Joe Mauer: Injury-Prone or a Bad Case of Snakebite?

"Good field, no hit."

"Chokes in the clutch."

"Uncoachable."

These are tags that can doom a Major League career.

Nobody can accuse Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer of being anything else but an elite offensive performer, graceful under pressure, and exemplary on and off the field.

However, Mauer's current back ailment is saddling him with a tag that is just as nasty.

And undeserving.

And unnerving.

And, irony of all ironies, unnecessary.

The tag is, of course - "injury-prone."

When the Minneapolis Star Tribune suggested in 2007 that Mauer might benefit by a switch from catcher to third base, Manager Ron Gardenhire ridiculed the idea. And Mauer toed the company line, stressing that he wanted to remain a catcher as long as he is physically able to perform the defensive chores required of that position.

Don't look now.

That day may already have arrived.

Mauer's recurring leg injuries in 2004 should have prompted the Twins organization to think of the batter's box. Instead, they stood pat, choosing to leave him at catcher.

The St. Louis Cardinals shifted Joe Torre to third base in 1971. He responded with a .361 batting average that included 24 home runs and 137 runs batted in.

Similarly, Craig Biggio blossomed offensively when he moved to the infield. Dale Murphy was a bust as a catcher, but his offensive potential was unleashed when he became an outfielder.

Could Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox, for example, have enjoyed a similar upward arc in offensive production if he had been allowed to shunt his shinguards?

Varitek posted solid numbers in 1999, his first full Major League season. He hit for a .269 average but belted 20 home runs and drove in 76 runs. In 2003, at the age of 31, he had a career year with 25 home runs and 85 runs batted in while batting a respectable .275.

Over the past three seasons, Varitek has deteriorated steadily at the plate as the rigors of catching and advancing age have taken their toll.  In 2008, he posted a .220 batting average (his lowest since becoming a regular) - and a meager 43 runs batted in.

It's difficult to argue that the Red Sox would have been better off without Varitek behind the plate. After all, the Red Sox have won two World Series title with him calling the shots.

Mauer, though, wasn't drafted No. 1 in the 2001 draft for his defense. It was his sweet swing that seduced the Twins into signing him. It will be that superb stroke that the Twins will sorely miss if this latest injury sidelines him for more than a just few games.

Gambling and catching have a lot in common.

The more money you gamble, according to probability theory, the less likely chance you have of leaving the table a winner.

In other words, it's better to accept a small profit than risk it all in hopes of hitting the jackpot.

The more games a catcher logs behind the plate, the less likely chance he has of a lengthy, productive career at the plate.

With Mauer's future as the stakes, can the Twins afford to ante him up as catcher any longer when they've already hit the jackpot?