Who Belongs on the Minnesota Twins Mount Rushmore?

[Cody Christie]

It can be one of the most debated topics for any franchise. Who are the best players in franchise history? Minnesota's Mount Rushmore isn't as easy to design as one might think.

There is some debate over how far back to go into the franchise's history regarding Minnesota's Mount Rushmore. The Twins moved to Minnesota before the 1961 season, but the franchise came from Washington with an already established legacy. They recently discussed Minnesota's Mount Rushmore on MLB Network and included Walter Johnson, one of the best pitchers in baseball history. He never played a game in Minnesota, so it doesn't seem right to include him.

Since 1961, there have been some clear favorites to include on the team's Mount Rushmore. Many of the great players in team history have their numbers retired, including Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Bert Blyleven, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, and Joe Mauer. An argument can be made for a handful of players outside the team's inner circle, but those players are the most straightforward selections for being the organization's all-time great players. 

Founding Fathers
Killebrew and Carew are two of the easiest choices on the team's Mount Rushmore. Killebrew is the George Washington-like figure in Twins history as he came with the organization from Washington and was the team's first star. According to Baseball-Reference, only one Twins player ranks higher than him when it comes to WAR in a Minnesota uniform. Killebrew became the first player to don a Twins hat in Cooperstown as he was a 13-time All-Star and an MVP. 

Killebrew was in his early-30s when Carew made his big-league debut, but there was an evident passing of the torch between these two players. Carew quickly became the team's most consistent hitter and a perennial MVP candidate. He leads the franchise in WAR, which is crazy considering he added even more career WAR in his seven seasons with the Angels. Both Carew and Killebrew separated themselves enough to be locks for the team's Mount Rushmore. 

Just Missed
Oliva and Blyleven played in the same era as the Founding Fathers mentioned above, but their greatness might not have been fully appreciated in their time. Both players had a long wait before being elected to Cooperstown, but each has provided a long-term connection to baseball in the Upper Midwest. Blyleven is in the conversation for best pitcher in team history with players like Brad Radke, Johan Santana, and Jim Kaat. Oliva might be the best pure hitter in team history, but injuries kept him from reaching his full potential. An argument can be made for both players to be on the team's Mount Rushmore, but for me, they fall just short. 

Hrbek is a Minnesota legend, and he ranks in the top-8 for franchise WAR. He provided some of the most important World Series moments in team history, including his tag on Ron Gant and his Game 6 grand slam in 1987. Like Oliva and Blyleven, he has become part of the baseball culture in Minnesota, but it isn't enough to include him on the team's Mount Rushmore. 

Final Spots
No history of the Minnesota Twins is complete without Kirby Puckett. Even with an injury-shortened career, he ranks fourth in franchise WAR. He also provided some of the most dramatic moments in arguably the greatest World Series of all time. Some may move him off the franchise's Mount Rushmore due to his off-the-field issues, but many in Twins Territory still see him as a hero. Puckett gets one of the four spots for his Hall of Fame career on the field while still acknowledging that he was far from perfect off the field. 

For the final spot, Joe Mauer gets the nod over some of the other Twins legends. According to Baseball-Reference, he only ranks behind Carew and Killebrew in franchise WAR. Mauer is not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame, but his case is strong for induction when he appears on the ballot. He was one of the league's best hitters while playing a grueling defensive position. According to JAWS, Mauer ranks as the seventh-best catcher in baseball history, and his seven-year peak puts him in the top five. He's a franchise great that deserves Mount Rushmore recognition. 

Who would you put on Minnesota's Mount Rushmore? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[PDX Twin]

Last spot is a toss-up between Mauer and Oliva for me. How about increasing the size of the mountain by 25%?

[GNess]

Puckett - Carew - Killebrew - Mauer

[Blyleven2011]

Minnesota  twins Mount Rushmore from 1961 to present ....

Killer , carew , Puckett  , Blyleven  , Oliva and kaat ... everyone but carew played on a world series 

 

Honorable mentions  ...

Sweet music viola  , hrbek  , Santana , perry , Kelly and a few more I'm forgetting  during lunch hour 

Honorable mention but I would never put mauer on because of his inability  to lead his home town team to a world series ,,, I never heard any praise from other players that mauer helped me with this and that , but players would say how Puckett,  carew , Oliva,  hunter ,cuddyer helped their careers ,  

Mauer is my opinion  and lots of folks loved him 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

45 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Minnesota  twins Mount Rushmore from 1961 to present ....

Killer , carew , Puckett  , Blyleven  , Oliva and kaat ... everyone but carew played on a world series 

 

Honorable mentions  ...

Sweet music viola  , hrbek  , Santana , perry , Kelly and a few more I'm forgetting  during lunch hour 

Honorable mention but I would never put mauer on because of his inability  to lead his home town team to a world series ,,, I never heard any praise from other players that mauer helped me with this and that , but players would say how Puckett,  carew , Oliva,  hunter ,cuddyer helped their careers ,  

Mauer is my opinion  and lots of folks loved him 

I heard Morneau tell about Mauer helping him to stop partying so much and to take his job seriously and go about his business the right way. 

