Twins Hall of Fame

 

Class of 2000 – inaugural class

Harmon Killebrew (Born – 6/29/1936 in Payette, Idaho –  Died – 5/17/2011) – played 1B, 3B, OF and 2B for the Senators/Twins for 21 seasons from 1954 – 1974.

 

Rod Carew (Born – 10/1/1945 in Gatun, Panama Canal Zone) – played 1B, 2B, 3B and OF for the Twins for 12 seasons from 1967 – 1978.

 

Tony Oliva (Born – 7/20/1938 in Pinar del Rio, Cuba) – played OF for the Twins for 15 seasons from 1962 – 1976.

 

Kent Hrbek (Born – 5/21/1960 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) – played 1B and 3B for the Twins for 14 seasons from 1981 – 1994.

 

Kirby Puckett (Born – 3/14/1960 in Chicago, Illinois –  Died – 3/6/2006) – played Outfield, 2B, 3B and SS for the Twins for 12 seasons from 1984 – 1995.

 

Calvin Griffith (Born – 12/1/1911 in Montreal, Canada –  Died – 10/20/1999) – Senators and Twins team owner and president from 1955 – 1983.

 

Class of 2001

Herb Carneal (Born – 5/10/23 in Richmond, Virginia –  Died – 4/1/2007) – Twins radio broadcaster for 45 seasons from 1962 – 2006.

 

Jim Kaat (Born – 11/7/1938 in Zeeland, Michigan) – pitched for the Senators/Twins for 15 seasons from 1959 – 1973.

 

Class of 2002

Bert Blyleven (Born – 4/6/1951 in Zeist, Netherlands) – pitched for the Twins for 11 seasons from 1970 – 1976 and again from 1985 – 1988. Blyleven has been a TV color commentator for the Twins since 1996 and is famous for the “Circle me Bert” posters in the crowd.

 

Tom Kelly (Born – 8/15/1950 in Graceville, Minnesota) – managed the Twins to two World Championships (1987 and 1991) between 1986 – 2001. Kelly also played for the Twins in 1975.

 

Class of 2003

Bob Allison (Born – 7/11/1934 in Raytown, Missouri –  Died – 4/9/1995) – played OF and 1B for the Senators/Twins for 13 seasons from 1958 – 1970.

 

Bob Casey (Born – 4/11/1925 –  Died – 3/27/2005) – The first and only Twins public address announcer serving in that role for 44 years from 1961 to 2005 when he passed away.

 

Class of 2004

Earl Battey (Born – 1/5/1935 in Los Angeles, California) –  Died – 11/15/2003) – Was a Catcher for the Senators/Twins for 8 seasons between 1960 – 1967.

 

Class of 2005

Frank Viola (Born – 4/19/1960 in Hempstead, New York) – pitched for the Twins for 8 seasons from 1982 – 1991.

 

Carl Pohlad (Born – 8/23/1915 in Valley Junction, Iowa –  Died – 1/5/2009) – Twins team owner from 1984 – 2009.

 

Class of 2006

Zoilo Versalles (Born – 12/18/1939 in La Habana, Cuba –  Died – 6/9/1995) – Was a shortstop for the Senators/Twins for 9 seasons between 1959 – 1967. Versalles was the American League MVP in 1965.

 

Class of 2007

Gary Gaetti (Born – 8/19/1958 in Centralia, Illinois) – played 3B, SS, OF and 1B for the Twins for 10 seasons from 1981 – 1990.

 

Jim Rantz (Born – 2/24/1938 in St. Paul, Minnesota) – has worked for the Twins in public relations and player development since 1965. Rantz retired after the 2012 season.

 

Class of 2008

Rick Aguilera  (Born – 12/31/1961 in San Gabriel, California) –  Pitched for the Twins for 11 seasons between 1989 to 1999.

 

Class of 2009

Brad Radke (Born – 10/27/1972 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin) –  Pitched for the Twins for 12 seasons between 1995 to 2006.

 

George Brophy (Born – 9/15/1926 in Minneapolis, Minnesota – Died 11/20/1998) –  Served in the Twins front office from 1961 to 1985.

