Minnesota’s Centerfield Lineage Stretches Five Decades

[Cody Christie]

Centerfield is one of baseball’s most important positions, and the Minnesota Twins has a tremendous lineage at the position that stretches back to the 1980s. Here’s a look back at how these players are connected.

Image courtesy of Thieres Rabelo

Kirby Puckett to Torii Hunter (1980s-2000s)
Kirby Puckett’s Hall of Fame career was cut short as he played his final game in 1995. Luckily for the Twins, they had drafted his heir apparent in the first round two years prior. Minnesota selected Torii Hunter out of high school in Arkansas, but Puckett’s injuries meant the two players could never roam the same outfield. That still doesn’t mean that Puckett wasn’t able to make a lasting impact on Hunter’s career. 

“Watching him carry himself, you had no choice but to be infected,” Hunter said. “He had a great smile. The way he moved about the room and the way he treated people — everybody — the same. Whether it’s the vendor or I don’t care who it was, he treated everybody the same.”

Hunter went on to have a borderline Hall of Fame career. Over his first two voting cycles, he has garnered enough support to stay on a packed ballot. With some more prominent names falling off the ballot, it will be interesting to see if Hunter can gain more support in the years ahead. His impact on the centerfield position lasted beyond his years in Minnesota. 

Torii Hunter to Denard Span (2000s-2010s)
Hunter’s first Twins tenure ended in 2007 after he hit the free-agent market and signed with the Angels. Like Hunter, the Twins had drafted Hunter’s replacement in the years before his departure. Minnesota selected Denard Span with the team’s first-round pick in 2002. He debuted in 2008, the season after Hunter left. 

Span was so tied to Hunter that he was one of the first people he contacted when he got called up to the big-league level. “He texted me right back,” Span said. “And then, right after he texted me, he called me. … He said: ‘I’m happy for you. Just go out there, have fun and learn.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry for waking you up.’ He said, ‘No, this is the best news I’ve heard in a while.’ ”

Span spent his age 24-28 seasons as a regular in the Twins outfield as he hit .284/.357/.389 (.746). Following the 2012 season, Minnesota traded Span to the Washington Nationals for top-pitching prospect Alex Meyer. His big-league career spanned six more seasons, but the Twins center field lineage didn’t end with him. 

Denard Span to Byron Buxton (2010s-2020s)
In Span’s final season in Minnesota, the Twins drafted Byron Buxton with the second overall pick. After Buxton signed with the club, Span played catch with him and discussed that he would be interested in tutoring the young outfield much as Hunter had done with him. Span filled a similar role with Ben Revere, but the Twins traded both players in the same offseason. Minnesota used a variety of other players in center field as Buxton moved through the minor leagues. He made his big-league debut until the 2015 season, and he has joined a group of center fielders that are among the best in Twins history. 

Buxton has already accumulated enough WAR in his career to be among the best Twins center fielders of all time. Puckett leads the way with a 51.1 WAR, followed by Hunter, Span, and Buxton. Over the last two seasons, Buxton has accumulated enough WAR that he is close to passing Span for third on the above list. With Buxton signed long-term, it will be interesting to track his movement up this list in the years ahead. Can the Twins keep him healthy enough to pass Hunter’s WAR?

Who do you think carries on the lineage after Buxton? What do you remember about these players? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[mikelink45]

let us hope that Buxton plays out his contract and we can take our time sorting through the prospects for CF.

In the beginning it was Lenny Green (61 - 62) to Jimmie Hall (63 - 65) - Uhlaender (66 - 69) - Tovar (70 - 71) Bobby Darwin  (72) Larry Hisle (73} Steve Brye (74 ) Dan Ford (75, 78) Bostock (76 - 77), Landreaux (79 - 80), Mickey Hatcher (81) Bobby Mitchell (82)  Darrell Brown (83) and then Puckett and the group in this essay.  Comparing both ends the Puckett to Buxton is the best, but Lenny Green was really played for us six years and had a line of 270/359/384 - 743.  

Jimmie Hall started out like a HOF and then had a power outage and a downward trend after being hit on the cheek by Bo Belinsky.  (Like Morneau we can only wonder what he would have been without the injury).  Larry Hisle and Lyman Bostock were both good and Bostock became another tragic what if story when he was shot and killed during the baseball season while playing with the Angels.  His line in three years with the Twins was 318/366/446 - 812.

 

[tony&rodney]

Jim Eisenreich for a brief set of games.

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, tony&rodney said:

Jim Eisenreich for a brief set of games.

I had to look up how much he played - 48 games in three years and 32 were in CF.  I know we all expected a lot from him.  He was in 15 seasons as a major leaguer. 

[ashbury]

5 hours ago, Cody Christie said:

Centerfield is one of baseball’s most important positions, and the Minnesota Twins has a tremendous lineage at the position that stretches back to the 1980s.

Imagine how much better the 1965 WS would have gone if the Twins had thought to use a center fielder.

[Doctor Gast]

We should have had some one in aprendship that's ready to sub and learn under Buxton. Lewis has been under Hunter wing but now the focus is SS. Celestino and Martin isn't too far off. We'll have to see who'll stick at CF.  Maybe ending black dominance there?

[DocBauer]

9 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Jim Eisenreich for a brief set of games.

Beat me to it! I may be mistaken, but IIRC, Puckett was promoted because he was darn good but also because hey had to replace Eisenreich on the fly?

What might have been!

[SkyBlueWaters]

 

SABR has an interesting bio of Jimmie Hall, including a Kaat quote at the end, indicating he was a bit disgruntled.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jimmie-hall/

For a while, Hall hit so well it looked like we were set at CF for years.  

Personal favorite, in the entertainment category, is Disco Dan Ford. Mid 70's we had Ford, Larry Hisle and Lyman Bostock all available to play center.  Bostock hit for both average and power. Still so sad, how he died.

 

[twinstalker]

Where's Cesar Tovar, Bobby Darwin, Larry Hisle, Lyman Bostock, WILLIE NORWOOD?

Don't get me started on the ones between Norwood and Puckett (praise on high, Rusty Kuntz).