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Currently, the Minnesota Twins are one of two Major League teams who boast a roster with two MVP winners.  

Joe Mauer (MVP-2009) and Justin Morneau (MVP-2006) have led the Minnesota Twins to three AL Central Division Titles over the past five years.

Mauer already has three batting titles and two gold gloves, while Morneau has been leading the league in hitting for most of the season so far in 2010.

Where would this “Dynamic Duo” rank amongst some of the best in baseball history?

I looked back over the past 50 years of Major League baseball and ranked over 60 pairs of teammates.

In order to be considered, duos had to have at least five seasons together on the same team and achieved either a World Series Championship or a league MVP award. 

The following criteria was used to rank the duos (in order of importance):

• World Series Championships
• Total number of MVP awards
• World Series appearances
• Combined home run total
• Combined RBI total
• Total hits
• Combined batting average

The ranking system does favor teammates with a longer tenure playing together.

The top 10…

10: Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek – 11 seasons, 437 home runs, 1889 RBI, 3555 hits, .299 batting average.

Puckett and Hrbek played their entire careers for the Twins from 1981 to 1994.

They led the Minnesota Twins to World Series Championships in 1987 and 1991.

Puckett, the more decorated of the two, was a 10-time All-Star, earning six Gold Gloves as the Twins’ centerfielder from 1986 to 1992 and a batting title in 1989.

Hrbek was the local boy who grew up in the shadow of Metropolitan Stadium. The soft-handed first baseman had the unfortunate luck of playing at the same time as perennial Gold Glove first baseman Don Mattingly. He was the AL MVP runner-up in 1984 and an All-Star in 1982.

Nine: Robin Yount and Paul Molitor – 15 seasons, 386 home runs, 1964 RBI, 4736 hits, .298 batting average.

Yount and Molitor’s 15 seasons together playing for the Milwaukee Brewers ranks third most among all of the duos in this ranking.

Both players career spanned at least 20 seasons, with each exceeding 2,000 hits. 

In 1982 they anchored the left side of the Brewers’ infield all the way to the AL Championship. They eventually lost in the World Series to St. Louis, four games to three.

1982 was a banner year for Yount, who was voted AL MVP and awarded a Gold Glove for his play at shortstop. That same year, Molitor led the league in runs scored (136) and plate appearances (751). Yount also won the MVP in 1989.

Eight: Alan Trammell and Lou Whittaker – 19 seasons, 428 home runs, 2071 RBI, 4689 hits, .282 batting average.

The double-play combination of Trammell and Whittaker lasted longer than any other duo in the rankings. They played their entire careers for the Tigers.

Trammell and Whittaker led the team to a wire-to-wire World Series Championship in 1984. The team sprinted out to a 35-5 record to open the season, and finished 104-58 to win the AL East by 15 games.

In the postseason, they only lost one game in the first two rounds against Kansas City and San Diego.

Although Trammell and Whittaker were never named league MVP, they did combine to win seven Gold Gloves for the Tigers, while playing over 2,000 games together.

Seven: Reggie Jackson  and Joe Rudi – 9 seasons, 352 home runs, 1161 RBI, 2065 hits, .271 batting average.

Jackson and Rudi played together from 1967-1975, leading a dominate Oakland A’s squad to three consecutive World Series Championships in ’72, ’73, and ’74.

Had Jackson not left the A’s following the ’75 season, this duo would have ranked much higher. Known as “Mr. October,” Jackson won the American League MVP award in 1973.

Although not as famous as Jackson, Rudi earned three Gold Gloves and finished second in the MVP balloting in 1972 and 1974. 

Six: Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones – 12 seasons, 731 home runs, 2330 RBI, 3659 hits, .286 batting average.

Chipper and Andruw are two of the three active players in the rankings.

They played together from 1996-2007, leading the Atlanta Braves to ten consecutive division titles and two World Series appearances.

Although Chipper Jones won the league MVP in 1999, Andruw was the more decorated player in the field, earning 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1998-2007 for his play in center.

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The rankings for five through 10 were extremely close; tweaking the importance of any of the statistics can easily shuffle the order. 

The top five…

Five: George Brett and Frank White – 18 seasons, 441 home runs, 2284 RBI, 4713 hits, .283 batting average.

Only Trammell and Whittaker played together longer than the dynamic duo of Brett and White.

