To countdown the days til pitchers and catchers report, we're going to list the Twins with those numbers (thanks to this awesome list) and let you can reminisce about one of them. So who is the poster boy for day #2....

 

Zoilo Versalles, 1961-67

Frank Kostro, 1968-69

Graig Nettles, 1969

Frank Crosetti, 1970-71 (Coach)

Bobby Darwin, 1972-75

John Briggs, 1975

Craig Kusick, 1975

Steve Braun, 1976

Randy Bass, 1977

John Castino, 1979-84

Chris Pittaro, 1986-87

Wally Backman, 1989

Nelson Liriano, 1990

Donnie Hill, 1992

Pat Meares, 1993-98

Luis Rivas, 2000-05

Denard Span, 2008-12

 

Huh. I gotta say, I'm a little surprised that this isn't a more accomplished list. Mears vs. Span vs. Versalles has to go to Zoilo, but outside of that MVP season, he was an enigma. His career OPS? Just 657, though that's better than it sounds with an OPS+ of 82. One can argue whether he really deserved that award, but it's not arguable that he was a top candidate, and him winning it is even more remarkable considering a teammate, Tony Oliva, finished second.

This title is far too ripe for comedy.

This title is far too ripe for comedy.

+1

I was afraid that this would happened

Bob Darwin had some amazing dingers, when the bat and ball actually found a meeting place.

ar e you sure it isint Jim Nettles ? criags brother? and for tommarrow it is otis nixson , he threw a ball up into the stands to my son who dropped it it , 10 mintes later ole number 1 scaled the wall in left center to hand my son a ball during batting practice

Well, I have to go with Pat Meares. The first Twins game I ever attended was a double-header vs. Oakland in 1996 at the age of 14 and I snuck down to third or fourth row behind the dugout for the second game, sitting near the players' wives. Meares went 2-4 with 2 RBI in the game and made a great diving catch in the top of the seventh on a Geronima Berroa liner. Greg Hansell was pitching. I have a photographic memory of that particular moment for some reason.

Zoilo was an enigma, but in 1965 he was the man.

In 1980 the Twins had a 25-year-old two-year veteran third baseman who looked like he was going to be a mainstay for the team for a decade. And then the back problems began, and by 29 he was gone... and some Guy Eddie wound up taking his place at third and we forgot all about Johnny Castino. One of the game's small tragedies.

Bobby Darwin, this 29-year-old former pitcher playing his first full season, was the talk of baseball at the start of the 1972 season. One suspected it wouldn’t last—that the pitchers would get to know him the second time around—but all the optimism and Twins talk was fun after such a lousy finish in 1971.

The play of Zoilo in 1965 gave me more thrills as a young boy who loved baseball than the play of any other Twin has since. He was that exciting to watch that year, for me.

I'll go with the more recent player, Denard Span, and I'll pick the Chicago series in 2008. A three-game series, with the Twins 2.5 games back in late-September. Twins were down by like 6 after Kevin Slowey imploded, and the Twins (mostly Span and Gomez) just kept chipping away with singles, triples, a suicide squeeze by Span. With the Twins down by one in the 8th and Gomez at first, Span tripled past Konerko at first to score Gomez to tie the game. Span's reactiona t third as he came up from his slide was just awesome. It was seeing his emotion and exhiliration of the game plus what had to be frustration that he was sent to Triple-A at the beginning of the season, culminate in him tying such an important game that late in the season. Just a great spot.

ar e you sure it isint Jim Nettles ? criags brother?

 

Craig wore #2 for the Twins in the late '60s. They traded him to Cleveland in one of worst trades in Twins history.

I can remember a Twins commercial where they highlighted Craig "Mongo" Kusick.

Pat Meares. You know you've had a good career when you become a footnote to someone else's achievement.