Minnesota Twins: Making the Case for Each Twin on the HOF Ballot

Minnesota Twins Candidate No. 3: Michael Cuddyer

Career Stats: 1536 G, 6102 PA, .277 BA/.344 OBP/.461 SLG, 1522 H, 197 HR, 794 RBI, 527 BB, 2013 Batting Title, 2013 Silver Slugger, 2x All-Star (2011 and 2013)

Hall of Fame Stats (Per Baseball Reference):

• Black Ink: 4 (Average HOF: 27)
• Gray Ink: 15 (Average HOF: 144)
• Hall of Fame Monitor: 26 (Likely HOF: 100)
• Hall of Fame Standards: 19 (Average HOF: 50)
• JAWS (Cuddyer is the 145th-Ranked Right Fielder All-Time in JAWS)
  • Cuddyer: 17.7 Career WAR/15.4 7-Year Peak/16.6 JAWS
  • Average Hall of Fame Right Fielder: 71.9 Career WAR/42.4 7-Year Peak/57.2 JAWS

Making the Case For: Michael Cuddyer has easily the toughest path to the hall for any of the Twins candidates. While he is certainly deserving of being in the Twins Hall of Fame as one of the best right fielders in Twins’ history, he has a tough case here.

His Batting Title gives him a huge boost, and his 15 seasons (and over 1500 games) help out his career numbers. He sits in the Top 100 for outfield assists by a right fielder, and his career fielding percentage of .986 in right field is 38th all time. He also meant a huge deal to the Twins, but that’s about it.

Making the Case Against: Bobby Abreu is the biggest detriment to Cuddyer right now. Cuddyer and Abreu played the same position, but one was significantly better than the other. Even though Abreu had an extensive and successful career, he still seems unlikely to make it in. This means Cuddyer’s chances are worse.

By every single one of Baseball Reference’s Hall of Fame metics, Cuddyer doesn’t even really belong on the ballot. He played with heart, and he will always be well liked in Minnesota, but if he receives more than 0.1% of the vote, i’ll be stunned. Chance of Induction: 0.001%

Minnesota Twins Candidate No. 2: LaTroy Hawkins

Career Stats: 1042 G, 1467.1 IP, 75-94, 98 GS, 2 CG, 127 SV, 4.31 ERA (4.18 FIP), 983 SO

Hall of Fame Stats (Per Baseball Reference):

• Gray Ink: 6 (Average HOF: 185)
• Hall of Fame Monitor: 36 (Likely HOF: 100)
• Hall of Fame Standards: 4 (Average HOF: 50)
• JAWS (Hawkins is the 72nd-Best Relief Pitcher All-Time in JAWS)
  • Hawkins: 17.8 Career WAR/16.1 7-Year Peak/17.0 JAWS
  • Average Hall of Fame Relief Pitcher: 39.1 Career WAR/26.0 7-Year Peak/32.6 JAWS

Making the Case For: Longevity. LaTroy Hawkins pitched in 1,042 games, the tenth most of any pitcher All-Time over his 21-year career. He’s in good company; Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, and Goose Gossage all join him in the Top 15.

He’s also 77th in games finished and 127th in saves, so his longevity helps him a bit there. He made a positive impact on several different franchises, and that alone should gain him some help. He’s gone a long ways in his career.

Making the Case Against: He’s a reliever with a career 4.31 ERA, below-average strikeout numbers, and a very meh stat line overall. A 21 year career should be celebrated, but he’s simply not Hall-worthy.

Ranking out as the 72nd best player at his position would normally be a pretty solid spot, but for a reliever, that’s essentially a death knell. Relievers are extremely important to baseball, but they rarely make the hall any more without absolutely historic numbers. Hawkins simply wasn’t anywhere near that position.

In addition, he has ZERO awards or recognition to his name. No All-Star bids, no reliever awards, and led the majors in exactly one category *once* his entire career: earned runs in 1999. That all adds up to his Hall campaign falling short. Chance of Induction: 1%

Minnesota Twins Candidate No. 1: Torii Hunter

Career Stats: 2372 G, 9692 PA, .277 BA/.331 OBP/.461 SLG, 2452 H, 353 HR, 1391 RBI, 195 SB, 661 BB, 9x Gold Glove Winner, 2009 and 2013 Silver Slugger, 5x All-Star (2002, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2013)

Hall of Fame Stats (Per Baseball Reference):

• Gray Ink: 29 (Average HOF: 144)
• Hall of Fame Monitor: 58 (Likely HOF: 100)
• Hall of Fame Standards: 34 (Average HOF: 50)
• JAWS (Hunter is the 34th-Ranked Center Fielder All-Time in JAWS)
  • Hunter: 50.6 Career WAR/30.8 7-Year Peak/40.7 JAWS
  • Average Hall of Fame Center Fielder: 71.3 Career WAR/44.7 7-Year Peak/58.0 JAWS

Making the Case For: Out of the three Twins making up this list, Torii Hunter has easily the best shot at making the Hall of Fame. In fact, of all the newcomers, Hunter is the most decorated and has the best odds out of the whole group, which gives him a big boost.

During his 19 year career, Torii Hunter was one of the most electric players in Major League Baseball. He hit for power, for average (later in his career), stole bases, and played some of the best defense by an outfielder in the last sixty years (Nine Gold Gloves).

He may never have led the league in anything, but he’s still got impressive career stats. On offense, he’s 187th All-Time in WAR (good), in the Top 100 in games, played, total bases, doubles, homer, and RBI. On defense, he’s 14th all-time in putouts by an outfielder and 54th in field percentage.

On top of all that, his 2,452 hits are 116th all-time, and while he’s just short of 2,500 hits (an important number), that’s still an impressive feat. It won’t guarantee him entry into the hall of fame, but it should earn him at least a second year on the ballot.

Making the Case Against: It’s very tough to find a reason why Torii Hunter shouldn’t stay on the ballot past 2021. It’s also very easy to find a reason why it’ll take more. Hunter isn’t thought of as highly as Andruw Jones, who is now on year three on the ballot (Just 19.4% this year).

He also never led the league in any category. That’s a big deal. Baseball Reference’s Black Ink counts how many times they led the league in a category, and Hunter never registered any ink. It’s a big thing voters look at, and it looks bad, especially without a World Series win. He has a tough path ahead.