Joe Mauer Joseph " Joe " Patrick Mauer ( born April 19 , 1983 ) is an American baseball catcher in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the Minnesota Twins . He is the only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles . He also won three consecutive Gold Glove awards ( 2008 – 2010 ) , and the 2009 American League ( AL ) Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) Award . High - school career . Joe Mauer played football , basketball , and baseball for Saint Paul ' s Cretin - Derham Hall Raiders , the high school of Paul Molitor , a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame . In his senior year he became the only athlete ever to be selected as the " USA Today " High School Player of the Year in two sports ( football in 2000 as a quarterback and baseball in 2001 as a catcher ) . In December 2009 , " Sports Illustrated " magazine included Mauer in its article on ten " signature " moments in U . S . high - school sports in the 2000 – 2009 decade , referring to his selection by the Minnesota Twins as the first pick in the 2001 amateur draft . Baseball . Mauer attended the same high school as Baseball Hall of Fame r and former Milwaukee Brewer Paul Molitor . Molitor has said that Mauer " has the best swing he had ever seen " . Jim O ' Neill , Mauer ' s baseball coach at Cretin - Derham Hall , said his former student " has been groomed for this job since he was a little boy . Mauer ' s dad , Jake , created a contraption for Joe he later named the ' Quickswing ' . The device dropped balls down a tube from eye level and released them at waist level . " Mauer had been asked to leave his T - ball league at the age of four , because he was hitting the ball too hard for the other players . " Another guy that came from Cretin - Derham Hall , Paul Molitor , was very similar , [ and ] had a good short swing , " O ' Neill said . " And they ' re both able to wait on the ball so long because they don ' t have the big swing . Like anything , you keep simple and keep it small or short , there ' s not a lot of holes in it and not a lot of room for errors . " A stand - out in baseball , Mauer struck out only once during his four - year high school career , and hit . 605 during his senior season . Years later , Mauer laughingly told an interviewer : " I can remember the time I did strike out . It was junior year , and it was in the state tournament . I came back to the bench and everybody thought something was wrong with me . " Mauer ' s high school batting average exceeded . 500 every year . He also set a Minnesota high school record and tied the national preps mark by hitting a home run in seven consecutive games . Mauer caught for the Team USA Junior National team from 1998 to 2000 and hit . 595 during his final year on the team . He was voted best hitter at the World Junior Baseball Championship in Canada in . In , Mauer was voted the United States District V Player of the Year . Basketball . Mauer averaged more than 20 points a game as a point guard for Cretin - Derham Hall . He was also named to the All - State team during his final two years on Cretin - Derham ' s basketball team . Football . Mauer had an extremely accomplished high school football career . In 2000 , he appeared in the Faces in the Crowd section in Sports Illustrated . During his senior season as the Raiders ' quarterback , Mauer completed 178 of 288 passes ( 62 % completion percentage ) , for 3 , 022 yards , 41 touchdowns and 5 interceptions . He finished his two - year career as a starter with 5 , 528 yards and 73 touchdowns , leading the Raiders to two consecutive Class 5A State Championship Game appearances and winning the title in 1999 , the Raiders ' first of all time . Mauer was honored as the 2001 Gatorade National Player of the Year , was named to the USA Today All - USA high school football team , was honored as USA Today ' s Player of the Year , and was a Reebok / ESPN High School All - American . Mauer was also named National High School Quarterback Of The Year in 2000 by The National Quarterback Club . Professional career . Mauer ultimately turned down a football scholarship from Florida State University to enter the Major League Baseball Draft . Mauer was selected by the Twins as the first overall pick of the 2001 draft , ahead of college pitcher Mark Prior , who was taken second overall by the Chicago Cubs . Mauer was part of the United States ' roster at the All - Star Futures Game at U . S . Cellular Field before being promoted to the Twins ' roster in after his predecessor , A . J . Pierzynski , was traded to the San Francisco Giants , in the 2003 offseason . Mauer went 2 - for - 3 in his Major League debut , hitting a single off Rafael Betancourt of the Cleveland Indians for his first major - league hit . A knee injury to his left medial meniscus on April 7 , 2004 , required surgery and sidelined Mauer for more than a month . After a rehabilitation stint with the Twins ' AAA affiliate Rochester Red Wings , Mauer returned to the Twins ' lineup in June . In July , pain and swelling in his knee forced an early end to Mauer ' s 2004 season . Following his injury - shortened 2004 , Mauer signed a contract for $ 5 . 