A Tale of Two Champions- Part One

The 2019 Minnesota Twins are A.L. Central Division Champions! Their last Division Title came all the way back in 2010, the inaugural season at Target Field in Minneapolis.  Let's compare and contrast those teams, shall we?

Catchers:
Joe Mauer was coming off an MVP season in 2009, and while he didn't hit for power like he did the year before, he had another tremendous season for the Twins as their franchise player. Mauer reeled in his 3rd Gold Glove, 4th Silver Slugger award, and 4th All-Star appearance. He slashed .327/.402/.469 , head and shoulders above the other A.L. catchers racking up an OPS+ of 140.

Mitch Garver set a team record for homers by a catcher, and had 31 total dingers for the season, which translated to an OPS+ of 165! Along with Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo, the Twins' Catchers set an MLB record for homers with 44 from that position.

First Baseman:
Justin Morneau was on his way to his 2nd MVP award when his season was cut short by an unfortunate concussion sliding into 2nd base. In 81 games, he was hitting .345/.437/.618 with 18 homers and 56 RBI. The concussion derailed a sneaky stellar career. It would be 4 years before he'd hit above .300 again (actually winning a batting title in Colorado in '14), and like Mauer one year later and Corey Koskie earlier, the concussion altered what could have been an historic season. I still wonder what the post season could have been like with Morneau in the lineup.

C.J. Cron has battled a nagging thumb injury for the 2nd half of the season, and it is a story of two seasons for the righty slugger. Before his injury, Cron was hitting .285/.349/.547 with 17 Homers in 68 games. Since the thumb injury, he's hit 8 homers (one today!) playing in 57 games and his average dropped nearly 100 points and slugging nearly 200(!). The homer today is encouraging, the time off this week leading up to game 1 will be key to determining if Cron will be healthy enough to be a factor.

Second Base:
Orlando Hudson was a big offseason acquisition for the Twins, as the team was moving on from the other Orlando, Orlando Cabrera, who the Twins acquired in a 2009 trade deadline deal. Hudson brought a spark to the top of the lineup and provided timely hitting and some speed.

Jonathan Schoop was coming off a disappointing season in 2018, having split the year between Baltimore and Milwaukee. Schoop came to the Twins looking to have a bounce-back season and re-establish his value. His rifle arm from second base certainly helped the Twins turn more double plays, and his 23 homers look impressive enough on paper. He's managed to be one of the worst hitters in close/late situations, however, and his position as the everyday 2nd Baseman was ceded to rookie sensation Luis Arraez.

Short Stop:
J.J. Hardy came to the Twins in an off-season deal that cost charismatic centerfielder Carlos Gomez. His first season with the team included just 101 games played and 6 homers from a player that was expected to provide much more of both. Whether it was a nagging injury or a clash of hitting philosophy with Twins' coaches, the relationship never quite gelled. Hardy would be dealt to Baltimore for a pair of lottery ticket hard throwing relievers, neither of which panned out.

Jorge Polanco signed a big contract extension during spring training, and responded with his first All-Star selection, and helped anchor the Twins' infield and batting order with exciting play on both sides of the ball. His 186 hits and 40 doubles led the Twins offensive attack, and he finished with a .296 batting average. He set a team record in 2019 for the Highest single season OPS+ by a shortstop, 129. 

Third Base:
Danny Valencia crushes Lefties. The 25 year old slashed .311/.351/.448 in 85 games at the hot corner. against southpaws? He hit .374/.441/.525 as a rookie, and that reputation would be earned throughout his career, and he would move on to a lengthy career with Baltimore and Oakland, among others, playing his final MLB game in August of 2018.

Miguel Sano damages baseballs. He survived a 3-39 slump early in the season, and after re-tooling his swing he has begun to make more solid contact while reducing the number of swings and misses. He missed nearly all of April with a freak injury he suffered in the championship parade of the Dominican winter league, he still cracked 34 homers and drove in 79 RBI in 104 games. Despite having a metal rod inserted in his leg from an injury last year, Sano only grounded into 5 double plays.

