Building Dr. Taylor-stein's Twins Monster

[Matthew Taylor]

With the 2020 baseball season now officially under delay, the Minnesota Twins have time to add to an already-talented team. Only this time the Twins won’t be using traditional methods of adding talent.As the Twins brass looked on at the roster, evaluating who should be the 26th man, they weren’t too pleased with their options. Jake Cave has a nice bat, but is a bit redundant as another left-handed corner outfielder. Willians Astudillo can catch, but regressed quite a bit in 2019. With nowhere else to turn in a season when expectations are so high, the Twins called upon Dr. Matthew von Taylor-stein to concoct a Twins monster that would slot in as the 26th man and push this team over the edge.

 

In building his Twins monster, Dr. Taylor-stein will be taking key attributes from various Minnesota Twins players over the years to build the ultimate Minnesota Twins player with just three simple rules:

• We are only building for a batter, fielding is not considered.
• We can’t take more than one attribute from a single Twins player.
• We can’t operate on current Twins players.

With that in mind, let’s get our operation started:

 

Intelligence: Joe Mauer

Honorable Mention: Kent Hrbek

 

We can have all of the physical tools in the world, but if we don’t have a bright head on our shoulders, all of our talent will go to waste. That is why we are starting our Twins monster with the head and using the head of Joe Mauer. From the moment he was drafted first overall, Mauer has always revelled in the mental parts of baseball. He turned swinging the baseball bat into a science and used patience and plate discipline to ensure that he would make every pitcher work hard. Mauer famously showed patience with his 12% BB% and showed plate discipline by never posting a K% higher than 18%. In addition, by taking Mauer’s head, we get to sport the sideburns that would make any man jealous.

 

Power: Harmon Killebrew

Honorable Mention: Justin Morneau

 

Knowing that we have the head of Joe Mauer, we can add some brute strength to our Twins monster, and who embodies this better than Twins Hall of Famer, Harmon Killebrew? Killebrew is the all-time club leader in home runs in a season (49), seasons with 40+ home runs (8) and career home runs (559). The Killer not only hit home runs in bunches, but he hit them far, by recording the farthest home run in the history of Metropolitan Stadium when he launched a homer 520 feet. Taking the arms of any other Twins player in this situation just isn’t an option.

 

Contact: Rod Carew

Honorable Mention: Tony Oliva

 

For the hands of our Twins monster we need a player who can handle the bat well, ensure that he will make good contact, and get on base. The perfect candidate for this is Rod Carew. In the history of the Minnesota Twins franchise, no player has a higher career batting average than Carew’s career .334. Over the course of his 19 year career, Carew won 7 batting titles and just 4 times failed to eclipse a .300 batting average. By combining the power of Killebrew with the hands and bat control of Rod Carew, our Twins monster is going to be one powerful beast.

 

Speed: Chuck Knoblauch

Honorable Mention: Cesar Tovar

 

With all of the baseballs that our Twins monster is going to be hitting, we’ll need to be sure that we have the legs to get around the bases, and with Knoblauch we will do just that. His career 276 stolen bases is most in team history, as is his 62 stolen bases that he recorded in 1997. In total, Chuck has posted 6 different seasons with more than 30 stolen bases and will do an incredible job moving our Twins monster across the baseball diamond.

 

Heart: Kirby Puckett

Honorable Mention: Gary Gaetti

 

All that is missing from our Twins player now is the heart. The heart of our player is what will produce in the clutch. It’s what will give our player the drive and the passion to inspire his teammates and galvanize our team. No player in Twins history embodied this more than Kirby Puckett. While you can bring up some questionable parts of his past, nobody can ever doubt his passion, his love for the game, and his ability to rise up when the team needed him most. Puckett is the team-leader in career walk off hits and has the most memorable

and

in team history. No player loved the game more than Puck, and no player showed greater passion for the game he loved than Mr. Puckett. There is no better player’s heart that is better to give to our Twins monster than Kirby Puckett.

 

After compiling all of the attributes from the best players in Twins history, Dr. Taylor-stein’s surgery is complete, the Twins monster has been assembled, and is ready to compete for the 2020 Minnesota Twins.

 

How do you think our Minnesota Twins monster turned out? Would you have changed any of his attributes? Leave a comment below and start the conversation!

 

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[olerud]

Torii has to be faster than Knoblauch!

[Matthew Taylor]

 

Torii has to be faster than Knoblauch!

 

I definitely looked at Torii for that spot. While we don't have objective Statcast data, I used SB, SB% and triples as measures of speed. Knoblauch laps Torii in all three of these categories.

[jkcarew]

I'm on-board with Knoblauch being the 'speed' guy. He wasn't necessarily an absolute burner, but the combination of his superior on-base skills, his instincts, and his plus speed made him probably the most productive guy on the based the Twins have ever had.

[Teflon]

Additional Attributes:

Panache: Dan Ford

Personal Grooming: Rick Aguilera

Lineage: Roy Smalley III

Mustache: Roy Smalley III

 

 

 

[jkcarew]

 

I definitely looked at Torii for that spot. While we don't have objective Statcast data, I used SB, SB% and triples as measures of speed. Knoblauch laps Torii in all three of these categories.

