Minnesota Twins: The Top 5 Left Fielders in Franchise History
By Otto Johnson
As the Minnesota Twins coming up on their 120th season, we look back at the five best left fielders 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, heading out to left field. The team has had several really good left fielders, but not every one could make the list, apologies to Eddie Rosario and Jason Kubel. With that being said, we’ll get into it.
Honorable Mentions
Washington Senators’ Roy Sievers
Years with the Washington Senators: 1954-1959 (6 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 856 G, 823 H, 480 R, 180 HR, 574 RBI, 8 SB, 435 BB, .267 BA, 14.6 WAR, -10.0 dWAR, Five Top-25 MVP Finishes, Three Time All-Star
Roy Sievers was one of the best power hitters in team history, blasting his way to 180 home runs over just six seasons in Washington. That number sets him at ninth in team history, and that was just over six years. He also knocked in 574 RBI over that same amount of time, averaging 95 RBI per season.
The only reason Sievers doesn’t make the list is because of his defense, an abysmal -10.0 dWAR, and his team didn’t win a lot during his time there. This list includes a lot of players who helped the team win big games and meant a lot to the team, but Sievers unfortunately doesn’t make the cut.
Minnesota Twins’ Jacque Jones
Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1999-2005 (7 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 976 G, 974 H, 492 R, 132 HR, 476 RBI, 67 SB, 231 BB, .279 BA, 11.9 WAR, -1.3 dWAR
It was really hard to not include Jacque Jones on this list as one of the Top 5 left fielders in team history, because he’s in the top five if the list just includes Minnesota Twins players. But, because the franchise started in Washington, Jones doesn’t make the cut.
Jones played a key role for the early 2000s team that was often threatened with contraction. Jones hit 132 home runs and 476 RBI in just seven seasons while playing decent defense. He provided stability for a team that needed it, but he wasn’t good enough to be in the Top 5.