Minnesota Twins: Top 5 Switch-Hitters in Twins History

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Jorge Polanco is in the midst of one of the best seasons by a Minnesota Twins switch-hitter ever. His 30 homers this season are the best in team history by a switch-hitter and his 4.2 fWAR leads the team. He easily will finish the year as the team’s MVP and will close out his eighth season as one of the top switch hitters in baseball.

Entering age 28, he’s also beginning to establish himself on the Twins’ all time lists. He’s currently 38th in offensive WAR, 42nd in batting average, 45th in doubles, 32nd in homers, and 36th in OPS. As his career continues, he’ll continue to move up the rankings, similar to how he’ll move up the ladder on our list of the greatest Twins shortstops.

This raises the question: where is Jorge Polanco on the list of the greatest Minnesota Twins switch-hitters ever?

The Twins don’t have a lengthy history of switch-hitters, with 67 of them from 1961-2015 and five more in the years since. To make this list more realistic, we’re going to exclude all hitters with less than 325 games played for Minnesota. If you played what amounts to two seasons for a team, you can’t really be counted among their greatest switch-hitters.

Because of this, Chili Davis, Luis Castillo, Bobby Kielty, and Ryan Doumit all aren’t included on this list. Davis and Castillo were the hardest to leave off and both will earn honorable mentions despite not having enough games, but two really good (or just really solid) years is not quite the same as three or more years for a team. With that in mind, we’ll start off with the honorable mentions.

Nick Punto of the Minnesota Twins in action against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. on July 9, 2005. The Royals won 12-8. (Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images) /

Minnesota Twins Switch-Hitting Honorable Mentions

We’ll start off the aforementioned Chili Davis and Luis Castillo. Davis has the fourth-most homers of any Twins switch hitter at 49 and is eighth in RBI. Luis Castillo has the highest batting average of any switch-hitter to play at least 30 games in Minnesota, but unfortunately for both, playing 290 (Davis) and 227 games (Castillo) for the Twins just didn’t cut it.

Alexi Casilla and Al Newman were two of just 10 switch-hitters to play at least 500 games in Minnesota, but Newman slashed .231/.306/.275 over five years here while Casilla slashed .250/.305/.334 over seven. Any player with an OPS under .650 should not be considered (though both players had decent stolen base numbers).

Fan favorite Nick Punto lands here (in what would be ninth place) because despite a .248 batting average and an ugly .648 OPS, he has played the sixth-most games in Minnesota of any switch-hitter, is second in steals, and third in triples.

Denny Hocking and Butch Wynegar get mentions here because of longevity. Hocking played 876 games, second-most among switch-hitters, while Wynegar played in 794 (fourth). Unfortunately, both finished their Twins careers with an OPS under .700 and batting averages of .252 (Hocking) and .254 (Wynegar).

Our last honorable mention (sixth-best switch-hitter) goes to Robbie Grossman. Grossman played in just 347 games with the Twins, but he made them count, slashing a respectable .266/.371/.400 line with a decent .771 OPS. In a small and disappointing group, that’s good enough to almost make the list.

Cristian Guzman of the Minnesota Twins follows through after hitting the ball against the New York Yankees during game three of the American League Divisional Series on October 8, 2004 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Greatest Minnesota Twins Switch-Hitter No. 5: Cristian Guzman (1999-2004)

Stats: 841 G, .266/.303/.382 (.685 OPS), 242 XBH (39 HR), 289 RBI, 102 SB, 166-491 BB-K, 2001 All-Star

Our official list starts off with Cristian Guzman, one of the quickest Twins in recent memory. The shortstop was an important piece for a franchise that was trying to avoid contraction and eventually helped lead them there in 2004.

Guzman was always a very flashy player because of his speed, speed that allowed him to lead the league in triples three times. His 61 triples are 17th among all Twins while his 102 steals are 20th. Both marks are more than any other switch hitter has managed.

He ranks fourth among all switch-hitters in RBI and fifth in home runs, despite never being much of a power threat when he was here (just under seven homers per season), and his 242 extra-base hits are third.

The only thing that keeps Guzman down in fifth is his his less than stellar OPS. Guzman’s overall numbers are good, but when you play the third most games, it’s expected that you have higher numbers. Guzman was very good, but not quite as great.

Gene Larkin of the Minnesota Twins moves for the ball during a game in the 1988 season. (Photo by: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

Greatest Minnesota Twins Switch-Hitter No. 4: Gene Larkin (1987-2003)

Stats: 758 G, .266/.348/.374 (.723 OPS), 175 XBH (32 HR), 266 RBI, 23 SB, 268-278 BB-K, Two-Time World Series Champion

One of the glue guys that helped the Twins earn their two World Series titles, Gene Larkin was one of the most likable players from the late eighties. His stats didn’t stand out when compared to most major leaguers, but when you compare him to other Twins switch-hitters, he’s easily one of the best.

Larkin’s OPS is the fifth-highest of the Twins switch-hitters who played more than 300 games, and his 175 extra-base hits are fourth. Similar to Guzman, he didn’t have great power numbers, but differing from Guzman, he could get on base.

