Cats' Mauer named the best in the minors

DURHAM, N.C. -- Joe Mauer, who helped lead the New Britain Rock Cats and the Class A Fort Myers Miracle to the postseason, is Baseball America’s 2003 Minor League Player of the Year.

Mauer, 20, becomes the first Minnesota Twins prospect to win the award, rewarding Minnesota for selecting the local product first overall in the 2001 draft out of Cretin-Derham Hall in nearby St. Paul.

"He doesn’t have to improve any of his tools or skills to jump in and impact the game at the major league level," Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff told Baseball America. "He’s not a normal prospect. Improvement is a different word with a guy like that. He’s good enough with his present abilities."

This season Mauer hit .339 with five homers and 85 RBI between Fort Myers and New Britain, posting the highest average of any minor leaguer under 21 and the best of any minor league catcher. Managers voted Mauer the best defensive catcher in his league for the second straight year and he threw out better than 50 percent of potential basestealers.

Mauer helped Fort Myers to a 44-26 mark in the first half, as the Miracle earned the Florida State League’s Western Division title. When the Twins promoted Mauer, along with right-handers J.D. Durbin and Jim Abbott, to New Britain, the Rock Cats were 25-37 and wallowing in the Northern Division cellar. They went 48-31 the rest of the way to earn an Eastern League playoff berth.

Mauer is the 21st different player to win the award, which originated with Baseball America’s inception in 1981. Of the 20 previous winners, all have played in the big leagues and 12 have been major league all-stars. Six have won rookie of the year awards, two have been MVPs and one has won the Cy Young Award.

Tampa Bay center fielder Rocco Baldelli won the honor last year. Previous winners include such current major league stars as Eric Chavez (A’s, 1998), Andruw Jones (Braves, 1995 and ’96), Derek Jeter (Yankees, 1991), Manny Ramirez (Red Sox, 1993) and Frank Thomas (White Sox, 1990).

NEWMAN RECOVERING: Former Rock Cats manager and current Twins third base coach Al Newman was listed in serious but stable condition Thursday after having fluid drained from his brain.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Thursday that the team had been told by doctors that Newman was not in a life-threatening situation.

Newman was considered in grave danger Wednesday night, when he was admitted to a Chicago hospital with a serious headache that initially was diagnosed as an aneurysm. But the diagnosis was changed around midday Thursday after an angiogram.

With an aneurysm ruled out, doctors continued to run tests that could help determine what caused the swelling. An MRI came back normal Thursday.

Minnesota Twins trainer Jim Kahmann said there was pressure on Newman’s skull that had to be relieved, so a shunt was inserted into his head to help drain fluid. Newman is expected to remain at the hospital for about a week. Then, if he passes a battery of tests -- he will undergo a CAT scan and angiogram on Wednesday or Thursday -- he will be released.

"This is 99 percent curable," Kahmann told The Star Tribune, "The doctors are very optimistic that this is curable."

Newman compiled a 131-153 record with the Rock Cats in 1996-97. The former utility infielder owns World Series rings from the Twins championships in 1987 and 1991.

Ken Lipshez contributed to this story.