Joe Mauer stands as the only catcher in Major League
Baseball history to win three batting titles.
But those accomplishments with the bat certainly won't block
out Mauer's honors earned with the glove, after the Twins' franchise backstop
won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award on Tuesday.
"For me, it means a lot," said Mauer during a
Wednesday afternoon conference call. "Going back to when I was first
drafted, everyone knew I could hit a bit, so I worked really hard on the
defensive side. It's nice to be recognized for that."
Mauer committed just three errors in 733 chances for a .996
fielding percentage, while nailing 26 percent of would-be basestealers. This
award marks the 10th straight year the Twins have won at least one Gold Glove
as a team and marks the 41st Gold Glove in franchise history.
Jim Kaat leads all Twins with 11 career Gold Gloves,
followed by Torii Hunter (seven), Kirby Puckett (six), Gary Gaetti (four) and
Mauer as the only organization members with three or more Gold Glove wins. This
win marks the fifth time a Twins catcher has won a Gold Glove, with Mauer
joining Earl Battey (1961-62).
This Gold Glove becomes the first won by Mauer while playing
home games outdoors. And on Wednesday, Mauer admitted there was an adjustment
period in learning Target Field.
"It was a year of trying to figure things out, with the
wind and the way the ball would carry," said Mauer of the Twins'
spectacular new ballpark. "Not just defensively, but offensively, too.
"Actually, it surprised me a little bit. It was kind of
weird playing outside, and conditions will affect you positively or negatively.
You look at it throughout the whole year, and obviously it was a better place
for pitchers. But we won a lot of ballgames there, and the team winning is the
bottom line."
Talk on Wednesday did turn briefly to Mauer's health. Mauer
was bothered by what was described as inflammation in his left knee over the
final three weeks of the 2010 season, an injury not requiring offseason
surgery, along with a sore right shoulder and a deep bone bruise on his left
heel.
Although Mauer sort of laughed at the third question asked
about his health, pointing out how the call was about the Gold Glove
recognition, he addressed his recovery.
"Well, I'm healing after a long year. It's been
good," said Mauer, who has spent some time in Florida during the
offseason. "It's pretty slow, but it's early in the offseason.
"I've started to move around a little bit, but I'm
letting my body try to heal. I'm just trying to get to where I want to be. I'm
not doing anything too extensive right now.
"It was a tough year for me physically," Mauer
said. "I had some injuries I had to deal with early in the season, and
every baseball player knows when you have something early in the season, you
have to deal with it the whole year. It was a long year for me physically, but
I'm happy to get through it."
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