[Doctor Gast]

On my Mt Rushmore are

#1 is Tony Oliva, because he gave his all for the Twins. Not only did he spent his entire playing career with the Twins, helped bring the Twins to the World Series, many All-Star games, he coached many years, still he goes to spring traing and anyway he can he promotes the Twins.

#2 Harmon Killebrew, most of his HRs were hit in MN, he help bring the Twins to the World Series, many All-star games. 

#3 Rod Carew, many hits, many stolen homes, many All-Star games- negative no World Series.

#4 Kirby Puckett, great short career with the Twins and brought us a World Series Championship

All are in the HOF.

Just missed is Joe Mauer, he spent his entire career with the Twins, many All-Star games, he's home grown but he never brought the Twins to the World Series. He should eventually get to the HOF.

[Unwinder]

I hope Buxton renders the Oliva/Mauer split moot in the next few years.

[gunnarthor]

Killer, Carew, Puckett are absolute locks. I'd probably go with Mauer over Oliva but might consider Santana over both of them.

[Longdistancetwins]

27 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I heard Morneau tell about Mauer helping him to stop partying so much and to take his job seriously and go about his business the right way. 

I suspect this is very, very true:  I heard well-placed rumors at the time that the minor- league Morneau was not at all respected by his teammates.  And somehow he turned into the model of good guy as a major leaguer.  Thanks, Joe!

[jmlease1]

1 minute ago, gunnarthor said:

Killer, Carew, Puckett are absolute locks. I'd probably go with Mauer over Oliva but might consider Santana over both of them.

Same. It's tough for that last spot. Mauer's a HoFer who played his whole career for the hometown team, so I think he gets the vote, but I really want to find a way to chisel Johan in there.

it feels a little strange to only have 1 guy from the 87 & 91 title winners, but the next best choice is really Hrbek, who while a bit underrated nationally and lovable as he is, just isn't really in the same class as the others. I think Mauer is the 4th, but Johan is dang close for me because he was so amazing as a Twin.

[RJA]

I'm with Doctor Gast.  Killebrew, Oliva, Carew, and Puckett.  Killebrew is the greatest power hitter the Twins have ever had and helped get them to the Series.  Oliva was one of the best all around players of his era, and absent his injuries was a first ballot type candidate for the Hall.  Plus, he has given his whole life to the Twins and their players and fans.  Carew is one of the best pure hitters in the history of the game.  Puckett was not only a fantastic player, but probably the best leader the Twins have ever had. And, a world champion. If you created a mini Mt. Rushmore, I would put Santana, Kaat, Mauer, and Blyleven on it.  Best current bets 10-15 years from now--Buxton and Polanco.

[mikelink45]

2 hours ago, gunnarthor said:

Killer, Carew, Puckett are absolute locks. I'd probably go with Mauer over Oliva but might consider Santana over both of them.

Not long enough - there has to be some credit given to years with the Twins.  I would give Kaat the nod over Santana for that reason.

[Jacksson]

Got to agree with Killebrew, Carew, Oliva & Puckett.

[wsnydes]

This one is pretty easy for me.  

Punto, Hocking, Ford and Tyner.

[wsnydes]

Killebrew, Carew, Puckett and Mauer.

[TopGunn#22]

I mentally wrote down who my 4 were before I read the piece.  Tony O is my favorite Twin of all time, but Killebrew, Carew, Puckett and Mauer are the four.

[DocBauer]

I hate discussions like this, even though they are fun and interesting, because it's almost impossible to pick 4. And hell, we could even make a Rushmore based on ONLY being a Twin, or maybe a 75 % career Twin, etc.

Be that as it may be...my grudging $.02.

I LOVE me some Bert. He is one of the greatest SP in Twins history. And to this day I believe he should have been in the HOF way before he was. BUT...he had a lot of his career outside of wearing a Twins uniform. And despite being a Twins player, broadcaster and ambassador I'm going to have to leave him off the list. [Yuck!]

Killer, Carew, and Puckett are so obvious and for so many reasons that I just stop there.

At 56yo, Oliva is a Twins LEGEND that my youth remembers only for his last few years as a Twin, as a ballplayer. I absolutely know his career as a player, a coach, an instructor, and an ambassador. I've always felt he was such an amazing ballplayer and producer of amazing numbers he never should have been penalized for injuries that cut his career short. He ABSOLUTELY was deserving of being in the HOF way before he was.

Mauer isn't just a good story as the "hometown kid who did good". For 6+ years it could be argued he was one of the best catchers in the history of MLB. He did some things NEVER done before in ML history before his concussions. He, and Oliva, suffer from a "well you didn't do it for 10yrs due to I jury" syndrome. But as much as I adore and respect Oliva, I think I have to place Mauer for the 4th spot for what he did while at the catcher position.  

[Longdistancetwins]

1 hour ago, wsnydes said:

This one is pretty easy for me.  

Punto, Hocking, Ford and Tyner.

Lew, not Dan…

[Nine of twelve]

Warning: curmudgeon alert.

