Will Joe Mauer Be Just The Fifth Minnesotan Elected To The Baseball Hall Of Fame?

Joe Mauer looks to be on track to get into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame when the voting results are announced on Tuesday. If he gets in, he will be just the fifth player born in Minnesota to make it to Cooperstown.

Mauer was born in St. Paul (which as you will see is a hotbed for baseball talent in Minnesota) and played for the Twins from 2004-2018. He is in his first year of eligibility for the Hall.

CHARLES "CHIEF" BENDER

The first Hall of Famer from Minnesota was Charles "Chief" Bender. Born in Crow Wing County, he played from 1903-1917 and was elected into the Hall Of Fame in 1953.

Bender appeared in 212 games, mostly for Philadelphia, winning 212 and losing 127. In 1910 he went 23-5 with an ERA+ of 150.

DAVE WINFIELD

Winfield was born in St. Paul and was a two sport (basketball and baseball) star at the University of Minnesota. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in baseball, the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA and the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.

Winfield went on to play 22 seasons in Major League baseball for the Padres, Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Twins and Indians. He finished with over 3,100 hits and 465 home runs.

PAUL MOLITOR

Molitor was also born in St. Paul and played 15 seasons in Milwaukee before ending his career with stints in Toronto and Minnesota. Molitor banged out 3,319 hits and was a career .306 hitter.

JACK MORRIS

Morris is the newest member of the Minnesota-born Hall of Fame club, elected in 2018. He pitched a majority of his career in Detroit before joining his hometown Twins in 1991 where he led the team to its second World Series championship with a 10-inning shutout in game seven of the Fall Classic.