Caleb Thielbar’s first big league pitch was thrown to a Hall of Famer

CEDAR RAPIDS — Caleb Thielbar made his major league debut for the Minnesota Twins back in 2013. The guy who caught his first major league pitch was Joe Mauer.

The same Joe Mauer who it was announced Tuesday has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“I’m just happy for the guy,” Thielbar said Tuesday night, as he and other Twins personnel attended the Cedar Rapids Kernels Hot Stove Banquet at The Annex adjacent to Veterans Memorial Stadium. “He was always just a genuine, good person. And obviously a great baseball player. I just couldn’t be happier for him.”

Mauer was elected in his first year of eligibility, joining Adrian Beltre and Todd Helton in the 2024 class. He played parts of 15 seasons in the big leagues, won the 2009 American League Most Valuable Player award, three Gold Gloves, four Silver Slugger awards and is the only catcher to win a batting title, doing it three times.

A great day for the hometown boy and the only organization he ever played for. Mauer joins Kirby Puckett and Tony Oliva as Hall of Famers from the Twins who spent their entire careers in Minnesota.

“For me, I think it’s cool because, really there aren’t that many catchers in the Hall of Fame,” Thielbar said. “So to have your debut caught by a Hall of Fame catcher is pretty cool. We could all see the handwriting on the wall back then.

“There was really no doubt he was a Hall of Famer. It was too bad the concussions took out (part of his career) … It would have been interesting to see the numbers he would have been able to put up because those kind of took him out for a couple of years. It would have been interesting to see the numbers he would have put up had he been at full strength. But his numbers are undeniable, especially at that catcher position. It’s special to see (this) happen.”

Quite frankly, it’s special for a guy like Thielbar to still be a major leaguer. The 36-year-old lefty, who was born and raised in Minnesota and now lives in South Dakota, pitched for the Twins in the 2013 and 2014 seasons and six games in 2015 before ending up back in the minor leagues.

He was out of baseball in 2016 and 2017, found some extra velocity and returned to the game in the Detroit Tigers organization in 2018. He remained in the minors for Detroit and the Atlanta Braves, getting another opportunity with Minnesota in 2020.

“It was a lot of hard work and very rewarding when I got back,” Thielbar said. “For now, I’m just really focused on staying in the game, not having that happen again. I probably won’t be in if it happens again. So just really trying to do everything I can to belong up here at this point. Do the right things on and off the field training wise, all that stuff to have as long of a career as possible. Then maybe do some reflection once it’s all over.”

The Twins should have another strong team this season. They are coming off a 2023 season that saw them win the American League Central Division and beat Toronto in the first round of the MLB playoffs, ending an 18-game postseason losing streak that spanned 20 years and was the longest in North American professional sports history.

A relief for the organization without a doubt.

“I’m a Minnesota guy … so I’ve lived through that more than anyone else on the team, I suppose,” Thielbar said. “I guess there’s a couple of other Minnesota guys on the team, too. But I was a fan, and it was tough to see that all those years (without a playoff win). To be on the team that kind of broke that curse was pretty cool.

“It was a cool experience, the fans were unbelievable during that (series). Really felt like we had a chance to advance further, but that’s just not how the game went. It was too bad we weren’t able to get past Houston because we felt like we had a team that could contend for the World Series. We’ll see what happens. We’ve got a good team coming back.”

Thielbar and utility player Willi Castro appeared in town as part of the annual Twins Winter Caravan. The Kernels also were able to celebrate their 2023 Midwest League championship, as Manager Brian Dinkelman also appeared.

Dinkelman has been named Kernels manager in 2024. The remainder of the on-field staff is pitching coaches Jonas Lovin and Argenis Angulo, hitting and development coach Jairo Rodriguez and hitting coach C.J. Baker.

Corbin Day of Cedar Rapids, one of the hitting coaches for the Kernels last season, will be a hitting coach for Double-A Wichita this coming season.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com