(Brace Hemmelgarn/USA Today Sports)
While the regular season may still be a few months away, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer will certainly be busy until then as he was selected for Team USA along with teammate Glen Perkins for this year’s World Baseball Classic.
Practice for the event will begin on March 1, with Team USA playing their first game on March 8, against Mexico. Team USA, along with the rest of the teams in the tournament, will look to end Japan’s reign of winning the last two tournaments and with a talented catcher like Mauer–there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to give them a run for their money.
When healthy, Mauer has always been considered one of the top players at his position in the big league’s and is coming off another impressive season in which he batted .319 to go along with 10 home runs and 85 RBIs in 147 games–even though the Twins finished in dead last in the AL Central with a 66-96 record.
The season may have turned out to be a disappointment for Minnesota, but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to bounce back in 2013, and compete for the division title–especially with a player like Mauer in the lineup. There was a reason why the Twins were willing to give Mauer such a hefty contract a few years ago and his numbers on the field alone prove he deserves to be up there with the rest of the top catchers in the league–which is why Team USA made the right move to select him for this year’s tournament.
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