Not a Garden Variety Top 10 List - Part 4: Twins Franchise OPS Leaders

This is the fourth installment of the franchise top ten lists, Looking at the team leaders in OPS.

Again, the purpose is to provide a glimpse of the great players who wore the Franchise's uniform, being Twins or Senators.As with the other lists, there are two top ten lists for each category: Single Season Best and Career Best. Career Best takes into consideration cumulative performance for only the Twins' or Senators' years of a player's career. In other words, what Carew did with the Angels does not matter. And the top-10 lists are not a single top ten list. Because of the variations of the game through out the years, a Senators' top ten list is merged with a Twins' top ten list to give the franchise's best (usually 20-30) players in a category.

So in the lists, we get the ranking in the franchise and the ranking of a particular player among Senators or Twins, depending what uniform that player won. Because the purpose of this is to be a history lesson and a celebration of the great players who played for our beloved franchise, and not a debate about who is better than whom, I am not adding commentary on performances. Also, because these units are somewhat freestanding the way they are posted, I am profiling every player including the ones appearing in earlier lists. The stats in the profiles are career totals and not franchise totals.


Here is the OPS List:



Franchise Single Season:

Franchise 1 WAS 1 Goslin, G 1928 WAS 1.056
Franchise 2 MIN 1 Mauer, J 2009 MIN 1.031
Franchise 3 MIN 2 Carew, R 1977 MIN 1.019
Franchise 4 MIN 3 Killebrew, H 1961 MIN 1.012
Franchise 5 MIN 4 Killebrew, H 1969 MIN 1.011
Franchise 6 MIN 2 Goslin, G 1926 WAS .967
Franchise 6 WAS 2 Sievers, R 1957 WAS .967
Franchise 8 MIN 5 Killebrew, H 1967 MIN .965
Franchise 8 MIN 5 Knoblauch, C 1996 MIN .965
Franchise 8 WAS 4 Stone, J 1936 WAS .965
Franchise 11 MIN 7 Killebrew, H 1970 MIN .957
Franchise 11 MIN 7 Allison, B 1964 MIN .957
Franchise 13 WAS 5 Goslin, G 1925 WAS .941
Franchise 14 WAS 6 Goslin, G 1924 WAS .937
Franchise 15 MIN 9 Mauer, J 2006 MIN .936
Franchise 16 WAS 7 Cronin, J 1930 WAS .934
Franchise 16 MIN 10 Morneau, J 2006 MIN .934
Franchise 16 MIN 10 Hrbek, K 1987 MIN .934
Franchise 19 WAS 8 Travis, C 1941 WAS .930
Franchise 20 MIN 12 Killebrew, H 1966 MIN .929
Franchise 21 MIN 13 Killebrew, H 1964 MIN .924
Franchise 22 WAS 9 Vernon, M 1953 WAS .921
Franchise 23 MIN 14 Puckett, K 1988 MIN .920
Franchise 24 WAS 10 Judge, J 1930 WAS .919
Franchise 24 MIN 15 Carew, R 1975 MIN .919

Franchise Career:

Franchise 1 MIN 1 Killebrew, H .892
Franchise 2 WAS 1 Goslin, G .888
Franchise 3 MIN 2 Mauer, J .874
Franchise 4 WAS 2 Stone, J .867
Franchise 5 WAS 3 Sievers, R .859
Franchise 6 MIN 3 Mack, S .854
Franchise 7 MIN 4 Morneau, J .851
Franchise 8 WAS 4 Manush, H .849
Franchise 9 MIN 5 Hrbek, K .848
Franchise 10 WAS 5 Cronin, J .842
Franchise 11 MIN 6 Carew, R .841
Franchise 12 MIN 7 Puckett, K .837
Franchise 13 MIN 8 Koskie, C .836
Franchise 14 MIN 9 Oliva, T .830
Franchise 15 WAS 6 Spence, S .829
Franchise 15 MIN 10 Allison, B .829
Franchise 17 MIN 11 Hisle, L .811
Franchise 18 MIN 12 Lawton, M .808
Franchise 19 MIN 13 Knoblauch, .807
Franchise 20 WAS 7 Lemon, J .805
Franchise 21 WAS 8 Rice, S .804
Franchise 22 WAS 9 Judge, J .802
Franchise 23 WAS 10 Myer, B .801