 

Class of 2010

Greg Gagne (Born – 11/12/1961 in Fall River, Massachusetts) –  played SS, OF, 2B, and 3B for the Twins for 10 seasons between 1983 to 1992.

 

Class of 2011

Jim Perry (Born – 10/30/1935 in Williamston, North Carolina) –  pitched for the Twins for 10 seasons between 1963 – 1972.

 

Class of 2012

Camilo Pascual (Born – 1/20/1934 in La Habana, Cuba) – pitched for the Senators/Twins for 13 seasons between 1954 – 1966.

 

Class of 2013

Eddie Guardado

Eddie Guardado (Born in Stockton, California on October 2, 1970) – pitched for the Twins from 1993-2003 and again in 2008.

 

Tom Mee (Born in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 12, 1928) is regarded as the Twins first hire back in 1960. Mee held a variety of positions but served as Media Relations Director for 30 years before retiring in 1991. Died in 2016.

 

Class of 2014

Chuck Knoblauch (Born in Houston, Texas on July 7, 1968) – played 2B and a few games at SS for the Twins for seven seasons between 1991 and 1997 was scheduled for induction in to the Twins Hall of Fame on August 23, 2014. However, another brush with the law in late July 2014 forced the Twins to cancel plans to add him to their HOF. There will be no inductee into the Twins HOF in 2014. Knoblauch is the first and only player to be elected to the Twins Hall of Fame but not inducted.

 

Class of 2015

The Twins announced that nobody was elected to the Twins’ Hall of Fame this season, the first time that’s happened since the honor was created in 2000. A panel of 66 executives and media members failed to give 60 percent support to any former player. In addition, a 19-member veterans’ group of players, executives and players failed to select an off-the-field honoree.

 

Class of 2016

Torii Hunter (Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on July 18, 1975) played 19 years in the major
leagues, including 12 seasons with the Twins from 1997-2007 and again in 2015 as an outfielder.

 

John Gordon (Born in Detroit, Michigan on July 7, 1940) joined the Twins in 1987 and spent 25 seasons as the Twins Radio play-by-play voice. The Detroit native, called both the Twins 1987 and 1991 World Championships and is widely known by Twins fans for his “Touch ‘Em All” home run call, specifically Kirby Puckett’s walk-off homer in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.

 

Class of 2017

Michael Cuddyer (was born in Norfolk, Virginia on March 29, 1979) played in the major leagues for 15 years between 2001-2015 spending 2001-2011 in a Minnesota Twins uniform. Cuddyer played for the Colorado Rockies from 2012-2014 and spent his final 2015 season with the New York Mets.

 

Andy MacPhail (was born on April 5, 1953) and served as the Minnesota Twins GM from 1985-1994. Under his leadership the Minnesota Twins were World Champions in 1987 and in 1991.

 

Class of 2018

Johan Santana was born in Tovar, Venezuela on March 13, 1979 and played in the major leagues between 2000-2012. Santana spent eight of those seasons with the Minnesota Twins from 2000-2007. Santana was a 1999 Rule 5 pick by the Miami Marlins from the Houston Astros and traded that same day to the Twins for their Rule 5 pick Jared Camp. Santana went on to win the American League Cy Young award in 2004 and 2006 and should have also won it in 2005. Santana was traded to the New York Mets in February 2008 and finished his career there after the 2012 season.

 

Class of 2019

Joe Nathan was born in Houston, Texas on November 2, 1974 and played in the major leagues between 1999-2016. Nathan spent eight of his 16 seasons with the Minnesota Twins from 2004-2011. Nathan was acquired in November 2003 from the San Francisco Giants along with Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser when the Twins traded A.J. Pierzynski and cash to the Giants. Turned out to be one of the Twins best ever trades.

 

For his leading efforts in overseeing the construction and development of both Target Field and Hammond Stadium, the Spring Training home of the Twins, Jerry Bell was formally inducted as the 33rd member of the Twins Hall of Fame. Bell served as president of the Twins from 1987-2002 before he was named president of Twins Sports Inc., the holding company of the Twins, from ’02-11.

