Minnesota Twins: The Top 8 Greatest Left-Handed Hitters in Twins History

The Minnesota Twins have had a long history of truly elite left-handed hitters. We break down the eight best to ever wear the Twins jersey.

The Minnesota Twins have had so many fantastic hitters in their history, and Twins fans have been able to see so many all-star players here on a regular basis. Knowing that, I have created a list of the 16 best hitters in Twins history.

I wanted to make it a little easier to split up, so I created a list of the eight best left-handed hitters and a list of the eight best right-handed hitters spanning the lifetime of the franchise, and we’ll start with the left-handers. The only criterion that I had for these selections was that they had to have played for the Minnesota Twins and hit left-handed.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t include any Washington Senators from when the franchise was located there, so Sam Rice, Heinie Manush, Joe Cronin, and Goose Goslin all miss out on this trip. That story has yet to be written. Let’s jump into it with those pesky lefties.

Minnesota Twins Greatest Left-Hander No. 8: Roy Smalley (1976-1982, 1985-1987)

We’re actually going to start this list off with a switch-hitter. Roy Smalley played for the Minnesota Twins for ten of his thirteen big league seasons, working through two different stints with the Twins. His high point came in 1987, when in his final year as a player, he was part of the World Series-winning Twins team.

He was a one-time All-Star, and he hit 110 home runs and drove in 485 RBI with the Twins. He also was named AL Player of the Week twice. Considered an average fielder at shortstop, he actually led the league in assists and led all shortstops in putouts in 1979.

You can still hear Roy on Fox Sports North as an analyst on Minnesota Twins games, and he continues to work with the organization he spent most of his playing career with. Smalley was a great place to start this list at.

Minnesota Twins Greatest Left-Hander No. 7: Corey Koskie (1998-2004)

Corey Koskie was a solid two-way third baseman for the Twins for 7 seasons. He ended his Twins career with 101 home runs and 437 runs batted in and he was also considered one of the best fielding third baseman in baseball.

In his first two full major league seasons with the Twins, he hit .300, but he had his best year in 2001. Koskie turned the power on, hitting 26 home runs coupled with 103 RBI and 100 runs scored, a season that landed him 25th in MVP voting.

Corey ended up signing a 3-year, $17 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2005, making his Twins career one of the shortest ones on this list. Unfortunately, Koskie suffered from numerous injuries in the latter part of his career, including post-concussion syndrome, and he ended up retiring in March of 2009. None of that takes away from his incredible talent.

Minnesota Twins Greatest Left-Hander No. 6: Lyman Bostock (1975-1977)

Some might be surprised by this pick, as Lyman Bostock only wore a Minnesota Twins uniform for  three years, but it was an incredible three years. In those three years, Lyman hit .318 with 250 RBI’s and 30 stolen bases. That’s a really great stretch for a pretty offense starved 1970s.

He was also a great run producer and a player that many people considered to be one of the best defensive center fielders in the league. The Twins thought they had an excellent center fielder for the next decade, one that Nolan Ryan at one point called “one of the few natural hitters in the American League.” Unfortunately, we know the end of this story.

Financially-strapped Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith was not able to come to terms with Bostock and he became a free agent. An incredible young talent hitting the open market opened up a bidding war between the Yankees, Padres, and Angels, leading to the Angels coming out on top and signing Lyman to a 5-year $2.3 million contract.

Lyman started out slowly for the Angels at the beginning of the 1978 season. He felt so bad about his performance and demanded that Angels owner Gene Autry keep his money until he started earning it. Autry still wanted to pay him, so Bostock instead donated $50,000 to a charity.

Bostock caught fire later in the year and was having a very productive year as the Angels went to Chicago to play a late season game against the White Sox where tragedy struck. After one of the games, Lyman was driving in Gary, Indiana with his uncle on a family visit. While he was in the car, a dispute occurred and the driver in the other vehicle ended up shooting into the car, killing Lyman.

It was a truly heartbreaking moment in baseball, and the baseball world was crushed by the loss of a bright young star and excellent human being. Bostock’s Twins career and life was cut terribly short, but his talent was truly incredible.

Minnesota Twins Greatest Left-Hander No. 5: Justin Morneau (2003-2013)

The pride of New Westminster High in Canada, Justin Morneau became a regular part of the Twins lineup in 2005 and proceeded to enjoy an epic run of five seasons of baseball with the Twins, where he became one of the best players in the MLB.

Justin was a prolific hitter during this time, eventually ending his Minnesota Twins career with 221 home runs and 860 RBI. The peak of his career was during the 2009 season where he drove in 100 runs and added 30 home runs. For his accomplishments that year, Justin was named the 2006 American League MVP.

Concussions and other injuries took a toll on Justin, and the what could have been for Morneau is obvious. Even at age 33, Morneau went on to win the National League Batting title for the Colorado Rockies. If he had stayed healthy through his career, we might be looking at one of Twins all-time greats.

Minnesota Twins Greatest Left-Hander No. 4: Kent Hrbek (1981-1994)

The first local boy on this list who found success playing Major League Baseball, Kent Hrbek was hard-hitting kid from Bloomington Minnesota who started his career with the Twins in 1981. Kent went on to become the rock of the two World Series champion Minnesota Twins teams and he regularly hit close to 20 home runs and drove in 80+ runs during the majority of his Twins career.

Herbie was probably the best player in big league history to never win a Gold Glove. His stretches at first base saved the Twins innumerable runs and his back to the plate catches are legendary. He was, in my mind, the best fielding first baseman of his era.

Besides his prestigious hitting and remarkable fielding, Kent was known as a wonderful clubhouse prankster and affable team player. All that combines to help the lefty with one of the sweetest swings ever land at four on this list.