What’s the best roster you can make with one player from each season from the past 26 years?
With the Twins still another few days away from their spring opener against the University of Minnesota, there are only so many “he’s in the best shape of his life” and “fully recovered from an injury” stories that we can handle. I’m hopeful those turn out to be true, especially for Byron Buxton, but only time will tell.
In the meantime, we still have some time to pass while waiting for baseball in earnest. I thought we could do something a little different today.
A couple of weeks ago Russell Carleton of Baseball Prospectus put forward a fun thought exercise:
It’s still winter. Time for a fun baseball game.
1) Pick your favorite franchise
2) Pick one player from each season, 1998-2023
3) No repeated players
4) The resulting 26 players have to form a coherent 26-spot roster
5) Don’t cheat on positionsGo.
— Russell A. Carleton (@pizzacutter4) February 10, 2024
The last 26 seasons of Minnesota baseball have seen both ends of the quality spectrum. There have been MVPs, Cy Youngs, division titles, and playoff berths, but also 100 loss seasons and number one overall draft picks.
Some of the choices are easy, with multiple different seasons to pick from. Which year of Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer fit a roster best?
Others are harder decisions. Who do you choose from the 2019 Bomba Squad or the 2023 club that broke the streak of playoff misery? Who comes from the Total System Failure clubs of the early 2010s?
I sent the exercise to the Twinkie Town staff and gathered their responses. Below you can see what Kirby’s Ferret, James Fillmore, Matt Monitto, John Ke, Ben Jones, and I came up with. (Note: James did this exercise with all left-handed players)
By Year:
1998 (Twins Record: 70-92)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Rick Aguilera
- James Fillmore: 2B Todd Walker
- Matt Monitto: RP Rick Aguilera
- John Ke: SP Brad Radke
- Ben Jones: RP Rick Aguilera
- JohnFoley: RP Rick Aguilera
1999 (Twins Record: 63-97-1)
- Kirby’s Ferret: SP Brad Radke
- James Fillmore: LF Jacque Jones
- Matt Monitto: SP Brad Radke
- John Ke: DH David Ortiz
- Ben Jones: SP Brad Radke
- JohnFoley: SP Brad Radke
2000 (Twins Record: 69-93)
- Kirby’s Ferret: SP Joe Mays
- James Fillmore: C A.J. Pierzynski
- Matt Monitto: RP LaTroy Hawkins
- John Ke: RP Eddie Guardado
- Ben Jones: C A.J. Pierzynski
- JohnFoley: RF Matt Lawton
2001 (Twins Record: 85-77)
- Kirby’s Ferret: 3B Corey Koskie
- James Fillmore: SP Eric Milton
- Matt Monitto: 3B Corey Koskie
- John Ke: RP LaTroy Hawkins
- Ben Jones: 3B Corey Koskie
- JohnFoley: 3B Corey Koskie
2002 (Twins Record: 94-67)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Eddie Guardado
- James Fillmore: RP Travis Miller
- Matt Monitto: OF Dustan Mohr
- John Ke: CF Torii Hunter
- Ben Jones: RP Eddie Guardado
- JohnFoley: RP J.C. Romero
2003 (Twins Record: 90-72)
- Kirby’s Ferret: C A.J. Pierzynski
- James Fillmore: RP Eddie Guardado
- Matt Monitto: C A.J. Pierzynski
- John Ke: RP J.C. Romero
- Ben Jones: RP LaTroy Hawkins
- JohnFoley: RP LaTroy Hawkins
2004 (Twins Record: 92-70)
- Kirby’s Ferret: SP Johan Santana
- James Fillmore: 3B Corey Koskie
- Matt Monitto: LF Lew Ford
- John Ke: SP Johan Santana
- Ben Jones: RP Joe Nathan
- JohnFoley: RP Juan Rincón
2005 (Twins Record: 83-79)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Joe Nathan
- James Fillmore: SP Johan Santana
- Matt Monitto: SP Johan Santana
- John Ke: C Joe Mauer
- Ben Jones: SP Johan Santana
- JohnFoley: SP Johan Santana
Friendly reminder: Johan was robbed of the AL Cy Young in 2005
2006 (Twins Record: 96-66)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Juan Rincón
- James Fillmore: SP Francisco Liriano
- Matt Monitto: SP Francisco Liriano
- John Ke: 1B Justin Morneau
- Ben Jones: SP Francisco Liriano
- JohnFoley: SP Francisco Liriano
2007 (Twins Record: 79-83)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RF Michael Cuddyer
- James Fillmore: LF Jason Kubel
- Matt Monitto: RP Joe Nathan
- John Ke: RP Joe Nathan
- Ben Jones: CF Torii Hunter
- JohnFoley: RP Joe Nathan
2008 (Twins Record: 88-75)
- Kirby’s Ferret: UT Nick Punto
- James Fillmore: RP Craig Breslow
- Matt Monitto: UT Nick Punto
- John Ke: UT Nick Punto
- Ben Jones: RF Denard Span
- JohnFoley: RF Denard Span
You knew Nick Punto would get some love in this exercise.
