Minnesota Twins: Re-Ranking the 5 Twins with the Best Shot at the HOF

In May of 2020, we ranked the Minnesota Twins with the best chances at the Hall of Fame while we were waiting for the season to start. Now, two of those players are into the Hall and we’re waiting for a lockout to end, so it’s time to revisit who has the best odds.

As excited as we were to see Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat make the Hall, those were two of our Top 3 most likely candidates, so it’s time to introduce a few players currently in possible committee consideration as well as youthful Twins with some real potential.

Who are the Minnesota Twins with the best shot to make the Hall of Fame?

Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, Kirby Puckett, and now Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat as players wearing Minnesota Twins caps. Dave Winfield, Jack Morris, Steve Carlton, Paul Molitor, and Jim Thome are all in wearing other hats. Who will join them?

Before we get started, one small caveat: David Ortiz is a likely Hall of Famer, but we’re not including him here because he’s clearly going in as a Red Sox player and we’re focusing on Twins. Let’s get going with the honorable mentions.

Hall of Fame Honorable Mentions:

Johan Santana: A seven year peak with two Cy Young awards should have been enough to get Johan Santana consideration beyond 2.4% of a Hall of Fame vote. It’s extremely unlikely, but if Santana lands on a committee ballot, there’s a possibility he could fight his way in (like Gil Hodges did). Chances: 0.5%

Tom Kelly: The Twins former manager holds a special place in Twins’ hearts because he won two World Series titles. That makes his case to the Modern Baseball Committee. Just 23 managers have more than one World Series title, and 14 of them are in the Hall. Could Kelly’s case as the best manager in team history push him through the Veterans Committee? Chances: 0.5%