Joe Mauer has been elected to the Twins Hall of Fame, the team announced Friday. The Twins are hopeful this is merely the first Hall of Fame into which Mauer gains entry.

From the moment he retired in 2018, it’s been widely expected that the former Twins great, a three-time batting champion and 2009 American League Most Valuable Player, would one day be enshrined in the team’s Hall of Fame. Mauer, whose number 7 was retired by the club in 2019, will become the 38th person inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Target Field on Aug. 5.

But what isn’t considered as much of a shoo-in, at least by a vocal portion of the club’s fanbase, is whether or not Mauer will one day have a plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The question arose again earlier this week after the 2023 HOF election results were released, which unofficially puts Mauer on the clock as he’ll be added to the HOF ballot this December. 

Ironically, while some Twins fans don’t believe Mauer will one day be enshrined in Cooperstown, many outsiders see the local legend as having a strong case for induction.