From BenMaller.com

Baseball has been very good to Joe Mauer. And now, to his family, too. The Twins catcher, who turned 24 on Thursday and last winter signed a guaranteed $33 million contract, has told his parents they are free to retire and that he will provide for their financial future. Jake and Teresa plan to accept the offer. “Joe just said, ‘Mom and Dad, what do you think about retiring?’ ” Jake said Thursday. “I said good, how about today?” Jake, 50, laughed. He has worked in sales for Awards by Hammond in St. Paul for 33 years. Mauer’s mother, Teresa, 48, who is office manager at St. Patrick’s Guild, has worked for the St. Paul business for nearly 27 years. Jake laughed again. “What I think is that Joe wants me to go up north to work on his ranch,” he said of Mauer’s retreat near Braham, Minn. Seriously, Jake said: “I was kind of stunned when he mentioned retiring. It’s great. But I’m sure I’ll be doing something. We’ll see. Maybe now I can become a better golfer.”