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If we were to say who is the best player born in each of the states to ever play for the Twins, who would they be? I decided to do a quick research about this and came up with a rank, based on players’ birthplaces.I tried to choose the most relevant players born in each state to play for the Twins, rather than every single one of them. Because of that, several states will not appear on this list. Also, since these rankings are based only on players’ birthplaces, one very noticeable absence will be Twins great Bert Blyleven, who was born in the Netherlands, to Dutch parents who shortly thereafter moved to the U.S. and raised him in California. Then, I ranked the players of each state by their career bWAR (Wins Above Replacement from Baseball Reference) while with the Twins. The reason for using WAR is solely to simplify things a bit, since it is supposed to be a global metric. I also included some current Twins that I believe have a shot at climbing up their state ranks once their careers are finished. If I perhaps forgot anyone that you consider relevant enough to make one of the lists, please feel encouraged to mention them in the comments section. Also, weigh in on the bigger states discussions, saying who you think is the best. I separated the top five states in number of players, to be discussed. California Roy Smalley - 20.8 WAR Tom Brunansky - 16.1 WAR Rick Aguilera - 15.5 WAR Jacque Jones - 11.9 WAR Jim Merritt - 11.3 WAR Gary Ward - 10.6 WAR Nick Punto - 10.3 WAR Eddie Guardado - 9.5 WAR Trevor Plouffe - 8.0 WAR Dan Gladden - 5.7 WAR Phil Hughes - 5.7 WAR Cali is, by far, the state that has produced the most MLB talent in history. A total of 2,311 Californian ball players made it to the big leagues. Here I found 11 who wore the Twins uniform for a significant amount of time and one thing in particular called my attention the most. How low Gladden’s WAR with the Twins was. Maybe it’s because I didn’t actually see him play on a daily basis, but I always had the impression that this number would be higher. That doesn’t change, at all, his importance in the history of the club. I would give the edge as the best from this list to Aguilera. His first stint with Minnesota was incredibly dominant, resulting in three All-Star Game selections and even MVP votes in 1991. That same year, he was one of the key-factors during the postseason, allowing only one earned run, getting five saves and a crucial game 6 win. Overall, he logged over 500 innings of relief for Minnesota (second most, behind the 579 from fellow Californian Guardado), maintaining a 3.12 ERA. Smalley, Burnansky and Gladden were also invaluable pieces for that 80’s team, but I have the impression that Aguilera’s performance were a bit more impressive. Florida Denard Span - 17.2 bWAR Doug Corbett - 8.3 bWAR Mudcat Grant - 5.9 bWAR Josh Donaldson - has yet to play I believe it’s a given to say that Span was the most relevant player from the Florida list. He was drafted and developed by the Twins, being a part of the organization for nearly ten years. During that time, he lived the final years of the victorious 2000’s team and transitioned into the beginning of the dark years. He was one of the few bright spots of the club in 2011 (cut short due to a concussion) and 2012, relying on his speed and aggressiveness running the bases, combined with a slightly above average hitting (104 wRC+ in Minnesota) and very decent on-base percentage (.357). I added Donaldson to the list because I believe he’s bound to reach at least Corbett, an early 80’s rookie sensation relief pitcher, who made the All-Star Game in his second year, before being involved in a trade with the Angels that would bring Brunansky to Minnesota. Looking back at Donaldson’s past three seasons, he was worth 11.2 WAR. If you include a fourth one to the mix, it goes up to 18.5. And that includes his terrible, injury-plagued 2018. So, expect the Bringer of Rain to climb the ladder. Illinois Kirby Puckett - 51.1 WAR Gary Gaetti - 27.2 WAR John Castino - 15.2 WAR Jake Odorizzi - 4.7 WAR Jim Thome - 4.5 WAR Absolutely nothing to argue about who’s the best here. But my question to you is where can Odorizzi get on that list? Assuming, of course, he signs a longer contract with the Twins, could he surpass Castino? Texas Chuck Knoblauch - 38.0 WAR Joe Nathan - 18.4 WAR Kevin Slowey - 4.4 WAR Ryan Pressly - 3.6 WAR Nathan is a no-brainer here, because of how badly Knoblauch ended his tenure in Minnesota. But, looking at both his performances on the field, I think it’s closer than you might think. Before demanding a trade in 1997 and then , Knoblauch was the ray of sunshine in a very bad team. He was elected Rookie of the Year in 1991 and selected to four All-Star Games through the 90’s. But, yeah, the prize here goes to the best reliever in team history. Minnesota Joe Mauer - 55.3 WAR Kent Hrbek - 38.6 WAR Dave Goltz - 24.5 WAR Jerry Koosman - 11.0 WAR Glen Perkins - 8.9 WAR Paul Molitor - 5.2 WAR Jack Morris - 4.3 WAR I saved the best for last. Just like Illinois, I don’t think there’s much to argue about the top seed. But, boy, can we have fan arguing about the rest! OK, I’ll go out on a limb here and place Morris on second and… Hrbek at third. Morris’s World Series show in 1991, as well as his fantastic regular season, are gold for me. I love Hrbek, obviously, and his career was amazing. But I’ve got to go with Morris’ historical 1991 season. It hurts to not include Perkins in the podium, though. But in my personal ranking, he’s a close fourth. Any surprises so far? Which would be your picks? Have I forgotten anyone important for you? Comment and let us know. Also, here are the other states lists. Alabama Al Worthington - 10.0 WAR Josh Willingham - 4.8 WAR Delmon Young - 1.0 WAR Arizona J.J. Hardy - 1.3 WAR Arkansas Torii Hunter - 26.4 WAR Colorado Taylor Rogers - 6.4 WAR Connecticut Carl Pavano - 5.8 WAR Delaware Randy Bush - 1.4 WAR Georgia Byron Buxton - 9.8 WAR Ben Revere - 3.2 WAR Hawaii Kurt Suzuki - 3.3 WAR Idaho Harmon Killebrew - 60.5 WAR Indiana Kyle Gibson - 9.4 WAR LaTroy Hawkins - 8.1 WAR Iowa Kevin Tapani - 19.1 WAR Kentucky Tyler Clippard - has yet to play Louisiana Scott Baker - 15.8 WAR Massachusetts Greg Gagne - 17.9 WAR Jeff Reardon - 4.2 WAR Steve Lombardozzi - 4.0 WAR Michigan Jim Kaat - 30.6 WAR Joe Mays - 10.7 WAR Mississippi Brian Dozier - 22.7 WAR Missouri Bob Allison - 30.6 WAR Al Newman - 2.1 WAR Nevada Brandon Kintzler - 2.3 WAR New Mexico Mitch Garver - 5.1 WAR New York Frank Viola - 27.0 WAR A.J. Pierzynski - 9.5 WAR North Carolina Jim Perry - 26.3 WAR Tom Hall - 6.7 WAR Zack Littell - 0.4 WAR Ohio Larry Hisle - 17.2 WAR Dean Chance - 13.1 WAR Doug Mientkiewicz - 6.4 WAR Pennsylvania Butch Wynegar - 15.3 WAR Virginia Michael Cuddyer - 12.8 WAR Jake Cave - 2.6 WAR Washington Trevor May - 2.1 WAR Wisconsin Brad Radke - 45.6 WAR 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