Who is who of the Senators listed, with a bit of biographic information and a picture (alphabetically):


Cronin, J
---------



Joseph Edward Cronin
Born: October 12, 1906 in San Francisco, CA
Died: September 7, 1984, Osterville, MA
SS

1926-1927 Pittsburgh, 1928-1934 Senators, 1935-1945 Red Sox.
Career: .301/.390/.468, 170 HR, 1424 RBI, 1232 R, 2285 H, 87 SB

7 times All Star: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941
AL MVP 1930
Hall of Fame (elected 1956 as a Red Sox' Player)
His number 4 retired by Boston


Goslin, G
-----------



Leon Allen (Goose) Goslin
Born: October 16, 1900 in Salem, NJ
Died: May 15, 1971, Bridgeton, NJ
OF

1921-1930, 1933, 1938 Senators, 1930-1932 St. Louis, 1934-1938 Detroit
Career: .316/.387/.500, 248 HR, 1609 RBI, 1482 R, 2735 H, 175 SB

All Star 1936
World Series Winner 1924 (Senators) 1935 (Detroit)
Hall of Fame (Elected 1968 as a Minnesota Twin not as a Senator)

Judge, J
----------



Joseph Ignatius (Joe) Judge
Born: May 25, 1894 in Brooklyn, NY
Died: March 11, 1963 in Washington DC
1B

1915-1933 Senators, 1933-1934 Red Sox
Career: .298/.378/.420, 71 HR, 1034 RBI, 1185 R, 2352 H, 213 SB

World Series Winner 1924 (Senators)

Lemon, J
---------



James (Jim) Robert Lemon
Born: March 23, 1928 in Covington, VA
Died: May 14, 2006 in Brandon, MS

1950, 1955 Cleveland, 1954-1960 Senators, 1961-1962 Twins, 1963 Philadelphia, 1963 White Sox
Career: .262/.332/.460, 164 HR, 529 RBI, 446 R, 901 H, 13 SB

All Star: 1959, 1960 (Senators)



Manush, H
-----------



Henry Emmett (Heinie) Manush
Born: July 20, 1901 in Tuscumbia, AL
Died: May 21, 1971 in Sarasota, FL
OF

1923-1927 Detroit, 1928-1930 St Louis, 1930-1935 Senators, 1936 Boston, 1937-1938 Brooklyn, 1938-1939

Pittsburgh
Career: .330/.377/.479, 110 HR, 1183 RBI, 1288 R, 2524 H, 114 SB

Led AL in Batting Average in 1926 and in Hits in 1928 and 1933
All Star (1934, Senators)
Hall of Fame (Elected 1964, Detroit Tigers)

Myer, B
---------



Charles Solomon (Buddy) Myer
Born: March 16, 1904 in Ellisville, MS
Died: October 31, 1974 in Baton Rouge, LA
2B

1925-1927, 1929-1941 Senators, 1927-1928 Red Sox
Career: .303/.389/.406 38 HR, 850 RBI, 1174 R, 2131 H, 156 SB

Led the AL in Batting Average in 1935 and Stolen Bases in 1928
Two times All Star: 1935, 1937



Rice, S
---------



Edgar Charles (Sam) Rice
Born: February 20, 1890 in Morocco, IN
Died: October 13, 1974 in Rossmoor, MD
OF

1915-1933 Senators, 1934 Cleveland
Career: .322/.374/.427, 34 HR, 1078 RBI, 1513 R, 2987 H, 351 SB

