Justin Morneau Joins Twins Hall of Fame

[Seth Stohs]

It was just a matter of when, not if. On Friday afternoon, Twins President Dave St. Peter announced that Justin Morneau is now a member of the Twins Hall of Fame.Make your plans now. On Saturday, May 23rd, the Twins will be hosting the White Sox at Target Field. On that day, Justin Morneau will be inducted as the 34th member of the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony.

 

It was just a matter of time, really, as Morneau had an impressive career with the Twins.

 

In 1999, the Twins made the New Westminster, Vancouver, native their third-round draft pick. At the time, he was a catcher, but he quickly moved to first base after an arm injury.

 

He made his much-anticipated major-league debut for the Twins in 2003. If you can recall, he received a standing ovation before that plate appearance.

 

In 1,278 games, Morneau hit .278 with 289 doubles, 221 home runs and 860 RBI. His 221 home runs currently rank third on the Twins all-time list.

 

In 2006, he was the American League Most Valuable Player. In 157 games that season ,he hit .321/.375/.559 (.934) with 37 doubles, 34 homers and 130 RBI.

He was an All-Star in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. 2010 was shaping up to be his best season yet. Through 81 games, he was hitting a robust .345/.437/.618 (1.055) with 25 doubles and 18 home runs when he slid into second base and took a John MacDonald knee to the head and suffered a concussion that altered the trajectory of the Twins season and his career.

 

He remained with the Twins through August 31, 2013, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates to end the season. He spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Rockies. He owns the 2014 National League batting title when he hit .319 in 2014. He played in 58 games for the White Sox in 2016 before retiring.

 

He joined the Twins as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations the last two seasons. He has now spent time the last couple of seasons in the broadcast booth with Dick Bremer and will do about 60 games in 2020.

 

On Friday, May 22, the first 5,000 fans in attendance at Target Field will receive a Justin Morneau Hall of Fame pin. The first 10,000 fans to enter on Sunday, May 24, will receive a Morneau Hall of Fame bobblehead.

 

There is a 71-member committee that votes on the Twins Hall of Fame. It includes local and national media, club officials, fan vote and past elected members.

 

Morneau joins the following in the Twins Hall of Fame:

 

2000: Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, Calvin Griffith

2001: Jim Kaat, Herb Carneal

2002: Bert Blyleven, Tom Kelly

2003: Bob Casey, Bob Allison

2004: Earl Battey

2005: Frank Viola

2006: Carl Pohlad, Zoilo Versalles

2007: Jim Rantz

2008: Rick Aguilera

2009: Brad Radke, George Brophy

2010: Greg Gagne

2011: Jim Perry

2012: Camilo Pascual

2013: Eddie Guardado, Tom Mee

2014: Chuck Knoblauch (elected, but not inducted)

2015: none

2016: Torii Hunter, John Gordon

2017: Michael Cuddyer, Andy MacPhail

2018: Johan Santana

2019: Joe Nathan, Jerry Bell

2020: Justin Morneau

 

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[SF Twins Fan]

Congrats Jason Morneau!

[jkcarew]

Every bit the 'what if' story that Mauer was, IMO.

 

Congrats!

[Puckett34]

I find his near unanimous of 70 out of 71 voters for the Twins Hall of Fame more controversial than Jeter not being unanimous. 

[Doctor Gast]

Congrats to a great player & person! You deserve to be there! long live M&Ms

[bobs]

Always a soft spot for the guys whose names were on the back my boys' "player t-shirts" when they were growing up.  Great player, better guy.  Looking forward to listening to him in the booth for years to come.

[PseudoSABR]

So what's the story with Knoblauch getting elected but not inducted? I have no memory of this.

 

2014: Chuck Knoblauch (elected, but not inducted)
 

 

[Puckett34]

 

So what's the story with Knoblauch getting elected but not inducted? I have no memory of this.

Wasnt he arrested or something right around the time of the induction ceremony?

 

EDIT:  Yeah, arrested for assault about a month before the ceremony 

http://www.startribune.com/knoblauch-charged-with-assault-twins-scrap-hall-of-fame-day/268495992/

[Shaitan]

He still looks younger than me.

[Dantes929]

If he  was concussionless I am guessing he would have gotten into the HOF.   He was on his way to his 2nd MVP when it happened and who knows what else he could have done.   Very fun watching him and Mauer over the years.

[RochesterDave]

By far my favorite Red Wing , since the Twins became our ML affiliate in 2003. Plenty of prospects have come through here in 17 seasons (Mauer bypassed AAA) , but Justin was always clutch in his time here. In fact, I believe he was part of Terry Ryan’s decision to release David Ortiz. My second favorite? Francisco Liriano . Congrats to Justin, who also does a terrific job

as the color man on tv broadcasts.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Congrats Jason Morneau!

Justin AND Jason?

 

Ugh these watered-down hall of fames...

[FritzDahmus]

Congrats to a great Player...and a very interesting listen from the booth.

 

I am a little surprised to not see The Rat on the list. One of my favorites...and a very clutch player with an excellent glove.

[SF Twins Fan]

 

Justin AND Jason?

Ugh these watered-down hall of fames...

 

It was an attempt at humor based on Justin winning the homerun derby and the announcer calling him Jason.

[DocBauer]

I gotta be honest, I was thinking he had already been elected in.

 

Very deserving!! One of my all time favorite Twins. Ahhh...what might have been.

[jmlease1]

well-deserved. Love Justin Morneau. Will never forget him puffing out his cheeks as he took a mighty cut at a baseball that had somehow offended his Canadian sensibilities and required the punishment of a lengthy flight into the right field seats.

 

I was at Game 2 of the ALDS against Oakland at the Dome, and when he followed up Cuddyer's dinger with a shot of his own, it's the loudest I've ever heard any building at any event ever. (It's also one of the only times I've ever made a hr call, turned to my friend after Cuddy launched it and told him "Morneau's going back to back") I mean, holy cow.

 

He absolutely deserves this, he was a fantastic player for the Twins. A real shame about the concussion: realistically it took him 3 1/2 years to recover from it. (and I'm betting that playing in Colorado didn't help his longevity to push into his late 30's) He was absolutely destroying the ball in 2010: 187 OPS+, career high in bWAR in 1/2 a season...that would have been fun to see how he might have finished it.

 

I like him on the broadcasts. I think he still need a little more animation in his voice (he can be a little flat, but it's improved) but the information is great and he's clearly paying attention to what's going on and is interested and engaged. Looking forward to hearing him in the booth again, and I'm glad he's staying engaged with the franchise.

[IndianaTwin]

And, according to MLB Network, the Morneaudian was selected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 today, along with John Olerud, Duane Ward, and Jacques Doucet, the French voice of Les Expos de Montreal from 1969-2004.