FanPost

Best 200 Twins of All Time!

The Top 200 Twins of All Time are back...Betta. Than. Eva.

I did this last year and it was really awesome. The internets literally got all tingly about it for months. And I mean literally both in the sense that it actually happened and literally in the sense that it’s like, you know, similar to literature. (Moby Dick and whatnot.) It was epic.

But now it’s even epiccer. Not only did I add the freshest 2010 data I could find, but I also totally recombobulated the scoring system!

The New System (this part might bore you)

Last year it was all about an adapted scoring system based on Jay Jaffe’s JAWS system. It started with a measure of career value (using only a player’s Twins career data. Duh.). I one-upped the unsuspecting Jaffe by splitting the difference between career WARP (actually WARP3 from Baseball Prospectus) and rWAR (Rally’s WAR, available from Baseball Reference.com and from Rally himself), whereas Jaffe’s system uses only WARP. (Lazy!) I took this measure of career value and then, for bonus points, I re-added the scores for each player’s top 5 years to the career total. The idea of the bonus points is that those really fabulous peak seasons are extra special and they should count double.

But this year, I’m giving the Jaffe system the boot. The new system, which I stole from this guy who published on Beyond the Boxscore, is a subtle improvement on the same idea. Instead of bonus points for a certain arbitrary number of peak years, this new system just gives bonus points for all WAR above a certain threshold in any year it was accrued. So the system works thusly:

For all single-season rWAR below 3, you simply get 1 point per win

For rWAR from 3 to 6: you get 2 points per win

For rWAR above 6: you get 3 points per win

Put more simply, you just take a player’s career WAR (wins above replacement-level), add career "WAE" (wins above "excellent"--WAR in excess of 3), and then add "WAM" (wins above "MVP"--WAR in excess of 6). The acronyms are terrible, but there you have it.

(Example: Under the new system, a player with 8 seasons of 2 WAR each would simply get 16 points since he never went above 3 WAR in a single season. On the other hand, a player with two 8-WAR seasons would have 16 (WAR) +10 (WAE) +4 (WAM) = 30 total points.)

(Since WARP is a little inflated compared to rWAR, I made the bars for "above excellent" and "above MVP" a little higher as well, reflecting their relationship. "Excellent" for WARP purposes is 3.23 and "MVP" is 6.45. As with the career numbers I average WARP3 and rWAR together for the "bonus points.")

Again, the idea is the same: reward single-season excellence and punish "compilers" who rack up career WAR by being mediocre over long periods of time. This is just a little more elegant way of doing it.

Many imperfections remain. Postseason accomplishments mean nothing here. Nicknames, facial hair, not being a jerkass, battling one’s tail off. All ignored. Perhaps the biggest imperfection is that this system has given rise to yet another new acronym, "wWAR," or weighted WAR, which is simply the overall score the system produces once you add the three components together (WAR+WAE+WAM).

The 2011 Top 200

Happily, this new system does very little to upset the rankings the old system spit out. The top 20 is very nearly the same under either system. Santana trades spots with Radke. Gaetti and Koskie swap. Kaat moves down 2 spots. Otherwise identical.

The big story to me is the obvious one. By adding another excellent year to his career, Mauer lazes up two places past Twins immortals Tony Oliva and Kirby Puckett into 4th place on the list and finds himself surrounded by hall of famers. Mauer is only one more excellent season away from passing both Killebrew and Blyleven. If the 8-year contract that begins in this year is anything better than a complete debacle, Mauer will also cruise past Carew sometime before the middle of the decade. I’m so glad this man wasn’t a free agent this offseason.

With his best season by WAR(P) so far, Morneau jumps from 28th to 21st. Fingers crossed, I think Morneau is destined to climb much higher with a season or two like what 2010 should have been. Hrbek’s spot as the best Twins 1st baseman is a good challenge for him, but entirely reachable. It would also make Morneau a top-10 all-time Twin.

Liriano and Baker both barely move into the top 50 with Liriano leaping from 97th and Baker edging forward from 52nd. Span and Cuddyer are close behind at 57th and 60th. Guerrier and Punto close out (?) their Twins careers in the high sixties.

