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ORIGINAL: Trekgeekscott

quote:

ORIGINAL: Phil Riewer

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

Joey Votto may be signing with the Twins.

I would rather have Miranda and Kirilloff platoon.

If they can stay healthy that is.

Votto would probably play more DH and offer another truly veteran presence on the bench for a relatively young lineup. Not sure about the wisdom of signing Votto, but if they do, it should be better than Joey Gallo.

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ORIGINAL: bstinger

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Levine

I remember when Mauer batted .365 with 28 HRs, won MVP and got a massive contract.

I remember him never batting higher than .327 or hitting more than 11 HRs in a season again.

What could have been...

Target field should have been designed to take advantage of Joe's strengths. How many warning track fly balls did he hit to LF at target field that would've cleared the wall in the dome?

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Levine

quote:

ORIGINAL: Trekgeekscott

quote:

ORIGINAL: Phil Riewer

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

Joey Votto may be signing with the Twins.

I would rather have Miranda and Kirilloff platoon.

If they can stay healthy that is.

Votto would probably play more DH and offer another truly veteran presence on the bench for a relatively young lineup. Not sure about the wisdom of signing Votto, but if they do, it should be better than Joey Gallo.

That's an incredibly low bar.

Votto is 40 years old and has batted .202 and .205 the past 2 seasons. With over twice as many Ks as walks.

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Levine

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

Joey Votto
@JoeyVotto

On first base at Target Field during a game, I turn to Joe. 'Used to watch your batting vids every day after school' I tell him. Joe smiles and responds, 'That's incredibly generous of you, thank you!' At 34 years old, I was starstruck meeting him. Now, he's HOF! Congrats, Joe!

Did Joe make batting videos as a kid?

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ORIGINAL: twinsfan

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Levine

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

Joey Votto
@JoeyVotto

On first base at Target Field during a game, I turn to Joe. 'Used to watch your batting vids every day after school' I tell him. Joe smiles and responds, 'That's incredibly generous of you, thank you!' At 34 years old, I was starstruck meeting him. Now, he's HOF! Congrats, Joe!

Did Joe make batting videos as a kid?

Apparently. Or Votto was joking around. I'm going with joking around.

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ORIGINAL: TJSweens

quote:

ORIGINAL: bstinger

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Levine

I remember when Mauer batted .365 with 28 HRs, won MVP and got a massive contract.

I remember him never batting higher than .327 or hitting more than 11 HRs in a season again.

What could have been...

Target field should have been designed to take advantage of Joe's strengths. How many warning track fly balls did he hit to LF at target field that would've cleared the wall in the dome?

That's ridiculous. Joe hit double digit HR once before his MVP season. He had gap power, not HR power. Target Field has plenty of room in the gaps.

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Levine

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

Joey Votto
@JoeyVotto

On first base at Target Field during a game, I turn to Joe. 'Used to watch your batting vids every day after school' I tell him. Joe smiles and responds, 'That's incredibly generous of you, thank you!' At 34 years old, I was starstruck meeting him. Now, he's HOF! Congrats, Joe!

Did Joe make batting videos as a kid?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Phil Riewer

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

quote:

ORIGINAL: David Levine

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

Joey Votto
@JoeyVotto

On first base at Target Field during a game, I turn to Joe. 'Used to watch your batting vids every day after school' I tell him. Joe smiles and responds, 'That's incredibly generous of you, thank you!' At 34 years old, I was starstruck meeting him. Now, he's HOF! Congrats, Joe!

Did Joe make batting videos as a kid?

Apparently. Or Votto was joking around. I'm going with joking around.

I have seen something to the effect actually. Mauer quickswing and aid tool from 2009.

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ORIGINAL: twinsfan

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ORIGINAL: kgdabom

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ORIGINAL: twinsfan

It's time for 80% of this board to eat crow. Every metric on earth says Joe Mauer is a HOFer. And now he is an elite FIRST BALLOT HOFer. One of the Top 10 catchers of all-time. And...get this...only the THIRD catcher ever to get in on first ballot (Bench and Rodriguez are the only others). A majority of you were wrong and I'm going to point it out right now. I give you an opportunity for a mea culpa, or just keep being belligerent and sour. Whatever suits you.

I'm with you 100%.

Are you apologizing to me?

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ORIGINAL: Trekgeekscott

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ORIGINAL: twinsfan

It's time for 80% of this board to eat crow. Every metric on earth says Joe Mauer is a HOFer. And now he is an elite FIRST BALLOT HOFer. One of the Top 10 catchers of all-time. And...get this...only the THIRD catcher ever to get in on first ballot (Bench and Rodriguez are the only others). A majority of you were wrong and I'm going to point it out right now. I give you an opportunity for a mea culpa, or just keep being belligerent and sour. Whatever suits you.

Nope. I don't agree on his worthiness for the hall. Just because a bunch of writers, who currently are completely overwhelmed by all the modern fancy shmansy Analytics voted for Mauer doesn't mean i have to agree or that I am wrong. I just have a differing opinion. Neither the fact that he's elected to the Hall, nor on the first ballot even vindicates your opinion or disavows mine. It's called an opinion for a reason.

I congratulate Joe Mauer for getting enshrined. At his peak I loved him, (except for his annoying habit of always watching the first two pitches go by). He made his mark and writers were impressed by him.

I just don't think the entirety of his career justified enshrinement. But good for him anyway.

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ORIGINAL: Mister Ed

Beltre great career

Mauer and Helton several great years, ok final numbers

interesting HOF

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ORIGINAL: TJSweens

It's great that Julien and Wallner made enough of an impact in their rookie years to show up on preseason ratings. I'm staying cautious about year 2. Going into 2023 the Twins banked on Jose Miranda to be their every day 3B based on a good rookie campaign. He took a massive step backward and got demoted to AAA before having season ending surgery. Backing up a strong rookie year with a good second year is not a given.

I like Julien's chances with the bat, given his great eye at the plate. He draws walks. He doesn't chase out of the zone and he's very agressive in the zone. His defense needs a lot of work.

Wallner has the power, but lacks the consistency that Julien showed. Wallner is a much better defensive player than Julien, but where Julien stepped it up a notch in the playoffs, Wallner was a no-show.