Minnesota Twins: The Top 5 Right Fielders in Franchise History

As the Minnesota Twins coming up on their 120th season, we look back at the five best right 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.

The last group of hitters on the list is right field. Right field is the ninth position on the field and the franchise has a long history of really solid right fielders (looking at you Randy Bush), so some were left off the list. With that being said, we’ll start with the honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

Minnesota Twins’ Jim Lemon

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1954-1963 (10 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 915 G, 855 H, 427 R, 159 HR, 509 RBI, 13 SB, 337 BB .265 BA, 7.8 WAR, -9.0 dWAR, Two Top-25 MVP Finishes, One Time All-Star

Jim Lemon barely beats out Randy Bush and former Washington Senator John Stone for the second honorable mention spot because he played ten seasons during an important transition point in franchise history when the team moved from Washington to Minnesota.

Lemon was an All-Star in 1960 when he hit .269 with 38 homers and 100 RBI on his way to racking up a career oWAR of 12.6 and 159 home runs (twelfth in team history). His defense wasn’t good, and the team was disappointing while he was playing there, which keeps him down on the list, but Lemon was solid enough to make the mentions.

Minnesota Twins’ Michael Cuddyer

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 2001-2011 (11 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 1139 G, 1106 H, 606 R, 141 HR, 580 RBI, 52 SB, 411 BB, .272 BA, 12.8 WAR, 20.0 oWAR, -10.1 dWAR, One Top-25 MVP Finish, One Time All-Star

Michael Cuddyer made a huge impact on the Twins’ organization since he was selected ninth overall in 1997. Cuddyer played 1,139 games over eleven seasons and was a fan favorite over his time in Minnesota, making one All-Star team and finishing in the Top-25 MVP voting once as well.

Cuddyer hit 141 home runs and scored 580 RBI with a .272 batting average. He helped the team win six division titles and provided excellent offense finishing with a 20.0 oWAR. His only negative was his porous defense, keeping him just outside of the top five.

No. 5: Washington Senators’ Buddy Lewis

Years with the Washington Senators: 1935-1941, 1945-1947, 1949 (11 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 1349 G, 1563 H, 830 R, 71 HR, 607 RBI, 83 SB, 573 BB, .297 BA, 28.3 WAR, -1.3 dWAR, Two Top-25 MVP Finishes, Two Time All-Star

Buddy Lewis was a star during his time with the Senators. Though he played the same number of seasons than Michael Cuddyer, Lewis outperformed him in every statistical category outside of home runs, helping him finish in the Top-25 of MVP voting twice.

Lewis finished his career with 1,563 hits, fourteenth in team history, and a .297 batting average that ranks nineteenth. He also finished fifteenth in runs with 830 of them. Lewis also amassed 71 homers, 607 RBI, 83 stolen bases, and 573 walks, all ranked in the Top-40 in franchise history.

Lewis was also a talented defender, finishing with a -1.3 dWAR, which is a really strong mark for a rightfielder. The mark helped him finish his career with a  28.3 WAR and make two All-Star teams over his time in Washington.

Buddy Lewis was a stellar player and a team leader who left the team from 1942-1944 to fight for his country during World War II. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his time in the military and returned in 1945.

Though the team never won more than 87 games, Lewis made the team watchable during some of their last years in Washington. He was one of the most valuable in team history and he deserves his spot on this list.

No. 3: Minnesota Twins’ Bob Allison

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1958-1970 (13 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 1541 G, 1281 H, 811 R, 256 HR, 796 RBI, 84 SB, 795 BB, .255 BA, 34.1 WAR, -5.3 dWAR, 1959 Rookie of the Year, Three Top-25 MVP Finishes, Three Time All-Star, 1965 AL Pennant

Bob Allison could have made the left field list as well, but he played 103 more games in right, earning him a spot on this list. Allison really broke out as the 1959 Rookie of the Year with the Senators, and that set up a thirteen year career as a core player for the Senators/Twins.