The flattening of the numbers as you go down the list can produce dramatic results with a single very good season. Pavano’s 2010 shot him from 225th up to 76th, putting him right between Kubel and Crain. Duensing soars from 195th to 87th. Thome debuts just within the top 100 at #99, Olrando Hudson at #137, and Danny Valencia at #143. Hardy and Capps also make the top 200 based on only a single season of work.

Enough jabber, here’s the list:

1st Yr Yrs Player HOF? MVPs/CY/ROOKIE All Star wWAR Rank Career WAE WAM
1967 12 Rod Carew MLB, Twins ROY, MVP 12 92.8 1 59.6 26.8 6.4
1970 11 Bert Blyleven MLB, Twins 1 71.0 2 47.1 20.0 3.9
1961 14 Harmon Killebrew MLB, Twins MVP 11 68.1 3 50.8 16.1 1.2
2004 7 Joe Mauer MVP 4 64.0 4 39.7 19.5 4.9
1984 12 Kirby Puckett MLB, Twins ALCSMVP,ASMVP 10 57.2 5 44.1 11.9 1.2
1962 15 Tony Oliva Twins ROY 8 54.4 6 39.4 14.0 1.0
1991 7 Chuck Knoblauch ROY 4 53.5 7 35.0 14.8 3.7
2000 8 Johan Santana CY, CY 3 49.2 8 32.7 14.2 2.3
1995 12 Brad Radke Twins 1 49.1 9 39.1 10.0 0.0
1981 13 Kent Hrbek Twins 1 41.8 10 37.0 4.8 0.0
1982 7 Frank Viola Twins CY, WS MVP 1 38.5 11 26.3 9.8 2.4
1961 10 Bob Allison Twins 2 37.0 12 27.6 8.6 0.9
1961 13 Jim Kaat Twins 2 36.6 13 31.3 5.3 0.0
2004 6 Joe Nathan 4 35.9 14 27.0 8.8 0.1
1972 8 Dave Goltz 30.7 15 24.3 6.3 0.0
1963 10 Jim Perry CY 2 28.7 16 24.4 4.3 0.0
1981 9 Gary Gaetti Twins ALCSMVP 2 28.1 17 24.5 3.6 0.0
1998 7 Corey Koskie 27.8 18 21.7 6.1 0.0
1990 5 Shane Mack 27.0 19 20.5 6.5 0.0
2003 8 Justin Morneau MVP 4 26.2 20 21.4 4.9 0.0
1961 6 Camilo Pascual 4 24.6 21 17.5 7.0 0.1
1976 8 Roy Smalley 1 24.4 22 20.6 3.8 0.0
1989 11 Rick Aguilera Twins 3 22.2 23 21.2 1.0 0.0
1989 7 Kevin Tapani 21.8 24 18.8 3.0 0.0
1961 7 Zoilo Versalles Twins MVP 2 21.3 25 15.3 4.7 1.3
1965 8 Cesar Tovar 19.7 26 17.8 2.0 0.0
1973 5 Larry Hisle 1 19.7 27 16.8 2.9 0.0
1997 10 Torii Hunter 2 19.4 28 17.9 1.5 0.0
1961 7 Earl Battey Twins 5 19.2 29 16.6 2.7 0.0
1969 3 Leo Cardenas 1 16.9 30 13.1 3.8 0.0
1963 4 Jimmie Hall 2 15.8 31 12.7 3.1 0.0
1979 3 Jerry Koosman 15.4 32 11.3 3.8 0.4
1990 6 Scott Erickson 15.4 33 13.4 2.0 0.0
1967 3 Dean Chance 1 15.3 34 11.2 4.1 0.0
1971 6 Steve Braun 14.9 35 14.0 0.9 0.0
1980 2 Doug Corbett 1 14.0 36 9.9 3.9 0.2
