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I'm all right with that list. Morneau probably 6th. Would have been nice to see what Morneau, Mauer and Oliva would have done without injuries.

Regardless of what happens, can we all just take a moment to soak in the fact that we're asking what we should do with a high-upside pitching prospect that we have no room for because we're loaded with quality pitching? I'm nearing 40 and genuinely don't remember another time in my life when that could be said of the Twins.

I would add Bob Allison to the list to consider. OPS- .827, OPS+127. Plus, a long run with the Twins.

These are definitely the Top 5. I would say Hrbek 6 and Morneau 7... I think Killebrew and Carew are the top two, and then there is a space... Then there could be arguments for how to rank Puckett, Mauer and Oliva (that's the order I would go) depending on how much you value certain aspects of hitting.

Wait... Max Kepler went on the DL for a long period of time and they called up Jimmy Kerrigan instead of Rooker or Kirilloff of Larnach? And Zack Littell and Cody Stashak weren't up??

Having watched them all many times, I'd agree with your order.

No sense in trading Thorpe. No one will pay up for his real value given his '19 MLB stats and '20 spring training stats.

Today's fun fact: Harmon won that episode of Home Run Derby, earning $2,000. His salary for that year, 1959, was $9,000.

I think this list is probably correct. I would like to see the next 5. Guessing Morneau, Hrbek, Knobby, then I guess it gets muddled as you have to weigh in years of service (Torii) vs. very good short runs (like Bostock, Mack, Hisel). Probably a good debate.

Any G.O.A.T discussion is difficult when comparing across eras. The ball, game and strategies vary from decade to decade, and even year to year. With this in mind, who are the five best Twins hitters of all time? *All-time Twins rankings are with a minimum of 3,000 plate appearances for the club* My rankings:5. Joe Mauer Seasons with Minnesota: 15 Batting line: .306/.388/.439 Drafted first overall in 2001, Mauer, the hometown kid, had high expectations entering the big leagues. He certainly delivered. From 2004 to 2010, Mauer hit a ridiculous .327/.407/.481 with 81 home runs in 836 games. He won the MVP Award in 2009 after leading baseball in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444), slugging percentage (.587), and OPS (1.031). His OPS+ of 171 ranks fourth all-time in Twins history and is tied with Buster Posey for the fourth best season ever by a catcher. Mauer’s patience and hit tool were nearly unforeseen, and especially for a catcher. He finished his career with less than 100 more strikeouts (1,034) than walks (939), and his .388 on-base percentage ranks third behind Rod Carew and Chuck Knoblauch. His final five years are exaggerated because of the massive contract and switch to first base, but Mauer still hit .278/.359/.388 and was an above-average hitter with an OPS+ of 105. Mauer didn’t really get the supporting cast to bring a World Series to Minnesota, but Phil Cuzzi didn’t help either. 4. Tony Oliva Seasons with Minnesota: 15 (1962-1976) Batting line: .304/.353/.476 “Tony O” spent his entire career with the Twins. Oliva won Rookie of the Year in the Twins’ inaugural season after hitting .323/.359/.557 with 32 homers. Oliva led the league in batting average, hits, runs, doubles, and total bases. He wouldn’t surpass the 30 homer threshold for the rest of his career, but still ranks fourth in Twins history in home runs (220). Oliva won the batting title again in 1964, 1965, and 1971. In his eight year stretch of consecutive All-Star appearances from 1964-1971, Oliva hit .313/.360/.507 with an average OPS+ of 140. He received MVP votes in all eight seasons and ranks just behind Killebrew in offensive WAR among Twins during that span (37.4). A contact king, Oliva walked at just a 6.5% rate and struck out in 9.9% of his plate appearances in his heyday. In 13 postseason games, Oliva hit .314/.340/.588 with 3 homers. 3. Kirby Puckett Seasons with Minnesota: 12 Batting line: .318/.360/.477 Puck entered the league in 1984 and displayed little to no power. He hit .292/.325/.363 with just four home runs in his first 289 games. In 1986, Kirby burst out with 31 homers and a .903 OPS and was voted into his first of 10 consecutive All-Star Games. From 1987 to 1991, Puckett hit .330/.368/.492 with 88 home runs in 772 games. He was far-and-away the Twins’ leader in offensive WAR (26.1) and RBI (474) during that span. Puckett, while a consistently great hitter, is best known for his postseason heroics. In over 100 playoff plate appearances, Puckett hit .309/.361/.536 with 10 extra-base hits and 16 RBI. Kirby hit .357 to help the Twins secure their first World Series in 1987. On October 6, 1991, Puckett went 3-for-4 in an elimination Game 6 against Atlanta in the World Series. Oh, and he also hit the biggest home run in franchise history in that same game. 2. Harmon Killebrew Seasons with Minnesota: 14 (1961-1974) Batting line: .260/.383/.518 Killer’s power was video-game like. He hit over 40 home runs in seven seasons and ranks 12th all-time with 573 in his career. In his first season after the Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961, Killebrew hit .288/.405/.606 with 46 home runs. No one in baseball hit more homers during the 1960s than Killer (393). Killebrew owns the 4th highest on-base percentage in Twins history (.383) because of his immense hitting ability and strong 16% walk rate. Killer led the league in walks four times and was intentionally walked more than any Twin ever (152). Killebrew leads Twins history in slugging percentage (.518), OPS (.901), homers (475), and RBI (1,325). In 1969, Killer appeared in all 162 games and hit .276/.427/.584 with 49 home runs. He won the MVP award and barely saw any strikes in an ALCS sweep at the hands of Baltimore. Here are the highest OPS+ seasons in Twins history: 1. Rod Carew - 1977 (178) 2. Harmon Killebrew - 1969 (177) 3. Harmon Killebrew - 1967 (173) 4. Joe Mauer - 2009 (171) 5. Nelson Cruz - 2019 (166) 6. Bob Allison - 1964 (163) 7. Harmon Killebrew - 1961 (162) 8. Harmon Killebrew - 1970 (159) T-9. Harmon Killebrew - 1966 (157) T-9. Rod Carew - 1975 (157) 1. Rod Carew Seasons with Minnesota: 12 (1967-1978) Batting line: .334/.393/.448 Rodney Cline won the batting title seven times and hit over .300 in 15 of his 19 seasons. Carew is the Twins’ all-time leader in average (.334), on-base percentage (.393), and offensive WAR (63.8). In his prime from 1972 to 1978, Carew dominated baseball with a .350 average. The 38 point difference between Carew and the second-placed Pete Rose was more than that of Rose and the 20th-ranked Reggie Jackson. Carew’s banner season was his MVP campaign in 1977. In his age-31 and second to last season in Minnesota, Carew hit .388/.449/.570 and led the league in hits, runs, batting average, on-base percentage, triples, OPS and WAR. Carew finished his career with 3,053 hits, including 445 doubles, 112 triples and 92 home runs. Unfortunately, he never appeared in a World Series and hit just .220/.291/.300 in 14 career postseason games. Carew was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991 after receiving 401 of 443 votes on the first ballot. Here are the top 10 offensive WAR seasons in Twins history: 1. Carew - 1977 (8.9) 2. Carew - 1974 (8.3) 3. Killebrew - 1969 (7.9) 4. Mauer - 2009 (7.7) T-5. Carew - 1975 (7.5) T-5. Knoblauch - 1996 (7.5) 7. Killebrew - 1967 (7.3) T-8. Puckett - 1988 (7.1) T-8. Killebrew - 1966 (7.1) 10. Carew - 1979 (7.0) What do you think? Who are the the five best Twins hitters ever? Comment 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

