Joe Mauer has been thrown a softball of a profile as the cover subject for the next issue of Sports Illustrated.
The Twins catcher is getting his first dose of major national media attention connected to his steady position above the mythic .400 batting average.
"The Case For Joe Mauer And Baseball History" not only argues with itself about whether Mauer can be the first major leaguer to hit .400 since Ted Williams in 1941, the article also props up Mauer as a plain-speaking northwoodsman whose simple swing and approach to hitting offers pitchers no point of attack.
Along with dissecting what Mauer does on the field, the article takes the reader to the hometown hero's retreat, a Minnesota log cabin (with a bowling alley and a batting cage), and lets us know he mows his own lawn.
The issue will be on newsstands Wednesday in Minnesota and will reach mailboxes by Thursday, said SI spokeswoman Kelli Raftery, adding that 25,000 extra copies are being sent to Minnesota.
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Among the article's highlights:
--On hitting .400, Mauer says: "We've got a lot of baseball left. I think it's way too early for that [talk]. ... It's probably not going to last forever, but I'll try to hold on to it as long as I can."
--Mauer analyzes his own swing: "I don't have a lot of stuff going on. Guys have different triggers for timing, and my timing is very simple."
--Worth to the team: Statistical analysis by the website fangraphs.com estimates that Mauer is giving Minnesota about $38 million worth of value this year.
--What if Mauer left?: "It would be devastating to Minnesota if he left," said Twins radio announcer John Gordon. "To play one year in the new ballpark [which opens in 2010] and be gone would be crushing. Justin Morneau said if [Mauer] ever left, he'd never speak to him again."
--Mauer on his future as a Twin: "To tell you the truth, I really haven't even thought about playing anywhere but here. But I think it's pretty early. Right now I'm just trying to stay on the field. All of that stuff will happen when it needs to happen."
This is Mauer's second time on the SI cover, defying any long-feared jinx tied to such lofty exposure. In August 2006, the fully geared catcher stood before the camera as the cover headline declared him "Joe Mauer: American Idol."
That issue sold 32 percent more copies than the average that year.
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-- Copyright (c) 2009, Star Tribune, Minneapolis/Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
