Growing up in a suburb of Minneapolis as a kid who loved sports, I idolized Joe Mauer.

He was truly the first athlete I "grew up" with. By that I mean he was the first athlete that I gravitated towards as a kid and held on to him ever since.

Despite many ups and downs over the year, Mauer finished off his storied career with a farewell for the ages against the White Sox of Chicago.

After going 0-2 in his first couple at-bats, Mauer stepped up in the 7th inning for what he thought could be the last at-bat of his career. Because of this, Mauer turned on the first pitch he saw, giving the twins a double. The hit for number seven was the seventh twins hit, in the seventh inning, and if that isn't some magic, I don't know what is.

However, the fun wasn't over yet.

As many people know, mater spent the majority of his career as one of the MLB's premier catchers. Unfortunately, a severe concussion moved him to first base at the end of the 2013 season, and he never got behind the plate again.

Until his final game.

After the 8th inning, there was an elongated pause, no one came out on to the field for a few minutes, then, out came Mauer, donning full catchers gear, his catcher's gear, for the first time since August 19, 2013. The number seven still displayed crisply on his shin pads, and the same multicolor helmet that had made him who he came back for all of one pitch, but it was the perfect ending for a man that had given his all to the game of baseball.

Emotional, Joe said a farewell to the crowd, and off into the cold fall air of Minneapolis he went.

Twins fans should have nothing but thanks for their best catcher, and hitter over the years. The Twins will definitely look different without their franchise centerpiece, but his lasting impact will be with the team forever.