Down here at the moment we have the face of the franchise currently doing his rehab. If you're wondering who I'm talking about, you need to spend a bit more time on MLB.com. I'm talking of course about Joe Mauer. Today Joe played in his first game since early April when he was placed on the disabled list for leg soreness. He didn't play too long today, only participating in the first 3 innings as the designated hitter. He had 3 at bats, lining out to center field, hitting a ground ball to the right side that scored 2 runs and then walking in his 3rd plate appearance.
With him being down here, there have been small groups of people and even some members of the media starting to attend our workouts, in hope of getting an autograph, picture and in the medias case, an interview with him. Since we are the lowest level of Minor League Baseball not many people come to watch us play, so it's sometimes nice to have people at the field.
Since I was the starting pitcher in this game, it was a bit of a thrill for me to have Joe Mauer on the same lineup card as me as I'm sure it was for the other players in today's game. After I finished my outing and did my running, I went into the clubhouse to get treatment. While I was in there, Joe was there as well, I thought this would be a perfect time to get his autograph. So now I can add a MVP to my collection of signed baseballs.
Joe Mauer - #7
That's awesome! I'm in awe of what it's like for the minor leaguers to get to play with or against the major leaguers when they are on rehab assignments! 3 ABs in 3 innings? Do they go through the whole batting order every inning? What other autographs do you have?
ReplyDeleteWhen a rehabbing Major Leaguer comes down, they usually bat 3rd in every inning.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very modest collection, but these are the autographs I have:
-Rod Carew (Hall of Famer)
-Graham Lloyd (Won 2 World Series with NYY)
-Pedro Martinez (3 time Cy Young award winner)
-Scott Mathieson (Close friend who plays with the Phillies)