From 1973 to 1990, they anchored the Kansas City infield, leading the Royals to two World Series appearances, including a victory over inter-state rival St. Louis in 1985.

Brett won the league MVP in 1980, while White won the ALCS MVP en route to their first World Series appearance.

Brett had the better offensive statistics. White earned eight Gold Gloves playing second base for the Royals.

Perhaps the most infamous event during their tenure was the “Pine Tar Incident” in 1983 when New York manager Billy Martin protested Brett’s bat after hitting a go-ahead two run home run at Yankee Stadium. Brett had to be restrained by coaches and teammates after rookie umpire Tim McClelland called him when the umpire crew determined his bat had too much pine tar. 

The call was eventually overturned by commissioner Lee McPhail.

Four: Willie Mays and Willie McCovey – 13 seasons, 800 home runs, 2306 RBI, 3558 hits, .291 batting average.

Only the fact that Mays and McCovey never won a World Series Championship kept them from cracking the top three.

Their combined 800 home runs are the most of any duo over the past 50 years. Playing together for the San Francisco Giants from 1959 to 1971, they led the National League in home runs in six of the eight seasons  between ’62 to ’69.

Over his career, Mays would win 11 of his 12 consecutive Gold Gloves roaming the outfield for the Giants.  

In 1962 Mays and McCovey led San Francisco to the only World Series appearance for the duo, eventually losing to AL MVP Mickey Mantle and the New York Yankees.  

In 1965, Mays was named the NL MVP, his second overall and first with the Giants. McCovey, the league MVP runner-up in ’58 and ’62, would eventually win the award in 1969.

Three: Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle – Seven seasons, 419 home runs, 1107 RBI, 1609 hits, .280 batting average.

The M&M Boys , Maris and Mantle only played together for just seven seasons and made the most of them, leading the New York Yankees to five consecutive World Series appearances from 1960 to 1964 and two championships in ’61 and ’62.

They won the American League MVP award three straight years; Maris in ’60 and ’61 and Mantle in ’62.

In 1961, Maris hit a record 61 home runs, a record that would stand for 37 seasons before being broken in 1998 by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.

Mantle played his entire 18-year career for the Yankees, while Maris only played seven of his 12 season with the Bronx Bombers. 

Two: Mike Schmidt and Garry Maddox – 12 seasons, 526 home runs, 1791 RBI, 3055 hits, .276 batting average.

Schmidt and Maddox played together for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1975 to 1986, leading them to two World Series appearances and a championship in 1980.

Schmidt was voted the NL MVP in 1980 and ’81. Over his 18 seasons, he earned ten consecutive Gold Gloves as the Phillie’s third baseman and appeared in 12 All-Star games.

Maddox, known as the “Secretary of Defense,” won eight consecutive Gold Gloves from 1975 to 1982 and led the league in outfield assists in ’75 and ’76 as the Phillie’s center fielder.

One: Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams— 12 seasons, 438 home runs, 1932 RBI, 4067 hits, .311 batting average.

This was not even close!

With six World Series appearances and four World Championships, no other pair was even close to the top rated Dynamic Duo of Major League Baseball over the past 50 years.  

Jeter and Williams played together on the New York Yankees from 1995 to 2006, leading them to four titles in five years from 1996 to 2000.

Incredibly, Jeter has never won the AL MVP award. The closest he finished was second in 1996 behind Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers.

In 16 seasons together, Williams and Jeter each won four Gold Gloves. Williams earned MVP honors in the 1996 ALCS, while Jeter was name World Series MVP in 2000.   

Other notable duos:

• Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, Houston Astros – 11th
• Barry Bonds and J.T. Snow, San Francisco Giants – 13th
• Johnny Bench and Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds – 17th 
• Bench and Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds – 23rd.
• Ken Griffey Jr and Jay Buhner, Seattle Mariners – 33rd.
• Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield, New York Yankees – 39th 

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Who should be the Twins’ third baseman?

Coming out of Spring Training, Brendan Harris had the edge statistically after batting .326 with three doubles, a triple, and a home-run. 

Punto ended the exhibition season with a .233 average, one double, and 12 strike outs. 

When the season opened Ron Gardenhire named Punto his starting third baseman and the debate began.

The answer now seems obvious—give it to Michael Cuddyer.

After filling in for Orlando Hudson at second base in the first game of the Twins’ west coast road trip in Seattle, Cuddyer should be given consideration to be the their fulltime third baseman.

