Joe Mauer may or may not be in the process of completing a huge 10-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. Only time (and Joe) will tell. What we do know for sure is that his mug will be on the cover of MLB 10 The Show, which is set to be released March 2.

The list of things I would have given to see the All-Star catcher in a skintight, high-tech sensor suit (to record his motions for the game) is far too lengthy to mention.

Sensors were placed on all of his flex points Tuesday at Sony’s Motion Capture Studio in San Diego, so that dozens of cameras could capture his sweet swing and cat-like reflexes behind the plate.

“It was uncomfortable at first,” the reigning three-time batting champ said, “but as I started doing it more and more, it started feeling more comfortable.”

Mauer says he’s in good company, joining Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols and Dustin Pedroia as players who have graced the covers of popular video games recently. But let’s not forget the game that paved the way: Atari’s Homerun from 1978. That game was awesome because every single ball you hit into the air was a bomb; there was no such thing as a fly ball.

Then there was Super Challenge Baseball and Pete Rose Baseball. Too old school for ya? How about RBI Baseball? Pretty sure I could still play that in my sleep. Or Tommy Lasorda Baseball on the Sega…

Anyway, this is just one more landmark for Mauer: he’s the first Twin to ever be a cover guy, though I’m betting Rod Carew or Harmon Killebrew would’ve done so had they played a couple generations later.

What’s your all-time favorite baseball video game?