Minnesota Twins: The Top 5 Catchers in Franchise History

As the Minnesota Twins coming up on their 120th season, we look back at the five best catchers in franchise history.

The Minnesota Twins are one of the oldest franchises in baseball, dating back to 1901, when they were the league bottom-dweller known as the Washington Senators. Since that time, the team has won three championships, six pennants, and eleven division titles.

It has also suffered through seven 100+ loss seasons, fourteen playoff defeats, and have lost over 1100 games to the New York Yankees. The team has had some really good seasons, and some really bad seasons. Throughout it all, there have been some excellent players who have carried the team.

These excellent players deserve some recognition , so Puckett’s Pond will be putting together a list of the top players at each position to get ready for the top 50 players of all time. In order to make it on this list, players need to have played over 400 games, been excellent on offense and defense, and played an important role for the team. We’ll be starting with catcher, so let’s get to it.

Honorable Mentions:

Patsy Gharrity

Years: 1916-1923, 1929-1930 (10 seasons)

Patsy Gharrity was one of the best catchers in the league during his time with the Washington Senators, catching 3,542 innings over his lengthy tenure with the team. Though he only played five games during his second tour with the team, he led the team in innings in the 1920s.

He also was easily one of the best offensive catchers the team had while playing in Washington. Gharrity’s career batting average of .262 was an exceptionally high mark for the time he was playing. He also batted in 249 runs over 676 games, another high mark for catchers while the team was still in Washington.

His WAR (Wins above Replacement) of 7.9 is ok, but not great, but his dWAR is where he stands out. 2.3 is not an elite number, but its way above average and deserves recognition. Patsy Gharrity may not make any lists of all-time greats, but he was solid for a long time for a struggling team.

A.J. Pierzynski

Years: 1998-2003 (6 seasons)

One of the most hated players in baseball for a while, especially by Minnesota Twins fans, Pierzynski started his career with the Minnesota Twins and was there when the team started to turn around in the early 2000’s. He was a key piece of the team that beat the Moneyball A’s in 2002, but was traded to the San Fransisco Giants after the 2003 season.

Pierzynski does not deserve as much hate as he gets, as in the 430 games he played with the Twins, he hit .301, had 193 RBIs, a 9.5 WAR, a 3.1 dWAR, and an all-star game in his short tenure. He was arguably one of the top catchers in the game, but was traded so a spot would be opened for some kid named Joe Mauer.

Pierzynski was saddened by the trade and still remained close with his Twins teammates afterwards, and the deal brought back Fransisco Liriano, Boof Bonser, and Joe Nathan, setting up the team for years to come, so maybe he deserves a break. Pierzynski did go ahead to sign with the Chicago White Sox and be a pain for years afterwards, so also, maybe not.

No. 5: Butch Wynegar

Years: 1976-1982 (7 Seasons)

Butch Wynegar burst onto the team in 1976, making the All-Star game in his first season with the Minnesota Twins. He hit .260 with 10 homers and 69 RBI, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting and even received an MVP vote. The next year, he continued to hit.

Wynegar’s 1977 numbers were actually even better than his rookie numbers. He hit .261 with 10 homers and 79 RBI, amounting to another really solid season. He was also named to his second All-Star team, and it appeared like the Twins had finally found a reliable catcher for the first time in ten years.

Butch’s production began to slip in 1978, as every single stat decreased, with his batting average dropping 22 points, and his runs, homers, and RBI all being cut in half. His batting average improved a lot in 1979, but his other stats didn’t improve.

A quarter of the way into the 1982 season, Wynegar was hitting .209 and had hit one home run in 24 games. The team decided that they would rather go with Tim Laudner and Dave Engle behind the plate so they traded Butch to the New York Yankees for what amounted to spare parts, ending his run with the team.

His final stat line with the Twins over 794 games included a .254 batting average, 325 RBI, a 15.3 WAR, and a 9.0 dWAR, showcasing his offensive and defensive skills, as well as how much better he was compared to the other catchers then. His 9.0 dWAR ranks him as the sixth best defensive player in team history.

Despite how his tenure ended with the Twins, very few catchers start as hot as Butch Wynegar did. He looked like he would be a franchise cornerstone, but couldn’t meet the high expectations. He makes the list because he made two all-star games and was one of the Twins’ best defensive catchers ever.

