Harold Reynolds and Matt Vasgersian of MLB Network recently released a "franchise favorites Twins all-time lineup." Twins legends such as Joe Mauer, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett, Tony Oliva and others were notably included in the lineup, while the best hitter in franchise history, Harmon Killebrew, was shockingly left off the team.
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Twins fans confused after MLB Network omits Harmon Killebrew from all-time lineup
While the lineup is supposed to highlight the Twins' franchise favorites, not the best players in team history, Killebrew still should've been included. Yes, he played a long time ago, but so did Oliva. Both Oliva and Killebrew were very popular during their playing days. Also, how can the best hitter in franchise history not be a "franchise favorite"?
Most Twins fans today either weren't alive or aren't old enough to remember watching Killebrew, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984, play. However, every Twins fan knows who Killebrew is and would agree he belongs on Reynolds and Vasgersian's list.
Twins fans love Hrbek, but Killebrew deserves to be the Twins' starting first baseman on the franchise favorites all-time lineup. Killebrew also could've been part of the lineup as a third baseman over Gaetti or as an outfielder over Hunter or Buxton. No matter what, any Twins fan would agree that Killebrew should've been part of the lineup.
Hall-of-Famer Harmon Killebrew is the Twins' best hitter in franchise history
Killebrew, who passed away at age 74 in 2011, leads the Twins in offensive bWAR (71.4) and is ranked second in total bWAR (60.6) behind Carew (63.8). He also holds the franchise record for games played (2,329), OPS (.892), total bases (4,026), home runs (559), RBI (1,540) and walks (1,505). He began his MLB career at 18 with the Washington Senators in 1954. The Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961, becoming the Twins with Killebrew as the team's face of the franchise. He played with Minnesota through 1974 and ended his career by playing one season with the Kansas City Royals in 1975.
At the end of the day, MLB Network's lineup doesn't really matter. Like us at Puckett's Pond, they're just looking for offseason content, and everyone will forget about the lineup once the season begins. Still, Killebrew's absence from the lineup is laughable and proves Reynolds and Vasgersian made a big mistake when constructing the list. Reynolds and Vasgersian are MLB media legends, but they dropped the ball on this one.