Minnesota Twins: The Top Eight Starting Pitchers in Franchise History

As the Minnesota Twins coming up on their 120th season, we look back at the five best starting pitchers 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, starting pitchers need to have thrown in over 200 games or 1,000 innings, start in more than half of your games, and have played an important role for the team.

This will be the only list that includes the top eight as opposed to the top five. Because there are so many starters in team history, there are also a whopping twelve honorable mentions. With that in mind, let’s get to it.

Minnesota Twins’ Honorable Mentions

This was the toughest list to put together, as the some of the greatest pitchers in league history have played for the Twins/Senators. Five Hall of Famers, including Early Winn, Lefty Gomez, Stan “Covey” Coveleski, Steve Carlton, and Jack Morris didn’t make the list due to a lack of innings. Leaving Morris of the list was the hardest exclusion due to his incredible 1991.

Along with Morris, several franchise icons also missed the list, with Kevin Tapani, Scott Erickson, Jack Kralick, Dean Chance, and Jim “Mudcat” Grant all missing the cut (Chance and Grant didn’t have the games). Only one Senator made the list, as “Grunting Jim” Shaw, Alvin “General” Crowder, and Emil “Dutch” Leonard also were only honorable mentions.

No. 5: Minnesota Twins’ Jim “Kitty” Kaat

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1959-1973 (15 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 484 G, 3,014.1 IP, 190-159 W-L, 3.34 ERA, 1,851-729 K-BB, 133 CG, 23 Shutouts, 30.6 WAR, 2-Time All-Star, 12 Gold Gloves, Two Top-25 MVP Finishes, 1965 AL Pennant

Only one other pitcher has started more games and played with the team for longer than Jim Kaat in Twins history. Kaat was a star for the Twins alongside Grant, Perry, and Pascual to help the team win the 1965 AL Pennant

Jim Kaat pitched at an elite level for the Twins for a long time, as he played with the organization for fifteen of his twenty-five seasons. He worked his way to 190 wins (second in team history) with a 3.34 ERA (twentieth) and a dominant 1,851 strikeouts (fourth).

His 133 complete games rank fifth, and his twenty-three shutouts are fourth, but his strongest talent was his defense. Kaat won a team record twelve Gold Gloves and his sixteen career Gold Gloves are tied for second-most all-time.

Kaat is an icon with the franchise, having helped the 1965 team make the World Series and encouraging Minnesota fans to start rooting for the Twins. He is definitely a top five pitcher in team history.

No. 4: Minnesota Twins’ Frank “Sweet Music” Viola

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1982-1989 (8 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 260 G, 1,772.2 IP, 112-93 W-L, 3.86 ERA, 1,214-521 K-BB, 54 CG, 10 Shutouts, 27.0 WAR, One-time All-Star, 1988 Cy Young, Three Top-10 Cy Young Finishes, One Top-25 MVP Finish, 1987 World Series

One of only three players on this list that won a World Series with the Twins, Frank Viola was an absolute star during his time in Minnesota. Few pitchers took Minnesota by storm quite like Frankie V did, and he goes down as one of the Twins All-Time greats.

Viola struggled in his first two seasons, losing fourteen of twenty-five games and posting an ERA over 5.20 both seasons. But the Twins were patient with the former second-round pick, and were rewarded with one of the best starters in the majors.

Viola won sixteen games or more in the next five straight seasons, with his best season coming in 1988, when he went 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA, 193 strikeouts and a Cy Young award. He would leave Minnesota with Three Top-10 Cy Young finishes and One Top-25 MVP finish.

His greatest contribution to the Twins was his pitching in 1987. He went 17-10 with a 2.90 ERA and 197 strikeouts in the regular season before going 3-1 over the playoffs and winning World Series MVP as the the Twins won their first World Series in Minnesota. That victory combined with a strong eight seasons lands him fourth in team history.

No. 3: Minnesota Twins’ Johan Santana

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 2000-2007 (8 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 251 G, 1,308.2 IP, 93-44 W-L, 3.22 ERA, 1,381-364 K-BB, 6 CG, 4 Shutouts, 35.8 WAR, 3-Time All-Star, 2004 and 2006 Cy Young, One Gold Glove, Five Top-10 Cy Young Finishes, Two Top-25 MVP Finishes

No Minnesota Twins pitcher in the last twenty-five years has been close to as good as Johan Santana was over his eight seasons with the Twins. Jose Berrios has been good, and Radke was solid, but neither touches Santana’s brilliance.

