Using dWAR to determine Twins best gloves over the years

What is dWAR? Defensive WAR (dWAR): this takes only the player’s defensive contributions and positional adjustment into account in a WAR calculation. dWAR was created by Baseball-Reference. I am using this tool to look at Minnesota Twins players from 1961 thru 2023 to see what it determines as the best defensive Twins players by position for their entire Twins career. A player has to have played at least 51% of his games at that position to qualify. According to dWAR, Greg Gagne is the best defensive player the Twins have ever had.

Minnesota Twins Greg Gagne (7) in action, 6/16/1991 CREDIT: Chuck Solomon (Photo by Chuck Solomon /Getty Images

Catcher Butch Wynegar 9.0 Glenn Borgmann 4.1

First BaseRon Jackson -0.4 C.J. Cron -0.4

Second BaseChuck Knoblauch 8.6 Steve Lombardozzi 3.7

Third BaseGary Gaetti 11.3 Nick Punto 8.6

Shortstop – Greg Gagne 12.4 Zoilo Versalles 8.6

Left FieldLew Ford 2.0 Gary Ward 1.2

Center FieldByron Buxton 7.6 Torii Hunter 6.2

Right FieldMax Kepler 3.0 Tom Brunansky 1.2

PitcherCamilo Pascual -0.1 Mudcat Grant -0.1

So what do you all think? Is dWAR a fair way to help determine the best defensive players? Here is a B-R Stathead link to the best defensive players in all of MLB from 1961 thru 2023, does this list make you a believer?

Twins Top 10 list for lowest batting average with 500+ AB’s

It is always fun to look back and see if former Minnesota Twins players were as good as you remember them.

Zoilo Versalles

Today we look back and see what Twins players had the lowest batting average in a season in which they had 500 or more at bats.  Not a great list for Zoilo to appear on just two years removed from winning the American leagues MVP award. I was surprised to see a current Twins player on this list. Some pretty good players on this list but you have to be a good player to get 500 at bats in a big league season.

Results
Rk Player BA AB Year Age G R H HR RBI
1 Zoilo Versalles .200 581 1967 27 160 63 116 6 50
2 Max Kepler .224 532 2018 25 156 80 119 20 58
3 Tom Brunansky .227 542 1983 22 151 70 123 28 82
4 Gary Gaetti .229 577 1990 31 154 61 132 16 85
5 Gary Gaetti .230 508 1982 23 145 59 117 25 84
6 Roy Smalley .231 584 1977 24 150 93 135 6 56
7 Brian Dozier .236 628 2015 28 157 101 148 28 77
8 Torii Hunter .240 521 2015 39 139 67 125 22 81
9 Zoilo Versalles .241 568 1962 22 160 69 137 17 67
10 Brian Dozier .242 598 2014 27 156 112 145 23 71
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/19/2019.

Play you best players, let them rest in the off-season

When I go to the ballpark or watch a baseball game on TV I always expect the teams best players to be on the field day in and day out during the baseball season. I am old school in that regard and it is disappointing to me when today’s managers rest players so frequently. I believe that players are paid to play and only an injury that does not physically allow them to play should keep them off the field and in the dugout. 

Justin Morneau

Apparently that is not how the Twins play baseball. Coming to the ballpark and playing every day is not how it is done in Minnesota. The last player to play 160 or more games in a season for the Minnesota Twins was Justin Morneau back in 2008, that was 12 years ago. Morneau put together a 218 consecutive games played streak that started on June 28, 2007 and ended on June 20, 2009.  

Zoilo Versalles

Over the years the Twins have had 21 instances when a player has appeared in 160 games or more. Eleven players have accomplished this feat with Zoilo Versalles leading the pack with four such seasons, Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett each did it three times, Cesar Tovar, Leo Cardenas and Gary Gaetti did it twice while Tony Oliva, Roy Smalley, Paul Molitor, Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau each did it once. This past season the Twins “Ironman” was Jorge Polanco with 153 games played.

