The Top 5 Hitters the Twins Can't Get Out

[Cooper Carlson]

The Twins haven’t exactly been known for their elite pitching over the years, and there are some hitters who took advantage more than others. Today we will be looking at five hitters that have absolutely killed the Twins since the year 2000.For a player to make this list they have to have at least 150 plate appearances against the Twins since the year 2000. Let’s get into it with someone who the Twins released a while ago. Pretty good move on their part I would say.

 

5. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (2003-2016)

• Stats: 75 G, 321 PA, 21 HR, 58 RBI, .332, .408, .636 (1.044), 173 wRC+

David Ortiz really went out and had a revenge career after the Twins released him. You can argue that he could’ve done this against anyone, but Ortiz had his best AVG, OBP, and SLG against the Twins compared to any other American League team. If he played 162 games against the Twins he would’ve been on pace for only 45 home runs and 125 RBIs. That’s pretty good.

 

4. Jim Thome, Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers, and Orioles (1991-2012)

• Stats: 89 G, 367 PA, 31 HR, 85 RBI, .297, .417, .657 (.1074), 174 wRC+

I’m already starting to see a trend that will continue as we keep going. Both Thome and Ortiz have connections with the Twins, so that’s a bit odd. My theory is the Twins brought Thome in to play simply because they were tired of him destroying them every time they faced each other. If you can’t beat him, sign him. He would be on pace to hit 56 homers and 155 RBIs every season if he only played the Twins.

 

3. Mark Teixeira, Rangers, Yankees (2003-2016)

• Stats: 77 G, 333 PA, 21 HR, 61 RBI, .362, .420, .641 (1.062), 177 wRC+

We had to have someone from the Yankees teams that destroyed the Twins every time out, right? Mark Teixera gets that honor for the Yankees and he certainly earned it. He ranked last out of everyone on this list on hard hit%, he just happened to get lucky a lot when playing the Twins because of course. If you could rank your least favorite Yankees from the 200’s would Teixera be in the top three?

 

2. Jose Bautista, Orioles, Pirates, Blue Jays (2004-2018)

• Stats: 62 G, 263 PA, 24 HR, 45 RBI, .310, .393, .699, (1.092), 193 wRC+

Bautista is the one on this list that stands out the most for not being someone a lot of people would guess. Thome and Ortiz have Twins connections and are remembered by Twins fans for being nightmares every time and Teixera played for the Yankees. Bautista just played out in Toronto and killed the Twins more than any other team for some reason. He had his best SLG% and OPS against the Twins. That whole Blue Jays team gave the Twins a hard time during the past decade.

 

1. Josh Donaldson, Athletics, Blue Jays, Indians, Braves (2010-2019)

• Stats: 43 G, 191 PA, 19 HR, 46 RBI, .395, .487, .852 (1.339)

This one is definitely my favorite because it supports my Jim Thome theory. If there is a player available that just destroys your team then just go sign him. If you can’t beat him, sign him. I mean his SLG% would literally be a good OPS in any MLB lineup. He is the third player on this list that will have played for the Twins when his career ends. Despite never being in the Twins division except for half a season with Cleveland, he still has more home runs against the Twins than any other team. Of course his AVG, OBP, and SLG are also clearly the best against the Twins.

 

What did you think of this list? Did it bring back bad memories? I hope I didn’t hurt you too much, but this was a fun experiment to see which players just loved playing against the Twins. Comment your thoughts below!

 

MORE FROM TWINS DAILY

— Latest Twins coverage from our writers

— Recent Twins discussion in our forums

— Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

 

Click here to view the article

[stringer bell]

I see he doesn't have quite enough plate appearances, but I would like to point out Didi Gregorius. His lifetime OPS is .742, his OPS vs. the Twins is 1.042. In 32 games vs. the Twins, he has 8 homers and 36 RBI. In addition, he has killed the Twins in postseason (4 games, 2 homers 9 RBI).

[VATwinsFan]

Uh, wasn't there a guy named Alex Rodriguez?

 

In 11 play off games alone, 3 HR, 10 RBIs, .390 avg = 44 HR, 147 RBIs in 162 games.

[Trov]

 

I see he doesn't have quite enough plate appearances, but I would like to point out Didi Gregorius. His lifetime OPS is .742, his OPS vs. the Twins is 1.042. In 32 games vs. the Twins, he has 8 homers and 36 RBI. In addition, he has killed the Twins in postseason (4 games, 2 homers 9 RBI).

I was thinking the same thing.  To me what points out to Didi is the last year he did not performed well against too many people, but still killed the Twins.  Made me think of who else killed Twins but struggled against other teams.   

[Trov]

First guy that came to mind was Joey batts.  He owned the Twins at Target field no matter how poorly he was hitting he always crushed Twins, and having Donaldson hitting just before or after I hated watching Toronto games.

 

This made me think of Ellis Burks for Cleveland in early 2000's.  He also would crush Twins.  Specifically, he would crush Rick Reed.  Thome was on those teams too and it was just as bad trip through line up as Bautista and Donaldson.   

 

For whatever reason players seem to have teams they love to play against.  Right now Kepler loves hitting against Cleveland, maybe less so with no Bauer pitching against him.  I remember Luis Revas, not a great career but he hit like half his HR against the Royals.  

[puckstopper1]

Yup - lots of bad memories for Twins fans with the names in the article and those added in the comments.

 

I'm assuming Frank Thomas would have been near the top of a similar list created for the 1990s.

[#1ShaneMackFan]

I don't care what the stats say. This list isn't complete without Didi Gregorious and Edwin Encarnacion.

 

[Shaitan]

I hope a pitching list is coming soon too.

 

I'd also like to see lists of who the Twins hitters and/or pitchers perform against exceptionally well.