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.