Top 50 Minnesota Twins
In 1901 the Washington Senators were formed as a charter member of the American League. While some excellent players suited up in the Nation’s Capital more often than not the team wasn’t very good and would only win one World Series (1924) in the sixty years they played there.Washington would lose its team to Minneapolis, who christened the team the Minnesota Twins to lure in fans from St. Paul, the eastern city on the Mississippi River from Minneapolis. The fortunes didn’t really change as the Twins were bad more often than they were good. They would finally breakthrough in 1987 winning their first World Series in Minnesota. They would win again in a thrilling series in 1991 against the Atlanta Braves.
While the Twins own the history of the Senators, they don’t celebrate it as anybody from their own franchise Hall of Fame had a celebrated career in Washington. Still, this IS a part of their history and our list reflects as much.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades. This is a list up to the end of the 2024 Season.
Mickey Vernon would accumulate 1,993 of his 2,495 Hits with the Washington Senators and smacked enough so that he could win two Batting Titles (1946 & 1953). Vernon was chosen to play in five All-Star Games and in 1953 he finished third in MVP voting. He also had two more top ten finishes in MVP voting while playing for Washington. Had Vernon even been average defensively (he never had one season where he had a positive Defensive bWAR as a Senator) his ranking would be significantly higher.
Considered by many baseball historians to be the first reliever of prominence, Firpo Marberry would lead the American League in Pitching Appearances six times and is the first (retroactively) to score 20 Saves in a season. Marberry’s versatility to go from the starting rotation to the bullpen with ease made him an invaluable asset and a player ahead of his time. Marberry’s pitching acumen made him a vital component in the Senators’ World Series Championship win in 1924.
Playing his entire career with the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins, the versatile outfielder was known for his cannon of an arm and pop with a bat. Allison, the 1959 Rookie of the Year, would have eight seasons where he hit more than 20 Home Runs, which included a 35 HR season where he would lead the American League in OPS and WAR. He would make the All-Star Team three times, and accumulate 1,281 Hits for the team.The Twins inducted Allison into their Hall of Fame in 2003.
A Cy Young Award winner in 1970, Jim Perry would go 128 and 90 for Minnesota in a ten-year span. Perry rattled off two straight 20 Win Seasons and was known for possessing good control as shown by two appearances in the to five in BB/9. He would also represent Minnesota in two All-Star Games, but he will always be best known in the Twin Cities for winning the 1970 Cy Young in a season where he went 24 and 12.Minnesota selected Perry for their Hall of Fame in 2011.
There were few players who more hurt their baseball career more from serving their country in World War II than Cecil Travis. Travis was a three-time All-Star and in the ’41 season, he would lead the American League in Hits with a .359 Batting Average. Travis batted over .300 six other times and in that season before World War II finished sixth in MVP voting.
Playing for the Washington Senators for all of his eighteen MLB seasons, Ossie Bluege was not known as a great hitter, though he was consistent enough to put together 1,751 Hits over his tenure. Bluege was best known for his defensive skills at the hot corner and would likely have been a multi-time Gold Glove winner had that award existed at the time.
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Arguably the most important Minnesota Twin Pitcher in the 1980’s, Frank Viola will always be synonymous with his 1987 and 1988 seasons. In ’87, after coming off of his fourth consecutive 16 Win season, Viola would be named the MVP in the 1987 World Series, bringing the title to the Twin Cities for the first time.
One of the most patient hitters in baseball history, Eddie Yost would lead the American League four times in Walks as a member of the Washington Senators. While Yost would not win an On Base Percentage Title in Washington (he did in both of his seasons in Detroit) he did exceed the .400 mark six times. Yost would also tabulate 1,521 Hits in Washington.
