Who Was the Best Twins Player of the Decade?

[Nick Nelson]

Posed this question on Twitter, so figured I'd ask it here as well:

 

Who was the best Twins player of the 2010s, in terms of performance?

 

Personally, I go back and forth between Mauer and Dozier. 

 

Mauer spent much of the decade as an average 1B, but did have a few more years as elite catcher on the front end. Dozier was heart & soul of mid-decade teams, and his 2016 was the decade's best for any Twin.

 

fWAR totals are very close. Mauer: 24.0 (9 yrs), Dozier: 22.6 (~7 yrs)

Thoughts? Anyone else who should be mentioned in the conversation?

[DocBauer]

Big Mauer fan, never felt he got his due after his concussions and his move out from behind the plate. The contract became an albatross to some that simply, he was not responsible for. I also think he probably should have been a #1 or #2 hitter sooner after injury.

 

But when I reflect back on the decade, despite some inconsistencies and weird streaks, Dozier was just so fun and so productive. At times he was one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. So I have to give him my vote.

[dex8425]

It's gotta be Mauer. Nobody else won two silver sluggers. No one else had more than one all star appearance-Joe had three. Nobody else was on more teams in the decade. Everyone remembers his post-injury years (people are doing the same thing with Pujols rn). He is a hall of famer and the best pure hitter on every one of those teams.

 

Dozier was good; Denard Span was good too. 

[Mike Sixel]

Mauer. 

[tony&rodney]

Mauer, easily. 

[USAFChief]

I guess you gotta give it to Mauer.

 

Which is a pretty damning statement about the 2010s Twins.

[dex8425]

 

I guess you gotta give it to Mauer.

Which is a pretty damning statement about the 2010s Twins.

Yeah, there were only two good teams. The first year and the last year of the decade. Yikes. 

[Rigby]

Mauer.

[ashbury]

No one else close to those two. You could make an argument for either Mauer or Dozier, and I'd take Mauer. After them, you're sifting through the relative contributions of Ervin Santana or Byron Buxton or Taylor Rogers or Denard Span - slim pickings for "best of" anything.

[notoriousgod71]

Jaime Garcia

[howeda7]

Mauer's the player of this century so far. Even of the last 25 years. But he peaked in 2009 before this decade. I'd go Dozier. He did almost as much in fewer years, and his contract didn't weight the team down. 

[Nine of twelve]

I don't think Mauer's contract should be considered in this conversation. At all. The question that was asked is: who was the best player of the decade? Some sort of cumulative WAR statistic is probably the best way to answer that question, and it seems clear that the answer is Mauer.

[goulik]

I know we’re at the end of a decade but baseball isn’t played by the decade.

*Kinda hard to beat Mauer’s WAR but did anyone else have 9 plus years with us during the decade?

*Breaking things up by saying “of the decade” cuts off Mauer’s best years as well.

*I see other shorter term impacts like Jim Thome and when Torii Hunter came back for one last dance (play on words intended).

*Cruz had one of the best seasons of the decade last year.

*Glen Perkins?

 

*Shrug* Using the standard of player of the decade and considering what Dozier did in 2 fewer years I see the arguement for him over Mauer

[Halsey Hall]

Mauer wins out, but Dozier a strong 2nd.

[twinsguy45]

Mauer's the player of this century so far.

Johan. Santana.

[Nine of twelve]

 

Johan. Santana.

A case can be made for Santana to be number two behind Mauer.

[ashbury]

A case can be made for Santana to be number two behind Mauer.

Make your case.

 

[Nine of twelve]

 

Make your case.
 

It's not my case to make, and I did not advocate for it. I simply said a case could be made.

[ashbury]

I simply said a case could be made.

That you did.

 

A case for Santana could be rebutted.

 

This concludes tonight's trenchant debate, brought to you by Saturday Night Live.