Joe Mauer doesn’t complain about his problems but Jake Mauer told Sports Headliners his grandson isn’t healthy and it’s impacting his performance for the Twins.
“He’s got black and blue all through the chest and he’s got a welt on the right shoulder,” Jake said on Monday. “He’s just sore all over. He’s really beat up.”
Although it’s Mauer’s hitting that draws the most attention, he may not be throwing as effectively as in the past when he seemed to toss out base stealers on auto pilot. He is batting only .297, with four home runs and 41 RBI. Last season his totals were .365, 28 and 96. His lifetime batting average is .324.
Twins pitchers frequently can’t place the ball where they want. Mauer then tries to catch or block pitches that are in the dirt, or even coming off home plate. The erratic pitches make catching more challenging and has contributed to Mauer’s health problems, according to his grandfather. So has tough luck like in the recent White Sox series when a batter’s foul ball hit Mauer’s chin, finding an unprotected area near his mask.
Jake said Joe, 27, should rest but he realizes neither Joe or the Twins, competing for a third Central Division title in five years, can allow last year’s American League MVP to be on the bench. An occasional day off from the demands of crouching behind the plate will continue and then Mauer will probably be a designated hitter, still in the lineup.
Jake is a former baseball player who started tutoring Joe as a hitter when just a toddler. Jake said if he were the manager he would move Joe to third base starting with next season. The move would lessen the physical demands on Mauer’s body and presumably extend his career and boost his hitting production year after year.
“He wants to catch,” Jake said. “He won’t move to another position at all. He says, ‘Grandpa, if I can’t catch, I can’t play.’
“I don’t know why (he can’t change positions). I said, ‘Jesus, that’s kind of ignorant isn’t it?’ I said, ‘You could go another 10 years playing. …Play in the third base or on the outfield anywhere.’ But, no. …He just loves catching. I don’t understand that (the reluctance to move).”
When Mauer was at Cretin-Derham Hall High School he was more than a catcher so Jake said previous experience can help his grandson change positions with the Twins. “Because he played shortstop in high school, you know,” Jake said. “He played shortstop, pitcher and catcher. He can field and throw.”
It mystifies a lot of observers, Jake included, that Mauer has only four home runs after seemingly experiencing a breakout season last year with 28. “To me he’s (got a) lazy swing,” Jake said. “God, he doesn’t have that whip, you know. And I think he’s tired. He just needs a rest, and that’s what I think. But he can’t. Can’t rest him.”
Jake seems too optimistic thinking that Mauer will win his fourth batting title. Mauer trails the American League leader, Josh Hamilton, by 60 points but Jake said if his grandson closes the second half of the season with a lot of two hit games it will make for an interesting batting race.
“He’s struggling along,” Jake said. “I think he’s still going to win the batting crown.”