Twins Gambling On Mauer To Be In Minnesota For Entire Career

People in the Minnesota have seen some of their favorite sports figures dismissed by the Minnesota Twins. In recent years, Johan Santana and Torii Hunter have both been let go by the team.

On Sunday, the Twins organization made sure that those same hard feelings would not extend to their prized catcher. Minnesota signed Joe Mauer to a long term contract extension, almost guaranteeing that Mauer will be in Minnesota for the duration of his playing days.

All along this off season, Mauer has said that he wants to remain in Minnesota. Minneapolis is his hometown, and he values playing in front of family and friends above all else. That is why Mauer was given one of the richest contracts in baseball history.

The numbers say that this was an eight year, $184 million deal. The good publicity that comes with a small market team keeping their star player will go a long way towards having the Twins get a good return on their money.

Mauer has already won three batting titles, and last year may have been his best season to date. His power numbers were up, and Mauer starting driving the ball much more than in any previous season.

Rumors had already started to circulate of how the Red Sox were clearing the way for Mauer's arrival in Boston. Similar rumors were swirling around the Yankees and Mets. On Sunday, however, the Twins and Mauer put these rumors to rest when they agreed on the deal.

Agent Mark Shapiro used as much leverage as he could with a player that had already made his feelings known that he wanted to re-sign with Minnesota. Shapiro told the Twins that negotiations would not continue once the season started.

The deal comes just two weeks from the start of the new season, and it shows that Minnesota is willing to spend to keep their top players. Whether that will translate into wins will not be known until the dog days of summer have come and gone.

March 21, 2010
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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