No. 5: Minnesota Twins’ Corey Koskie
Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1998-2004 (7 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 816 G, 781 H, 101 HR, 66 SB, 437 RBI, 385 BB, .280 BA, 22.1 WAR, 4.9 dWAR, One Top-25 MVP Finish
Corey Koskie was never supposed to be the Minnesota Twins starting third baseman. A 26th Round Pick in 1994, Koskie slowly worked his way through the system to win the starting job and become a regular on the Twins teams of the early 2000s.
Koskie played in 816 games over his seven seasons with the Twins tearing the cover off the ball, totaling 781 hits, a .280 BA, and 101 homers. He also was an excellent run producer, knocking in 437 RBI and scoring 438 runs himself, with his best season coming in 2001. In that 2001 season, Koskie hit 26 home runs and had 103 RBI, helping the team win 85 games.
Koskie finished his Twins career with a 22.1 WAR, but was productive on defense too, earning a very solid 4.9 dWAR over his career. His most important contribution to the Twins was helping the Twins get back into contention. Koskie helped them reach the ALCS in 2002 while providing clutch moments like this:
Corey Koskie helped the Twins avoid contraction and was a large part of the team’s most successful runs of this century. He meant a lot to the team before his leaving in 2004 and still resides here today. Koskie is a very important part of team history and belongs in the five-spot on this list.