MLB: “Very emotional”: Joe Mauer announces resignation

One of the greatest catches of all time is breaking up: Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins announced his career end on Friday; a press conference was announced for Monday to make the farewell official.

In an open letter to Twins fans, Mauer declared: “After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to end my baseball career. This decision was not easy because baseball has always been, and will always be, one of my greatest passions. The last few months have been very emotional for me and I wanted to take some time to think it over with a clear head.”

Ultimately, he made the decision “with a view to my health and my family. The risk of a concussion is always there, I was reminded of that again this season when I missed over 30 games.” Mauer was the number 1 overall pick in the 2001 MLB Draft and comes from St. Paul, so for the fans in Minnesota he was the big identification figure for many years.

The 35-year-old, who had moved to First Base in the last five years of his career, had taken just over a month to make up his mind. He ends his career with five AL Silver Slugger Awards, three Gold Glove Awards, 143 Homeruns, 2,123 Hits, 428 Doubles, 1,018 Runs and 923 RBIs in 1,858 games for the Twins. He’s Minnesota’s all-time double leader.

This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.