Minnesota Twins: The 40 Best Players In Team History (No. 26-30)

May 11, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Denard Span hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Denard Span hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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MLB: Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers
Apr 13, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Twins hat and glove in the dugout during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

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.