Joe Mauer Becomes Richest Man To Ever Sit Behind a Plastic Plate and Catch a Baseball

Charlie Klein

In my week long school induced leave of absence from blogging, the Twins did the unthinkable and gave Joe Mauer a contract that would even make Jesus Christ blush. The Twins pledged $184 million over the next eight years to the idea that Mauer could hit .365 every season.

I have mixed feelings about this contract. Sure, I love Joe Mauer just as much as the next guy. In fact, I take every opportunity to say the phrase "Mauer Power" (Mauer Power!) whenever remotely possible. But I still do not understand why it required the Twins to guarantee Mauer $184 million over the next eight years.

Player A:

Career Batting Average: .293
Average Homeruns Per Season: 18
Average RBIs Per Season: 78

Player B:

Career Batting Average: .327
Average Homeruns Per Season: 12
Average RBIs Per Season: 66

Which player would you argue deserves to make the most money? If you exclude the clear advantage in terms of batting average, the clear choice is player A. And player A is none other than Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann.

McCann is in the third year of a six year, $27.8 million contract. He will make under five million dollars in 2010, compared with Mauer's $23 million. Now it does seem a little more ridiculous that the Twins gave Mauer that kind of money, doesn't it? McCann is 26 years of age while Mauer will turn 27 in April.

As a fan of the Seattle Mariners, and public defender of small market baseball teams on this blog, I am supposed to celebrate a contract like this when it's made by a fellow little boy in the game. And yet I have a hard time doing that. The Twins allowed a fake market to drive up the costs of what Mauer brings to the club, imagining what bids from the Yankees and Red Sox would have been and attempted to top both.

Little teams like the Twins cannot afford for contracts like this to fail. While I think Mauer will produce, I just doubt he will produce to the tune of .365 every season. And the going rate for a player that averages .330, 20, and 70 is not $23 million per, even at a position where it is rare for a player to hit as well as Mauer does.

Disagree all you want with my arguments about the Twins overpaying for a player at a premium position, but mark my words, Twins fans may resent this deal when they have not won a World Series by the year 2018 and have a player at the age of 35 who will be making $23 million.

A team having to pay this much to keep a player in town is not a good for baseball story.

It is one that is indicative of how much this game has become more about money than anything else.