The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities moniker for the two adjacent cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Paul Leo Molitor, nicknamed "Molly" and "the Ignitor", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. During his 21-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1978–1992), Toronto Blue Jays (1993–1995), and Minnesota Twins (1996–1998). He was known for his exceptional hitting and speed. He made seven All-Star Game appearances, and was the World Series Most Valuable Player in 1993. Molitor currently ranks tenth on the all-time MLB career hits list with 3,319. He is one of only five players in history with 3,000+ hits, a lifetime .300+ batting average, and 500+ career stolen bases.
Kirby Puckett was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett was instrumental in helping the Twins to win World Series championships in 1987 and 1991. Puckett generally played center field, although he was shifted to right field later in his career.
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr., nicknamed "the Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He spent most of his 22-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Minnesota Twins. A prolific power hitter, Killebrew had the fifth-most home runs in major league history at the time of his retirement. He was second only to Babe Ruth in American League (AL) home runs, and was the AL career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter. Killebrew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Rodney Cline Carew is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels. The most accomplished contact hitter in Twins history, he won the 1977 AL Most Valuable Player Award, setting a Twins record with a .388 batting average. Carew appeared in 18 straight All-Star Games and led the AL in hits three times, with his 239 hits in 1977 being the twelfth most in a season at the time. He won seven AL batting titles, the second most AL batting titles in history behind Ty Cobb, and on July 12, 2016, the AL batting title was renamed to the Rod Carew American League batting title.
Tony Pedro Oliva is a Cuban former professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right fielder and designated hitter for the Minnesota Twins from 1962 to 1976. An eight-time All-Star player, Oliva was an integral member of the Twins teams that won the 1965 American League pennant and two consecutive American League Western Division titles in 1969 and 1970.
Gary Joseph Gaetti, is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1990), California Angels (1991–1993), Kansas City Royals (1993–1995), St. Louis Cardinals (1996–1998), Chicago Cubs (1998–1999) and Boston Red Sox (2000).
Joseph Patrick Mauer is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. Widely regarded as the greatest contact hitter of all time at the catcher position in his prime, Mauer is the only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles, and the only catcher to ever win a batting title in the American League (AL).
Justin Ernest George Morneau is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 220 pounds (100 kg), Morneau was drafted as a catcher by the Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003. Morneau held that position throughout his career and in 2007 became the first Twin since Gary Gaetti in 1987–1988 to hit 30 home runs in consecutive seasons.
Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez, nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators. He was the catalyst who led the 1965 Twins to their first World Series after moving from Washington to Minnesota. The same year he also won the American League Most Valuable Player award.
Ronald Bryan Coomer, nicknamed "Coom Dawg", is an American former first baseman and third baseman in Major League Baseball and the current color analyst and play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs radio on WSCR 670 AM. Coomer had a nine-year major league career from 1995 to 2003 playing for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1999 while with the Twins.
Terry Lee Steinbach is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1986 to 1999, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that won three consecutive American League pennants and a World Series championship in 1989. He played his final three seasons with the Minnesota Twins. A three-time All-Star player, Steinbach won the 1988 All-Star Game MVP Award and caught two no-hitters during his career.
Salvatore Philip Butera is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1988, for five different teams. He was a major-league scout for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2015 season.
Keith Martin Comstock is an American baseball coach and former relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of six seasons, spending time with the Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Mariners. He also played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and several Minor League Baseball teams in various countries, and is currently the rehab pitching coordinator for the Texas Rangers. He is known for appearing on a memorable 1989 baseball card pretending to be hit in the crotch by a ball.
Stanley Gene Cliburn is an American former professional baseball player and current manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was previous the manager of the New Britain Bees and the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, from 2006 to 2009. Cliburn has also managed in the Arizona Fall League and at other levels in the minor leagues. He is the twin brother of former Major League pitcher Stu Cliburn, who remains a coach in the Twins' farm system. Cliburn was most recently the manager of the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League, an independent baseball league.
Below are select minor league players and the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Minnesota Twins:
Thad Levine is an American baseball executive. He is the senior VP and general manager for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball.
Byron Keiron Buxton is an American professional baseball center fielder and designated hitter for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was the second highest-rated prospect in baseball according to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus in 2015.
Maximilian Kepler-Różycki is a German-American professional baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2015. Before signing with the Twins, he played for Buchbinder Legionäre Regensburg of the Baseball-Bundesliga. He bats and throws left-handed. He holds the record for home runs hit in a career by a German-born player.
José Orlando Berríos, nicknamed "La Makina", is a Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Minnesota Twins, who selected him in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.
