Here’s the batting order for the eight position players and designated hitter:
Rod Carew: the man who flirted with hitting .400 in a single season won seven league batting titles with the Twins while playing second base.
Joe Mauer: at 27 he’s already won three batting championships, one league MVP award and two Gold Glove awards for his catching.
Kirby Puckett: he dazzled in the field and at the plate for two World Series champions. With a nod to teamwork, Puck plays in left field on this team so that Gold Glove winner Torii Hunter (seven times with the Twins) can play center.
Harmon Killebrew: an all-time slugger who struggled in the field and on the bases, the “Killer” hits cleanup as our DH and hits home runs with a frequency that no other Twins player has ever approached.
Tony Oliva: he had a strong arm playing in right field but it was his line drive hitting that made him one of baseball’s best in the talent rich 1960’s and early 1970’s while winning three league batting titles.
Justin Morneau: at 29 he still has much of his Twins career in front of him, but we’ve seen enough to put the 2006 American League Most Valuable Payer ahead of Kent Hrbek at first base.
Torii Hunter: just like his idol Puckett, Hunter made plenty of noise at bat, in the filed and around the clubhouse for the Twins.
Gary Gaetti: besides having one of the coolest nicknames in Twins history, the “G-Man” was a Gold Glove third baseman who hit for power.
Greg Gagne: consistency wins the shortstop competition and Gagne was that. He was the shortstop on both the 1987 and 1991 World Series teams, and in 12 post season games in the Metrodome never committed an error.