Hardy’s transition eased with help of Mauer
Submitted by Theresa on March 1st, 2010
FORT MYERS, Fla. — J.J. Hardy’s initial reaction when he was traded to the Twins in early November was to think of which players he knew on Minnesota’s roster.
The first one that came to mind was pretty easy for Hardy, considering that he and Twins catcher Joe Mauer have been good friends since they were around 17 years old.
The two players first met in Hermosillo, Mexico, in 2000 while playing as teammates on the under-18 Pan-American Games squad. Both of them were finishing up their junior years of high school and found themselves hitting it off right away.