William Malone

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! It is 2025! This means a lot of publications are having fun with quarter-century teams for various leagues and franchises. I have decided to join in on the action...but with a twist.
Here is the Twins quarter-century team based on single seasons. Not careers. Make sure to sound off in the comments about what a big stupid dum dum I am when you disagree with the list.
Catcher - 2009 Joe Mauer
AL MVP, All-Star, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove
.365/.444/.587 (1.031)
28 home runs
96 RBI
Joe Mauer had a lot of great seasons. He's one of just two catchers in Major League history to double up on the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in the same year at least three times (Iván Rodríguez). But this year still stands out above all the rest! Mauer led the American League in average, on-base percentage, and slugging. He won a Gold Glove. And he easily took home AL MVP honors.
First Base - 2006 Justin Morneau
AL MVP, Silver Slugger
.321/.375/.559 (.934)
34 home runs
130 RBI
Winning MVP without being an All-Star is not unheard of, but it's still somewhat rare. Justin Morneau got off to a very slow start in 2006. He was still carrying a sub-.700 OPS on May 8th. The Canadian slugger hit two home runs against the Texas Rangers on May 9th, and never looked back from there. His 130 RBI that season are the second most in Twins history, trailing only 1969 Harmon Killebrew (140).
Second Base - 2017 Brian Dozier
Gold Glove
.271/.359/.498 (.857)
34 home runs
93 RBI
This one might be controversial. A lot of metrics suggest that Brian Dozier was better in 2016. Maybe it's the fact that Minnesota was a much better team in 2017, but his 2017 season just felt better. There was a 19 point year-to-year jump in on-base percentage, which is never a bad thing for your lead-off hitter. Dozier didn't sacrifice that much power in the process, still finishing with 30 doubles and 34 home runs.
Third Base - 2001 Corey Koskie
25th in AL MVP voting
.276/.362/.488 (.850)
26 home runs
103 RBI
Shout out to 2019 Miguel Sanó. He was so good that summer, hitting 34 bombs with a .923 OPS. Bring up juiced balls all you want, but it was still a 139 OPS+ when adjusting to League averages. This Koskie season only came out to a 121 OPS+. But the best ability is still availability, which factored in here. Koskie played 153 games in 2001, while Sanó only played 105 in 2019. Can't forget about defense too.
Shortstop - 2022 Carlos Correa
Led all shortstops in OPS
.291/.366/.467 (.833)
22 home runs
64 RBI
Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts co-led all shortstops with an .833 OPS in 2022. They were both a healthy margin over third place Trea Turner (.809). A slow start probably kept Correa out of the All-Star game. His average and on-base percentage were fairly strong throughout the year, but Correa hit 19 of his 22 home runs after June 1st in 2022.
 
Left Field - 2012 Josh Willingham
Silver Slugger
.260/.366/.524 (.890)
35 home runs
110 RBI
Fans were very upset when the Twins signed Josh Willingham, but it really had nothing to do with Josh Willingham. It was the same off-season where Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel left in free agency. It's natural for the customers to prefer some fan favorites over a journeyman. Willingham helped smooth things over by launching 35 bombs in 2012. He won a Silver Slugger for his efforts.
Center Field - 2002 Torii Hunter
All-Star, Gold Glove
.289/.334/.524 (.858)
29 home runs
94 RBI
Torii Hunter wasn't a standout offensive star throughout his Twins tenure, and he only has a 103 OPS+ with the club. That's the same as Max Kepler. His offense truly came around later on with the Angels, and he was able to win two Silver Sluggers. But 2002 gave a glimpse into what his offensive ceiling was. It was his best offensive season with the Twins, complimented by his legendary defensive abilities.
Right Field - 2019 Max Kepler
20th in AL MVP voting
.252/.326/.519 (.855)
36 home runs
90 RBI
People questioned the usage of Max Kepler as a lead-off hitter entering 2019. They started to question it even more when he began the year in an 0-for-10 skid. These concerns began to die down as Kepler began to heat up at the plate. He finished the year with 36 home runs, 90 RBI and zero errors committed in the field. Kepler also had a higher OPS against lefties than righties, which goes against his career splits.
Designated hitter - 2020 Nelson Cruz
Silver Slugger
.303/.397/.595 (.992)
16 home runs
33 RBI
This one is probably going to be controversial. The rate stats were a bit lower in 2020, but they were better compared to league averages with an un-juiced baseball. Cruz had a higher OPS+ in 2020, compared to 2019. His full season pace was 43 home runs, two more than he hit in 2019. Granted, Cruz missed some time with a wrist injury in 2019. He was also not available to start National League games. The DH was universal in 2020. This allowed Cruz to play in a higher percentage of games.
Starting Pitcher - 2004 Johan Santana
AL Cy Young
20-6, 2.61 ERA
Earlier in this lovely blog post, you read about Justin Morneau and his slow start in 2006. The same thing happened to Johan Santana in 2004. He finished May with a 5.61 ERA through 11 starts, and still wound up having the best year of a career filled with several fantastic seasons. Santana had a 1.51 ERA over his final 23 starts, surrendering only two runs in six September starts.
Relief Pitcher - 2006 Joe Nathan
5th in AL Cy Young voting
7-0, 1.58 ERA, 36-for-38 saves 
The Twins were 58-6 when Joe Nathan pitched in 2006. And five of them were just appearances to get the guy some work. They were down by three or more runs by the time he entered those games. The sixth loss came when he pitched a shutout ninth inning in a tie game on July 28th, and they wound up losing in extras. Minnesota actually wound up winning the two games where Nathan was charged with a "blown save."

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins just swept the Baltimore Orioles in a three game series.
This is good news because it's never a bad thing to sweep an opponent. It doesn't matter what their record is. Sweeps are good!
Even though all sweeps are good, the Baltimore Orioles have been struggling a bit. Granted, they've been better in recent seasons. Baltimore won 83 games in 2022, 101 games in 2023, and 91 games in 2024. Three straight winning seasons with a young core has made their 2025 struggles a shock to some.
This run of success was built through outstanding development. Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson are young stars who already have Silver Sluggers and top ten MVP finishes on their resume. They're supplemented by several other highly touted prospects, including Jackson Holiday and Heston Kjerstad.
But it's not working! The Orioles are 13-23. So what went wrong? People can't blame Peter Angelos anymore. If you're not familiar with him, he was the Orioles owner from 1993 until his death in 2024. Fans here in Minnesota love crying about their current owners. A lot of that criticism is deserved too. But everything you have ever said about a Pohlad was said by an Orioles fan about Peter Angelos. Word for word. Bar for bar. Line for line.
The Orioles have been even cheaper than the Twins over the years. Baltimore has only outspent the Twins four times (2015-18) since Target Field opened in 2010. With the health of Peter Angelos beginning to fail, the family decided to sell the team to David Rubenstein on January 20, 2024. Peter Angelos passed away on March 23, 2024. This was just three days before the sale became official.
Nobody was really celebrating a man's death. That's not cool. But fans were celebrating a change in ownership. David Rubenstein is Baltimore born and raised. A lifelong Orioles fan who is also worth $3.7 billion. Surely, the days of being cheap are about to end!
Well, that's not how it all worked out. Baltimore had traded for the expiring contract of Corbin Burnes ahead of the 2024 season, and he was brilliant for them! Burnes had a 2.92 ERA and finished fifth in the AL Cy Young voting. But the big bank account of Rubenstein wasn't able to re-sign the ace. He went out west to the Arizona Diamondbacks. There were several great free agents on the market who could replace Burnes, including Blake Snell and Max Fried. But the Orioles came away with...Charlie Morton and Kyle Gibson.
Let's go over to the offensive side of things, because the Orioles also lost a key bat in free agency. Switch hitting outfielder Anthony Santander hit 44 home runs for the Orioles in 2024, winning a Silver Slugger and finishing 14th in the AL MVP voting. The Toronto Blue Jays signed Santander to a five year, $93 million contract. Baltimore went out and replaced him with Tyler O'Neill. That's probably a little better than replacing Corbin Burnes with Kyle Gibson, but it's still not great. Especially in the first off-season after your "cheap owner who doesn't care about winning" sold the team to someone new.
The moral of the story is to be careful what you wish for with new ownership. The Orioles have been cheaper than the Twins in recent memory, and selling the team doesn't seem to be fixing the problem. Steve Cohen-types don't grow on trees. Most owners don't dip into their own pockets to fund payroll. Most teams just spent somewhere between 45% and 55% of their club revenue on payroll, and call it a day. Even the mighty Yankees fall into that wheelhouse, allocating 49.7% of their revenue towards payroll. This is against 47.4% for the Twins. The gap in actual payroll is created by the Yankees simply having a much larger revenue stream.
I'm not making excuses for these billionaires. I believe they should be able to spend more. But I also understand reality. Trade the Pohald's for the Steinbrenner's and nothing probably changes. Same for any potential buyer of the Twins. This franchise will probably get sold at some point in the next year. Just don't set you expectations too high. Things might get better. But odds are, they stay the same.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! We are finally deep enough into the season where the stupid off-day after a team's first home game is no more. Less off days means more baseball! And more baseball makes fans of this wonder games so happy.
Superfans of this wonderful sport are always dying for some bits of information on their favorite players. A good place to look for this is a team's media guide. Well, guess what? Your ole pal William Malone IV has gotten his hands on the 2025 Minnesota Twins Media Guide. It's 533 pages of beautiful baseball related information. So many stats, record, and of course...random information on every Twins player! Here are some things you might not have known about a few Twins players.
And remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, the damn thing was 533 pages.
Byron Buxton
The Minnesota Twins media guide talks glowingly about the great high school football career of Byron Buxton. He was an All-State wide receiver and defensive back as a senior. The media guide also notes that Buxton was an All-Region quarterback as a junior. It claims he still keeps in touch with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who played for a rival high school of his in Georgia. They were in the same class, and had many battles against each other as wide receivers and defensive backs.
Willi Castro
The Minnesota Twins media guide tells you a lot about his father, Lilliano, who is a baseball lifer. Lilliano Castro signed with the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1987, but suffered a career ending arm injury before ever reaching the big leagues. He stayed close to the game though, working as a coach in the Tigers minor league system for almost a decade. Lilliano eventually started coaching in the New York Mets farm system. The media guide claims Willi and Lilliano text each other after every game.
Carlos Correa
The Minnesota Twins media guide talks about the podcast that Carlos Correa used to co-host with former Houston Astros teammate. This wasn't a baseball podcast though. It was two teammates bonding over their shared love for combat sports. It was called "The Walkout," and was picked up by SiriusXM for their mixed martial arts channel at one point. It has a 4.5 out of five star rating on Apple Podcasts, but there has not been a new episode since June of 2021.
David Festa
The Minnesota Twins media guide talks about the odd combination of sports teams that David Festa is a fan of. It claims he is a fan of the New York Rangers, New York Knicks, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Volunteers football. Perhaps those first two make sense. Maybe the Colts/Tennessee combination works too if he was just a big Peyton Manning guy. That's speculation though, as Manning was not named in the media guide. He is also a fan of professional tennis and golf, citing Brooks Koepka as his favorite golfer.
Ryan Jeffers
The Minnesota Twins media guide informs readers that Ryan Jeffers spends his off-seasons working out at Hudson Rose Athletics in Wilmington, North Carolina. Walker Jenkins, who was drafted fifth overall by the Twins in 2023, also works out there in the off-season. They have both been working out there since 2019, but only began working out together in the 2023-24 off-season after Minnesota drafted Jenkins.
Trevor Larnach
The Minnesota Twins media guide tells you that Trevor Larnach has a strong interest in real estate, even claiming that Larnach would be a real estate agent if he was not a professional baseball player. When the Twins are on the road, he will often spend time on Zillow checking out houses in the local area of whatever city the team is in.
Royce Lewis
The Minnesota Twins media guide goes into the love Royce Lewis has for football, even if he can't pick a favorite team. He was a Chargers fan while growing up in the San Diego area, but has since switched allegiance to the Dallas Cowboys after making his off-season home in the Dallas area. Despite being a Cowboys fan, the media guide does say that Lewis still follows the Vikings very closely. It also claims he is an avid fantasy football player.
Pablo Lopez
The Minnesota Twins media guide talks about how Pablo Lopez aspires to be a nutritionist when his playing career is over. As a teenager, he had been prepping to attend medical school had baseball not worked out for him. As his playing career has gone on, Lopez has developed a great interest in taking care of his body. He would like to go back to school when his career is over, and get a degree in nutritional science.
Austin Martin
The Minnesota Twins media guide claims that Austin Martin is a "go with the flow" kind of guy who enjoys fishing, video games, and hanging out with friends at the beach. He learned how to play the ukulele during the COVID-19 pandemic, and likes to watch "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Dora the Explorer."
Bailey Ober
The Minnesota Twins media guide discusses multiple trips Bailey Ober took to Charleston, South Carolina during this past off-season. Ober, who attended College of Charleston, began their off-season by going on vacation there. He went back a few months later to celebrate a college teammate for getting into their school's Hall of Fame.
Justin Topa
The Minnesota Twins media guide tells readers that Justin Topa enjoys collecting sports memorabilia, which is a hobby he shares with his father. They enjoy opening packs of baseball cards together. This love of collecting applies to memorabilia from several different sports. The Topas are huge hockey fans, which is a sport Justin played at Chenango Valley High School in New York.
Louis Varland
The Minnesota Twins media guide lists off several "favorites" of relief pitcher Louis Varland. Here they are...
Movie: Rocky I
Musical act: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sports team: Minnesota Vikings
Opposing ballpark: Fenway Park
Pregame meal: Chipotle
Christian Vazquez
The Minnesota Twins media guide explains why Christian Vazquez picked the number eight. His first choice was seven, which he wore for several seasons with the Boston Red Sox. But that is retired for legendary Twins catcher Joe Mauer. His second choice was nine, which he wore during his brief time with the Houston Astros. That was taken by Trevor Larnach. So he picked eight by settling in the middle of those two numbers.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! It is another "What If Wednesday" with your ole pal William Malone IV.
Scenario: what would happen if Corey Koskie's ground rule double off Mariano Rivera in game two of the 2004 ALDS had stayed in play?
Let's set the scene! 2004 American League Division Series. Game two. The Minnesota Twins are playing in the Bronx against the mighty New York Yankees, but they lead the series 1-0. AL Cy Young winner Johan Santana had tossed an absolute gem in game one, but Brad Radke got hit around a bit in game two. They trailed 5-3 entering the eighth inning. Minnesota had the top of their order up, and Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre countered with veteran reliever Tom Gordon in a set-up role.
Gordon had no issues retiring Shannon Stewart, and he seemingly had no issues retiring Jacque Jones as well. But Jorge Posada couldn't hold onto strike three, and Jones arrived safely at first base. Torii Hunter lined a single to center field on the second pitch of his at-bat, forcing Torii to call upon legendary closer Mariano Rivera for a five out save.
This might've been a mistake on Torre's part. On paper, going to Mariano Rivera is the smartest decision any manager could ever make. But these games aren't played on paper. The humans who play them need to perform. And in order to perform, a pitcher like Rivera needs to be properly warmed up. He had not been throwing during the Jones at-bat. The ESPN broadcast cuts to him just beginning to stretch after Jones reached first. Because the Torii Hunter at-bat was just two pitches, there was almost no time for Rivera to get some real warm-up tosses from the bullpen mound. Go watch the broadcast footage for yourself.
The Yankees have other options. They could've simply asked Rivera for a six out save, something he had done several times under the bright lights of October. They could've stuck with Gordon, who was pitching well. It's not really his fault that Jorge Posada couldn't block a strike three pitch in the dirt that he got Jones to bite on. The only blemish was a base hit to Hunter. A third option would've been to start the inning with Rivera already throwing, so you know he'll be ready at the first sign of trouble.
But instead, they put an ice cold Mariano Rivera out there on the mound against budding superstar Justin Morneau. It wasn't the prettiest of RBI singles, but the 23-year old first baseman delivered a run scoring knock on the very first pitch he saw. The Twins now trailed by only one, and there were runners at the corners. 
 
After that, fellow Canadian infielder Corey Koskie pieced together possibly the greatest at-bat of his career. He battled with Rivera for nine pitches, eventually lofting an RBI double to the opposite field. It allowed the tying run to score, but also cost the Twins a run at the same time. Pinch runner Luis Rivas had the speed to score from first, but the ball bounced just over the left field wall for a ground rule double. Rivas was stuck at third, and now Rivera was a little more warmed up. He was finally locked in. Jason Kubel struck out. Cristian Guzman hit a weak groundout. The game was now tied going into the bottom of the eighth. 
 
So this is today's "What If Wednesday" with your ole pal William Malone IV. What if that double stayed in play? One assumption we are making is that Rivas can score from first, giving Minnesota a 6-5 lead. Juan Rincon pitched a dominant bottom of the eighth inning. He struck out Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, while getting Bernie Williams to ground out. He pitched an equally dominant ninth, striking out Ruben Sierra and Miguel Cairo, while getting John Olerud to ground out. But had the Twins been winning, it's safe to assume that Ron Gardenhire would've turned to Joe Nathan for those three outs in the ninth inning.
The playoff struggles of Nathan have been well discussed over the years. This game is even one of those examples of failure. But he did pitch a 1-2-3 tenth inning while the game was tied, retiring the Jeter-ARod-Sheffield trio. Nathan tossed a shutout 11th to, before blowing the game in the 12th. His failures in this game came in his third inning of work. We'd only need one inning if that Koskie double stayed in play. And it was against 7-8-9 in the Yankees order too. So for this "What If" scenario, we'll say Nathan can get those three outs in the ninth inning.
Now the Twins have a 2-0 series lead. They lost game three 8-4, once again scoring two runs in the ninth inning off Mariano Rivera when he came in trying to clean up someone else's mess without throwing warm-up pitches. For as great as he was, and he is the undisputed greatest relief pitcher of all-time, the inherited runner numbers are a little lacking. Part of this was because Joe Torre would frequently put him in the game without any time to properly warm-up. He allowed 35% of inherited runners to score under Torre, compared to just 24% after Joe Girardi took over in 2008. The Major League average is a little over 30% in any given year, give or take. It was 32% in 2004, the year of this playoff series. It was 33% last year.
Now that that sidebar about inherited runners is over, we've got a series that Minnesota leads 2-1. We'll assume game three plays out the same way. But game four is a little trickier. Johan Santana was asked to start on three days rest when the Twins were facing elimination. If they were ahead 2-1, they would likely start Kyle Lohse instead. Lohse was 9-13 with a 5.34 ERA during the 2004 season. He also had a really bad regular season start on September 29th that season. Weirder things have happened in the wonder sport of baseball, but you can't sit here and predict that the Twins would win that game with Lohse starting.
And now we're onto game five with a fully rested Johan Santana. He tossed seven shutout innings in game one, and five innings of run run ball on short rest in game four. He was pulled at 87 pitches in game four, laboring a bit in that final inning. It seemed like the short rest was finally catching up to him a bit. He had also tossed two gems against the Yankees during the regular season. They couldn't hit him. Minnesota was going to win that game with Santana on full rest.
That's right. They win the damn series if Corey Koskie's double against Rivera in game two simply stays in the field of play. But what next? Minnesota would've played the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Because of how the schedule worked out, Santana likely wouldn't have been available until game three. Boston had swept the Angels during the ALDS, so Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez were available in games one and two.
It's honestly somewhat reasonable to think the Twins could've won game one. Schilling's ankle was soup at that point. God know what possessed him to do what he did in game six with the bloody sock, but the initial injury occurred during game one of the ALDS against Anaheim. The Yankees hit him pretty hard in game one, and Schilling allowed six runs over just three innings. A very capable Brad Radke could've held down the fort, guiding Minnesota to a game one win.
Game two is trickier. Pedro Martinez pitched well, but the Red Sox just didn't hit. The Twins rotation fell off after Radke, and you feel like Boston could've scored a few more runs against Carlos Silva. Johan Santana can beat Bronson Arroyo in game three, and you're split at two games each after Derek Lowe beats Lohse.
One thing people never talk about with the 2004 ALCS is how the Red Sox were bailed out by Mother Nature. A rainout between games three and four pushed game five back into the scheduled off day for travel ahead of game six. This allowed them to flip Martinez and Schilling in the rotation, giving Schilling extra time to rest his ankle. Had game five been on its regularly scheduled date, Boston might've been stuck with a bullpen day. Schilling just wasn't ready to go yet. But a strong start from Martinez in game five followed by whatever voodoo magic Schilling had working in game six could be enough to send Minnesota home.
They probably would've started Santana on three days rest in game six while facing elimination. But again, Schilling just had something going for him with that damn bloody sock.
That's how things would've played out if Corey Koskie's double in game two of the 2004 ALDS had stayed in play. The Minnesota Twins would reach the ALDS, but lose in six games against the Boston Red Sox. I hope you all enjoied this week's edition of "Willy's What If." How do you think things would've played out if that double stayed in play? And if you have ideas for a future topic, please send them in the comments!
 