7. 2019 W-L record. I think that's the most obvious option. It does give the teams who finished low last year a bit of an advantage in getting the same high picks two years in a row but I don't see any better way to do it.

I think he is really only considered one of the worst because he was so highly regarded in the first place. Had the Twins had some 25th round draft pick work his way up and then ended up with 108 saves and a 4.5 era people would probably say we got more out of him than we expected. But since we traded Smalley for him he was expected to be lights out and he was a tick or two below average. So I think his was a case of perspective as there have been a lot of pitchers grace a Twins uniform that were way worse than Davis. The Twins also had Steve Howe in their bullpen alongside RD in 85

Cool and inventive post. thanks for that! If using "relevance" specifically, I'd say Mudcat Grant got somewhat ripped off. In 1965, he went 21-7, and pitched 2 complete game victories in the World Series, which the Dodgers won in 7. Even hit a 3 run bomba in game 6. I could barely remember Doug Corbett. To be fair, he was a reliever, and made the all star team in one of his 3 twins seasons. However WAR or no WAR, Grant has way more relevance in Twins history.

This list only counts WAR accumulated in a Twins uniform. Winfield only had .3 WAR over two seasons with the Twins at the end of his career.

Let's take a moment to revel in Julio Franco. Unless my math is wrong, he played his final MLB game as a 49 year old. He's Jamie Moyer who hits. He literally played at the highest level until he was almost FIFTY YEARS OLD.