Ron Gardenhire on Joe Mauer: ‘He was meant to play baseball’

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Former Minnesota Twins’ star catcher and first baseman Joe Mauer is now officially in the National Baseball Hall of Fame after being inducted at a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday.

Mauer, one of four St. Paul natives in the Baseball Hall of Fame, was elected on his first ballot after receiving 76 percent of the vote. He spent all 15 of his professional seasons in Minnesota after being taken No. 1 overall in the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft.

Why you should care

Mauer joins Dave Winfield, Jack Morris and Paul Molitor as St. Paul natives in the Hall of Fame. It’s the most prestigious honor a professional baseball player can have.

By the numbers

Mauer hit .306 in 1,858 career games and had 143 career home runs, including 923 RBI.

He did what?!

Mauer won the American League batting title three times, all as a catcher, which has otherwise never been done in baseball. He was the AL MVP in 2009, after missing the first month of the season. He was also a five-time All-Star.

Sunday night on FOX 9 Sports Now, Jim Rich sat down with his manager, Ron Gardenhire, to talk about the Hall of Fame. We also got perspective from former Twins’ great Paul Molitor.

"He was very gifted. It was just one of those situations where you’ve got a guy like that, he’s just one of those guys and he was meant to play baseball," Gardenhire. "He has all the ability in the world and he used it well."

Molitor told a story about watching Mauer and Cretin-Derham Hall play Edina. He hit two home runs into the trees in right field in front of Twins’ staff and MLB scouts.

"I knew this guy was going to be something special," Molitor said.

Watch the videos for the full perspective from Gardenhire and Molitor.