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season is in full swing and the Minnesota Twins are back in action.
I know some of the frontrunners are angry at their record, but the real fans are just happy to watch their favorite team play baseball. It's such a wonderful sport, and many of us have missed the greatness of the Twins for the winter months. These negative fans have some reason to be negative. Minnesota has not played well so far. But some of the complaints are just hollow and fake. So if you're going to complain, find something that's actually worth complaining about.
Crying about Rocco Baldelli pulling Joe Ryan at 81 pitches is the latest example of fans complaining for the sake of complaining. So, it didn't work out. But did you watch any of the other 14 games across Major League baseball that day? It's a fairly normal occurrence. And yes, sometimes managers go against this practice. And many times, it doesn't work.
On Saturday night, just hours after Joe Ryan was pulled against St. Louis, Griffin Canning of the New York Mets having an even better start. He was through five innings on 72 pitches, allowing only one run. Canning came out for the sixth inning, allowed the go-ahead run, and New York wound up falling to the Houston Astros.
There is no right or wrong decision for these managers to make. No matter what they do, the players have to show up and do their jobs. They decide the outcomes. For every "losing" decision fans complain about, there's another manager who makes the opposite decision and still winds up losing. But most fans only watch their favorite team, and ignore the other 29. So they're missing out on all these "losing" decisions that other managers make. How many angry Twins fans turned around to watch the Mets blow that game against Houston with Carlos Mendoza making opposite decisions? Probably a pretty small number.
The same thing goes for third base coaches. All 30 fan bases will insist that they have the worst third base coach. You see it all over social media every single time someone gets thrown out at home. "(insert name) is the WORST third base coach in the league!!!" But none of these fans watch the other 29 third base coaches to get a fair grasp on how their own coach actually stacks up. And whenever their opponent has a player thrown out at home, these same fans will never blame the opponent's third base coach. They'll just praise their outfielder for a great throw or their catcher for a great tag. It's only on the third base coach if it's their own team getting hosed at home.
Nobody is saying you can't complain. Just complain about real issues. Not these made up issues when you have no real frame of reference to stack up your team against the other 29. You know what has been a problem for the Twins? Offense! Even if Baldelli had stuck with Ryan, and there's no guarantee that Ryan keeps putting up zeros, Minnesota would still have to score another run at some point. They never had the lead. It was a tie game. You can't win a 1-1 game without eventually scoring again, which the Twins never did. It's not illegal to score eight runs. Just do that! And all the managerial decisions get so much easier.
And I know the pitching hasn't been great either, but hitting is probably more important. It's often easier to out slug your opponent than to try and win 3-2 or 2-1 games every night. The Seattle Mariners allowed the least runs in 2024. They also missed the playoffs. And you still need to slug your way through the playoffs against "playoff pitching." Remember that 2019 World Series with loaded rotations on paper? Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin against Verlander, Cole and Greinke? The winning run totals in those seven games were 5, 12, 4, 8, 7, 7 and 6. And then the takeaway from fans across baseball was "you need a three headed rotation monster to win the World Series!"

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season is in full swing and the Minnesota Twins are back in action.
I know some of the frontrunners are angry at their record, but the real fans are just happy to watch their favorite team play baseball. It's such a wonderful sport, and many of us have missed the greatness of the Twins for the winter months. These negative fans have some reason to be negative. Minnesota has not played well so far. But some of the complaints are just hollow and fake. So if you're going to complain, find something that's actually worth complaining about.
Crying about Rocco Baldelli pulling Joe Ryan at 81 pitches is the latest example of fans complaining for the sake of complaining. So, it didn't work out. But did you watch any of the other 14 games across Major League baseball that day? It's a fairly normal occurrence. And yes, sometimes managers go against this practice. And many times, it doesn't work.
On Saturday night, just hours after Joe Ryan was pulled against St. Louis, Griffin Canning of the New York Mets having an even better start. He was through five innings on 72 pitches, allowing only one run. Canning came out for the sixth inning, allowed the go-ahead run, and New York wound up falling to the Houston Astros.
There is no right or wrong decision for these managers to make. No matter what they do, the players have to show up and do their jobs. They decide the outcomes. For every "losing" decision fans complain about, there's another manager who makes the opposite decision and still winds up losing. But most fans only watch their favorite team, and ignore the other 29. So they're missing out on all these "losing" decisions that other managers make. How many angry Twins fans turned around to watch the Mets blow that game against Houston with Carlos Mendoza making opposite decisions? Probably a pretty small number.
The same thing goes for third base coaches. All 30 fan bases will insist that they have the worst third base coach. You see it all over social media every single time someone gets thrown out at home. "(insert name) is the WORST third base coach in the league!!!" But none of these fans watch the other 29 third base coaches to get a fair grasp on how their own coach actually stacks up. And whenever their opponent has a player thrown out at home, these same fans will never blame the opponent's third base coach. They'll just praise their outfielder for a great throw or their catcher for a great tag. It's only on the third base coach if it's their own team getting hosed at home.
Nobody is saying you can't complain. Just complain about real issues. Not these made up issues when you have no real frame of reference to stack up your team against the other 29. You know what has been a problem for the Twins? Offense! Even if Baldelli had stuck with Ryan, and there's no guarantee that Ryan keeps putting up zeros, Minnesota would still have to score another run at some point. They never had the lead. It was a tie game. You can't win a 1-1 game without eventually scoring again, which the Twins never did. It's not illegal to score eight runs. Just do that! And all the managerial decisions get so much easier.
And I know the pitching hasn't been great either, but hitting is probably more important. It's often easier to out slug your opponent than to try and win 3-2 or 2-1 games every night. The Seattle Mariners allowed the least runs in 2024. They also missed the playoffs. And you still need to slug your way through the playoffs against "playoff pitching." Remember that 2019 World Series with loaded rotations on paper? Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin against Verlander, Cole and Greinke? The winning run totals in those seven games were 5, 12, 4, 8, 7, 7 and 6. And then the takeaway from fans across baseball was "you need a three headed rotation monster to win the World Series!"

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season is in full swing and the Minnesota Twins are back in action.
I know some of the frontrunners are angry at their record, but the real fans are just happy to watch their favorite team play baseball. It's such a wonderful sport, and many of us have missed the greatness of the Twins for the winter months. These negative fans have some reason to be negative. Minnesota has not played well so far. But some of the complaints are just hollow and fake. So if you're going to complain, find something that's actually worth complaining about.
Crying about Rocco Baldelli pulling Joe Ryan at 81 pitches is the latest example of fans complaining for the sake of complaining. So, it didn't work out. But did you watch any of the other 14 games across Major League baseball that day? It's a fairly normal occurrence. And yes, sometimes managers go against this practice. And many times, it doesn't work.
On Saturday night, just hours after Joe Ryan was pulled against St. Louis, Griffin Canning of the New York Mets having an even better start. He was through five innings on 72 pitches, allowing only one run. Canning came out for the sixth inning, allowed the go-ahead run, and New York wound up falling to the Houston Astros.
There is no right or wrong decision for these managers to make. No matter what they do, the players have to show up and do their jobs. They decide the outcomes. For every "losing" decision fans complain about, there's another manager who makes the opposite decision and still winds up losing. But most fans only watch their favorite team, and ignore the other 29. So they're missing out on all these "losing" decisions that other managers make. How many angry Twins fans turned around to watch the Mets blow that game against Houston with Carlos Mendoza making opposite decisions? Probably a pretty small number.
The same thing goes for third base coaches. All 30 fan bases will insist that they have the worst third base coach. You see it all over social media every single time someone gets thrown out at home. "(insert name) is the WORST third base coach in the league!!!" But none of these fans watch the other 29 third base coaches to get a fair grasp on how their own coach actually stacks up. And whenever their opponent has a player thrown out at home, these same fans will never blame the opponent's third base coach. They'll just praise their outfielder for a great throw or their catcher for a great tag. It's only on the third base coach if it's their own team getting hosed at home.
Nobody is saying you can't complain. Just complain about real issues. Not these made up issues when you have no real frame of reference to stack up your team against the other 29. You know what has been a problem for the Twins? Offense! Even if Baldelli had stuck with Ryan, and there's no guarantee that Ryan keeps putting up zeros, Minnesota would still have to score another run at some point. They never had the lead. It was a tie game. You can't win a 1-1 game without eventually scoring again, which the Twins never did. It's not illegal to score eight runs. Just do that! And all the managerial decisions get so much easier.
And I know the pitching hasn't been great either, but hitting is probably more important. It's often easier to out slug your opponent than to try and win 3-2 or 2-1 games every night. The Seattle Mariners allowed the least runs in 2024. They also missed the playoffs. And you still need to slug your way through the playoffs against "playoff pitching." Remember that 2019 World Series with loaded rotations on paper? Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin against Verlander, Cole and Greinke? The winning run totals in those seven games were 5, 12, 4, 8, 7, 7 and 6. And then the takeaway from fans across baseball was "you need a three headed rotation monster to win the World Series!"

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season is in full swing and the Minnesota Twins are back in action.
I know some of the frontrunners are angry at their record, but the real fans are just happy to watch their favorite team play baseball. It's such a wonderful sport, and many of us have missed the greatness of the Twins for the winter months. These negative fans have some reason to be negative. Minnesota has not played well so far. But some of the complaints are just hollow and fake. So if you're going to complain, find something that's actually worth complaining about.
Crying about Rocco Baldelli pulling Joe Ryan at 81 pitches is the latest example of fans complaining for the sake of complaining. So, it didn't work out. But did you watch any of the other 14 games across Major League baseball that day? It's a fairly normal occurrence. And yes, sometimes managers go against this practice. And many times, it doesn't work.
On Saturday night, just hours after Joe Ryan was pulled against St. Louis, Griffin Canning of the New York Mets having an even better start. He was through five innings on 72 pitches, allowing only one run. Canning came out for the sixth inning, allowed the go-ahead run, and New York wound up falling to the Houston Astros.
There is no right or wrong decision for these managers to make. No matter what they do, the players have to show up and do their jobs. They decide the outcomes. For every "losing" decision fans complain about, there's another manager who makes the opposite decision and still winds up losing. But most fans only watch their favorite team, and ignore the other 29. So they're missing out on all these "losing" decisions that other managers make. How many angry Twins fans turned around to watch the Mets blow that game against Houston with Carlos Mendoza making opposite decisions? Probably a pretty small number.
The same thing goes for third base coaches. All 30 fan bases will insist that they have the worst third base coach. You see it all over social media every single time someone gets thrown out at home. "(insert name) is the WORST third base coach in the league!!!" But none of these fans watch the other 29 third base coaches to get a fair grasp on how their own coach actually stacks up. And whenever their opponent has a player thrown out at home, these same fans will never blame the opponent's third base coach. They'll just praise their outfielder for a great throw or their catcher for a great tag. It's only on the third base coach if it's their own team getting hosed at home.
Nobody is saying you can't complain. Just complain about real issues. Not these made up issues when you have no real frame of reference to stack up your team against the other 29. You know what has been a problem for the Twins? Offense! Even if Baldelli had stuck with Ryan, and there's no guarantee that Ryan keeps putting up zeros, Minnesota would still have to score another run at some point. They never had the lead. It was a tie game. You can't win a 1-1 game without eventually scoring again, which the Twins never did. It's not illegal to score eight runs. Just do that! And all the managerial decisions get so much easier.
And I know the pitching hasn't been great either, but hitting is probably more important. It's often easier to out slug your opponent than to try and win 3-2 or 2-1 games every night. The Seattle Mariners allowed the least runs in 2024. They also missed the playoffs. And you still need to slug your way through the playoffs against "playoff pitching." Remember that 2019 World Series with loaded rotations on paper? Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin against Verlander, Cole and Greinke? The winning run totals in those seven games were 5, 12, 4, 8, 7, 7 and 6. And then the takeaway from fans across baseball was "you need a three headed rotation monster to win the World Series!"

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins had a wonderful game this week featuring only prospects. Many of these prospects were acquired through a magical process wildly known as the MLB Draft.
The MLB Draft is only 20 round these days, but it used to have an infinite number of rounds. Teams would keep picking for as long as they wanted, and then drop out once they were happy with who they had. The Minnesota Twins have stuck around in this process for as many as 60 rounds, getting that deep in 1993. Their second longest draft was 59 rounds in 1989.
So who are the best players taken in each of these 60 rounds? Here is your answer! In years where none of the players reached the Majors, it is left blank.
1st round Joe Mauer
It's hard to beat a first ballot Hall of Fame player who you take with the first overall pick. Mauer won three batting titles, to go along with five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves at catcher.
2nd Round Frank Viola
The 1987 World Series MVP followed that up by winning AL Cy Young in 1988. He was a three time All-Star, who had nice tenures with both the Twins and New York Mets.
3rd Round Bert Blyleven
Minnesota also used a third round pick on 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, but you can't go wrong with the Hall of Fame pitcher. It took awhile for Blyleven to get induced, but the resume was always obvious. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts, and ninth in shutouts.
4th Round Graig Nettles
Sadly, almost all of his big league success came away from the Twin Cities. He was traded to Cleveland just 121 games into his big league career, and blossomed into a six time All-Star. Nettles won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 with the New York Yankees, also winning ALCS MVP in 1981.
5th Round Dave Goltz
Goltz was a solid starting pitcher in the league for a decade, and was a 20 game winner for the Twins in 1977. He won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.
6th Round Pat Neshek
The electric sidearm reliever had some great seasons with the Twins early in his career, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and struggled upon returning in 2010. It took him a few years, and a few stops with other clubs, to find his form again. But he eventually began to dominate again, making All-Star appearances in 2014 and 2017.
7th Round LaTroy Hawkins
He certainly had a long career, and it came with many great years too. Hawkins was a bullpen staple for the Twins in the early Ron Gardenhire years, often setting up closer Eddie Guardado. He played for 11 teams in his 21 Major League seasons.
8th Round Brad Radke
One of Tom Kelly or Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Radke on Opening Day nine times, which is the most Opening Day starts in Twins history. He finished third in the 1997 AL Cy Young voting.
9th Round Mitch Garver
The Bomba Squad wouldn't have been complete without Garver, who hit 31 home runs in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger. His career has been filled with many ups and downs. Some good stretches, some bad stretches, and some stretches where he's the best hitting catcher in baseball.
10th Round Marty Cordova
Steve Braun and Jeff Reboulet were ten round picks of the Twins who had longer careers, but Marty Cordova had a solid peak. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, and followed that up with a 111 RBI season in 1997. There were a few other solid seasons sprinkled in after that.
11th Round Taylor Rogers
Rogers had a 3.15 ERA across six seasons as bullpen mainstay for the Twins. They traded him to San Diego for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, where he had a nightmare season. Things have gotten a little better for him since moving onto San Francisco.
12th Round Jason Kubel
Bailey Ober might have this spot soon. You could even argue he should have it now, as his career WAR has already surpassed Kubel. But we'll give respect to the man who hit a billion clutch grand slams for the Twins.
13th Round Matt Lawton
He was a very good right fielder for several bad Twins teams in the late 90's, but he was never able to enjoy their early 2000's success after getting traded to the New York Mets for Rick Reed at the 2001 deadline.
14th Round Mike Trombley
After struggling as a starter early in his career, Trombley became a reliable middle reliever who had a nice 11-year big league career.
15th Round Rick Dempsey
Remember Graig Nettles from earlier in this list? Dempsey is another guy who had a lot of success after getting traded away from Minnesota. He was World Series MVP with the Orioles in 1983.
16th Round Kolten Wong
Wong is the first of several players on this list who never played for the Twins. Minnesota drafted him out of high school, but he didn't sign and chose to play at the University of Hawaii. After a stellar college career, St. Louis drafted Wong in the first round.
17th Round Kent Hrbek
It's always cool to draft a franchise legend in round 17. It's even cooler when he's a Minnesota native.
18th Round Edouard Julien
The Twins are hoping that Julien can become a mainstay for the club. He got off to a great start in 2023, before undergoing a rough sophomore season in the bigs.
19th Round Danny Valencia
Fans might've been hoping for more after Valencia finished third in the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year voting, but he still had a respectable nine year career. Most of it was spent as a platoon bat.
20th Round Damian Miller
Arizona swiped Miller from the Twins in the 1998 expansion draft. He was their starting catcher when they won the World Series in 2001, and an All-Star in 2002.
21st Round Eddie Guardado
Round 21 helped the Twins build a huge chunk of their early 2000's bullpen, given them Eddie Guardado and J.C. Romero. Guardado did have the better overall career, and is in the Twins Hall of Fame.
22nd Round Trevor Hildenberger
The sidearm slinging righty had a great rookie season for the Twins in 2017, giving them big relief appearances during a tight playoff race. But he was never able to repeat that season.
23rd Round Willie Eyre
We're reaching a point where some of these rounds don't have much to choose from. Eyre made 42 relief appearances for the Twins in 2006, and 69 others for the Orioles and Rangers after that.
24th Round Juan Padilla
Padilla was the player to be named later sent to the New York Yankees for Jesse Orosco in an August wavier trade during the 2003 season. He made 42 career relief appearances for the Yankees, Mets and Reds.
25th Round Taylor Hearn
Hearn never signed with the Twins after getting drafted in the 25th round, and he was taken by the Nationals in the fifth round one year later. He's made 101 big league pitching appearances for the Rangers, Royals and Braves.
26th Round Corey Koskie
The newest Twins Hall of Fame member began his professional baseball career by getting taken in round 26.
27th Round Scott Stahoviak
Minnesota took Stahoviak out of Creighton with their first round choice in 1991. They had previously drafted him out of high school in round 25, but he obviously chose to play in college.
28th Round Bret Boone
He chose to attend USC instead of signing with the Twins as a 28th round pick. Boone wound up having an excellent career, winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. While he opted against starting his professional career with the Twins, he did end things in Minnesota with a 14 game stint in 2005,
29th Round Nick Blackburn
"Big Game Blackburn" often showed up for the Twins when they needed him most. He had a stellar performance in the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game, only to have his offense provide no run support. His final three starts of 2009 were all seven inning gems, allowing three total runs in those appearances. Each one of these was vital to the Twins forcing a second straight game 163.
30th Round Michael Tonkin
15 years later and he's still on the Twins. There have been a lot of stops in the middle though.
31st Round Mike Lamb
Lamb is another late round pick who the Twins didn't sign. He was a seventh round pick of the Rangers a few years later, and eventually made it back to the Twins for a brief stint as their third baseman in 2008. Lamb was the Astros starting first baseman in the 2005 World Series.
32nd Round Matt Wallner
Minnesota selected Matt Wallner in 2016 out of Forest Lake High School, and listed him as a pitcher on their draft card. While he continued to play two ways in college, they drafted him out of Southern Mississippi a few years later as an outfielder.
33rd Round Nick Punto
We've seen it a few times already, but these late round picks who don't sign have a funny way of making it back to the Twins. Punto was re-drafted by the Phillies a year after declining to sign in Minnesota, only to become a fan favorite at the Metrodome.
34th Round Tim Davis
Davis didn't sign with the Twins, and was later re-drafted by Seattle. He pitched 122.2 innings for the Mariners, posting 4.62 career ERA.
35th Round Josh Bard
For the first time, we have a "by default" winner. Josh Bard is the only 35th round pick in Twins history to reach the Majors. He never spent a day in the Twins organization though, getting re-drafted by the Rockies later on.
36th Round J.D. Martinez
When he was re-drafted by the Houston Astros three years later out of Division II Nova Southeastern, it was only in round 20. Martinez went onto become a six time All-Star and three time Silver Slugger winner, helping Boston win the World Series in 2018.
37th Round Aaron Sele
Do you want to know how awesome steroids were? Sele finished fifth in the 1999 AL Cy Young voting with a 4.79 ERA. Just think about how much offense there was back in the steroid era.
38th Round Gary Matthews Jr.
After not signing with the Twins and later getting re-drafted, Matthews Jr had a very nice career. He played 12 years for seven different teams, and was an All-Star in 2006.
39th Round Brain Lawrence
He pitched five years for the Padres in the early-2000's, owning a 4.19 ERA across 152 big league starts.
40th Round Chase Anderson
Chase Anderson was re-drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth round two years later, and has played 11 years in the big leagues for nine different teams.
41st Round Brian Raabe
The University of Minnesota product played 17 big league games for the Twins, Rockies and Mariners.
42nd Round Chase Anderson
Yes, he was drafted by the Twins twice. They also failed to sign him both times.
43rd Round Jason Vargas
Vargas was an All-Star in 2017, and pitched for six teams in a 14-year career. None of those teams were the Twins.
44th Round Bob Gebhard
He made 30 relief appearances for the Twins over parts of two seasons. His ERA was 6.00.
45th Round Steve Pearce
The 2018 World Series MVP did not sign after Minnesota used a 45th round pick on him. He was briefly in the Twins organization on a minor league contracts during spring training in 2012, but he was released after not breaking camp with the club.
46th Round A.J. Achter
Minnesota signed Achter as a 45th round pick in 2010, and he reached the Majors with them in 2014. His big league career was 45 relief appearances with the Twins and Angels, boasting a 3.92 ERA.
47th Round Chris Heston
His career didn't start with the Twins, because he didn't sign with them as a 47th round pick. But his career ended in 2017 with a single relief appearance for the Twins. In between all of this, he did throw a no-hitter for the Giants.
48th Round George Springer
Another late round future World Series MVP who was drafted by the Twins, but did not sign. The New Britain native often went to Rock Cats games growing up, watching many future Twins as prospects. Springer opted to play college ball at UConn, and became a first round pick. 
49th Round Brock Peterson
The Twins actually did sign Peterson, but he never reached the Majors with them. He stayed in their system from 2003 until 2010, reaching Triple-A. Peterson then played a few years of independent ball, finally reaching the Majors in 2013 with the St. Louis Cardinals. 
50th Round Tyler Anderson
A 50th round pick of the Twins out of high school, Anderson went to Oregon and became a first round pick Rockies three years later. He is a two time All-Star, and currently pitches for the Angels.
51st Round
52nd Round Denny Hocking
Hell of a career for a catcher drafted out of a JUCO school. He spent 13-years in the big leagues playing almost everything but catcher. 11 of those seasons came with the Twins. He is the lowest drafted Twins player, signed or unsigned by the club, to reach the Majors.
53rd Round
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60th Round

