Article: Top 15 Minnesota Twins Players

[Seth Stohs]

On Tuesday night at the Star Tribune, 12 writers posted their choices for the Top 10 Minnesota Vikings in the team’s long history. The Vikings came to Minnesota in 1961, the same year that the Minnesota Twins came to Minnesota from Washington (where they were the Senators).

 

Both organizations have long histories and traditions. With the Super Bowl in Minneapolis on Sunday, football has been the primary topic in the state, and it likely will be for the rest of the week. But today I thought it would be fun to post my choices for the Top 10 Twins players of all-time. In fact, just to be a little different, I’m going to post my Top 15 Twins prospects.In April, Aaron Gleeman’s book The Big 50: Minnesota Twins will become available; (pre-order a copy today). In it, you’ll find stories and information on the best players in Minnesota Twins history as well as some of the great stories in the franchise’s years in Minnesota. Now, I’m looking forward to it to see how his top 50 all-time Twins players rankings end up. And, I want to see how his list compares to mine. And, I want to see how my list compares to yours. Give it some thought and rank your top 10 or 15 Twins players in the comments below.

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15 - Torii Hunter - bWAR: 26.2, OPS+: 103

Hunter ranks seventh in Twins history in games played, plate appearances, hits and RBI. His 214 home runs in a Twins uniform rank fifth in team history. And yet, it is his defense that made him a star. With the Twins, he won the first seven of his nine Gold Gloves. He returned to the Twins in 2015 after seven years away and was a big part on a Twins team that finished over .500. Imagine how much higher up this list he’d be if he’d stayed.

 

 

14 - Frank Viola - bWAR: , ERA+: 111

Viola debuted with the Twins in 1982 and was a fixture in the team’s rotation until he was traded to the Mets at the deadline in 1989. After going 11-25 in his first two seasons, Viola went 101-67 over the rest of his Twins career. He was an All-Star just once. He was the MVP of the 1987 World Series when he won Games 1 and 7. In 1988, he went 24-7 and won the AL Cy Young Award. He was a given for 35 starts and about 250 innings a season.

 

 

13 - Bob Allison - bWAR: 30.5, OPS+: 131

Allison made an incredible catch during the 1965 World Series, but he was best known for his bat and his power. A big, burly power hitter, Allison is currently number six on the Twins home run list with 211, just behind Hunter. Allison was an All-Star at the AL Rookie of the Year in 1959 with the Senators. He played in two All-Star games as a member of the Twins.

 

 

12 - Joe Nathan - bWAR: 18.4, OPS+: 204

His WAR may not stack up, but his dominance is unquestioned. He became the Twins closer when he arrived in 2004, and went on to record 260 saves, passing Rick Aguilera for the team’s record. His season ERAs from 2004 through 2009 were 1.62, 2.70, 1.58, 1.88, 1.33 and 2.10. In fact, if not for Mariano Rivera, more people might call Joe Nathan the best closer of the era. He struck out 30.7% of batters faced during his Twins tenure, more than 10% more than Aguilera, Al Worthington and Eddie Guardado, the next three relievers on the list. Recently retired, Nathan was a guest at the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown this year.

 

 

11 - Chuck Knoblauch - bWAR: 37.9, OPS+: 114

The Twins #1 pick in 1989, he joined the big league club by Opening Day 1991. He jumped in as the team’s leadoff hitter, won AL Rookie of the Year and helped the Twins to their second World Series championship. In his seven seasons with the Twins, he hit .304 and got on base 39% of the time. He played in four All-Star Games, and he won two Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove Award in a league that included Roberto Alomar.

 

 

10 - Jim Kaat - bWAR: 31.7, ERA+: 112

“Kitty” had pitched in 16 MLB games with the Senators before the team came to Minnesota in 1961. Kaat was an All-Star in 1962 and 1966. He won 12 AL Gold Glove awards as a member of the Twins organization (and the team’s annual award for best defensive player is named after him). After being traded to the White Sox in 1973, he won 20 games for them in 1974 and 1975. Kaat was a key cog in the Twins 1965 World Series appearance. He went 189-152 with the Twins. That’s 40 more wins than the #2 on the list. He is Top 5 in many Twins pitching categories. Recently the Twins named him a Special Assistant.