Led the AL in Hits 1924, 1926 and Stolen Bases in 1920
World Series Champion 1924 (Senators)
Hall of Fame (elected 1963, Minnesota Twins)



Sievers, R
-----------



Roy "Squirrel" Edward Sievers
Born: November 18, 1926 in St.Louis, MO

1949-1953 St Louis Browns (later became Baltimore Orioles), 1954-1959 Senators, 1960-1961 (White Sox)

1962-1964 Phillies, 1964-1965 (expansion Senators - later became Texas Rangers)
Career: .267/.354/.475 318 HR, 1147 RBI, 945 R, 1703 H, 14 SB

Led the AL in HRs in 1957 and in RBI in 1957
All Star: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 (Senators) 1961 (White Sox)
Rookie of the Year: 1959 (Browns)

Spence, S
----------



Stanley (Stan) Orville Spence
Born: March 20, 1915 in S.Portsmouth, KY
Died: January 9, 1983 in Kinston, NC
OF

1940-1941, 1948-1949, Red Sox, 1942-1947 Senators, 1949 St Louis
Career: .282/.369/.437 95 HR, 575 RBI, 541 R, 1090 H, 21 SB

All Star: 1942, 1944, 1946, 1947 (all with Senators)


Stone, J
--------



John "Rocky" Thomas Stone
Born: October 10, 1905 in Mulberry, TN
Died: November 30, 1955 in Shelbyville, TN
OF

1928-1933 Detroit, 1934-1938 Senators
Career: .310/.376/.467 77 HR, 707 RBI, 739 R, 1391 H, 45 SB



Travis, C
----------



Cecil Howell Travis
Born: August 8, 1913 in Riverdale, GA
Died: December 16, 2006 in Riverdale, GA
SS

1933-1941, 1945-1947 Senators; 1941-1944 US Army, received Bronze Star for injuries
Career: .314/.370/.416 27 HR, 657 RBI, 665 R, 1544 H, 23 SB

Led the AL in Hits, 1941
All Star: 1938, 1940, 1941



Vernon, M
-----------



James Barton (Mickey) Vernon
Born: April 22, 1918 in Marcus Hook, PA
Died: September 24, 2008 in Media, PA
1B

1939-1943, 1946-1947, 1950-1955 Senators, 1949-1950, 1958 Cleveland, 1956-1957 Boston, 1959 Milwaukee,

1960 Pittsburgh; US Army 1944-1945
Career: .286/.359/.428 172 HR, 1311 RBI, 1196 R, 2495 H, 137 SB

Led the AL in Batting Average in 1946 and 1953
All Star: 1946, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1955 (Senators) 1956 (Boston) 1958 (Cleveland)
World Series Champion 1960


Who is who of the Twins listed, with a bit of biographic information and a picture (alphabetically):


Allison, B
------------



William Robert (Bob) Allison
Born: July 11, 1934 in Raytown, MO
Died: April 9, 1995 in Rio Verde, AZ

1958-1960 Senators, 1961-1970 Twins
Career: .255/.358/.471 256 HR, 796 RBI, 811 R, 1281 H, 84 SB

Led the AL in OPS in 1963 and in Runs in 1963
All Star: 1959 (Senators) 1963, 1964 (Twins)
Rookie of the Year (1959, Senators)


Carew, R
----------



Rodney (Rod) Cline Carew
Born: October 1, 1945 in Gatun, Canal Zone
IF

1967-1978 Twins, 1979-1985 Angels
Career: .328/.393/.429 82 HR, 1015 RBI, 1424 R, 3053 H, 353 SB

Led AL in Batting Average: 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978; in OBP 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978 in

OPS 1977 in Runs 1977, Hits 1973, 1974, 1977
All Star: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 (Twins), 1979, 1980,

1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 (Angels)
MVP 1977
Rookie of the year 1967
Roberto Clemente Award 1977
Uniform number 29 Retired by the Twins (1987) and Angels (1991)
Hall of Fame (elected 1991, Minnesota Twins)
Hisle, L
---------


