Twins to Unveil Hall of Fame Joe Mauer Statue

(Photo credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports)

The Minnesota Twins on Saturday announced plans to unveil a bronze statue of Hall of Fame inductee Joe Mauer outside Target Field next season.

Mauer, a six-time All-Star, was inducted into the Hall of Fame last month. The announcement came during a ceremony honoring the St. Paul native before Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.

“Joe Mauer is a Hall of Fame player and man, and one of the greatest to ever wear a Minnesota Twins uniform,” said club president Joe Pohlad. “Joe is one of us, and we all went along for the ride as a kid from St. Paul earned his rightful place in Cooperstown as the greatest catcher in baseball history.

“The memories he created for a generation of his fellow Minnesotans will be cherished forever, and it is only right that our stadium has a permanent celebration of our local baseball hero. On behalf of our organization and Twins fans everywhere, we are thrilled to honor Joe Mauer’s legacy by erecting a statue in his honor at Target Field.”

Paul Molitor and Jack Morris were among the former Twins. Those two Hall of Famers also hail from Saint Paul.

Mauer will be the sixth Minnesota player to be honored on a statue outside the stadium, following Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva and Kent Hrbek. Manager Tom Kelly was also honored.

Mauer was the American League MVP in 2009 during 15 seasons with the Twins. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2001 and came to the MLB three years later.

Mauer won three world batting titles — with a .347 average in 2006, .328 in 2008 and .365 in 2009. Before retiring after the 2018 season, he had a .306 average, 143 home runs and 923 RBI in 1,858 games.

Mauer’s No. 7 was retired by Minnesota in 2019.

–Field Level Media