A feared knuckleball pitcher (Jackie Robinson said as much), Dutch Leonard went to three All-Star Games as a Washington Senator. For a knuckballer, Leonard had very good control, twice leading the AL in BB/9 and once and WHIP. As a testament o his lack of walks delivered, Leonard once led the league in SO/BB, which was especially incredible considering that he was not regarded as a Pitcher who struck out many batters.With the Senators, Leonard had a record of 118-101 with a 3.27 ERA.
Justin Morneau continued the evolution of Canadian Baseball players, who along with Joe Mauer and Johan Santana, was part of a group of star players that the Twins had in the 2000s.Morneau debuted for the Twins in 2002, and became their lead First Baseman two years later. He had his best season in 2005, winning the MVP on a 34 HR/130 RBI season while batting .321, but he was not boing to be a one-great season player. Morneau went to the next four All-Star Games, and was second for the MVP in 2007. He also had a four-year run…
One of the most popular Twins of all time, Gary Gaetti was not just a two-time All-Star in the eyes of Minnesota fans. Finishing 10th overall in MVP voting twice, Gaetti secured himself in Twins folklore by hitting home runs in his first two at bats en route to winning the 1987 American League Championship Series MVP, the same season where he helped Minnesota win their first World Series since the relocation.
Spending his entire professional baseball career with the Washington Senators, Buddy Lewis looked liked he was primed for greatness. A hitting machine, Lewis had six straight 160 plus Hit seasons by the age of 24, and was only behind only Ty Cobb in the statistic of Hits by a similar age.
An exceptionally versatile player (he was the second player in MLB to play all nine positions in a game) Cesar Tovar had five straight seasons where he collected more than 150 Hits and received votes for the MVP. The Venezuelan would lead the AL in Hits in 1971 and while he was considered to be good, he surprisingly never made an All-Star Team. WIth Minnesota, Tovar batted .281 with 1,164 Hits and 186 Stolen Bases, and the Twins inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2022.
A dynamo with a glove and a hitter with pop in his bat, Torii Hunter is best known for his time with the Minnesota Twins.
A Minnesota Twin for seven seasons, Joe Nathan was named an All-Star for four of them. Nathan was not a bona fide closer until he became a Twin and he would promptly rattle off six consecutive seasons where he Saved 35 Games. Nathan was so impressive that he had two campaigns where he finished in the top five in Cy Young voting. As of this writing, Nathan is still in the top ten all-time in Saves, 260 of which he accumulated in Minnesota. More notably to us, he had a very impressive WHIP of 0.956 as a Twin.Nathan was inducted…
A Washington Senator for five seasons, Stan Spence played well enough to be named an All-Star for four of them. While Spence was in the military during the ’45 season, he was there from ‘42 to ‘44 and back from ‘46 to ‘47. The Centerfielder would finish eighth in MVP voting twice, both of which were .300 seasons, and accumulated 852 Hits with a .296 Batting Average with Washington.
Patrolling the Shortstop position for over a decade for the Washington Senators, George McBride was one of the best defensive infielders of his day. McBride had seven seasons where he had a Defensive bWAR over 2.0 and two where he went over 3.0. Career wise, McBride would lead the AL in Defensive bWAR four times (though granted in a time where this wasn’t a statistic) and as of this writing he is 25th overall career wise in that metric.
Leading the American League in Stolen Bases five years in a row (1939-43) George Case was one of the fastest players in his time. Case would be chosen for three All-Star Games (albeit two during the War when there were limited stars in MLB) Case would finish as high as ninth in MVP voting (1945) and had two other years where he received MVP votes. The outfielder would have three .300 seasons and four campaigns where he accrued over 100 Runs Scored.Case collected 1,306 Hits, 321 Stolen Base with a .288 Batting Average
Heinie Manush was one of the most successful hitters in baseball in terms of Batting Average, as he retired with a .330 BA. Manush was with the Senators for six years, and while we did not win a Batting Title as a Sen, he did finish in the top five three times while playing in the Capital. Manush would however lead the AL in Hits and Triples in 1933, the season he would help take Washington to the American League Pennant. He would finish third in MVP voting that year and also do so the season before.