Looking at just the American League (due to no DH in the National League) this past season there were four players that appeared in 160 or more games and there have been no instances from 1961-2019 where there hasn’t been at least one players appearing in 160 games in a season, excluding strike shortened seasons.

Going back to 1961 the Twins have the third longest streak in the AL without a player appearing in 160 or more games. The last Cleveland Indians player to play in 160 or more games was Grady Sizemore in 2007 and the longest streak in the AL without a player playing in 160 games belongs to the Los Angeles Angels who had Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus qualify back in 2001. I found it interesting that the Texas Rangers who did not begin play until 1972 and play in the very hot Texas temperatures had 13 players play in 160 or more games between 1972-2019.

Twins leaders with two or more home runs in a game

No surprise here that it is Harmon Killebrew, right?

Results
Rk Player #Matching
1 Harmon Killebrew 35
2 Justin Morneau 20
3 Tony Oliva 18
4 Kent Hrbek 16
5 Bob Allison 15
6 Kirby Puckett 13
7 Gary Gaetti 13
8 Tom Brunansky 11
9 Don Mincher 9
10 Torii Hunter 9
11 Eddie Rosario 8
12 Corey Koskie 8
13 Jacque Jones 8
14 Jimmie Hall 8
15 Brian Dozier 8
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/1/2019.

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Eddie Rosario is climbing this list pretty quickly.

And he goes down swinging!

Harmon Killebrew

We all know that strikeout rates are up all across baseball for the last few years but today we will look at Minnesota Twins batters and their strikeout rates going back to 1961. We used B-R’s amazing Play Index to find what we were looking for.

The top two all time Twins leader in strikeouts are Harmon Killebrew with 1,314 and Joe Mauer with 1,034. Mauer? What the heck? Longevity can do strange things to numbers and the devil is in the details.

Minnesota Twins Top 10 Right Fielders

Between 1961-2018 there have been 70 players that have played at least 10 games in left field for our Minnesota Twins. However, to qualify for this list which ranks them in Baseball-Reference WAR order the player must have played left field in at least 51% of their games while wearing a Twins uniform. This eliminates players like Kirby PuckettBob Allison, Torii Hunter and Cesar Tovar who played right field at different points in their careers. Tony O is the Twins all-time leader in games played in right field.

 

Tony Oliva

 

Results
Rk Player WAR/pos G AB R H HR RBI BA OPS
1 Tony Oliva 43.1 1676 6301 870 1917 220 947 .304 .830
2 Tom Brunansky 16.1 916 3313 450 829 163 469 .250 .782
3 Michael Cuddyer 12.8 1139 4072 606 1106 141 580 .272 .794
4 Matt Lawton 11.3 771 2672 423 739 72 384 .277 .808
5 Max Kepler 6.9 419 1446 199 337 56 190 .233 .730
6 Bobby Darwin 5.3 490 1817 210 467 70 282 .257 .735
7 Dustan Mohr 2.5 261 782 111 202 22 85 .258 .726
8 Bombo Rivera 2.5 257 627 85 167 8 64 .266 .699
9 Hosken Powell 2.3 442 1468 192 383 13 127 .261 .671
10 Roberto Kelly 1.8 173 569 80 175 11 84 .308 .808
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/22/2018.
 

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Twins Top 10 Catchers

Twins Top 10 First Baseman

Twins Top 10 Second Basemen

Twins Top 10 Third Baseman

Twins Top 10 Shortstops

Twins Top 10 Right Fielders

Twins Top 10 Center Fielders

Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Minnesota Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Between 1961-2018 there have been 70 players that have played at least 10 games in left field for our Minnesota Twins. However, to qualify for this list which ranks them in Baseball-Reference WAR order the player must have played left field in at least 51% of their games while wearing a Twins uniform. This eliminates players like Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison, Tony Oliva, Gary Gaetti, Torii Hunter and Cesar Tovar who played left field at different points in their careers. Dan Gladden is the Twins all-time leader in games played in left field.