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season has finally arrived. These games count, and it is glorious.
A new season comes with new player. The Minnesota Twins have added wonderful players such as Harrison Bader and Ty France. They both impressed in their regular season debuts for the team, although in a losing effort. Sadly, roster space is not unlimited. New players means you need to say goodbye to others. Which can be sad.
The great Max Kepler went 1-for-3 with a double and two walks in his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. A fantastic performance, helping fuel them to a 7-3 win against the Washington Nationals. This should come as no surprise to fans of the Twins, for they saw Kepler unleash countless games of brilliance during his time in the Twin Cities. This includes 11 walk-off plate appearances, which ties him with Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett for the most in club history.
The amazing ability for Kepler to perform in the clutch went well beyond walk-off hits. Even in some of the games where he delivered a walk-off, Minnesota only found themselves in that position because Kepler had put the team on his back earlier. Let’s take a look at some of these unbelievable outings by our favorite German outfielder.
June 18, 2019 - Some might call this one of the greatest bench performances in Twins history! Max Kepler did not start on June 18, 2019 against the Boston Red Sox. But he certainly finished, delivering a walk-off single in the 17th inning.
It seemed like this marathon game was only destined to go 13 innings. Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 13th. But a game is never over when you have Kepler on your team! He came off the bench, and tied things up with a solo home run of his own. This helped extend the game, eventually leading to the 17th inning walk-off heroics.
September 22, 2020 - All of the desperate Twins haters were celebrating in late-September of 2020. It seems like Minnesota was not going to defend their AL Central crown. They trailed the Chicago White Sox in a tight division race. But these haters did not account for the brilliance of Max Kepler, and his ability to put a team on his back in a playoff race.
Kepler hit a walk-off single against the Detroit Tigers on September 22, 2020. But this never would have happened if he didn’t hit a game tying home run in the eighth inning.
June 14, 2024 vs Oakland Athletics - Fans of the Twins might remember that Max Kepler had a walk-off single against the Oakland Athletics on June 14, 2024. They were foolish to intentionally walk Carlos Correa with Mr. Clutch himself in the on-deck circle. But what you might forget is the three run homer Kepler launched in the sixth inning.
Minnesota was trailing 4-1 after five innings. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay, known for his long leash with starting pitchers, could’ve called it a day for rookie right hander Mitch Spence. But they left him in, and Kepler took advantage of this disastrous mistake. He wound up hitting a three run homer against Spence in the sixth inning, tying the game at four.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season has finally arrived. These games count, and it is glorious.
A new season comes with new player. The Minnesota Twins have added wonderful players such as Harrison Bader and Ty France. They both impressed in their regular season debuts for the team, although in a losing effort. Sadly, roster space is not unlimited. New players means you need to say goodbye to others. Which can be sad.
The great Max Kepler went 1-for-3 with a double and two walks in his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. A fantastic performance, helping fuel them to a 7-3 win against the Washington Nationals. This should come as no surprise to fans of the Twins, for they saw Kepler unleash countless games of brilliance during his time in the Twin Cities. This includes 11 walk-off plate appearances, which ties him with Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett for the most in club history.
The amazing ability for Kepler to perform in the clutch went well beyond walk-off hits. Even in some of the games where he delivered a walk-off, Minnesota only found themselves in that position because Kepler had put the team on his back earlier. Let’s take a look at some of these unbelievable outings by our favorite German outfielder.
June 18, 2019 - Some might call this one of the greatest bench performances in Twins history! Max Kepler did not start on June 18, 2019 against the Boston Red Sox. But he certainly finished, delivering a walk-off single in the 17th inning.
It seemed like this marathon game was only destined to go 13 innings. Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 13th. But a game is never over when you have Kepler on your team! He came off the bench, and tied things up with a solo home run of his own. This helped extend the game, eventually leading to the 17th inning walk-off heroics.
September 22, 2020 - All of the desperate Twins haters were celebrating in late-September of 2020. It seems like Minnesota was not going to defend their AL Central crown. They trailed the Chicago White Sox in a tight division race. But these haters did not account for the brilliance of Max Kepler, and his ability to put a team on his back in a playoff race.
Kepler hit a walk-off single against the Detroit Tigers on September 22, 2020. But this never would have happened if he didn’t hit a game tying home run in the eighth inning.
June 14, 2024 vs Oakland Athletics - Fans of the Twins might remember that Max Kepler had a walk-off single against the Oakland Athletics on June 14, 2024. They were foolish to intentionally walk Carlos Correa with Mr. Clutch himself in the on-deck circle. But what you might forget is the three run homer Kepler launched in the sixth inning.
Minnesota was trailing 4-1 after five innings. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay, known for his long leash with starting pitchers, could’ve called it a day for rookie right hander Mitch Spence. But they left him in, and Kepler took advantage of this disastrous mistake. He wound up hitting a three run homer against Spence in the sixth inning, tying the game at four.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! While the Minnesota Twins do not have a baseball game today, they will play one against the Boston Red Sox tomorrow. Off days stink, but it only means we are one day closer to more baseball. And that's pretty cool.
You know what else is pretty cool? Reminiscing about the greatness of Joe Mauer. He was awesome. You don't win five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves by accident! These are just some of the accolades that got him into Cooperstown on the very first try! Need more of his sweet, sweet resume? Your ole pal William Malone IV is about to give you a healthy dose of it!
Mauer played 15 season for the Twins. Some were better than others, so maybe we should rank them. Starting with the worst and shooting right on up to the very best of his amazing and wonderful career. And as always, don't forget to light up the comments calling William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum when you disagree on where your favorite Joe Mauer season is ranked!
15. 2011
Stats: 82 G, .729 OPS, 18 XBH, 30 RBI
Accolades:
The infamous bi-lateral leg weakness injury limited Mauer to just 82 games in 2011, and his stats were not Mauer-esque when he was on the field. While he would eventually return to All-Star form as a catcher in 2012 and 2013, his 14 starts at first base late in 2011 foreshadowed his future at the position.
14. 2005
Stats: 131 G, .783 OPS, 37 XBH, 55 RBI
Accolades:
After knee injuries cut his rookie campaign short, 2005 marked the first fully healthy season of Mauer's career. A lot of his rate stats dropped off from what he had shown during a 35 game sample in 2004, but his .294 average was still second among primary catchers.
13. 2004
Stats: 35 G, .939 OPS, 15 XBH, 17 RBI
Accolades:
2004 proved that Mauer was talented enough to be a big league star. He was the Opening Day catcher, and was immediately one of the best players on a talented team that had won back-to-back division titles. Unfortunately, the Twins would have to wait in order to see this production in bulk. Knee issues limited Mauer to just 35 games during that rookie season.
12. 2014
Stats: 120 G, .732 OPS, 33 XBH, 55 RBI
Accolades:
Mauer struggled in his first season as a full time first baseman. He spent most of the first half trying to play through an oblique injury, but the Twins finally placed him on the disabled list at the end of June. Mauer had a .695 OPS through 76 games at the time he was shut down. He returned in mid-August, and actually played pretty well down the stretch. He hit .295 with an .805 OPS in 44 games after returning from injury.
11. 2016
Stats: 134 G, .718 OPS, 37 XBH, 49 RBI
Accolades:
Joe Mauer looked like Joe Mauer at the plate in April, slashing .337/.459/.461 (.920). Unfortunately, the Twins were sitting at 7-17 on May 1st. Even an MVP level Mauer couldn't save this team, and his performance eventually caught up with all of his teammates...in a bad way.   
10. 2018
Stats: 127 G, .729 OPS, 34 XBH, 48 RBI
Accolades:
The .282 batting average wasn't that bad, but his walk rated dropped below 10% for the first time in his career. This gave Mauer the second worst on-base percentage of his career, only beating out the 2015 campaign where he hit almost 20 points lower. He also suffered another concussion in mid-May, which began the rumors that his retirement might be near.
9. 2015
Stats: 158 G, .718 OPS, 46 XBH, 66 RBI
Accolades:
From a purely statistical standpoint, you can justify putting this season dead last. 2015 was the only time Mauer had an OPS+ that sat below the standard league average of 100, and his .338 OBP was the worst of his career. But the guy was still 44-for-125 (.352) with runners in scoring position, and there were countless big hits throughout the summer that kept a very mediocre Twins roster mathematically alive through the final week of the regular season. 
8. 2007
Stats: 109 G, .808 OPS, 37 XBH, 60 RBI
Accolades:
It looked like Mauer was going to win a second consecutive batting title. He was batting .353 in early May, but a strained quad put him on the disabled list. Mauer missed a little over a month, and was never quite the same once back on the field. He returned on June 8th, and hit just .273 in 81 games after the Twins re-activated him.
7. 2017
Stats: 141 G, .801 OPS, 44 XBH, 71 RBI
Accolades:
After hitting just .267 between 2014 and 2016, Joe Mauer was finally a .300 hitter again. He hit .305 for the whole season, and led the charge after Minnesota sold off pieces at the deadline and seemingly waved the white flag. The veteran hit .340 in 55 games after August 1st, helping push the Twins into the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
6. 2013
Stats: 113 G, .880 OPS, 46 XBH, 47 RBI
Accolades: Silver Slugger, All-Star
The infamous concussion in August ended Mauer's 2013 season a bit early, and it also ended his time behind the plate. It's a shame, because he was probably still the best catcher in baseball at that point. His .880 OPS led everyone at the position, a strong 44 points ahead of Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina that season.
5. 2012
Stats: 147 G, .861 OPS, 45 XBH, 85 RBI
Accolades: AL OBP leader, All-Star
Joe Mauer won five Silver Sluggers in his career, and he might've been robbed of a sixth in 2012. The award went to A.J. Pierzynski, who hit .278 with an .827 OPS and just 77 RBI. Mauer hit .319 with an AL best .416 on-base percentage in 2012, leading all AL catchers with an .861 OPS.
4. 2008
Stats: 146 G, .864 OPS, 44 XBH, 85 RBI
Accolades: AL batting champion, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
This marked the second Silver Slugger and first Gold Glove won by Joe Mauer. He also won his second of three career batting titles in 2008, thanks to a late surge that helped him pass Dustin Pedroia in the final weeks of the season. Mauer hit .373 over his final 30 games of the season, raising his average from .317 to .328 in the process.
3. 2010
Stats: 137 G, .871 OPS, 53 XBH, 75 RBI
Accolades: Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
2010 was the third consecutive season in which Mauer won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. Only Ivan Rodriguez has swept these two awards at the catcher position more often (seven times). His 43 doubles in 2010 was a career high.
2. 2006
Stats: 140 G, .936 OPS, 53 XBH, 84 RBI
Accolades: AL batting champion, Silver Slugger, All-Star
Mauer became the first American League catcher to win the batting title in 2006. He finished sixth in the AL MVP voting, but he might win the award if you re-voted today. His 5.8 bWAR was higher than four of the five people ahead of him, and tied with the fifth (third place finisher David Ortiz). This was obviously before WAR was a huge talking point in MVP discussions.
1. 2009
Stats: 138 G, 1.031 OPS, 59 XBH, 96 RBI
Accolades: MVP, AL batting champion, AL OBP leader, AL slugging leader, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
Leading the league in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage is very rare. Mauer was the first American League player to do this since George Brett in 1980. His .365 average was boosted by a .373 clip after August 1st, and his team needed every single hit down to the very end. This is the year where Minnesota snuck into the playoffs with a tiebreaker win over the Detroit Tigers. Mauer reached base four times in that tiebreaker game.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! While the Minnesota Twins do not have a baseball game today, they will play one against the Boston Red Sox tomorrow. Off days stink, but it only means we are one day closer to more baseball. And that's pretty cool.
You know what else is pretty cool? Reminiscing about the greatness of Joe Mauer. He was awesome. You don't win five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves by accident! These are just some of the accolades that got him into Cooperstown on the very first try! Need more of his sweet, sweet resume? Your ole pal William Malone IV is about to give you a healthy dose of it!
Mauer played 15 season for the Twins. Some were better than others, so maybe we should rank them. Starting with the worst and shooting right on up to the very best of his amazing and wonderful career. And as always, don't forget to light up the comments calling William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum when you disagree on where your favorite Joe Mauer season is ranked!
15. 2011
Stats: 82 G, .729 OPS, 18 XBH, 30 RBI
Accolades:
The infamous bi-lateral leg weakness injury limited Mauer to just 82 games in 2011, and his stats were not Mauer-esque when he was on the field. While he would eventually return to All-Star form as a catcher in 2012 and 2013, his 14 starts at first base late in 2011 foreshadowed his future at the position.
14. 2005
Stats: 131 G, .783 OPS, 37 XBH, 55 RBI
Accolades:
After knee injuries cut his rookie campaign short, 2005 marked the first fully healthy season of Mauer's career. A lot of his rate stats dropped off from what he had shown during a 35 game sample in 2004, but his .294 average was still second among primary catchers.
13. 2004
Stats: 35 G, .939 OPS, 15 XBH, 17 RBI
Accolades:
2004 proved that Mauer was talented enough to be a big league star. He was the Opening Day catcher, and was immediately one of the best players on a talented team that had won back-to-back division titles. Unfortunately, the Twins would have to wait in order to see this production in bulk. Knee issues limited Mauer to just 35 games during that rookie season.
12. 2014
Stats: 120 G, .732 OPS, 33 XBH, 55 RBI
Accolades:
Mauer struggled in his first season as a full time first baseman. He spent most of the first half trying to play through an oblique injury, but the Twins finally placed him on the disabled list at the end of June. Mauer had a .695 OPS through 76 games at the time he was shut down. He returned in mid-August, and actually played pretty well down the stretch. He hit .295 with an .805 OPS in 44 games after returning from injury.
11. 2016
Stats: 134 G, .718 OPS, 37 XBH, 49 RBI
Accolades:
Joe Mauer looked like Joe Mauer at the plate in April, slashing .337/.459/.461 (.920). Unfortunately, the Twins were sitting at 7-17 on May 1st. Even an MVP level Mauer couldn't save this team, and his performance eventually caught up with all of his teammates...in a bad way.   
10. 2018
Stats: 127 G, .729 OPS, 34 XBH, 48 RBI
Accolades:
The .282 batting average wasn't that bad, but his walk rated dropped below 10% for the first time in his career. This gave Mauer the second worst on-base percentage of his career, only beating out the 2015 campaign where he hit almost 20 points lower. He also suffered another concussion in mid-May, which began the rumors that his retirement might be near.
9. 2015
Stats: 158 G, .718 OPS, 46 XBH, 66 RBI
Accolades:
From a purely statistical standpoint, you can justify putting this season dead last. 2015 was the only time Mauer had an OPS+ that sat below the standard league average of 100, and his .338 OBP was the worst of his career. But the guy was still 44-for-125 (.352) with runners in scoring position, and there were countless big hits throughout the summer that kept a very mediocre Twins roster mathematically alive through the final week of the regular season. 
8. 2007
Stats: 109 G, .808 OPS, 37 XBH, 60 RBI
Accolades:
It looked like Mauer was going to win a second consecutive batting title. He was batting .353 in early May, but a strained quad put him on the disabled list. Mauer missed a little over a month, and was never quite the same once back on the field. He returned on June 8th, and hit just .273 in 81 games after the Twins re-activated him.
7. 2017
Stats: 141 G, .801 OPS, 44 XBH, 71 RBI
Accolades:
After hitting just .267 between 2014 and 2016, Joe Mauer was finally a .300 hitter again. He hit .305 for the whole season, and led the charge after Minnesota sold off pieces at the deadline and seemingly waved the white flag. The veteran hit .340 in 55 games after August 1st, helping push the Twins into the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
6. 2013
Stats: 113 G, .880 OPS, 46 XBH, 47 RBI
Accolades: Silver Slugger, All-Star
The infamous concussion in August ended Mauer's 2013 season a bit early, and it also ended his time behind the plate. It's a shame, because he was probably still the best catcher in baseball at that point. His .880 OPS led everyone at the position, a strong 44 points ahead of Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina that season.
5. 2012
Stats: 147 G, .861 OPS, 45 XBH, 85 RBI
Accolades: AL OBP leader, All-Star
Joe Mauer won five Silver Sluggers in his career, and he might've been robbed of a sixth in 2012. The award went to A.J. Pierzynski, who hit .278 with an .827 OPS and just 77 RBI. Mauer hit .319 with an AL best .416 on-base percentage in 2012, leading all AL catchers with an .861 OPS.
4. 2008
Stats: 146 G, .864 OPS, 44 XBH, 85 RBI
Accolades: AL batting champion, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
This marked the second Silver Slugger and first Gold Glove won by Joe Mauer. He also won his second of three career batting titles in 2008, thanks to a late surge that helped him pass Dustin Pedroia in the final weeks of the season. Mauer hit .373 over his final 30 games of the season, raising his average from .317 to .328 in the process.
3. 2010
Stats: 137 G, .871 OPS, 53 XBH, 75 RBI
Accolades: Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
2010 was the third consecutive season in which Mauer won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. Only Ivan Rodriguez has swept these two awards at the catcher position more often (seven times). His 43 doubles in 2010 was a career high.
2. 2006
Stats: 140 G, .936 OPS, 53 XBH, 84 RBI
Accolades: AL batting champion, Silver Slugger, All-Star
Mauer became the first American League catcher to win the batting title in 2006. He finished sixth in the AL MVP voting, but he might win the award if you re-voted today. His 5.8 bWAR was higher than four of the five people ahead of him, and tied with the fifth (third place finisher David Ortiz). This was obviously before WAR was a huge talking point in MVP discussions.
1. 2009
Stats: 138 G, 1.031 OPS, 59 XBH, 96 RBI
Accolades: MVP, AL batting champion, AL OBP leader, AL slugging leader, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
Leading the league in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage is very rare. Mauer was the first American League player to do this since George Brett in 1980. His .365 average was boosted by a .373 clip after August 1st, and his team needed every single hit down to the very end. This is the year where Minnesota snuck into the playoffs with a tiebreaker win over the Detroit Tigers. Mauer reached base four times in that tiebreaker game.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! March Madness is here. While March Madness isn't as wonderful as watching the Minnesota Twins compete in baseball games, the rituals of a college basketball tournament signal that baseball is near.
Countless players on the Minnesota Twins, past and present, played college baseball. Many of those schools also have a basketball team, and some of those basketball teams are competing in the March Madness ritual. Here is a random list featuring some of those players. It isn't close to all of the players though. Just a random list featuring a few.
Kyle Gibson University of Missouri
Tough loss for the Tigers in the first round, but that doesn't change the fact that Kyle Gibson is a Mizzou legend. His 131 strikeouts in 2009 is a single season school record. Well, actually it's tied for the record. He shares it with a guy named Max Scherzer. Maybe you've heard of him. Gibson had 11 wins in that 2009 season, making him one of seven Mizzou pitchers to have double digit wins in a single season.
Mitch Garver University of New Mexico
The New Mexico basketball is coached by former Golden Gophers head coach Richard Pitino. On the diamond, Mitch Garver went from walk-on to Mountain West Player of the Year. He actually won that award twice.
Jason Bartlett University of Oklahoma
Tough task for the Sooners, drawing the two time defending national champions for a first round matchup. But it's been awhile since we've seen a team try to three peat in the big dance. When the Florida Gatros won back-to-back in 2006 and 2007, they failed to even make the tournament in 2008. And 2009 for that matter. Can't defend your title if you don't show up to the party. As for Bartlett, he played for Oklahoma after attending a JUCO school for two years.
Chris Colabello Assumption University
Yeah, that's right. We're going to the Division II tournament, baby. The Greyhounds are on quite the run. They've reached the Elite Eight as a six seed, which is a lot more impressive than it sounds. The 64 team D2 bracket has eight regions instead of four, meaning there are eight #1 seeds. This also means the lowest seed is eight, instead of 16. This year's Elite Eight consists of four #1 seeds, three #2 seeds...and sixth seeded Assumption out of Worcester, Massachusetts. That's where Chris Colabello played college baseball.
Joe Niekro West Liberty University
Can't dive into the Division II tournament for just one stop. West Liberty is also in the Elite Eight. Although, they were one of the eight teams who earned a #1 seed. So it's not some sort of Cinderella Story. Joe Niekro ended his 22-year career with the Twins, pitching two relief innings during the 1987 World Series. He came back in 1988, posting a 10.03 ERA through five appearances (two starts). That ended his lengthy career.
Kyle Garlick University of Oregon
Back to Division I we go! Kyle Garlick was second on the Ducks all-time RBI list when he left the program, which was inactive between 1981 and 2009. He currently sits seventh on their all-time RBI list. Okay, now back to Division II. With an extra year of eligibility remaining after graduating from Oregon, Garlick actually transferred to a D2 school and played there for a year. He hit nukes at Cal Poly-Pomona.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! March Madness is here. While March Madness isn't as wonderful as watching the Minnesota Twins compete in baseball games, the rituals of a college basketball tournament signal that baseball is near.
Countless players on the Minnesota Twins, past and present, played college baseball. Many of those schools also have a basketball team, and some of those basketball teams are competing in the March Madness ritual. Here is a random list featuring some of those players. It isn't close to all of the players though. Just a random list featuring a few.
Kyle Gibson University of Missouri
Tough loss for the Tigers in the first round, but that doesn't change the fact that Kyle Gibson is a Mizzou legend. His 131 strikeouts in 2009 is a single season school record. Well, actually it's tied for the record. He shares it with a guy named Max Scherzer. Maybe you've heard of him. Gibson had 11 wins in that 2009 season, making him one of seven Mizzou pitchers to have double digit wins in a single season.
Mitch Garver University of New Mexico
The New Mexico basketball is coached by former Golden Gophers head coach Richard Pitino. On the diamond, Mitch Garver went from walk-on to Mountain West Player of the Year. He actually won that award twice.
Jason Bartlett University of Oklahoma
Tough task for the Sooners, drawing the two time defending national champions for a first round matchup. But it's been awhile since we've seen a team try to three peat in the big dance. When the Florida Gatros won back-to-back in 2006 and 2007, they failed to even make the tournament in 2008. And 2009 for that matter. Can't defend your title if you don't show up to the party. As for Bartlett, he played for Oklahoma after attending a JUCO school for two years.
Chris Colabello Assumption University
Yeah, that's right. We're going to the Division II tournament, baby. The Greyhounds are on quite the run. They've reached the Elite Eight as a six seed, which is a lot more impressive than it sounds. The 64 team D2 bracket has eight regions instead of four, meaning there are eight #1 seeds. This also means the lowest seed is eight, instead of 16. This year's Elite Eight consists of four #1 seeds, three #2 seeds...and sixth seeded Assumption out of Worcester, Massachusetts. That's where Chris Colabello played college baseball.
Joe Niekro West Liberty University
Can't dive into the Division II tournament for just one stop. West Liberty is also in the Elite Eight. Although, they were one of the eight teams who earned a #1 seed. So it's not some sort of Cinderella Story. Joe Niekro ended his 22-year career with the Twins, pitching two relief innings during the 1987 World Series. He came back in 1988, posting a 10.03 ERA through five appearances (two starts). That ended his lengthy career.
Kyle Garlick University of Oregon
Back to Division I we go! Kyle Garlick was second on the Ducks all-time RBI list when he left the program, which was inactive between 1981 and 2009. He currently sits seventh on their all-time RBI list. Okay, now back to Division II. With an extra year of eligibility remaining after graduating from Oregon, Garlick actually transferred to a D2 school and played there for a year. He hit nukes at Cal Poly-Pomona.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins had a wonderful game this week featuring only prospects. Many of these prospects were acquired through a magical process wildly known as the MLB Draft.
The MLB Draft is only 20 round these days, but it used to have an infinite number of rounds. Teams would keep picking for as long as they wanted, and then drop out once they were happy with who they had. The Minnesota Twins have stuck around in this process for as many as 60 rounds, getting that deep in 1993. Their second longest draft was 59 rounds in 1989.
So who are the best players taken in each of these 60 rounds? Here is your answer! In years where none of the players reached the Majors, it is left blank.
1st round Joe Mauer
It's hard to beat a first ballot Hall of Fame player who you take with the first overall pick. Mauer won three batting titles, to go along with five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves at catcher.
2nd Round Frank Viola
The 1987 World Series MVP followed that up by winning AL Cy Young in 1988. He was a three time All-Star, who had nice tenures with both the Twins and New York Mets.
3rd Round Bert Blyleven
Minnesota also used a third round pick on 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, but you can't go wrong with the Hall of Fame pitcher. It took awhile for Blyleven to get induced, but the resume was always obvious. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts, and ninth in shutouts.
4th Round Graig Nettles
Sadly, almost all of his big league success came away from the Twin Cities. He was traded to Cleveland just 121 games into his big league career, and blossomed into a six time All-Star. Nettles won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 with the New York Yankees, also winning ALCS MVP in 1981.
5th Round Dave Goltz
Goltz was a solid starting pitcher in the league for a decade, and was a 20 game winner for the Twins in 1977. He won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.
6th Round Pat Neshek
The electric sidearm reliever had some great seasons with the Twins early in his career, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and struggled upon returning in 2010. It took him a few years, and a few stops with other clubs, to find his form again. But he eventually began to dominate again, making All-Star appearances in 2014 and 2017.
7th Round LaTroy Hawkins
He certainly had a long career, and it came with many great years too. Hawkins was a bullpen staple for the Twins in the early Ron Gardenhire years, often setting up closer Eddie Guardado. He played for 11 teams in his 21 Major League seasons.
8th Round Brad Radke
One of Tom Kelly or Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Radke on Opening Day nine times, which is the most Opening Day starts in Twins history. He finished third in the 1997 AL Cy Young voting.
9th Round Mitch Garver
The Bomba Squad wouldn't have been complete without Garver, who hit 31 home runs in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger. His career has been filled with many ups and downs. Some good stretches, some bad stretches, and some stretches where he's the best hitting catcher in baseball.
10th Round Marty Cordova
Steve Braun and Jeff Reboulet were ten round picks of the Twins who had longer careers, but Marty Cordova had a solid peak. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, and followed that up with a 111 RBI season in 1997. There were a few other solid seasons sprinkled in after that.
11th Round Taylor Rogers
Rogers had a 3.15 ERA across six seasons as bullpen mainstay for the Twins. They traded him to San Diego for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, where he had a nightmare season. Things have gotten a little better for him since moving onto San Francisco.
12th Round Jason Kubel
Bailey Ober might have this spot soon. You could even argue he should have it now, as his career WAR has already surpassed Kubel. But we'll give respect to the man who hit a billion clutch grand slams for the Twins.
13th Round Matt Lawton
He was a very good right fielder for several bad Twins teams in the late 90's, but he was never able to enjoy their early 2000's success after getting traded to the New York Mets for Rick Reed at the 2001 deadline.
14th Round Mike Trombley
After struggling as a starter early in his career, Trombley became a reliable middle reliever who had a nice 11-year big league career.
15th Round Rick Dempsey
Remember Graig Nettles from earlier in this list? Dempsey is another guy who had a lot of success after getting traded away from Minnesota. He was World Series MVP with the Orioles in 1983.
16th Round Kolten Wong
Wong is the first of several players on this list who never played for the Twins. Minnesota drafted him out of high school, but he didn't sign and chose to play at the University of Hawaii. After a stellar college career, St. Louis drafted Wong in the first round.
17th Round Kent Hrbek
It's always cool to draft a franchise legend in round 17. It's even cooler when he's a Minnesota native.
18th Round Edouard Julien
The Twins are hoping that Julien can become a mainstay for the club. He got off to a great start in 2023, before undergoing a rough sophomore season in the bigs.
19th Round Danny Valencia
Fans might've been hoping for more after Valencia finished third in the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year voting, but he still had a respectable nine year career. Most of it was spent as a platoon bat.
20th Round Damian Miller
Arizona swiped Miller from the Twins in the 1998 expansion draft. He was their starting catcher when they won the World Series in 2001, and an All-Star in 2002.
21st Round Eddie Guardado
Round 21 helped the Twins build a huge chunk of their early 2000's bullpen, given them Eddie Guardado and J.C. Romero. Guardado did have the better overall career, and is in the Twins Hall of Fame.
22nd Round Trevor Hildenberger
The sidearm slinging righty had a great rookie season for the Twins in 2017, giving them big relief appearances during a tight playoff race. But he was never able to repeat that season.
23rd Round Willie Eyre
We're reaching a point where some of these rounds don't have much to choose from. Eyre made 42 relief appearances for the Twins in 2006, and 69 others for the Orioles and Rangers after that.
24th Round Juan Padilla
Padilla was the player to be named later sent to the New York Yankees for Jesse Orosco in an August wavier trade during the 2003 season. He made 42 career relief appearances for the Yankees, Mets and Reds.
25th Round Taylor Hearn
Hearn never signed with the Twins after getting drafted in the 25th round, and he was taken by the Nationals in the fifth round one year later. He's made 101 big league pitching appearances for the Rangers, Royals and Braves.
26th Round Corey Koskie
The newest Twins Hall of Fame member began his professional baseball career by getting taken in round 26.
27th Round Scott Stahoviak
Minnesota took Stahoviak out of Creighton with their first round choice in 1991. They had previously drafted him out of high school in round 25, but he obviously chose to play in college.
28th Round Bret Boone
He chose to attend USC instead of signing with the Twins as a 28th round pick. Boone wound up having an excellent career, winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. While he opted against starting his professional career with the Twins, he did end things in Minnesota with a 14 game stint in 2005,
29th Round Nick Blackburn
"Big Game Blackburn" often showed up for the Twins when they needed him most. He had a stellar performance in the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game, only to have his offense provide no run support. His final three starts of 2009 were all seven inning gems, allowing three total runs in those appearances. Each one of these was vital to the Twins forcing a second straight game 163.
30th Round Michael Tonkin
15 years later and he's still on the Twins. There have been a lot of stops in the middle though.
31st Round Mike Lamb
Lamb is another late round pick who the Twins didn't sign. He was a seventh round pick of the Rangers a few years later, and eventually made it back to the Twins for a brief stint as their third baseman in 2008. Lamb was the Astros starting first baseman in the 2005 World Series.
32nd Round Matt Wallner
Minnesota selected Matt Wallner in 2016 out of Forest Lake High School, and listed him as a pitcher on their draft card. While he continued to play two ways in college, they drafted him out of Southern Mississippi a few years later as an outfielder.
33rd Round Nick Punto
We've seen it a few times already, but these late round picks who don't sign have a funny way of making it back to the Twins. Punto was re-drafted by the Phillies a year after declining to sign in Minnesota, only to become a fan favorite at the Metrodome.
34th Round Tim Davis
Davis didn't sign with the Twins, and was later re-drafted by Seattle. He pitched 122.2 innings for the Mariners, posting 4.62 career ERA.
35th Round Josh Bard
For the first time, we have a "by default" winner. Josh Bard is the only 35th round pick in Twins history to reach the Majors. He never spent a day in the Twins organization though, getting re-drafted by the Rockies later on.
36th Round J.D. Martinez
When he was re-drafted by the Houston Astros three years later out of Division II Nova Southeastern, it was only in round 20. Martinez went onto become a six time All-Star and three time Silver Slugger winner, helping Boston win the World Series in 2018.
37th Round Aaron Sele
Do you want to know how awesome steroids were? Sele finished fifth in the 1999 AL Cy Young voting with a 4.79 ERA. Just think about how much offense there was back in the steroid era.
38th Round Gary Matthews Jr.
After not signing with the Twins and later getting re-drafted, Matthews Jr had a very nice career. He played 12 years for seven different teams, and was an All-Star in 2006.
39th Round Brain Lawrence
He pitched five years for the Padres in the early-2000's, owning a 4.19 ERA across 152 big league starts.
40th Round Chase Anderson
Chase Anderson was re-drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth round two years later, and has played 11 years in the big leagues for nine different teams.
41st Round Brian Raabe
The University of Minnesota product played 17 big league games for the Twins, Rockies and Mariners.
42nd Round Chase Anderson
Yes, he was drafted by the Twins twice. They also failed to sign him both times.
43rd Round Jason Vargas
Vargas was an All-Star in 2017, and pitched for six teams in a 14-year career. None of those teams were the Twins.
44th Round Bob Gebhard
He made 30 relief appearances for the Twins over parts of two seasons. His ERA was 6.00.
45th Round Steve Pearce
The 2018 World Series MVP did not sign after Minnesota used a 45th round pick on him. He was briefly in the Twins organization on a minor league contracts during spring training in 2012, but he was released after not breaking camp with the club.
46th Round A.J. Achter
Minnesota signed Achter as a 45th round pick in 2010, and he reached the Majors with them in 2014. His big league career was 45 relief appearances with the Twins and Angels, boasting a 3.92 ERA.
47th Round Chris Heston
His career didn't start with the Twins, because he didn't sign with them as a 47th round pick. But his career ended in 2017 with a single relief appearance for the Twins. In between all of this, he did throw a no-hitter for the Giants.
48th Round George Springer
Another late round future World Series MVP who was drafted by the Twins, but did not sign. The New Britain native often went to Rock Cats games growing up, watching many future Twins as prospects. Springer opted to play college ball at UConn, and became a first round pick. 
49th Round Brock Peterson
The Twins actually did sign Peterson, but he never reached the Majors with them. He stayed in their system from 2003 until 2010, reaching Triple-A. Peterson then played a few years of independent ball, finally reaching the Majors in 2013 with the St. Louis Cardinals. 
50th Round Tyler Anderson
A 50th round pick of the Twins out of high school, Anderson went to Oregon and became a first round pick Rockies three years later. He is a two time All-Star, and currently pitches for the Angels.
51st Round
52nd Round Denny Hocking
Hell of a career for a catcher drafted out of a JUCO school. He spent 13-years in the big leagues playing almost everything but catcher. 11 of those seasons came with the Twins. He is the lowest drafted Twins player, signed or unsigned by the club, to reach the Majors.
53rd Round
54th Round
55th Round
56th Round
57th Round
58th Round
59th Round
60th Round