 

 

9 - Brad Radke - bWAR: 45.6, ERA+: 113

Radke quietly was one of the best pitchers/players in Twins history. Always calm and poised, Radke threw a ton of strikes, mixed in a great changeup to go with a low-90s fastball. He is second all-time on the Twins list in number of starts, and he’s number three in number of innings pitched. His 148 wins is third, one behind Bert Blyleven. He won 20 games on a 1997 Twins team that won just 68 games. During a two-month stretch (12 starts), he went 12-0 with a 1.87 ERA. He finished third in Cy Young voting and made the All-Star team the next season. Overlooked because he played on some bad teams, Radke was a stabilizing force in Twins rotations for a dozen years. Shoulder issues caused him to retire after his age-33 season.

 

 

8 - Bert Blyleven - bWAR: 49.3, ERA+: 119

Blyleven came up to the Twins as a 19-year-old in 1970 and went 10-9 with a 3.18 ERA. Over his next five seasons, he won 16, 17, 20, 17 and 15 games. In those years, he posted ERAs of 2.81, 2.73, 2.52, 2.66 and 3.00. It was definitely an era for pitching, and Blyleven was one of the best at the time. He was traded in 1976 and returned in 1985. He was a key veteran starter for the Twins in that 1987 World Series championship. He went 148-139 for the Twins in his career with a 3.28 ERA. He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame.

 

 

7 - Johan Santana - bWAR: 35.5, ERA+: 141

Santana came to the Twins in the Rule 5 draft and became one of the best pitchers in baseball. He spent his first couple of years in the Twins bullpen. When he went down to AAA his second year, he worked with Bobby Cuellar on his changeup and the rest is history. He became a starter in 2004, went 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA and won the Cy Young. He should have repeated as Cy Young winner in 2005 when he went 16-7 with a 2.87 ERA. Then in 2006, he won again after posting a 19-7 record and a 2.77 ERA. He led the AL in ERA twice, in WHIP three times, and in strikeouts three times. In his four Twins years as a starter, he averaged 228 innings. He went to three All-Star Games, finished Top 5 in Cy Young voting each year. He was traded to the Mets before the 2008 season. Last month, the Twins announced that he’s been elected into the team’s Hall of Fame.

 

 

6 - Kent Hrbek - bWAR: 38.4, OPS+: 128

The kid from Bloomington spent all 14 of his big leagues seasons with the Twins who retired his #14. His 293 home runs are second only to Harmon Killebrew in team history. He is in the Top 5 in most Twins offensive categories. He hit .282 and got on base nearly 37% of the time. He played in just one All-Star Game, and he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1982 and second in the MVP race in 1984. He was a key cog in the two Twins World Series championships.

 

 

5 - Tony Oliva - bWAR: 43.0, OPS+: 131

Oliva won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1964. He won the batting title his first two seasons and a third one in 1971. He was an All-Star his first eight seasons and finished second in AL MVP voting twice. He led the league in hits five times and doubles four times. His 220 home runs rank fourth in team history. Unfortunately in 1972, a major knee injury curtailed his career. When he returned, he was the team’s DH, and he still hit well, just not to the level he had before the injury. He was the Twins hitting coach in 1987, and his uniform #6 was retired.

 

 

4 - Joe Mauer - bWAR: 53.4, OPS+: 126

As Mauer enters his 15th season with the Twins, the St. Paul native finds himself in the Top 5 in many Twins offensive categories. He has hit .308 and been on base over 39% of the time during his career. Mauer won the AL MVP in 2009 when he led the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He has been an All-Star six times, won five Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Glove Awards. He was putting together another monster season in 2013 when he suffered a concussion. He has not regained his form, though he had a strong 2017 season.

 

 

3 - Kirby Puckett - bWAR: 50.9, OPS+: 124

Puckett emerged on the scene for the Twins in 1984, and he led the Twins to their two World Series championships. A career .318 hitter, he got on base 36% of the time. He made his first All-Star Game in 1986 and then played in each of the next ten. He finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting seven times. He won six Gold Glove Awards, and he also won six Silver Slugger Awards. He is Top 5 in many Twins offensive categories and no Twins player has scored more runs or had more hits or doubles than Puckett. His career came to an abrupt end before the 1996 season and he was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.