Larry Eugene Hisle
Born: May 5, 1947 in Portsmouth, OH
OF

1968-1971 Philadelphia, 1973-1977 Twins, 1978-1982 Milwaukee
Career: .273/.347./.452 166 HR, 674 RBI, 652 R, 1146 H, 128 SB

Led the AL in RBI in 1977
All Star 1977 (Twins), 1978 (Milwaukee)



Hrbek, K
---------



Kent Alan Hrbek
Born: May 21, 1960 in Minneapolis, MN
1B

1961-1994 Twins
Career: .283/.367/.481 293 HR, 1086 RBi, 903 R, 37 SB


All Star 1982
World Series Champion 1987, 1991, Twins
Uniform number 14 was retired by the Twins (1995)

Killebrew, H
-------------



Harmon "Killer" Clayton Killebrew
Born: June 29, 1936 in Payette, ID
1B

1954-1960 Senators, 1961-1974 Twins, 1975 Royals
Career: .256/.376/.509 573 HR, 1584 RBI, 1283 R, 2086 H, 19 SB

Led AL in Home Runs 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1969, in RBI in 1962, 1969 and 1971, in OBP in

1969 and in SLG% in 1963
All Star: 1959, 1960 (Senators) 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971

(Twins)
MVP 1969
Uniform number 3 Retired by the Twins (1975)
Hall of Fame (elected 1984, Minnesota Twins)

Knoblauch, C
------------



Edward Charles (Chuck) Knoblauch
Born: July 7, 1968 in Houston, TX
2B


1991-1997 Twins, 1998-2001 Yankees, 2002 Kansas City
Career: .289/.378/.406 98 HR, 615 RBI, 1132 R, 1839 H, 407 SB

All Star 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 (all with Twins)
Gold Glove 1997
Silver Slugger 1995, 1997
World Series Champion: 1991 (Twins), 1994, 1996, 1997 (Yankees)
Rookie of the Year 1991 (Twins)

Koskie, C
-----------



Cordel (Cory) Leonard Koskie
Born: June 28, 1973 in Anola, MB, Canada
3B

1998-2004 Twins, 2005 Blue Jays, 2006 Brewers
Career: .275/.367/.458 124 HR, 506 RBI, 516 R, 71 SB

Lawton, M
----------



Matthew (Matt) Lawton
Born: November 30, 1971 in Gulfport, MS
OF

1995-2001 Twins, 2001 Mets, 2002-2004 Indians, 2005 Cubs, 2005 Yankees, 2006 Mariners
Career: .259/.368/.417 138 HR, 631 RBI, 756 R, 165 SB

All Star: 2000 (Twins), 2004 (Indians)


Mack, S
---------



Shane Lee Mack
Born: December 7, 1963 in Los Angeles, CA
OF

1987-1988 San Diego, 1990-1994 Twins, 1997 Boston, 1998 Kansas City, 1998 Oakland
Career: .299/.364/.456 80 HR, 398 RBI, 436 R, 853 H, 90 SB

World Series Champion 1991 (Twins)


Mauer, J .
----------



Joseph (Joe) Patrick Mauer
Born: April 19, 1983 in St. Paul, MN
C

2004- Twins
Career: .323/.403/.471 84 HR, 502 RBI, 545 R, 1096 H, 35 SB

Led the AL in Batting Average 2006, 2008, 2009, in OBP in 2009, in Slugging percentage in 2009 and in

OPS in 2009
All Star: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
Silver Slugger: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010,
Gold Glove: 2008, 2009, 2010
AL MVP 2009


Morneau, J
----------



Justin Ernest George Morneau
Born: 5/15/1981 in New Westminster, BC Canada

2003-2011 (Twins)
Career: .281/.353/.499 185 HR, 709 RBI, 550 R, 1055 H, 4 SB.

