Minnesota Twins: The Top 10 Minnesota-Born Baseball Players
We rank the 10 best Minnesota players to ever play in Major League Baseball, including several Minnesota Twins.
With the NFL draft underway, several players with Minnesota ties have been drafted this weekend. With that in mind, we wanted to take a look at the 10 best players to ever be born in Minnesota. Most of these players spent at least a season with the Minnesota Twins, while others did not.
In order to make this list, the player has to be officially born in Minnesota and play at a high level for a consistent amount of time. With those being the only marks, let’s get this list under way, starting with the honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Tom Kelly
Birthplace: Graceville, MN
If we included managers on this list, Tom Kelly would be in the top 5. Unfortunately, we are not, but Kelly still deserves a mention for his work leading the Minnesota Twins to two World Series titles. Thus, here he is.
Rube Walberg
Birthplace: Pine City, MN
Born in the small town of Pine City, Rube Walberg would go on to have a lengthy career (15 years) mostly with the Philadelphia Athletics where he helped them win two World Series as their ace. He won 20 games once and at least 16 games five times. Unfortunately for Rube, there were a lot of good Minnesotan ball players, keeping him as just a mention.
Tom Burgmeier
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN
An extremely reliable reliever, Tom Burgmeier is the all-time leader in games pitched by a Minnesota. A member of the Minnesota Twins for four seasons, Burgmeier was a journeyman pitcher who played for five teams over the course of a seventeen year career. As good as Burgmeier was, there were simply ten players better than him who got a spot ahead of him.
No. 10: Bullet Joe Bush
Birthplace: Brainerd, MN
Joe Bush, nicknamed Bullet Joe, was a fixture for some of the winningest teams in baseball over his seventeen year career. Bush played in a stellar five different World Series with three teams: the Philadelphia Athletics (twice), the New York Yankees (twice) and the Boston Red Sox (once).
Bush also put together a 26 win season in 1922 and finished with 196 wins and a 3.51 ERA. He is in the top five among Minnesota players in wins, games pitched, innings pitched, and pitcher WAR, landing him in the tenth spot over Rube Walberg.
No. 9: Terry Steinbach
Birthplace: New Ulm, MN
Arguably one of the greatest Minnesota Gopher baseball players ever, Terry Steinbach went on to have a very productive career in the majors that saw him become a three-time All-Star, one time All-Star game MVP and a World Series champion with the Athletics before finishing his career with the Minnesota Twins.
Steinbach is fifth among Minnesota natives in homers, sixth in RBI, twelfth in average, and eleventh in WAR. Despite all those accolades with the Gophers and A’s, it’s only good enough to bring him to ninth on this list.
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No. 8: Jerry Koosman
Birthplace: Appleton, MN
One of the top three pitchers on this list, Jerry Koosman built a nineteen year career as a winner, as the two-time All-Star won a World Series in 1989 and won 19 or more games three times, including a twenty-win season with the Twins in 1979.
Koosman is first in innings pitched and pitching WAR while placing second in games and wins among Minnesotan pitchers. However, every player ahead of him either had their number retired or is in the Hall of Fame keeping Koosman down here.
No. 7: Roger Maris
Birthplace: Hibbing, MN
Yankee legend Roger Maris is only at seven?!? Yep. Maris was incredible during his three-year run where he set the homer record at the time (61), won two MVP awards, a Gold Glove, and was an All-Star all four years. Outside of that, his other eight years weren’t very good, as he never hit better 28 homers and 80 RBI the rest of his career.
However, his number 9 is retired by the Yankees, as his chase with Mickey Mantle to break Babe Ruth’s homer record is legendary. Maris is third among Minnesota hitters in homers and fifth in RBI, helping land him here, but he doesn’t top the next hitter on this list.
