One note on my votes. Yes obviously means I’m voting for the player this year. If I say no, that means I don’t think the player should ever be in the team Hall of Fame. Maybe means that I might vote for him in the future, but not right now. I think if we choose more than one or two players per year, the HOF will fill up with some marginal players pretty quickly, so some of these guys will just have to wait.

Dave Boswell, P. 8 seasons with Twins, 67-54, 3.49 ERA. My vote: No.

Boswell was a very competent pitcher, and he had one very good year in 1969. But he was never the staff ace, and his stock fell fast, to the point that he was cut by the team at age 26. Also, it’s hard to vote for a guy who got in a fight with Bob Allison and his manager.

Tom Brunansky, OF. 7 seasons, .250/.330/.432, 163 HR, 432 RBI. My vote: Maybe.

Bruno’s 9th place standing on the Twins home run list is safe now that Michael Cuddyer, who was 22 behind him, has left the team. He was a key piece of the 1987 Championship team, and his trade to the Cardinals in 1988 ushered in a 19 year curse that prevented any Twin from topping 30 homers in a season. He’s on the cusp of the Twins HOF. If he can get Rochester to hit well, that’ll put him over the top. (more…)

…in honor of Jim Kaat.

The Veterans Committee of the Hall of Fame is going to take a look at Kaat this winter, so he may be a Hall of Famer soon. But whether the Veterans grant Kaat baseball’s ultimate honor or not, the Twins should do their part to recognize the lefthander who pitched for them for 13 seasons. Until the Twins retire this number, you can count on seeing regular diatribes from me about it!

I have no idea why the team did not retire Kaat’s number years ago. They managed not to give it to any other players for three seasons, but then in 1977 rookie Sam Perlozzo wore it. After him, Jeff Holly, Jerry Koosman, Jeff Little, Curt Wardle, Mark Portugal, Eric Bullock, Joe Niekro, Steve Shields, Kevin Tapani, Terry Steinbach, Rick Reed, Warren Morris, and Nathan have all had their turn with #36. Other than Nathan, and perhaps Tapani, none of them has come close to the level of success that Kaat enjoyed for more than a decade. (more…)