All Star: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (Twins)
Silver Slugger: 2006, 2008 (Twins)
MVP: 2006 (Twins)

Oliva, T
---------



Pedro (Tony) Oliva
Born: July 20, 1940 in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba
OF

1962-1976 Twins
Career: .304/.353/.476 220 HR, 947 RBI, 870 R, 1917 H, 86 SB


All Star: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 (Twins)
Gold Glove: 1966
Rookie of the year 1964
Uniform number 6 retired (Twins, 1991)


Puckett, K
-----------



Kirby Puckett
Born: March 14, 1961 in Chicago, IL
Died: March 6, 2006 in Phoenix, AZ
OF

1984-1995 Twins
Career: .318/.360/.477 207 HR, 1085 RBI, 1071 R, 2304 H, 134 SB

Led the AL in Batting Average 1989, in RBI 1994 and in Hits in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992
All Star: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
All Star MVP: 1993
Silver Slugger 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994
World Series Champion: 1987, 1991
ALCS MVP: 1991
Roberto Clemente Award: 1996
Hall of Fame (Elected 2001; Minnesota Twins)


Next: Home Runs

Random Twins Tuesday: Thoughts and Tidbits

My goal is for this to become a regular feature here. Just some random, haphazard thoughts and various things I find interesting about the Twins and baseball in general. And maybe not baseball only; we'll see how this will evolve. Weekly. Tuesday works for consonantal alliteration's sake, so here is the first installment:

• Now that Danny Valencia claimed uniform number 22 for 2012 (Carlos Gomez' old number, btw, and the thought of getting a "Valencia" name plate and having it replace "Gomez" on my #22 blue jersey passed my mind for about one single second, I do not lie) looking at unused uniform numbers, the one that really tickles my interest is the number 4, last worn by Augie Ojeda in 2004 and previously by Paul Molitor as a player and a coach. Does the fact that is not used, mean something? Who knows? For sure the Twins will not retire it for just 3 seasons of Molitor's play. Do they keep it for Paul to come up and help occasionally or more than occasionally? We'll see.


• The 2012 Twins' pen has the potential of being like the 2004 pen, which had a newly acquired 'inexperienced' 29 year-old failed starter and decent for a year set up man as the closer (Nathan), a 25 year old RH set up man left over from the previous season(Rincon), a 28 year old decent LHP left over from the previous season (Romero), a young 22 year old fireballer (Crain), a 25 year old waiver wire pick (Gurrier), an oft injured 26 year old (Balfour) and 2 early 30s journeymen (Roa and Fultz). And it was not bad, but something has to click in 2012.


• Speaking of the 2012 'pen. La Velle said (in so many words) that the Twins cannot afford Dan Wheeler. This is kind of an interesting tidbit, because I am sure that they can afford him. Maybe they simply do not want to afford him.


• And potential 2012 'pen candidates (both RH fireballers), Lester Oliveros (20.1 IP, 1.33 ERA, 9 BB, 18 L, 1.33 WHIP in Venezuela) and Luis Perdomo (21.1 IP, 2.11 ERA, 3 BB, 16 K, 0.80 WHIP in the Dominican) are lighting up Winter Ball. Anthony Slama finished his stint in the Pacific Mexican League with 1.76 ERA in 15.1 IP, 5 BB, 19 K and 0.85 WHIP, but he does not seem to be invited in Spring Training for some reason. Stay tuned.


• Speaking of Winter Leagues, Alexi Casilla is having a stellar winter (and that has not happened often). He is been hitting .336/.419/.412 with 6 SB in 119 AB in the Dominican; I hope that this is a sign of things to come, because he can really use a break-through season in 2012. And speaking of crazy hitting in winter and need for break through seasons (or a great spring in his case), Luke Hughes, who is out of options, has been hitting .500/.630/1.111 with 3 HRs in 18 AB in Australia.