1978 3 Mike Marshall 13.8 37 9.6 3.8 0.5
1975 3 Lyman Bostock 13.7 38 10.0 3.5 0.3
1983 9 Greg Gagne Twins 12.9 39 11.9 1.0 0.0
1988 6 Brian Harper 12.9 40 12.9 0.0 0.0
1976 6 Butch Wynegar 2 12.9 40 11.8 1.1 0.0
1982 6 Tom Brunansky 1 12.5 42 10.9 1.6 0.0
1965 4 Jim Merritt 12.3 43 9.7 2.6 0.0
1977 4 Geoff Zahn 12.0 44 9.8 2.3 0.0
1998 6 Eric Milton 1 11.9 45 11.3 0.6 0.0
2005 5 Francisco Liriano 1 11.8 46 9.0 2.8 0.0
2005 6 Scott Baker 11.6 47 10.7 0.9 0.0
1993 12 Eddie Guardado 2 11.5 48 11.4 0.1 0.0
1964 7 Dave Boswell 11.3 49 9.9 1.4 0.0
1973 4 Bill Campbell 11.2 50 9.7 1.6 0.0
1986 6 Allan Anderson 11.2 51 9.0 2.2 0.0
1979 6 John Castino ROY 11.0 52 10.1 0.9 0.0
1964 6 Al Worthington 10.5 53 10.4 0.2 0.0
1999 7 Jacque Jones 10.4 54 9.0 1.4 0.0
1999 6 Joe Mays 1 10.4 55 7.8 2.6 0.0
1995 7 Matt Lawton 1 10.2 56 9.2 1.0 0.0
2008 3 Denard Span 10.1 57 8.9 1.2 0.0
1998 5 A.J. Pierzynski 1 9.8 58 8.8 1.0 0.0
2001 10 Michael Cuddyer 9.6 59 9.6 0.0 0.0
1961 3 Jack Kralick 9.4 60 7.0 2.4 0.0
2004 4 Jason Bartlett 9.0 61 8.1 1.0 0.0
1995 5 Marty Cordova ROY 8.7 62 7.6 1.1 0.0
1961 8 Rich Rollins 2 8.5 63 7.5 1.0 0.0
1979 4 Gary Ward 1 8.3 64 7.2 1.1 0.0
1971 4 Eric Soderholm 8.1 65 7.3 0.9 0.0
1992 9 Mike Trombley 7.9 66 7.9 0.0 0.0
2004 6 Matt Guerrier 7.9 67 7.9 0.0 0.0
2004 4 Carlos Silva 7.5 68 7.1 0.4 0.0
2004 7 Nick Punto 7.5 69 7.4 0.1 0.0
1991 2 Chili Davis 7.4 70 6.6 0.8 0.0
2001 6 Juan Rincon 7.2 71 7.0 0.2 0.0
1968 4 Ron Perranoski 7.2 72 5.4 1.8 0.0
1995 9 LaTroy Hawkins 7.0 73 6.7 0.3 0.0
1978 5 Roger Erickson 7.0 74 6.6 0.5 0.0
1961 6 Don Mincher 7.0 75 7.0 0.0 0.0
2004 6 Jason Kubel 6.9 76 6.4 0.6 0.0
2009 2 Carl Pavano 6.9 76 5.5 1.4 0.0
2004 7 Jesse Crain 6.9 78 6.9 0.0 0.0
1987 4 Juan Berenguer 6.7 79 6.7 0.0 0.0
1980 5 Albert Williams 6.7 80 6.7 0.0 0.0
1993 5 Rich Becker 6.7 81 5.8 0.9 0.0
1983 3 Tim Teufel 6.5 82 5.3 1.2 0.0
1992 1 John Smiley 6.5 83 4.8 1.7 0.0
1968 4 Tom Hall 6.5 84 6.0 0.5 0.0
1987 3 Jeff Reardon 1 6.3 85 5.9 0.4 0.0
2009 2 Brian Duensing 6.1 86 5.4 0.7 0.0
1997 2 Bob Tewksbury 5.9 87 5.9 0.1 0.0
1984 4 Mike Smithson 5.8 88 5.8 0.0 0.0
1966 7 George Mitterwald 5.7 89 5.7 0.0 0.0
1999 7 J.C. Romero 5.6 90 5.1 0.5 0.0
