Three-Sport Career Helped Mauer Become Hometown Legend

Joe Mauer was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1998 to 2001, and ranks as one of Minnesota’s most celebrated athletes of all time. He is one of 11 inductees in the 2024 class of the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.

In football, he led Cretin-Derham Hall to two consecutive Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) championship games, winning the Prep Bowl title in his junior year in 1999. In those two seasons as the team’s quarterback, Mauer threw for nearly 6,000 yards and 73 touchdowns.

In basketball, as the team’s starting small forward, he was a triple threat as a scorer, rebounder and playmaker. He finished his career with more than 1,000 points and averaged more than 20 points a game as a senior.

However, it was baseball where Mauer shined most brightly. In 222 at-bats during his high school career, he batted .567 with 43 home runs and 170 runs batted in and, remarkably, he struck out only one time! As a senior, he led Cretin-Derham Hall to the MSHSL Class AA state championship while batting .605 and hitting a home run in seven consecutive games.

Mauer was the USA Today National Player of the Year in both football and baseball – an unbelievable feat. He was a Parade All-American in football and two-time all-state in basketball. He was the youngest player ever selected to the U.S. Junior National Baseball team as a 16-year-old, and he later became the No. 1 ranked high school catcher in the nation in the 2001 graduating class.

Although he gave a verbal commitment to play football at Florida State University, the Minnesota Twins selected Mauer as the first overall pick of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, and the rest is history.

Mauer played 15 years with the Twins and had a stellar career, which led to his selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year. He will be inducted this summer in Cooperstown. As one of the sport’s all-time top catchers, Mauer won three batting titles (most ever by a catcher), was named to six all-star teams, won five Silver Slugger and three Gold Glove awards, and was selected American League Most Valuable Player in 2009. He led the Twins to four playoff appearances.

Mauer and his wife, Maddie, are active in the community and work diligently to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. They are active supporters who assist individuals with disabilities at Gillette Children’s Hospital and Healthcare in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.

Question: You were a three-sport athlete at Cretin-Derham Hall High School. What did being a high school athlete mean to you, and what are some of your overall top memories from your time as a Raider?

Mauer: “Playing in high school meant a lot. It’s your community. It’s wearing your team colors, representing your community as a student-athlete. And with student-athletes, ‘student’ always comes first. That was a rule in our house where my mom said, ‘you can’t go to practice unless you get your homework done. You have to do different things before you can go and do the extracurriculars.’ That was very important. And I think CDH, in general, does a great job of recognizing that we are students first. We’ve had a rich history in athletics, but that’s not what’s most important here in this community.

“Looking around here and seeing the purple and gold means a lot – there’s a lot of people that have come before us and set that foundation. I think of my grandpa, my brothers, I think of so many people in this rich history of being a (CDH) student-athlete. I’m proud to be a part of that, and I’m proud to see those traditions carried on today.”

Question: Did you play all three sports growing up, and what was it like going from sport to sport to sport throughout the school year?

Mauer: “I did. I just enjoyed competing. Being a kid from Minnesota, you know, the weather changes. I ended up being a baseball player, but you can’t play baseball year-round here in Minnesota. So, I actually, as a kid growing up, enjoyed the transition – putting the bat and glove away for a little bit, bringing the football out; and then putting the football away for a little bit, bringing the basketball out. I enjoyed just playing and competing and I think ultimately, I became a better baseball player because of that.

“For me, I was kind of a shy kid growing up and it was a way for me to just meet new friends and have different friend groups. Getting on a court or the field or the baseball diamond, you go out there and you play and you just kind of organically start to make friends, and I think that was a big thing for me growing up. I really enjoyed those different seasons and hanging out with the different groups of friends that I had.”

Question: What was it like winning the MSHSL Class AAAAA football state championship as a junior?

Mauer: “It was amazing, especially just thinking about all the great players who came before us who just couldn’t get it done – (2000 Heisman Trophy winner) Chris Weinke, (11-year NFL quarterback) Steve Walsh, (NFL running back) Carl McCullough – you can keep going on and on. But (there have been) a lot of great teams and great players who have gone through CDH, and to finally get that first one under our belt was, it was like we shared it with everybody. And you could see it, the excitement from the alumni, and just how proud they were of that team that we had in 1999.”

Question: You also won a state championship in baseball and hit a home run in seven consecutive games to lead your team to the state title. Tell us about that.

Mauer: “Everything seemed to slow down. It’s a great feeling that comes around every so often, and you just try to hold on to that feeling as long as you can. If I can backtrack a little bit before that: my coach, Jim O’Neill, had me out there, and one day – I was (playing) fine – but he asked me to stay after practice and just wanted to have a conversation about hitting and looking for that right pitch. And he told me, ‘Joe, you’re going to put the bat on the ball wherever (it’s pitched), but let’s look – let’s dial in a zone and really try to do some damage in that zone. And sure enough, he had me out on the field, he’s throwing batting practice – I found my zone, and then the next seven games was when (the streak) happened. So, little lessons like that you learn, and I was fortunate enough to have great coaches and mentors like Coach O’Neill, Coach Rich Kallok, Mal Scanlan, Mike Scanlan. I know I’m going to miss a few names there. But just the community here was so supportive and so integral to the success that we’ve had here as teams, and further on as athletes and men.”