Allison was best known for his power hitting, mashing 256 homers with the franchise, third in team history. He provided a lot of scoring as well, knocking in 796 RBI and 811 runs, ranking twelfth and sixteenth respectively in team history.

He also earned 84 steals and 1,281 hits, ranking in the top forty in both categories. His .255 batting average wasn’t fantastic, but it didn’t stop him from being named to three All-Star teams and finishing in the Top-25 of MVP voting three times.

He was a good defender, but having to keep playing the outfield in his mid-thirties forced him to finish with a dWAR of -5.3. That negative number didn’t stop him from finishing with a 34.1 career WAR, the fourteenth best number in team history.

Allison helped the franchise get into the World Series for the first time since 1933 and the first time in Minnesota, and he was one of the most prominent players on the roster during the early years showing his importance to the franchise. His stats and that value land him in this number three spot.

No. 2: Washington Senators’ Sam Rice

Years with the Washington Senators: 1915-1933 (19 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 2307 G, 2889 H, 1466 R, 33 HR, 1044 RBI, 346 SB, 680 BB, .323 BA, 52.9 WAR, -3.5 dWAR, One Top-25 MVP Finish, 1924, 1925, 1933 AL Pennant, 1924 World Series Champion, Hall of Fame

Sam Rice is one of the top five players statistically in franchise history, with his name written all over the record books. One of the first players to go into the Hall of Fame as a Senator, Rice was one of the top three players for the best teams in the Washington era of franchise history.

Rice played for nineteen seasons, second in franchise history behind Harmon Killebrew, and made the most of it. Rice is the franchise leader in at-bats (8,394), runs scored (1,466), hits (2,889), singles (2,194), doubles (479), and triples (183).

He also ranks third in batting average (.323), second in stolen bases (346), and eleventh in walks (680). He never hit for a lot of power, finishing with only 33 home runs, but when you do everything else so well, you don’t really need home runs.

Rice was an above-average defender, recording 4,774 putouts, most in team history. His career dWAR of -3.5 is excellent for someone who played for nineteen seasons and was manning the outfield until they were forty-four. His WAR of 52.9 sits at fourth in team history.

Rice only finished in the Top-25 of MVP voting once, but his impact on his team was massive. Rice led the team to three American League Pennants, one of only two in team history to do so. Rice is a Hall of Famer and a Senators icon and well deserving of the number two spot on this list.

No. 1: Minnesota Twins’ Tony Oliva

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1962-1976 (15 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 1676 G, 1917 H, 870 R, 220 HR, 947 RBI, 86 SB, 448 BB, .304 BA, 43.1 WAR, -4.4 WAR, 1964 Rookie of the Year, Three Batting Titles, Eight Top-25 MVP Finishes, 8 Time All-Star, One Gold Glove, 1965 AL Pennant

One of the most memorable Twins players of all-time, Tony Oliva, played fifteen memorable seasons with the Minnesota Twins. Oliva is the franchise’s biggest Hall of Fame snub, as his stellar stats suggest he should be joining his teammates Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew in Cooperstown.

Tony Oliva started his career by winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1964 hitting .323, 32 homers, and 94 RBI, and missing out on the league MVP despite finishing with better stats than award-winner Brooks Robinson. Oliva won the first of his three batting titles that year, and proceeded to go on one of the greatest seven year runs in Twins history.

Oliva was excellent hitting for average and power, finishing with a .304 average (thirteenth in team history) and 220 home runs (fifth in team history). In addition, Oliva did a fantastic job of producing runs, scoring 870 runs (thirteenth) and knocking in 947 RBI (seventh), building to a career WAR of 43.1 (seventh).

His defense was good, as he won a Gold Glove in 1966 before he was forced into a DH role due to age. Oliva was an eight-time All-Star who finished in the Top-25 of MVP voting eight times, helping the Twins win the AL Pennant in 1965 and two division titles in 1969 and 1970.

Oliva joined the organization after he retired as a coach and was the hitting coach in 1987 and bench coach in 1991, helping the team win two World Series and the Twins retired his number in 1991. Oliva should be in the Hall of Fame, and his skill and importance to the team launches him into the top spot on this list.