Joe Mauer once said,” It frustrates me when I am not good at something, so I do it until I get good at it.”(Kepner 03/27/14) Joe Mauer accomplished many things and set many new records. Joe Mauer’s accomplishments have allowed for hind catchers in baseball to try different ways of hitting and catching, he is a very influential person and has made major contributions in the baseball world.
Joseph Patrick Mauer was born on April 19, 1983 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Joe was the youngest of three brothers. Jake III and Billy are his older siblings, they all had baseball in their genes. (Wacholtz pg. 8) Joe’s parents, ironically, met on a baseball field. They raised their sons in a home less than twenty minutes away from the Metrodome. (Weekly Reader Senior Edition pg. 2 December 14, 2001)
To Joe’s parents, Teresa and Jake Junior, it seemed that all three of their sons were meant to star on the diamond. One of Joe’s earliest memories was being handed a baseball bat by his dad and swinging it. (Wacholtz pg. 8) Their family joke was that he had a major-league stroke while he was still in diapers. Joe once said, “It was always baseball for me, this is what I always wanted to do.”(Wacholtz pg. 11) Joe grew up as a Twins fan. Every year the Mauer boys could be found outside throwing, hitting, running, and fielding until the winters in Minnesota drove them indoors. Their dad gave them as much baseball tutoring as they could handle. When they had mastered ordinary pitching machines, Jake Jr. invented a new one, which dropped the balls right into the strike zone. (Weekly Reader Senior Edition pg. 2 December 14, 2001)
Joe enrolled in Cretin-Derham high school in September of 1...
... middle of paper ...
...rsn=127&locID=naal_athens&failover=0&sgcmd=MAIN&srchtp=basic&c=1&sub=%2522Mauer%2C+Joe%2522&ste=35&tbst=tbasic&tab=2&txb=Mauer%2C+Joe&docNum=A223277587&bConts=6
2. Kepner, Tyler. "Face of the Twins Surrenders His Mask." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/sports/baseball/face-of-the-twins-surrenders-his-mask.html?_r=2
3. Kepner, Tyler. "Mauer Ready To Reinvent Himself as a First Baseman." . New York Times, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=6FPTS2014032728403330&site=src-live
4. "4 Minnesota Twins." - 03.26.12. Sports Illustrated, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1196319/index.htm
5. "Outta Here!Major League Baseball plans to ax two teams." . weekly reader corp, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
first person about his struggles in the beginning of his baseball career, and how he miraculously turns his
“If you build it, he will come” (Kinsella 1). These words of an announcer jump start a struggle for Ray Kinsella to ease the tragic life of Shoeless Joe Jackson. Ray hears a voice of an announcer which leads him to build a baseball field that brings Shoeless Joe Jackson onto the field. However, this field puts his family on the verge of bankruptcy which is just one of the struggles Ray Kinsella is presented in his life. Shoeless Joe Jackson is no stranger to having no money, as he was only making a measly $1.25 as a kid struggling to support his family. He never attended school and was illiterate throughout his entire life. The struggle is completely the same with Ray Kinsella growing up, as he is forced into baseball, which ultimately makes him run away from home. Ray’s hate is Joes love. Joe loves baseball and makes it to the major leagues, but it doesn’t last. Joe’s career is cut short due to the fact he is accused of throwing the World Series, and banned from baseball forever. Rays’s father would have loved it if his son made it to the major leagues because he thought Ray had the potential and talent. However, his only dream was simple, he wanted to play a game of catch with his son, unfortunately, he passed away and he never got to see his son after he ran away. Shoeless Joe Jackson’s death wasn’t any better, as he died guilty of throwing the World Series which was the biggest sports tragedy to date. Tragedies are not uncommon phenomena, Ray Kinsella and Shoeless Joe Jackson have the unfortunate luck to go through a struggle fulfilled and uphill battle in what is suppose to be a wonderful thing, life.
