Biography of Baseball Player Joe Mauer

Joe Mauer was born on April 19, 1983 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. While growing up in Minnesota, he attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School where he was a three sport star. He was a starter on the baseball, basketball, and football teams.

Joe Mauer was considered one of the best, if not the best, hitters in high school baseball. He batted .605 during his senior season and was only struck out once during his entire high school career. As a result of his outstanding play in Minnesota, he was selected to play on the Team USA Junior National team. He played with them from 1998 to 2000 and hit an astonishing .522 during his last year with the team. In 2000, he was voted the best hitter at the world tournament in Panama. The following year, in 2001, he was voted Minnesota District V Player of the Year in baseball.

During Joe Mauer's two seasons as the starting quarterback for his high school, he passed for 5,528 yards and 73 touchdowns. He also led the team to the 5A State Championship Game both years he was quarterback, winning once. For his talent as a quarterback, he was named Parade and USA Today Player of the Year, Gatorade National Player of the Year, and a Reebok/ESPN High School All-American. His outstanding accomplishments in football earned him a football scholarship to attend college football powerhouse Florida State University, but he decline the invitation in order to enter the Major League Baseball Draft. Joe Mauer was also named to the All-State Basketball Team as a junior and a senior in high school.

Joe Mauer made his Major League Baseball debut on April 5, 2004 for the Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, a knee injury three days later knocked him out of the line-up for over a month. After returning from the knee injury, he soon ran into more knee problems which sat him out for the rest of the 2004 season. In 2005, he played his first full season where he finished with a .294 batting average and a total of 144 hits in 131 games behind the plate.

During the 2006 season, Joe Mauer has become one of the most watched players as he has led the Major Leagues in batting average for the beginning of the season. During the month of June, he had a batting average of .452 which earned him the American League's Player of the Month honors. In July, Joe Mauer took part in his first ever All-Star Game.