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.