They knocked in 100 and scored 100

HOF “Goose” Goslin

Every good baseball team needs those big bopper’s that that can knock in the ducks off the pond and it is even better, when he too, can also score a lot of runs. Those kind of hitters don’t come around too often but the Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators franchise has been blessed with 13 of those types of players and they have accomplished this feat a total of 18 times since 1901.

Hitters like this aren’t always power hitters and they aren’t always high average hitters either. Hitters on the list below have hit as many home runs as 49 by Harmon Killebrew or as few as 5 by Buddy Meyer. Some hit for very high averages like Rod Carew‘s .388 or as low as Bob Allison‘s .266 (which in today’s game wouldn’t be considered low at all.) Six of the 13 are MLB Hall of Fame players.

The first player in franchise history to turn this trick was outfielder Goose Goslin who who actually did it three years in a row from 1924-1926. The Senators won the World Series in 1924 and lost the World Series in 1925. If you want to learn more this Hall of Fame player take a few minutes and stop by here.

Harmon Killebrew

Six Minnesota Twins players have accomplished this rare feat over the years with Bob Allison being the first in 1962 and Michael Cuddyer being the most current player to it it back in 2006. Killebrew and Kirby Puckett are the only two Twins to do it twice.

The MLB career leader’s in this feat are Lou Gehrig with 13, Alex Rodriguez and Babe Ruth with 12, Barry Bonds and Jimmie Foxx with 11 and Henry Aaron with 10.

Franchise players with 100 runs and 100 RBI in a season

Most games played by position in franchise history

Native Minnesotan Kent Hrbek

July 31, 2010 – I just wanted to take a look and see who the leaders for games played at each position by the Minnesota Twins and the Washington Senators. With the way things are in baseball today and players on the move through free agency it is hard to keep the same players for any length of time. The only current player that might have a shot at moving on to the list below in the near future is Joe Mauer and if all goes well that might happen late in 2011 or early 2012.

Position Games Name Games Name
Catcher 831 Earl Battey 874 Muddy Ruel
1B 1,609 Kent Hrbek 2,025 Joe Judge
2B 1,128 Rod Carew 1,339 Buddy Myer
SS 1,112 Greg Gagne 1,445 George McBride
3B 1,311 Gary Gaetti 1,625 Eddie Yost
LF 620 Dan Gladden 1,093 Goose Goslin
CF 1,432 Kirby Puckett 1,635 Clyde Milan
RF 1,138 Tony Oliva 1,592 Sam Rice
DH 406 Tony Oliva

 

Good Eye, Good Eye!

May 15, 2010 – The Twins preach to their pitchers that the batter should earn his way on base via a hit, just throw the ball over the plate and take your chances that the batter will hit it to one of your fielders. In recent years, the Twins pitching staff has always been one of the league leaders in fewest bases on balls allowed.

But the shoe is on the other foot when it comes to the Twins hitters where the coaching staff tries to teach patience at the plate, after all, a walk is just as good as a hit. Plus, the more pitches you see, the better the odds are of the batter getting a hit and the quicker the pitcher reaches their so called pitch limits. This year the Twins hitters have taken that advice to heart and after 32 games they have walked 147 times and are on pace for about 700 walks which would be the most not only in Twins history but in franchise history. The 1956 Senators walked 690 times and the most walks by a Twins team was the 1962 Twins when they walked to first base 649 times. Let’s take a look at the top 10 career Twins and Senators batters that believed that a walk was indeed as good as a hit.

Minnesota Twins

HOF Harmon Killebrew played for the Senators/Twins from 1954-1974
HOF Harmon Killebrew played for the Senators/Twins from 1954-1974

Rank Player Bases on Balls Plate Appearances Base on Ball %
1 Harmon Killebrew 1,321 8,018 16.48%
2 Kent Hrbek 838 7,137 11.74%
3 Bob Allison 641 4,641 13.81%
4 Rod Carew 613 6,980 8.78%
5 Roy Smalley 549 4,675 11.74%
6 Chuck Knoblauch 513 4,571 11.22%
7 Kirby Puckett 450 7,831 5.75%
8 Tony Oliva 448 6,879 6.61%
9 Matt Lawton 408 3,150 12.95%
10 Tom Brunansky 394 3,760 10.48%

 Washington Senators

Eddie Yost
Eddie Yost

Rank Player Bases on Balls Plate Appearances Base on Ball %
1 Eddie Yost 1,274 7,461 17.08%
2 Joe Judge 943 8,906 10.59%
3 Buddy Myer 864 7,028 12.29%
4 Mickey Vernon 735 7,769 9.46%
5 Ossie Bluege 723 7,452 9.70%
6 Clyde Milan 685 8,312 8.24%
7 Sam Rice 680 9.879 6.89%
8 Buddy Lewis 573 5,937 9.65%
9 Joe Kuhel 530 5,234 10.13%
10 Goose Goslin 488 5,810 8.40%