7 million with the Twins on January 24 , 2005 . In 2005 , Mauer returned to the Twins ' lineup for his first full major league season and had 144 hits in 131 games , with 9 home runs and 55 RBI . He ended the year with an average of . 294 . 2006 . In his breakout 2006 season , Mauer became the first catcher in major league history to lead the majors in batting average and the first American League catcher to win the batting title , finishing with an average of . 347 . Mauer ' s performance during the months of May and June garnered attention from the national media . He recorded a . 528 batting average over the first ten days of June and hit . 452 over the course of the month . He was also the first player since Mike Piazza in 1997 to reach base four or more times for five consecutive games . On June 12 , Mauer was named the American League Player of the Week by Major League Baseball for his performance the week of June 4 – 11th , during which he hit . 625 ( 15 - for - 24 ) with 5 doubles , 4 RBI and 2 stolen base s . Mauer recorded his first five RBI game June 26 , against the Los Angeles Dodgers . Mauer followed that up with his first career five - hit game on June 27 , also against the Los Angeles Dodgers . He was also named MLB Player of the Month for June after batting . 452 with a . 624 slugging percentage and . 528 on base percentage , 11 doubles , 14 RBI and 18 runs . Along with Johan Santana ( Pitcher of the Month ) and Francisco Liriano ( Rookie of the Month ) , Mauer was part of the first - ever single - team sweep of MLB ' s three monthly awards . On July 2 , Mauer was selected by the players to his first All - Star Game . Mauer appeared on the cover of the August 7 , 2006 issue of Sports Illustrated . Mauer finished the 2006 regular season with a . 347 batting average , edging the New York Yankees ' Derek Jeter and Robinson Canó to win the American League batting title and become the first - ever American League catcher to win the crown and the first catcher to claim the title since Ernie Lombardi in 1942 with the Boston Braves . His . 347 average was the highest in the Major Leagues , a feat not achieved by the previous three catchers to win NL batting titles . He was the youngest player to win a batting title since Alex Rodriguez in 1996 . After going 2 - for - 4 in the last game of the 2006 regular season , Mauer confessed to reporters , " When I told you I wasn ’ t thinking about the batting title ? I was lying . I ’ ve never been that nervous in my life . I haven ’ t felt anything like that since Opening Day as a rookie . ” Mauer won his first Silver Slugger award in 2006 , along with teammate Justin Morneau . 2007 . On February 11 , Mauer agreed to a four - year , $ 34 million contract with the Twins to avoid arbitration . The deal ensured that Mauer would remain in Minnesota long enough to play in the Twins ' Target Field in 2010 . In July 21 , Mauer hit his first career inside - the - park home run against Angels pitcher Scot Shields . It was his fifth home run of the season , and there were two players on base when he hit the homer . It was the first inside - the - park home run by a catcher since Kelly Stinnett did it for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005 . 2008 . In 2008 , he became the first American League catcher to win the batting title twice when he led the AL with an average of . 328 ; Mauer also won his first Gold Glove Award . On July 6 , Mauer was announced as the starting catcher for the American League in the 2008 Major League Baseball All - Star Game . At the end of the 2008 season , Mauer won the AL batting title with a . 328 batting average ; it was his second in three years . Mauer underwent surgery for kidney obstruction on December 22 . Mauer won his first Gold Glove award in 2008 , announced on November 6 , He finished fourth in the balloting for American League Most Valuable Player , behind Dustin Pedroia , Justin Morneau , and Kevin Youkilis . 2009 . In 2009 , he became the first catcher to lead the league in batting average , on base percentage , and slugging percentage in a single year , and the first player to lead the American League in all three since George Brett did so in 1980 . Mauer ' s . 365 average , which is the all - time highest mark among catchers in MLB history , and the highest by a Twin since Rod Carew ' s . 