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Posted August 13, 2006
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Mauer Stirs .400 talk
A
long time ago Ted Williams, major league baseball’s last .400
hitter, played in Minneapolis for the AAA Millers. Now Joe
Mauer
plays in Minneapolis and, at age 23, in his third major league, there’s
talk that some day he, too, may join the sacred .400 club, stirring
memories of Williams hitting .406 in 1941.
Earlier in the summer Mauer’s batting average had climbed to .392.
He still leads the American League in hitting but his average has come
down to the .360s and perhaps by season end he will hit .350 or
better. There is no whining about that, particularly when logic suggests
the Twins’ sweet swinging hitter, on track to become the first catcher
to lead the league in hitting, may sniff and even inhale the .400 level
as he approaches and enjoys his peak years ahead.
Grandpa Jake Mauer used to watch Williams, his idol, play here in
1938. He marveled at the fluid swing. He’s been
watching Joe since his grandson was an infant. He insisted Joe be
a left handed hitter (just like Williams, the “Splendid Splinter”) and
he knew when Joe was swinging a bat at eight months his grandson was
“special.”
Jake
told the Twins when they signed Joe that one day the young man will hit
.400. Grandpa is not backing off that prediction. “I don’t
think he will do it one time,” Jake said. “I think he will do it a
couple times and the reason why (is) he takes care of his body. If he
stays healthy there is no limit to what he can do. You will
probably see the best baseball player, hitter, catcher there has ever
been in the American League.”
Tony Oliva, who won three American League batting titles and now
works with Twins hitters, said it’s almost “impossible” to hit .400.
He believes hitting 60 or 70 home runs in one season is easier than
batting .400.
An
interviewer initially made no mention of Mauer to Oliva when asking
about the possibility of another .400 hitter. Oliva speculated
that Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, with his exceptional speed and
hitting, might have a “chance” at it. Then he thought of Mauer.
“The
way I see Joe Mauer is hitting this year, you never know,” Oliva said.
“He is only 22 (23) years old. He is going to get better yet.
I don’t know how better he will get because right now he is a great
hitter.”
Mauer said he has not thought much about .400. He agrees with
Oliva that joining the .400 club is more difficult than achieving the
once sacred level of hitting 60 or more home runs. “I just try to keep
getting better and better and we’ll se what happens," Mauer said.
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"If
he stays healthy there is no limit to what he can do. You will
probably see the best baseball player, hitter, catcher there has
ever been in the American League.”
Jake Mauer on grandson Joe
Photo courtesy of
Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer |
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Bear of an Opener for U?
University athletic director Joel Maturi, a Notre Dame alum,
tried but the Fighting Irish said no to being the Gophers’ first
opponent in the new Minnesota on-campus football stadium in 2009.
Maturi said California, a program on the rise lately, may be the
opponent. The Golden Bears host Minnesota this year on September 9
in Berkeley and are considered a top 20 team, if not top 10, under coach
Jeff Tedford who revived a program that for years rivaled the
Gophers for futility.
Surprisingly, Minnesota’s first game in 2009 will be on the road, not in
the new stadium that won legislative approval earlier this year.
“We agreed (with State Fair officials) that the first game ever on
campus would not be the same weekend of the state fair,” Maturi
explained. “And it makes a lot of sense because the traffic will
be crazy. We won’t know what to do with it. I think after a
year of the state fair and after a year of home football we will know
that we can play a game during the state fair. People will know
where they are going. Where their parking places will be.”
Fans
will be encouraged to park on the state fair grounds and then shuttled
to the new stadium. The inaugural game will be played on September
12.
Maturi said Minnesota’s total public season ticket sales for football
have been the lowest in the Big Ten Conference but news of the on-campus
stadium has created additional interest. He said about 3,000 new
public season tickets have been sold. Combined with other
ticket sales including student season tickets (about 10,000 in the
past), Maturi is hoping for average attendance of 50,000 in the
Metrodome this year.
The
new stadium will have a capacity of 50,000, but expandable to 80,000.
The Gophers are hoping to create demand in a smaller stadium,
encouraging people to buy season tickets instead of waiting to purchase
single game seats, or not buying at all.
There
is some talk that if the dome is renovated, or torn down so a new
stadium can be built on the site, the Vikings might play a couple of
seasons in the Gopher facility. “I think we could do
something that would make it (the stadium) low 60’s (60,000 plus
capacity) without doing it significantly differently, and that would
help the Vikings,” Maturi said.
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Joel Maturi |
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Michael Cuddyer: “Magic Man”
A
visitor standing near the Twins’ clubhouse at the dome saw outfielder
Michael Cuddyer, wearing tennis shoes, approach Tony Oliva.
Cuddyer showed Oliva a long screwdriver and the former Twins batting
champ examined it. Then the visitor and Oliva watched Cuddyer, who
enjoys entertaining with magic tricks, push the screwdriver through the
front of his shoe. This was followed by grins, amazement and no
explanations. |
Photo courtesy of
Minnesota Twins Michael Cuddyer |
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Extra Innings
Joe Mauer talking about his hitting success: “Just being patient and
waiting for a pitch I can handle instead of trying to hit something the
pitcher wants me to hit. Just hit the ball hard somewhere. Just
stay balanced.”
Twins
outfielder Josh Rabe, 27, called up to the major leagues after a
minor league career that began in 2000, said he was earning $3,300.00 a
month on a five month basis. He now earns the major league minimum
salary of $327,000.00.
Gopher safety Dom Barber stays close to older brother Marion
who is entering his second season playing for the Dallas Cowboys.
What’s Dom heard about legendary coach Bill
Parcells? “He’s a great guy,” Dom said. “He’s a tough guy.
Either he likes you or he really doesn’t like you. You just try to
stay on his good side. If he wants a cup of water you bring him
two.”
Glen Mason’s summer included golfing at Interlachen Country Club
where he plays with former Minnesota North Stars president Lou Nanne.
The Gopher football coach said he has an 11 handicap.
Former Gopher football great Bob McNamara celebrated his 75th
birthday on August 11. McNamara is a fundraising consultant on the
new football stadium for the University of Minnesota.
Tom Metzen, born and raised in South St.
Paul and now living in Inver Grove Heights, was inducted into the
Canterbury Park Hall of Fame last Saturday, just four days after his 68th
birthday. A leader in bringing horseracing to Minnesota over 20
years ago, Metzen is a former vice chairman of the Minnesota Racing
Commission.
Wally’s Choice suffered a leg injury recently and will not race
again until 2007. With over $427,000 in career earnings, he is closing
in on Blair’s Cove’s all-time record of $533,528 for Minnesota
bred race horses. He is owned by Wally and Joyce
McNeil,
and Canterbury Park Board Chairman Curtis Sampson. Wally is
“Wally the Beerman.”
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