Following in the footsteps of David Wright, David Ortiz, Ryan Howard, and Dustin Pedroia, Joe Mauer now has the distinct privilege of becoming one of a handful of Major League Baseball players to grace the cover of the finest baseball video game series of the last five years, Sony's MLB: The Show. The news broke today on the PlayStation blog, and I'm sure the seventy-five people who follow the Minnesota Twins are really happy right now.

All kidding aside, Joe Mauer's a really good player. They don't hand the American League MVP to just anybody you know. While his career as a catcher might not last much longer due to the frequency of Mr. Mauer's injuries, the man can flat out play baseball. There aren't many players in the MLB who'd argue with you as to whether or not this was deserved, and I'm glad that Sony's going with a player who doesn't play in one of the big five markets. Truthfully, I'm a huge fan of small-market teams like Minnesota, Oakland, Tampa Bay, etc., and seeing a player like Mauer get recognition like this is always a good thing.

He may not be a household name yet, but this will certainly help people who aren't as familiar with Joe Mauer get to know him.