Just because a little hill in South Dakota was altered by having four faces carved into it doesn't mean we should have to choose four and only four best or favorite or most important players. It is unreasonably arbitrary. And the idea of eliminating the most significant player (by far) in franchise history from consideration just because the owner of a family business moved his headquarters to another location makes it even more unreasonably arbitrary. I can't do it.

OK, thanks for letting me vent.

[wsnydes]

30 minutes ago, Longdistancetwins said:

Lew, not Dan…

Obviously, duh! 

[DJL44]

42 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

the owner of a family business moved his headquarters to another location

That comment makes it easy. Carl Pohlad and his two kids. Nobody else could afford to put their faces on a mountain.

[TopGunn#22]

Well, 9 of 12 is speaking of Walter Johnson (I know you know this DJL44).  This is what makes it interesting in how you frame this question.  "The Big Train" is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, not just of this franchise.  But I thought it was framed that for THIS exercise, we would only consider Minnesota Twins players from 1961 to present.  Otherwise, Johnson is up there and Joe Mauer probably isn't.  This is very much like considering a "Dodgers" Mount Rushmore.  Do you separate Brooklyn from L.A. ?  If you do, Things get MUCH tougher for their Mt. Rushmore.  Or a Giants Mt. Rushmore between New York & San Francisco.  What makes the Twins question so tough is that the became the Twins and the Senators had another iteration as an expansion team.  At least the Dodgers and Giants remained the Dodgers and Giants.    

[Jeff A]

Mine would be Killebrew, Carew, Oliva, and Puckett.  But if you put Mauer there in place of Oliva or Puckett, I can't say that you're wrong.

[kenbuddha]

13 hours ago, wsnydes said:

Punto, Hocking, Ford and Tyner.

You've gotta get a t-shirt with that on it ala John, Paul, George and Ringo.

[C_frommn]

Twins Mount Rushmore 1961 to present;

Killebrew , Carew, Oliva, Blyleven with Pucket coming up short because rushmore only had space for Four, Now I expect a lot of negative feed back but I was in the stands for the Twins first season and was lucky enough to see Carew steal home talk about beating a team mentally that did. I put Oliva ahead of Puckett my best friends son will be pissed because he is a Pucket Mania kinda guy. We me and him went to alot of games sat in Sec.107 to watch Kirby climb the wall and snatch homeruns and Victory back for his team. But all that being said I personally was never happier then Tony getting into the HOF.

 

[Original_JB]

Louise Pohlad, without whom we probably wouldn't be having this discussion.

Tony O. The smile alone. Our version of Mr. Baseball

Hrbek The "one of us" made good

Killer 'from the beginning'

Puckett 'climb on my back' and 'we'll see you tomorrow night"

Other than being a good player, Mauer just doesn't instill or evoke emotions in me the way gazing at such a monument should.

 

 

 

[Rosterman]

There's just so many out of the near 900. Hard enough to find room for the retired numbers, let alone when do we stop with the Twins Hall of Fame!

[BD57]

Do a Washington Senators (the real ones, not the expansion team created after the real ones came to Minnesota) Rushmore for Big Train & the like.

A "Twins" Rushmore should focus on "Twins" players.

Killebrew & Carew are locks.

Kirby too, although there's an "on the one hand, on the other" to it:

On the one hand, Kirby was front & center in both World Championships.

On the other hand, his impact on the franchise was limited because he career was cut short, and then we lost him so soon afterward.

Bert is certainly important, but can we really say his career was centered on Minnesota?   10 of 22 seasons in Minnesota . . . 

Shouldn't a "Twins Rushmore" candidate be associated primarily with the Twins?

(Rod was 12 of 19 years)

Mauer did things no catcher had done.  That he wasn't part of a WS winner . . . one guy can't carry a whole team.   

I can only imagine what Mauer & Morneau would've done if neither had ever been hit by concussions.  

I think it's Killebrew, Carew, Puckett & Mauer.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

On 3/2/2022 at 2:52 PM, Longdistancetwins said:

I suspect this is very, very true:  I heard well-placed rumors at the time that the minor- league Morneau was not at all respected by his teammates.  And somehow he turned into the model of good guy as a major leaguer.  Thanks, Joe!

Morneau told this in an interview in the broadcast booth either before or shortly after his Twins HOF award was given He said he had too much to drink the night before and still got two hits the next day, while hung over. Mauer told him that he needed to be better prepared for the games and not play hung over, Morneau told Mauer that it didn't affect him because he had gotten two hits. Mauer said," yea, but how many more could you have gotten if you hadn't been hung over?" That got Morneau's attention and he said he started going about his business the right way. He was praising Mauer as he told this story.  I really like both of those guys.

[Minny505]

I was not around to see Oliva, but I'm really surprised at so many people here taking him over Mauer.

Even looking back now at their careers on B-Ref, the performance of these two guys is like comparing Justin Morneau to Kent Hrbek. Mauer was a markedly better player. 

It is said by many pop culture observers that we are in an age of nostalgia. This would certainly follow that trend.