Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has put on a nice power display this season while playing a position that is not expected to hit for power, at least not for the Minnesota Twins. The most home runs hit by a keystone position player was back in 1973 when Davey Johnson hit 43 long balls for the Atlanta Braves. The only other 2B to hit 40 or more home runs in a single season is Ryne Sandberg who hit 40 for Chicago’s Cubbies in 1990. The most home runs hit by an AL 2B was 39 by Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees back in 2002. No Twins 2B has come close to those kind of power numbers and the Twins top long ball hitting 2B is Tim Teufel who hit 14 in 1984. Here is a list of Twins second baseman that have hit 10 or more home runs in a single season while playing at least 75% of their games at second base.
| Rk | Player | HR | Year | Age | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | RBI | BB | SO | HBP | SB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Teufel | 14 | 1984 | 25 | 157 | 568 | 76 | 149 | 30 | 3 | 61 | 76 | 73 | 2 | 1 | .262 | .349 | .749 |
| 2 | Rod Carew | 14 | 1975 | 29 | 143 | 535 | 89 | 192 | 24 | 4 | 80 | 64 | 40 | 1 | 35 | .359 | .421 | .919 |
| 3 | Chuck Knoblauch | 13 | 1996 | 27 | 153 | 578 | 140 | 197 | 35 | 14 | 72 | 98 | 74 | 19 | 45 | .341 | .448 | .965 |
| 4 | Brian Dozier | 12 | 2013 | 26 | 103 | 380 | 51 | 92 | 25 | 4 | 48 | 35 | 81 | 5 | 9 | .242 | .312 | .736 |
| 5 | Todd Walker | 12 | 1998 | 25 | 143 | 528 | 85 | 167 | 41 | 3 | 62 | 47 | 65 | 2 | 19 | .316 | .372 | .845 |
| 6 | Bernie Allen | 12 | 1962 | 23 | 159 | 573 | 79 | 154 | 27 | 7 | 64 | 62 | 82 | 0 | 0 | .269 | .338 | .741 |
| 7 | Chuck Knoblauch | 11 | 1995 | 26 | 136 | 538 | 107 | 179 | 34 | 8 | 63 | 78 | 95 | 10 | 46 | .333 | .424 | .911 |
| 8 | John Castino | 11 | 1983 | 28 | 142 | 563 | 83 | 156 | 30 | 4 | 57 | 62 | 54 | 1 | 4 | .277 | .348 | .751 |
| 9 | Luis Rivas | 10 | 2004 | 24 | 109 | 336 | 44 | 86 | 19 | 5 | 34 | 13 | 53 | 1 | 15 | .256 | .283 | .715 |
| 10 | Tim Teufel | 10 | 1985 | 26 | 138 | 434 | 58 | 113 | 24 | 3 | 50 | 48 | 70 | 3 | 4 | .260 | .335 | .734 |
It will be very interesting to see what happens next with Brian Dozier. Dozier has been playing great on defense and showing signs of becoming a better hitter. Hitting lead-off is not Dozier’s strong suit due to his poor OBP but since Gardy has no one else to fill the role, Dozier has been doing his best. Dozier is only 26 and in only his first full big league season so he still has a lot to learn but in my eyes he has earned the position. The question is if he can keep it since the Twins having been grooming Eddie Rosario for that role ever since they moved Rosario from the outfield a couple of years ago. Rosario may well be the better hitter long-term but you need a good defender at 2B and right now Dozier seems to fit the bill.
By the way, did you ever wonder why 2B is called the keystone position? Here is a nice explanation I found – It’s because first, second and third base can be connected to form an arch (think of the curved cut of the grass around the infield, for example) 2nd base is at the middle or top of the arch, and the stone that is put into the top of the arch is called a keystone. Ergo, the keystone position.