 

Class of 2020/2021

Justin Morneau has been elected and was scheduled to be inducted in May of 2020 and then COVID-19 came around and the induction did not take place due to no baseball being played at that time. When the 60 game 2020 season was finally played no fans were allowed in MLB ballparks so the Twins HOF induction was put off until 2021. 

Morneau was born New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada on May 15, 1981. Morneau played in the big leagues for 14 seasons with the Twins, Pirates, Rockies and White Sox. Morneau was a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger award winner and the 2006 AL MVP. After retiring as active player Morneau became a broadcaster doing Twins TV games. 

 

Class of 2022

Ron Gardenhire was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame on August 20 for a decorated career that saw him win a World Series ring as the Twins’ third base coach in 1991 and then later take over as the Twins’ manager for 13 seasons. During his time at the helm, Gardenhire led the Twins to six American League Central titles between 2002-14, going 1068-1039 (.507). Only one person, Tom Kelly, his mentor, has more wins as a Twins manager.

Dan Gladden was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame along with Cesar Tovar on August 21. The fiery Gladden started his career with the San Francisco Giants and was traded to the Minnesota Twins where he played from 1987 thru 1991 and his book-end seasons were as World Series champions. Gladden finished his big league career with the Detroit Tigers from 1992-1993. Shortly after his retirement he joined the Twins radio broadcasting team and has been there ever since.

Though many present-day fans of the Twins weren’t around to see Cesar Tovar‘s impact on those early Minnesota teams from 1965-1972, a video tribute to the lanky Venezuelan’s sparkplug all-around ability that highlighted his seventh-pace finish in 1967 AL MVP Award voting, his 186 steals that rank fourth all-time in Twins history and, in the biggest show of his versatility, the time he played all nine positions in a game on Sept. 22, 1968 (striking out HOF Reggie Jackson), becoming the second player in AL/NL history to do so. Between 1967 and 1971 he played an average of 159 games per season playing all over the field. Here we have a short Cesar Tovar clip. Tovar died on July 14, 1994.

This is the most inductees the Twins have had since the inaugural class in 2000.

Class of 2023

The Minnesota Twins inducted former Twins catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer into the club’s Hall of Fame on August 5. He becomes the 38th member of the Twins Hall of Fame. Mauer played in 1,858 games (entire career) for the Twins between 2004-2018. An MVP, three-time batting champion, a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger winner and three-time Gold Glove winner. Was voted into the MLB HOF on 1/23/2024.

Class of 2024

GM Terry Ryan and longtime coach Rick Stelmaszek were inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame on August 10, 2024 at Target Field becoming the 39th and 40th members of the exclusive club. Members of the Twins HOF are voted in by a Veterans Committee made up of Twins hall of famers, team executives and local baseball historians.

Longtime general manager Terry Ryan, the architect of the Twins’ division-winning teams of the 2000’s that are widely credited with helping save baseball in Minnesota. Ryan became VP of player personnel in September 1991 and was named the fourth GM in team history on September 13, 1994 – a role he held for 13 seasons before initially stepping down following 2007. During that stretch, Ryan built four AL Central Division Champs (2002-2004 and 2006), earned a pair of Sporting News Executive of the Year accolades (2002 and 2006), was twice honored by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with the Andrew “Rube” Foster Legacy Award as American League Executive of the Year (2002 and 2006), and was named Baseball America’s Major League Executive of the Year in 2004. Under his leadership, the Twins were named Baseball America’s Organization of the Year in 2002 and 2004. A scout at heart and an ambassador of the game at all levels, Ryan was the recipient of the AFL’s Roland Hemond Award in 2009, the George Genovese Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, and was inducted into the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014.

Rick “Stelly” Stelmaszek served as Minnesota’s bullpen coach under managers Billy Gardner, Ray Miller, Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire, helping the club reach the Postseason eight times – including two World Championships in 1987 and 1991. He mentored decades of pitchers and bullpen arms, including fellow Twins Hall of Famers in closers Rick Aguilera, Eddie Guardado and Joe Nathan…the beloved coach, who died in 2017, instilled a winning culture into generations of Twins players and was awarded the club’s Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

There are currently 40 members in the Minnesota Twins HOF, thirteen are deceased. (10/26/2024)