The benefits of such a move could not have been more evident than in the Twins’ 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Delmon Young, Jason Kubel and Cuddyer all homered in the game. Cuddyer and Kubel on back to back pitches in the fourth inning.

By playing Cuddyer at third this allows Gardenhire to play Kubel in right field, Young in left field, and have Jim Thome DH more frequently. More plate appearances for more power hitters. 

This allows Gardenhire to use Punto in a role better suited to his speed and hustle—late inning pinch runner or defensive specialist.

Of course this means less playing time for Nick Punto and more importantly Brendan Harris.

Punto is currently batting .221 and Harris only .170. Combined they have only one home run this season.

Not even close to what is considered a power-hitting position in baseball!  

The downside, there is no downside—it only seems to get better and better! 

At the end of last season, when Justin Morneau went down with a stress fracture in his back, Cuddyer filled in admirably with a .986 fielding percent in 34 games at first base.

Comparing Cuddyer’s career stats to Corey Koskie, the Twins’ third baseman from 1999-2004, helps to solidify the move: 

Cuddyer: .270 batting average, 20 home runs, 83 runs batted in, .941 fielding percent at third.

Koskie: .275 batting average, 20 HR, 83 RBI, .966 fielding percent.

It sure seems like Cuddyer and Koskie were cut from the same bolt of cloth.

Since Koskie’s departure after the 2004 season the Twins have not found anyone to anchor the hot corner.

Cuddyer played 95 games at third in 2005, but was moved back to the outfield in 2006.

Punto, Harris, and Mike Lamb were all given a shot to play third base, and none of them have been able to match the numbers of Cuddyer.  

Who should play third base? The answer is the right fielder in front of us!

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Thanks to Nick Blackburn and Jason Kubel, the hold that the Yankees had over the Minnesota Twins may have been broken.

Going 2-4 against the reigning World Champs, although not as great as we had hoped, is significantly better than the 0-10 of 2009.

Blackburn was the benefactor of three Kubel home runs that resulted in the two victories over the Bronx Bombers.  

As the Twins say good riddance to the Yankees, at least until the inevitable matchup in October, they can focus on ten games against the American League West.

Having already won the opening series of the season at Los Angeles three games to one, the Twins look to get healthy feasting on the AL West.  

A quick glance at the AL West standings may have one thinking they are inverted.

The Seattle Mariners, with the off-season additions of Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins, were early favorites to contend for the AL West title, yet find themselves in the last place.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, perennial powerhouse and winners of five of the last 10 AL West titles, are currently in third.

That leaves Oakland, three games above .500 in second, and only a half-game behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.

Yes, the first place Texas Rangers—a position they’ve held so far for 25 days this season. That’s almost half the 65 days they led the division last season before finishing second, falling 10 games behind the Angels.

Since 2002, the Texas Rangers have only been in first place a total of 218 days—that’s seven of 50 months over eight full seasons of baseball.

This is unfamilar territory for Texas, in a year when the AL West appears to be much weaker than in years past.

Since Ron Gardenhire took over the Twins in 2002, they have been in first a total of 518 days, the equivalent 17 months; more than three times longer than that of the Rangers. 

During this span, the Twins have five division titles compared to none for the Rangers.

The timing could not be better for the Twins, who after losing yet another series to the Yankees get a chance for some redemption against the current AL West leaders.

Following the three games at Target Field with the Rangers, the romp through the AL West continues with a seven game road trip against the Mariners and A’s.

The Rangers, Mariners, and A’s just don’t carry the same sense of intimidation that the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Red Sox did on the recent road trip.

Include the fact that Gardenhire has a winning record against the AL West in his career, and the timing seems perfect for the Twins to regain some of their swagger lost over past 10 games and pad their lead in the AL Central over the Detroit Tigers.    

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Championships are not won or lost in May, but if the Minnesota Twins plan on making a serious playoff run and contend for the World Series this year, the next seven games could tell us plenty.

The Twins embark on a three-city road trip with three games against the Yankees and two each at Toronto and Boston.

Since 2002, when Ron Gardenhire became manager, the Minnesota Twins are 68-104 against the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays—a lowly .395 winning percentage. This is  150 points lower than Gardenhire’s overall winning percent of .546 over his eight seasons as the Twins’ skipper.   

On the road against these teams the winning percentage drops to .333.

