Minnesota Twins: 5 best outfields in team history
The 2017 Minnesota Twins had a very good outfield as the team found playoff baseball again. How does that group rank all-time with other Twins outfields?
The Minnesota Twins have built a history that is filled with plenty of success, headlined by World Series victories in 1987 and 1991. Of course, there are plenty of seasons we would like to forget as well. Here is the start of a series that will look at something that should be fun to remember. It will examine some of the best position groups through Twins history. The first position group up in the series is the outfield.
This ends up being an especially exciting adventure with the Twins 2017 instalment of the outfield receiving a lot of credit for the Twins playoff success. It is a group if it stays together could very well find themselves on a similar list to this one in the future.
The group was led by Byron Buxton and his defense in center field. Buxton ended the season at the top of the league in terms of defensive WAR among outfielders. He also found himself second among all position players, only behind Los Angeles shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Offensively, Buxton ended the season with a slash line of .253/.314/.413, 16 home runs, and 29 stolen bases bringing his season WAR to 5.1. The hope is that Buxton has truly found his groove at the plate and will be able to replicate his second half line of .300/.347/.546 which would look very good over a full season.
To Buxton’s right was Eddie Rosario who had a breakout season of his own. Coming into 2017, Rosario was known as a free-swinging, undisciplined hitter. Some adjustments were made and Rosario went on to hit .290/.328/.507 with 27 home runs. Questions surround whether or not Rosario can sustain that type of production, but he sure looked good doing it in 2017 finishing with a 1.7 WAR.
The regular right fielder was Max Kepler. Kepler had a bit of a rough season in comparison to what we expected from him in 2017 as the lefty looked poised for some major growth in his game. Instead, he struggled at the plate against left-handed hurlers making it easier for opposing teams to neutralize his bat, especially late in games. Toward the end of 2017, Kepler seemed to be figuring those lefty-lefty matchups out and finished the season with a slash line of .243/.312/.425, 19 home runs, and a 2.1 WAR.
Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler have provided fans with a young, talented outfield to cheer for and an outfield unit, if it stays together, that could produce some brilliant things. As you can already see, WAR has been referenced several times and that will be one of the major measures used in determining the best outfields in Twins history for the purposes of this list. It will not be the only measure as some other factors will come into play as well. Without any other delay let’s start looking at the top 5 outfields in Twins history.
No. 5- 2012 Twins Outfield
Ben Revere, Josh Willingham, and Denard Span
The 2012 Minnesota Twins by no means had a successful season finishing last in the AL Central with a record of 66-96. A lot of that is chalked up to a starting pitching staff that was not very good and had Scott Diamond lead the team in innings pitched 173 innings with the next closest pitcher logging 100 innings. The outfield did turn in a good season with a total WAR of 10.8.
Denard Span anchored the outfield defense for the Twins in center field. He had a 5.0 WAR and batted .283/.342/.395 and 38 doubles. Span had one of his best seasons as a defensive player with a dWAR of 2.4. I personally have always thought Span also brought great value to teams as a patient leadoff hitter.
After Michael Cuddyer was allowed to leave the Twins, Josh Willingham was signed to fill his spot as the right-handed power bat in the lineup. The Twins signed Willingham to the richest contract the Twins had given to a free agent at the time. Willingham went on to slash .260/.366/.534 and logged 30 doubles, 35 home runs, and 110 RBIs which led to Willingham winning a Silver Slugger award.
Ben Revere rounded out the trio of outfielders in 2012 as he hit .294/.333/.342 while stealing 40 bases. Revere in the 2012 season also turned in his best defensive season according to his defensive WAR of 0.5. Revere was always an interesting player as he had speed and the ability to catch just about anything while often hitting for a good average, but Revere had questionable arm strength and nothing in the way of power at the plate.
No. 3 — 2002 Twins Outfield
Bobby Kielty, Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, and Dustan Mohr
After 2001 when the Twins saw competitive baseball again after years of cellar dwelling, 2002 saw that continue as the Twins went 94-67 to take first place in the American League Central. The Twins went on to win their American League Division Series matchup over the Oakland Athletics. In advancing to the American League Championship the Twins met the Anaheim Angels but lost the series 3-1 as a part of Francisco Rodriguez‘s breakout party.
Torii Hunter is the name that jumps off the page out of this trio. Hunter batted .289/.334/.524 with 29 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 2002 for a 3.5 WAR. Those numbers helped Hunter earn his first All-Star appearance, a sixth-place finish in MVP voting, and earned his second of nine career Gold Gloves.
While Hunter had a solid season, he was outdone by left fielder Jacque Jones. In 2002, Jones had a career year as he hit .300/.341/.511 with 27 home runs and his career high 5.4 WAR. Along with his best offensive season, he also turned in his best season in the field according to his defensive WAR of 1.0.
Bobby Kielty played the role of utility outfielder for the 2002 Twins. As he rotated defensively, he remained solid at the plate as he batted .291/.405/.484 and added 12 home runs and 14 doubles to his stat line resulting in a 2.7 WAR. Kielty gained attention around the league and finished 4th in Rookie of the Year voting. Another rookie, Dustan Mohr, ended with a WAR above 2 at 2.2. His batting numbers of .269/325/.433 and 12 home runs also got him enough attention in Rookie of the Year voting to finish 8th.