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins had a wonderful game this week featuring only prospects. Many of these prospects were acquired through a magical process wildly known as the MLB Draft.
The MLB Draft is only 20 round these days, but it used to have an infinite number of rounds. Teams would keep picking for as long as they wanted, and then drop out once they were happy with who they had. The Minnesota Twins have stuck around in this process for as many as 60 rounds, getting that deep in 1993. Their second longest draft was 59 rounds in 1989.
So who are the best players taken in each of these 60 rounds? Here is your answer! In years where none of the players reached the Majors, it is left blank.
1st round Joe Mauer
It's hard to beat a first ballot Hall of Fame player who you take with the first overall pick. Mauer won three batting titles, to go along with five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves at catcher.
2nd Round Frank Viola
The 1987 World Series MVP followed that up by winning AL Cy Young in 1988. He was a three time All-Star, who had nice tenures with both the Twins and New York Mets.
3rd Round Bert Blyleven
Minnesota also used a third round pick on 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, but you can't go wrong with the Hall of Fame pitcher. It took awhile for Blyleven to get induced, but the resume was always obvious. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts, and ninth in shutouts.
4th Round Graig Nettles
Sadly, almost all of his big league success came away from the Twin Cities. He was traded to Cleveland just 121 games into his big league career, and blossomed into a six time All-Star. Nettles won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 with the New York Yankees, also winning ALCS MVP in 1981.
5th Round Dave Goltz
Goltz was a solid starting pitcher in the league for a decade, and was a 20 game winner for the Twins in 1977. He won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.
6th Round Pat Neshek
The electric sidearm reliever had some great seasons with the Twins early in his career, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and struggled upon returning in 2010. It took him a few years, and a few stops with other clubs, to find his form again. But he eventually began to dominate again, making All-Star appearances in 2014 and 2017.
7th Round LaTroy Hawkins
He certainly had a long career, and it came with many great years too. Hawkins was a bullpen staple for the Twins in the early Ron Gardenhire years, often setting up closer Eddie Guardado. He played for 11 teams in his 21 Major League seasons.
8th Round Brad Radke
One of Tom Kelly or Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Radke on Opening Day nine times, which is the most Opening Day starts in Twins history. He finished third in the 1997 AL Cy Young voting.
9th Round Mitch Garver
The Bomba Squad wouldn't have been complete without Garver, who hit 31 home runs in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger. His career has been filled with many ups and downs. Some good stretches, some bad stretches, and some stretches where he's the best hitting catcher in baseball.
10th Round Marty Cordova
Steve Braun and Jeff Reboulet were ten round picks of the Twins who had longer careers, but Marty Cordova had a solid peak. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, and followed that up with a 111 RBI season in 1997. There were a few other solid seasons sprinkled in after that.
11th Round Taylor Rogers
Rogers had a 3.15 ERA across six seasons as bullpen mainstay for the Twins. They traded him to San Diego for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, where he had a nightmare season. Things have gotten a little better for him since moving onto San Francisco.
12th Round Jason Kubel
Bailey Ober might have this spot soon. You could even argue he should have it now, as his career WAR has already surpassed Kubel. But we'll give respect to the man who hit a billion clutch grand slams for the Twins.
13th Round Matt Lawton
He was a very good right fielder for several bad Twins teams in the late 90's, but he was never able to enjoy their early 2000's success after getting traded to the New York Mets for Rick Reed at the 2001 deadline.
14th Round Mike Trombley
After struggling as a starter early in his career, Trombley became a reliable middle reliever who had a nice 11-year big league career.
15th Round Rick Dempsey
Remember Graig Nettles from earlier in this list? Dempsey is another guy who had a lot of success after getting traded away from Minnesota. He was World Series MVP with the Orioles in 1983.
16th Round Kolten Wong
Wong is the first of several players on this list who never played for the Twins. Minnesota drafted him out of high school, but he didn't sign and chose to play at the University of Hawaii. After a stellar college career, St. Louis drafted Wong in the first round.
17th Round Kent Hrbek
It's always cool to draft a franchise legend in round 17. It's even cooler when he's a Minnesota native.
18th Round Edouard Julien
The Twins are hoping that Julien can become a mainstay for the club. He got off to a great start in 2023, before undergoing a rough sophomore season in the bigs.
19th Round Danny Valencia
Fans might've been hoping for more after Valencia finished third in the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year voting, but he still had a respectable nine year career. Most of it was spent as a platoon bat.
20th Round Damian Miller
Arizona swiped Miller from the Twins in the 1998 expansion draft. He was their starting catcher when they won the World Series in 2001, and an All-Star in 2002.
21st Round Eddie Guardado
Round 21 helped the Twins build a huge chunk of their early 2000's bullpen, given them Eddie Guardado and J.C. Romero. Guardado did have the better overall career, and is in the Twins Hall of Fame.
22nd Round Trevor Hildenberger
The sidearm slinging righty had a great rookie season for the Twins in 2017, giving them big relief appearances during a tight playoff race. But he was never able to repeat that season.
23rd Round Willie Eyre
We're reaching a point where some of these rounds don't have much to choose from. Eyre made 42 relief appearances for the Twins in 2006, and 69 others for the Orioles and Rangers after that.
24th Round Juan Padilla
Padilla was the player to be named later sent to the New York Yankees for Jesse Orosco in an August wavier trade during the 2003 season. He made 42 career relief appearances for the Yankees, Mets and Reds.
25th Round Taylor Hearn
Hearn never signed with the Twins after getting drafted in the 25th round, and he was taken by the Nationals in the fifth round one year later. He's made 101 big league pitching appearances for the Rangers, Royals and Braves.
26th Round Corey Koskie
The newest Twins Hall of Fame member began his professional baseball career by getting taken in round 26.
27th Round Scott Stahoviak
Minnesota took Stahoviak out of Creighton with their first round choice in 1991. They had previously drafted him out of high school in round 25, but he obviously chose to play in college.
28th Round Bret Boone
He chose to attend USC instead of signing with the Twins as a 28th round pick. Boone wound up having an excellent career, winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. While he opted against starting his professional career with the Twins, he did end things in Minnesota with a 14 game stint in 2005,
29th Round Nick Blackburn
"Big Game Blackburn" often showed up for the Twins when they needed him most. He had a stellar performance in the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game, only to have his offense provide no run support. His final three starts of 2009 were all seven inning gems, allowing three total runs in those appearances. Each one of these was vital to the Twins forcing a second straight game 163.
30th Round Michael Tonkin
15 years later and he's still on the Twins. There have been a lot of stops in the middle though.
31st Round Mike Lamb
Lamb is another late round pick who the Twins didn't sign. He was a seventh round pick of the Rangers a few years later, and eventually made it back to the Twins for a brief stint as their third baseman in 2008. Lamb was the Astros starting first baseman in the 2005 World Series.
32nd Round Matt Wallner
Minnesota selected Matt Wallner in 2016 out of Forest Lake High School, and listed him as a pitcher on their draft card. While he continued to play two ways in college, they drafted him out of Southern Mississippi a few years later as an outfielder.
33rd Round Nick Punto
We've seen it a few times already, but these late round picks who don't sign have a funny way of making it back to the Twins. Punto was re-drafted by the Phillies a year after declining to sign in Minnesota, only to become a fan favorite at the Metrodome.
34th Round Tim Davis
Davis didn't sign with the Twins, and was later re-drafted by Seattle. He pitched 122.2 innings for the Mariners, posting 4.62 career ERA.
35th Round Josh Bard
For the first time, we have a "by default" winner. Josh Bard is the only 35th round pick in Twins history to reach the Majors. He never spent a day in the Twins organization though, getting re-drafted by the Rockies later on.
36th Round J.D. Martinez
When he was re-drafted by the Houston Astros three years later out of Division II Nova Southeastern, it was only in round 20. Martinez went onto become a six time All-Star and three time Silver Slugger winner, helping Boston win the World Series in 2018.
37th Round Aaron Sele
Do you want to know how awesome steroids were? Sele finished fifth in the 1999 AL Cy Young voting with a 4.79 ERA. Just think about how much offense there was back in the steroid era.
38th Round Gary Matthews Jr.
After not signing with the Twins and later getting re-drafted, Matthews Jr had a very nice career. He played 12 years for seven different teams, and was an All-Star in 2006.
39th Round Brain Lawrence
He pitched five years for the Padres in the early-2000's, owning a 4.19 ERA across 152 big league starts.
40th Round Chase Anderson
Chase Anderson was re-drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth round two years later, and has played 11 years in the big leagues for nine different teams.
41st Round Brian Raabe
The University of Minnesota product played 17 big league games for the Twins, Rockies and Mariners.
42nd Round Chase Anderson
Yes, he was drafted by the Twins twice. They also failed to sign him both times.
43rd Round Jason Vargas
Vargas was an All-Star in 2017, and pitched for six teams in a 14-year career. None of those teams were the Twins.
44th Round Bob Gebhard
He made 30 relief appearances for the Twins over parts of two seasons. His ERA was 6.00.
45th Round Steve Pearce
The 2018 World Series MVP did not sign after Minnesota used a 45th round pick on him. He was briefly in the Twins organization on a minor league contracts during spring training in 2012, but he was released after not breaking camp with the club.
46th Round A.J. Achter
Minnesota signed Achter as a 45th round pick in 2010, and he reached the Majors with them in 2014. His big league career was 45 relief appearances with the Twins and Angels, boasting a 3.92 ERA.
47th Round Chris Heston
His career didn't start with the Twins, because he didn't sign with them as a 47th round pick. But his career ended in 2017 with a single relief appearance for the Twins. In between all of this, he did throw a no-hitter for the Giants.
48th Round George Springer
Another late round future World Series MVP who was drafted by the Twins, but did not sign. The New Britain native often went to Rock Cats games growing up, watching many future Twins as prospects. Springer opted to play college ball at UConn, and became a first round pick. 
49th Round Brock Peterson
The Twins actually did sign Peterson, but he never reached the Majors with them. He stayed in their system from 2003 until 2010, reaching Triple-A. Peterson then played a few years of independent ball, finally reaching the Majors in 2013 with the St. Louis Cardinals. 
50th Round Tyler Anderson
A 50th round pick of the Twins out of high school, Anderson went to Oregon and became a first round pick Rockies three years later. He is a two time All-Star, and currently pitches for the Angels.
51st Round
52nd Round Denny Hocking
Hell of a career for a catcher drafted out of a JUCO school. He spent 13-years in the big leagues playing almost everything but catcher. 11 of those seasons came with the Twins. He is the lowest drafted Twins player, signed or unsigned by the club, to reach the Majors.
53rd Round
54th Round
55th Round
56th Round
57th Round
58th Round
59th Round
60th Round

