Joe Mauer was easily No. 1 in OPS for catchers in 2013, at .880. http://t.co/o7jumfJiKP That would've ranked 6th among first basemen.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 12, 2013
Today the Twins made an announcement that Joe Mauer will be moving to first base going forward and this was the right move for the Twins to do.
Joe suffered a concussion in mid August and missed the last 6 weeks of the season after taking a few foul balls off his mask. It wasn't a matter of if he was going to suffer his next concussion if he kept catching, it was more a matter of when. For Joe and the team this was the best option going forward.
Some people may think moving Joe Mauer to first is stupid because he doesn't hit enough homers, and those fans are not in touch with today's game are just living in the steroid era of a decade ago. Today's game is about getting on base and getting extra base hits. Joe does both of these and does both of these well. He also has been catching in the big leagues for 10 years already and that puts a major toll on your body, it's time to move to first.
When Joe went down with his concussion if you look at his numbers and compare them to the other first basemen, he matches up very well. He was 2nd in on base percentage among all first basemen, 10th in slugging, and 6th in on base plus slugging. Those are outstanding numbers for someone who is "just a singles hitter." He was also 3rd in doubles among first basemen. Also in his time at first base between 2012 and 2013, he was statistically a top 5 defensive first basemen. So not only will he hold his own offensively, but will be one of the best defensively. He is worth every single penny of the 23 million dollars, and those of you who complain that he makes too much would have been the ones complaining that the Twins let him go, so I'm sick of hearing it.
Mauer's move to first also allow the Twins to possibly use 3 above average first base prospects in a trade to acquire pitching that can help them right now. First basemen Kennys Vargas and DJ Hicks had great seasons in 2013 and could be ready for the major leagues in 2015. Also, 3B/1B prospect Travis Harrison could bring back a very good starter for the Twins as well. Harrison has a much higher ceiling then Vargas and Hicks and he doesn't really have a spot on the major league roster in the future unless he can learn the outfield. Mauer now at first and Sano will be at 3rd before the end of this season, he will have to become a good left fielder or designated hitter to make any kind of push to the majors. If they move a couple of these guys to add a starter, it will also allow them to keep super prospect Eddie Rosario and not be forced to move him for pitching.
Some are saying this move will hurt his HOF potential and I beg to differ. Instead of getting 500 at bats a season and maybe playing 120 games because of the toll catching takes, he will now play at least 150 games and get somewhere near 700 at bats which will allow him to put up even better numbers. Here are his numbers this season if he would have had 700 at bats:
.324/.404/.476 with 235 hits, 101 runs scored, 58 doubles, 18 homers, 77 RBI, and 100 BB. That would have been a MVP season. Now some of you may say 18 homers and 77 RBI, how could that be a MVP season? Well RBIs are a bad stat to judge and here is why: Miguel Cabrera for example may get 300 at bats a year with runners in scoring position and Mauer may only get 150 at bats with runners in scoring position. Mauer can't be blamed for the Twins not being able to find good enough players to get on base infront of him. Mauer has a career .334/.455/.480 slashline with RISP (runners in scoring position) and an ops of .935 and has had 1,077 at bats in his career with RISP and has 513 RBI. That's just under 50% of the time he drives men in when they are in scoring position, that's a Superstar, Hall of Fame player, period.
Mauer, barring injury will put up even better numbers, and is still on the road, cruising to Cooperstown, N.Y.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987
Joe suffered a concussion in mid August and missed the last 6 weeks of the season after taking a few foul balls off his mask. It wasn't a matter of if he was going to suffer his next concussion if he kept catching, it was more a matter of when. For Joe and the team this was the best option going forward.
Some people may think moving Joe Mauer to first is stupid because he doesn't hit enough homers, and those fans are not in touch with today's game are just living in the steroid era of a decade ago. Today's game is about getting on base and getting extra base hits. Joe does both of these and does both of these well. He also has been catching in the big leagues for 10 years already and that puts a major toll on your body, it's time to move to first.
When Joe went down with his concussion if you look at his numbers and compare them to the other first basemen, he matches up very well. He was 2nd in on base percentage among all first basemen, 10th in slugging, and 6th in on base plus slugging. Those are outstanding numbers for someone who is "just a singles hitter." He was also 3rd in doubles among first basemen. Also in his time at first base between 2012 and 2013, he was statistically a top 5 defensive first basemen. So not only will he hold his own offensively, but will be one of the best defensively. He is worth every single penny of the 23 million dollars, and those of you who complain that he makes too much would have been the ones complaining that the Twins let him go, so I'm sick of hearing it.
Mauer's move to first also allow the Twins to possibly use 3 above average first base prospects in a trade to acquire pitching that can help them right now. First basemen Kennys Vargas and DJ Hicks had great seasons in 2013 and could be ready for the major leagues in 2015. Also, 3B/1B prospect Travis Harrison could bring back a very good starter for the Twins as well. Harrison has a much higher ceiling then Vargas and Hicks and he doesn't really have a spot on the major league roster in the future unless he can learn the outfield. Mauer now at first and Sano will be at 3rd before the end of this season, he will have to become a good left fielder or designated hitter to make any kind of push to the majors. If they move a couple of these guys to add a starter, it will also allow them to keep super prospect Eddie Rosario and not be forced to move him for pitching.
Some are saying this move will hurt his HOF potential and I beg to differ. Instead of getting 500 at bats a season and maybe playing 120 games because of the toll catching takes, he will now play at least 150 games and get somewhere near 700 at bats which will allow him to put up even better numbers. Here are his numbers this season if he would have had 700 at bats:
.324/.404/.476 with 235 hits, 101 runs scored, 58 doubles, 18 homers, 77 RBI, and 100 BB. That would have been a MVP season. Now some of you may say 18 homers and 77 RBI, how could that be a MVP season? Well RBIs are a bad stat to judge and here is why: Miguel Cabrera for example may get 300 at bats a year with runners in scoring position and Mauer may only get 150 at bats with runners in scoring position. Mauer can't be blamed for the Twins not being able to find good enough players to get on base infront of him. Mauer has a career .334/.455/.480 slashline with RISP (runners in scoring position) and an ops of .935 and has had 1,077 at bats in his career with RISP and has 513 RBI. That's just under 50% of the time he drives men in when they are in scoring position, that's a Superstar, Hall of Fame player, period.
Mauer, barring injury will put up even better numbers, and is still on the road, cruising to Cooperstown, N.Y.
Written by Nick Calo, follow me on Twitter for more updates and sports thoughts @PRH1987