As more and more Hall of Fame ballots have been publicly released and Joe Mauer’s odds of getting into Cooperstown this year have seemingly risen, his former teammate and good friend Justin Morneau has found himself paying an increasing amount of attention to the vote count.

But it’s not a topic he chats with Mauer about and Mauer himself “would never bring it up,” Morneau said.

“I was with him and somebody asked him about it and he gave the same answer you would expect him to give. ‘Well, I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. It’s not up to me. It’d be cool if it happens,’ ” Morneau recounted. “Typical Joe but I think deep down it means a lot to him but it’s out of his control.”

Longtime members of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted on Mauer’s candidacy and the results of their voting will be revealed on a show that airs live from Cooperstown on Tuesday night on MLB Network beginning at 5 p.m.

It has started to look highly likely that Mauer will be voted in on the first ballot, a possibility that has been drawing plenty of buzz around the Twin Cities, even if the man from St. Paul himself isn’t so keen on talking about it.

“I told my wife, the last one that’s losing sleep over this is Joe Mauer. That’s just the way he is,” said Jim O’Neill, Mauer’s high school baseball coach at Cretin-Derham Hall. “I woke up from a dream the other day thinking about this.”

The former Twins catcher, who played all 15 years of his major-league career down the road from his home in St. Paul, has received 84.1 percent of the vote on ballots that have been revealed publicly, per X user Ryan Thibodaux’s (@NotMrTibbs) tracker. Approximately 47.4 percent of ballots are known.

Per Thibodaux’s data, Mauer would need 66.8 percent of support on the remainder of ballots to be elected.

“He’s at a standard where you can’t deny that he’s a hall of famer,” said Mauer’s former manager, Paul Molitor, himself a first-ballot hall of famer from St. Paul. “… I’m really encouraged by how it’s been trending. Even if there’s a little bit of a drop-off from where he sits at now, in the 4-6 percent range, which seems to be pretty typical, it still puts him in good position. I’m very hopeful about next week.”

Players need 75 percent of the vote for entry to the Hall of Fame, and that drop-off Molitor referred to often comes from voters who do not choose to reveal their ballots publicly casting votes for fewer players.

But with just a few days remaining, Mauer seems to have a comfortable cushion and appears to be in a good position to join an exclusive list of first-ballot hall of famers. Adrián Beltré, who currently has 98.9 percent support as of Saturday morning, is also on pace to enter this year on the first ballot.

“The numbers are the numbers, and as a catcher, definitively, Joe’s numbers rise very quickly to elite status, the upper echelon of the game at that position, and therefore I think (what’s) ultimately proving to win the day is really the track record that he amassed as a player but more importantly as a catcher,” Twins president and CEO Dave St. Peter said.

Among his accomplishments, Mauer was a six-time all-star, a three-time Gold Glove winner and the first catcher to win three batting titles, accomplishing the feat in 2006 (.347), 2008 (.328) and 2009 (.365), his MVP season.

In 2009, Mauer led the American League not only in batting average but also on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Though he missed the first month of the season, he clubbed a career-high 28 home runs and added 96 RBIs while also taking home a Gold Glove for his defensive prowess behind the plate in one of the best seasons ever for a catcher.

“I always believed he was a hall of famer, but you never know what everyone else thinks. It’s hard to be a first-ballot hall of famer, especially,” Morneau said. “… He’s the best catcher of his generation. I think he did things that no one else did, so I think he’s definitely deserving of being in the Hall of Fame.”

And if Mauer is elected to the Hall of Fame and inducted this summer, well, expect a big celebration in upstate New York.

“We had a huge Minnesota contingent in Cooperstown a couple of years ago for Tony (Oliva) and Jim (Kaat), and I can only imagine how enjoyable it’s going to be if we can do that again to get a large group from Minnesota to rally in Cooperstown next July,” Molitor said.

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It’s hard to write with mittens on and your teeth chattering, but you count your blessings if you don’t have to work outdoors during another polar vortex.

Thinking warm thoughts during this current stretch of frigid weather is the only way to survive, and fortunately there’s been enough going on in the sports world to keep us occupied, from the NFL playoffs to the Cubs Convention to the White Sox equipment truck leaving for Arizona.

Here are 10 takeaways from a wild week.

A “Just One Before I Die” sign was spotted by the CBS cameras in Buffalo during the Bills wild card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. This used to be the mantra of Cubs fans, who swore they’d be happy with only one championship in their lifetime.

They lied of course. Once is never enough.

But if anyone deserves at least one, it would be Buffalo. Or Detroit.