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins had a wonderful game this week featuring only prospects. Many of these prospects were acquired through a magical process wildly known as the MLB Draft.
The MLB Draft is only 20 round these days, but it used to have an infinite number of rounds. Teams would keep picking for as long as they wanted, and then drop out once they were happy with who they had. The Minnesota Twins have stuck around in this process for as many as 60 rounds, getting that deep in 1993. Their second longest draft was 59 rounds in 1989.
So who are the best players taken in each of these 60 rounds? Here is your answer! In years where none of the players reached the Majors, it is left blank.
1st round Joe Mauer
It's hard to beat a first ballot Hall of Fame player who you take with the first overall pick. Mauer won three batting titles, to go along with five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves at catcher.
2nd Round Frank Viola
The 1987 World Series MVP followed that up by winning AL Cy Young in 1988. He was a three time All-Star, who had nice tenures with both the Twins and New York Mets.
3rd Round Bert Blyleven
Minnesota also used a third round pick on 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, but you can't go wrong with the Hall of Fame pitcher. It took awhile for Blyleven to get induced, but the resume was always obvious. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts, and ninth in shutouts.
4th Round Graig Nettles
Sadly, almost all of his big league success came away from the Twin Cities. He was traded to Cleveland just 121 games into his big league career, and blossomed into a six time All-Star. Nettles won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 with the New York Yankees, also winning ALCS MVP in 1981.
5th Round Dave Goltz
Goltz was a solid starting pitcher in the league for a decade, and was a 20 game winner for the Twins in 1977. He won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.
6th Round Pat Neshek
The electric sidearm reliever had some great seasons with the Twins early in his career, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and struggled upon returning in 2010. It took him a few years, and a few stops with other clubs, to find his form again. But he eventually began to dominate again, making All-Star appearances in 2014 and 2017.
7th Round LaTroy Hawkins
He certainly had a long career, and it came with many great years too. Hawkins was a bullpen staple for the Twins in the early Ron Gardenhire years, often setting up closer Eddie Guardado. He played for 11 teams in his 21 Major League seasons.
8th Round Brad Radke
One of Tom Kelly or Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Radke on Opening Day nine times, which is the most Opening Day starts in Twins history. He finished third in the 1997 AL Cy Young voting.
9th Round Mitch Garver
The Bomba Squad wouldn't have been complete without Garver, who hit 31 home runs in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger. His career has been filled with many ups and downs. Some good stretches, some bad stretches, and some stretches where he's the best hitting catcher in baseball.
10th Round Marty Cordova
Steve Braun and Jeff Reboulet were ten round picks of the Twins who had longer careers, but Marty Cordova had a solid peak. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, and followed that up with a 111 RBI season in 1997. There were a few other solid seasons sprinkled in after that.
11th Round Taylor Rogers
Rogers had a 3.15 ERA across six seasons as bullpen mainstay for the Twins. They traded him to San Diego for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, where he had a nightmare season. Things have gotten a little better for him since moving onto San Francisco.
12th Round Jason Kubel
Bailey Ober might have this spot soon. You could even argue he should have it now, as his career WAR has already surpassed Kubel. But we'll give respect to the man who hit a billion clutch grand slams for the Twins.
13th Round Matt Lawton
He was a very good right fielder for several bad Twins teams in the late 90's, but he was never able to enjoy their early 2000's success after getting traded to the New York Mets for Rick Reed at the 2001 deadline.
14th Round Mike Trombley
After struggling as a starter early in his career, Trombley became a reliable middle reliever who had a nice 11-year big league career.
15th Round Rick Dempsey
Remember Graig Nettles from earlier in this list? Dempsey is another guy who had a lot of success after getting traded away from Minnesota. He was World Series MVP with the Orioles in 1983.
16th Round Kolten Wong
Wong is the first of several players on this list who never played for the Twins. Minnesota drafted him out of high school, but he didn't sign and chose to play at the University of Hawaii. After a stellar college career, St. Louis drafted Wong in the first round.
17th Round Kent Hrbek
It's always cool to draft a franchise legend in round 17. It's even cooler when he's a Minnesota native.
18th Round Edouard Julien
The Twins are hoping that Julien can become a mainstay for the club. He got off to a great start in 2023, before undergoing a rough sophomore season in the bigs.
19th Round Danny Valencia
Fans might've been hoping for more after Valencia finished third in the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year voting, but he still had a respectable nine year career. Most of it was spent as a platoon bat.
20th Round Damian Miller
Arizona swiped Miller from the Twins in the 1998 expansion draft. He was their starting catcher when they won the World Series in 2001, and an All-Star in 2002.
21st Round Eddie Guardado
Round 21 helped the Twins build a huge chunk of their early 2000's bullpen, given them Eddie Guardado and J.C. Romero. Guardado did have the better overall career, and is in the Twins Hall of Fame.
22nd Round Trevor Hildenberger
The sidearm slinging righty had a great rookie season for the Twins in 2017, giving them big relief appearances during a tight playoff race. But he was never able to repeat that season.
23rd Round Willie Eyre
We're reaching a point where some of these rounds don't have much to choose from. Eyre made 42 relief appearances for the Twins in 2006, and 69 others for the Orioles and Rangers after that.
24th Round Juan Padilla
Padilla was the player to be named later sent to the New York Yankees for Jesse Orosco in an August wavier trade during the 2003 season. He made 42 career relief appearances for the Yankees, Mets and Reds.
25th Round Taylor Hearn
Hearn never signed with the Twins after getting drafted in the 25th round, and he was taken by the Nationals in the fifth round one year later. He's made 101 big league pitching appearances for the Rangers, Royals and Braves.
26th Round Corey Koskie
The newest Twins Hall of Fame member began his professional baseball career by getting taken in round 26.
27th Round Scott Stahoviak
Minnesota took Stahoviak out of Creighton with their first round choice in 1991. They had previously drafted him out of high school in round 25, but he obviously chose to play in college.
28th Round Bret Boone
He chose to attend USC instead of signing with the Twins as a 28th round pick. Boone wound up having an excellent career, winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. While he opted against starting his professional career with the Twins, he did end things in Minnesota with a 14 game stint in 2005,
29th Round Nick Blackburn
"Big Game Blackburn" often showed up for the Twins when they needed him most. He had a stellar performance in the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game, only to have his offense provide no run support. His final three starts of 2009 were all seven inning gems, allowing three total runs in those appearances. Each one of these was vital to the Twins forcing a second straight game 163.
30th Round Michael Tonkin
15 years later and he's still on the Twins. There have been a lot of stops in the middle though.
31st Round Mike Lamb
Lamb is another late round pick who the Twins didn't sign. He was a seventh round pick of the Rangers a few years later, and eventually made it back to the Twins for a brief stint as their third baseman in 2008. Lamb was the Astros starting first baseman in the 2005 World Series.
32nd Round Matt Wallner
Minnesota selected Matt Wallner in 2016 out of Forest Lake High School, and listed him as a pitcher on their draft card. While he continued to play two ways in college, they drafted him out of Southern Mississippi a few years later as an outfielder.
33rd Round Nick Punto
We've seen it a few times already, but these late round picks who don't sign have a funny way of making it back to the Twins. Punto was re-drafted by the Phillies a year after declining to sign in Minnesota, only to become a fan favorite at the Metrodome.
34th Round Tim Davis
Davis didn't sign with the Twins, and was later re-drafted by Seattle. He pitched 122.2 innings for the Mariners, posting 4.62 career ERA.
35th Round Josh Bard
For the first time, we have a "by default" winner. Josh Bard is the only 35th round pick in Twins history to reach the Majors. He never spent a day in the Twins organization though, getting re-drafted by the Rockies later on.
36th Round J.D. Martinez
When he was re-drafted by the Houston Astros three years later out of Division II Nova Southeastern, it was only in round 20. Martinez went onto become a six time All-Star and three time Silver Slugger winner, helping Boston win the World Series in 2018.
37th Round Aaron Sele
Do you want to know how awesome steroids were? Sele finished fifth in the 1999 AL Cy Young voting with a 4.79 ERA. Just think about how much offense there was back in the steroid era.
38th Round Gary Matthews Jr.
After not signing with the Twins and later getting re-drafted, Matthews Jr had a very nice career. He played 12 years for seven different teams, and was an All-Star in 2006.
39th Round Brain Lawrence
He pitched five years for the Padres in the early-2000's, owning a 4.19 ERA across 152 big league starts.
40th Round Chase Anderson
Chase Anderson was re-drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth round two years later, and has played 11 years in the big leagues for nine different teams.
41st Round Brian Raabe
The University of Minnesota product played 17 big league games for the Twins, Rockies and Mariners.
42nd Round Chase Anderson
Yes, he was drafted by the Twins twice. They also failed to sign him both times.
43rd Round Jason Vargas
Vargas was an All-Star in 2017, and pitched for six teams in a 14-year career. None of those teams were the Twins.
44th Round Bob Gebhard
He made 30 relief appearances for the Twins over parts of two seasons. His ERA was 6.00.
45th Round Steve Pearce
The 2018 World Series MVP did not sign after Minnesota used a 45th round pick on him. He was briefly in the Twins organization on a minor league contracts during spring training in 2012, but he was released after not breaking camp with the club.
46th Round A.J. Achter
Minnesota signed Achter as a 45th round pick in 2010, and he reached the Majors with them in 2014. His big league career was 45 relief appearances with the Twins and Angels, boasting a 3.92 ERA.
47th Round Chris Heston
His career didn't start with the Twins, because he didn't sign with them as a 47th round pick. But his career ended in 2017 with a single relief appearance for the Twins. In between all of this, he did throw a no-hitter for the Giants.
48th Round George Springer
Another late round future World Series MVP who was drafted by the Twins, but did not sign. The New Britain native often went to Rock Cats games growing up, watching many future Twins as prospects. Springer opted to play college ball at UConn, and became a first round pick. 
49th Round Brock Peterson
The Twins actually did sign Peterson, but he never reached the Majors with them. He stayed in their system from 2003 until 2010, reaching Triple-A. Peterson then played a few years of independent ball, finally reaching the Majors in 2013 with the St. Louis Cardinals. 
50th Round Tyler Anderson
A 50th round pick of the Twins out of high school, Anderson went to Oregon and became a first round pick Rockies three years later. He is a two time All-Star, and currently pitches for the Angels.
51st Round
52nd Round Denny Hocking
Hell of a career for a catcher drafted out of a JUCO school. He spent 13-years in the big leagues playing almost everything but catcher. 11 of those seasons came with the Twins. He is the lowest drafted Twins player, signed or unsigned by the club, to reach the Majors.
53rd Round
54th Round
55th Round
56th Round
57th Round
58th Round
59th Round
60th Round

