Ten-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner Kirby Puckett was the eighth player in history to collect four hits in his major league debut. He is one of eight players in history to lead their league in hits for three consecutive seasons, and one of only four players with two 6-hit games (the only one since 1935).
Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven recorded 3,701 strikeouts during his 22-year career, fifth-most in major league history behind Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and 1987 teammate Steve Carlton.
Longtime Twins organization equipment manager, trainer, and clubhouse attendant Wayne “Big Fella” Hattaway got his first job in baseball in 1952 at age 12, serving as bat boy for his hometown Mobile Bears.
Jim Thome hit .314 with 218 hits, 61 home runs, and 156 RBI in 196 career games vs. the Twins. That’s his highest average vs. any team he played at least 30 games against, second-most home runs (66 vs. Detroit), and the most hits and RBI he had against any team.
27-year-old rookie Doug Corbett was one of the best pitchers in baseball in 1980. He made his only All-Star team in 1981, and was part of the trade that brought Tom Brunansky to Minnesota in May 1982.
Brant Alyea tied the team single-game record with seven RBI in his first game as a Twin in 1970. He went on to drive in 19 runs in Jim Perry’s first four starts of the season. He matched the single-game RBI record again on September 7 of that year, beginning a team record nine-game RBI streak.
Kevin Tapani won 75 games for the Twins between 1989 and 1995. He had double digit wins each of his five full seasons in Minnesota. Tapani had his best season as a Twin in 1991, going 16-9 with a 2.99 ERA.
1976 Park Center graduate Tim Laudner led professional baseball with 44 home runs in 1981, including a Southern League record 42 at Double-A Orlando, and one in each of his first two career major league games.
1987 World Series MVP, ’88 Cy Young Award winner, and three-time All-Star Frank Viola was one of the great pitchers in Twins history.
Dean Chance won 20 games his first season in Minnesota, including the second no-hitter in Twins history.
Johan Santana went 93-44 in eight seasons with the Twins, leading the league in strikeouts and WHIP each year from 2004 to 2006. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2004 and 2006, the latter unanimously.
Fan-favorite Twins player, scout, coach, and manager Billy Martin was instrumental in the development of several young players, including César Tovar, and, to a lesser extent, Rod Carew.
1969 St. Paul Murray graduate Tom Johnson earned two wins and save in his first three major league appearances with the Twins in 1974.
Twins all-time great Michael Cuddyer hit for the tenth and most recent cycle in team history on May 22, 2009. He became the only Twin to homer twice in the same inning later that season.
2003 Eden Prairie graduate and three-year Golden Gopher Cole DeVries appeared in 21 games for the Twins between 2012 and 2013.
Former Twins stopper Al Worthington was the first pitcher in team history to save 20+ games, the first to lead the league in saves, and provided the most valuable relief performance (sabermetrically speaking) in Twins history on August 9, 1967.
