Minnesota Twins: Top 5 All-Star seasons in a Twins uniform
The Minnesota Twins have a great history of All-Stars, but who put together the best half season to represent the Twins in the midsummer classic?
The Minnesota Twins All-Star experience came and went with only one player being selected for the All-Star game. Only one player being selected from a struggling team isn’t anything to be shocked about. It usually isn’t even anything to write about. As has been discussed at length now, while Jose Berrios was very deserving it was simply strange that Eddie Rosario was left at home watching.
Berrios is putting together a very good season as he has started 20 games for the Twins this season and holds a 3.68 ERA and 9.0 K/9 over 127.1 innings pitched. He also is tied for the major league lead with two complete games and one shutout. In most seasons there would be no question that he should be the Twins representative at the All-Star game.
Only issue is that this season has us experiencing the hurricane that has been Eddie Rosario. He has taken the league by storm with the energy to match that of Berrios. Rosario finished the unofficial first half batting .311/.353/.537 with 19 home runs and 24 doubles. He also finished with a 3.9 fWAR placing him in the top-10 among American League position players and fourth among outfielders.
That got me wondering which Twins All-Star participants put together the best resume to be an All-Star. Instead of looking at the best seasons by a Twins All-Star we will only be looking at some of the best first halves in Twins history from players who were All-Stars. Since really All-Stars are either judged based on their first half performances or merit from previous seasons.
No. 5 Johan Santana-2005
Johan Santana is one of the most beloved Twins pitchers and players of the last couple decades. Santana was a savior to the Twins rotation when it most desperately needed one. In a time when most of baseball was starting to make the shift to employing strikeout pitchers and the Twins were still employing “pitch to contact” strategies. Santana brought the firepower fans wanted and the team needed.
In 2005, Santana made his first of four All-Star appearances. In that first half, Santana’s record didn’t look too great at 7-5 but that certainly didn’t accurately tell his story. In 18 starts, he tossed 124.1 innings while recording a 3.98 ERA and 143 strikeouts for a 10.4 K/9 rate. Santana also had thrown two complete games, one of which was a shutout.
In the actual game, Santana came in to relieve Bartolo Colon and pitch the 4th inning. Santana would hold off the National League squad but did allow a double to Derek Lee and a walk to Jim Edmonds to start the inning. A ground ball double play from Aramis Ramirez and another ground out off the bat of Mike Piazza would help Santana to put a zero up on the scoreboard.
Santana would go on to finish 2005 as one of the best pitchers in the majors that year. He finished leading the league in strikeouts with 265 and the league’s best K/9 rate at 10.5. He would fall short of the Cy Young award by finishing third in the voting for the award for the leagues best pitcher after winning it the previous season.
No. 3 Bert Blyleven-1973
While the previously mentioned Johan Santana is probably the most successful pitcher of recent memory, we sometimes forget just how good Bert Blyleven was during his playing days. He is certainly now best known for his work as the color commentator for Twins television broadcasts which he at best gets mixed reviews at best for his work there. We are here today to give credit where it is due with how well he performed on the mound for the Twins.
1973 was a different era of baseball than today, but it still gives us a glimpse into just how good Blyleven was through his career as a starting pitcher. On his way to his first All-Star appearance, Blyleven started 24 games while going 12-9. In those starts, he held a 2.59 ERA and 151 strikeouts on his way to 14 complete games. Seven of those complete games were shutouts.
Unfortunately for Blyleven, the actual All-Star game was not good for him as he allowed two runs leading to him being credited with the loss in the eventual National League victory. If there was a positive to Blyleven’s line it was that he didn’t get absolutely crushed, just consistently nibbled away at. And with the final blow coming at the bat of Hank Aaron, that is understandable.
Blyleven finished his first All-Star season with a 2.53 ERA over 325.0 innings pitched. And while the era was different then, Blyleven did still finish with a 156 ERA+ proving his performance was good no matter the years in which it came. He did get some recognition at the end of the season as he finished seventh in Cy Young voting and 26th in Most Valuable Player Voting.
No. 2 Joe Mauer-2009
This first half by Joe Mauer in 2009 received serious consideration for the top spot on this list. In 2018, one sometimes forgets just how historically good Mauer was in his seasons behind the plate. If nothing else this list will provide us with a good reminder of Mauer’s dominance as a catcher.
In the first half of 2009 on his way to his third All-Star selection Mauer slashed an incredible .373/.447/.622 and had a 1.069 OPS. In Mauer’s outburst of power he also launched 15 home runs, 13 doubles, a triple and drove in 49 RBIs. Just so we don’t forget, he did all that while calling the game from behind the plate as a catcher.
Mauer got the start at catcher in the All-Star game and batted third behind Derek Jeter and in front of Mark Teixeira. Mauer went 1-for-3 with an RBI and scored a run on the evening. He didn’t find success in his first two at-bats while facing off against Tim Lincecum and then Ryan Franklin. It was finally in an at-bat against Chad Billingsley that Mauer connected for a double to left field and drove in Jeter.
Mauer finished the season leading the league in all categories found in a slash line with his reading, .365/.444/.587, as well as a league-leading OPS of 1.031. He also hit 28 home runs and 30 doubles with 96 RBIs on his way to a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and Most Valuable Player awards.