Seven Former Minnesota Twins Eligible For Hall of Fame In 2022

(KDLM) – The National Baseball Hall of Fame released its 2022 Ballot on Monday afternoon and of the 30 eligible candidates, five of them played for the Minnesota Twins.

Gold glove centerfielder Torii Hunter is appearing on the ballot for the second year after appearing on 9.5% of the ballots in 2020. Hunter was drafted by the Twins in the first round of the 1993 draft. Hunter spent 12 of his 19 big league seasons with the Twins, won nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 2001-2009, was an All-Star five times, won two Silver Slugger awards and finished in the top 25 of MVP voting four times finishing as high as sixth in 2002. Hunter is a career .277/.331/.461 hitter with 353 home runs, 1,392 RBI and 1,296 runs scored.

Joe Nathan, appearing on the ballot for the first time, is the Twins all-time leader in saves, including a career-high 47 in 2009. He was six-time All-Star, the 2009 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year, and finished in the top five in Cy Young Award voting twice. In seven seasons with the Twins, Nathan was 24-13 with a 2.16 ERA, 561 strikeouts, and 260 saves in 460 appearances. Nathan’s 377 career saves rank eighth all-time.

One of the biggest What-Ifs in Twins history is David Ortiz, who is making his first appearance on the Hall of Fame Ballot in 2022. Ortiz spent the first six years of his career with the Twins from 1997-2002, hitting .266 with 58 home runs and 238 RBI. The Twins elected to cut Ortiz after the 2002 season instead of paying him $1.5 million in arbitration. Ortiz signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Boston Red Sox and would hit 31 home runs and 101 RBI in the first of five straight seasons in which he would finish in the top 5 in the MVP voting. Ortiz would be named an All-Star ten times, won seven Silver Slugger Awards, lead Boston to three World Series titles (including World Series MVP in 2013), recorded 2,472 hits, 541 home runs, and 1,768 RBI, and slashed .286/.380/.552 in 20 big league seasons.

Justin Morneau was a third-round pick by the Twins in 1999. He spent 11 of his 14 major league seasons with the Twins, hitting .281/.348/.481 with 247 home runs, 349 doubles, 985 RBI, and 772 runs scored. Morneau won the American League MVP award in 2006 (the Twins first MVP since Rod Carew in 1977), and finished runner-up for the same award in 2008. Morneau was a four-time All-Star, won two Silver Slugger Awards, and won the 2014 NL Batting Title while playing for the Colorado Rockies. This is Morneau’s first year on the ballot.

One of the most polarizing figures in Twins history is former catcher A.J Pierzynski. Pierzynski was a fourth-round pick by the Twins in 1994 and would spend six of his 19 major league seasons with the Twins. Pierzynski was an All-Star for the Twins in his full year as a starter in 2002, but Twins fans appreciate him most as the centerpiece of a 2003 trade that brought Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano to Minnesota, and opened up a roster spot for Joe Mauer behind the plate. Pierzynski hit .280/.319/.420 with 2,043 hits, 188 home runs, 909 RBI, and 807 runs scored. Pierzynski was a two-time All-Star, won a Silver Slugger award in 2012, and helped the Chicago White Sox end an 87-year World Series drought in 2005, and is one of 10 catchers in MLB history to record over 2,000 hits. He caught Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter in 2007, Phillip Humber’s perfect game in 2009, and broke Yogi Berra’s American Leauge record for consecutive errorless chances with 962.

In order to gain enshrinement into the Hall of Fame, a player needs to be named on at least 75 percent of the turned-in ballots from eligible BBWAA members. In order to avoid falling off the ballot, a player needs to get at least five percent. Players are eligible to remain on the ballot a maximum of 10 annual voting cycles.

2022 is also a year in which The Golden Days Era and Early Baseball players have a chance for Hall of Fame election. The 16 member committee meets at the Winter Meetings and holds a special vote for players who didn’t make it into the Hall of Fame during their initial ballot years, or who receive special recognition for their contributions to the game.

Two former Twins will appear on this year’s Golden Days Era ballot: Tony Oliva, who missed the Hall of Fame on the Golden Days Era vote in 2014 by one vote, and Jim Kaat. Oliva was a three-time batting champ in 15 major league seasons. He the league in hits five times, doubles four times, slugging once, runs once and total bases once. He won Rookie of the Year in 1962, a Gold Glove in 1966 and was a seven-time All-Star. He finished runner-up in MVP voting to teammate Zoilo Versalles in 1965 and also finished second in 1970. Knee injuries hurt his career numbers later in his career, but he finished his 15-year career hitting .304/.353/.476 and is regarded by many as one of the most dangerous hitters of the 1960s.

Kaat played 25 seasons in the majors, 15 of those with the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins. He went 283-237 with a 3.45 ERA and led the AL with 25 wins in 1966. He was a three-time All-Star and won 16 Gold Gloves, which was the most all-time until Greg Maddox won his 17th in 2007. Kaat received 10 of the 12 votes needed for the Hall of Fame when the Golden Era committee last voted in 2014.

Minnesota native and longtime Fargo resident Roger Maris, who won two AL MVP Awards and broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record in 1961, is also on the Golden Era Committee ballot.