One of my favorite Tweeter accounts went silent after they pulled the plug on automation (our fair website suffered a similar fate). I was randomly thinking about the account a couple days ago and posted at their inactive account that I'd love it if they came to the new place. Well, look what I just came across...
We are now at the new site--come find us under the same handle, MplsPhotoBot
— mpls photo bot (@MplsPhotoBot) December 5, 2024
I'm taking full credit for this. Also, if you haven't made the jump yet, here's a WGOM starter pack.
Who do you like from the slate of former Twins up for the club's 2025 HOF vote?
Got a list?
Took me a while to find one outside of FB: https://www.mlb.com/twins/fans/twins-hall-of-fame-ballot
Goltz is 11th on the franchise WAR for Pitchers list. He should be in. Chance and Erickson are 26th and 27th, respectively, Boswell 34th. For perspective, Scott Baker is 21st.
Among position players, Koskos ranks 27th, Smalley 30th, Shane Mack 33rd and Bruno, 44th.
I voted for Goltz, Koskie, Smalley and Bruno. Bruno gets my nod for being integral to that first WS team, despite being so far down the career numbers list.
My vote is Perk, maybe Mack & Koskie
My votes:
Shane Mack:
Mack led the team in fWAR and position players in rWAR in 1991. Since the Twins moved to Minnesota, he ranks 18th among position players in rWAR, 19th in fWAR, 6th in BA, 7th in OBP, 7th in SLG, 2nd in OPS, 4th in OPS+, 2nd in wOBA, 4th in wRC+, and top ten in mustaches. The second-best Rule 5 pick in Twins history.
Corey Koskie
Koskie was the Twins’ first great Canadian. Playing in Baja Manitoba, he led the Twins in fWAR in 2001, 2002 (co-led), & 2003; was 2nd overall in rWAR 2001 & 2002, 3rd in 2003. Since the Twins moved to Minnesota, he ranks 16th among position players in rWAR, 11th in fWAR, 9th in OBP, 11th in wOBA, 6th in OPS, 17th in wRC+.
Glen Perkins
Perkins doesn’t have Nathan’s arsenal, Duran’s velocity, Aguilera’s poise, Reardon’s tenacity, or Guardado’s everydayness, but he’s the best left-handed reliever in Twins history. If saves matter, he ranks third behind Twitchy & Aggie. Among Twins relievers with 200+ innings he’s 4th in K-BB%, 8th in WHIP, 5th in LOB%, and 7th in FIP. He’s a Minnesota native, so bonus points.
Dave Goltz
Goltz has the 5th highest fWAR and 8th highest rWAR among pitchers in post-relocation Twins history. While certainly a function of the era in which he pitched, Goltz is nonetheless 3rd in complete games, 5th in shutouts, and 6th in innings. Those innings were pretty high quality: he’s also 5th in FIP, has the lowest HR/9 of any Twins starter with at least 750 innings pitched, and is 8th in strikeouts despite not being a strikeout artist. Unfortunately, his peak came when the Twins were a near-metronomic 4th place team in a seven team division. The third-best Minnesota native by WAR in Twins history behind Mauer & Hrbek.
Brian Harper
Purely sentimental favorite. Harper was instrumental in my decision to play catcher. I think he’s the odd case of being a better player than he got credit for during his peak, even as the value of his best skill, batting average, makes him look less special than he did during his playing days. He took a couple brutal hits on plays at the plate in the 1991 World Series and pulled off the pivot of the 3-2-3 double play that let the Twins escape the 8th inning of Game 7 still tied at 0-0..