10 Career-Defining Joe Mauer Cards – Instant PC
Only three catchers in MLB history have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Joe Mauer joined Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez on that exclusive list with 76.1 percent voting support.. A three-time AL batting champion and three-time Gold Glove winner, he was the complete package behind the plate before concussions forced him to shift to first base, but at his peak he stacks up to any catcher.
All told, there are more than 7,500 Joe Mauer cards, according to the Beckett database. So where does one begin putting together a Joe Mauer PC?
These 10 cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career and footprint on the hobby, making them a great place to start.
2002 UD Minor League #188 Joe Mauer
On the clock at No. 1 overall in the 2001 draft, many expected the Twins to select USC right-hander Mark Prior, who was viewed by many as a sure-fire future MLB ace and one of the greatest college pitchers of all-time. Instead, they selected in-state prep star Mauer, who was a Gatorade All-American in baseball and football.
Mauer had a few team issue cards in 2001, but his first major release minor league cards are in the 2002 Just Prospects and 2002 UD Minor League sets. The 400-card UD Minor League checklist also includes Yadier Molina, Miguel Cabrera and Zack Greinke.
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2002 Bowman #379 Joe Mauer RC
Mauer debuted in pro ball with a bang after landing a then-team record $5.1 million bonus, hitting .400 with a .492 on-base percentage in 130 plate appearances in rookie ball. That was good enough for him to debut in the No. 7 spot on the Baseball America Top 100 list to begin the 2002 season.
With 12 different Rookie Cards varying in price point from bargain options in the Topps 206, Topps Gallery and Topps Total, to autographs in Bowman Chrome and Bowman’s Best, there is something for everyone trying to track down a Mauer rookie.
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2003 Topps #680 Joe Mauer/Justin Morneau
More often than not, only one guy pans out from a Topps prospect card shared by multiple players, though there are some notable exceptions over the years. That list includes Paul Molitor/Alan Trammel (1976), Mike Piazza/Carlos Delgado (1993), Vladimir Guerrero/Andruw Jones (1996).
Since it’s not a Rookie Card for either player, the 2003 Topps card of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau flies under the radar, but it’s a must-own card for any Minnesota Twins fan who saw the two MVP winners’ time with the team.
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2005 Donruss #48 Joe Mauer RR
Following a 35-game audition in 2004 where he hit .308/.369/.570 with 15 extra-base hits in 122 plate appearances, Mauer was given the starting catcher job to begin the 2005 season. The 22-year-old hit .294/.372/.411 with 37 extra-base hits in 131 games. His 2.8 WAR trailed only Johan Santana (7.2), Carlos Silva (3.5) and Torii Hunter (3.1) among all players on the Twins roster.
The Donruss “Rated Rookie”logo was removed from cards starting in 1994, but the subset hung around into the 2000s with different designs each year. The 2005 “Rated Rookie” class includes Mauer, Yadier Molina, Chase Utley, Zack Greinke, David Wright and Adrian Gonzalez. They were short-printed as a 1:6 pack pull.
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2006 Upper Deck Special F/X Materials #JM Joe Mauer Jsy
Following his strong rookie season, Mauer took a massive leap forward in 2006, hitting .347/.429/.507 to win the AL batting title and finish sixth in AL MVP voting while receiving his first All-Star selection. That breakout performance lined up with the Twins winning 96 games and the AL Central title.
Back in 2006, memorabilia cards were still a major hobby draw and generally featured a game-used item rather than a player-worn or manufactured swatch. The 2006 Upper Deck Special F/X Materials inserts are a great example from that era, and while they were a 1:8 packs pull, the 49-card checklist made finding specific players a bit more difficult.
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2008 SPx #58 Joe Mauer
Mauer won his second batting title in three years during the 2008 season, hitting .328/.413/.451 to narrowly edge out Dustin Pedroia (.326), Milton Bradley (.321), Ian Kinsler (.319) and Magglio Ordonez (.317) in a close race.
The 2008 SPx product line was high end, originally checking in at $10 per pack, and each pack contained either an autograph or a game-used memorabilia card. Even the base cards have a premium feel with a die-cut, multi-layered design.
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2008 Topps #287 Justin Morneau/Johan Santana/Joe Mauer
The trio of Mauer, Justin Morneau and Johan Santana were teammates on the Twins for four seasons from 2004 through 2007. During that time, they combined for two MVP awards, two Cy Young awards and 51.9 WAR while forming one of the best cores of any team in baseball.
The trio share a subset card in the 2008 Topps flagship release, and aside from the base option, the card also comes in Gold Foil, Gold (/2008), Black (/57) and Platinum (1/1) parallels.
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2009 O-Pee-Chee Face of the Franchise #FF28 Joe Mauer
Mauer made it three batting titles in four years during the best season of his career in 2009, hitting .365/.444/.587 with 30 doubles, 28 home runs, 96 RBI and 7.8 WAR to take home AL MVP honors. Only seven times in MLB history has a catcher won the batting title, and Mauer occupies nearly half of that list.
In 2009, Upper Deck released its first baseball set under the “O-Pee-Chee” brand since acquiring the company in 2006, and it ended up being their only baseball release when they lost their MLB license later that year. The Face of the Franchise inserts were a 1:13 pack pull and featured a 30-card checklist with one player from each team.
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2014 Topps #125C Joe Mauer SP/Snoopy
Ahead of the 2014 season, Mauer made the full-time move to first base in an effort to protect him from further concussion issues. The 31-year-old had averaged just 114 games over the previous three seasons, and with longtime first baseman Justin Morneau departing in free agency there was a clear path to shift him out of the crouch.
Short-printed variations of base cards in the Topps flagship set were a staple in the product line in 2014, and Mauer has one of the stranger SP cards with a cameo from Snoopy in the background. The beloved cartoon character was created by St. Paul native Charles M. Schultz, and was being used to help market that year’s All-Star Game in Minnesota.
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2018 Topps Chrome Sapphire Edition #231 Joe Mauer
After 15 big league seasons, Mauer called it quits after the 2018 campaign, retiring with a .306/.388/.439 career batting line while tallying 2,123 hits, 143 home runs, 923 RBI and 55.2 WAR as a six-time All-Star.
He doesn’t have any base cards in 2019 products that feature full stat backs, so I’m wrapping up his Instant PC with his final Topps card. Rather than bookending this collection with a normal Topps flagship card, I’ve opted for the Chrome Sapphire base card.
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