MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 19: Hall of fame player Rod Carew hugs Micheal Cuddyer as he is inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 19, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 19: Hall of fame player Rod Careew hugs Michael Cuddyer as he is inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 19, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
The Minnesota Twins placed two into the team’s Hall of Fame
Two former Minnesota Twins organizational members were inducted into the team’s hall of fame on Saturday night as Andy MacPhail and Michael Cuddyer were inducted in a ceremony before the Saturday game.
The ceremony being over, the question comes who is next? Who is the next player to be inducted? Who is the next executive/manager? Let’s take a look at six candidates…
Tom Kelly is clearly the top manager that has ever held the position for the Minnesota Twins organization. However, even taking the organization all the way back to its roots as the Washington Senators, only two managers ever eclipsed 1,000 victories.
Kelly is the leader with 1,140 wins, but even a 90-loss season added to his career tenure would have allowed Gardenhire to tie Kelly in career wins, and he still would have been over .500 for his career record with the Twins. Gardenhire has 6 playoff appearances in his tenure, and while he didn’t earn a World Series championship as Kelly did, he certainly had tremendous success with the Twins.
Gardenhire is working in another organization now, but in his role with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he was able to participate in the ceremonies on Saturday night. Soon, he could be invited back for his own ceremony.
Dick Bremer
While he’s still active, and thus far, the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame hasn’t inducted anyone still active with the organization, there really isn’t a better person to be the first one to break that line in the organization.
Bremer has been the radio voice of the Twins for nearly 35 years at this point, and he’s become nearly as recognizable to Twins fans of a modern generation as Herb Carneal was for so many Twins fans of a previous generation. Bremer has worked with many different partners over his career, but his most well-known partner has been Bert Blyleven as the voice of the Twins for the local television coverage.
Bremer is frequently the emcee for the Hall of Fame ceremonies. It would be certainly fitting if he were on the receiving end of one of them.
Johan Alexander Santana was originally signed by the Houston Astros out of Venezuela in July of 1995. He made his pro debut in the Gulf Coast League and got in one start with the New York-Penn League by the end of the 1997. Santana opened 1998 in the NYPL before moving up to the Midwest League. Repeating the Midwest League in 1999, Santana posted a 4.66 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 160 1/3 innings.
Santana was selected in the rule 5 draft after the 1999 season by the Marlins. He was then immediately traded along with cash to the Twins for minor leaguer Jared Camp.
The Twins used Santana sparingly in 2000, as he made 30 appearances, 5 of them starts, throwing 86 innings with a 54/64 BB/K ratio and a 6.49 ERA. He worked through injury in 2001 and then opened 2002 with AAA Edmonton, working as a starter, getting a call up by Memorial Day. He initially worked out of the bullpen, but he finished the season out of the rotation as one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League with 108 1/3 innings on a 2.99 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, with a 49/137 BB/K ratio.
Santana returned to the “split” role in 2003, throwing in 45 games, 18 of them starts, throwing 158 1/3 innings, with a 3.07 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 47/169 BB/K. He closed out the season from August 1st through the end of the year with 11 starts, going 8-0 in those starts, with a 2.51 ERA and striking out 70 as the Twins steamrolled to a division title. He even received enough votes to finish 7th in the Cy Young award voting.
Santana moved into the rotation for good in 2004, and he began one of the most dominant four-year stretches for a starting pitcher in recent memory. From 2004-2007, Santana averaged 18 wins per season with a 2.89 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and averaged 228 innings and 246 strikeouts per season as he won the 2004 and 2006 Cy Young awards (and should have won the 2005 award). He was selected to three All-Star games in that time.
With funds tight and free agency impending, the Minnesota Twins traded away Santana after the 2008 season to the New York Mets where he signed a lucrative contract but found himself injured much of that contract, leaving him short of the game’s all-time greats, in spite of his amazing run to open his career.
In spite of leaving to finish his career, Santana had one of the most amazing runs of pitching one has ever seen in a Minnesota Twins uniform. He deserves his place in the team’s place of honor.
Nathan was drafted with a very different career in mind than what transpired. A shortstop with a cannon arm and the frame to project future power, Nathan was the 6th round selection of the San Francisco Giants in 1995. He moved to the mound in 1997, and he moved up the system quickly as a starter with a blazing fastball and devastating slider. However, after reaching the majors as a starter in 2000, he struggled in the role and was converted to relief in 2003, winning a dozen games as a middle reliever for the 100-win Giants.
With Joe Mauer ready for the major leagues, the Minnesota Twins made a deal with the Giants in November of 2003 that sent starting catcher A.J. Pierzynski to San Francisco in exchange for Nathan and two pitching prospects, Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano, both of whom would become starters for the Twins in the future.
