After the Twins finish a game, Jake Mauer anticipates a telephone call. Grandson Joe calls Jake after most games, a ritual that’s been going on since the Twins catcher was playing in the minor leagues.
“I give him all the credit (for the calls),” Jake told Sports Headliners late last month. “He makes me the happiest grandpa in the United States. When he calls it’s just something that I believe that cannot be explained because he can do anything he wants. But grandpa, he wants grandpa.”
Jake, 78, and Joe, 24, are close, of course, because of more than bloodlines. Jake tutored Joe in baseball while growing up in St. Paul. They both love the sport and Joe’s performance is often a focus of their post game conversations.
Jake knows his grandson so well he recognizes when Joe is waving his bat too much, or perhaps his stance is too wide open to effectively hit left-handed pitchers. In four plus seasons in the major leagues left-handed hitting Joe has become a batting champion, valued catcher and a player that some in baseball management would choose as the first player to build a team around. But all of that doesn’t mean grandpa occasionally can’t offer constructive criticism.
“There’s not much advice to give him,” Jake said. “You know, he’s a .300 hitter and he’s a natural hitter. But they (exceptional hitters) do get into little flaws like moving the bat around and that makes the bat go slower and it doesn’t come through. …”
Critics say that Joe takes too many pitches at the plate. “He thinks that he can hit anybody, no matter what,” Jake said. “Everybody tells me, ‘Why does he take that first pitch?’ And he tells me, ‘You know, Grandpa, I am a much better hitter with two strikes on.’ I can’t believe that but that’s what he says.”
Joe is soft spoken, easy going and Minnesota nice. Late last month when the Twins had lost seven of their last 10 games and woke up on a Saturday morning in Cleveland to find themselves in free fall in their chase for the Central Division championship, Joe called Jake. The younger Mauer reported the Twins locker room was like a “tomb.”
“I said, ‘Joe, why don’t you say something? Pick them up. You’re one of the leaders.’ …He said, ‘Well, Grandpa, you know the regulars like Torii Hunter and the older ones should do that.’ I said, ‘bull…maybe if they see you doing it, it will give a spark. You should be one of the leaders.’”
Joe, who earlier this year signed a four year contract reportedly worth $33 million, is living a dream playing baseball in his home state. “He is dedicated to the Twins,” Jake said. “…He won’t go anywhere (else). He will stay right with the Twins, love or money, and money is not the problem. He believes in Minnesota and he believes in the Minnesota people and that’s the way it should be.”
Joe will never play elsewhere? “If he were on the trading block now he would probably give up baseball right now and go to football (star quarterback in high school),” Jake said. “But as far as going on the trading block he will not go anywhere else and that’s true.”
Last season Joe won the American League batting championship with a .347 average. He also had 13 home runs and 84 RBI. Jake predicts these final numbers for his grandson in 2007: .330 to .335 batting average, 80-90 RBI and about 11 homeruns. “What really hurt him was the five weeks off,” Jake said. “He got so far behind. It was just a tough break and it takes a long time to come back.”
Joe missed 29 games with a left quadriceps injury. He also had surgery on his left knee in 2004. How is Joe’s health now? “He has no problem with his quad or his knees, and he’s feeling great,” Jake said.
Jake said the telephone calls from his grandson are about the most important thing in his life. Still, Jake values his time in Florida, too. In the winter Joe gives his grandfather free use of his condo. Both the condo and Joe’s house are in the Fort Myers area. Not much need for phone calls because grandson and grandpa play golf together.
Baseball? “I watch him workout every morning,” Jake said. “He goes down to that batting cage. That’s in January before the spring training. …”
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