Cubs President Jed Hoyer prefaced his remarks about Christopher Morel at the Cubs Convention by going off on the rumor mill. Someone apparently wrote Morel wasn’t at the convention because he was being traded, instead of the real reason — he had a visa issue.

“The rumors sometimes have zero basis in truth and it happens all the time,” Hoyer said. “Read stuff with a pound of salt, because so often times something that has not a little bearing in truth, but zero basis in truth. And there’ve been a lot of those this winter (where) Morel is linked to this team or linked to this player.

“We’ve been linked to a number of free agents we’ve never actually spoken to this winter, and I think the agent just puts out that we’re interested because we’re a big-market team. … So I think sometimes the rumors get going and it’s a freight train. Be aware of how often these things have no bearing in truth. It’s kind of an alternate universe I would say.”

Hoyer didn’t seem too bothered by the rumors that linked Shohei Ohtani to the Cubs, which made it seem like they had a realistic shot at signing the best player in baseball. Sometimes an alternative universe helps keep a team in the news.

If dealing with a polar vortex builds character, we should have enough in Chicago to last a couple lifetimes by now. Maybe we’re better off having no character and some feeling in your toes.

Watching that Detroit fan cry Sunday during the end of the Lions’ wild-card win over the Los Angeles Rams in a climate-controlled, indoor stadium was the polar opposite of Bears fans crying after the Double Doink loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2018 wild-card game at frigid Soldier Field.

The White Sox invited the media to come out to Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday with a subzero wind chill factor. It was not for a free-agent signing or trade, but to report on the equipment truck leaving for spring training in Glendale, Ariz.

The truck leaving town event is a time-honored ritual for teams that have done little over the winter to improve their chances of winning but could use some publicity. The Cubs even used to have a sponsor for the equipment truck videos that would air on newscasts to remind fans it’s “almost spring.”

In a normal world, the Sox would be touting the arrival of SoxFest next weekend. But for reasons that have never been explained, SoxFest is kaput once again, and an event for season ticket holders is currently on the schedule as a replacement.

At least the Kansas City Royals are having a fan fest on Feb. 3 at Kauffman Stadium. Sox fans seeking autographs from future Sox players might be interested in driving down to K.C.

The best part of the NFL wild-card weekend was the fourth-quarter speculation by broadcasters about the losing coach possibly losing his job, whether it was Mike McCarthy, Nick Sirianni or Mike Tomlin. The next best thing was Fox Sports talking head Skip Bayless losing his mind on social media over the Dallas Cowboys’ loss to the Green Bay Packers. Bayless tossing his Cowboys’ gear in the trash after a playoff loss is the human equivalent of Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day.

A domed Bears stadium in the Soldier Field south parking lot may be the worst idea ever, unless you count drafting Mitch Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes.

President/CEO Kevin Warren, speaking generally about a new stadium, said last week that “very rarely do you get an opportunity to have such a beautiful downtown with a vibrant business community, with an absolutely beautiful lake and the energy that goes along.”

Maybe it looks good on TV, but Warren seemingly doesn’t understand that getting in and out of an area bounded by Lake Shore Drive and the lakefront is one of the reasons fans don’t like Soldier Field in the first place.

A Lions-Chiefs Super Bowl would present the ultimate pop culture showdown between Eminem and Taylor Swift. There might be more cutaways to those two by CBS than Mahomes’ commercials.

Lost in the kerfuffle over Bulls fans making Thelma Krause cry during the Ring of Honor ceremony was the terrible decision by management to not announce the names of the 1995-96 team that was being inducted. It would have been nice to see Luc Longley, Ron Harper, Bill Wennington and the rest of the players and coaches get their well-deserved applause for their contributions to the championship season.

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Bruce Helmer and Peg Webb

Planning for retirement often falls to the bottom of the list of priorities, but it’s important not to put off the process. Planning today improves the odds that your savings and investments will help you maintain your desired lifestyle after you stop earning a regular paycheck.

Also, by planning early, you’ll also be able to handle the tax bill that likely will come each year after you retire.

Retirement planning boils down to addressing the key risk factors that impact retirement security: longevity (how long you’ll live), inflation (protecting the purchasing power of each dollar), public policy (changes in future tax rates), and a sustainable rate of withdrawal over time. The typical building blocks for retirement income include the following:

• Assets held in taxable brokerage accounts or bank savings accounts

• Guaranteed sources of income, such as Social Security or pensions

• Insurance benefits

• Savings and contributions to retirement-focused accounts, such as your 401(k), traditional IRA or Roth IRA

Good retirement income planning must go beyond simply joining your company-sponsored retirement plan or opening an IRA at your local bank. You also need to make sure a good portion of your future income is positioned for long-term growth and is as tax-efficient as possible.

