Minnesota Twins: The Top 5 Third Basemen in Franchise History
As the Minnesota Twins coming up on their 120th season, we look back at the five best third basemen 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 continue to move in positional order, moving onto third base. Third base, unlike second base and shortstop has been one of the Twins’ strongest positions in team history, with multiple contenders for the list, so we’ll get into it.
Honorable Mentions:
Minnesota Twins’ John Castino
Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1979-1984 (6 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 666 G, 646 H, 41 HR, 249 RBI, 177 BB, .278 BA, 15.2 WAR, 6.3 dWAR, 1979 Rookie of the Year
John Castino manned the hot corner for the Minnesota Twins over a six-year period where the team didn’t win more than 81 wins in a season. He was a relative bright spot over this period, earning the 1979 Rookie of the year award and averaging 111 games per season.
Castino was solid on offense hitting .278 and knocking in 249 RBI over his time in Minnesota. He also was a pretty reliable defender, posting a 6.3 dWAR and only having one year with more than fifteen errors. His best season, 1980, saw him hit .302 and hit 13 homers with 64 RBI.
Castino’s career was cut short because of chronic back pain in 1984, but he was undoubtably talented. He had the potential to be one of the best Twins of all time, and his reliable bat earns him an honorable mention.
Washington Senators’ Eddie “Kid” Foster
Years with the Washington Senators: 1912-1919 (8 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 1121 G, 1177 H, 6 HR, 355 RBI, 166 SB, 385 BB, .266 BA, 20.7 WAR, 4.3 dWAR, Two Top-25 MVP Finishes
Eddie Foster, known as Kid, was one of the top players on a very bad Senators team from 1912 until 1919. Foster played solid defense, producing a dWAR of 4.3 over his career with the team and finishing in the Top-25 of MVP voting twice.
Foster never hit for power, finishing his career with only six home runs, but he did steal 166 stolen bases (tenth in team history) and managed a .266 batting average and building a 20.7 WAR over his twelve seasons.
Foster led the American League in at-bats four times and was a fixture on top of the Washington order. He also knocked in 355 RBI as well, attempting to help the team win games. Unfortunately, his teams never finished closer than six games out of first, keeping him outside of the top 5.
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.
No. 4: Washington Senators’ Eddie Yost
Years with the Washington Senators: 1944, 1946-1958 (14 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 1690 G, 1521 H, 101 HR, 550 RBI, 58 SB, 1274 BB, .253 BA, 27.1 WAR, 36.5 oWAR, -9.2 dWAR, Three Top-25 MVP Finishes, One time All-Star
Eddie Yost was one the best offensive third basemen in team history, finishing his fourteen seasons with an offensive war (oWAR) of 36.5. His teams never finished with more than 76 wins, but his play was excellent.
Yost was one of the few players on the team that pulled their weight on offense, hitting 101 homers, batting in 550 RBI, and walking 1,274 walks, second most in team history and eleventh all-time, earning him the nickname “The Walking Man”.
Yost was far from a defensive marvel however, ending his Senators career with a -9.2 dWAR. One particularly bad stretch saw him commit 70 errors over three years. This stretch didn’t prevent him from winning awards, as Yost finished in the Top-25 of MVP voting twice over that time, and three times overall.
Yost only made one All-Star game over his time with the Senators, but he played hard and was an offensive leader for a struggling team. Yost’s nickname alone helps him land in the top 5 on this list, but his stats more than back him up.
No. 3: Washington Senators’ Ossie Bluege
Years with the Washington Senators: 1922-1939 (18 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 1867 G, 1751 H, 43 HR, 848 RBI, 140 SB, 723 BB, .272 BA, 27.7 WAR, 12.4 dWAR, Two Top-25 MVP Finishes, One time All-Star, 1924, 1925, 1933 American League Pennants, 1924 World Series Champion
One of the longest-tenured players in franchise history, Ossie Bluege played 1,867 games with the franchise, never playing for another team. Bluege sits at fifth in games played on the team’s all-time list, and eighth in at-bats.
Bluege was a very solid offensive player, knocking in 848 RBI and earning 1,751 hits (both eleventh in team history) over his eighteen seasons. Bluege was consistent, hitting for a .272 average and building a 27.7 WAR. He also was fast, stealing 140 SB, good for twelfth in team history.
