5 in 50- The Minnesota Twins

Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Minnesota Twins. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Twins in the last 50 years. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons since 1972. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.

Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Twins players in the last 50 years.

5. Frank Viola (1982-1989)- 1988 AL Cy Young award winner. 1987 World Series MVP and World Champion.  

4. Johan Santana (2000-2007)- 2-time AL Cy Young award winner. Led AL with lowest ERA 3 times. 

3. Kirby Puckett (1984-1995)- 1989 AL batting champion. 6-time gold glove winner. 1987 ALCS MVP and 87 World Champion

2. Joe Mauer (2004-2018)- 3-time batting champion. 3-time gold glove winner. 2009 AL MVP.

1. Rod Carew (1972-1978)- 6-time batting champion. 1977 MVP.

Honorable mention to Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Bert Blyleven, Greg Gagne, Brad Radke,

Notes. The top 4 selections were easy. #5 was a little more challenging to select. Viola only pitched 6 full seasons for the Twins before he moved on to the Mets. Other players had longer careers with the Twins (Hrbek in particular), but Viola’s impact was huge. He won the World Series MVP leading the Twins to their first ever championship in 87 and followed that up with the Cy Young in 88. With the top 4 players there was no question. Santana was a great pitcher would be a Hall of Famer if not for injuries. Puckett was vital to the Twins 2 World Championship teams and is a Hall of Famer. Mauer did the unthinkable, winning 3 batting titles while being the teams primary catcher (including 2009 season, when he hit .365!). All 3 seasons he caught over 100 games. Finally, Carew is one of the greatest hitters of all time. I only included his batting titles since 1972, but you can add 1 more to the list (1969). 7 batting titles overall. And all with the Twins.

Next up is the Houston Astros.