BREAKING NEWS: Minnesota Twins’ Legend, catcher and first baseman elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in a live announcement

He spent 11 seasons at catcher before transitioning to designated hitter and first base due to concussion concerns. In 15 seasons, he collected a Wins Above Replacement stat of 55.2. That’s ninth all-time, and the other eight are already in the Hall of Fame.

In 1,858 career games, he had a .306 batting average with 143 home runs and 923 RBI. He was a six-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and won the American League MVP in 2009. He won the AL batting title three times, all as a catcher. His only real blemish was that in six postseason appearances, Mauer won just one playoff game.

With Mauer’s election, the Twins now have a Hall of Fame player at every position. Mauer at catcher, Jim Thome at first base, Rod Carew at second, Paul Molitor had 54 starts at shortstop, Harmon Killebrew at third, Dave Winfield in left field, Kirby Puckett in center and Tony Oliva in right. David Ortiz is at designated hitter, and pitchers are Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Jim Kaat and Steve Carlton.

Mauer is already in the Twins’ Hall of Fame, and had his No. 7 jersey retired by the team. The 2024 National Baseball Hall of Fame class will be inducted on July 21 in Cooperstown. He’ll be honored with a ceremony at Target Field on Aug. 3.