 

2 - Rod Carew - bWAR: 63.7, OPS+: 137

Rod Carew was a hitting machine. He was named the AL Rookie of the Year in 1967. He was also an All-Star that year, and in the remaining 11 seasons of his Twins career. He won the AL MVP in 1977 when he flirted with .400, ending the year at .388 (with a .449 OBP). He won seven batting titles in his 12 years with the Twins and recently the award for winning the American League batting title was named in his honor. He is Top 5 in nearly all statistical categories for the Twins, and his bWAR is just about 10 wins higher than the #2 in that list, Harmon Killebrew. Carew ended his career with over 3,000 hits and earned his induction into Cooperstown.

 

 

1 - Harmon Killebrew - bWAR: 53.8, OPS+: 148

The Killer was a feared home run hitter during his career. 475 of his 573 career home runs came in a Twins uniform (and 84 came in a Senators uniform before they came to Minnesota). So, he is the Twins leader in home runs by 182. When he retired, he was in the Top 5 in MLB history in homers. He’s the team’s leader in RBI by about 250. He walked about 430 more times than Joe Mauer has in his career, and Mauer is #2 on the Twins list. It’s hard to believe, but Killebrew actually walked more than he struck out during his Twins career. For some reason, it took him four ballots to get into baseball’s Hall of Fame.

 

 

 

So there you have my ranking of the Top 15 Twins of all-time… Be sure to add your Top 15. Who moves up? Who moves down? Who moves out, and who moves in? It should be a fun discussion as we continue to wait for offseason news.

 

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[mikelink45]

Thanks Seth - I enjoyed this.  It is sometimes hard to rank players across history.  Most are forgotten.  Somehow I feel like we need a list of the most obscure or forgotten. 

 

For example I have thought about Bernie Allen - not sure why - who is seldom mentioned in Twins history, but he was our starting second baseman for 5 years starting in 1962 after being a Quarterback at Purdue or Rich Reese who played for us for ten years and tied for the lead in pinch hits - 13 in 1967 and still holds the record with three grand slams.  Or Rich Rollins who played 3B for us for 8 years starting in 1961.  In fact Don Mincher our 1B slugger from 1961 - 1966 accumulated 23 WAR and in 2000 became part of the New Orleans Saints front office.  

 

Of course there are more who are obscure than this, but it will take more research to bring them back to my old memory.

 

My argument with your list is that you left off our first ace - Camilo Pascual.  I watched him pitch.  He had a curveball that makes Tyler Duffey's look flat and he also had a fastball that could put players away.  Ted Williams said it was the most devasting pitch in baseball. 

 

In 1962 Pascual went 20-11 and led the league in complete games, shutouts and strikeouts to help notch his first 20-win season.  41.3 WAR, 174 wins for mostly last place teams in Washington and then Minnesota.   

 

Over his career, he compiled 174 wins, 2,167 strikeouts, and a 3.63 earned run average.

 

The following is a wiki quote -  "The period from 1959 to 1964 would see Pascual's peak years. He would win at least 12 games every season while leading the league in complete games, shutouts, and strikeouts three times each and racking up all five of his All-Star games appearances. In 1962 Pascual went 20-11 and led the league in complete games, shutouts and strikeouts to help notch his first 20-win season. In 1963 he had arguably his best season with a 21-9 win lost record, a 2.46 ERA, leading the league in complete games and strikeouts. 1965 would see the Twins/Washington franchise return to the World Series for the first time since Washington lost the 1933 series to the New York Giants. However, after starting the season 8–2, injuries limited Pascual to nine relatively ineffective second-half starts and he lost his World Series matchup with Claude Osteen in Game 3. Pascual would continue to have arm problems in 1966 and would pitch only 103 innings in 21 games, both career lows."

​Camilo (nickname the little potato by some) 1885 K to 909 walks in his MN years.  He was a career .205 hitter with some years in the 250 range and a grand slam too. 

 

I put him in the top 5, I also put Oliva at #3.   

 

We would all create different lists - I am just glad you starting me thinking.

[slash129]

Thanks, Seth.  Good Read!

 

Agree with mikelink45 on Camilo Pascual ... He also played at a time when they only gave out one Cy Young award and Sandy Koufax was on the Dodgers.

[Seth Stohs]

Fair point to argue for Pascual... The difficulty there is that he only spent six years with the MINNESOTA TWINS. He spent so much time with the Senators, which of course were the Twins before they were the TWins, but these lists (for me at least) are just for the Twins.

