Joe Mauer thought he simply had a pep rally to attend Dec. 18 at his alma mater, Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul.
It turned out to be the Minnesota Twins’ way of announcing the retirement of his No. 7 jersey, set for next spring, with the MLB franchise he spent 15 years with until his retirement from baseball this fall. It also was the official announcement, in a video, of Gov. Mark Dayton proclaiming Dec. 18 “Joe Mauer Day.”
“The hardest part was trying to keep it a secret from Joe,” said Tony Leseman, admissions director for CDH, and a former Mauer classmate and multi-sport teammate, who helped plan the event. “And he had no idea about the governor proclamation. He obviously had no idea about his jersey. He didn’t know who was showing.”
About 1,030 students, school staff and family and friends of Mauer’s attended the ceremony at CDH’s school gym. The event included guest appearances by Twins greats, and speeches by CDH president Frank Miley and Leseman and questions from three CDH students.
“When Joe was talking, he really stressed that idea of opportunity, just how important this place [CDH] really is [and] how lucky we all are to be here,” said Stella Dolan, a junior, who got to ask one of the questions.
Former Twins stars who were present to honor Mauer included outfielder Tony Oliva, first baseman Kent Hrbeck, manager Tom Kelly and pitcher Bert Blyleven. All of the aforementioned had their numbers retired with the Twins.
Mauer graduated from CDH in 2001 after a storied three-sport career there that state titles in football and baseball. He became the No. 1 pick in the 2001 MLB Draft by the Twins as a catcher but later played first base.
Leseman, who has known Mauer since the sixth grade, said he has stayed humble through his successes. Catholic education has been a big part of Mauer and his family’s life, too, Leseman said.
“They’re committed to what that has given them both individually,” Lesemsan said of Joe and Maddie, his wife, also a CDH alum. “I think the values that they have as a family … align with the values they both received going through the Catholic school system.”
