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Top 50 Minnesota Twins

In 1901 the Washington Senators were formed as a charter member of the American League.  While some excellent players suited up in the Nation’s Capital more often than not the team wasn’t very good and would only win one World Series (1924) in the sixty years they played there. 

Washington would lose its team to Minneapolis, who christened the team the Minnesota Twins to lure in fans from St. Paul, the eastern city on the Mississippi River from Minneapolis.  The fortunes didn’t really change as the Twins were bad more often than they were good.  They would finally breakthrough in 1987 winning their first World Series in Minnesota.  They would win again in a thrilling series in 1991 against the Atlanta Braves.

While the Twins own the history of the Senators, they don’t celebrate it as anybody from their own franchise Hall of Fame had a celebrated career in Washington.  Still, this IS a part of their history and our list reflects as much.

Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.  This is a list up to the end of the 2023 Season.
When Rick Aguilera was traded midway through the 1989 season he was hoping to remain a starter, which he was until the end of the year.  That changed in 1990 when he was named the team closer, a move that benefited both Aguilera and the Twins.
A 20 Game winner in 1977, Dave Goltz would win another 76 Games over his career as a Minnesota Twin.  Goltz would have two seasons where he finished in the top five in bWAR for Pitchers and had a sixth-place finish in Cy Young voting in ‘77.  Goltz had a Twins record of 96-79 with an ERA of 3.48.
Patrolling the Shortstop position for over a decade for the Washington Senators, George McBride was one of the best defensive infielders of his day.  McBride had seven seasons where he had a Defensive bWAR over 2.0 and two where he went over 3.0.  Career wise, McBride would lead the AL in Defensive bWAR four times (though granted in a time where this wasn’t a statistic) and as of this writing he is 25th overall career wise in that metric.
Brian Dozier spent his first six years and change with the Minnesota Twins.  An All-Star in 2015, Dozier has brought significant power from the infield position, most notably with a 42 Home Run campaign in 2015.  From 2015 to 2017, Dozier received MVP votes, and he would also win the Gold Glove in 2017 as well as the Wilson Defensive Player accolade in 2013.  Five times, he would finish in the top ten in Power-Speed #, and he was in the top five in Runs Socred three times.WIth Minnesota, Dozier had 928 Hits, 167 of which were Home Runs.
Playing all of his nine of his Major League seasons with the Washington Senators, Jim Shaw may have had a losing record over his career (84-98), Jim Shaw was still a good pitcher who would finish in the top ten in Strikeouts four times and would lead the AL in Innings Pitched in 1919.  He was nicknamed “Grunting” Jim Shaw, as like many tennis players when they hit the ball, he would grunt with every pitch.
A former Rookie of the Year for the St. Louis Browns in 1949, Roy Sievers became an offensive star for the Washington Senators in the 1950’s.  Sievers would be named to three All-Star Games as a Senator and would finish in the top five in Home Runs three times.  In 1957, he would win the Home Run and RBI Title while finishing third in American League MVP voting.Sievers had 180 Home Runs with 823 Hits as a Senator.
There are not a lot of players like Byron Buxton. Buxton first appeared for the Twins in 2015, three years after he was taken with the Second Overall Pick.  Buxton was considered a five-tool player, but that was not the case in the Majors, though he has showed series of doing all of those things at different periods of time. Buxton’s defense was stellar in 2017, a year where he led the American League in Total Zone Runs (29), was second in Defensive bWAR (2.6) and won the Wilson Overall Defensive Player.  Offensively, he only had 117 Hits, but received…
Roy Smalley arrived to Minnesota in 1976 in a blockbuster trade (it sent Bert Blyleven to Texas) and would stay the starting Shortstop for the Twins until his departure in 1982.  Smalley’s best season was 1979 where he was named an All-Star and had career highs in Hits (168) and Home Runs (24).  
A member of the 1924 World Series Championship Team, Tom Zachary would have four seasons for the Washington Senators where he hit the 15 Win mark.  The lefthander would go 2-0 in the ’24 World Series and he finished in second place in ERA during the regular season.  He would later win a second World Series Ring with the 1929 New York Yankees.Zachary's Senators record was 96 and 104 with a 3.78 ERA.
Earl Battey was highly regarded for his defensive acumen and was named a three time Gold Glove recipient.  He would lead the American League Catchers in Runners Caught Stealing three times and Caught Stealing Percentage twice and for four years in a row he was the league leader amongst his position in Putouts and Assists. 
A member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Corey Koskie provided a solid bat for the Twins for a few years.  He would accumulate 130 Hits or more four seasons in a row and would also have a pair of 25 Home Run seasons.   His overall run as a Twin would show a respectable 101 Homers with a .280/.474/.463 Slash Line
For a few seasons in the early 1930’s, Alvin “General” Crowder was the unquestioned ace of the Senator’s staff.  A veteran of World War I, Crowder got his start late in baseball and when he was at his apex in his early to mid 30’s.  He would win 26 and 24 Games respectively in 1932 and 1933, more than enough to lead the American League.Crowder had a record in Washington of 98-69 with 480 Strikeouts.