For Sports North has announced the names of the 50 greatest Twins in recognition of the franchise’s 50^th season in Minnesota.  Today Sports Headliners goes a step further offering my opinion on the 25 best to ever play here.

Winning baseball starts with pitching so let’s begin there with starters and relievers.

Rik Aalbert (“Bert”) Blyleven: born in the Netherlands, raised in California, he is the franchise’s career leader in complete games, shutouts and strikeouts, and second in wins.

Jim Kaat: he worked more innings and won more games for the Twins than any pitcher ever, and fielded with the best, winning Gold Glove awards year after year.

Camilo Pascual: the Cuban curve ball master threw a pitch that “dropped off the table,” was twice a 20 game winner and ranks third all-time in franchise complete games.

Jim Perry: he ranks fourth in career wins (128) and third in ERA (3.15) and is one of only three Twins to ever win the Cy Young award (1970 when he was 24-12).

Brad Radke: played his entire career with the Twins, is third all-time in club wins and helped revitalize the franchise in the early 2000’s.

Johan Santana: he broke a lot of hearts when he left for New York but before doing so won two Cy Young awards with the Twins.

Frank Viola: he was a dominant starter in the 1980’s including on the 1987 World Series champion miracle team and the next season won the Cy Young award.

Our all-time roster also includes three relief pitchers:

Rick Aguilera: the closer for the 1991 World Series champs, he’s the all-time franchise leader in saves with 254.

Eddie Guardado: he pitched 11 seasons for the Twins and ranks third in saves with 116 (behind Aguilera and Joe Nathan, 246).

Joe Nathan: regardless of whether he ever plays again, many observers will rank him as the greatest relief pitcher in franchise history.

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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.

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Six subs give this all-time roster depth and versatility.

Cesar Tovar, a speedy Venezuelan, once played all nine positions in a single game for the Twins.  He can take a spot on our roster as a pinch runner and reserve outfielder and infielder.

No catcher plays much behind Joe Mauer, but Earl Battey was an All-Star receiver with a strong arm and productive bat for the Twins teams in the 1960s.

Those teams also included an erratic shortstop named Zoilo Versalles who settled down in 1965 and won the American League MVP award.

Another Twins award winner was Chuck Knoblauch who was the 1991 American League Rookie of the Year and also hit .341 in 1996 while playing second base for the Twins.

Knoblauch’s teammates included Kent Hrbek and you can’t leave the Bloomington native off the roster.  He was among the best first basemen of his era both in the field and at bat.

Long ago the Twins had a pinch hitter named Don Mincher.  The saying was this: “Send for ‘Minch’ in a pinch.”  We’ll go this way in a pinch: “By golly, it’s got to be Molly.”  Paul Molitor, playing here at the end of his career, was a Twin for just three seasons but his batting averages were .341, .305 and .285.

So there’s the 25 greatest Twins of all-time.  Fifty years from now every one of them will be remembered.

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