 

That said, in his Twins years, he went 88-57 with a 3.31 ERA. His ERA+ was 116 which would put him ahead of a few on this list. 

 

Of course, then I'd have to make a case for Jim Perry probably too who had a greater WAR with the Twins, a similar ERA+ and 600 more innings pitched, and a Cy Young. 

 

That's the fun, for me, of these lists... discussing and remembering the names so they aren't forgotten.

[mikelink45]

 

Fair point to argue for Pascual... The difficulty there is that he only spent six years with the MINNESOTA TWINS. He spent so much time with the Senators, which of course were the Twins before they were the TWins, but these lists (for me at least) are just for the Twins.

 

That said, in his Twins years, he went 88-57 with a 3.31 ERA. His ERA+ was 116 which would put him ahead of a few on this list. 

 

Of course, then I'd have to make a case for Jim Perry probably too who had a greater WAR with the Twins, a similar ERA+ and 600 more innings pitched, and a Cy Young. 

 

That's the fun, for me, of these lists... discussing and remembering the names so they aren't forgotten.

I would argue for Perry too.  Knoblauch and Nathan had only 7 years with the Twins - only one more than Camilo and for that transition time I have to take into consideration the Senators.  

[dbminn]

Thanks for the article, Seth. A couple of thoughts re: your top 15 - Hrbek is a bit too high. I'd put him after Blyleven and Santana. Maybe Puckett ahead of Carew. 

 

I'd like to mention a couple others to remember:

• Camilo Pascual - mikelink put together a fine testimonial. Only one that I would say is a "miss" from the top 15. I'd put him ahead of Hunter.
• Greg Gagne - More than 100 runs of defensive value between 1987-1982 (fangraphs). Only Ozzie, Guillen and Ripken were ranked higher in that period. Not a great hitter but he was the defensive glue for two world series winners. Twins have been searching for a SS ever since. 

 

 

 

[jmlease1]

Very respectable list. I'm guessing it was hard to leave Gary Gaetti off (almost identical bWAR as Torii)? They're so close in value and both were really impactful Twins. Does recency bias give Torii an edge? (fWAR thinks the Rat was a better Twin! hee.)

 

Jim Perry vs Frankie V...that's a pretty tough one too. The bWAR is close there too; Viola had bigger seasons, Perry did it for longer as a Twin. I probably take Sweet Music too, but it's a fun discussion. (fWAR likes Viola a little more than Perry as a twin too)

[Seth Stohs]

 

Very respectable list. I'm guessing it was hard to leave Gary Gaetti off (almost identical bWAR as Torii)? They're so close in value and both were really impactful Twins. Does recency bias give Torii an edge? (fWAR thinks the Rat was a better Twin! hee.)

 

Jim Perry vs Frankie V...that's a pretty tough one too. The bWAR is close there too; Viola had bigger seasons, Perry did it for longer as a Twin. I probably take Sweet Music too, but it's a fun discussion. (fWAR likes Viola a little more than Perry as a twin too)

 

I would say that Gaetti was probably next on the list, along with Perry and Pascual... 

 

The thing about Gaetti is his defense was fantastic at the hot corner too. Maybe the CF thing is why I went with Torii. 

[Tommygun921]

Would Lew Ford be #16 on your list?

[Thrylos]

Unlike the Vikings that was a brand new team in 1961, the Twins have had 60 years of History that should not be ignored.   I do not understand why the Twins want to ignore the fact that they were an AL founding franchise.  As a matter of fact, with the move, Griffith took the rights to his family's franchise.  So the Twins have those rights.

 

And every Twins' best player list should be headed by Walter Johnson.

 

Here are the best 10 Twins franchise players, by fWAR (as part of the Twins' franchise)

 

Walter Johnson 117.1
Harmon Killebrew 66.3
Rod Carew 56.9
Bert Blyleven 55.7
Jim Kaat 53.3
Sam Rice 50.3
Camilo Pascual 48.1
Joe Mauer 48.1
Joe Judge 45.6
Kirby Puckett 44.9

Edited February 1, 2018 by Thrylos

[Sssuperdave]

 

Unlike the Vikings that was a brand new team in 1961, the Twins have had 60 years of History that should not be ignored.   I do not understand why the Twins want to ignore the fact that they were an AL founding franchise.  As a matter of fact, with the move, Griffith took the rights to his family's franchise.  So the Twins have those rights.

