successfully avoided arbitration hearings with pitcher Juan Rincon, third baseman Nick Punto, and outfielder Lew Ford this year. Twins pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for Spring Training in Fort Myers, Fla. next Sunday.
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Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times
out of ten and be considered a good performer.
-Ted Williams
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Re-signing mauer
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