Joe Mauer, the hometown hero of so many Minnesotans,  played his last game at Target Field on September 30.

For many Mauer was more than just a baseball player, he was a role model, a hero, an idol, the all-American success story.

Joe, a 6 time all star and 2009 league MVP, has played 15 seasons with the Minnesota Twins.

In his last game of the season at Target Field, Mauer doubled in his last at bat, and his two daughters came out to congratulate him prior to the start of his last game.

Mauer used to play catcher, but he switched to first base toward the end of his career because of concussion problems, but in his last game, he went out and took one pitch as a catcher as a reminder of all his years behind the plate.

The team put extra effort into making the game special in recognition of the great things he had done for the Minnesota Twins organization.

Mr. Whaley was at the game with his daughter Kelsey. Whaley knows the Mauer family very well, and went to the same high school (Cretin-Derham Hall) as Joe, and played ball with Mauer’s uncle.

“It was really something special,” Whaley said of the sendoff. “The atmosphere had never been that way before.”

“My daughter and I were talking and we said who are we going to follow now, it will be weird not checking the box score to see how many hits Joe had,” Whaley said, speculating on whether or not Mauer will return for another year.

Whaley said the best part of the game was when they showed Joe’s grandma and grandpa on the jumbo screen in the boxes, because Joe had bought his grandparents a box so they could watch all of his games.

The potential last game was emotional for many, as the hometown hero Joe Mauer has created so many memories for so many people, even though his career might be over, people will remember #7 Joe Mauer for a long time.