2009 (Twins Record: 87-76)
- Kirby’s Ferret: C Joe Mauer
- James Fillmore: C Joe Mauer
- Matt Monitto: C Joe Mauer
- John Ke: SP Francisco Liriano
- Ben Jones: C Joe Mauer
- JohnFoley: C Joe Mauer
That’s 1st Ballot Hall of Famer Joe Mauer, to you
2010 (Twins Record: 94-68)
- Kirby’s Ferret: 1B Justin Morneau
- James Fillmore: 1B Justin Morneau
- Matt Monitto: 1B Justin Morneau
- John Ke: RP Brian Duensing
- Ben Jones: 1B Justin Morneau
- JohnFoley: 1B Justin Morneau
2011 (Twins Record: 63-99)
- Kirby’s Ferret: SP Scott Baker
- James Fillmore: DH Jim Thome
- Matt Monitto: RF Michael Cuddyer
- John Ke: RP Glen Perkins
- Ben Jones: RF Michael Cuddyer
- JohnFoley: RF Michael Cuddyer
2012 (Twins Record: 66-96)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Brian Duensing
- James Fillmore: SP Scott Diamond
- Matt Monitto: RF Denard Span
- John Ke: UT Eduardo Escobar
- Ben Jones: LF Josh Willingham
- JohnFoley: LF Josh Willingham
Willingham had one of the franchise’s most prolific power displays in 2012
2013 (Twins Record: 66-96)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Glen Perkins
- James Fillmore: SP Andrew Albers
- Matt Monitto: RP Glen Perkins
- John Ke: 2B Brian Dozier
- Ben Jones: RP Glen Perkins
- JohnFoley: RP Glen Perkins
Perhaps Perk’s best season, but Andrew Albers was one of the few fun things about 2013
2014 (Twins Record: 70-92)
- Kirby’s Ferret: UT Eduardo Escobar
- James Fillmore: RP Brian Duensing
- Matt Monitto: SP Phil Hughes
- John Ke: RP Ryan Pressly
- Ben Jones: SP Phil Hughes
- JohnFoley: SP Phil Hughes
2015 (Twins Record: 83-79)
- Kirby’s Ferret: LF Eddie Rosario
- James Fillmore: RP Glen Perkins
- Matt Monitto: RP Trevor May
- John Ke: LF Eddie Rosario
- Ben Jones: 3B Miguel Sanó
- JohnFoley: RP Trevor May
2016 (Twins Record: 59-103)
- Kirby’s Ferret: 2B Brian Dozier
- James Fillmore: RP Ryan O’Rourke
- Matt Monitto: 2B Brian Dozier
- John Ke: RF Max Kepler
- Ben Jones: 2B Brian Dozier
- JohnFoley: 2B Brian Dozier
2017 (Twins Record: 85-77)
- Kirby’s Ferret: CF Byron Buxton
- James Fillmore: LF Eddie Rosario
- Matt Monitto: CF Byron Buxton
- John Ke: 3B Miguel Sanó
- Ben Jones: SP José Berríos
- JohnFoley: CF Byron Buxton
2018 (Twins Record: 78-84)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Taylor Rogers
- James Fillmore: OF Jake Cave
- Matt Monitto: RP Taylor Rogers
- John Ke: C Mitch Garver
- Ben Jones: RP Taylor Rogers
- JohnFoley: UT Eduardo Escobar
The year of the cave for Jakes
2019 (Twins Record: 101-61)
- Kirby’s Ferret: DH Nelson Cruz
- James Fillmore: CF Max Kepler (yes, CF)
- Matt Monitto: DH Nelson Cruz
- John Ke: RP Taylor Rogers
- Ben Jones: DH Nelson Cruz
- JohnFoley: RP Taylor Rogers
2020 (Twins Record: 36-24)
- Kirby’s Ferret: RP Tyler Duffey
- James Fillmore: RP Caleb Thielbar
- Matt Monitto: SP Kenta Maeda
- John Ke: SP Kenta Maeda
- Ben Jones: SP Kenta Maeda
- JohnFoley: DH Nelson Cruz
2021 (Twins Record: 73-89)
- Kirby’s Ferret: 2B Luis Arráez
- James Fillmore: RP Taylor Rogers
- Matt Monitto: RP Caleb Thielbar
- John Ke: CF Byron Buxton
- Ben Jones: CF Byron Buxton
- JohnFoley: 2B Jorge Polanco
2022 (Twins Record: 78-84)
- Kirby’s Ferret: SS Carlos Correa
- James Fillmore: 2B Luis Arráez
- Matt Monitto: SS Carlos Correa
- John Ke: SS Carlos Correa
- Ben Jones: SS Carlos Correa
- JohnFoley: SS Carlos Correa
The year of the big free agent signing was overshadowed by Arráez’s batting title
2023 (Twins Record: 87-75)
- Kirby’s Ferret: SP Sonny Gray
- James Fillmore: SS Edouard Julien (yes, SS)
- Matt Monitto: RP Jhoan Duran
- John Ke: SP Pablo López
- Ben Jones: SP Sonny Gray
- JohnFoley: SP Pablo López
Here’s how all those rosters shook out position by position:
Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge
Think you can do better? Add your own rosters in the comments!