Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
If that’s it, perfect end for Mauer
Was Sunday the final game for Joe Mauer?
The Minnesota Twins veteran, who played catcher from 20042013 before moving to first base in 2014, went 1 for 4 with a double in Sunday’s 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Target Field in Minneapolis.
There has been speculation as to whether Mauer will retire. He hasn’t made a decision yet, but after Sunday’s game in which he went behind the plate for one pitch, Jim Souhan of the Star
Tribune in Minneapolis believes Mauer has made his decision.
“Joe Mauer insists he has not decided whether he will retire. Now he has no choice,” Souhan wrote.
“You don’t rewrite the ending to Casablanca. You can’t improve on perfection. Sunday afternoon, in what may have been his last game, Mauer and his friends authored the best baseball screenplay since The
Natural, turning the last three innings of the Twins’ season finale into a one-man, two-act play commemorating one of the great careers in franchise history.
“Mauer could come back, could play a role, but he will never play one as poignant as the one he helped write Sunday, when the Twins did everything they could, short of adding curtains, to turn Target Field into a stage.
“His father had wondered about Mauer catching one more time, and his wife had agreed, as long as he didn’t have to take a foul ball and risk triggering the concussion symptoms that have plagued him.
“[Twins Manager Paul] Molitor, Twins equipment manager Rod McCormick, traveling secretary Mike Herman and bullpen catcher Nate Dammann, among others, worked on a plan to allow Mauer to catch. Just one pitch.
“Molitor asked White Sox Manager Rick Renteria if he would have the first hitter in the top of the ninth take one pitch. Molitor promised it would be a ball.
“Max Kepler made the last out in the bottom of the eighth and began jogging toward right field. His teammates called him back. After a long pause, Mauer emerged from the dugout, the only player on the field, and held his helmet aloft and patted his chest while the crowd stood and cheered.
“Mauer caught one pitch, walked to the mound to embrace Matt Belisle, and headed to the dugout.
“Mauer conducted a news conference after the game, which was shown, tape-delayed, in the Twins clubhouse. All of the players sat in front of his locker, watching, and when Mauer returned they burst into applause.
“Don’t try to top this, Joe. Don’t try to top the perfect ending.”