Joe Mauer, the narrative says, is not the man for the job here. The Minnesota Twins and the Chicago Cubs are tied in the second inning, with two on and two out, and Mauer is here to send a ground ball skittering into Ben Zobrist.
He is, after all, not clutch.
Mauer is, according to his detractors, overpaid, unexciting -- boring, even -- and thus un-clutch. One of the era's most accomplished hitters of looping singles and the occasional double, Mauer has never, admittedly, been much for power.
Despite his batting titles, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and MVP award, this fact seems to have corrupted Mauer's mythos in his native Minnesota a bit.
As it turns out, Mauer was exactly the man for the job last Friday, hitting a three-run homer off Cubs starter Mike Montgomery to give the Twins the lead and reignite the old Mauer argument.
And while the home run was a surprise (it was just his second this season), there isn't much of an argument.
Statistically, Mauer is among the most clutch hitters playing today.
The venerable St. Paul native is hitting .331 over his career with runners in scoring position, good enough for third amongst active players, with a .457 on-base percentage, also third.
| Player | Season | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Nolan Arenado | 2013-2018(6) | 742 | 250 | 55 | 8 | 51 | 385 | 111 | 130 | 0.337 | 0.409 | 0.639 |
| Joey Votto | 2007-2018(12) | 1199 | 403 | 87 | 5 | 68 | 585 | 381 | 264 | 0.336 | 0.488 | 0.587 |
| Joe Mauer | 2004-2018(15) | 1575 | 521 | 114 | 10 | 29 | 732 | 407 | 245 | 0.331 | 0.457 | 0.471 |
| Daniel Murphy | 2008-2018(10) | 1027 | 337 | 80 | 8 | 23 | 462 | 136 | 117 | 0.328 | 0.396 | 0.489 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 2011-2018(8) | 599 | 196 | 34 | 7 | 19 | 261 | 66 | 89 | 0.327 | 0.396 | 0.503 |
| Jose Abreu | 2014-2018(5) | 634 | 205 | 38 | 4 | 32 | 310 | 90 | 135 | 0.323 | 0.408 | 0.547 |
| Mike Trout | 2011-2018(8) | 724 | 233 | 47 | 10 | 42 | 380 | 201 | 203 | 0.322 | 0.461 | 0.588 |
| Michael Brantley | 2009-2018(10) | 887 | 284 | 49 | 2 | 19 | 401 | 128 | 94 | 0.320 | 0.394 | 0.444 |
| Freddie Freeman | 2010-2018(9) | 914 | 290 | 71 | 2 | 40 | 435 | 216 | 234 | 0.317 | 0.441 | 0.531 |
| Josh Donaldson | 2010-2018(8) | 703 | 223 | 38 | 4 | 38 | 345 | 147 | 150 | 0.317 | 0.428 | 0.545 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 2011-2018(8) | 928 | 294 | 71 | 8 | 49 | 456 | 258 | 232 | 0.317 | 0.456 | 0.569 |
| Albert Pujols | 2001-2018(18) | 2495 | 790 | 166 | 3 | 159 | 1291 | 585 | 273 | 0.317 | 0.438 | 0.577 |
| Buster Posey | 2009-2018(10) | 1029 | 324 | 75 | 3 | 29 | 450 | 196 | 148 | 0.315 | 0.413 | 0.478 |
| Nick Castellanos | 2013-2018(6) | 575 | 180 | 35 | 10 | 24 | 261 | 62 | 153 | 0.313 | 0.373 | 0.534 |
| Manny Machado | 2012-2018(7) | 662 | 207 | 38 | 1 | 35 | 297 | 78 | 128 | 0.313 | 0.374 | 0.532 |
Mauer's numbers vary depending on exactly how clutch you need him to be. He's hitting .376 all-time with the bases loaded -- Mike Trout territory, currently -- with 132 RBI in 117 at-bats.