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins had a wonderful game this week featuring only prospects. Many of these prospects were acquired through a magical process wildly known as the MLB Draft.
The MLB Draft is only 20 round these days, but it used to have an infinite number of rounds. Teams would keep picking for as long as they wanted, and then drop out once they were happy with who they had. The Minnesota Twins have stuck around in this process for as many as 60 rounds, getting that deep in 1993. Their second longest draft was 59 rounds in 1989.
So who are the best players taken in each of these 60 rounds? Here is your answer! In years where none of the players reached the Majors, it is left blank.
1st round Joe Mauer
It's hard to beat a first ballot Hall of Fame player who you take with the first overall pick. Mauer won three batting titles, to go along with five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves at catcher.
2nd Round Frank Viola
The 1987 World Series MVP followed that up by winning AL Cy Young in 1988. He was a three time All-Star, who had nice tenures with both the Twins and New York Mets.
3rd Round Bert Blyleven
Minnesota also used a third round pick on 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, but you can't go wrong with the Hall of Fame pitcher. It took awhile for Blyleven to get induced, but the resume was always obvious. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts, and ninth in shutouts.
4th Round Graig Nettles
Sadly, almost all of his big league success came away from the Twin Cities. He was traded to Cleveland just 121 games into his big league career, and blossomed into a six time All-Star. Nettles won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 with the New York Yankees, also winning ALCS MVP in 1981.
5th Round Dave Goltz
Goltz was a solid starting pitcher in the league for a decade, and was a 20 game winner for the Twins in 1977. He won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.
6th Round Pat Neshek
The electric sidearm reliever had some great seasons with the Twins early in his career, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and struggled upon returning in 2010. It took him a few years, and a few stops with other clubs, to find his form again. But he eventually began to dominate again, making All-Star appearances in 2014 and 2017.
7th Round LaTroy Hawkins
He certainly had a long career, and it came with many great years too. Hawkins was a bullpen staple for the Twins in the early Ron Gardenhire years, often setting up closer Eddie Guardado. He played for 11 teams in his 21 Major League seasons.
8th Round Brad Radke
One of Tom Kelly or Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Radke on Opening Day nine times, which is the most Opening Day starts in Twins history. He finished third in the 1997 AL Cy Young voting.
9th Round Mitch Garver
The Bomba Squad wouldn't have been complete without Garver, who hit 31 home runs in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger. His career has been filled with many ups and downs. Some good stretches, some bad stretches, and some stretches where he's the best hitting catcher in baseball.
10th Round Marty Cordova
Steve Braun and Jeff Reboulet were ten round picks of the Twins who had longer careers, but Marty Cordova had a solid peak. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, and followed that up with a 111 RBI season in 1997. There were a few other solid seasons sprinkled in after that.
11th Round Taylor Rogers
Rogers had a 3.15 ERA across six seasons as bullpen mainstay for the Twins. They traded him to San Diego for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, where he had a nightmare season. Things have gotten a little better for him since moving onto San Francisco.
12th Round Jason Kubel
Bailey Ober might have this spot soon. You could even argue he should have it now, as his career WAR has already surpassed Kubel. But we'll give respect to the man who hit a billion clutch grand slams for the Twins.
13th Round Matt Lawton
He was a very good right fielder for several bad Twins teams in the late 90's, but he was never able to enjoy their early 2000's success after getting traded to the New York Mets for Rick Reed at the 2001 deadline.
14th Round Mike Trombley
After struggling as a starter early in his career, Trombley became a reliable middle reliever who had a nice 11-year big league career.
15th Round Rick Dempsey
Remember Graig Nettles from earlier in this list? Dempsey is another guy who had a lot of success after getting traded away from Minnesota. He was World Series MVP with the Orioles in 1983.
16th Round Kolten Wong
Wong is the first of several players on this list who never played for the Twins. Minnesota drafted him out of high school, but he didn't sign and chose to play at the University of Hawaii. After a stellar college career, St. Louis drafted Wong in the first round.
17th Round Kent Hrbek
It's always cool to draft a franchise legend in round 17. It's even cooler when he's a Minnesota native.
18th Round Edouard Julien
The Twins are hoping that Julien can become a mainstay for the club. He got off to a great start in 2023, before undergoing a rough sophomore season in the bigs.
19th Round Danny Valencia
Fans might've been hoping for more after Valencia finished third in the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year voting, but he still had a respectable nine year career. Most of it was spent as a platoon bat.
20th Round Damian Miller
Arizona swiped Miller from the Twins in the 1998 expansion draft. He was their starting catcher when they won the World Series in 2001, and an All-Star in 2002.
21st Round Eddie Guardado
Round 21 helped the Twins build a huge chunk of their early 2000's bullpen, given them Eddie Guardado and J.C. Romero. Guardado did have the better overall career, and is in the Twins Hall of Fame.
22nd Round Trevor Hildenberger
The sidearm slinging righty had a great rookie season for the Twins in 2017, giving them big relief appearances during a tight playoff race. But he was never able to repeat that season.
23rd Round Willie Eyre
We're reaching a point where some of these rounds don't have much to choose from. Eyre made 42 relief appearances for the Twins in 2006, and 69 others for the Orioles and Rangers after that.
24th Round Juan Padilla
Padilla was the player to be named later sent to the New York Yankees for Jesse Orosco in an August wavier trade during the 2003 season. He made 42 career relief appearances for the Yankees, Mets and Reds.
25th Round Taylor Hearn
Hearn never signed with the Twins after getting drafted in the 25th round, and he was taken by the Nationals in the fifth round one year later. He's made 101 big league pitching appearances for the Rangers, Royals and Braves.
26th Round Corey Koskie
The newest Twins Hall of Fame member began his professional baseball career by getting taken in round 26.
27th Round Scott Stahoviak
Minnesota took Stahoviak out of Creighton with their first round choice in 1991. They had previously drafted him out of high school in round 25, but he obviously chose to play in college.
28th Round Bret Boone
He chose to attend USC instead of signing with the Twins as a 28th round pick. Boone wound up having an excellent career, winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. While he opted against starting his professional career with the Twins, he did end things in Minnesota with a 14 game stint in 2005,
29th Round Nick Blackburn
"Big Game Blackburn" often showed up for the Twins when they needed him most. He had a stellar performance in the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game, only to have his offense provide no run support. His final three starts of 2009 were all seven inning gems, allowing three total runs in those appearances. Each one of these was vital to the Twins forcing a second straight game 163.
30th Round Michael Tonkin
15 years later and he's still on the Twins. There have been a lot of stops in the middle though.
31st Round Mike Lamb
Lamb is another late round pick who the Twins didn't sign. He was a seventh round pick of the Rangers a few years later, and eventually made it back to the Twins for a brief stint as their third baseman in 2008. Lamb was the Astros starting first baseman in the 2005 World Series.
32nd Round Matt Wallner
Minnesota selected Matt Wallner in 2016 out of Forest Lake High School, and listed him as a pitcher on their draft card. While he continued to play two ways in college, they drafted him out of Southern Mississippi a few years later as an outfielder.
33rd Round Nick Punto
We've seen it a few times already, but these late round picks who don't sign have a funny way of making it back to the Twins. Punto was re-drafted by the Phillies a year after declining to sign in Minnesota, only to become a fan favorite at the Metrodome.
34th Round Tim Davis
Davis didn't sign with the Twins, and was later re-drafted by Seattle. He pitched 122.2 innings for the Mariners, posting 4.62 career ERA.
35th Round Josh Bard
For the first time, we have a "by default" winner. Josh Bard is the only 35th round pick in Twins history to reach the Majors. He never spent a day in the Twins organization though, getting re-drafted by the Rockies later on.
36th Round J.D. Martinez
When he was re-drafted by the Houston Astros three years later out of Division II Nova Southeastern, it was only in round 20. Martinez went onto become a six time All-Star and three time Silver Slugger winner, helping Boston win the World Series in 2018.
37th Round Aaron Sele
Do you want to know how awesome steroids were? Sele finished fifth in the 1999 AL Cy Young voting with a 4.79 ERA. Just think about how much offense there was back in the steroid era.
38th Round Gary Matthews Jr.
After not signing with the Twins and later getting re-drafted, Matthews Jr had a very nice career. He played 12 years for seven different teams, and was an All-Star in 2006.
39th Round Brain Lawrence
He pitched five years for the Padres in the early-2000's, owning a 4.19 ERA across 152 big league starts.
40th Round Chase Anderson
Chase Anderson was re-drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth round two years later, and has played 11 years in the big leagues for nine different teams.
41st Round Brian Raabe
The University of Minnesota product played 17 big league games for the Twins, Rockies and Mariners.
42nd Round Chase Anderson
Yes, he was drafted by the Twins twice. They also failed to sign him both times.
43rd Round Jason Vargas
Vargas was an All-Star in 2017, and pitched for six teams in a 14-year career. None of those teams were the Twins.
44th Round Bob Gebhard
He made 30 relief appearances for the Twins over parts of two seasons. His ERA was 6.00.
45th Round Steve Pearce
The 2018 World Series MVP did not sign after Minnesota used a 45th round pick on him. He was briefly in the Twins organization on a minor league contracts during spring training in 2012, but he was released after not breaking camp with the club.
46th Round A.J. Achter
Minnesota signed Achter as a 45th round pick in 2010, and he reached the Majors with them in 2014. His big league career was 45 relief appearances with the Twins and Angels, boasting a 3.92 ERA.
47th Round Chris Heston
His career didn't start with the Twins, because he didn't sign with them as a 47th round pick. But his career ended in 2017 with a single relief appearance for the Twins. In between all of this, he did throw a no-hitter for the Giants.
48th Round George Springer
Another late round future World Series MVP who was drafted by the Twins, but did not sign. The New Britain native often went to Rock Cats games growing up, watching many future Twins as prospects. Springer opted to play college ball at UConn, and became a first round pick. 
49th Round Brock Peterson
The Twins actually did sign Peterson, but he never reached the Majors with them. He stayed in their system from 2003 until 2010, reaching Triple-A. Peterson then played a few years of independent ball, finally reaching the Majors in 2013 with the St. Louis Cardinals. 
50th Round Tyler Anderson
A 50th round pick of the Twins out of high school, Anderson went to Oregon and became a first round pick Rockies three years later. He is a two time All-Star, and currently pitches for the Angels.
51st Round
52nd Round Denny Hocking
Hell of a career for a catcher drafted out of a JUCO school. He spent 13-years in the big leagues playing almost everything but catcher. 11 of those seasons came with the Twins. He is the lowest drafted Twins player, signed or unsigned by the club, to reach the Majors.
53rd Round
54th Round
55th Round
56th Round
57th Round
58th Round
59th Round
60th Round

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Regular season baseball starts next week. But this great news comes with a catch. The Minnesota Twins will not be playing regular season baseball next week. Instead, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will have an epic clash overseas.
But we need not worry. Our beloved Twins will be playing regular season baseball soon enough. There will be 162 beautiful regular season games, and die hard fans will not miss a single pitch. But if you have to miss some games here or there, your ole pal William Malone IV has you covered. For I have seen the future! And by seeing the future, I already know the results of every single game from the 2025 Major League Baseball season. So here they are!
Game 1 at St. Louis - W (1-0)
Game 2 at St. Louis - W (2-0)
Game 3 at St. Louis - W (3-0)
Game 4 at Chicago AL - W (4-0)
Game 5 at Chicago AL - L (4-1)
Game 6 at Chicago AL - L (4-2)
Game 7 vs Houston - L (4-3)
Game 8 vs Houston - W (5-3)
Game 9 vs Houston - W (6-3)
Game 10 at Kansas City - L (6-4)
Game 11 at Kansas City - L (6-5)
Game 12 at Kansas City - W (7-5)
Game 13 at Kansas City - L (7-6)
Game 14 vs Detroit - W (8-6)
Game 15 vs Detroit - W (9-6)
Game 16 vs Detroit - W (10-6)
Game 17 vs New York NL - W (11-6)
Game 18 vs New York NL - L (11-7)
Game 19 vs New York NL - L (11-8)
Game 20 at Atlanta - L (11-9)
Game 21 at Atlanta - L (11-10)
Game 22 at Atlanta - W (12-10)
Game 23 vs Chicago AL - L (12-11)
Game 24 vs Chicago AL - W (13-11)
Game 25 vs Chicago AL - L (13-12)
Game 26 vs Los Angeles AL - W (14-12)
Game 27 vs Los Angeles AL - L (14-13)
Game 28 vs Los Angeles AL - W (15-13)
Game 29 at Cleveland - W (16-13)
Game 30 at Cleveland - W (17-13)
Game 31 at Cleveland - L (17-14)
Game 32 at Cleveland - L (17-15)
Game 33 at Boston - W (18-15)
Game 34 at Boston - L (18-16)
Game 35 at Boston - W (19-16)
Game 36 vs Baltimore - W (20-16)
Game 37 vs Baltimore - W (21-16)
Game 38 vs Baltimore - L (21-17)
Game 39 vs San Francisco - W (22-17)
Game 40 vs San Francisco - W (23-17)
Game 41 vs San Francisco - L (23-18) 
Game 42 at Baltimore - L (23-19)
Game 43 at Baltimore - W (24-19)
Game 44 at Baltimore - L (24-20)
Game 45 at Milwaukee - W (25-20)
Game 46 at Milwaukee - W (26-20)
Game 47 at Milwaukee - W (27-20)
Game 48 vs Cleveland - L (27-21)
Game 49 vs Cleveland - L (27-22)
Game 50 vs Cleveland - W (28-22)
Game 51 vs Kansas City - W (29-22)
Game 52 vs Kansas City - W (30-22)
Game 53 vs Kansas City - L (30-23)
Game 54 at Tampa Bay - W (31-23)
Game 55 at Tampa Bay - L (31-24)
Game 56 at Tampa Bay - W (32-24)
Game 57 at Seattle - L (32-25)
Game 58 at Seattle - W (33-25)
Game 59 at Seattle - W (34-25)
Game 60 at Sacramento - W (35-25)
Game 61 at Sacramento - W (36-25)
Game 62 at Sacramento - W (37-25)
Game 63 at Sacramento - L (37-26)
Game 64 vs Toronto - L (37-27)
Game 65 vs Toronto - L (37-28)
Game 66 vs Toronto - W (38-28)
Game 67 vs Texas - L (38-29)
Game 68 vs Texas - W (39-29)
Game 69 vs Texas - L (39-30)
Game 70 at Houston - W (40-30)
Game 71 at Houston - W (41-30)
Game 72 at Houston - L (41-31)
Game 73 at Cincinnati - W (42-31)
Game 74 at Cincinnati - W (43-31)
Game 75 at Cincinnati - W (44-31) 
Game 76 vs Milwaukee - L (44-32)
Game 77 vs Milwaukee - L (44-33)
Game 78 vs Milwaukee - W (45-33)
Game 79 vs Seattle - W (46-33)
Game 80 vs Seattle - W (47-33)
Game 81 vs Seattle - L (47-34)
Game 82 vs Seattle - L (47-35)
Game 83 at Detroit - W (48-35)
Game 84 at Detroit - W (49-35)
Game 85 at Detroit - W (50-35)
Game 86 at Miami - L (50-36)
Game 87 at Mimai - L (50-37)
Game 88 at Miami - L (50-38)
Game 89 vs Tampa Bay - L (50-39)
Game 90 vs Tampa Bay - L (50-40)
Game 91 vs Tampa Bay - W (51-40)
Game 92 vs Chicago NL - W (52-40)
Game 93 vs Chicago NL - L (52-41)
Game 94 vs Chicago NL - W (53-41)
Game 95 vs Pittsburgh - L (53-42)
Game 96 vs Pittsburgh - W (54-42)
Game 97 vs Pittsburgh - W (55-42)
Game 98 at Colorado - W (56-42)
Game 99 at Colorado - W (57-42)
Game 100 at Colorado - W (58-42)
Game 101 at Los Angeles NL - W (59-42)
Game 102 at Los Angeles NL - L (59-43)
Game 103 at Los Angeles NL - L (59-44)
Game 104 vs Washington - W (60-44)
Game 105 vs Washington - W (61-44)
Game 106 vs Washington - L (61-45)
Game 107 vs Boston - W (62-45)
Game 108 vs Boston - L (62-46)
Game 109 vs Boston - W (63-46)
Game 110 at Cleveland - L (63-47)
Game 111 at Cleveland - W (64-47)
Game 112 at Cleveland - L (64-48)
Game 113 at Detroit - W (65-48)
Game 114 at Detroit - L (65-49)
Game 115 at Detroit - W (66-49)
Game 116 vs Kansas City - W (67-49)
Game 117 vs Kansas City - L (67-50)
Game 118 vs Kansas City - W (68-50)
Game 119 at New York AL - L (68-51)
Game 120 at New York AL - L (68-52)
Game 121 at New York AL - W (69-52)
Game 122 vs Detroit - W (70-52)
Game 123 vs Detroit - W (71-52)
Game 124 vs Detroit - W (72-52)
Game 125 vs Detroit - L (72-53)
Game 126 vs Sacramento - W (73-53)
Game 127 vs Sacramento - L (73-54)
Game 128 vs Sacramento - W (74-54)
Game 129 at Chicago AL - W (75-54)
Game 130 at Chicago AL - W (76-54)
Game 131 at Chicago AL - W (77-54)
Game 132 at Toronto - L (77-55)
Game 133 at Toronto - L (77-56)
Game 134 at Toronto - W (78-56)
Game 135 vs San Diego - W (79-56)
Game 136 vs San Diego - W (80-56)
Game 137 vs San Diego - L (80-57)
Game 138 vs Chicago AL - W (81-57)
Game 139 vs Chicago AL - W (82-57)
Game 140 vs Chicago AL - L (82-58)
Games 141 vs Chicago AL - W (83-58)
Game 142 at Kansas City - L (83-59)
Game 143 at Kansas City - L (83-60)
Game 144 at Kansas City - W (84-60)
Game 145 at Los Angeles AL - L (84-61)
Game 146 at Los Angeles AL - W (85-61)
Game 147 at Los Angeles AL - W (86-61)
Game 148 vs Arizona - W (87-61)
Game 149 vs Arizona - W (88-61)
Game 150 vs Arizona - L (88-62)
Game 151 vs New York AL - W (89-62)
Game 152 vs New York AL - L (89-63)
Game 153 vs New York AL - L (89-64)
Game 154 vs Cleveland - W (90-64) 
Game 155 vs Cleveland - W (91-64)
Game 156 vs Cleveland - W (92-64)
Game 157 at Texas - L (92-65)
Game 158 at Texas - L (92-66)
Game 159 at Texas - W (93-66)
Game 160 at Philadelphia - W (94-66)
Game 161 at Philadelphia - W (95-66)
Game 162 at Philadelphia - L (95-67) 
ALDS Game 1 vs Boston - W (1-0)
ALDS Game 2 vs Boston - L (1-1)
ALDS Game 3 at Boston - L (1-2)
ALDS Game 4 at Boston - W (2-2)
ALDS Game 5 at Boston - L (2-3)