Also, OBP probably needs to be a factor or a threshold, as well, right?...lest we consider guys like Alexi Casilla, Ben Revere, and Carlos Gomez (or Buxton) here...all almost certainly "faster" than Knoblauch, but not accomplished hitters (yet), as was Knoblauch.

 

Actually, a good argument could be made for Knoblauch as the honorable mention for 'Intelligence'. During his Twins career, his OBP and BB% were basically identical to Mauer's career numbers (Mauer's peak years were better)...and Knoblauch's SO% was lower. The player that some might remember with the Yankees wasn't anything near the player the Twins had from '91 - '97.

[gunnarthor]

I'm not sure Mauer is the most intelligent guy you could have picked. If you were going with 'eye' or something, I could get on board. It might depend on how you view him but the two views on Mauer seem to be that 1) he was the greatest Twin ever, don't criticize him or 2) he was a bum who wouldn't change his swing to tap into his power or even after opposing teams figured him out. 

 

[Twinsoholic]

I agree with gunnarthor on Mauer and intelligence. Obviously it depends on how you are defining it. From another perspective, Jonathan Scoop speaks/reads 5 or 6 languages. Mike Marshall was a doctor as well as one hell of a reliever. Craig Breslin was no academic slouch. Jason Castro went to Stanford and was praised for his defense. I suspect that Tony Olivia had as much baseball smarts as anyone who ever put on a baseball uniform. Selecting Mayer just seems like a hometown choice. He was a great ball player, but was he really the Twins’ Einstein of baseball? Not from my perspective. I will grant that was from your perspective.

[dxpavelka]

 

I agree with gunnarthor on Mauer and intelligence. Obviously it depends on how you are defining it. From another perspective, Jonathan Scoop speaks/reads 5 or 6 languages. Mike Marshall was a doctor as well as one hell of a reliever. Craig Breslin was no academic slouch. Jason Castro went to Stanford and was praised for his defense. I suspect that Tony Olivia had as much baseball smarts as anyone who ever put on a baseball uniform. Selecting Mayer just seems like a hometown choice. He was a great ball player, but was he really the Twins’ Einstein of baseball? Not from my perspective. I will grant that was from your perspective.

The ability to speak a half dozen languages doesn't do much for the ability to play ball.

[Brandon Warne]

I'd go with Jason Tyner as the speed guy. Or Alex Cole.

[Matthew Taylor]

 

I'd go with Jason Tyner as the speed guy. Or Alex Cole.

Alex Cole is a deep cut. I like it.

[R B TATE]

Intelligence (baseball wise), think I'd have to go with Dave Winfield.

[Brandon Warne]

 

Alex Cole is a deep cut. I like it.

 

Dude could FLY. Like 80 steals in a minor-league season fly.

[the_brute_squad]

 

I'm not sure Mauer is the most intelligent guy you could have picked. If you were going with 'eye' or something, I could get on board. It might depend on how you view him but the two views on Mauer seem to be that 1) he was the greatest Twin ever, don't criticize him or 2) he was a bum who wouldn't change his swing to tap into his power or even after opposing teams figured him out. 

Agreed. If Mauer were the most intelligent player on the field he would have known to adapt his game from oppo field slap hitter. It takes intelligence to know when it's time to adjust your swing.

If I'm going with intelligence I'm going with Jim Kaat. His insight in broadcasting is second to none.

 

[Trov]

I agree with not using Mauer for intelligence.  Not only the lack of changing approach as pitchers and defenses changed, as that may not be that easy with 20 years of doing one swing to then change is not easy.  However, one of my biggest complaints of Joe was always his lack of situational batting IQ.  He had one plan always, get on base by any means.  Well when you in the three whole, you are supposed to drive in runs, so do not take a strike down the pipe and take a walk after than when runner on 3rd and 1 out.  Do not go out of zone, but how many times would he take a strike right down middle in that situation only to then walk, and get praise for working a walk, then hunter or cuddy hits into DP right behind him.  Well he let a good pitch that should have driven in the run go, not smart in my mind.

 

Remember when he got a ton of backlash for bunting.  I never minded him bunting for base hits, but the big time that he got most backlash and then did not bunt for like to seasons.  The situation was 2 outs runners first and second, tying run being on second.  So a single to outfield should tie it. Double gets you the lead.  Joe is supposed to be leader and hitting in three hole.  Then what does Joe do, he tries to bunt for a base hit, not getting it, but what if he did bunt for hit, now bases loaded and 2 outs, with go ahead run at second, little better situation, but he basically said, I am not going try to tie the game and let whoever behind me do it.

 

He just showed to me several times he lacked situational IQ and would never think about what would be best for the team to win.  I was too old school thinker for me. 

 

Sorry, I do not always want to bash Joe, I give him credit for being one of best hitters of all time, but I do not like when people over value him.  I also do not like when people undervalue him by knocking him for their want him to be something he was not.  That was mainly because the organization wanted him to be more than he was and forced him into being the leader and three hitter.