Minnesota Twins: Hall of Fame voting results for every ex-Twin
The Hall of Fame announced voting results on Wednesday. How did former Minnesota Twins players do?
The Minnesota Twins had four players on the Hall of Fame ballot this year. We will look at how each did, and we will also look at former Twins who are eligible for the 2019 ballot.
Jim Thome
With over 600 career home runs and a career OPS of .956, Thome was a near lock in his first year on the ballot to get in. It was simply a matter of by what margin he would make it. Finishing 3rd on the ballot was still an extremely comfortable percentage, as Thome received 379 votes, 62 more than were needed for election. He received 89.8% support on balloting.
With the Twins, Thome spent just a year and another part of a season in 2010 and 2011, totaling 179 games, but in those games, he hit .266/.387/.562 with 37 home runs and 99 RBI.
Johan Santana
In one of the more disappointing results of the voting, former Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana fell off the ballot in his first season of his eligibility. Santana received 10 votes, less than half of the 21 that he needed to get the 5% minimum to remain on the ballot for another season, earning just 2.4%.
Certainly the most decorated pitcher in Twins history, Santana brought home 2 Cy Young Awards, a pitching triple crown, a Gold Glove, and 3 All-Star selections during his time with the Twins.
Over 8 seasons, Johan posted a 93-44 record with a 3.22 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 1,308 2/3 innings, achieving a 6.9% walk rate and a 26.2% strikeout rate. He will be inducted to the Twins team Hall of Fame in summer 2018.
Livan Hernandez
Hernandez earned just one vote from the BBWAA voters, which equated to 0.2% of the ballot. He was only with the Twins for part of one season, going 10-8 with a 5.48 ERA over 139 2/3 innings, but Hernandez was able to have a long and distinguished career in the major leagues.
He posted 14 straight seasons from 1998-2011 with at least 175 innings, and in the midst of that, he had 7 straight seasons of at least 215 innings, leading his league 3 straight years along the way. Livan finished with 178 wins over 17 seasons in the big leagues.
Orlando Hudson
“O-Dag” received no votes on the ballot this year, sadly, meaning he will fall off of future ballots as well. Hudson played just one season in the Twins uniform, 2010, when he hit .268/.338/.372 with 6 home runs and 10 stolen bases, offering up excellent defense along the way.
Over his 11-year career, Hudson totaled a .273/.341/.412 line with 93 home runs and 85 stolen bases, winning 4 Gold Gloves and making 2 All-Star games.
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Brian Fuentes
Fuentes was eligible for the ballot, but he did not receive a single vote. He did not show up on the voting results due to one of the less-known parts of the Hall of Fame ballot rules that a player has to reach.
Most fans generally know eligibility requirements are 10 seasons played and 5 years retired as player, but also two of the six members of the BBWAA Hall of Fame Screening Committee must nominate the player for the ballot. Fuentes did not receive nomination for the final ballot.
Fuentes was only with the Twins down the stretch of the 2010 season, but his performance in that stretch was elite, as he appeared in 9 games, throwing 9 2/3 innings without allowing a run, posting a 2/8 BB/K.
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Future ballots:
The Minnesota Twins don’t actually have a former player eligible on the entire 2019 ballot. In 2020, former shortstop Jason Bartlett is eligible, but he may fall into the same situation that Fuentes faced on this ballot.