Only one pitcher struck out Mauer in high school

Paul Feiner, a senior communications major at the University of Minnesota, has followed Joe Mauer's meteoric rise from Cretin-Derham Hall star to No. 1 overall draft pick from afar, but with more than passing interest. Feiner's strikeout of Mauer in a state high school tournament game nearly four years ago created an indelible link between the two and made Feiner the answer to a trivia question.

Feiner, a graduate of Elk River High, was the only pitcher to strike out Mauer in three seasons and 222 career at-bats at Cretin-Derham Hall. As Mauer's legacy has grown, so too has the media glare, and a ray of it has found Feiner.

"It's definitely something my friends like to bring up at parties and things," Feiner said. "It's neat. I hope he does well because I'm a Twins fan and not necessarily because it would make me look better."

Nobody, of course, could have predicted the significance of Feiner's strikeout of Mauer in a 2000 state tournament game at Siebert Field. And for the record, Mauer homered and singled off Feiner before that fateful strikeout. But as Mauer arrived at Twins spring training as the heir apparent to replace A.J. Pierzynski at catcher, Feiner has accepted his brush with fame, including a mention in a recent ESPN The Magazine profile of Mauer.

It happened late in a consolation game, which Cretin-Derham Hall won 7-1, in Mauer's junior season. Feiner got the start because the Elk River ace, Johnny Lynch, who is currently in the Twins farm system, pitched the previous day.

Feiner never had faced Mauer but he knew of his reputation as a hitter. Which perhaps explain why Feiner threw Mauer a looping eephus pitch early in his first at-bat.

"I had planned to do it all week," Feiner said. "Everybody kind of laughed."

That was replaced by 'ahhhs' when Mauer hit a fastball out of the strike zone for an opposite-field home run.

"I had never seen him hit before," Elk River coach Tim Nelson said. "I was like, 'OK, how good is this guy?' It didn't take long to find out."

Mauer singled in his second at-bat and came up again in the sixth with the score tied, 1-1. With the count at 2-2, Feiner had two thoughts: Make sure he threw his curve ball as hard as possible and, more important, don't throw it over the sweet part of the plate.

"I remember it was ultimate focus," Feiner said.

Mauer swung and missed and the rest is, well, history.