Many MLB players come in and out of the league without much spotlight or proper recognition for what they did during their service time. Minnesota is a franchise that hasn’t experienced real success since the early 90s, but don’t forget about these men who helped the loyal fans in Minnesota survive the last 30+ years of heartbreak.Â
Top 5 Most Underrated Minnesota Twins Players of All-Time
5 - Johan Santana
Not only my personal favorite, but also the best Twins pitcher of my lifetime. The lefty from Venezuela was the leader of this franchise, winning two Cy Young Awards and accumulating a record of 93-44 with a 3.22 ERA over 8 seasons in Minnesota. He also has a 35.8 WAR for the Twins, which is good for 4th in Twins history for pitchers.Â
Santana was voted off the Hall of Fame ballot after his first year on it. Due to his shorter career, the dominant force on the mound will not be recognized for his contribution to the game at the highest level.
4 - Justin Morneau
A big, powerful first baseman from Canada found a home in Minnesota as a young man. He burst onto the scene as the dynamic 1-2 punch duo of Mauer and Morneau took the league by storm.Â
Morneau spent about 10 seasons in Minnesota, collecting an MVP trophy, two Silver Sluggers, and four All-Star Game nods by hitting missiles gap-to-gap, with his massive stride and violent swing. Even with these accolades, Morneau is always remembered as Mauer's sidekick. He even has a legendary Home Run Derby win at Yankee Stadium that baseball fans forget due to the first-round performance Josh Hamilton put on in that derby.Â
At one point in his injury-riddled career, Morneau could have had a case for a Hall of Fame nomination. Unfortunately, his career was seemingly cut short due to his time spent on the DL as he aged.
3 - Corey Koskie
In the dark ages of Minnesota Twins baseball, getting voted to relocate and having not had an ounce of success in a decade, the franchise was humbly led by a corner infielder who did all the right things.Â
Koskie never did anything flashy at third base, but he was an anchor in the lineup for the most important seasons of this century. His career was cut short due to injuries, but he was a consistent bat and leader in the Twins clubhouse for seven seasons, helping the team keep their spot in Minnesota and even build their new stadium.Â
Some Twins fans might even say the franchise has a curse at 3B since Koskie left the clubhouse. They haven't been able to find the leader and steady consistency at the position since.
2 - Nick Punto
One of my personal favorite baseball players of all time. Punto was undersized, not powerful, didn’t have a great arm, and wasn’t even the quickest of the bunch, but he figured out how to have a 14-year MLB career.
With the Twins, you might remember Punto being a scrappy switch-hitting utility infielder who might have had one too many baserunning errors in his day. But those mistakes came from pure heart and hustle on the base paths.Â
Punto played every position on the field besides pitcher and catcher, and accumulated a higher defensive WAR than guys like Byron Buxton, Torii Hunter, and Joe Mauer, leaving himself at #8 on the all-time list in Twins history.Â
1 - Brad Radke
Radke has the third most pitching WAR in Minnesota Twins history, just behind Hall of Famers Walter Johnson (Washington Senators) and Bert Blyleven.Â
Starting his career with Minnesota in the mid-90s, the dark ages of the franchise, Radke was one of the only consistent faces in the rotation throughout the rebuilding period. He put together a 20-win season in 1997, a year in which the Twins only won 68 games as a whole.Â
After spending his entire 12-year MLB career in Minnesota, Radke will forever be remembered as a great leader and one of the only consistent parts of a troubled franchise during his career. He was able to lead the team to success in the 2000s as a solid veteran cog in the middle of a dangerous rotation led by the younger Cy Young winner, Johan Santana.