Joe Mauer, Hall of Famer and king of breaking up 9th-inning no-nos
This browser does not support the video element.
Joe Mauer spent 15 seasons ruining the nights of pitchers all across baseball. But there were three occasions when his opponent left the mound more miserable than most.
On Tuesday, Mauer¡¯s bona fides as one of the best hitters of his time helped him become just the third catcher (after Iv¨¢n Rodr¨ªguez and Johnny Bench) elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. His case for Cooperstown of course included myriad mentions of his three batting titles, his 2009 AL MVP Award, his career .306 average and his .388 on-base percentage. But his brilliance at the plate was also witnessed in another way. A very specific, quirky way: He was really good at breaking up no-hitters in the ninth inning.
This browser does not support the video element.
Mauer ended ninth-inning no-nos three times during his illustrious career. And they all came when the pitcher was just two outs away from history.
In 2008, Mauer sliced a ball into the left-center-field gap to end White Sox righty Gavin Floyd¡¯s dream of a no-hitter. Two seasons later, the Rangers were on the verge of a combined no-hitter when Mauer lined an 0-2 pitch from reliever Neftal¨ª Feliz into center field. Then in 2013, Mauer blistered An¨ªbal S¨¢nchez¡¯s 121st pitch of the night to break up a no-no for the Tigers.
This browser does not support the video element.
"Every time I go up there, I try to get a hit or get on base or do something positive on the offensive side," Mauer said following that game in Detroit of his ability to end no-hitters in the ninth. "I think everybody is aware of it. You just try to go up there and have a good at-bat and put a good swing on it."
If it was that easy, more hitters would have success in breaking up no-hitters. But there aren¡¯t many hitters quite like Mauer.