It is even worse against the Yankees. Including playoff games, the Twins are 5-26 at Yankees Stadium, a miserable .161 winning percentage.

Based on these historical numbers we can expect the Twins being swept by the Yankess and, at best, gaining a split of the remaining four games in Toronto and Boston, resulting in a 2-5 road trip.

In the same span of eight days, the Detroit Tigers play eight games, six at home against New York, Boston, and Chicago and two road games against the Western Division leading Oakland A’s.

If the Tigers go 6-2 they would find themselves leading the Central Division by half a game over the Twins on May 21st. 

But this year, something feels different with the Twins.

• They lose All-Star closer, Joe Nathan, for the season and Jon Rauch steps in has converted nine of 10 save opportunities.
• Joe Mauer is shelved for six games, flirting with placement on the DL, and his replacement, Wilson Ramos, gets seven hits in his first two games behind the plate.
• Francisco Liriano is considered as a replacement for Nathan, an assignment he turns down. He is then penciled in as the fifth starter and has emerged as the staff ace.
• What at first appeared to be an inconsistent starting staff as emerged a strength for the club, with four of five starters with four victories.

The Twins still have only lost one series all season, having split the past two with Baltimore and Chicago.

Yes, this year definitely feels different, and the Twins have a great opportunity to prove they are for real to the baseball world. Nothing would do that better than a 5-2 record on this east coast road trip.

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The old baseball adage is that pitching and defense wins championships. That being the case, the Minnesota Twins appear to be going in the right direction in 2010.

The starting pitching, led by Francisco Liriano, appears to be the strongest and deepest staff the Twins have had in ten seasons. Four of the starters have spent their entire major-league careers with the Twins. Liriano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey have all been a part of the rotation since 2008.

They average four years of experience with an average age of 27. Baker is the elder statesman at 28, and is in his sixth season with the Twins.

In 2009 the Twins added Carl Pavano, who in his 14th major league season, adds a veteran presence to the rotation.

Comparing the success of the starting pitching in 2010 over the past ten seasons confirms that this is a strong staff. The starters are pitching deeper in games with an average of 6.33 innings per start—the third highest since 2000.

With two complete games already this year, the 2010 staff has more complete games than the 2001 staff and almost half as many as any team since 2007.  

Manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson appear to have increased confidence in their starters, allowing them to go longer in their starts and throwing more pitches.

The starters have averaged 96 pitches per start while exceeding the 100-pitch count ten times already this season.

Liriano has thrown at least 92 pitches in every start and 123 against Cleveland in his last start. This many pitches is almost unheard of for a Twins’ pitcher.  

Gardenhire’s confidence was very much on display in a recent game against Detroit. With the Twins leading 3—2, he sent Blackburn out in the ninth allowing him to get the win and the complete game.

With Jon Rauch having converted eight of nine save opportunities, it could not have been due to lack of confidence in the first year closer.

The pitching staff is getting the job done. It is currently third in the AL in ERA at 3.60, and second in all of Major League Baseball with only 76 walks allowed.

Liriano, at one time considered for closer, has become the staff’s stopper with a 4-0 record and a 1.50 ERA. In three of five starts, Liriano has earned the victory following a Twins’ loss.  

If the starters can continue to pitch effectively and stay healthy, the Twins will cruise to another AL Central Division title and a great chance of getting past the divisional round of the playoffs.

Miscellaneous observations and questions:

• After going seven for eight in his first two games Wilson Ramos has cooled to one for 11 the past three. What will the Twins do when Joe Mauer returns? Could one of these two end up playing third base, adding some power to the lineup?
• With depth in the starting rotation and pitchers Jeff Manship and Brian Duensing appearing ready to join the rotation, is there a chance that Pavano will be playing for his sixth team?
• How long will Twins’ fans have to wait for Justin Morneau’s first Target field home run?
• When will Michael Cuddyer hit his first road home run?

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Winning six of seven series to start the season, the signing of the hometown hero to a long-term contract, and the opening of a new ballpark has many fans thinking World Series.

The first Twins’ first World Championship occurred in 1987. For many fans, this team will always have a special place in our hearts.

This was the first professional team to win a title for the state of Minnesota.

As then second baseman Steve Lombardozzi proclaimed after the Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals four games to three, “We are no longer the Twinkies!”

Comparing this year’s team with the Twins’ 1987 World Championship team provides many similarities—and a lot of hope.

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