| Player | Season | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Matt Carpenter | 2012-2018(7) | 42 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 4 | 8 | 0.524 | 0.426 | 0.786 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | 2012-2018(7) | 55 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 71 | 2 | 9 | 0.455 | 0.435 | 0.891 |
| Josh Donaldson | 2010-2018(8) | 64 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 82 | 9 | 7 | 0.453 | 0.481 | 0.734 |
| Daniel Murphy | 2008-2018(10) | 71 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 84 | 4 | 8 | 0.451 | 0.429 | 0.676 |
| Scooter Gennett | 2013-2018(6) | 63 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 64 | 2 | 7 | 0.413 | 0.418 | 0.746 |
| Mike Trout | 2011-2018(8) | 58 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 82 | 9 | 13 | 0.397 | 0.418 | 0.724 |
| Marcell Ozuna | 2013-2018(6) | 76 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 76 | 6 | 18 | 0.395 | 0.424 | 0.684 |
| Wilson Ramos | 2010-2018(9) | 81 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 5 | 8 | 0.383 | 0.383 | 0.543 |
| Mitch Moreland | 2010-2018(9) | 89 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 85 | 7 | 18 | 0.382 | 0.390 | 0.539 |
| Joe Mauer | 2004-2018(15) | 117 | 44 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 132 | 11 | 23 | 0.376 | 0.379 | 0.581 |
| Michael Brantley | 2009-2018(9) | 72 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 83 | 10 | 8 | 0.375 | 0.411 | 0.556 |
| Nick Castellanos | 2013-2018(6) | 52 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 2 | 16 | 0.365 | 0.350 | 0.750 |
| Ian Desmond | 2009-2018(10) | 105 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 92 | 5 | 24 | 0.362 | 0.352 | 0.486 |
| Brett Gardner | 2008-2018(10) | 97 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 86 | 7 | 17 | 0.361 | 0.377 | 0.557 |
| Matt Joyce | 2008-2018(10) | 68 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 77 | 8 | 13 | 0.353 | 0.379 | 0.662 |
Few players in Twins history have been as clutch as Mauer, or even approached his clutch-ness. Mauer's .331 with runners in scoring position also ranks third in Twins history, behind Hall of Famers Rod Carew and Paul Molitor, but ahead of Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett and four-time All-Star Chuck Knoblauch.
His 732 RBI in such scenarios are second only to Puckett.
| Player | Season | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Rod Carew | 1974-1978(5) | 703 | 259 | 40 | 12 | 13 | 333 | 153 | 71 | 0.368 | 0.468 | 0.515 |
| Paul Molitor | 1996-1998(3) | 515 | 172 | 31 | 7 | 5 | 235 | 67 | 64 | 0.334 | 0.391 | 0.45 |
| Joe Mauer | 2004-2018(15) | 1575 | 521 | 114 | 10 | 29 | 732 | 407 | 245 | 0.331 | 0.457 | 0.471 |
| Kirby Puckett | 1984-1995(12) | 1858 | 599 | 114 | 19 | 57 | 842 | 204 | 288 | 0.322 | 0.383 | 0.496 |
| Chuck Knoblauch | 1991-1997(7) | 836 | 263 | 43 | 16 | 3 | 324 | 140 | 109 | 0.315 | 0.408 | 0.415 |
| Brian Harper | 1988-1993(6) | 682 | 214 | 38 | 1 | 10 | 282 | 51 | 38 | 0.314 | 0.361 | 0.416 |
| Shane Mack | 1990-1994(5) | 509 | 159 | 27 | 5 | 20 | 244 | 67 | 88 | 0.312 | 0.396 | 0.503 |
| Mickey Hatcher | 1981-1986(6) | 549 | 167 | 31 | 5 | 10 | 232 | 41 | 39 | 0.304 | 0.343 | 0.434 |
| John Castino | 1979-1984(6) | 513 | 154 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 196 | 55 | 67 | 0.300 | 0.363 | 0.429 |
| Ron Coomer | 1995-2000(6) | 680 | 199 | 39 | 3 | 18 | 283 | 63 | 78 | 0.293 | 0.344 | 0.438 |
| Denard Span | 2008-2012(5) | 521 | 152 | 26 | 14 | 5 | 202 | 62 | 82 | 0.292 | 0.366 | 0.424 |
| Matt Lawton | 1995-2001(7) | 704 | 203 | 44 | 6 | 18 | 303 | 146 | 74 | 0.288 | 0.413 | 0.445 |
| Larry Hisle | 1974-1977(4) | 562 | 160 | 20 | 4 | 25 | 266 | 73 | 111 | 0.285 | 0.354 | 0.468 |
| Justin Morneau | 2003-2013(11) | 1304 | 370 | 77 | 5 | 53 | 599 | 241 | 233 | 0.284 | 0.385 | 0.472 |
| Jacque Jones | 1999-2005(7) | 872 | 245 | 44 | 6 | 38 | 354 | 84 | 196 | 0.281 | 0.344 | 0.476 |
His .376 with the bases loaded ranks fifth, behind Jason Kubel, Carew, Dan Ford and Shane Mack.
The next time Mauer steps in with a runner on base (.326), runners on first and second (.298), first and third (.349), second and third (.384) or the bases loaded (.376), pay attention.
Statistics courtesy of STATS