No. 4: Brian Harper

Years: 1988-1993 (6 Seasons)

Brian Harper is a player that few people would have expected for this list. Harper joined the team as a bit of an unknown, a backup catcher who many thought didn’t have a ton of talent. Harper broke this reputation as soon as he put on a Twins uniform, because he HIT.

Brian Harper hit .295, .325, .294, .311, .307, and .304 over his six seasons, earning him a career batting average of .306 with the team, good for 11th all-time. His 1989 batting average was good enough for seventh in the majors. He hit at a rate that no catcher for the Twins ever had.

His biggest contribution will be his 1991 season, where he hit .311 with 10 home runs, 69 RBI, and only 22 strikeouts. He played in 123 games and was a cornerstone for the team that took the AL Pennant and then the World Series title, where he helped earn the team its third championship through gritty plays like this:

Harper finished his Twins career in 1993 with excellent numbers: the .306 batting average, 346 RBIs, 15.4 WAR, and 2.3 dWAR. While his metric stats don’t look as good, he was the best catcher the team had since Earl Battey. He earned this spot through his great play, but he cemented the spot through clutch hitting and a World Series Ring.

No. 3: Muddy Ruel

Years: 1923-1930 (8 seasons)

Muddy Ruel took over for Patsy Gharrity in 1923, and Ruel’s impact was a big one. While Gharrity was a solid catcher, Ruel was a great one. Ruel produced a .290 average and 373 RBI over 903 games, to match with very good defense.

Ruel hit through his entire career with the Senators. He is third all time in RBIs, fourth in batting average, and third in hits. Ruel also is on many top 50 lists for all Twins players. He’s 24th in average, ninth in on-base percentage, 43rd in hits and games played, and 45th in RBIs. But that doesn’t come close to telling the story.

Ruel’s calling card was his defense. He earned a 7.1 dWAR, a fantastic number that puts him as the second best defensive catcher and eleventh best player in Minnesota Twins history. Ruel was the best defensive catcher in the game during his career, and is 27th all-time in assists and 17th all-time in double plays by a catcher.

Ruel finished his career with an 18.6 WAR, second highest among Twins catchers (32nd all-time), but his most important moment as a Senator came in 1924. Ruel scored the game-tying run in the ninth inning of Game 7 in the 1924 World Series, sending the game to extra innings.

Three innings later, Ruel doubled after the New York Giants’ catcher misplayed a routine pop-up. He proceeded to score two batters later, giving the Senators one of the largest upset wins in World Series history, and the club’s first championship. That game is one of the most famous final games in sports history, giving Ruel a special spot in franchise history.

No. 1: Joe Mauer

Seasons: 2004-2018 (15 Seasons)

Who else could it possibly be? Joe Mauer is one of the most iconic Minnesota Twins players of all time, defining the franchise for 15 years. The only question was which list to put him on, catcher or first base? Mauer had his best seasons at catcher, and played over 2,700 more innings at the position.

Joe Mauer ranks at or near the top of every single list for the Twins. He is in the top 6 in: WAR, OBP, games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles, walks, runs created and so many more. That doesn’t even include the stats where he ranks in the top 25. Mauer was a star in the league for a long time.

He is best known for his offense, winning three batting titles, and four Silver Sluggers, hitting over .300 eight times, knocking in 923 RBI, and hitting 143 home runs. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times (he finished 19th one year as well), winning the award in 2009. He consistently lead the team in hits and is ranked 222nd all-time in hits in Major League history, with 2,123.

His defense was underrated as well, as Joe finished with three Gold Glove Awards and 5,381 putouts at the catcher position alone. If you add his numbers from first, his total climbs to 10,707. His dWAR of 2.9 may not seem like a super number, but it is really strong and his .995 fielding percentage is excellent. Twins fans often like to make an argument that he was overpaid in his contract, but as Fangraphs points out, he definitely wasn’t (via @tlschwerz).

Joe Mauer is one of the top 5 players in franchise history, and easily the best catcher the team has ever seen. His number was retired in 2019, and he should enter the Twins’ Hall of Fame shortly. The only question left for Mauer is whether he is Cooperstown-worthy, and if they consider his excellence at his main position, he is all but a lock.