My All Time Twins Team
Entry posted by Not Greg Gagne in All Time Twins Team ·
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While I'm new to the community, I have been a Twins fan my entire life. I just turned 40 and so the two championship teams laid a foundation that no amount of mediocrity, contraction talk, playoff ineptitude, or geographic distance could fracture. I don't remember much about the '87 team itself, but I do remember collecting the cards in the years that followed and you better believe I remember the Berenguer Boogie. That '91 team though - talk about a perfect storm. If you wanted to dox me, you could dig through the archives of the Post Bulletin for an article on how my dad took my family up from Rochester without tickets for Game 1 and was able to get me in for my 8th birthday. A Twins fan for life was sealed as Gagne hit that ball over the wall in left-center.
Now that the offseason is upon us, I thought I would put together my all-time Twins team. The core of this team will be built on heart and surrounded by pieces that I feel would actually fill out a roster for today's game. It's a bit different than taking the best WAR at each position, career leaders, or whatever, but that's the benefit of picking my team. I also want to pick specific years of players rather than just a player in general. I think this will make things a bit more interesting.
As for how many parts I'm going to drag this thing out over - like the front office with Jamie Garcia (who won't make the team) things will be made up as they go. I think something like: Outfield, Middle Infield, Corners, Catcher and DH, Starters, Middle Relief, and End of Game will fit the bill.
But to kick this off, let's start with some players who didn't make the team. These are guys who, despite being household names and/or fan favorites, did not make my 26-man roster. Some I were bummed about, others surprised, and one other I knew I wasn't having on my team. More on him later.
Expanded Roster Slots
Kent Hrbek - I really thought I could find a spot for who might be my favorite Twin of all time, but he gets kicked out of the starting lineup pretty easily and then there is just no space for him on the bench for me. Interestingly, I think he fell into the same problem in his career, explaining why he only made one all-star team (in his rookie year). HIs 1984, 1987, and 1988 seasons were monstrous and he should have gotten nods then or at least in each of the following years in the way those things sometimes work out. His grand slam in the 1987 World Series guaranteed his place in Twins lore and I'd argue he's had one of the best post-retirements of any Minnesota athlete this side of Bud Grant. The 1984 Hrbek will be one of the two players I call up when rosters go to 28, so tell Ron Gant he doesn't have to worry about any nasty spills once the dog days are over. A bit slimmer with some speed (3 triples!) but still plenty of pop (.906 OPS & 145 OPS+) and his best defensive showing earned him a second-place MVP finish (behind a Cy Young winning reliever and ahead of another pitcher, what a time to be alive) even though he couldn't manage to be one of four firstbasemen on the all-star roster.
Nelson Cruz - I credit Nelson Cruz for the revitalization of the franchise. His production was amazing, and his good vibes extend through today. As an added bonus, he gave the club a Joe Ryan-sized tip on his way out the door! Give me 2019 Bomba Senor Cruz off the bench with good vibes late in our season to get flip the switch on those key moments.
Guys I Just Didn't Choose
Jim Kaat's 1966 season stands up for those who like good old fashioned counting stats. If you like advanced stats? It's a remarkable season too. One of the best in Twins history. His two standout attributes - even for his time - are how deep he goes into games and his glove. In today's game, and with this roster, I discounted the importance of those attributes enough to allow some less accomplished starters in the squad. Another important factor is that I never got to see him play so there isn't any emotional attachment to him. If this were my dad's team, I'm sure he would be on the roster, but it just so happens that my first experience with Jim Kaat is learning that some announcers are annoying in a perfectly harmless and precisely indescribable way. Sorry Jim. Keep that arm loose just in case David West goes down. Just kidding, Les Straker has that spot on lock down.
