June 21, 2010 – Hall of Famer Sam Rice is way ahead of everyone in franchise history with the best strike out per at bat ratio going down swinging just once in every 33.6 at bats in 9,879 plate appearances. It seems as though the players in the past had much bat control or were more patient then the players of today. As you can see, the Twins best in this category is Brian Harper and he struck out once in every 19.6 at bats in 2,691 plate appearances. Where do Joe Mauer and Rod Carew stand you ask? To this point in his career Joe has 3,253 plate appearances and he strikes out once in every 8.8 at bats. Carew struck out once in every 8.7 at bats in his 6,980 Twins plate appearances. What I think is kind of weird is that Tony Oliva was known as a free swinger and he struck out once every 9.8 at bats in 6,879 at bats. Just for comparison, Harmon Killebrew struck out once every 5.81 at bats in 9,462 Twins plate appearances while Justin Morneau is currently at a strike out every 6.71 at bats in 3,889 plate appearances.
Toughest Twins to strike out
- Catcher Brian Harper
| Rank | Name | At bats per strike out |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Harper | 19.6 |
| 2 | Mickey Hatcher | 15.0 |
| 3 | Cesar Tovar | 13.5 |
| 4 | Lenny Green | 13.3 |
| 5 | Hosken Powell | 11.0 |
| 6 | Butch Wynegar | 10.6 |
| 7 | Lyman Bostock | 10.4 |
| 7 | Ted Uhlaender | 10.4 |
| 9 | Al Newman | 10.2 |
| 10 | Jim Holt | 10.0 |
Toughest Senators to strike out
| Rank | Name | At bats per strike out |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Rice | 33.6 |
| 2 | Sam Dente | 27.7 |
| 3 | Heinie Manush | 25.1 |
| 4 | Muddy Ruel | 23.4 |
| 5 | Clyde Milan | 23.1 |
| 6 | Rick Ferrell | 21.0 |
| 7 | Clint Courtney | 19.3 |
| 8 | Eddie Foster | 19.2 |
| 9 | Stan Spence | 18.5 |
| 10 | George Case | 17.5 |