Mauer’s Drive to Excel Is Driving Force

Joe Mauer, the Twins’ catcher, won American League batting titles in 2006 and last year, and is on the verge of doing it again.

By JACK CURRY
NYT

DETROIT — Justin Verlander wanted his 98-mile-per-hour fastball to buzz inside and almost touch the Minnesota on Joe Mauer’s uniform jersey. He wanted to pinpoint the pitch in such a spot that Mauer could not extend his bat and make contact. He wanted Mauer to swing through the elevated fastball.

Verlander’s execution worked for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night, but his plan failed. The fastball hummed in tight on Mauer and seemed as if it could even nick his chest. Perhaps Mauer could foul off the pitch or hope it did not veer over the plate for a strike.

But Mauer did something else, something compelling, as usual. He reacted with stunning speed, whipped his bat around and somehow lined a double to right field. Instead of being constrained by a fastball that was designed to shackle him, Mauer smacked the ball as if it were sitting on a tee.

“That was a joke,” Verlander said. “That’s the only thing I got for that. I came in the dugout and I said, ‘I will never know how he hit that pitch, kept it fair and didn’t break his bat.’ He almost got the barrel on it.”

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