When the Minnesota Twins host the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night at Target Field in the opener of their season-ending seven-game homestand, it could mark the beginning of the end for franchise icon Joe Mauer.
The veteran catcher turned first baseman and St. Paul native becomes a free agent after the season ends. He said last month retirement is something he’ll consider but for the time being, he wanted to focus on closing out the 2018 campaign on a high note.
Mauer singled twice Sunday in the Twins’ 5-1 victory at Oakland moving him 224th place on the all-time list with 2,112 hits and reached base for the 3,072nd time in his career, moving him into a tie with Harmon Killebrew for first place in franchise history.
He is almost certain to break that record this week but when is still up in the air as he and manager Paul Molitor try to figure out how much Mauer will play over the final seven games.
“We haven’t finalized how many games he’ll play throughout the course of the week and which game in this particular campaign will be his last one to start this year,” Molitor said. “It’s just Joe deserving of conversation almost daily of how we’re using him and how he’s doing physically.”
The team doesn’t have any special tributes planned to mark Mauer’s 15-year career, all of which were spent wearing the uniform of his home town team.
“There’s no Joe Mauer Day planned. There’s no pregame ceremony or anything,” Twins President Dave St. Peter told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But the best tributes happen organically anyway.
“I expect there will be a fair amount of emotion in the ballpark. Fans can express their own feelings toward Joe, what he’s meant to the Twins and Minnesota. That’s only natural.”
The Tigers said farewell to their own franchise icon over the weekend. Designated hitter Victor Martinez announced his retirement prior to the Tigers’ home finale Sunday against the Royals. He plans to travel with the team to Minnesota and Milwaukee but wanted his final game to come in front of his home fans and beat out an infield chopper in the first inning Saturday before being lifted for a pinch runner.
“From the bottom of my heart, I can only say thank you for being behind us all these years, supporting my teammates, supporting myself,” Martinez said during a pregame ceremony. “Thank you very much.”
Right-hander Spencer Trunball gets the start for Detroit in the series opener. He’ll be looking to bounce back after struggling against the Twins last week in his first big league start when he allowed six runs on six hits and a walk through four innings.
“It was a rough outing,” Turnbull said. “I’m not worried about it. I’m sure I’ll get better from it. I’m trusting myself more than I ever have. I know that I have the stuff. I know that I’m good (enough) to do it. It’s just executing and not trying to do too much; just breathing, just calming down.”
The Twins have yet to announce a starter and are expected to use an opener. Kohl Stewart is expected to be the primary pitcher.
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