I’ve been a Yankees fan for more than 30 years.  In a way, it’s kind of strange, because in just about everything else, I root for a collection of perennial underdogs, small-market teams, mid-majors and general underachievers. 

In that time, you can count on one hand (well, maybe two) the number of players that were available that the Yankees really wanted — that is, REALLY wanted — that they didn’t get.  Greg Maddux comes to mind, and while dozens of guys have also used the Yankees for leverage elsewhere, not too many have gotten away.  Whether they were the right moves (cough, cough, Carl Pavano, cough, Danny Tartabull, cough, Hideki Irabu, well… you get the point).

Which is why today’s news that Joe Mauer is staying with the Twins, thanks to an eight-year, $184 million contract extension, is so great for the game.  The Yankees and Red Sox won’t be replacing the catchers who have meant so much to their organizations but who are near the end of their respective stellar careers with Mauer; it will take some old-fashioned player development.  Or, of course, they can go and get another catcher from someone else.  But it won’t be the big fish.  He’s staying put.

The Yankees and Red Sox will continue to compete every year, and guys that hit the market will always pass their resumes through New York and Boston on their way to wherever they end up.  But every team deserves a chance at keeping its stars, and though it took a new stadium and unprecedented commitment (the Twins are looking at a $90+million payroll this year), the Twins and Mauer found a way to get it done.

This way, when the Yankees are celebrating World Series titles No. 28 through 31 in the mid-2010’s, it won’t be because they just took Mauer from Minnesota.