Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame: Looking at who deserves a vote

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 16: Former Minnesota Twins player Torii Hunter speaks as he is inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians of the game on July 16, 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 16: Former Minnesota Twins player Torii Hunter speaks as he is inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians of the game on July 16, 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Twins
CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 31: Joe Nathan #36 of the Minnesota Twins pitches in the 9th inning against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field on August 31, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Twins defeated the White Sox 7-6. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Joe Nathan

Years spent in a Twins uniform 2004-2011 (7 years)

Career stats 24-13 2.16 ERA 260 Saves 463 innings

All Star 2004 2005 2008 2009

War 18.4

Is he deserving of a vote?

Yes one of the best relievers in Twins history, Nathan was one of the best closers in baseball for several years. With a very low ERA and 4 All Star selections he is very much deserving of selection.

Jeff Reardon

Years spent in a Twins uniform 1987-1989 (3 years)

Career stats 15-16 3.70 ERA 104 Saves 226 Innings

War 4.2

Is he deserving of a vote?

No. Decent few years but only 3 seasons in Twins uniform and numbers aren’t anywhere close to Joe Nathan.

Roy Smalley

Years spent in a Twins uniform 1976-1982 and 1985-1987 (10 years)

Career Stats 1148 games .262 average 110 Homeruns 485 RBI

War 20.9

Is he deserving of a vote?

Has good numbers but there are other players with similar stats that did it in fewer seasons.

Cesar Tovar

Years spent in a Twins uniform 1965-1972 (8 Years)

Career stats 1090 games .281 average 38 Homeruns 319 RBI

War 25.9

Is he deserving of a vote?

Absolutely when discussing top Twins shortstops Tovar nearly tops the list. It is rather surprising he hasn’t been elected yet even with the lower statistics his WAR says all you need to know about what type of player Tovar was.

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Al Worthington

Years spent in a Twins uniform 1964-1969 (6 years)

Career stats 37-31 2.62 ERA 473 innings

War 10.1

Is he deserving of a vote?

Also on the edge of selection but his War isn’t high enough and while ERA is great other numbers aren’t stellar.

Ranking of players eligible for Hall of Fame vote

Players who I would vote for:

1 Cesar Tovar

2 Joe Nathan

3 Dave Goltz

4 Tom Brunansky

Next in line:

5 Corey Koskie

6 Shane Mack

7 Dean Chance

8 Jacque Jones

9 Al Worthington

10 Roy Smalley

11 Brian Harper

12 Dave Boswell

13 Dan Gladden

14 Mudcat Grant

15 Cristian Guzman

16 Jeff Reardon

Next. 4 potential trade fits for Max Kepler. dark

What does your Twins Hall of Fame ballot look like? Is your criteria different than ours here? Let us know who you are voting for in the comments!