Article: Torii Hunter Continues To Climb List Of All-Time Great Twins

[Seth Stohs]

Over the weekend, outfielder Torii Hunter hit his 207^th and 208^th home run in a Minnesota Twins uniform. In doing so, he tied and then surpassed his mentor Kirby Puckett on the all-time Twins list. Throughout this season, Hunter has passed some Twins greats in many all-time categories. At some point, we need to consider that the 40-year-old is among the best players in Minnesota Twins history.Let’s start by pointing out that there is a Big 6 atop the Minnesota Twins offensive record book due to them being on a Twins roster for many, many years and accumulating a lot of statistics. Obviously they accumulated those stats and all that playing time by being great players for a very long time in a Twins uniform. Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer are the top six hitters in Minnesota Twins history.

 

However, Torii Hunter is among a group that would be in the second tier and as this season continues he will likely find himself at the top of that list. If he comes back to the Twins in 2016, which I believe becomes more and more likely as he continues an impressive 2015 season, he could move into that upper group.

 

If we take a look at where Hunter ranks among hitters in the 55-year history of the Minnesota Twins, it is clear that he has not just been a very good player, but he has been a Twins Great.

• Games Played: 1,322 – This season, Hunter has surpassed Bob Allison and Justin Morneau into eighth place. He should pass Gary Gaetti by the end of the season.
• Runs Scored: 719 – He has passed Chuck Knoblauch to move into seventh place.
• RBI: 765 – He has passed Rod Carew and Gary Gaetti to move into sixth place.
• Hits: 1,303 – He passed Gary Gaetti to move into eighth place on the list. He is 15 hits behind Justin Morneau.
• Total Bases: 2,253 – He passed Gary Gaetti to move into eighth place, and there is a chance he could catch Justin Morneau.
• Doubles: 274 – He is currently in seventh place, 15 doubles behind Justin Morneau.
• Home Runs: 208 – After passing Gary Gaetti earlier this season, Hunter passed Kirby Puckett over the weekend to move in to sixth place on the Twins list. He is three homers behind Bob Allison. He is 12 homers behind Tony Oliva, and he is 13 homers behind Justin Morneau. So, if he were to end the 2015 season with 30 home runs, he would be third on the all-time Minnesota Twins home runs list. He is not likely to catch Harmon Killebrew’s 475 Minnesota Twins home runs.
• Stolen Bases: 127 – He is in fifth place, seven behind Kirby Puckett. (Note – he is one for three in stolen base attempts so far this year.)
• Strikeouts: 933 – He will likely pass Kirby Puckett’s 965 strikeouts to move into second place in Twins history. He won’t catch Harmon Killebrew.
• Grand Slams: 9 – One more grand slam and he will tie Harmon Killebrew for the Twins record.

Add in his defense and he moves up to the top of the second tier, probably the sixth-best offensive player in Minnesota Twins history. His seven Gold Gloves are second in Twins history behind Jim Kaat’s 11. Kirby Puckett won six with the Twins. Hunter represented the Minnesota Twins in two All Star games.

 

It would be very interesting to know what kind of statistics Hunter would have been able to put up had he remained in the Twins organization instead of spending the past seven years in Anaheim and Detroit. How far up the list would he be?

 

So where would Torii Hunter rank to you among the Top 10 Twins position players since the organization moved to Minnesota in 1961?

 

The Top Six: Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Kent Hrbek, Joe Mauer, Tony Oliva

 

The Next Five: Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Gary Gaetti, Bob Allison, Chuck Knoblauch.

 

One could make an argument that we are able to watch two of the top seven or eight position players in the 55-year history of the Twins in Minnesota on a nightly basis.

 

Please use the comments below to rank the Top 10 Twins position players in Twins history in your opinion, and then discuss with others.

 

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[mickeymental]

i'd put tovar ahead of knoblauch just because. and, if pressed, i'd say his defensive versatility more than compensates for his notch-lower hitting numbers.

[drjim]

7th seems about right. Right on the border of getting his number retired.

[Mike Sixel]

Great player, no doubt.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I don't think Torii can beat Knoblauch's peak, can he? It came in some lost seasons, but Knobby was pretty incredible for a few years there.

[Seth Stohs]

 

i'd put tovar ahead of knoblauch just because. and, if pressed, i'd say his defensive versatility more than compensates for his notch-lower hitting numbers.

 

Offensively, Tovar was a whole bunch of notches below Knoblauch, and Knobby won gold glove awards and would have had a bunch more if not for playing in the same league as Roberto Alomar.

[Mike Sixel]

Where is Blyleven on your list? And Johan?

[Seth Stohs]

 

I don't think Torii can beat Knoblauch's peak, can he? It came in some lost seasons, but Knobby was pretty incredible for a few years there.

 

I would agree with this statement, but longevity versus great peak both have to be factored into the discussion.

[mickeymental]

 

Offensively, Tovar was a whole bunch of notches below Knoblauch, and Knobby won gold glove awards and would have had a bunch more if not for playing in the same league as Roberto Alomar.

at which point i'd revert to my initial reason: just because.

[JB_Iowa]

Top ten in so many different categories ... that is impressive to me.

[mickeymental]

 

Offensively, Tovar was a whole bunch of notches below Knoblauch, and Knobby won gold glove awards and would have had a bunch more if not for playing in the same league as Roberto Alomar.

by the way, and although i'm well aware that mine is pretty much a losing argument, it's worth noting that tovar finished in the top 25 mvp vote five times (including a #7); knoblauch did so three times (never better than #16).

[Minniman]

Hunter is a good, but not great, player. He is no Kirby Pucket or Harmon Killebrew.

 

Being away for seven seasons also puts a stale taste in my mouth. 

[drjim]

Where is Blyleven on your list? And Johan?

Position player list.

[DaveW]

 

Position player list.

You think that will stop Bert from using his broadcast booth as a platform to be included on this list?

[nicksaviking]

Where is Blyleven on your list? And Johan?

Offensively? I'm tempted to put them ahead of Suzuki at this time.

[TheLeviathan]

Knobby at his peak was a truly special player on a bad team.  Hunter has been a pretty darn good player on a lot of good teams.  Seems about the right ranking, though I'd possibly slide Knobby higher.  (I think his falling out and post-career stuff has really held down his legacy)

[Thrylos]

WAR is pretty good to answer this question.  This table is from here from 2010, so Mauer's and Hunter's numbers are a bit off, but here are the top 10, and where Hunter is (Senators deleted) :

 

Rank Name PlApp WAR

1 Rod Carew 6868 62.7
2 Harmon Killebrew 9387 61.4
4 Kirby Puckett 7750 44.8
6 Tony Oliva 6808 42.4
10 Chuck Knoblauch 4526 35.4
11 Kent Hrbek 7056 35.3
12 Bob Allison 5861 34.4
14 Joe Mauer 2959 33.1
17 Cesar Tovar 4509 25.8
20 Gary Gaetti 5385 23.8
------------
22 Corey Koskie 3222 21.1
26 Shane Mack 2397 18.5
27 Roy Smalley 4558 18.3
29 Larry Hisle 2711 17.5
30 Torii Hunter 4860 16.9

 

 

Not. Even. Close. 

Edited July 28, 2015 by Thrylos

[Otto von Ballpark]

Here's Fangraphs WAR:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2015&month=0&season1=1961&ind=0&team=8&rost=&age=&filter=&players=

 

Hunter in a 10th place tie with Koskie.  By wRC+ (rate stat), he's 38th.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Hunter is also 10th in B-Ref WAR (once you remove the Senators players);

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/leaders_bat_50.shtml