Larkin’s 268 walks are fourth all-time and his OBP is third among switch-hitters, proving that you don’t need a great batting average to post really solid numbers. Tack on a little speed (23 steals), and you’ve got some good numbers.

Gene Larkin was definitely one of the 50 most important players in Twins history, but his on-base skills help land him at number four on this list of the greatest switch-hitters in Minnesota Twins history.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Eduardo Escobar reacts as he runs towards home plate after hitting a three-run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. (Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports) /

Greatest Minnesota Twins Switch-Hitter No. 3: Eduardo Escobar (2012-2018)

Stats: 671 G, .258/.308/.421 (.729 OPS), 219 XBH (63 HR), 284 RBI, 11 SB, 153-482 BB-K

From one well-liked switch-hitter to another, Eduardo Escobar is one of the most versatile players the Twins have had over the past 15 years, playing every position other than catcher and first base over his seven years in a Twins uniform.

Twins fans were heartbroken to see him traded away (hopefully Jhoan Duran makes it worth it), but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he was one of the best hitters the Twins have had over the past five years and easily one of the three best switch-hitters in Minnesota history.

Escobar’s OPS was the third highest of any switch-hitter with over 350 games played in Minnesota. He’s fourth in extra-base hits, third in homers, and fifth in RBI, stuffing the stat sheet in 671 games (seventh in that group). That’s impressive.

He’s struck out quite a bit, and his .258 batting average isn’t the best, but from the way his career took after he left, he was just getting started. In just 364 games in Arizona, he’s more than doubled his homer totals and almost doubled his RBI numbers while making an All-Star team in 2021. Here’s hoping he makes his way back to keep adding to these totals.

Roy Smalley of the Minnesota Twins looks to throw to first base. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Greatest Minnesota Twins Switch-Hitter No. 2: Roy Smalley (1976-1982, 1985-1987)

Stats: 1,148 G, .262/.350/.401 (.751 OPS), 315 XBH (110 HR), 485 RBI, 15 SB, 549-606 BB-K, One-Time All-Star, One-Time World Series Champion

Roy Smalley has long been in the top spot on this list, mostly because he’s played in 272 more games than the next closest person on this list. With that many games, you should rack up stats. Smalley has.

The former shortstop is currently first among Twins switch-hitters in games played, on-base percentage, extra-base hits, home runs, RBI, and walks. His consistency has been incredible, part of the reason his name is all over the Twins overall record books too.

He’s 29th in WAR, 42nd in OBP, 26th in games played, 32nd in runs, 30th in total bases, 21st in homers, 14th in walks, and 30th in RBI. If you don’t count all of the Senators players, he lands in the top 20 (and even top 10) in each of those categories.

He wasn’t quite good enough to make the Twins Hall of Fame, but he’s still with the organization doing broadcasting work and helping out as an ambassador. He’s thought of very highly by most of the people in Twins Territory and within the organization. It was an easy call to put him on the list.

Minnesota Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco celebrates after hitting a double against the Cleveland Indians during the fifth inning at Progressive Field. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports) /

Greatest Minnesota Twins Switch-Hitter No. 1: Jorge Polanco (1976-1982, 1985-1987)

Stats: 633 G, .278/.335/.452 (.787 OPS), 244 XBH (71 HR), 333 RBI, 43 SB, 201-441 BB-K, One-Time All-Star

Jorge Polanco over Roy Smalley? Absolutely. In 633 games, which roughly comes out to just under four full seasons, Polanco is on pace to smash every single one of Smalley’s switch-hitting records, and he’ll likely do it within the next two seasons.

Let’s start with Polanco’s slash line. His .278 batting average is the highest by 12 points when compared to everyone else (with 300 games). On top of that, if he gets 373 hits by the end of 2023 (very likely), he’ll pass Smalley for the most hits by a switch-hitter.

His .335 on-base percentage is fourth among switch-hitters, but his .452 slugging percentage is first by a whopping 31 points, helping him to the best OPS in the switch-hitter category (17 points better than Robbie Grossman, 27 points better than Smalley).

He should soon pass Smalley in extra base hits (he needs 71) and home runs (he needs 40) as well. I doubt that he makes either of those marks by the end of 2021, but if he stays healthy, he’s a lock to do it by the end of 2023.

He needs 152 RBI, which is very doable over two years for a guy who has racked up 88 and 79 over his last two non-COVID shortened years. The best part of all this? 2021 isn’t even over yet, meaning he’s definitely not done adding to his totals.

If Polanco were to play in every game from now until the end of the 2023 regular season (spoiler alert, he won’t), he would be sitting at 973 games. That’s still 175 less than Smalley, while still surpassing all of his numbers. With his contract ensuring he’s here until at least 2023 (possibly 2024 and 2025 as well), he could go way further.

Polanco still has a very long way to go towards becoming one of the greatest players in Twins history, but as far as the greatest switch-hitters in franchise history go, he’s already there.

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