No. 6: Kent Hrbek
Birthplace: Minneapolis, MN
Putting the Minneapolis native and beloved Twins icon Kent Hrbek in sixth feels criminal, as one of the top 10 Twins players is a huge reason the Twins have two World Series titles. However, if we’re going on purely career excellence, Herbie falls just behind four Hall of Famers (and one possible candidate).
Hrbek ranks second among Minnesotans in homers, third in RBI, and sixth in batting average. He also ranks seventh in WAR and is one of only ten Minnesota hitters to play in an All-Star game, helping him top Maris. Unfortunately, he falls outside the top 5.
No. 5: Jack Morris
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN
Jack Morris doesn’t really have any stats that jump off the page. His 3.90 career ERA and 43.5 pitching WAR are good but not great. However, Morris built a Hall of Fame-worthy career by being a winner and a playoff legend, including putting up the greatest postseason performance in Minnesota Twins history.
Morris’ 254 wins are the most by any Minnesota pitcher and place him in the top 50 all-time. He has won a World Series with three different teams, but his 1991 World Series stands out as the best. Here’s his stat line from that series:
- 3 Starts, 2-0, 1.17 ERA, 15 K, One Complete Game, One Shutout
Morris’ ten-inning shutout in Game 7 for the Twins was nothing short of incredible, and his three twenty-win seasons and playoff performances help launch the Hall of Famer into fifth on this list as the second best pitcher in Minnesota history.
No. 4: Joe Mauer
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN
The only Minnesotan to win an MVP award, Joe Mauer is one of the ten best catchers of all-time. Mauer’s seven-year peak is the seventh best mark by a catcher, setting him up as a likely Hall of Famer a few years after he becomes eligible in 2023.
No catcher won more batting titles than Mauer’s three, and the six-time All-Star also has three Gold Gloves and five Silver Slugger awards, making him one of the most decorated Minnesotans ever.
Among Minnesotans, Mauer ranks third in hits (2,123), sixth in homers (143), fourth in RBI (923), fifth in steals (52), and tied for first in batting average, helping him edge Jack Morris and landing him just outside the top three.
No. 3: Chief Bender
Birthplace: Crow Wing County, MN
Another pitcher who threw in five different World Series, Chief Bender is the greatest pitcher in Minnesota History. The Hall of Famer earned the nickname Chief because he was born a member of an Ojibwe tribe near Brainerd.
Bender was an exceptional pitcher, as he ranks third among Minnesotans in wins (212), first in ERA (2.46), and is third in WAR (48.1). He dominated hitters like no other pitcher in Minnesota history and helped the Athletics win three titles while doing it.
No. 2: Dave Winfield
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN
The hardest choice on this list was deciding which former Gopher, Hall of Famer, and St. Paul Native would top the list, with Dave Winfield winding up second. We’ll talk about the other player later. Meanwhile we can focus on the twelve-time All-Star who also has seven Gold Gloves, a World Series title, and six Silver Slugger awards on his decorated resume.
Winfield was an excellent defender who became just the 19th player ever to reach 3,000 hits, and he did it for the hometown Minnesota Twins. Winfield is first among Minnesota born players in games, homers, RBI, second in WAR, third in steals, and fifth in batting average.
He also won a World Series in 1992, helping complete his resume. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, and all this helps him rank in as the second best Minnesotan baseball player.
No. 1: Paul Molitor
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN
The fourth St. Paul Native in the top five, Paul Molitor slots in as the greatest Minnesotan baseball player ever. Dave Winfield may be good, but Molitor, the seven-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger winner, and 1993 World Series MVP was slightly better.
The infielder/designated hitter never was known for his defensive prowess, but his offense was so good it didn’t matter. Molitor is first among Minnesotans in WAR, stolen bases, runs, hits, doubles, triples and is tied for first with Mauer in batting average.
Molitor is also second in RBI and games while also landing fourth in homers. His 3,319 set him ninth all-time, making that particularly impressive. All that combines to make him the easy call for the top Minnesota-born player.
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