MLB Home Run Derby 2019: A history of the Minnesota Twins in the Home Run Derby

The MLB Home Run Derby goes down on Monday night and while the Minnesota Twins do not have any participants they have an extensive history in the event.

For many of you reading this, the MLB Home Run Derby has been a staple of All-Star weekend. Growing up, I remember sluggers such as Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa smashing home runs with reckless abandon in the event, but as a fan of the Minnesota Twins, there didn’t seem to be too much to get excited about locally.

The Twins’ best player was Kirby Puckett and while he would go on to have a Hall of Fame career, he would only hit 30+ home runs once (31 in 1986) and never take part in a Home Run Derby. Mix in the dearth of talent the team had between its 1991 World Series championship and the 2002 renaissance Twins and Minnesota didn’t have much representation in one of baseball’s biggest events.

Despite that lull, the Twins actually have a long history with the Home Run Derby. The event was established as an All-Star weekend staple when the game was hosted at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in 1985 and since then six Twins have taken their hacks during the event with Justin Morneau being the only Twin to participate in the event twice.

While the Twins will not have anyone participating in the event this year, it’s still fun to look back and see how the Twins fared over the years and who took home the derby crown.