Minnesota Twins: The 40 Best Players In Team History (No. 26-30)
Wins Above Replacement has become a powerful stat to measure the value of a player. Here are the all-time best Minnesota Twins based on WAR (numbers 26-30).
The Minnesota Twins have had some good players in their history. From Hall of Famers to fan favorites, there are plenty of big names that have come through to play in the Twins Cities. In an effort to figure out who is the best Twins player of all-time, we have taken a look at the Twins career leaders in Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
WAR is a sabermetric tool to help determine the overall value of a baseball player. It is a way to calculate a player’s total contribution to the team, which shows how truly valuable they are. Position player WAR is complex to calculate, as is pitching WAR.
Without all of the calculations, the concept is fairly simple. Position player WAR is meant to show how many more games the team wins with that certain player in the lineup instead of his replacement. The same concept roles into pitching. It is meant to reflect how many more wins that pitcher is responsible for during innings they pitch compared to someone else.
With that said, the 40 players on this list have the best WAR numbers during their Twins careers. Only their WAR during their time with the Twins is included. So that means there is no David Ortiz, Carlos Gomez or anyone else that had more success elsewhere. This list is strictly who was the best in a Twins uniform.
You can find numbers 36 to 40 here, and 31-35 here. The next five (numbers 26-30) will begin with a recent Twins pitcher who found success while in Minnesota.
No. 30: Scott Baker (15.9 WAR)
The Twins have had some good pitchers since the turn of the millennium, but none went under the radar like Scott Baker. Baker pitched alongside the likes of Twins pitching greats Brad Radke and Johan Santana, but never got the recognition of being an above average starter.
Baker pitched three straight double digit win seasons from 2008 to 2010. His best total came in 2009 when he recorded 15. That season, he recorded 3.3 wins above replacement, his second best total. His best came in 2008 when he put up a 4.4 mark, a season he went 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA.
Baker has found himself in the top realm of Twins starters, placing tenth in winning percentage with a tidy .568 mark. His record while in Minnesota was 63-48. He ranks just outside of the top ten in games started (159) and strikeouts (770).
After being the only Twins pitcher with a record above .500 in 2011, Baker underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012. The surgery effectively ended his Twins career after his club option was not exercised. He would pitch for three more ball clubs before retiring.
Baker’s time in Minnesota was productive and he earned wins for the squads he was on. He may have been overlooked because of starters like Radke, Santana and Francisco Liriano being in the same rotation as him. Nonetheless, Baker was a quality starter for a few years with the Twins and that should not be forgotten.
No. 29: Tom Brunansky (16.0 WAR)
Tom Brunansky provided pop in the Minnesota Twins lineup during the 1980s. He was an All-Star during the 1985 campaign, a year during which he hit .242 with 27 home runs and 90 runs batted in. That year was not even his best.
He hit 32 home runs twice, in 1984 and 1987, which was a career-high. His best year according to his wins above replacement was 1982 when he tallied 5.6. He would record 2.5 or more three other times in his career, including his final year with the Twins in 1987.
His time with the Twins will be remembered for his power and his help in winning a title. He is ninth all-time in home runs in franchise history with 163. Brunansky was also a big part of the Twins’ 1987 World Series run. He killed Detroit Tigers pitchers by batting .412 with two home runs and nine RBIs in five games. They were able to cap off their run by beating the St. Louis Cardinals to take the title.
His best time was with the Twins.
Brunansky would go on to play for three other teams, having successful stops in St. Louis and Boston, but he will be remembered for his years in Minnesota the most. He even came back to the organization years later and has done some coaching in the Twins minor league system.
While Brunansky never made the Hall of Fame and only made one All-Star team, he was an incredibly valuable asset to the Twins organization during the 1980s. He helped win ballgames, put up good numbers at the plate and, most importantly, helped give Minnesota its first World Series title.
No. 28: Denard Span (17.2 WAR)
The Minnesota Twins had some of the fastest guys in the league in the later part of last decade, but none were as valuable as outfielder Denard Span. Span’s speed was game-changing. He could swipe bases, stretch hits into doubles and triples and hit for average.
Span is top ten in a few categories in Twins history. His .284 average ranks eighth, while he is eighth in triples with 36 and tenth in stolen bases with 90. His five seasons in Minnesota from 2008 to 2012 were quite productive, and it wasn’t just his speed.
Better than the backup.
Span was able to win games over his replacements quite efficiently. During his rookie year in 2008, Span recorded a 4.3 WAR, the second best of his career. His best season was when he put up a 5.0 mark in 2012, which ranked him tenth in the American League for position players. He had a defensive WAR of 2.4 that season, as well, which was good for third in the American League.
Span recorded WAR numbers under 2.0 just once during his time with the Twins, and was the most valued outfielder on this team during the time he roamed the outfield at Target Field and the Metrodome. He even helped take the Twins to the postseason twice, going 10-for-28 in 30 postseason plate appearances during two series against the New York Yankees.
Since Span’s departure, the Twins have not had an outfielder as valuable as him. He was a speed threat that could burn you on a ball to the gap. While he has had success during his stops in Washington and San Francisco, his time in Minnesota showed his true value the most.
No. 27: Larry Hisle (17.2 WAR)
The Minnesota Twins had some talented players in the 1970s. One of them was outfielder Larry Hisle. Hisle was a power threat that started to shine in Minnesota after being traded by St. Louis in the offseason before the 1973 season.
His career in Minnesota started on an interesting footnote, as he was the first MLB player to serve as a designated hitter in a game. It was a spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers, and he hit two home runs and drove in seven runs.
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Hisle would spend five seasons in Minnesota from 1973 to 1977. His best season was in 1977, when he made the All-Star team and batted .302 with 28 home runs and 119 runs batted in. He was the RBI leader for the AL that year and posted a career-high 5.1 WAR.
Hisle had other productive years in Minnesota, posting WAR numbers of 3.3 in 1973 and 4.3 in 1976. He drove in 96 runs in 1976 and hit 19 home runs while driving in 79 runs in 1974. His numbers seemed to peak in Minnesota at the end of his time with the Twins, which helped him in free agency when he signed with the Brewers.
Hisle was an MVP candidate for the Twins in 1977 and showed his value at the plate by driving in runs and hitting for power. He had All-Star caliber talent and that is why he made the list. His WAR numbers show his true value during his playing days.
No. 26: Earl Battey (17.5 WAR)
The first catcher in Minnesota Twins history was a darn good one who played for them from 1961 to 1967. Earl Battey was one of the best at his position during his playing days, and to this day is recognized as a Twins great.
During his time with the Twins, Battey was a decorated star. He was selected to five All-Star teams and won two Gold Gloves for his work behind the plate. On two separate occasions, he received MVP votes while playing in Minnesota.
He had four straight seasons of double digit home run totals from 1961 to 1964, including a career-best 26 in 1963. That year, he batted .285 and drove in 84 runs to go along with his home run total. His best year in the WAR column was also that year, when he tallied 4.7 and went on to place seventh in the MVP voting.
Battey was a valuable part of the pennant winning Twins team of 1965, finishing tenth in the MVP race while driving in 60 runs and recording 3.2 wins above replacement. Being a valuable part of that team forever put Battey in the history books as a Twin.
Next: Top 40 All-Time Best Twins 31-36
Battey would eventually be enshrined in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2004. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Twins in 2010, seven years after he passed away from cancer. While there have been other good Twins catchers after him, Battey will forever be the original.