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Regular season baseball starts next week. But this great news comes with a catch. The Minnesota Twins will not be playing regular season baseball next week. Instead, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will have an epic clash overseas.
But we need not worry. Our beloved Twins will be playing regular season baseball soon enough. There will be 162 beautiful regular season games, and die hard fans will not miss a single pitch. But if you have to miss some games here or there, your ole pal William Malone IV has you covered. For I have seen the future! And by seeing the future, I already know the results of every single game from the 2025 Major League Baseball season. So here they are!
Game 1 at St. Louis - W (1-0)
Game 2 at St. Louis - W (2-0)
Game 3 at St. Louis - W (3-0)
Game 4 at Chicago AL - W (4-0)
Game 5 at Chicago AL - L (4-1)
Game 6 at Chicago AL - L (4-2)
Game 7 vs Houston - L (4-3)
Game 8 vs Houston - W (5-3)
Game 9 vs Houston - W (6-3)
Game 10 at Kansas City - L (6-4)
Game 11 at Kansas City - L (6-5)
Game 12 at Kansas City - W (7-5)
Game 13 at Kansas City - L (7-6)
Game 14 vs Detroit - W (8-6)
Game 15 vs Detroit - W (9-6)
Game 16 vs Detroit - W (10-6)
Game 17 vs New York NL - W (11-6)
Game 18 vs New York NL - L (11-7)
Game 19 vs New York NL - L (11-8)
Game 20 at Atlanta - L (11-9)
Game 21 at Atlanta - L (11-10)
Game 22 at Atlanta - W (12-10)
Game 23 vs Chicago AL - L (12-11)
Game 24 vs Chicago AL - W (13-11)
Game 25 vs Chicago AL - L (13-12)
Game 26 vs Los Angeles AL - W (14-12)
Game 27 vs Los Angeles AL - L (14-13)
Game 28 vs Los Angeles AL - W (15-13)
Game 29 at Cleveland - W (16-13)
Game 30 at Cleveland - W (17-13)
Game 31 at Cleveland - L (17-14)
Game 32 at Cleveland - L (17-15)
Game 33 at Boston - W (18-15)
Game 34 at Boston - L (18-16)
Game 35 at Boston - W (19-16)
Game 36 vs Baltimore - W (20-16)
Game 37 vs Baltimore - W (21-16)
Game 38 vs Baltimore - L (21-17)
Game 39 vs San Francisco - W (22-17)
Game 40 vs San Francisco - W (23-17)
Game 41 vs San Francisco - L (23-18) 
Game 42 at Baltimore - L (23-19)
Game 43 at Baltimore - W (24-19)
Game 44 at Baltimore - L (24-20)
Game 45 at Milwaukee - W (25-20)
Game 46 at Milwaukee - W (26-20)
Game 47 at Milwaukee - W (27-20)
Game 48 vs Cleveland - L (27-21)
Game 49 vs Cleveland - L (27-22)
Game 50 vs Cleveland - W (28-22)
Game 51 vs Kansas City - W (29-22)
Game 52 vs Kansas City - W (30-22)
Game 53 vs Kansas City - L (30-23)
Game 54 at Tampa Bay - W (31-23)
Game 55 at Tampa Bay - L (31-24)
Game 56 at Tampa Bay - W (32-24)
Game 57 at Seattle - L (32-25)
Game 58 at Seattle - W (33-25)
Game 59 at Seattle - W (34-25)
Game 60 at Sacramento - W (35-25)
Game 61 at Sacramento - W (36-25)
Game 62 at Sacramento - W (37-25)
Game 63 at Sacramento - L (37-26)
Game 64 vs Toronto - L (37-27)
Game 65 vs Toronto - L (37-28)
Game 66 vs Toronto - W (38-28)
Game 67 vs Texas - L (38-29)
Game 68 vs Texas - W (39-29)
Game 69 vs Texas - L (39-30)
Game 70 at Houston - W (40-30)
Game 71 at Houston - W (41-30)
Game 72 at Houston - L (41-31)
Game 73 at Cincinnati - W (42-31)
Game 74 at Cincinnati - W (43-31)
Game 75 at Cincinnati - W (44-31) 
Game 76 vs Milwaukee - L (44-32)
Game 77 vs Milwaukee - L (44-33)
Game 78 vs Milwaukee - W (45-33)
Game 79 vs Seattle - W (46-33)
Game 80 vs Seattle - W (47-33)
Game 81 vs Seattle - L (47-34)
Game 82 vs Seattle - L (47-35)
Game 83 at Detroit - W (48-35)
Game 84 at Detroit - W (49-35)
Game 85 at Detroit - W (50-35)
Game 86 at Miami - L (50-36)
Game 87 at Mimai - L (50-37)
Game 88 at Miami - L (50-38)
Game 89 vs Tampa Bay - L (50-39)
Game 90 vs Tampa Bay - L (50-40)
Game 91 vs Tampa Bay - W (51-40)
Game 92 vs Chicago NL - W (52-40)
Game 93 vs Chicago NL - L (52-41)
Game 94 vs Chicago NL - W (53-41)
Game 95 vs Pittsburgh - L (53-42)
Game 96 vs Pittsburgh - W (54-42)
Game 97 vs Pittsburgh - W (55-42)
Game 98 at Colorado - W (56-42)
Game 99 at Colorado - W (57-42)
Game 100 at Colorado - W (58-42)
Game 101 at Los Angeles NL - W (59-42)
Game 102 at Los Angeles NL - L (59-43)
Game 103 at Los Angeles NL - L (59-44)
Game 104 vs Washington - W (60-44)
Game 105 vs Washington - W (61-44)
Game 106 vs Washington - L (61-45)
Game 107 vs Boston - W (62-45)
Game 108 vs Boston - L (62-46)
Game 109 vs Boston - W (63-46)
Game 110 at Cleveland - L (63-47)
Game 111 at Cleveland - W (64-47)
Game 112 at Cleveland - L (64-48)
Game 113 at Detroit - W (65-48)
Game 114 at Detroit - L (65-49)
Game 115 at Detroit - W (66-49)
Game 116 vs Kansas City - W (67-49)
Game 117 vs Kansas City - L (67-50)
Game 118 vs Kansas City - W (68-50)
Game 119 at New York AL - L (68-51)
Game 120 at New York AL - L (68-52)
Game 121 at New York AL - W (69-52)
Game 122 vs Detroit - W (70-52)
Game 123 vs Detroit - W (71-52)
Game 124 vs Detroit - W (72-52)
Game 125 vs Detroit - L (72-53)
Game 126 vs Sacramento - W (73-53)
Game 127 vs Sacramento - L (73-54)
Game 128 vs Sacramento - W (74-54)
Game 129 at Chicago AL - W (75-54)
Game 130 at Chicago AL - W (76-54)
Game 131 at Chicago AL - W (77-54)
Game 132 at Toronto - L (77-55)
Game 133 at Toronto - L (77-56)
Game 134 at Toronto - W (78-56)
Game 135 vs San Diego - W (79-56)
Game 136 vs San Diego - W (80-56)
Game 137 vs San Diego - L (80-57)
Game 138 vs Chicago AL - W (81-57)
Game 139 vs Chicago AL - W (82-57)
Game 140 vs Chicago AL - L (82-58)
Games 141 vs Chicago AL - W (83-58)
Game 142 at Kansas City - L (83-59)
Game 143 at Kansas City - L (83-60)
Game 144 at Kansas City - W (84-60)
Game 145 at Los Angeles AL - L (84-61)
Game 146 at Los Angeles AL - W (85-61)
Game 147 at Los Angeles AL - W (86-61)
Game 148 vs Arizona - W (87-61)
Game 149 vs Arizona - W (88-61)
Game 150 vs Arizona - L (88-62)
Game 151 vs New York AL - W (89-62)
Game 152 vs New York AL - L (89-63)
Game 153 vs New York AL - L (89-64)
Game 154 vs Cleveland - W (90-64) 
Game 155 vs Cleveland - W (91-64)
Game 156 vs Cleveland - W (92-64)
Game 157 at Texas - L (92-65)
Game 158 at Texas - L (92-66)
Game 159 at Texas - W (93-66)
Game 160 at Philadelphia - W (94-66)
Game 161 at Philadelphia - W (95-66)
Game 162 at Philadelphia - L (95-67) 
ALDS Game 1 vs Boston - W (1-0)
ALDS Game 2 vs Boston - L (1-1)
ALDS Game 3 at Boston - L (1-2)
ALDS Game 4 at Boston - W (2-2)
ALDS Game 5 at Boston - L (2-3)

