MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As Joe Mauer drove to the ballpark for a doubleheader to begin the last series of the season for the Minnesota Twins Carlos Beltran Jersey , the finality of the weekend dawned on him a little deeper than usual.These games against the Chicago White Sox aren’t necessarily going to be the last of Mauer’s 15-year career, but there’s no guarantee they won’t be, either. Mauer will wait until the offseason, in consultation with his family, to decide whether or not to retire at age 35. The three-time American League batting champion and six-time All-Star will be a free agent, his eight-year $184 million contract set to expire, but he has no interest in playing outside of his home state.“The end of the season sneaks up on you. Here we are, the last weekend,” Mauer said before the Twins swept the doubleheader from the White Sox on Friday. “Just trying to enjoy it.”By going 2 for 4 in each of the two games, Mauer stretched his on-base streak to 14 straight starts. He’s batting .362 (21 for 58) during that stretch. After a single in the sixth inning of the second game, Mauer was pulled for a pinch-runner and received a standing ovation as he waved and tipped his helmet to the crowd.Mauer’s 35-year-old production is modest at best http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-brian-mccann-jersey , compared to his pre-2013-concussion numbers as a catcher, let alone his 2009 AL MVP season. He has only six home runs and 33 extra-base hits.Still, he’s batting .280, which is 32 points above the major league average, and in the top 25 in the AL in on-base percentage. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting an MLB-best .410 in 78 at-bats. Earlier this week, he became the Twins leader in times on base, passing Hall of Fame member Harmon Killebrew.“The professionalism, the performance, the things he’s done here in his hometown community for a number of years. It’s just been the full package,” said manager Paul Molitor Josh Reddick Jersey , who’s doing some savoring of his own this weekend in the event Mauer doesn’t return.The Twins (76-84), who made the AL wild card game at 85-77 in 2017, will wrap up a sixth losing record in the last eight years on Sunday afternoon.“It’s going to be fun to watch him play,” Molitor said. “I’m hoping there’s a little sense of acknowledgement each and every time he steps on that field.”Mauer’s laid-back nature has never naturally lent itself to clubhouse leadership, but in the last few seasons he has come into his own as the most experienced player on the roster ought to. He initiated a postgame contest after victories, when a game ball is awarded to a player whose performance made the most impact.“I just wanted to show them the importance of the little things that contribute to a win,” Mauer said. “It might not be getting four hits that day. It might be going first to third with less than two outs and you end up scoring that run.”Though teammates Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar chipped in with occasional choices at Mauer’s request before they were traded to other teams this summer, the game-ball committee has largely been a one-man production. Perhaps that’s fitting, given how deep his contributions to the franchise have fun since the first overall pick in the 2001 draft made his debut in 2004.“Some guys if they don’t get mentioned might take exception to that, and the next day they might try to really do something to get mentioned,” Mauer said. “But it’s a fun thing that we’ve been doing Tyler Clippard Jersey , and it seems like the boys have a good time doing it too.” LAS VEGAS (AP) — Baseball players may get a little more sleep when traveling after Sunday night games next year.ESPN announced Monday it is moving up the starting time of the nationally televised game by one hour, with the first pitch planned for shortly after 7 p.m. Eastern.“From a travel perspective, it’s amazing what (difference) one hour can make,” said Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, whose World Series champions already have been selected for five Sunday night games next year.Philadelphia hosts Atlanta in the first Sunday night game next season, on March 31, the second game of a television doubleheader that begins with Texas playing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.Among other Sunday night games next year will be a World Series rematch between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston at Fenway Park on July 14, four games between the Red Sox and New York Yankees (June 2 and Aug. 4 in the Bronx, July 28 and Sept. 8 in Boston) and the Little League Classic with Pittsburgh and the Chicago Cubs playing Aug. 18 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Sept. 8 game will start at 8 p.m. — both teams play again at Fenway Park the following day.ESPN started the “Sunday Night Baseball” telecast in 1990, and it developed in a showcase time slot. It nearly always is the only game scheduled for that time.But players who had to travel after games complained they reached the next city at dawn Marwin Gonzalez Jersey , disrupting their sleep schedules ahead of the next series against an opponent that usually has more rest.“When I was with the Yankees, that was one of the things I had to get used to,” Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi said. “That was one of the tough parts.”Major League Baseball has been more cognizant of player health issues in recent years. As part of the collective bargaining agreement that started in 2017, baseball scheduled earlier start times for many weekday games on getaway days beginning last season.MLB also is nearing an announcement on broadcast coverage for its first games in Britain, between the Red Sox and the Yankees on June 29 and 30. Fox is likely to televise the Saturday game and ESPN the Sunday game, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity Sunday because the announcement had not yet been made.
