Minnesota Twins: Best Player In Each Decade Since 1961
The MinnesotaTwins have had some great ballplayers wear their uniform the past six decades. Here are the best from each of those decades.
The Minnesota Twins have had some great players come through their organization. All Stars and Hall of Famers have put on the Twins uniform and have built a legacy of greatness in the Twin Cities.
From their days at Metropolitan Stadium to their loud times at the Metrodome, all the way to their current home at Target Field, the Twins have played almost six decades in Major League Baseball. In those years, the Twins have had seven Hall of Famers put on their uniform. Four of them are depicted wearing a Twins hat on their plaque.
With each decade, there seems to be a new star that stands out for the Twins above all others during that time. Each decade seemed to be a different era altogether. The 1960s were the start of the franchise and first sniff of success. The 1970s were a time where the Twins couldn’t seem to make the playoffs, although they were close.
That changed in the 1980s, when the Twins won their first World Series in franchise history. In the 1990s, they started out with a bang but struggled the rest of the way. The first decade of the new millennium brought a contender almost every year. The current decade has been an era of discovering identity.
No matter what decade, one player has stood out and led the team. Here are the best Twins players from each decade since the team was brought to Minnesota in 1961.
1961-1969: Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Killebrew was the best Minnesota Twins player in the first decade of existence, by far. In fact, he is arguably the best Twin of all time. He is the career leader in a lot of offensive categories for Minnesota and an icon that continues to live on.
During the decade, Killebrew made eight All Star teams, finished in the top 5 in MVP voting five times and won the award in 1969. He hit 362 of his home runs in the nine years he played for the Twins in the 1960s. If you count his year with the Washington Senators in 1960, before the franchise was moved to Minnesota, he had 393 dingers in ten years.
In the 1965 season, Killebrew helped the Twins win their first pennant and come within a few runs of winning the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Killebrew was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, becoming the first player to be enshrined as a member of the Minnesota Twins.
Killebrew was not only the best player on the Twins during the 1960s, he was one of the best in the league. He easily defined himself as the best Twins player of the decade, even with the presence of Tony Oliva and the best player Twins player of the 1970s on the squad.
1970-1979: Rod Carew
Rod Carew may have been the best Twins player in the 1960s had it not been for the incredible decade Killebrew had. Carew, however, made a big impression on Twins franchise history in the 1970s.
During that decade, he played nine seasons for the Twins (he played 1979 with the Angels). In those nine seasons, he made nine All Star teams, won six batting titles and was named the AL Most Valuable Player in 1977.
He hit .388 during his MVP season, one of five seasons he hit over .350 in the decade. The lowest batting average he had during the 1970s was .307, an average any good big leaguer would be proud of. He is the Twins all-time leader in batting average and second in hits and stolen bases.
The Twins teams of Carew’s 1970s era were always close to the playoffs, finishing 3rd in their division many times and always hovering around .500. He was never a real home run threat, but is known as one of the best contact hitters in history. His .328 career average shows that.
Carew would be the second Minnesota Twins player to wear a Twins hat on his Hall of Fame plaque when he was inducted in 1991. He made it on the first ballot. Carew’s number 29 was the second number the Twins retired. Killebrew’s number three was the first.
After Carew left the Twins in 1979, it would be a few years before their next big star would come forward. He didn’t do too bad either, becoming arguably the best in Twins history during his time in parts of the next two decades.
1980-1989 and 1990-1999: Kirby Puckett
For a player to be the best player for two different decades, they must have made an impact and played at an incredibly high level. Kirby Puckett did both as a perennial All Star and Hall of Famer, as well as being a fan favorite with Twins fans to this day.
Puckett played on teams with some very good players. Kent Hrbek, Chuck Knoblauch and Gary Gaetti all played during Puckett’s time with the Twins. None of them came close to the production or praise Puckett had.
Puckett played his entire 12 year career with the Twins, making ten All Star teams, finishing top five in the MVP race three times, winning a batting title in 1989 and collecting six gold gloves. He had a hand in the two most magical seasons in franchise history, winning the World Series in both 1987 and 1991.
His heroics in 1991 will forever be remembered not just by Twins fans, but baseball fans everywhere. In what is considered to be the greatest World Series of all time, Puckett forced it to game seven. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Puckett hit a walk off home run. The Twins would win game seven 1-0 in ten innings.
Puckett’s career would come to a premature end due to glaucoma which struck him in the spring of 1996. Although his career was cut short, he still finished with a .318 career average and 2,304 hits. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility.
Puckett was a Twins icon, and no player has come close to his impact on the field in a Twins uniform since. Although that is true, the next decade brought on a pretty dominant star.
2000-2009: Johan Santana
There were some good pitchers in the early part of the decade, but in the middle, the Twins had arguably the best. Johan Santana pitched eight seasons with the Twins, but the last four were what gave him this spot.
In that span, from 2004 to 2007, Santana won two Cy Young Awards, went to three All Star games and had a 70-32 record. His ERA was below three for three straight seasons in that span, as well. Nobody could touch him. He achieved the pitching triple crown in 2006 and led the American League in strikeouts in each season from 2004 to 2006.
During his time with the Twins, they made the playoffs four times, losing in the ALDS in three of the four appearances. Two of those playoff appearances came during his dominant stretch. The Twins never had winners year after year like they did when Santana was there.
Santana’s last season in Minnesota was in 2007, after which he was traded to the New York Mets. He made an All Star team there, but injuries caught up with him. He could have been one of the greatest had injuries not set him back.
There were plenty of amazing amazing Twins during this era. Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan and the next decade’s best player, but none were as dominant as Johan Santana. There may never be another one like him. The next player, however, has been a franchise guy for quite some time. Many still view him as such.
2010-Present: Joe Mauer
This decade has been one of the toughest in franchise history. The Twins made the playoffs in 2010, but have not been there since. One bright spot that has been shining throughout this time has been Joe Mauer.
Mauer is the hometown guy the fans all cheer for, except he has also been the star of the squad for years. Since the start of the decade, Mauer has been to three All Star games, won two silver sluggers and has batted over .300 three times.
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The Twins have not been great since coming to Target Field, with one playoff appearance since the move. Mauer is the link to the teams that had success. The teams with Hunter, Morneau, Nathan and Michael Cuddyer.
Although the Twins have not been great, Mauer has been a great leader and mentor to such young stars as Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton. He has had some good teammates in Cuddyer and Brian Dozier, but no one has come close to matching Mauer’s overall production this decade.
Mauer has been the undisputed face of the Twins for a very long time, much like Killebrew and Puckett but not quite as dominant. The kid from St. Paul turned Twins star catcher will forever be a part of Twins lore, and for good reason.
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Sano could possibly match Mauer’s production, but he may be a better candidate for the best player from 2020-2029 if he stays with the Twins and keeps producing. Hopefully, for the Twins, this decade closes well and the next one will be one the franchise will never forget.