If Joe Mauer didn’t make it in pro baseball, he had a backup plan—pro football.
But when the Minnesota Twins made Mauer the No. 1 pick in the 2001 MLB Draft and he started playing in the Twins’ minor league system, it became clear that no Plan B was required. In fact, Plan A went so well that Mauer was recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
A native of St. Paul, Minn., Mauer was a born athlete. At Cretin-Derham Hall High School, Mauer was an outstanding football, basketball and baseball player. Those who know him best also say he played a mean game of ping-pong. He