 

Shane Mack

 

Results
Rk Player WAR/pos From To G AB R H HR RBI BA OPS
1 Shane Mack 19.6 1990 1994 633 2161 351 668 67 315 .309 .854
2 Larry Hisle 17.2 1973 1977 662 2437 369 697 87 409 .286 .811
3 Gary Ward 10.6 1979 1983 417 1543 216 439 51 219 .285 .794
4 Eddie Rosario 8.8 2015 2018 503 1889 278 529 74 237 .280 .784
5 Marty Cordova 5.8 1995 1999 628 2322 336 643 79 385 .277 .799
6 Dan Gladden 5.7 1987 1991 644 2470 358 661 38 238 .268 .700
7 Shannon Stewart 4.9 2003 2006 333 1373 179 404 29 162 .294 .772
8 Josh Willingham 4.8 2012 2014 324 1132 161 263 61 192 .232 .799
9 Delmon Young 1.0 2008 2011 497 1845 233 530 47 273 .287 .753
10 Brant Alyea 0.5 1970 1971 173 416 47 103 18 76 .248 .753
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/22/2018.

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Twins Top 10 Catchers

Twins Top 10 First Baseman

Twins Top 10 Second Basemen

Twins Top 10 Third Baseman

Twins Top 10 Shortstops

Twins Top 10 Right Fielders

Twins Top 10 Center Fielders

Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Top Twins DH

Joe Mauer calls it a career and a fine one it was

Joe Mauer

I was watching the KARE 11 News the other day (November 9) when they announced the breaking news that Joe Mauer had announced his retirement. It caught me by surprise but yet I wasn’t surprised at all, it was still kind of shocking. Joe Mauer has been in the sports news in Minnesota since I first heard of him in the late 90’s when he played and starred in three sports at Cretin-Derham Hall High School.

Then Mauer was drafted number 1 overall by the Minnesota Twins in the 2001 June amateur free agent draft. He spent 2001 playing for Elizabethton in the Rookie League, in 2002 he was in Low A ball with Quad Cities in the Midwest League, and in 2003 he started the season with High A Ft. Myers before being bumped up to AA New Britain.

In 2004 the Baseball America number 1 overall rated prospect Joe Mauer made the Twins team in spring training bypassing AAA ball and was the Twins Opening Day catcher on April 5 at the Metrodome in front of 49,584 Twins fans as a 21 year-old. Mauer hit eighth in the line-up that day getting a walk, a strikeout, a walk, and then two singles in his five plate appearances against the Cleveland Indians. Indians starter CC Sabathia was sharp that night and limited the Twins to just two hits over seven innings and was pulled with a 4-0 lead after throwing 104 pitches. The Twins however came back with four runs in the bottom of the eighth sending the game into extra-innings. In the bottom of the eleventh inning Jacque Jones struck out, Matt LeCroy walked, Joe Mauer walked, Cristian Guzman struck out before Shannon Stewart hit a walk-off three-run home run off Chad Durbin for a Twins 7-4 win over the Indians. Joe’s big league career was underway.

Mauer’s second big league game was not on local TV thanks to Victory Sports and it ongoing negotiations with cable and satellite providers, what a game to miss. The Twins won 7-6 in the 15th inning on a bases loaded two out walk-off single by Jose Offerman off Indians reliever Jake Westbrook after five hours of baseball was played. Joe Mauer was the starting catcher and singled in the third inning but was pinch-run for at that point by Henry Blanco. Earlier in the inning Mauer had raced back for a foul ball pop-up and slid in front of the wall on the rubber warning track behind home plate and heard a “pop” in his left knee. By the time the game ended the home-town Twins had lost Mauer, Johan Santana, and Torii Hunter due to injuries. After the game it was thought that Mauer’s injury was just a mild sprain. However; the next day Mauer went on the DL, the first of ten times he will see his name on the DL during his 15 year big league career. A few days later, April 8th, Joe ends up having surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his left knee. Mauer returns to the line-up on June 2 but continues to have trouble off and on with the knee swelling and he plays in his final 2004 game on July 15 and his first season as a Twin ends after just 35 games but in that short period he showed all of us what kind of bat he had as he hit .308 in 107 at bats.