Brian Dozier's 2016 season was crazy. That he finished only 13th in AL MVP voting is criminal. It was a tough year to win MVP, for sure, especially in that era with the way Dozier hit for average (or not) but look at these two slash lines and guess where they ended up in the MVP voting that year. Player A - .294/.343/.876; Player B - .318/.363/.897. Player A is Manny Machado, who finished fifth in MVP voting that year, while Player B is...checks notes...Mookie Betts who finished second. Dozier slashed .268/.340/.886. Here is an easier way to see how undervalued Dozier was in 2016.
| PA | Hits | Walks | Singles | Doubles | Triples | Home Runs | BA | OBP | OPS | OPS+ | FRAA | MVP Finish | MVP Vote Share | |
| Machado | 696 | 188 | 48 | 110 | 40 | 1 | 37 | 0.294 | 0.343 | 0.876 | 130 | -2 | 5 | 36% |
| Betts | 730 | 214 | 49 | 136 | 42 | 5 | 31 | 0.318 | 0.363 | 0.897 | 133 | 17 | 2 | 74% |
| Dozier | 691 | 165 | 61 | 83 | 35 | 5 | 42 | 0.268 | 0.340 | 0.886 | 134 | -5 | 13 | 2% |
Defense matters and Betts was great in 2016, but in my book Dozier made up for half of that difference with his power alone. Even if you don't buy that, the difference between Dozier and Machado comes down to team performance, market size, and some more singles in lieu of walks, which...congrats?
Heartstringers I Couldn't Pull The Trigger On
Tom Brunansky was no longer a Twin by the time I was old enough to be fan in the sense of collecting cards and following players, but his shadow has been long and I would have loved to have a spot for him on my team. He is the first Twin I remember being my favorite. Tommy Herr did not make the team - amen to that - so we don't need to relive any of those old wounds. Advanced stats don't love Bruno but his OPS+ shows what I consider to be a really solid peak from 87 through the early 90s and his defensive metrics actually look a lot better than his reputation.
Greg Gagne is the best defensive shortstop since Louis Aparicio. At least that's how my family remembers it. The managers and coaches who voted for Gold Glove awards during his career disagreed. Who's to say? But as best I can tell Greg Gagne never was a top-whatever for a Gold Glove Award- just amazing. Omar Vizquel didn't win his first until 1994, so that's not really to blame. Did Tony Fernandez really need to win four in a row from 1986-1989? Was Ozzie Guillen that great in 1991 or Cal Ripken amazing in 1992 of 1993? Our guy couldn't snag one? Or even a top something finish among those guys - one couldn't rotate out just once? Let's put it another way - Greg Gagne got MVP vote(s) in 1993 and yet there is no record of him getting a Gold Glove vote. Insane. Also - his deke of Lonnie Smith to save the World Series should have won him something...anything, but alas. Final thing, how annoying was Eric to ruin the pronunciation of Greg's name for everyone everywhere for all time?
Dan Gladden - Combine the mullet with the marquee moments and you have a Twins legend. The hustle on that double to lead off the bottom of the 10th is severely underrated and I'll always have a spot for that kind of effort on my team. The trouble is, when you are building an all-time team you need a bit more than that and I just couldn't look around my clubhouse to tell someone they had to go, just because the formative few minutes of my childhood needed a presence there.
Pablo Lopez - Call it reverse recency bias, but as good as the feels are around Pablo right now, I just can't put him in the rotation. This season was great and he broke the streak, which will forever be in my heart. Winning that playoff game made me more emotional than I care to admit - or I guess not. The extension looks great and the future is bright. Maybe I can work Pablo into my playoff bullpen or use him if Rick Reed needs to skip a start.
The Guy Who Is Not On My Team Because This Is My Team
Chuck Knoblauch has a less than kind reputation among some that I would tend to agree with. Despite his key role in the 1991 season and his amazing 1996 season, I actually have fonder memories of Bob Kipper than I do of the man my grandpa called Snoblauch. I still remember the Twins caravan equivalent in the winter of 1991/2 (it had to be because Bob Kipper was there) when I was able to identify Chuck's key personality traits for myself. I'm no expert, but if a 8 year-old walks away from a seconds-long interaction with you months after you win a World Series for his favorite team thinking that you are a jerk, you probably have some things to iron out. But hey, thanks for Milton and Guzman.
NEXT UP: OUTFIELDERS
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