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Opening Day for Major League Baseball is only a week away.
Granted, the Minnesota Twins will not be playing a week from today. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will be opening the season in Japan. Even without the mighty Twins, it is still a most exciting time for baseball fans everywhere.
A new season comes with hope! Many of the 30 teams will be awesome! Many of the 30 teams will stink. And many of them will be in some middle ground between awesome and stink. Does anyone remember the 2019 Twins? That team was awesome, even if the playoffs brought much sadness to the Land of Many Lakes. They set the world record for big dingers hit over the fence that season. The whole thing was quite exciting to watch.
This team became known as the "Bomba Squad." But what happened to the wonderful humans who made up this record breaking offense? Let's take a look, while also ranking them by their bWAR following the 2019 campaign. Remember my friends, if you disagree with these rankings then you must take it up with Baseball Reference and their judgement of bWAR. Don't be calling your ole pal William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum in the comments because you don't like where your favorite Bomba Squad player is ranked.
1. Byron Buxton (15.0 bWAR after 2019)
Injuries continue to be the story for Buxton, who wasn't healthy enough to play alongside the Bomba Squad in the 2019 postseason. He did get some down ballot MVP votes in 2020, and was an All-Star in 2022. But there's still another level that Twins fans would love to see him reach.
2. Luis Arraez (14.4 bWAR after 2019)
There are some holes in his game. This is why Arraez seems to bounce around the league a bit. But you still can't argue with three batting titles. That's why Luis Arraez is towards the top of these rankings.
3. Jorge Polanco (11.1 bWAR after 2019)
The Twins got a lot of good baseball out of Polanco for the first few years after 2019, but injuries and a rising core of infield prospects eventually saw him traded following their 2023 division title. Polanco hit a career best 33 home runs in 2021.
4. Max Kepler (9.1 bWAR after 2019)
There have been some bad stretches for Kepler since 2019, but this has come with good runs as well. His OPS+ of 124 in 2023 actually matched his 2019 clip, although the juiced baseball beefing up everyone's number league wide in 2019 mean Kepler's raw stats were better in the Bomba Squad season. As always, Kepler has provided solid defense.
5. LaMonte Wade (6.0 bWAR after 2019)
The Twins lost Wade in a very forgettable trade. He's turned himself into a respectable player with the Giants, although maybe a bit limited. Wade has a .564 career OPS against left handed pitching, and is one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball. He's a bit better when playing first base, but not much better. None the less, he's still a hell of a lot better than Shaun Anderson even with these limitations.
6. C.J. Cron (5.3 bWAR after 2019)
Cron was an All-Star for the Colorado Rockies in 2023, and his 2022 season was statically better. But you might be able to chalk this success up to the Coors Field effect. After a poor 2023, he didn't play professional baseball at any level last year.
7. Mitch Garver (4.4 bWAR after 2019)
There has been a lot of good and bad for Garver since 2019. His 2020 season was about as bad it could get for a player, as he became almost unplayable. But weird circumstances for the COVID season can make you look past that. Injuries have limited him to just 80 games per season since the start of 2021, and he now plays more DH than catcher.
8. Nelson Cruz (4.1 bWAR after 2019)
Cruz continued to be awesome after 2019, winning a Silver Slugger in 2020 and making the All-Star team in 2021. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline in 2021, and it would appear Minnesota moved on at the exact right moment. Cruz was bad in the second half of 2021, and never found his form again after that. Father Time is undefeated.
9. Jonathan Schoop (2.7 bWAR after 2019)
He played pretty well for the Detroit Tigers in 2020 and 2021, owning a 110 OPS+ across those two seasons. This was a slight improvement over the 102 he posted during the 2019 season in Minnesota. But then he began to decline a bit in 2022 and 2023. Schoop is currently playing professionally in Mexico.
t10. Marwin Gonzalez (0.2 bWAR after 2019)
Gonzalez played three seasons after 2019, helping three different teams make the playoffs while playing his familiar utility role. The first came with the Twins in 2020. He then played for the Astros in 2021 and the Yankees in 2022. The stats don't jump off the page, but you also can't put a price on veteran leadership off the bench.
t10. Jason Castro (0.2 bWAR after 2019)
An underlying story of the Bomba Squad was that Minnesota set the record for home runs by catchers that season. While a lot of that was Silver Slugger winning Mitch Garver doing his thing, Castro still hit 13 of his own. After leaving the Twins, he bounced around a bit as a backup catcher. Castro got a World Series ring with the Astros in 2022.
t10. Ronald Torreyes (0.2 bWAR after 2019)
One memorable moment for the Twins in 2019 was Ronald Torreyes winning a game for them by drawing a walk-off hit by pitch. He was a career Quad-A guy who played 115 games for parts of two seasons with the Phillies after 2019.
t13. Miguel Sano (0.0 bWAR after 2019)
Getting Sano back to an even 0.0 bWAR since 2019 is carried by a solid 2021 season in which he hit 30 home runs with a decent walk rate. Everything around that was a display of very bad baseball for the inconsistent slugger.
t13. Ryan LaMarre (0.0 bWAR after 2019)
This was only a nine game sample with the Yankees in 2021, so it was really hard to move the WAR needle in either direction. LaMarre did hit two home runs in that short nine game stint, but those two homers were part of a 4-for-24 (.190) showing at the plate.
t13. Ian Miller (0.0 bWAR after 2019)
His sample size was even smaller than LaMarre. Miller only appeared in one game after 2019. It was a pinch running appearance for the Cubs in 2020. He did not come to bat, he did not play the field.
16. Ehire Adrianza (-0.2 bWAR after 2019)
The post-Twins highlight for Adrianza was winning the 2021 World Series as a member of the Braves. He went 1-for-10 (.100) in that postseason, and never played the field. Those were ten pinch hitting appearances. Keep in mind, this was back when the NL still had pitchers batting. That's how he got so many pinch hitting attempts over such a small sample.
17. Jake Cave (-0.9 bWAR after 2019)
For all the complaints that Jake Cave played too much, he found even more playing time after leaving the Twins. He was on the Phillies Opening Day and playoff rosters in 2023, and then played a career high 123 games for the Colorado Rockies in 2024. But his numbers still weren't any better from his time in Minnesota, and he's now playing in Korea.
18. Eddie Rosario (-1.1 bWAR after 2019)
Winning NLCS MVP in 2021 is a great accomplishment, but that was really just a flash in the pan for what has been a rapid drop off. Rosario has an 87 OPS+ and -5 defensive runs saved since 2019 concluded. He didn't even play that well in the 2021 World Series after his NLCS MVP performance, going 5-for-22 (.227) with no RBI.
19. Willians Astuillo (-1.4 bWAR after 2019)
It's honestly incredible to accumulate -1.4 bWAR over such a small sample. He only played 101 big league games after the 2019 season. The guy just wasn't good at playing baseball. At least Eddie Rosario got his negative bWAR number over a 481 game run.
DNQ. Tyler Austin (DNP in MLB after 2019)
2019 was the end of the road for Tyler Austin, in terms of his Major League career. He still plays professionally in Japan, and won a silver medal with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins played two baseball games today. How cool is that? Baseball is such a wonderful sport, and Twins fans got double the action today.
While these were not regular season baseball games, that time of year is approaching. The beginning of the regular season is marked by Opening Day! It is a wonderful holiday, or at least should be seen as a holiday. Any president who makes Opening Day a national holiday would have all of our votes for life. Term limits be damned. Write-in it is! 
These games on Opening Day feature two starting pitchers. One for the Twins, and a second one for their opponent. Often times, teams will send their very best starting pitcher to the mound for this delightful contest of baseball. Because of this, Minnesota has faced many tremendous starting pitchers on Opening Day over the years. Today, we will rank them. Or at least rank the ones who have started against the Twins in game one this century (since 2000).
Please note that these rankings are based on the pitcher's entire career. But feel free to comment and say what a big stupid dum dum your ole pal William Malone IV is when you don't agree where someone is ranked. 
24. Mike Maroth (2003 - Detroit Tigers)
The Twins handed Maroth a loss on Opening Day in 2003, and that was the first of a league high 21 losses for him that season. For his career, he pitched six seasons in the big leagues. All but 38 of his 918 career innings came with the Tigers. Maroth actually spent 2010 in the Twins system on a minor league deal, but he was never called up from Rochester. This was the final year of his professional baseball career.
23. Dylan Bundy (2018 - Baltimore Orioles)
Once wildly regarded as the best pitching prospect in baseball, Bundy never really blossomed into what was expected of him. While his 4.74 ERA over eight seasons was a disappointment, his seven shutout innings against Minnesota on Opening Day was not.
22. Ricky Romero (2011 - Toronto Blue Jays)
Injuries ruined what could've been a great career for Romero. He was the sixth overall pick at one point, but was limited to just five seasons in the big leagues. This did include one All-Star appearance and a tenth place Cy Young finish in 2010, but Romero was out of the league just two year later. Unlike most pitchers, it wasn't arm issues that got to him. Multiple knee surgeries and torn quads in both legs were some of the injuries keeping him off the field.
21. Chris Tillman (2016 - Baltimore Orioles)
This was a weird game. Tillman and Ervin Santana both pitched two shutout innings, and then a lengthy rain delay occurred. Each team went to their bullpen when play resumed, only to have Tillman and Santana go at it again on "short rest" in the third game of their series. For his career, Tillman spent his entire ten year career in Baltimore. He had a 4.57 ERA, and was an All-Star in 2013.
20. Jeff Weaver (2001 - Detroit Tigers)
Jeff Weaver was good for the Tigers on Opening Day in 2001, but Brad Radke was just a bit better. He pitched a complete game, but the Twins snuck out with a 3-2 win. For his career, Weaver pitched 11 years with six clubs. Know to be a bit wild, he led the league in hit batters three different times. 
19. Erik Bedard (2007 - Baltimore Orioles)
2007 was a career year for Bedard, but you wouldn't know that by what he did on Opening Day. The Twins scored six runs in just 4.2 innings against him, and then Bedard went onto finish fifth in the AL Cy Young voting. He led the league in H/9 and K/9 that season. For his career, he owns a 4.99 ERA over 11 seasons with six clubs.
18 Brandon Woodruff (2021 - Milwaukee Brewers)
The Twins took care of Woodruff on Opening Day in 2021, but their bullpen couldn't hold on and the Brewers came back to win. His career has been very good when healthy, but staying on the field has been an issue. He missed all of 2024 while recovering from shoulder surgery.
17. Robbie Ray (2022 - Seattle Mariners)
The 2021 AL Cy Young winner made his Mariners debut on Opening Day in 2022 against the Twins. While he dominated on that particular day, the big free agency deal he signed with Seattle ultimately fizzled out. Through three seasons of his five year deal, Ray has only started 40-games and was used out of the bullpen when Seattle made the postseason in 2022. He has since been traded to the Giants.
16. Steve Trachsel (2000 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
Steve Trachsel tossed seven shutout innings for Tampa Bay on Opening Day in 2000. For his career, he was a one time All-Star who pitched 16 seasons in the big leagues. Most of this time was with the Cubs and Mets. 2000 was his only season with the Devil Rays, and he didn't even last the whole year. Toronto acquired him at the deadline that summer.
15. Jeff Suppan (2002 - Kansas City Royals)
Opening Day in 2002 was a high scoring affair. Suppan and Radke both got hit around pretty hard, with Minnesota hanging onto win 8-6. For his career, Suppan pitched 17 years with seven different clubs. He was named NLCS MVP in 2006, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series later on that fall.
14. Danny Duffy (2017 - Kansas City Royals)
Danny Duffy was great on Opening Day in 2017, but it served as a good reminder that the elite 2014-15 Royals bullpen was a thing of the past. Minnesota teed off for six runs on the Kansas City bullpen after Duffy departed, winning the game. For his career, Duffy spent his entire 11-year career with the Royals. He had a 3.95 career ERA, and helped win a World Series in 2015.
13. Cole Ragans (2024 - Kansas City Royals)
It's rather hard to rank someone so young against guys who have had full careers. So this seems like a good spot for now.
12. Lucas Giolito (2020 - Chicago White Sox)
The Bomba Squad's encore was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they opened up their 2020 season by lighting up White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. For his career, he's a one time All-Star who had gotten Cy Young votes three times. Giolito is currently with the Boston Red Sox, and missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
11. Jamie Moyer (2005 - Seattle Mariners)
The 42-year old southpaw, who was still seven years away from retirement, pitched 5.2 innings of one run ball against Minnesota on Opening Day in 2005. The lone run was unearned, and the Twins lost 5-1. For his career, Moyer pitched 25 years and won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. The 522 home runs he allowed is a Major League record, but that is mostly due to insane longevity. Not poor performance.
10. Jake Arrieta (2012 - Baltimore Orioles)
Jake Arrieta didn't do much with the Baltimore Orioles, putting up a 5.46 ERA during his four seasons there. Maybe you even forgot those years happened. He broke out later on with the Chicago Cubs, winning NL Cy Young in 2015 and the World Series in 2016. His career took a downturn again after cashing in as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies.
9. Jared Weaver (2008 and 2010 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
You might remember Jeff Weaver from earlier in this list. Here is his younger brother! Weaver was a little unproven in 2008, but by 2010 he was seen as an elite starting pitcher. For his career, Weaver was a three time All-Star and finished top five in the AL Cy Young voting three times.
8. Corey Kluber (2019 - Cleveland Indians)
Jose Berrios vs. two time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber on Opening Day in 2019 was a great pitcher's duel. It was a 2-0 win for the Twins, with a two run single by Marwin Gonzalez in the seventh holding up as the difference. Injuries later on in his career will probably keep Kluber out of Cooperstown discussions, but he had a Hall of Fame peak.
7. David Price (2015 - Detroit Tigers)
8.2 shutout innings from David Price opened the door for Joe Nathan to get the final save of his career on Opening Day in 2015. For his career, Price was a five time All-Star who won the Cy Young in 2012.
6. Felix Hernandez (2009 - Seattle Mariners)
Hernandez had crazy hype when he debuted at a 19-year old kid in 2005, but it took a while for him to truly become King Felix. 2009 would turn into his breakout campaign, and that started with a dominant eight inning performance against the Twins on Opening Day. He made his first of six All-Star teams that season, and finished as the Cy Young runner-up. Hernandez won the Cy Young in 2010.
5. Chris Sale (2014 - Chicago White Sox)
Chris Sale didn't win a Cy Young until 2024, but he finished top five in Cy Young voting each year between 2012 and 2018. He was always a dominant force on these White Sox teams that couldn't build around him, but they were able to get a win on Opening Day in 2014 against the Twins and Ricky Nolasco.
4. Zack Greinke (2023 Kansas City Royals)
Greinke was a shell of himself when starting on Opening Day in 2023, but that doesn't take away from the amazing career he had. He was a six time All-Star who won the AL Cy Young in 2009.
3. Roy Halladay (2006 - Toronto Blue Jays)
Johan Santana vs. Roy Halladay in 2006 might be the best Opening Day pitching matchup in Twins history. Halladay won the AL Cy Young in 2003. Santana won it in 2004, and you can argue he should've won in 2005. And for as good as Santana was in 2005, Halladay was even better until injuries wound up limiting him to just 19 starts that year.
2. CC Sabathia (2004 - Cleveland Indians)
The Hall of Fame lefty was brilliant on Opening Day in 2004, only to have his seven shutout innings ruined by the Cleveland bullpen. Twins outfielder Shannon Stewart hit a walk-off homer in the 11th. For his career, Sabathia won 251 games and was elected to Cooperstown on the first ballot.
1. Justin Verlander (2013 - Detroit Tigers)
The three time Cy Young winner looked every bit like a three time Cy Young winner against the Twins on Opening Day in 2013. But he left after five innings due to a blister on his hand, which gave Minnesota a little hope. They scored a few against the Tigers bullpen, but lost 4-2.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Regular season baseball is getting closer and closer every day.
The Minnesota Twins played a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves today. The Braves were not able to get revenge from the 1991 World Series, as they failed to defeat the Twins. However, Minnesota failed to win as well. It was a 0-0 tie. The bats were not doing anything for either side.
Speaking of bats, there is a position in the wonderful sport of baseball known to many as the designated hitter. All this guy does is bat. He does not play defense. This position was invented in 1973, and the Twins have started 36 different men on Opening Day at this spot in the years since. Let's rank them all! Please note that we are ranking their entire careers. Not just their time as designated hitter for the Twins. Don't for get to call your ole pal William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum in the comments when you don't like where your favorite DH is ranked.
36. Mike Stenhouse (1985)
He hit .190 with a .598 OPS over 207 big league games with the Expos, Twins and Red Sox. But don't feel bad for the guy. He graduated from Harvard before getting drafted. Not too shabby!
35. ByungHo Park (2016)
Terry Ryan 1.0 was a great general manager who was rightfully inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. His second stint in that role didn't go as well, and the signing of ByungHo Park was one of the final nails in his coffin. Park batted .191 with a .684 OPS in what was his only Major League season.
34. Danny Goodwin (1980)
Goodwin never played more than 60 games in any of his seven big league seasons, and his career OPS+ is only 84. But despite his lackluster numbers, he was the Twins designed hitter on Opening Day in 1980.
33. Chris Colabello (2014)
This was a low point for Twins lineup construction. Colabello struggled to the tune of a .631 OPS as a 29-year old rookie in 2013, and that was good enough to start him on Opening Day the next season. To be fair, he raked for the first month or so. But it was a flash in the pan.
32. Glenn Adams (1978-79, 1981)
Adams might be one of the worst players in League history who can call himself a "career DH." 78.7% of his career appearances were either as a designated hitter or pinch hitter, as he only made 114 starts in the field during his eight year Major League career. Adams never hit double digit home runs in any of those seasons, and his career OPS+ was just 96.
31. Craig Kusick (1977)
This guy actually wound up having a pretty nice season in 1977 after starting as the designated hitter on Opening Day. Kusick played 115 games with a 120 OPS+, but that was about as good as it got during his seven years in the big leagues.
30. Kennys Vargas (2015)
Vargas crushed the ball for two months after the Twins called him up on August 1, 2014. This made him an easy choice to be the Opening Day designated hitter and five hole hitter in 2015. But perhaps those two months in 2014 were a flash in the pan. He was never flat out bad, but just not good enough to keep around as a hitting only player with little to no defensive value.
29. Pedro Munoz (1995)
Munoz spent most of his career as a backup outfielder, posting a 98 OPS+ across 517 big league games. Some years were better than others, but he was out of the Majors by age 28.
28. Matthew LeCroy (2003-04)
LeCroy was a pretty solid platoon option. He hit lefties really well during his time in the Majors. It's just a bit silly to be platooning your DH slot, and the Twins cut bait on the wrong guy from their early-2000's DH platoon of David Ortiz and LeCroy.
27. Butch Husky (2000)
Husky had a few decent seasons with the New York Mets in the mid-90's when his career was just beginning, but things fell off fast as he bounced around with several teams in the late-90's and early 2000's. This included 64 games with the Twins in 2000.
26. Craig Monroe (2008)
It would be more than fair to move some guys on this list up or down a few sports, because a lot of these careers were more or less the same. That goes Craig Monroe and Butch Husky. A solid few years early on, Monroe's coming with the Detroit Tigers, followed by a quick fall off later on. Monroe hit .202 over 58 games for the Twins in 2008.
25. Logan Morrison (2018)
Morrison was having himself a decent career as a first baseman and corner outfielder for the Marlins, Mariners and Rays. Then he really found it in 2017, launching 38 home runs for Tampa Bay. This turned out to be a flash in the pan, and Morrison had a disappointing season with Minnesota in 2018.
24. Gene Larkin (1989-90)
Larkin was a steady bench bat for the Twins between 1987 and 1993. He brought the ability to fill in at corner outfield and first base, helping them win the World Series in 1987 and 1991. Larkin appeared in 13 combined playoff games during those title runs, but none of them were starts.
23. Lew Ford (2005)
Fan favorite Lew Ford had quite the run for Minnesota during the early stages of his career. He even got MVP votes in 2004, but was out of the league after just five seasons...until making a brief 25 game cameo for the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. That was five years after his final game for the Twins.
22. Manuel Margot (2024)
Margot has had a solid nine year career as a platoon bat. This includes his 2023 season with the Twins, where he hit .331 with an .846 OPS across 165 plate appearances against left handed starting pitchers. Miserable numbers against righties and bench appearances sunk his overall statistics.
21. Randy Bush (1983-84, 1988)
The Twins had Bush in several roles during his 12-year run with the club. He had runs as the starting right fielder, left fielder and designated hitter. Bush also had runs as a bench bat, starting just 82 games from 1991-93 while appearing 228 times over those three seasons.
20. Steve Braun (1976)
A chunk of his 15-year career was spent as a pinch hitting specialist and a defensive replacement in the National League, winning the 1982 World Series as a member of the Cardinals. Braun did play for the Twins for six seasons in the early-to-mid 1970's though, sending a lot of time in left field and at third base. He was the Opening Day designated hitter in 1976.
19. Ryan Doumit (2013)
His versatile glove wasn't needed on Opening Day in 2013, but Doumit brought the ability to regularly play catcher and corner outfield. Doumit had a .756 OPS over a decade long career. His best offensive season might've come in 2012 with the Twins.
18. Jason Kubel (2009-11)
Kubel was a top 20 league wide prospect, and made the Twins playoff roster as a 22-year old rookie in 2004. They sent him to the Arizona Fall League to get some more at-bats after the team was eliminated, and he proceeded to tear his ACL. He still had a pretty good career, but you have to wonder if it could've been even better.
17. Robbie Grossman (2017)
For as dark as the Twins season was in 2016, one bright spot was Robbie Grossman. He was signed to a minor league contract in May 2016 after getting released by the Cleveland Indians, and was instantly able to give his struggling career a spark. Today, he's a career ten WAR player who has been to the playoffs with five different franchises. 
16. Marty Cordova (1999)
The 1995 AL Rookie of the Year hit .277 with a .799 OPS over his five seasons with the Twins. Cordova became a bit of a journeyman after leaving Minnesota, but still had a solid season or two.
15. Dan Gladden (1987)
1987 marked the Twins debut for Dan Gladden, who was expected to be a bench bat for the club after coming over from the San Francisco Giants. He started just eight of the team's first 25 games that season, before settling in as their starting left fielder. Gladden kept that role for several years, and he's now in the Twins Hall of Fame.
14. Rondell White (2006)
The former All-Star didn't fare too well with the Twins in his mid-30's, sporting a 62 OPS+ during his two seasons with the club. If there is a silver lining, he was 5-for-12 (.417) with a home run and a double during the 2006 ALDS. Minnesota got swept. But it wasn't because of Rondell White.
13. Gary Sanchez (2022)
It's easy to clown some of his issues with passed balls. There were a lot of really bad ones with the Yankees during some of their playoff runs. But Sanchez is still a two time All-Star who won a Silver Slugger in 2017. He also had a solid season with the San Diego Padres in 2023, and is currently with the Baltimore Orioles.
12. Gary Ward (1982)
Ward was named an All-Star twice during his 12 seasons in the big leagues, once with the Twins in 1983 and again with the Rangers in 1985. But despite this, 1982 might've been a career year for Ward. His 28 homers and 91 RBI that season were career highs.
11. Roy Smalley (1986)
Smalley was an All-Star who got MVP voters during a career year in 1979. He was a decent starting shortstop for the front part of his career, and a capable backup infielder in the back half. 1986 marked his second stint with the Twins, as his 13-year career was getting towards the end.
10. Jeff Cirillo (2007)
Before coming to Minnesota towards the end of his 14-year career, Cirillo was a two time All-Star third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit over .300 five times, including four consecutive seasons from 1998-01.
9. Byron Buxton (2023)
The all-world defensive center fielder had to play designated hitter in 2023 due to knee issues, but he was back out on defense in 2024. Buxton was an All-Star in 2022. He also received MVP votes in 2017 and 2020.
8. Chili Davis (1991-92)
This three time All-Star with 350 home runs to his name put up an .862 OPS over his two seasons in Minnesota, helping them win the 1991 World Series. Davis also closed his career by winning two more rings with the Yankees in 1998 and 1999.
7. Justin Morneau (2012)
He doesn't quite have the longevity that Chili Davis did, but Morneau can be just a head of him on this rankings list due to his MVP peak. The Canadian slugger was AL MVP in 2006, and was MVP runner-up in 2008. He also won the NL batting title in 2014 while playing for the Colorado Rockies.
6. Nelson Cruz (2019-20)
Cruz raked to the tune of 464 career home runs, winning a Silver Slugger four times. Two of those came as a member of the Twins. His decorated career didn't include any World Series rings, but he still sported a .979 postseason OPS and was named 2011 ALCS MVP.
5. Tony Oliva (1973, 1975)
The American League adopted the designated hitter rule at the perfect time for Tony Oliva. Knee injuries had taken away his ability to play defense, but the DH was added in 1973. This helped extend his Hall of Fame career for a few extra seasons.
4. David Ortiz (2001-02)
This one might hurt Twins fans a bit, but David Ortiz was their starting designated hitter on Opening Day in 2000 and 2001. He slugged 541 career home runs, and led the American League in RBI three times. Sadly, the Twins were not the team primarily benefiting from all this success.
3. Paul Molitor (1996-98)
The list of accolades here is very long! Molitor is a member of the 3,000 hit club and was an All-Star seven times. He also won World Series MVP for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
2. Dave Winfield (1993-94)
After winning a World Series with Toronto in 1992, the Minnesota native came home and got his 3,000th career hit in a Twins uniform. Winfield was a 12 time All-Star who won seven Gold Gloves and six Silver Sluggers.
1. Harmon Killebew (1974)
Killebrew led the league in home runs six times, and paced the league in RBI four times. While his career .256 batting average isn't much to write home about, his ability to draw walks gives him the same on-base percentage as career .305 hitter Henry Aaron.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Regular season baseball is getting closer and closer every day.
The Minnesota Twins played a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves today. The Braves were not able to get revenge from the 1991 World Series, as they failed to defeat the Twins. However, Minnesota failed to win as well. It was a 0-0 tie. The bats were not doing anything for either side.
Speaking of bats, there is a position in the wonderful sport of baseball known to many as the designated hitter. All this guy does is bat. He does not play defense. This position was invented in 1973, and the Twins have started 36 different men on Opening Day at this spot in the years since. Let's rank them all! Please note that we are ranking their entire careers. Not just their time as designated hitter for the Twins. Don't for get to call your ole pal William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum in the comments when you don't like where your favorite DH is ranked.
36. Mike Stenhouse (1985)
He hit .190 with a .598 OPS over 207 big league games with the Expos, Twins and Red Sox. But don't feel bad for the guy. He graduated from Harvard before getting drafted. Not too shabby!
35. ByungHo Park (2016)
Terry Ryan 1.0 was a great general manager who was rightfully inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. His second stint in that role didn't go as well, and the signing of ByungHo Park was one of the final nails in his coffin. Park batted .191 with a .684 OPS in what was his only Major League season.
34. Danny Goodwin (1980)
Goodwin never played more than 60 games in any of his seven big league seasons, and his career OPS+ is only 84. But despite his lackluster numbers, he was the Twins designed hitter on Opening Day in 1980.
33. Chris Colabello (2014)
This was a low point for Twins lineup construction. Colabello struggled to the tune of a .631 OPS as a 29-year old rookie in 2013, and that was good enough to start him on Opening Day the next season. To be fair, he raked for the first month or so. But it was a flash in the pan.
32. Glenn Adams (1978-79, 1981)
Adams might be one of the worst players in League history who can call himself a "career DH." 78.7% of his career appearances were either as a designated hitter or pinch hitter, as he only made 114 starts in the field during his eight year Major League career. Adams never hit double digit home runs in any of those seasons, and his career OPS+ was just 96.
31. Craig Kusick (1977)
This guy actually wound up having a pretty nice season in 1977 after starting as the designated hitter on Opening Day. Kusick played 115 games with a 120 OPS+, but that was about as good as it got during his seven years in the big leagues.
30. Kennys Vargas (2015)
Vargas crushed the ball for two months after the Twins called him up on August 1, 2014. This made him an easy choice to be the Opening Day designated hitter and five hole hitter in 2015. But perhaps those two months in 2014 were a flash in the pan. He was never flat out bad, but just not good enough to keep around as a hitting only player with little to no defensive value.
29. Pedro Munoz (1995)
Munoz spent most of his career as a backup outfielder, posting a 98 OPS+ across 517 big league games. Some years were better than others, but he was out of the Majors by age 28.
28. Matthew LeCroy (2003-04)
LeCroy was a pretty solid platoon option. He hit lefties really well during his time in the Majors. It's just a bit silly to be platooning your DH slot, and the Twins cut bait on the wrong guy from their early-2000's DH platoon of David Ortiz and LeCroy.
27. Butch Husky (2000)
Husky had a few decent seasons with the New York Mets in the mid-90's when his career was just beginning, but things fell off fast as he bounced around with several teams in the late-90's and early 2000's. This included 64 games with the Twins in 2000.
26. Craig Monroe (2008)
It would be more than fair to move some guys on this list up or down a few sports, because a lot of these careers were more or less the same. That goes Craig Monroe and Butch Husky. A solid few years early on, Monroe's coming with the Detroit Tigers, followed by a quick fall off later on. Monroe hit .202 over 58 games for the Twins in 2008.
25. Logan Morrison (2018)
Morrison was having himself a decent career as a first baseman and corner outfielder for the Marlins, Mariners and Rays. Then he really found it in 2017, launching 38 home runs for Tampa Bay. This turned out to be a flash in the pan, and Morrison had a disappointing season with Minnesota in 2018.
24. Gene Larkin (1989-90)
Larkin was a steady bench bat for the Twins between 1987 and 1993. He brought the ability to fill in at corner outfield and first base, helping them win the World Series in 1987 and 1991. Larkin appeared in 13 combined playoff games during those title runs, but none of them were starts.
23. Lew Ford (2005)
Fan favorite Lew Ford had quite the run for Minnesota during the early stages of his career. He even got MVP votes in 2004, but was out of the league after just five seasons...until making a brief 25 game cameo for the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. That was five years after his final game for the Twins.
22. Manuel Margot (2024)
Margot has had a solid nine year career as a platoon bat. This includes his 2023 season with the Twins, where he hit .331 with an .846 OPS across 165 plate appearances against left handed starting pitchers. Miserable numbers against righties and bench appearances sunk his overall statistics.
21. Randy Bush (1983-84, 1988)
The Twins had Bush in several roles during his 12-year run with the club. He had runs as the starting right fielder, left fielder and designated hitter. Bush also had runs as a bench bat, starting just 82 games from 1991-93 while appearing 228 times over those three seasons.
20. Steve Braun (1976)
A chunk of his 15-year career was spent as a pinch hitting specialist and a defensive replacement in the National League, winning the 1982 World Series as a member of the Cardinals. Braun did play for the Twins for six seasons in the early-to-mid 1970's though, sending a lot of time in left field and at third base. He was the Opening Day designated hitter in 1976.
19. Ryan Doumit (2013)
His versatile glove wasn't needed on Opening Day in 2013, but Doumit brought the ability to regularly play catcher and corner outfield. Doumit had a .756 OPS over a decade long career. His best offensive season might've come in 2012 with the Twins.
18. Jason Kubel (2009-11)
Kubel was a top 20 league wide prospect, and made the Twins playoff roster as a 22-year old rookie in 2004. They sent him to the Arizona Fall League to get some more at-bats after the team was eliminated, and he proceeded to tear his ACL. He still had a pretty good career, but you have to wonder if it could've been even better.
17. Robbie Grossman (2017)
For as dark as the Twins season was in 2016, one bright spot was Robbie Grossman. He was signed to a minor league contract in May 2016 after getting released by the Cleveland Indians, and was instantly able to give his struggling career a spark. Today, he's a career ten WAR player who has been to the playoffs with five different franchises. 
16. Marty Cordova (1999)
The 1995 AL Rookie of the Year hit .277 with a .799 OPS over his five seasons with the Twins. Cordova became a bit of a journeyman after leaving Minnesota, but still had a solid season or two.
15. Dan Gladden (1987)
1987 marked the Twins debut for Dan Gladden, who was expected to be a bench bat for the club after coming over from the San Francisco Giants. He started just eight of the team's first 25 games that season, before settling in as their starting left fielder. Gladden kept that role for several years, and he's now in the Twins Hall of Fame.
14. Rondell White (2006)
The former All-Star didn't fare too well with the Twins in his mid-30's, sporting a 62 OPS+ during his two seasons with the club. If there is a silver lining, he was 5-for-12 (.417) with a home run and a double during the 2006 ALDS. Minnesota got swept. But it wasn't because of Rondell White.
13. Gary Sanchez (2022)
It's easy to clown some of his issues with passed balls. There were a lot of really bad ones with the Yankees during some of their playoff runs. But Sanchez is still a two time All-Star who won a Silver Slugger in 2017. He also had a solid season with the San Diego Padres in 2023, and is currently with the Baltimore Orioles.
12. Gary Ward (1982)
Ward was named an All-Star twice during his 12 seasons in the big leagues, once with the Twins in 1983 and again with the Rangers in 1985. But despite this, 1982 might've been a career year for Ward. His 28 homers and 91 RBI that season were career highs.
11. Roy Smalley (1986)
Smalley was an All-Star who got MVP voters during a career year in 1979. He was a decent starting shortstop for the front part of his career, and a capable backup infielder in the back half. 1986 marked his second stint with the Twins, as his 13-year career was getting towards the end.
10. Jeff Cirillo (2007)
Before coming to Minnesota towards the end of his 14-year career, Cirillo was a two time All-Star third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit over .300 five times, including four consecutive seasons from 1998-01.
9. Byron Buxton (2023)
The all-world defensive center fielder had to play designated hitter in 2023 due to knee issues, but he was back out on defense in 2024. Buxton was an All-Star in 2022. He also received MVP votes in 2017 and 2020.
8. Chili Davis (1991-92)
This three time All-Star with 350 home runs to his name put up an .862 OPS over his two seasons in Minnesota, helping them win the 1991 World Series. Davis also closed his career by winning two more rings with the Yankees in 1998 and 1999.
7. Justin Morneau (2012)
He doesn't quite have the longevity that Chili Davis did, but Morneau can be just a head of him on this rankings list due to his MVP peak. The Canadian slugger was AL MVP in 2006, and was MVP runner-up in 2008. He also won the NL batting title in 2014 while playing for the Colorado Rockies.
6. Nelson Cruz (2019-20)
Cruz raked to the tune of 464 career home runs, winning a Silver Slugger four times. Two of those came as a member of the Twins. His decorated career didn't include any World Series rings, but he still sported a .979 postseason OPS and was named 2011 ALCS MVP.
5. Tony Oliva (1973, 1975)
The American League adopted the designated hitter rule at the perfect time for Tony Oliva. Knee injuries had taken away his ability to play defense, but the DH was added in 1973. This helped extend his Hall of Fame career for a few extra seasons.
4. David Ortiz (2001-02)
This one might hurt Twins fans a bit, but David Ortiz was their starting designated hitter on Opening Day in 2000 and 2001. He slugged 541 career home runs, and led the American League in RBI three times. Sadly, the Twins were not the team primarily benefiting from all this success.
3. Paul Molitor (1996-98)
The list of accolades here is very long! Molitor is a member of the 3,000 hit club and was an All-Star seven times. He also won World Series MVP for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
2. Dave Winfield (1993-94)
After winning a World Series with Toronto in 1992, the Minnesota native came home and got his 3,000th career hit in a Twins uniform. Winfield was a 12 time All-Star who won seven Gold Gloves and six Silver Sluggers.
1. Harmon Killebew (1974)
Killebrew led the league in home runs six times, and paced the league in RBI four times. While his career .256 batting average isn't much to write home about, his ability to draw walks gives him the same on-base percentage as career .305 hitter Henry Aaron.