1973 4 Joe Decker 5.6 90 4.4 1.2 0.0
1962 4 Dick Stigman 5.4 92 5.1 0.4 0.0
1989 7 Mark Guthrie 5.3 93 5.3 0.0 0.0
2007 4 Kevin Slowey 5.3 93 5.3 0.0 0.0
1982 3 Bobby Castillo 5.0 95 4.9 0.1 0.0
1974 5 Tom Johnson 4.8 96 4.2 0.6 0.0
1964 4 Mudcat Grant 1 4.8 97 4.8 0.0 0.0
1991 4 Carl Willis 4.8 97 4.8 0.0 0.0
2010 1 Jim Thome 4.7 99 3.9 0.8 0.0
1991 1 Jack Morris WS MVP 1 4.7 99 3.9 0.8 0.0
2001 6 Kyle Lohse 4.7 101 4.7 0.0 0.0
1976 5 Mike Cubbage 4.4 102 4.4 0.0 0.0
1969 5 Dick Woodson 4.4 102 4.4 0.0 0.0
1997 2 Greg Swindell 4.4 104 4.4 0.0 0.0
1975 4 Dan Ford 4.4 105 4.3 0.1 0.0
1974 4 Tom Burgmeier 4.4 106 4.4 0.0 0.0
1990 6 Scott Leius 4.3 107 4.3 0.0 0.0
1999 6 Cristian Guzman 1 4.1 108 3.3 0.8 0.0
1998 6 Doug Mientkiewicz 4.1 109 4.1 0.1 0.0
2007 4 Nick Blackburn 4.1 109 4.1 0.0 0.0
1961 1 Pedro Ramos 4.1 111 3.6 0.5 0.0
1996 3 Paul Molitor MLB 4.0 112 3.8 0.2 0.0
2006 3 Dennys Reyes 4.0 113 4.0 0.0 0.0
1986 3 Keith Atherton 3.9 114 3.9 0.0 0.0
2008 2 Carlos Gomez 3.9 115 3.9 0.0 0.0
1992 5 Jeff Reboulet 3.7 116 3.7 0.0 0.0
1993 6 Pat Meares 3.7 117 3.7 0.0 0.0
1983 3 Ken Schrom 3.6 118 3.6 0.0 0.0
2005 5 Lew Ford 3.6 119 3.3 0.3 0.0
1982 5 Pete Filson 3.6 119 3.6 0.0 0.0
1986 5 Roy Smith 3.6 119 3.6 0.0 0.0
1991 3 Mike Pagliarulo 3.5 122 3.5 0.0 0.0
2005 5 Mike Redmond 3.4 123 3.4 0.0 0.0
1999 4 Bob Wells 3.4 123 3.4 0.0 0.0
2006 4 Pat Neshek 3.4 125 3.4 0.0 0.0
1978 4 Darrell Jackson 3.3 126 3.3 0.0 0.0
1999 3 Mark Redman 3.3 127 3.2 0.1 0.0
1971 5 Ray Corbin 3.2 128 3.2 0.0 0.0
1987 5 Dan Gladden 3.2 128 3.2 0.0 0.0
1964 3 Johnny Klippstein 3.2 128 3.2 0.0 0.0
2009 2 Jon Rauch 3.1 131 3.1 0.0 0.0
1961 4 Lenny Green 3.1 132 3.1 0.0 0.0
1998 4 Hector Carrasco 3.1 133 3.1 0.0 0.0
1962 5 Bernie Allen 3.1 134 3.1 0.0 0.0
1997 3 Terry Steinbach 3.1 134 3.1 0.0 0.0
1963 2 Bill Dailey 3.0 136 2.3 0.7 0.0
2010 1 Orlando Hudson 3.0 137 2.8 0.2 0.0
1973 6 Craig Kusick 3.0 138 3.0 0.0 0.0
2008 3 Jose Mijares 3.0 138 3.0 0.0 0.0
1984 3 John Butcher 2.9 140 2.9 0.0 0.0
1998 1 Mike Morgan 2.9 140 2.8 0.1 0.0
2006 2 Luis Castillo 2.8 142 2.8 0.0 0.0
2001 3 Bobby Kielty 2.8 143 2.8 0.0 0.0
2010 1 Danny Valencia 2.8 143 2.8 0.0 0.0
2001 3 Rick Reed 2.7 145 2.7 0.0 0.0
