20 Greatest Minnesota Twins

20

Bob Allison

Allison was the 1959 Rookie of the Year, and he was one of the better players in the league in the 1960s, though since he was tucked away in the Twin Cities, most people didn’t know it. Five times from 1962 to 1968, Allison was in the top ten in the AL in on-base plus slugging, and in 1963 he was first. Allison was a three-time All-Star, received MVP votes in three seasons, while being one of the most exciting players in the league. “When he runs down the line from home plate I can hear the ground shake,” Twins’ coach Ellis Clary said. Team owner Calvin Griffith said “When I think of Bob Allison, I think of brute strength.”

19

Jim Kaat

The left-hander was well-known for his great pickoff move, but when he first came up with the Senators, Jim Kaat did not have that weapon. He worked tirelessly to perfect it because that was the defining characteristic that made Kaat a great pitcher: his obsessive determination to improve in every area of his game. “When Kaat realizes he has to correct something,” Minnesota manager Sam Mele said in 1964. “He works at it until he gets it right.”

18

Camilo Pascual

Had one of the best curveballs in the history of baseball.

17

Johan Santana

If Sandy Koufax is in the Hall of Fame, why isn’t Johan Santana? The answer lies with the two p’s: perception and postseason. Koufax set strikeout records, was a mythical enigma, he was “The Left Arm of God.” Santana was a left-hander from Latin America who pitched in Minnesota, managed just one win in the playoffs, and hurt his arm. Yet, a cogent argument can be made that Santana was a better pitcher than Koufax. Yes, really. First let’s look at the similarities between the two great lefties. Both played unconventional positions as youngsters: Koufax was originally a left-handed catcher, and Santana played shortstop left-handed. Young Johan wanted to play shortstop so badly that he taught himself to throw right-handed so he could stay there until his early teens. Each pitcher had their first full season in a major league rotation when they were 25 years old. Both Santana and Koufax had to work things out in the bullpen, and took baby steps to becoming rotation regulars. Both pitchers relied on pinpoint control of their fastball, though Koufax took longer to tame his speed pitch (which was faster than Santana’s by about 6-10 MPH). Santana and Koufax both had six-year runs that are among the most dominant stretches of pitching since the end of the deadball era. Koufax won three Cy Youngs during his peak, while Santana won two and finished in the top five four straight years, just like Sandy. Both pitchers led their league in many categories: Koufax won four strikeout titles and Santana won three; Koufax led the league in ERA five times, Santana three times. Santana and Koufax both led their leagues in innings pitched twice. Both pitchers helped their team to the postseason four times. Both pitchers threw no-hitters, though Koufax tossed four and Santana one.

16

Joe Cronin

15

Chuck Knoblauch

In a relatively brief big league career that ended when he was just 33 years old, Chuck Knoblauch accomplished a lot. He won the Rookie of the Year Award, was a four-time All Star, a Gold Glove winner, and he won four World Series titles. Knoblauch was a pesky, tenacious player in the mold of Pete Rose: not particularly the most polished defender at second base, but a gritty player who grinded out every pitch, every at-bat.

14

Kent Hrbek

13

Clyde Milan

His last name was pronounced “MIL-LEN.” Clyde didn’t play much baseball growing up in rural Tennessee, instead spending his youth hunting and fishing. Something must have chased him at one time or another, because Milan was one of the fastest men in the game when he became a major leaguer in 1907. He was signed by a Washington scout on the same trip that netted Walter Johnson for the Senators. Milan and Johnson were teammates, roommates, and best friends for 16 years.

12

Buddy Myer

Myer was one of the best bunters of his generation. He probably dropped down 50 bunt attempts a season, maybe more. His specialty was the drag bunt, which even in the 1920s, was fast falling out of vogue. His favorite target was Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig, who was known to be slow to field short grounders. When he won the batting title on the final day of the 1935 season, Myer started his hit rampage with a drag bunt single.

11

Tony Oliva

In the history of baseball, since they began tossing a ball to a plate and someone with a stick was swinging at it, maybe no more than two dozen men could hit better than Tony Oliva. He was special with a bat in his hands, but physical weaknesses kept him from reaching legendary status.

10

Goose Goslin

Goslin earned the nickname “Goose” because of the odd way he played the outfield, not his big nose. Early in his minor league career (Goslin started playing professionally when he was 16), teammates noticed that Goslin flapped his arms when he chased a fly ball. Mike Donlin, a talented outfielder in the first decade of the twentieth century, was called “Turkey” for the same reason.

9

Brad Radke

In 1997, when he was only 24 years old, Radke won 12 consecutive starts, only the third time since 1950 that someone had done that. During that stretch, the tall right-hander from Florida was 12-0 while the Twins were 12-27 when he didn’t start. He was 20-10 that season, while his team otherwise went 48-84. That was sort of the story of Radke’s career: he pitched for a lot of mediocre teams, which is why his 148-139 win/loss record is unimpressive. The company he kept in the clubhouse didn’t do him any favors. In the postseason, Radke lost a pair of starts where he pitched into the seventh inning and allowed two earned runs.

8

Joe Judge

7

Bert Blyleven

“There is a different feeling in the dugout before a game when he is pitching. The guys seem to sense that the other team isn’t going to get many runs, if it scores at all.” — manager Frank Quilici

6

Kirby Puckett

How popular was Kirby Puckett in Minnesota? They sold thousands and thousands of “Kirby Bears.” The Twins minted something called “Kirby Coins,” and people named their kids after him. That didn’t age well (Google his reputation), but Kirby was an exciting baseball player in his prime.

5

Sam Rice

Rice was always lightning fast and he was good at every sport he ever tried. He was an excellent bowler and a scratch golfer. He was pretty old (25) by the time he started his major league career, and he only had 247 hits through the age of 28. But Rice kept himself in excellent condition, and he averaged 202 hits from age 30 to 40. He’s the only position player in history who had his best season when he was 40 years old. “Man O’ War” finished his career 13 hits shy of 3,000. He did it while barely making a ripple: he was quiet, private, the Great Sphinx of Baseball.

4

Joe Mauer

Mauer won three batting titles, an MVP award, and two Gold Gloves before his 27th birthday. He’s in an elite group of seven catchers to have at least five 5-WAR seasons: Johnny Bench, Gary Carter, Mike Piazza, Mickey Cochrane, Yogi Berra, and Iván Rodríguez.

3

Harmon Killbrew

2

Rod Carew

Seven-time batting champion, all of them with Minnesota.

1

Walter Johnson

Johnson threw almost exclusively from a side-arm delivery. He was apparently never an over-the-top thrower, preferring true sidearm, or occasionally three-quarter sidearm. You could take video of left-hander Randy Johnson and flip it, and it would look much like the video footage we have of Walter’s delivery.