A Top-Heavy List
Introducing “Twins Top Ten”
Over the next few months, I’ll be taking a weekly look at the history of each position on the diamond and figuring out who is the best of the best since the franchise moved to Minnesota. This means that only players from 1961-on will be considered, but I will be taking into account their entire tenures with the franchise for those who moved along with the team. You can find prior entries in the series linked below. Next Up: First Basemen!
The Best First Basemen in Twins History
First base is a position that has been defined by hulking sluggers over the history of baseball. Other than a select few, the first basemen we’ve seen manning the bag for the Twins over the years have not exactly abided by this stereotype. Another twist as we move away from catchers and pitchers is a plethora of multi-positional players; I’ve made the determination that for this list and the rest, only players who had the majority of their Twins appearances in the position will be considered (eliminating Mauer, Sano, Carew, and Ortiz from consideration today). To determine who the top first basemen in Twins history are, I’ll be looking at a variety of criteria, including years with the team, number of games, bWAR, OPS+ (to compare different eras of baseball), home runs, stolen bases, fielding percentage, and accolades. Please note that the defensive stats will be based on their entire careers (first base only), mostly because Baseball Reference doesn’t parse them out by team; batting stats will be for Twins years only. Who are the top ten in Twins history (according to me)?
Honorable Mentions
Surely there are those worth mentioning, but I had enough trouble scraping 10 guys together, so no honorable mentions today.
10. Gene Larkin (1987-1993)
7 Years – 758 Games – 1.5 bWAR – 98 OPS+ – 32 HR – 23 SB – .992 Fielding %
Gene Larkin is a two-time World Series champion, and the fact that he was barely an average big leaguer can never take that away from him. He will forever be remembered for delivering the game-winning single that drove him Dan Gladden in the 10th inning of Jack Morris’s Game 7 gem in 1991.
9. CJ Cron (2019)
1 Year – 125 Games – 1.4 bWAR – 104 OPS+ – 25 HR – 0 SB – .992 Fielding %
Yep, this is how thin this list is. Cron had a respectable year with the Bomba Squad Twins, mashing 25 home runs. The journeyman continued to bounce around in the years following his short Twins stint before going unsigned for 2024.
8. Carlos Santana (2024)
1 Year – 150 Games – 2.5 bWAR – 109 OPS+ – 23 HR – 4 SB – .996 Fielding % – Gold Glove
One-time Twins-killer Carlos Santana has gone back to Cleveland to continue that hobby, but was an underrated piece for the 2024 Twins. Santana played excellent first base defense nearly every day, taking home his first career Gold Glove. He wasn’t too shabby with the bat either, posting a 109 OPS+ and mashing 23 taters.
7. Vic Power (1962-1964)
3 Years – 301 Games – 1.6 bWAR – 89 OPS+ – 26 HR – 10 SB – .994 Fielding % – 3x Gold Glover
Vic Power was not a good hitter during his time with the Twins. However, he was a lineup fixture, providing excellent defense at first base to the tune of 3 consecutive Gold Gloves (although the last one was awarded after he had been traded mid-season).
6. Rich Reese (1964-1972, 1973)
10 Years – 807 Games – 3.3 bWAR – 99 OPS+ – 50 HR – 16 SB – .992 Fielding %
The second of three first basemen on this list who somehow overlapped with the #1 on this list, Reese was not spectacular, but was very solid and dependable for 10 years. My favorite Rich Reese fact is that he somehow accrued -1.1 bWAR in only 59 games with the Tigers in 1973, before returning to the Twins and posting 0.3 in only 22 games.
5. Doug Mientkiewicz (1998-2004)
7 Years – 643 Games – 6.4 bWAR – 103 OPS+ – 43 HR – 11 SB – .995 Fielding % – Gold Glove
A top five may have been more appropriate for Twins first basemen, as Dougie Baseball is our first entry that I can confidently say was “good” for an extended stint with the team. Mientkiewicz ended his career with a .995 fielding percentage, but was even better with the Twins, twice leading qualified players at .997.
4. Don Mincher (1960-1966)
7 Years – 617 Games – 8.4 bWAR – 123 OPS+ – 92 HR – 4 SB – .990 Fielding %
The third player on this list who overlapped with our top guy, Mincher is the best hitter we’ve come across so far by a pretty wide margin. My favorite Don Mincher fact is that he may have killed the Senators twice, as he joined the Senators for the last year of both Washington iterations before continuing with Minnesota and Texas, respectively.
3. Justin Morneau (2003-2013)
11 Years – 1278 Games – 22.9 bWAR – 121 OPS+ – 221 HR – 5 SB – .996 Fielding % – MVP, 4x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger
Now we get to the heavies. Our beloved Canadian slugger manned first base for 11 years as an underrated fielder and great lineup protection for Joe Mauer. Morneau’s struggle with concussions that derailed a possible 2nd MVP season and his Twins career is an unfortunate footnote in franchise history.
2. Kent Hrbek (1981-1994)
14 Years – 1747 Games – 38.6 bWAR – 128 OPS+ – 293 HR – 37 SB – .994 Fielding % – All-Star
Morneau may have had higher peak performance, but Hrbek was a lineup cornerstone for 14 years and 2 World Series titles. The Minnesota native provided one of the great moments in franchise history when he strong-armed Ron Gant off the bag for an out in the World Series, and deservedly has his number hanging on the Budweiser Roof Deck.
1. Harmon Killebrew (1954-1974)
21 Years – 2329 Games – 60.4 bWAR – 145 OPS+ – 573 HR – 18 SB – .992 Fielding % – Hall of Fame, MVP, 13x All-Star
This comes as no surprise to anyone. Killer is one of the greatest home run hitters that MLB has ever seen, much less the Twins. The country-strong Idaho native was a Hall of Fame player and person, and an obvious choice for the best first baseman in Twins history. Everyone who knew him seems to have stories upon stories of what a great guy he was.
What do you think? Who did I miss? Who do I overrate, and who do I underrate? Let me know in the comments! I’ll be back next week with the top ten second basemen in Twins history- a list that may have some more suspense to it.