 

And every Twins' best player list should be headed by Walter Johnson.

 

Here are the best 10 Twins franchise players, by fWAR (as part of the Twins' franchise)

 

Walter Johnson 117.1
Harmon Killebrew 66.3
Rod Carew 56.9
Bert Blyleven 55.7
Jim Kaat 53.3
Sam Rice 50.3
Camilo Pascual 48.1
Joe Mauer 48.1
Joe Judge 45.6
Kirby Puckett 44.9

 

Nice list, fun to think about what it must have been like to watch Walter Johnson in his prime.

 

In response to the first part of your statement, I don't see the Twins themselves ignoring their years as the Senators. It's not a black-and-white thing though, I think the Nationals have sometimes done things that recognize all of the Senators franchises as part of their history, even though those franchises technically weren't.

 

I do see people like Seth and Aaron Gleeman make lists that start with when the Twins moved to MN, and I think the reasoning is pretty obvious. This is a fan site and the vast majority of us live in Minnesota or the surrounding states, and hence we are fans for our home team. Most of us have never lived in DC, so we wouldn't have ever been fans of the Senators, even if those of us less than 56 years old had been alive at the time. It makes perfect sense as a fan of MN sports to only focus on teams that actually played in MN.

 

If I were purely a baseball historian I would completely agree with you, and I like learning and thinking about the Senators, but this a fan site not a pure baseball history site.

[mikelink45]

 

Unlike the Vikings that was a brand new team in 1961, the Twins have had 60 years of History that should not be ignored.   I do not understand why the Twins want to ignore the fact that they were an AL founding franchise.  As a matter of fact, with the move, Griffith took the rights to his family's franchise.  So the Twins have those rights.

 

And every Twins' best player list should be headed by Walter Johnson.

 

Here are the best 10 Twins franchise players, by fWAR (as part of the Twins' franchise)

 

Walter Johnson 117.1
Harmon Killebrew 66.3
Rod Carew 56.9
Bert Blyleven 55.7
Jim Kaat 53.3
Sam Rice 50.3
Camilo Pascual 48.1
Joe Mauer 48.1
Joe Judge 45.6
Kirby Puckett 44.9

You missed a big one - Goose Goslin is underestimated and mostly unknown, but he deserves to be on this list (66.1 WAR)  Thanks for Camilo Pascual!  

[Thrylos]

 

You missed a big one - Goose Goslin is underestimated and mostly unknown, but he deserves to be on this list (66.1 WAR)  Thanks for Camilo Pascual!  

 

Gosilin does (and he is a hall of famer, and not an uknown   ), but his fWAR with the Twins/Senators was 42.2, so he is below Puckett.  The rest is with the Browns and Tigers.

Edited February 1, 2018 by Thrylos

[Seth Stohs]

 

Unlike the Vikings that was a brand new team in 1961, the Twins have had 60 years of History that should not be ignored.   I do not understand why the Twins want to ignore the fact that they were an AL founding franchise.  As a matter of fact, with the move, Griffith took the rights to his family's franchise.  So the Twins have those rights.

 

And every Twins' best player list should be headed by Walter Johnson.

 

Here are the best 10 Twins franchise players, by fWAR (as part of the Twins' franchise)

 

Walter Johnson 117.1
Harmon Killebrew 66.3
Rod Carew 56.9
Bert Blyleven 55.7
Jim Kaat 53.3
Sam Rice 50.3
Camilo Pascual 48.1
Joe Mauer 48.1
Joe Judge 45.6
Kirby Puckett 44.9

 

Yup, if this list was the Top 15 players in Minnesota Twins franchise history, instead of the Top 15 Minnesota Twins Players, Walter John would have been high on the list. 

[Nate Tubbs Rules]

you pretty much matched my list (top300 link below).  We had Puckett and Carew flip flopped as the only difference in the top7 and only Morneau vs Nathan in the top15.  I think you are relying too much on Bref's WAR compared to other methods from Bill James/B-prospectus/Fangraphs.   Radke does better than Kaat according to b-ref, but Kaat is much better in other methods.

