The Top 5 Minnesota Twins Players of All Time

5. Kent Hrbek The small town kid with a big heart and body. He was a fan favorite of the Minnesota Twins fans and was a kid at heart. In true Minnesota fashion he would go fishing or hunting on game days and that truly was his first love. Herbie loved to play ball but was also a family man. He could have been higher on this list had he not cut his career short to be with his family and watch his little girl grow up.

4. Tony Oliva He was Mr. America as he was referred to so many times and he lived up to that nickname. He was amazing on the field. He was a great player and a teammate. Tony-O would have been with some of the elite players statistically in all of baseball if he wouldn’t have had knee problems. Of anybody I’d ever talked to who’d met Tony, not one of them could say one thing about him. He played with a smile on his face and never turned down the chance to talk to fans. As much of a fan favorite that he is here, Tony is a national icon in Cuba. He shows a guy who got out of bad living conditions, played hard, played great, and won over millions of fans while he did it.

3. Rod Carew He got 3,053 hits and a .328 lifetime batting average. Who’s not amazed by that? Rod was just as amazing with his glove as with his bat. He always had a solid swing and was one of three hitters ever to get close to Ted Williams .400 season. He is a member of the Hall of Fame and will forever be remembered as an amazing defensemen. Rod Carew was an eye popper and everybody loved to see him play.

2. Harmon Killebrew “The Killer” the people of Minnesota called him, and with a nickname like that you better be amazing. Harmon was the icon of the Twins for half a century. He was a monster of the Met Stadium. Harmon hit 573 home runs for the Washington Senators and then the Minnesota Twins; an amazingly nice guy with a heart of gold. He is a member of the Hall of Fame and will forever be remembered.

1. Kirby Puckett He was the man who stole millions of people’s hearts. Kirby Puckett wasn’t the strongest guy in the world, or the biggest, or the fastest, or the most gifted. He was the best player in Minnesota history. He rose out of the projects in south Chicago through is love of baseball. Most said he couldn’t play professional ball because he 5’8”; they were seriously mistaken. Kirby was the starting center fielder for the Minnesota Twins for a decade. He played the game we love everyday with a smile on his face. He was a great hitter along with being an amazing outfielder; but more than that everyone loved him. Kirby epitomized the state of Minnesota. He was the cornerstone of the Twins winning Minnesota its first two World Series. Kirby became a member of the Hall of Fame in 2001 and died of a stroke in 2005. Kirby was a great player and an even greater man.