It looks like you're having fun. I used to play aPBA and really enjoyed it even though it was far from realistic.

A. That sucks for Kepler and B. How in the hell is a torn calf only a 1-2 month recovery?!

I sure hope Donaldson doesn't have a slow start (assuming there is a start). Nice job on this by the way.

My gut reaction was to easily agree with you, but then I discovered that Hrbek had an OPS+ of 128 in 1747 games and Mauer 124 in 1858 games. In fact, in OPS plus, Hrbek's 128 is even above Puckett's 124. Looking at OPS+ in Twins years only gives us Killebrew (148), Carew (137), Oliva (131), Hrbek (128), Mauer and Puckett (124).

In regards to Thorpe not being happy and venting on twitter. However poorly worded his statements may have been there is nothing wrong with Thorpe being upset with being demoted. I am happy with him not liking to be demoted. airing out on Twitter seems to be the young person thing to do. that seems to be the new way of the world On Thorpe being behind other prospects. He has pitched in the majors, the others have not sniffed AA. 10 years from now they might be better major league pitcher, you need to worry about this year. I can't remember the last time the Twins used less than 8 starters through the year. There has to be a plan b,c,d, and e On Thorpe as trade bait. If the deal is good the team should do it. The deal should be for a starter better than a middle of the order starter.

Totally agree with above two comments. Thorpe presents an interesting case. He appears to be on the verge of a strong career, however the entire Spring rose up as an obstacle. The Twins would be foolish to move him at this time and Thorpe certainly could resurrect his position quickly when he gets the opportunity. Now is a good time for the young left hander to recover his pursuit of being a starting pitcher in the major leagues. I see promise of a strong number three pitcher from Thorpe. Although there is little information to lead to such speculation, I wonder if he has some difficulty with U.S. culture. Australia is definitely different, yet to play at the highest level foreign players must leave their home culture. The Twins have a number of players in such a situation which may provide support for him but individuals each face their own personal dilemmas. Let's hope Lewis Thorpe is a mainstay in the Twins rotation for a decade.

