Mauer Is Now a Rich, Rich Man

Only Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, both products of the Yankees throwing their millions of dollars around, can say that they're making the kind money than Twins catcher Joe Mauer is going to make.

The Twins agreed to pay Mauer $184 million over the next eight years. For all you mathematically challenged individuals like myself, that means he's going to make $23 million a year.

Highest Paid Players in Baseball (Yearly Salaries)

1. Alex Rodriguez-$33 million/year
   
2. Manny Ramirez-$23.8 million/year
3. Joe Mauer-$23 million/year
4. Derek Jeter-$21.6 million/year
5. Mark Teixeira-$20.6 million/year
   

As sick as it makes me to my stomach to see someone who plays baseball for a living make this kind of money, I still think it's great for baseball. It's about time we saw a team other than the Yankees or Red Sox able to retain one of their stars of the league.

The most interesting part of this story is the possibility that Mauer likely could've made somewhere in the range of $250 million if he had become a free agent. However, Mauer had expressed his interest in remaining in Minnesota where he grew up.

In my opinion he's one of the best all-around players in the game and if anyone deserves that kind of money, it's Joe Mauer. He's never been in trouble (knock on wood) and he's always played consistently good baseball.

These kinds of contracts always make me wonder how much pressure is put on these players. Could you imagine having to live up to that kind of money that an organization is willing to pay you? Then again, that's why these guys are professionals.

Believe it or not the start of the regular season is just weeks away with spring training already well underway.

The 2010 MLB Preview is coming up soon so keep an eye out for that!