HOF Joe

In the near fifty years I've been a Minnesota Twins fan, only the club's World Series games made my heart flutter and palms sweat in anticipation. 

Joe Mauer being on the precipice of entering the Baseball Hall of Fame conjured up those same emotions as I awaited the 5:00 PM Central Time announcement on Tuesday. 

A moment we’ll remember forever 🥹 pic.twitter.com/y7WIqhZUGi

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) January 24, 2024

As someone who was born and raised in St. Paul, I take a tremendous amount of pride and joy in one of our own reaching the pinnacle of their profession. Also, people who lived in St Paul for any length of time are rarely more than a few degrees separation from a Mauer (Joe's great-uncle Kenneth Mauer, Sr. was my 10th grade English teacher). And the fact Joe was taken #1 overall in 2001 (the year he graduated high school) by the team he grew up rooting for and with whom he played his entire 15-year MLB career makes this event all the more sweeter. 

As a guy who loves statistics and fascinating facts, it 's this particular bit that absolutely floored me: 

Joe Mauer has been enshrined in baseball immortality 💪 pic.twitter.com/9y4O6xCL2L

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 24, 2024

Now *that* is some select company. 

Congrats, Joe! 

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