He used that speed on defense as well. Bluege was one of the best on the team, earning a rating of 12.4 dWAR, tied with Greg Gagne for second best all-time. He made playing the hot corner look easy and led AL third basemen in double plays three times.
His biggest contribution was to the team’s success, as he helped the team win three AL pennants and the 1924 World Series. After he retired, he remained with the team as a manager, then a scout, with his most successful find being a young man named Harmon Killebrew (more on him later).
Bluege was the definition of a Twin for life. After playing with the Senators his entire career, he stayed with the organization as a manager until 1947, then was a scout until 1958, then became the team’s comptroller until his retirement in 1971, staying with the franchise once they became the Minnesota Twins. He meant more to this franchise than a lot of people realize, and is easily one of the best third basemen of all-time.
No. 2: Minnesota Twins’ Gary Gaetti
Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1981-1990) 10 Seasons
Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 1361 G, 1276 H, 201 HR, 74 SB, 758 RBI, 358 BB, .256 BA, 27.2 WAR, 11.3 dWAR, Three Top-25 MVP Finishes, Two time All-Star, Four Gold Gloves, 1987 World Series Champion, 1987 ALCS MVP
Gary Gaetti is one of the Minnesota Twins’ most famous names, helping carry the franchise to its first World Series in 63 years. Gaetti finished in the Top-25 of MVP voting three times while playing in Minnesota and was a key piece for the franchise, finishing with a WAR of 27.2.
Gaetti was never a good contact hitter, only managing a .256 batting average over ten seasons with the Twins, but he was a power hitter. Gaetti mashed 201 home runs, averaging twenty per season, good for eighth in team history. He knocked in 758 RBI and still managed to steal 74 bases.
He also played excellent defense, winning four Gold Gloves, more than any other Twins infielder. He racked up an 11.3 dWAR rating, fifth best in team history. He made several incredible plays over his time with the team, but his most important contribution was in the playoffs.
Gaetti was a playoff star, winning the 1987 ALCS MVP award and helping bring a title to Minnesota, the first one in the state’s history. He made several key plays on the title run and contributed two home runs and six RBI. Without Gaetti, the Twins likely don’t win that 1987 title, helping make him the second best third baseman in franchise history.
No. 1: Minnesota Twins’ Harmon “Killer” Killebrew
Years with the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins: 1954-1974 (21 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins: 2329 G, 2024 H, 559 HR, 1540 RBI, 1505 BB, .258 BA, 60.5 WAR, 71.4 oWAR, -17.6 dWAR, 13 Time All-Star, 9 Top-25 MVP Finishes, 1965 AL-Pennant, 1969 MVP, Hall of Fame
One of the top three hitters in Twins history and one of the best power hitters of all-time, Harmon Killebrew was one of the most electric players in franchise history. Over 21 seasons and 2,329 games, both franchise records, Killebrew led the team through transition periods, losing seasons, and an AL Pennant winning season.
Similar to Gaetti, Killebrew didn’t hit for contact, only posting an average of .256, but he hit the ball hard. Killebrew hit 559 home runs over his twenty-one seasons, most in team history (he’s over 250 HR ahead of the next player) and twelfth all-time.
His marks for 1,540 RBI, 1,505 walks, and 4,026 total bases all rank first in team history. He’s also second in runs scored (1258) and WAR (60.5), while ranking first in extra base hits (860), slugging percentage (.514), and OPS (.892). Unsurprisingly, he is a Thirteen Time All-Star and has finished in the Top-25 of MVP voting NINE times, winning the award in 1969.
Killebrew’s only negative was his defense, as he posted a -17.6 dWAR, worst in team history. That stat does tend to be unforgiving of first basemen, where Killebrew played 969 games, but it isn’t a great number either way.
Regardless, Harmon Killebrew, one of a few Minnesota Twins players in the Hall of Fame, was a star for a team that desperately needed one. Killebrew pounded the baseball and helped inspire support for baseball in Minnesota, making him an easy choice for the top third baseman of all-time
Check out the other Minnesota Twins Top 5 Position Lists:
Minnesota Twins: The Top 5 Shortstops in Franchise History. dark. Next