With his contract set to expire after the season, Joe Mauer might be in his final days with the Minnesota Twins.
Before he leaves – if he doesn’t get signed back in 2019 and beyond – he’ll certainly cement himself further among the all-time greats in Twins history.
According to Dustin Morse of the Twins, Mauer is one run from becoming the third player in team history to score 1,000 runs, and he’s two hits shy of passing Rod Carew for the second most in Twins history.
Kirby Puckett (1,071) and Harmon Killebrew (1,047) are the only players in Twins history to reach 1,000 career runs scored, although Killebrew’s career totals reached 1,283 if you count his time with the Washington Senators and one year with the Kansas City Royals.
Mauer is currently at 2,084 career hits, just one shy of Rod Carew and well shy of Puckett’s team record of 2,304 hits. The rankings only include the statistics players accumulated while wearing a Twins uniform.
Joe Mauer looking to become the 3rd @Twins player to score 1000 runs:
1.Puckett – 1071
2.Killebrew – 1047
3.Mauer – 999
____________________Joe Mauer is looking to pass Rod Carew on #MNTwins all-time hits list:
1.Puckett – 2304
2.Carew – 2085
3.Mauer – 2084— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) August 23, 2018
Mauer, who is hitting .275 with five homers and 38 RBI this season, is also just 12 total bases away from tying Tony Oliva for third in Twins history.
Mauer’s been an average MLB player, albeit a tremendous contact hitter, the last handful of seasons, but he was one of the best bats in the game between 2006 and 2013.
