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Greatest Minnesota Twins Second Baseman: Knoblauch vs Dozier

By Michael McKee

Oct 3, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) fields a ball hit by the Kansas City Royals at Target Field. The Royals win 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) fields a ball hit by the Kansas City Royals at Target Field. The Royals win 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Puckett’s Pond faces off two notable Minnesota Twins players and you decide which one was greater

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Puckett’s Pond is enlisting your help in deciding who the greatest Minnesota Twins in history are at each position. Eventually we’ll square off each position against the others and wind up with the greatest Minnesota Twin, as selected by you. The first position we’ll be selecting is catcher. We’ll only be counting literal Minnesota Twins and not the pre-1961 Washington franchises. Players also will need 700 PAs as a Twin to qualify. We ask you to consider the player based solely on his time as a Twin and at the position specified.

We’ve faced off Carew and Allen in the first match up. You can still vote in that poll. Lombardozzi vs Teufel are match up #2 and you can vote here. Wilfong vs Castillo are match up #3 and you can vote here.

Match up 4: Chuck Knoblauch vs Brian Dozier

Knoblauch was a top draft choice of the Twins in 1989. He made his debut in 1991 and won the rookie of the year award. He remained the Twins’ primary first baseman until he was traded to the Yankees prior to the 1998 season. Fans were not pleased with the way Knoblauch left town and he was reviled for a time (and perhaps still is). He spent 7 seasons in Minnesota. Chuck retired after the 2002 season with the Royals.

Knoblauch won a World Series with the Twins in 1991. It should be mentioned that there is a PED cloud over his head. He claims he only used them in the last few years of his career (not with Minnesota)

With the Twins, he was exceptional with the glove, a great hitter and a speed demon. His defensive run above average mark of 67.5 is tops among among qualifying Twins second basemen. He maintained a .807 OPS, stole 207 bases and posted a 37.9 bWAR in 4573 plate appearances with Minnesota.

Dozier was drafted by the Twins in 2009 and made his debut in 2012. His rookie year he played short stop but moved to second in 2013 and has stayed there since. He’s spent 4 seasons with the Twins so far. He figures to be a cornerstone of the Twins for at least a few more years to come.

Dozier is highly effective on both sides of the ball. He’s got power and runs the bases well. His best season so far came in 2014 when he had a .762 OPS and put up a 5.2 bWAR mark. He’s hit the most home runs of any qualifying second baseman in Twins history and has a .726 lifetime OPS. He posted a 2.7 dWAR and 11.9 bWAR in 2374 plate appearances so far.

Who was the greater Twins second baseman? Have your say:

Feel free to leave your reasoning in the comments. Check back here for the rest of the match ups and to see who moves on.

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