Joe Mauer on verge of being fifth catcher in baseball history with 1,000 career hits by age 27

Joe Mauer is one hit away from 1,000 for his career, which would be the fifth-most ever by a catcher through age 27:

Ivan Rodriguez      1333
Ted Simmons         1279
Johnny Bench        1246
Joe Torre           1087
JOE MAUER            999

He’ll likely end up with around 1,020 hits by season’s end.
Missing most of his rookie season with a knee injury hurts Mauer’s through-age-27 hit total, and his excellent patience at the plate also means he’s traded some hits for walks. He’s drawn 430 free passes, which is the fourth-most ever by a catcher through age 27:

Johnny Bench         516
Darrell Porter       510
Butch Wynegar        450
JOE MAUER            430
Ted Simmons          427

Mauer has hit .355 in 53 games since the Twins lost Justin Morneau to a concussion on July 7, raising his season mark to .324, but because of a mediocre (for him, at least) first half and Josh Hamilton hitting .361 he’ll need a miracle to win his fourth batting title in five seasons.