Hall Call: Twins' great Joe Mauer awaits Hall of Fame fate with announcement coming Tuesday

Mauer would join Kirby Puckett and Rod Carew as the Twins only first-ballot Hall of Fame players
Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins, Rod Carew, Baseball, Hall of Fame
Twins' great Joe Mauer awaits Hall of Fame fate with announcement Tuesday. Photo credit (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

The waiting is almost over. Just over 24 hours from now, Joe Mauer's phone could ring and the Baseball Hall of Fame could tell him he's the newest member of that esteemed institution.

It would be an induction the first time on the ballot, and that is typically reserved for only the best to have ever played the game, and cementing Mauer as one of the greatest catchers off all-time.

The waiting is a nervous time for players, as Mauer tells Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News.

"I'm kind of in a situation where it's a hurry up and wait, you know," Mauer. "There's nothing I can do or say to sway votes or anything like that. So we're just kind of hurry up and waiting and curious as to what will unfold on Tuesday."

Mauer, a six-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and the 2009 AL MVP, is the only catcher to win three batting titles. He batted .306 with 143 homers and 906 RBIs with Minnesota from 2004-18.

"I think we're just going to lay low with the family at home," Mauer explains. "They kind of give you a window, just kind of be by your phone. If we call it's happening. If we don't we'll kind of look forward to next year. We're just trying to kind of lay low and see what happens."

Mauer was among 12 first-timers and 26 players overall on the ballot for the Class of 2024. Players who get 75% of the votes submitted by December 31 will make the Hall, and Mauer has consistently been above that threshold in numbers seen so far, hanging right around 82-83% on voter ballots.

Among the thousands of players, managers, and other personnel that have made made in impact on baseball, only 340 are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 268 of those are former Major League players.

Then there's another elite group. Only 58 players have been named to the Hall of Fame during their first year of eligibility, something that would grant Mauer a special designation alongside Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, in Twins' history.

He would also join fellow St. Paul natives Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor in Cooperstown as first-ballot Hall of Fame players (both played with the Twins briefly, and Molitor was also a Twin manager for a few seasons). Mauer, of course, played in high school at Cretin-Derham Hall before signing with the Twins.

Of note, Twins legend Harmon Killebrew was not a first-ballot hall of famer. When he came up for election the first time, voters held his low .256 career batting average against him.

Adrián Beltré, Chase Utley, David Wright, José Bautista and Matt Holliday are among 12 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot released in November. Bartolo Colon, Adrián González, Victor Martinez, Brandon Phillips, José Reyes and James Shields also are making their first appearances on the ballot. Beltré appears to be a lock for a first-ballot induction.

There are also a number of holdovers from previous years up for induction again, including many from baseball's infamous "steroid era". That includes new Timberwolves co-owner Alex Rodriguez who only received 39% last year.

Killebrew, Carew, Puckett, Bert Blyleven, Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva are in the Hall of Fame as Minnesota Twins. A number of former Twins players are also enshrined but entered Cooperstown wearing another cap. The organization also counts several Washington Senators from prior to moving the franchise to Minnesota.

Mauer is also out talking about a new children's book he's a part of, written by KSTP-TV's Joe Schmit. "The Right Thing To Do: The Joe Mauer Story" is currently available.

"We thought this would be a good opportunity to put those life lessons I learned from my parents at that early elementary school age," Mauer said. "We're real proud of the book. Got my hands on it for the first time. It looks great and excited to see what happens."

Featured Image Photo Credit: (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)