Greatest Minnesota Twins Players in the Last 50 Years

THE GREATEST PLAYERS BY POSITION FOR EACH TEAM IN THE LAST 50 YEARS.

I am continuing my list for the greatest players at each position for every team in the last 50 years for each team. Today’s team is the Minnesota Twins. The criteria are as follows:

- Player must have played a full 5 seasons for the team.

-1 player will be selected for each position, 1 right handed starting pitcher, 1 left handed starting pitcher, and 1 relief pitcher. I will include a DH for both leagues (considering interleague play now).

 Below is my list of greatest players by position for the Twins in the last 50 years (since the 1970 season).

First Base- Justin Morneau

Second Base- Rod Carew

Shortstop-   Greg Gagne

Third Base-   Gary Gaetti

Left Field-    Shane Mack

Centerfield-   Kirby Puckett

Right Field- Tony Oliva

Catcher- Joe Mauer

Designated Hitter-   Harmon Killebrew

Right-Handed starting pitcher- Bert Blyleven     

Left-Handed starting pitcher- Johan Santana

Relief pitcher- Joe Nathan



A couple of notes.  

Some interesting decisions to make on the team.  First base was a tough call between Kent Hrbek and Morneau. Hrbek was a fan favorite who played his whole career with the Twins and won 2 WS championships. But I had to give the nod to Morneau for putting up some great numbers during his time with the Twins, including winning 1 MVP. Another difficult decision was shortstop between Roy Smalley and Gagne. Both played 10 years with Minnesota. I picked Gagne due to his superb fielding and being a key member of the 2 championship teams. The toughest choice was left-handed starting pitcher. It was between Santana and Frank Viola. Both were all time great pitchers for the Twins.  Viola won a Cy Young and a WS MVP, but I picked Santana based on his 2 Cy Young awards and his ERA almost a full point lower.  Although long time greats Killebrew and Oliva were at the end of their careers in the early 70s, both had a few goods seasons left and made it easy to select them. Killebrew finished 2^nd in the MVP voting in 1970 and led the AL in RBIs in 71. Oliva won the batting title in 71.  



Next up is the Anaheim Angels.