Nathan made an impact on the Twins immediately, making the first of his four All-Star teams as a Twin in 2004, taking over the role of closer and saving 44 games with an impressive 1.62 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 72 1/3 innings with a 23/89 BB/K ratio. He missed all of the 2010 and a large chunk of the 2011 season after Tommy John surgery, but in his time with the Twins, Nathan was nothing short of dominant, with a 2.16 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, saving 260 games, and averaging 66 innings and 80 strikeouts per season.
At age 37, the Twins elected to allow Nathan to leave as a free agent after the 2011 season. He revitalized his career with two more dominant seasons with the Texas Rangers, but after that struggled with the Detroit Tigers and a few other teams that have picked him up for auditions since.
While Nathan technically has not officially retired, he is currently unemployed by a major league team after being released by the Washington Nationals at the end of May this season. He would be an excellent choice, active or not, to honor with a spot in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.
An ugly incident in 2001 has really shaded the memory of what Chuck Knoblauch was for the Minnesota Twins while he was part of the team. He did request a trade from the team when the team was headed into the doldrums right in the peak of Knoblauch’s career, though that is not exclusive to Knoblauch, and many other players who did similar have been called back to the stadium, beloved by fans. Some of the parting shots Knoblauch reportedly had regarding the upper management have been refuted by Knoblauch and upper management.
Knoblauch was the Twins’ first round draft pick in 1989 out of Texas A&M. He moved quickly through the Twins system, and his spark plug role in the leadoff spot for the 1991 Minnesota Twins was key to the team’s turn around and victory in the World Series as he won the Rookie of the Year award.
Knoblauch was blessed with incredible contact skills and speed, but he developed his power to the point where he was on pace to challenge the doubles record when the 1994 season was cancelled due to strike. In his final three seasons before he was traded to the Yankees, Knoblauch hit .321/.420/.470 with an average of 32 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs, and 51 stolen bases.
He certainly struggled upon his time with the Yankees and his off-field life since his career ended has not been the best, but Knoblauch is by far the best player by bWAR that is not currently already in the Hall of Fame. His trade also led to the team’s re-emergence in the early 2000s as the team acquired Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, and Brian Buchanan in the trade, all of whom had significant roles for those teams.
Tovar was signed by the Reds, but he had not broken through to the major leagues before he was traded to the Twins before the 1965 season, and he worked his way to making his major league debut that season as the Twins worked their way toward the 1965 World Series.
Tovar took over as a starter with the Twins in 1966, but he was frequently starting at multiple positions. In 1966, he played 20+ games at 2B, SS, and OF. This would be typical for Tovar defensively until he spent the majority of 1970-1972 in the outfield. Offensively, Tovar was an important cog in the Twins lineup, providing speed and contact ability. His best offensive season was 1970, when he hit .300/.356/.442 with 120 runs, 36 doubles, 13 triples, 10 home runs, and 30 stolen bases. The doubles and triples totals led the league.
Tovar was also part of one of the most memorable moments in Minnesota Twins history when he played all 9 positions on September 22nd, 1968.
From Killebrew to Carew to Hrbek, the Twins have seen impressive players hold down the first base position, so when fan favorite Doug Mientkiewicz was traded to make way for Morneau, fans knew there was a special player on the way.
Morneau certainly didn’t disappoint, making four All-Star teams and winning the 2006 MVP as a member of the Twins. From 2006-2010, Morneau hit .298/.372/.528, averaging 27 home runs and 105 RBI. However, in 2010, Morneau had a nasty collision on the basepaths, causing a concussion that he was never the same from during his time with the Twins. He was hitting .345/.437/.618 over 81 games at the time of his injury, really having his finest season of his career.
On top of all of that, he had one of the greatest commercials ever in the video above with Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer as the Twins prepared to move into Target Field.
A positive story of Minnesota Twins development, Koskie was drafted in teh 26th round of the 1994 draft out of college. He moved up one level at a time through the Twins minor league system, improving his walk rate at every stop up to AA and showing improved power at every step.
Koskie shared the third base position with Ron Coomer in 1999 before taking over the position all to himself in 2000. In 2001, Koskie had one of the finest seasons of a third baseman in Twins history, hitting .276/.362/.488 with 37 doubles, 26 home runs, 27 stolen bases, 100 runs, and 103 RBI. Koskie’s hard play led to injury issues that began to plague his career, leading to just 118 games in 2004, though he hit 25 home runs in that shortened season.
With injury issues showing up and already 31, the Twins allowed Koskie to leave in free agency. Koskie totaled only 173 more games in his career before retiring after the 2006 season.
Koskie was one of the best ambassadors for the team while part of the Twins, and it’d certainly be fitting to reward that with a spot among the Twins Hall of Famers.
