The 2019 Minnesota Twins were one of the greatest teams in cub history. "Bomba Squad" went on to win 101 games, which was the second-most in team history, trailing only the 1965 squad that won 102 contests.
This 2019 Twins club went on to set a Major League Baseball record for most home runs in a season by a team with 307. The 2023 Braves tied them, but this Minnesota lineup is still amongst the greatest ever. It's time to recall two specific players who stood out that season en route to winning the Silver Slugger Award.
The 2025 Silver Sluggers are set to be announced on Nov. 6 and 7 by FanSided on "The Baseball Insiders" podcast on Youtube. The Twins have one player named among the finalists. Byron Buxton will vie for his first-ever Silver Slugger Award after bopping 35 home runs.
But before we find out if Buxton is given the award, let's take a step back to 2019 to remember Mitch Garver and Nelson Cruz, the last Twins pairing to win a Silver Slugger in the same season.
This was Garver's first Silver Slugger of his career. He posted career-highs in bWAR (4.1), home runs (31), RBIs (67), batting average (.273), OPS (.995), and OPS+ (157). In his age-28 season, the catcher muscled five multi-homer games.
His most memorable moment came on August 31 in the ninth inning. Garver crushed a solo home run to give the Twins their 268th round-tripper of the season, which broke the previous record held by the 2018 Yankees. It was his second home run of the game.
In that same game, Cruz crushed a home run to tie the all-time record. That was one of his 41 home runs hit that season, which led the historic Twins lineup. Cruz, in his age-38 season, earned his third of four total Silver Slugger Awards. His 41 homers marked a career-high, as well as his 1.031 OPS.
Cruz also produced a 4.4 bWAR, 108 RBIs, 26 doubles, a .311 batting average, 14 three-hit games, and four four-hit games.
This Twins team will forever be heralded by the Minnesota faithful. Cruz and Garver were central to the team's success and deservingly garnered Silver Slugger honors.