Designated Hitter:
Jim Thome spent his age 39 season by leading his team in homers and being the veteran presence among several young and developing hitters. His highlights included passing Harmon Killebrew on the all-time HR list, then Frank Robinson towards the end of the season, but the biggest hit came in August. Facing the rival White Sox, Thome launched a 445 blast that was the game winning homer in the bottom of the 10th. It was the first walk off win in Target Field history, but an MLB record 12th walk off HR for Big Jim.

Nelson Cruz spent his age 38 season by leading his team in homers and being the veteran presence among several young and developing hitters. His highlights included passing Al Kaline on the all-time HR list, recording his first 3-HR game in his career, then his 2nd 3-HR game 10 days later. It was the 4th time he surpassed 40 HR in a season, and his 6th straight season of at least 37 round trippers.

Left Field:

Delmon Young was the #1 Overall Draft Pick by the Rays, and by the time the Twins traded for him, he had been suspended in the minor leagues for hitting an umpire with his bat, and was derided by his critics as unmotivated. The trade to the Twins worked for a while - he led the team in RBI in 2010, and hit 21 homers to go along with 46 doubles and 5 stolen bases. He was a key part of that division championship team, and was better than people give him credit for.

Eddie Rosario was the Twins' 4th round pick in 2010, providing a lone direct link to the 2010 team on the 2019 squad. Rosie led the 2019 Twins in RBI just like Delmon. Another stat that should surprise no-one: Eddie and Delmon are free-swingers. Rosie led the league swinging out of the zone in 2019 with a 45% rate. Not far behind was Delmon's 42% in 2010. Oh, but when they connect! Rosie hit 32 homers in 2019.

Center Field:

Denard Span re-established himself as the everyday center fielder after giving the role to Carlos Gomez the year before. Span had shifted to Right Field in 2009, but was still an above average defender. The move back to Center would be short lived as Ben Revere was on his way. Both Span and Revere would be moving on shortly, as they would both be traded in exchange for pitching when the Twins were desperate to add arms. Span was the team's leadoff man in 2010, and easily led the team with 10 Triples and 26 Stolen Bases.

Byron Buxton came into 2019 following a lost 2018. His season didn't end the way he wanted it to (i.e. healthy), but in stark contrast to his struggles from a year ago, Buxton showed all the tools that make him a game changing talent. In 87 games, he hit 10 homers, stole 14 bases,  and had 30 doubles and 4 Triples. While healthy he was among the best defenders in the league. Buxton's injury history may concern some, however each incident was isolated and can attributed more to bad luck than a chronic condition. Buxton will be primed and ready for a reversal of fortune in 2020.

Right Field:

Jason Kubel was slotted to be a career DH, but the signing of Jim Thome gave Kubel the chance to show his versatility and athleticism. Kubel slashed .249/.323/.427 which may not look impressive, but it was still above league average production. He smashed 21 homers and drove in 92 runs, needed production in the absence of Justin Morneau. He was in the lineup for 143 games, a key stat for the 2010 Twins' outfielders, who all played in over 140 contests.

Max Kepler signed a deal very similar to teammate Jorge Polanco in Spring Training, and like Jorge, Kepler proved it was a smart move for the Twins to lock up their young outfielder. Kepler was responsible for several walk off wins in the last two seasons, including an extra-innings RBI single against a very tough Oakland squad that had pestered the powerful Twins all weekend long at Target Field. Kepler excelled against both righties and lefties, correcting a flaw in his previous seasons by hitting left handed pitching better than he ever had before. Kepler hit 36 homers, and was well on his way to a 100+ RBI season until he had a deep shoulder bruise that has kept him in a reserve role for the last 2 weeks. Kepler is expecting to be back in the lineup for the ALDS against the Yankees.

Part 2 Coming Soon- The Pitchers!