30 December 2023
Going by the percentages, Joe Mauer comfortably ranks among the best catchers of all time. Some of his raw “counting” stats make it look less obvious, because Mauer stopped catching after he turned 30 because of injuries — notably a series of concussions that shortened his career. Mauer never had a chance to become a great compiler or accumulator of stats when compared to many of the 19 catchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
For the first time, Mauer’s career is up for judgment by BBWAA voters, who have until Dec. 31 to mark their ballots and mail them back to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. (No faxes or emails allowed, please.) Having covered Major League Baseball since 1998, and more pertinently being a member of the BBWAA since 2013, I get to vote on the Hall of Fame for the first time this month. And I plan on voting for Mauer.
Not everybody will, and he won’t get in until he reaches a 75 percent threshold. The BBWAA is historically conservative about who it lets into Cooperstown and how long it takes, and they seem particularly particular about catchers. There aren’t enough of them enshrined. Sometimes the process doesn’t seem rational or even fair.
Any particular doubts about Mauer’s Hall of Fame candidacy likely come down to this: Did he catch enough games to be considered among the best ever at the position?
Mauer caught 921 games for the Twins, with all but one appearance coming from 2004 to 2013. If elected, this would rank him 15th of the 17 of the non-Negro League catchers in Cooperstown. Only Buck Ewing (636) and King Kelly (584), who played in the 19th Century, have caught fewer games among HOFers. Another catcher who played in the early 1900s, Roger Bresnahan, is closest to Mauer on the list with 974 games caught.
For added context, Mauer is 709 games behind Mike Piazza, 22nd in games caught. Piazza also could knock you over with his 427 career home runs — 396 as a catcher — and other similar statistics that made him obviously qualified for Cooperstown. It still took him four tries to get elected.
Mauer was not as good a player as Piazza, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to join him in Cooperstown. Despite lacking in raw numbers, Mauer does well in one “counting” stat: Wins Above Replacement. Mauer finished with 55.2 career WAR at Baseball-Reference, which ranks him ninth among all catchers. The average Hall-of-Fame catcher has 53.6 WAR. Mauer’s peak seasons totaled 39.0 WAR; the average HOF catcher’s peak WAR was 34.7. Among the top 12 catchers all time in WAR, the only one not in the Hall of Fame is Mauer.
Not everyone pays attention to WAR. The stat has limitations but is still a relevant indicator of who belongs— even if it includes some of Mauer’s production at other positions. But remember: The same goes for Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Carlton Fisk, Piazza and the rest.
Mauer’s most persuasive Hall of Fame stats are his career batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage from games in which he also caught. Mauer hit .328/.409/.481 for an .889 OPS in 3,943 plate appearances. That’s third all time among all catchers. Piazza, by comparison, hit .313/.382/.560 for a .942 OPS. Only he and Mickey Cochrane were better than Mauer. How much did Mauer contribute as a catcher when he batted? This tells us.
Mauer’s defensive abilities as a catcher shouldn’t hurt his Hall of Fame chances. He was a good defensive catcher, even if he was better in the batter’s box. From 2004 to 2013, Fielding Bible ranks him 20th with 14 Total Runs Saved among the 52 catchers who logged at least 3,000 innings. Yadier Molina ran away with first place with 146 TRS. Median is -3. These stats include a form of pitch framing, a skill at which Mauer was effective in a time when fewer catchers were good at it.
At Fangraphs, Mauer is ranked as the 56th best catcher of all time on defense for those with at least 5,000 plate appearances. Better than hall of famers like Ted Simmons, Ernie Lombardi, Piazza and Bresnahan. Not the best, but among them.
The Hall of Fame is about honoring the best players of all time. Joe Mauer is not No. 1 among catchers, but he doesn’t have to be in order to stand with them. Here’s hoping the BBWAA pivots and adds him to the ranks right away.
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