There are three basic types of retirement accounts, based on how they are taxed: tax-deferred, tax-advantaged, and taxable. Learning the features of each is important because their different tax treatments can have a big impact on the ultimate size of your nest egg.

Tax-deferred accounts

Employer-sponsored 401(k)s are by far the most popular retirement account among for-profit businesses. Similar defined contribution plans are available for schools and university systems (403(b) plans), government entities (457 and 401(a) plans), and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan. Sole proprietors and other small businesses can use Solo 401(k)s, Simplified Employer Plans (SEP-IRA), or SIMPLE IRAs.

All defined contribution plans essentially work the same way:

• You invest pre-tax money into an account set up in your name, and you select investments from the plan’s available lineup.

• The employer may match a certain percentage of your salary as their contribution (say, 50 cents for every dollar you put in, up to 10% of your income).

• You reduce the amount of each year’s taxable income by the amount you put into your account.

• You pay no taxes on the accumulation in your account until you begin taking withdrawals. When you’re ready to withdraw funds in retirement, your withdrawals will be taxed as regular income.

• As with all tax-deferred retirement accounts, withdrawals made before reaching age 59½ are subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty.

• Required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin when you turn 73.

An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is similar to a 401(k) but with some differences. Perhaps the most important is that the deductibility of your contributions depends on whether you (and/or your spouse, depending on how you file your taxes) also contribute to an employer 401(k) plan. Contribution limits and catch-up contributions are lower than with 401(k), and, of course, there’s no available employer match. IRAs generally offer a wide variety of investment options and, as with a 401(k), you pay no taxes on the accumulation in your account until you begin taking withdrawals. Withdrawals are taxed as regular income (plus a 10% federal penalty if taken before age 59½).

Tax-advantaged accounts

These accounts, such as Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s, move your tax liability from the future to the present. A Roth IRA can be owned by individuals or offered by employers through their 401(k) plans.

Contributions are made with after-tax dollars, meaning that you pay taxes on the funds you invest at the start, with no available tax deduction. Hopefully, your investments will grow over time, and you’ll pay no taxes on that accumulation or distribution.

However, the IRS rules around tax-free withdrawals can be a little tricky. For example, for withdrawals to be tax-free, the account needs to have been open for at least five years and you must be at least age 59½.

Still, tax-advantaged accounts can be great if you anticipate being in a higher tax bracket when you retire. They are also simple and efficient ways to pass wealth tax-free to your heirs.

Taxable accounts

To bridge the gap between tax-deferred and tax-advantaged accounts, many investors also hold assets in taxable accounts. Taxable accounts have none of the tax benefits we’ve just described, but they serve an important role in your tax diversification strategy. Taxable accounts typically include brokerage accounts, savings accounts, and other liquid accounts that allow you to invest and withdraw when you please.

Taxable accounts are subject to tax rules depending on the nature of the assets held within the accounts, such as long-term or short-term capital gains taxes. But they allow you to invest in taxable investment accounts without triggering an immediate taxable event. Instead, dividends and other distributions generated by your investments are taxable at year-end, and if you sell assets within these accounts, you’ll pay taxes on the gains (albeit at more favorable rates than ordinary income rates).

Thus, the three key advantages of taxable accounts are accessibility, in that you can withdraw funds at any time and any age without penalty, immediate liquidity in years leading up to retirement, and added flexibility for years after you retire.

Importance of tax diversification

While reducing today’s taxes is important, there’s a lot more to retirement tax strategy than simply reducing this year’s taxes. Diversifying your investments across all three types of retirement accounts is a critical element of lifetime tax efficiency.

Having too much of your nest egg in a 401(k) or IRA could put you at a disadvantage when you retire. That’s because you won’t get your entire balance as you spend it down: Up to a third or more of your income will be paid in state and federal income taxes.

The key question is to determine how much to move between your retirement accounts and when. And the answer to that question is directly tied to your needs and unique financial situation. We recommend working with an experienced and knowledgeable financial adviser to build a comprehensive financial plan based on a foundation of tax control, excellent asset management, and a commitment to understanding your unique needs.

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The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. 

Bruce Helmer and Peg Webb are financial advisers at Wealth Enhancement Group and co-hosts of “Your Money” on WCCO 830 AM on Sunday mornings. Email Bruce and Peg at yourmoney@wealthenhancement.com. Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Wealth Enhancement Group and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services are separate entities from LPL Financial.