• Lots of talk about the 2012 Hall of Fame vote and who is in and who is out and why. There are five (count them, little known secret) former Twins on the ballot: Jack Morris, Terry Mulholland, Phil Nevin, Brad Radke and Ruben Sierra. I don't think that anyone has a chance. I see Barry Larkin making it and possibly Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell. That's about it. How would I vote? I don't, so I don't have to cross that bridge yet (and probably ever.)


• The other day I looked up Terry Doyle's full name, in order to create the ground work for a future world play (malapropism or metonymy for you, English majors) on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in case Terry Doyle makes the club and amazes us with his performance, and I was surprised to find that his full name was John Terry (not even Terrence) Doyle. Just does not have the same ring to it. But at least he has the same name (not middle) as a former Washington Senator, Dirty Jack Doyle or trivial fame. The MVP award of the Irish Baseball League is named after him (full name: The 'Dirty' Jack Doyle Silver Slugger Award. Dirty Jack's middle name is Joseph, btw) Have not seen pictures of the trophy, but I will close this post with a picture of Old Dirty Jack:

And a (bonus) parting thought, also, concerning Terry Doyle:

Nick Blackburn in AFL in 2007: 6 GS, 22 IP, 1.64 ERA, 2 BB, 20 K, 0.68 WHIP, .178 OBA
Terry Doyle in AFL in 2011: 8 GS, 26 IP, 1.98 ERA, 5 BB, 22 K, 0.62 WHIP, .135 OBA

I think that the comparison is too interesting not to mention here...
Blackburn in the following season, 2008, had his career bests in WHIP, K/9 and K/BB and this makes me think that Terry Doyle could be better than Marquis de Junque (here goes a malapropism, btw) in 2012.

But...who knows?

Transactions involving former Twins - December edition

Happy 2012 to everyone!

Last November I started a list of the player who used to be with the Twins at some point of their careers and have changed teams this offseason. I am continuing this exercise through the off-season (and probably keep at it during the season), so here is the December edition. I will be keeping the names of the players who changed teams earlier this off-season as well, for completeness' sake. Caveat: there are some transactions that occurred in December but have not been recorded yet, so keep an eye for those involving former Twins' players in the January edition. Here is the list (by team) :

Arizona Diamondbacks:

C Henry Blanco (major league; free agent, November 2011)
LHP Craig Brelsow (traded by the Oakland Athletics with Trevor Cahill for Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook and Collin Cowgill, December 2011)
OF Jason Kubel (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Atlanta Braves:

LHP Dusty Hughes (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

Baltimore Orioles

SS Steve Tolleson (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

Boston Red Sox

IF Nick Punto (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Colorado Rockies

IF Casey Blake (major league; free agent, December 2011)
IF/OF Michael Cuddyer (major league; free agent, December 2011)
RHP Kevin Slowey (traded by the Twins for RHP Dan Turpen, December 2011)

Los Angeles Dodgers:

IF Adam Kennedy (major league; free agent, November 2011)

Kansas City Royals:

LHP Jose Mijares (major league; free agent, December 2011)

New York Mets:

LHP Chuck James (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
RHP Jon Rauch (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Oakland Athletics:

OF Jason Pridie (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

Pittsburgh Piraters:

C Jose Mijares (minor league; free agent, December 2011)

San Fransisco Giants

RHP Eric Hacker (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
RHP Boof Bonser (minor league; free agent, December 2011)

Seattle Mariners:

RHP Matt Fox (minor league; free agent, November 2011)
LHP Sean Henn (minor league; free agent, December 2011)
SS Luis Rodriguez (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

St. Louis Cardinals:

RHP Shooter Hunt (drafted in the AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft, December 2011)
LHP JC Romero (major league; free agent, December 2011)

Texas Rangers:

RHP Joe Nathan (major league; free agent, November 2011)
IF/OF Yangervis Solarte (minor league; free agent, December 2011)

Toronto Blue Jays:
RHP Sergio Santos (traded by the Chicago White Sox for Nestor Molina, December 2011)
RHP Jim Hoey (claimed off waivers, December 2011)