Everyone knew that it would happen eventually, it had to. For years small market teams have been trading away high priced talent or seen their prized player walk in free agency to a lucrative offer from one of the large market teams to their fan’s frustration.
But not anymore. Monday’s announcement of the $184 million contract extension given to Joe Mauer by the Twins was a sign of hope for all the little guys out there that it is possible to keep your hometown hero. Mauer had grown up in Minnesota as a die-hard Twins fan. And when the opportunity came, they selected him first overall in the 2001 MLB Draft. It was a story that was almost too cheesy, even for Hollywood.