1973 2 Bill Hands 2.7 145 2.7 0.0 0.0
1996 1 Dave Hollins 2.6 147 2.6 0.0 0.0
1968 2 Bob Miller 2.6 147 2.6 0.0 0.0
1989 3 Gary Wayne 2.6 149 2.6 0.0 0.0
1982 5 Ron Davis 2.5 150 2.5 0.0 0.0
2001 3 Tom Prince 2.5 151 2.5 0.0 0.0
1985 2 Mark Salas 2.5 151 2.5 0.0 0.0
1961 2 Don Lee 2.5 151 2.5 0.0 0.0
1990 2 Terry Leach 2.5 154 2.5 0.0 0.0
1961 4 Lee Stange 2.4 155 2.3 0.2 0.0
2003 4 Shannon Stewart 2.4 156 2.4 0.0 0.0
1972 7 Glenn Borgmann 2.3 157 2.3 0.0 0.0
1993 2 Jim Deshaies 2.2 158 2.1 0.2 0.0
2001 1 Tony Fiore 2.2 159 2.2 0.0 0.0
1991 2 Tom Edens 2.2 159 2.2 0.0 0.0
1995 4 Frankie Rodriguez 2.2 161 2.2 0.0 0.0
1996 5 Todd Walker 2.1 162 2.1 0.1 0.0
1982 11 Randy Bush 2.1 163 2.1 0.0 0.0
1997 6 David Ortiz 2.1 163 2.1 0.0 0.0
1986 1 Neal Heaton 2.1 163 2.1 0.0 0.0
1976 7 Pete Redfern 2.1 166 2.1 0.0 0.0
1987 7 Gene Larkin 2.1 166 2.1 0.0 0.0
1980 3 Fernando Arroyo 2.1 166 2.1 0.0 0.0
1973 4 Vic Albury 2.0 169 2.0 0.0 0.0
1977 2 Gary Serum 2.0 169 2.0 0.0 0.0
1981 6 Mickey Hatcher 1.9 171 1.8 0.1 0.0
1981 5 Dave Engle 1 1.9 172 1.9 0.0 0.0
1970 2 Stan Williams 1.9 173 1.9 0.0 0.0
1981 9 Tim Laudner 1 1.8 174 1.8 0.0 0.0
2008 3 Delmon Young 1.8 174 1.8 0.0 0.0
2005 3 Jason Tyner 1.7 176 1.7 0.0 0.0
1983 3 Rick Lysander 1.7 177 1.7 0.0 0.0
2003 1 Kenny Rogers 1.7 177 1.7 0.0 0.0
1990 5 Larry Casian 1.6 179 1.6 0.0 0.0
2010 1 J.J. Hardy 1.6 179 1.6 0.0 0.0
1994 2 Alex Cole 1.6 179 1.6 0.0 0.0
1991 3 Willie Banks 1.6 182 1.6 0.0 0.0
1996 2 Greg Myers 1.6 182 1.6 0.0 0.0
2001 2 Dustan Mohr 1.6 184 1.6 0.0 0.0
2009 1 Joe Crede 1.6 184 1.6 0.0 0.0
1978 3 Bombo Rivera 1.6 186 1.6 0.0 0.0
1995 3 Rich Robertson 1.6 186 1.6 0.0 0.0
2010 1 Matt Capps 1.6 186 1.6 0.0 0.0
1970 1 Luis Tiant 1.6 186 1.6 0.0 0.0
1985 4 Steve Lombardozzi 1.5 190 1.5 0.0 0.0
1985 3 Mark Portugal 1.5 191 1.5 0.0 0.0
1990 2 Junior Ortiz 1.5 191 1.5 0.0 0.0
1975 1 Johnny Briggs 1.5 193 1.5 0.0 0.0
1995 6 Ron Coomer 1 1.5 194 1.5 0.0 0.0
1964 9 Rich Reese 1.5 195 1.5 0.0 0.0
2006 5 Glen Perkins 1.4 196 1.4 0.0 0.0
1990 1 John Candelaria 1.4 196 1.4 0.0 0.0
1983 3 Len Whitehouse 1.4 198 1.4 0.0 0.0
2008 3 Matt Tolbert 1.4 198 1.4 0.0 0.0
1996 2 Roberto Kelly 1.4 198 1.4 0.0 0.0
1968 2 Johnny Roseboro 1 1.4 198 1.4 0.0 0.0