Question: You only struck out ONCE in your entire high school baseball career. I assume you remember that. Tell us about that experience.

Mauer: “Yeah, and the thing was, I didn’t really notice (that I hadn’t struck out) at the time. I remember it happened my junior year in the state tournament, and I remember coming back to the dugout and our guys were kind of looking at me and saying, ‘are you feeling okay? Are you sick, or, what’s going on?’ Coach O’Neill didn’t say anything the rest of that year or my senior year, and after my career was done, that was one of the things that he shared with me and showed me the books. It’s pretty amazing to think about.”

Question: You also excelled on the basketball court as well. Did you enjoy playing it as much as football and baseball?

Mauer: “Yeah, I loved basketball just like the others. Everybody would ask, ‘what’s your favorite sport?’ and I’d say, ‘whatever one I’m in-season with.’ But with basketball, if you were to go back and talk to my 10-year-old self, I’d probably say my favorite sport was basketball. I just really enjoyed it. As I got more attention through high school there were a lot of people out there telling me that I should stop and focus on the other one, or two, but I’m glad that I saw it through because I really enjoyed it. The team that we had here my senior year, we ended up finishing third in the state. We had a couple other athletes who could have – should have – been on the team but decided to focus on other sports, and I don’t think we were expected to do much. But then we gelled really nicely together and played really well together, and that was probably my most fun team sport my senior year, playing basketball for CDH.”

Question: Three-sport high school athletes like yourself are somewhat of a dying breed these days as more and more athletes and their parents are opting for single-sport specialization instead. What are your thoughts on specialization, and how would you describe the benefits you received from playing multiple sports?

Mauer: “One thing I always tell parents is, there’s only one teammate in my whole career playing for the Minnesota Twins – 15 years in the big leagues, teammates in and out – there’s only one teammate that I had that only played baseball. Other than that, every other teammate that I had played basketball or football or did something else. And I truly believe that doing those other sports, one, it doesn’t burn you out. And two, it forces you to do different movements and to become more athletic.

“A quick story: When I was getting recruited for football, coach Bobby Bowden at Florida State (University) was very adamant about watching me play basketball, in person. He flew up here and watched me play basketball and I remember my dad asking him after the game, ‘why was it so important for you to come up to watch him in person?’ And he basically said, ‘I want to see Joe move on the court, I want to see how he deals with adversity and deals with his teammates, but ultimately, I wanted to see how athletic he was.’ And he goes, ‘I’m looking for athletes. I can teach him how to play football.’

“I think kids and parents think that they have to be this finished, polished product before they get to high school or to college. And I think these coaches are looking for athletes, and they can help you along the way and teach you the game. But if you develop the love for the game first, then everything else will come after that.”

Question: You may know there is a problem today with recruiting and retaining people to officiate high school sports – due in large part to sportsmanship issues by players, coaches and parents. What are your thoughts about the importance of sportsmanship in high school sports?

Mauer: “Well, I just think, number one, they’re human. I think that gets lost a lot. They’re going to make mistakes, just as we’re going to make mistakes as athletes. And I think if we take a step back and look at that, I think we probably wouldn’t have that shortage. (Officiating) is not an easy thing to do, and at the high school levels and lower levels, they’re not doing it for the paycheck, I can tell you that. They’re doing it because they love the game, they love what team sports can provide for young kids and families. It’s about getting back to the root of why we put our kids in team sports: it’s learning how to work with others; it’s learning how to work as a team towards a common goal. I’m sad to hear that those numbers are where they’re at, but I’m hoping that we can get back to a place where they’re growing and thriving and we’re doing (youth) sports for the right reasons.”

Question: You were able to play your entire pro career in your home area of the Twin Cities. What was that experience like?

Mauer: “It was very special. Looking back to 2001, I still think, ‘what are the chances of your hometown team having the first pick, and then you’re going with the first pick, and then 15 years later, you’re still wearing the same uniform.’ I’m definitely proud of that, to be able to represent this community over the years. I’m proud of where I came from, and just very honored to wear that jersey every single day. I never took it for granted. Just like I never took it for granted (at CDH).”

Question: CDH teams have played their home games in Joe Mauer Fieldhouse since 2015. What has been your involvement with the school since you graduated and why do you feel it’s so important to give back?

Mauer: “It is important. There are a lot of people who gave back and paid it forward for me to be in the position that I’m in – coaches and mentors taking the time to spend with you and teach you how to do the right things. And for me to be in this position and have all of the knowledge and everything that I’ve learned along the way, you want to pass it along because it had a huge impact and can hopefully help somebody in the future. So, it’s exciting to be able to do that.

Question: What does your induction into the National High School Hall of Fame mean to you?

Mauer: “It means a lot. You look at the other inductees that are going into it: great athletes, great people. I think to get into the Hall of Fame, yes, you have to be skilled and talented, but I think it’s much more than that. And I’m excited and honored to go in with this class of 2024. There are a lot of kids that play high school sports, and to be one of the select few is definitely pretty awesome to think about.”