Joe Mauer will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame next Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. The Pioneer Press, from the Hall of Fame Reference Library, has obtained comments from reports by several major league scouts on Mauer from May 2001, when they watched him as an 18-year-old senior catcher at Cretin-Derham Hall.

A month later, Mauer was selected No. 1 overall by the Twins in the major league amateur draft. Among comments from scouts (other than those of the Twins) in their reports after observing the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Mauer: “Long, slender frame, narrow top half, rounded shoulders, big hands, plenty of room for physical development, potential excellent major leaguer, excellent hitting approach, balanced at plate, no known injuries, signed football tender with Florida State as QB, outstanding make-up and poise.”

Other comments: “Easy overall actions, pure stroke to all fields, stays inside ball, good at-bat as I’ve seen, exceptional arm, very fluid, proper mechanics.” As for weaknesses, “Not many flaws, only speed and quickness; game will be enriched on both sides of the plate with time and experience.”

In summary, “Premium player ability, needs added strength for durability and demands of catching, potential to be a big run producer, one of the top position prospects in the country.”

In the “habits” scouting category, comments were rated “excellent,” as well as his “dedication, aptitude and emotional maturing.” Agility and physical maturity were rated “good.”

Now, 23 years later, Mauer, 41, has earned more than $220 million over 15 years in the major leagues with the Twins.

>> If you’re a high school senior baseball player, your chances of making a college baseball roster are fewer than three in 50, roughly 5.6 percent. From college to the minor leagues, about 11 in 100 players (10.5 percent) get drafted. From the minors to the major leagues? Fewer than one in five make it to the big leagues.

>> In the 121-year history of major league baseball, just 20,623 players have made it to the majors. Among those, only 273 have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. And among those, just 60 have been elected in their first year of eligibility.

It’s 1,162 miles from St. Paul to Cooperstown. For Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Jack Morris and now Mauer, it has been a remarkable journey.

Molitor, Winfield and Mauer are among those 60 players elected on the first ballot. The trio, and Morris, who was elected by a veterans committee, grew up within a four-mile radius in St. Paul.

They will be with Mauer on hallowed ground when he’s inducted into their shrine in Cooperstown. That is extraordinary.

>> Among treasured artifacts fans attending Mauer’s induction weekend can see is the actual bat that a frail Babe Ruth, age 53 and dying of throat cancer, used as a cane for support during his final public appearance at Yankee Stadium in 1948.

The bat, the hall points out, belonged to Bob Feller and was grabbed by Ruth for support en route to hobbling to home plate at the retirement of his iconic No. 3 jersey, as seen in the Pulitzer Prize photo by Nathaniel Fein.

>> Next Saturday in Cooperstown, Mauer will partake in a 75-minute Parade of Legends beginning at 6 p.m. and streamed live at mlb.com. The July 21 hall induction ceremony will be at 12:30 p.m. CDT and televised nationally on MLB Network, with satellite radio coverage on Sirius XM.

>> Some 40,000 spectators could attend Sunday’s inductions on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center, which is one mile south of the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. Mauer’s plaque will be revealed just before his induction speech.

>> On May 13 at his Mancini’s St. Paul Sports Hall of Fame induction speech, Mauer gave a glimpse of the speech he’ll give next Sunday in Cooperstown. He’ll thank his parents, brothers and former coaches among others.

“One of the lessons our parents instilled in us (his brothers) is that it’s OK to compete,” he said. “Competition is a good thing — don’t shy away from it. I’m proud to be from St. Paul.”

>> The 2024 major league amateur draft is Sunday evening through Tuesday. Gophers with the best chances for selection are Connor Wietgrefe, Will Semb and Brady Counsell, son of Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell. Counsell is transferring to Kansas for his senior season.

>> Highest projected Gopher for the 20-round draft is left-handed pitcher Wietgrefe, who could go near the 10th round. Highest projected Minnesota prep is Mounds View pitcher Tyler Guerin, who has committed to Iowa. He also could be in the 10th-round range, depending on his signing bonus demand.

The challenge now for major league organizations signing players to minor league contracts is that colleges can offer, in some cases through NIL, similar deals.

>> George Klassen, 22, the former Gophers pitcher with a 99-mph fastball, who was a sixth-round draft pick by Philadelphia last year, this season has 84 strikeouts in 55 innings with a 1.95 earned-run average for two Class A minor league teams. He signed for a $297,500 bonus.

>> Scouting remains an imperfect science. Some Baseball Hall of Famers and the rounds in which they were drafted: Mike Piazza, 62nd round; John Smoltz, 22nd; Ryan Sandberg, 20th; Jim Thome, 13th; Nolan Ryan, 12th; Andre Dawson, 11th and Trevor Hoffman, 11th.

>> In baseball’s 2012 draft, the Houston Astros, with the No. 1 overall pick, took shortstop Carlos Correa. The Twins, with the No. 2 pick, took center fielder Byron Buxton. Now they’re on the same Twins team.

Correa, 29, has a career .275 batting average. Buxton’s career average is .244. Correa is making $33 million a season; Buxton, 30, is making $15 million a season.

>> Hall of Fame former Twin Tony Oliva will turn 86 on Saturday.

>> Ex-Gophers guard Cam Christie, who doesn’t turn 19 until July 24, hit three field goals and finished with eight points during 27 minutes in his professional debut for the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday against Denver in the Las Vegas summer league.

The Clippers gave the second-round draft pick a $7.9 million, four- year contract, with $3.1 million guaranteed. When Christie declared for the NCAA portal last May, there was buzz that some other college programs were willing to pay $750,000 a year via NIL. Christie will wear jersey No. 12, the same number brother Max, 21, wears with the Los Angeles Lakers.

>> Deephaven’s Tim Herron, 54, a four-time PGA Tour winner, was in Akron, Ohio, playing in the Champions Tour tournament at Firestone when son Carson, 21, won the Minnesota State Open at Rush Creek.

“I’m a very proud dad that he had self belief to do that,” Tim said.

Carson, a junior at his father’s alma mater New Mexico, is 6-4, 200 pounds and flies his drives some 50 yards past Tim, who is a long hitter. During a practice round the other day at Wayzata Country Club, Carson hit driver, then flew over the 526-yard No. 2 hole with a 9-iron. Last week at Wayzata CC, Carson was repeatedly flying 5-irons 230 yards.

Because he’s an amateur, Carson couldn’t accept the $13,500 first prize.

That went to low professional Caleb VanArragon. Herron will play in this week’s Minnesota Amateur tournament at Minnesota Valley.

>> Former officials Kenny Mauer (NBA), Tim Tschida (MLB) and Fred Bryan (NFL) headline a discussion panel at a Capital Club breakfast on Wednesday at Mendakota Country Club. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell speaks at a Dunkers breakfast on Thursday at Interlachen Country Club.

>> Brittany Viola, a 2012 Olympic diver and daughter of former Twins Cy Young Award winner Frank, has developed a delightful eating disorder card game tool, Ferret Flush on Kickstarter, for parents, coaches, teachers and others to deal with mental health communication.

>> Murray Rudisill, 61, the sports marketing promotional whiz from North Oaks Country Club, will realize a major bucket list wish this week when he caddies a couple of British Open practice rounds at Royal Troon in Scotland for friend Todd Hamilton, the 2004 Open champion.

“Walking down the Open championship fairways — a dream come true for me,” said Rudisill, a 4.5 handicapper.

>> Janel McCarville, the former Gophers basketball star, last season coached her alma mater Stevens Point Area Senior High to the Wisconsin Valley Conference championship and was named the league’s coach of the year.