388 in 1977 , led Major League Baseball . Mauer also won his second consecutive Gold Glove in 2009 . Mauer was named the American League ' s 2009 MVP by a near - unanimous decision ( 27 out of 28 first place votes ) . On March 11 , Mauer was diagnosed with inflammation in the sacroiliac joint by team doctors following a magnetic resonance arthrogram . He was unable to take part in team workouts during spring training due to the pain in his lower back , which he first began experiencing late in the 2008 season . Mauer missed the start of the 2009 regular season and returned on May 1 . He went 2 for 3 with an RBI and three runs scored in his first game back , hitting a home run on his first swing of the season . He returned May 1 , and had the best month of his career . Mauer hit 11 home runs and drove in 32 RBI , becoming the first - ever Twins player to reach that mark in a single month . During the week of May 18 – 24 , Mauer led the major leagues in batting average at . 458 ( 11 – 24 ) , RBI with 13 , and runs scored with 12 , also hitting 4 HR and accumulating 25 total bases . On May 26 , he was named MLB Player of the Week for his performance . Through the month of May , Mauer lead the major leagues in AVG at . 414 , OBP at . 500 , and SLG at . 838 , in addition to his HR and RBI totals , earning him his second Player of the Month Award honors . Mauer appeared on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " for a second time on June 24 . An additional 25 , 000 copies of the magazine were sent to Minnesota for the occasion . He was selected to the 2009 MLB All Star Game as the starting catcher and participated in the Home Run Derby , losing a tiebreaker to Albert Pujols in the first round . The Twins trailed the Detroit Tigers by seven games in the American League Central division at the start of September , but rallied , winning 17 of their last 21 games to finish the season tied atop the division . On October 6 , the Twins beat the Tigers 6 – 5 in 12 innings to secure the division title . In 2009 Mauer led the American League in batting average ( . 365 ) , on - base percentage ( . 444 ) , slugging percentage ( . 587 ) , and OPS ( 1 . 031 ) Mauer became the first catcher to lead the league in all four offensive categories in a single season , and the first catcher to win three batting titles . He has won as many batting championships in a span of four years as all other Major League catchers in the history of baseball combined . Two National League catchers have won a total of three batting titles : Eugene " Bubbles " Hargrave in 1926 , and Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi in 1938 and 1942 . On October 29 , " Baseball America " named Mauer its 2009 Major League Player of the Year . On November 23 Mauer was named the 2009 American League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America , with 27 of 28 first place votes . This made Mauer the third catcher in 33 years to win the AL MVP . Among active catchers with at least 600 games played , going into the 2010 season he was second with a . 996 career fielding percentage , behind Mike Redmond ( . 996 ) , and ahead of A . J . Pierzynski ( . 995 ) and Brad Ausmus ( . 994 ) . 2010 . On March 21 , 2010 , Mauer agreed to an eight - year contract extension with the Twins worth $ 184 million , which took effect in the 2011 and will run through the 2018 season . It is the richest contract in the history of major league baseball for a catcher . On July 26 , 2010 , Mauer hit a home run and drove in a career - high seven runs in the Twins ' 19 - 1 win over the rival Kansas City Royals . He hit his 1 , 000th career Major League hit on 9 / 14 / 10 against the Chicago White Sox at U . S . Cellular Field . Mauer finished third in the AL with a . 327 batting average , and his 43 doubles rank second on baseball ' s All - Time list for doubles by a catcher ( behind Ivan Rodriguez ' s 47 with Texas in 1996 ) . For the second straight year , Mauer was named the Twins ' Most Valuable Player , as he was voted the Calvin R . Griffith Award . 2011 . Mauer underwent arthroscopic knee surgery after the 2010 season , and missed most of spring training due to a difficult recovery from the operation . After further difficulties during the first days of the season , he was placed on the disabled list immediately after the Twins ' game on April 15 . Team doctors believed his problem , termed a " bilateral leg weakness " , was due to too light a workload during spring training . Mauer returned to game action as a designated hitter in extended spring training on May 25 , and made his first post - DL appearance as a catcher in another extended spring training game on June 2 . The following week , he went on a further rehabilitation assignment to the Twins ' Class