Santana started pitching for the Twins in 2000 as a reliever, and it wasn’t clear if he would make it with the team. He struggled with control and wouldn’t become a full time starter until his breakout in 2003 when he went in 12-3 with a 3.07 ERA. Over the next three seasons, no pitcher was better. Here were Santana’s stat lines over the next three years:

• 2004: 20-6,  2.61 ERA, 265 K, Cy Young Award, Sixth in MVP Voting
• 2005: 16-7, 2.87 ERA, 238 K, All Star, Third in Cy Young Voting
• 2006: 19-6, 2.77 ERA, 245 K, All Star, Cy Young, Pitching Triple Crown, Third in MVP Voting, lead the league in games started, innings, FIP, WHIP, and strikeouts per nine.

No pitcher had a better three year stretch or a better season than Santana’s 2006. Though the team couldn’t past the ALCS during his time with the team, Santana racked up a 35.8 WAR, fourth best in team history.

Over just eight years, Santana set the franchise record for winning percentage, is sixth in strikeouts, and made three All-Star teams (and won a Gold Glove). Johan Santana was a true ace for a team that hasn’t had too many.

No. 2: Minnesota Twins’ Bert “The Frying Dutchman” Blyleven

Years with the Minnesota Twins: 1970-1976, 1985-1988 (11 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Minnesota Twins: 348 G, 2,566.2 IP, 149-138 W-L, 3.28 ERA, 2,035-674 K-BB, 141 CG, 29 Shutouts,  49.1 WAR, 2-Time All-Star, Three Top-10 Cy Young Finishes, Two Top-25 MVP Finishes, 1987 World Series, Hall of Fame

There was no doubt that Bert Blyleven would make this list, the only question was where. Despite being traded away by the Twins twice, Bert played more games with the Twins than any other team, and has been a huge part of the organization known as the Minnesota Twins.

Bert was a star as soon as he stepped on the mound, as his rookie numbers of 10-9 with a 3.18 ERA are excellent for a rookie, let alone a nineteen year-old with very little minor league experience. He would only go up from there, using his famous curveball to carry him to stardom.

Blyleven was a strikeout artist, totaling 2,035, second most in team history and his career totals land him fifth all-time. He’s third in innings pitched, complete games, and shutouts. He finished in the Top-10 of Cy Young Voting three times, and he finished in the Top-25 of MVP voting and was an All-Star twice.

He also was a league-renowned prankster, earning his nickname from setting his teammates shoelaces on fire. He was routinely listed  as one of the funniest guys in the league and loved messing with his teammates.

In his second go round with the team, Bert wasn’t his amazing self, but he was good enough to be the second man behind Frankie V to help the Twins win it all in 1987, helping him earn his second World Series and the team’s first.

After he retired, he became the Twins color commentator in 1996, leading to many hilarious moments and questionable commentary. His most famous commentating bit is the Circle me Bert, where Twins fans bring a sign with that slogan and Blyleven circles them with the telestrator. He even made a song about it (Bert is wearing the wig):

Blyleven is a key part of Twins history, and is well deserving of the second spot on this list. He was elected to the Twins Hall of Fame in 2002, had his number retired in 2011, and finally made the Hall of Fame that same year. Bert may be slowly leaving Twins broadcasting, but he will never leave the hearts of Twins fans.

No. 1: Washington Senators’ Walter “The Big Train” Johnson

Years with the Washington Senators: 1907-1927 (21 Seasons)

Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 802 G, 5,914.1 IP, 417-279 W-L, 2.17 ERA, 3,509-1,363 K-BB, 531 CG, 110 Shutouts, 151.9 WAR, 1913 and 1924 MVP, Six Top-25 MVP Finishes, 3-Time Pitching Triple Crown Winner, 5-Time ERA Title, 1924 and 1925 AL Pennant, 1924 World Series, Hall of Fame

If you know anything about baseball in the Golden Age, you know who Walter Johnson is. If you don’t, let me be the first to introduce you to the The Big Train, the greatest pitcher in Major League baseball history.

Here’s a chart of where Johnson ranks all-time in key stats for pitchers:

• Games Started: 13th
• Innings Pitched: 3rd
• Wins: 2nd
• ERA: 12th
• WAR: 2nd
• Strikeouts: 9th
• Complete Games: 5th
• Shutouts: 1st

And if you’re wondering, Johnson also ranks first in every single one of those categories in franchise history. He won the MVP award in both 1913 and 1924 and finished in the Top-25 of voting six times. His individual awards don’t stop there.

The Big Train, also known as Barney (he had two very popular nicknames), won the pitching Triple Crown three times and won the ERA title five times. He was widely regarded as the best pitcher in baseball and downright scary to face as he stood 6′ 1″, very tall for most ball players.

He lead the Senators to the American League Pennant in both 1924 and 1925, winning the World Series in 1924 to cement his legacy. His career WAR (he added on 12.6 as a hitter) is 164.5, the second best in baseball history behind only Babe Ruth.

There should be no doubt that Johnson is the top pitcher in team history, but if you question him being number one all-time, check out Bleacher Report’s ranking or Athlon Sports’ Ranking. Johnson was simply that good.