Toronto Blue Jays Team History & Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 21, 2014, from http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/
Nemec, David, and Saul Wisnia. 100 Years of Baseball. Lincolonwood, Ill.: Publications International, 2002, Print.
can hit and field like no one else. He is an amazing player and great hitter. He has a great
Even as a child Derek loved baseball. He and his dad would often throw in the baseball field behind his house almost everyday. Although his dad sounds like a great role model for him, his Grandma Dot and Grandpa Bill were the most important people in his childhood. They were his moms parents. He would go visit them in New Jersey for weeks at a time. His Grandma would tell him stories about the best Yankee players and basically plant dreams in his head. At night he would watch the Yankee’s play with his Grandpa Bill and fall asleep in his lap. As soon as he woke up in the morning(which was ussualy pretty early) he would go into to his Grandma and say “Come on Gram! Lets go throw!”. They went through this routine every morning.
Throughout the course of American history, there have been copious amounts of famous speeches, spoken by many different people. From political figures to sports players; these people have provided deep thoughts and great insights about who they are and the world we live in today. Being a sports enthusiast, a memorable speech comes to my mind. Lou Gehrig’s “farewell speech”, given on July 4th, 1939, to more than 62,000 fans at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, has become a cornerstone in the history of baseball in America. Lou Gehrig is considered one of the most under-rated sports players of all time. Gehrig played in the same era with greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. In Fact, Gehrig played on the same team and actually batted behind Ruth and DiMaggio. Gehrig’s nickname is the “Iron Horse,” which came about with Gehrig’s amazing consecutive games played streak. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, which stood as the consecutive games record until just recently broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. Gehrig died in 1941, at the age of 37. Though many famous speeches have been spoken throughout time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech has remained one of the most memorable speeches of all time, due to the way he captivated his fans with the use of rhetoric.
Kepner, Tyler. "New Call in Baseball: Previous Play Is Under Review, in New York."The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
With everything he had faced in his childhood; therefore, it prepared him for the changes he was going to make in the Major League when he entered it years later, Jackie s...
Sparky Anderson was once quoted: "the great thing about baseball is when you're done, you'll only tell your grandchildren the good things.” The emphasis in his quote is placed on grandchildren, which is what America is all about these days. Family is number one. To Caple and the rest of the sports world, the Minnesota Twins are a part of the baseball fraternity of brotherhood and family. Why should we remove them? To do so would violate every American’s right to family, an essential to a healthy life.
Addona, Dan D’. "SABR." Baseball's Forgotten Era: The '80s. N.p., 2011. Web. 13 May 2014. .
Trujillo, Nick. "Hegemonic Masculinity on the Mound:Media representation Of Nolan Ryan and American sports culture." Critical Studies in Mass communication (1991): pages 1-12.
Nemee, David. “100 Years of Major League Baseball.” Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications Infernational, Ltd, 200. Print.
When the A’s came into town, the GM of baseball’s richest team, the New York Yankees, stated, “It’s like Coke and their secret formula – you don’t let the secret formula out” . Sabermetrics have become such a normal part of the baseball scouting process that now ex-Phillies GM Ruben Amaro was fired in part because of his refusal to adapt to this new reality. Michael Lewis himself has admitted, “the book probably cost the A’s an opportunity or two” . While this poses as a problem, Billy Beane continues to demonstrate another leadership skill he has up his sleeve: addressing change. Despite the fact that the A’s have lost those two MVPs, and many other All-Star quality players; despite the fact that everyone around the league is doing what the Athletics have been doing somehow Oakland finds a way to succeed with their relatively empty wallets. Oakland has catapulted itself back into the playoffs each of the last three years. Understandably, Billy Beane has kept his cards closer to his chest, and exactly what he has done to promote this new era of success is less transparent. One could point to the hiring of Bob Melvin, who won the 2012 AL Manager of the Year with the A’s, as Billy Beane once again brilliantly noticing a diamond in the rough. However if you take a closer look, you
Murphy, Austin. “Goodbye To All That.” Sports Illustrated (2013): 104. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.