A affiliate , the Fort Myers Miracle , a team managed by his older brother Jake . After Mauer caught several games with the Miracle , it was speculated he could return to the Twins as early as June 16 or 17 , but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire did not commit to a return date . Joe Mauer returned to play with the Minnesota Twins on June 17 , 2011 and received a standing ovation from the fans . He made his first Major League start at first base on July 7 , 2011 in Chicago , where he turned the first ball hit to him into an unassisted double play . In all he had 13 putouts and 2 assists and went 3 - for - 5 at the plate with 2 RBI in a 6 – 2 victory over the White Sox . On August 18 , 2011 Mauer played his first game in right field . He had 3 putouts and went 1 - for - 3 with 1 RBI in an 8 to 4 Twins loss against the New York Yankees . Mauer struggled the entire summer with various ailments , from complications due to surgery in the beginning pnemonia at the end of the season , and had undoubtedly the worst season of his career . He played in only 82 games all year ( career 126 average per season , not counting the 35 games he played in 2004 ) , batted only . 287 ( career . 323 ) , and caught only 52 games . He hoped to return to form in 2012 . 2012 . At the start of spring training , Mauer expressed strong dissatisfaction with the previous season , saying " I ' ve kind of been answering . . . questions [ about last season ] all winter , and it left a bad taste in a lot of people ' s mouths , and mine included , but it ' s a new year , and as soon as we can forget about 2011 , the better , and focus on not letting it happen again . " On July 1 , it was announced that he would be headed for his fifth All - Star Game . Mauer ' s batting average was . 325 in the first half of the season , including 4 homers and 36 RBI . By mid - July , Mauer had the second highest batting average in the American League . On August 27 , Mauer played his 832nd game at catcher for the Twins , breaking a franchise record set by Earl Battey . International career . Mauer was selected as a catcher and first baseman for Team USA in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Other work . Mauer modeled for Perry Ellis in the 2004 – 05 off - season , and is featured in television commercials for Head & Shoulders , Pepsi , ESPN , Fox Sports Net , PlayStation 3 , Gatorade and my29 . Mauer ' s Quickswing Camp is held annually in the winter at a St . Paul area college . The camp teaches youth the basics of batting skills . Mauer taped an episode of " Homecoming with Rick Reilly " for ESPN on January 27 , 2010 at Cretin - Derham Hall High School , his alma mater , in St . Paul , Minnesota . The episode aired on April 12 , 2010 . Mauer appeared in a TV commercial for Explore Minnesota , the state tourism agency , in March 2011 . Video games . Mauer was the cover athlete for Sony Computer Entertainment ' s " " and " " game for the PlayStation platform . The game ' s tagline , " Well played , Mauer " , used by actor Jerry Lambert ( playing the role of fictional vice president Kevin Butler ) in television commercials promoting the game ( in the ad , Mauer and Butler were playing MLB 11 and Mauer hits a home run to deep right field ) , was mimicked by Twins announcer Dick Bremer during a game versus the visiting Kansas City Royals on June 10 , 2010 . Royals outfield er Mitch Maier fouled back a pitch from Twins pitcher Brian Duensing . The ball traveled over the protective net behind the home plate area . Mauer tracked the ball , reached around the screen , and caught it , leading Bremer to exclaim , " Did he catch that ? Oh , well played , Mauer ! " The catch is featured in " MLB 11 : The Show ' s " " Joe Mauer " introductory vignette . Mauer appeared as a playable pro in Backyard Baseball 2009 . Personal life . Mauer shared a house with friend and Twins teammate Justin Morneau in St . Paul during the 2006 season . Mauer and Morneau no longer live together , as Morneau has married . Mauer is also recognized for the large sideburns that he has worn ever since joining the big leagues . On August 10 , 2006 , the Minnesota Twins held " Joe Mauer Sideburns Night " in honor of the catcher . The first 10 , 000 fans were given synthetic replica sideburns with double - sided tape to share in Mauer ' s trademark look . On December 11 , 2011 , Mauer announced his engagement to St . Paul nurse Maddie Bisanz , his girlfriend of about 18 months and a fellow graduate of Cretin - Derham Hall High School . The couple was married on December 1 , 2012 at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in St . Paul , MN . Morneau was a groomsman . On February 27 , 2013 , Mauer announced that they are expecting fraternal twins in August .