Dan Patrick doesn't think Joe Mauer is deserving of a first-ballot entry into the Hall of Fame.
"Is Joe Mauer a first-ballot Hall of Famer? No, I don't think so," Patrick said Wednesday morning on his daily radio show.
Mauer received votes on 76.1% of ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his first year of eligibility, joining Adrian Beltre and Todd Helton as part of the class of 2024.
"These are all really, really good players," Patrick continued. "Joe Mauer winning batting titles as a catcher certainly helped. But he prolonged his career by moving to first base."
This certainly isn't a new debate, as Minnesota sports fans have been waging this particular battle for years now.
Mauer moved to first base permanently after the 2013 season after suffering a concussion the previous season. He initially started splitting time between first base and catcher two years earlier, making 18 appearances at first in an injury-shortened 2011 season.
As a catcher, Mauer's career stands up as one of the best ever. He holds MLB records for highest single-season batting average by a catcher at .365 and highest single-season on-base percentage as a catcher at .444. Mauer also won three batting titles, the most by a catcher in MLB history.
Catchers have only ever won seven total batting titles.
"The bar is lowered a little bit here, of who is getting in," Patrick continued. "First-ballot Hall of Famer, Joe Mauer? Great player, not a first-ballot Hall of Famer."
Mauer and Beltre became just the 59th and 60th members of the Hall of Fame to earn passage on their first ballot.
"Maybe baseball changes where it's the Hall of really good, or very good that we're looking at," Patrick said.
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