Mauer went on to become a six-time All-Star, win three batting titles, win 5 Silver Slugger awards, win three Gold Gloves, and won the 2009 AL MVP award. Mauer start playing first base periodically starting in 2011 and became a regular at first base in 2014 after concussion problems forced him to give up his catchers gear after the 2013 season. Joe made one more appearance as a catcher in a Twins uniform in his final game in 2018 albeit for just one pitch. Many wondered if it was his last game for the Minnesota Twins but Mauer stuck to his guns and said he would decide soon, on November 9 he did just that with a letter to the fans.

Joe Mauer is one of those players that comes along once in a generation but yet took more than his share of abuse from home-town fans in spite of his baseball skills primarily for two reasons, his $184 million eight-year deal he signed in 2010 and the fact that he didn’t play every day. Catchers don’t play every day but fans thought that if you make $23 million a year you best have your butt on the field day in and day out. To his credit Joe never complained.

As is true with may players, their star shines more brightly after they have retired. I remember Harmon Killebrew being criticised for striking out too often, being slow, and poor in the field. Rod Carew was said to be a terrible baserunner and had a surly attitude. We are talking Hall of Fame players here.

That brings up a good point, is Joe Mauer going into the MLB Hall of Fame? He is borderline and the fact that he had to leave his natural position as a catcher due to injury and become a light-hitting first baseman does not work in his favor. That said, his numbers, skills, and longevity are a plus. If I had to bet I would say that yes, Joe Mauer will be a Hall of Famer and here is why. It can be argued that Mauer was the best catcher in baseball when he was forced to change positions due to concussion issues. Concussions are a big deal in sports today and will be looked upon as valid issues in the future. Another reason and maybe even more important is Joe Mauer’s personality. Everybody loves the wholesome All-American boy who pushed milk in ads and that all of baseball respected. Heck, he was never even ejected from any of his 1,858 big league games. Mauer was alway Mr. Clean on and off the field, if he ever did anything bad, only he knows.

Good luck Joe Mauer as you move to another phase of your life, I sure hope we will be seeing a lot of you around Hammond Stadium and Target Field in the future.

The Baseball Codes

I recently finished a baseball book called “The Baseball Codes” written by Jason Turbow with Michael Duca. This is not a new book, it was published back in 2011 and I ran across it at a book sale that I attend on a regular basis put on by a group called Friends of the Library of Hennepin County in Plymouth, Minnesota. Anyway, I ran across this hardcover book and bought it for the price of one dollar.

This book should not be confused with a book called “The Code” written by Ross Bernstein back in 2008 that covers the same subject matter that I also have in my library. Oddly enough, “The Code” has an image on the cover of Nolan Ryan fighting with Robin Ventura and the book that I wanted to bring to your attention “The Baseball Codes” starts out by the author saying in his introduction that his most memorable moment of the 1993 season was the Ryan/Ventura fight. A strange coincidence.

Byron Buxton and Brian Dozier win Gold Gloves

Congratulations to Byron Buxton and Brian Dozier on their 2017 Gold Gloves awards.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton and second baseman Brian Dozier have been named recipients of the 2017 American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award at their respective defensive positions. This marks the first time that either player has earned the award.

The only other Twins second baseman to win a Gold Glove was Chuck Knoblauch in 1997 and the last time a Twins outfielder won a Gold Glove was Torii Hunter in 2007. Previous to Buxton and Dozier winning Gold Glove awards this season, you have to go all the way back to 2010 when Joe Mauer won it as a catcher.

You can view all the previous Minnesota Twins Gold Glove winners on our Twins Awards page.