 

https://wgom.org/2017/10/09/one-mans-opinion-of-the-top-300-twins-of-all-time-updated-through-2017/

 

[mikelink45]

 

Gosilin does (and he is a hall of famer, and not an uknown   ), but his fWAR with the Twins/Senators was 42.2, so he is below Puckett.  The rest is with the Browns and Tigers.

Both men played 12 years with the Twins/Senators, but I am fine with this choice - I just find that Goslin tends to be underrated even if he is in the HOF.  Most people only know the HOF choices that played in their lifetime and maybe for just a few years after getting voted in.  That is why I say that Clemens and Bonds have gotten more publicity for not being in - just like Rose and Shoeless Joe

[theBOMisthebomb]

Blasphemy. Kirby is #1. Without him this franchise would be nothing and a laughingstock with no championships. He is the Twins greatest player.

[jkcarew]

Nice list, Seth!  By the time you're to #15, I would have been good with Morneau, Pascual, Gaetti, Gladden, Gagne, Perry...in no particular order.

[Dantes929]

 

Blasphemy. Kirby is #1. Without him this franchise would be nothing and a laughingstock with no championships. He is the Twins greatest player.

Pretty good chance that the same could be said of Hrbek an Gagne.    Definitely would not have won in 87 without Viola and we got Tapani and Agulerra in a trade for him so definitely would not have won either without him.   Does that mean they should be ranked 1-4?   Actually, there is no real evidence that the Twins would not have won without Puckett.    That is opinion.     Seems wrong not to have Morneau on the list.

[HitInAPinch]

Fun discussion!  Some names here I've never heard of before!

[Twodogs]

Morneau was an MVP. So he could be on there for sure.

[Broker]

This is fun. It's difficult to come up with a list like this but this one is as good as any other.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Nice list, Seth!  By the time you're to #15, I would have been good with Morneau, Pascual, Gaetti, Gladden, Gagne, Perry...in no particular order.

 

I mean, I think Pascual, Morneau, Gaetti and Perry, yes... Gladden? he's nowhere near the Top 20 (in my opinion). 

[jimmer]

No Morneau?  Yeaah, ok...

[theBOMisthebomb]

Pretty good chance that the same could be said of Hrbek an Gagne.    Definitely would not have won in 87 without Viola and we got Tapani and Agulerra in a trade for him so definitely would not have won either without him.   Does that mean they should be ranked 1-4?   Actually, there is no real evidence that the Twins would not have won without Puckett.    That is opinion.     Seems wrong not to have Morneau on the list.

Aren't lists such as this almost entirely opinion? Isn't that the point. To suggest there is no evidence the Twins would not have won without Puckett is outrageous.

[theBOMisthebomb]

No Morneau?  Yeaah, ok...

It's bias against Canadians!

[jmlease1]

Rob Neyer wrote a very fun book that looks at exactly this topic, <a href=http://robneyer.com/baseball-books/big-book-of-baseball-lineups/>The Big Book of Baseball Lineups</a> and I highly recommend it to any baseball fan. It's a bit dated now, but part of the fun today is thinking about how many recent players would seize a spot from someone else.

 

[jimmer]

As far as on the field performance goes, the two Twins players I enjoyed watching the most were Kirby Puckett and Johan Santana.

Edited February 2, 2018 by jimmer

[Nate Tubbs Rules]

"Morneau was an MVP. So he could be on there for sure."

 

So was Zoilo.  In 57 years of baseball, it takes more than just a MVP award to get you in the top15 (although I think Justin barely sneaks in anyway)

 

 

[Dantes929]

 

Aren't lists such as this almost entirely opinion? Isn't that the point. To suggest there is no evidence the Twins would not have won without Puckett is outrageous.

The triple negative in the last sentence throws me a bit.    91 team was very good.  They won the division by 8 games and Puckett had a WAR of 4 that year so to say the Twins would have no championships without him seemed like a factual statement that had no facts to back it or was an opinion stated in the form of a fact.    They would most likely have made the playoffs with Puckett and may or may not have won without him.    Even if they don't win without him, which I admit is a possibility, it is a team game and there were a lot of players on each of the WS teams whose absence might have meant no championship.    Heck, they might not have won either without Gladden and he probably doesn't make my top 50.    Its certainly not blasphemy or outrageous to suggest Puckett wasn't the top Twin.