Like everyone else I also hope your pessimism is wrong. Just tossing out a couplethings I've heard and learned today: 1] Who knows how accurate these reports are, but it has been reported that taking the preventative steps now in our country have provided positive results elsewhere to slow/diminish the Corona virus. Let's hope this is true, and NOT just for sports. 2] While many see Nebraska/Lincoln/Omaha as only fly-over territory, we have an AMAZING sports history and fan base. We also have award winning sports talk radio and a couple of the most respected hospitals in the country. Dr. Mark Rupp, a well respected expert in this area here in Omaha at UNMC answered questions pertaining to the Corona virus. While there was no way Dr. Rupp could offer up anything remotely approaching guarantees/answers or overt optimism, he did say a few things that resonated. 1] He stated that the Covid-19 virus...paraphrasing only here...was rather weak and offered little resistance to general things like alcohol/bleach wipes and the such. In other words, good, normal care and cleaning makes it overt. 2] There is a general, hopeful, belief that like most viruses, once the general heat and humidity climb, this virus should also begin to die out. Viruses exist year round, which he was quick to remind, but there is absolutely a "season" for them. And with Spring not too far off, Mother Nature could provide some assistance. Probably the MOST IMPORTANT THING he talked about was a 7+3 rule. And I wish/hope EVERYONE here at the TD family would read and share this information. It's very simple: If you have the Corona virus, or even get sick and wonder if you might, (remember, there are other bugs out there as well), you should remain isolated for a minimum of 7 days, with 3 days fever free and just feeling generally better before you can feel safe to face the world again. If everyone just bunkers down and follows basic rules, and Mother Nature cooperates, a month or two from now, life will hopefully begin to return to normal. That's just me talking. With a little luck, we might even get in half a baseball season. My guess is no fans, playing games in AZ and FL to begin, and moving to actual ML parks come late summer. Everyone be well!

Quick comment: I place little stock in Twitter comments from him as we should all know and allow how off the cuff things like this are. Sometimes such things have a different intended meaning but are interpreted poorly. Also, emotions can make people say or type something they regret later. No excuse, just a perspective. Addressing your 3 points in reverse order: 3] Thorpe could absolutely be included in a deal to help the parent club. I think an awful lot of teams would be interested in a 24yo LHP with good stuff and a very good milb track record who showed flashes in SSS in his ML debut. Despite various reports as to how much the Twins like him, he could be moved in the right deal. Same with Rooker, Larnach, etc. 2] Not sure there is much to say here. At ANY time, a quality arm could be brought up to help in the rotation OR the pen. FWIW though, I've felt for some time if the rotation just didn't work out he could be a neck of a bullpen piece. 3] To say Thorpe has something left to prove at the AAA level would be somewhat accurate, though not exact. His numbers there over 24 appearances and parts of 2 seasons are pretty good. And as you pointed out, he is still only 24yo. Experience wise, he's a 22yo who has already reached the ML level. The Twins seem to really like him and believe in him. And even of you have a couple of really nice arms ranked higher behind him as prospects, you can't dismiss his talent/potential/milb success. I would like to believe that any conversation that took place between he and the Twins when he was sent down included something like: "We really like you and believe in you and your future with the club. But the time isn't right now as we're ramping up for the season. Get yourself ramped up, do what you do, kick ass, and you'll be up again. Hopefully for good."

That 1979 Pittsburgh championship team was very fun and colorful. "We Are Family" was a blast! I need to stand tall for those uniforms - they were totally awesome! Especially the hats.

Just a point of FYI for everyone, we have a whole other forum to discuss non-baseball related things, called the Sports Bar, found here: http://twinsdaily.com/forum/12-the-sports-bar/ And there is a thread in there, ‘Current TV’, to discuss any or all the shows you want. Or, if you want a specific discussion on a specific show, feel free to start your own discussion topic. Or any topic that isn’t baseball, for that matter.

I don't think anyone looked right in the Pirates uniforms in those days.

I would add Justin on the White Sox. PS Harmon on the Royals looks all sorts of wrong, but it allows for one of my favorite trivia questions: What team did Killebrew hit his last HR against? The Twins.

The social aspects of ballpark evolution is interesting. But, for my two cents, I like it mixed with the competition ramifications of the evolution, as well. From 'original' ballparks (which had huge dimensions...sometimes not even having outfield fences)...to 'modern' parks that sprung up in the teens and twenties (which tended to be small)...to the era of 'mulit-purpose' parks (which tended to be bigger again, and often had artificial turf)...to the latest trend which hearkens back to the 'modern' parks built close to a century ago. This aspect of park evolution has dictated how 'great' has been defined through baseball's history...and is one of the primary reasons it's pretty impossible to compare players across generations.

Does he talk about the financial and social segregation aspects of new ballparks? At the Met, everyone was essentially together. Some tickets were more expensive than others, of course, but it was a communal experience and if you put up the price of a box seat you could be sitting next to a CEO. The Metrodome allowed for private boxes, which created huge revenues for the club(s) and allowed the privileged to drink better liquor, eat better food, and avoid mingling with the masses. Target Field extended this model to include not only private boxes, but segregated the entire section behind home plate. Again, more revenue and more tiers of social segregation. Attending baseball games, like so many other activities, has become much less of a "shared social experience" in the last 50 years. Perhaps a small cause, or perhaps a small result, of the polarization that is so apparent in our economics and our politics.