Fairly Ambiguous Former Twins I Think You’d Have Liked

By TwinsWin83

It’s no secret that the 2007 season has been one of great frustration and futility for our boys in red, white, blue and pinstripes. Although it has been a difficult campaign there are still players on the team that are worth rooting for, guys that you want to go to the ballpark to see. The problem with being a Twins fan over the past decade is that anytime you latch on to a player they will undoubtedly become a free agent within a few years and thus become too expensive to re-sign, or traded for several AA pitchers and a player to be named later, and you are left to search the ballclub for a new favorite only to have the same process repeated.

Most folks tend to pick the more visible and popular players as their favorites but when everyone was all about Puckett and named one of their pets “Kirby” I was trying to trade for Greg Gagne’s Upper Deck card. With that idea in mind I would like to attempt to recall some of the more “obscure” (as we like to say here at AH!) Twins players throughout the team’s history. In no particular order (except for alphabetical) here they are:

Brent Aberrnathy- Brent played for the Twins for one season in 2005 and batted .239 which was five points below his 4 year MLB average of .244. Obscure to say the least, he only appeared in 24 games as a Twin.


Allen Anderson- Big Al was 86-91 throughout his career and 49-54 with the Twins. He started 128 games over his Twinkies career and was 5-11 in that all important season of 91.’ Allen was also 1-0 in 87,’ making him a part of the two most historic seasons in Minnesota Twins history.


Wally Backman- 1989 was his only season with the Twins in his 14 year campaign, most of which he spent with the New York Mets. In 231 at bats as a Twin he had one home run, equaling 10 percent of his entire career round trippers.


Alex Cole- Alex roamed the outfield of the Metrodome from 1994-95 with a big glove and even bigger glasses. He hit a respectable .296 in 94’ but was hurt in 95’ and only had 79 at bats.



Mark Davidson- Was a big part of the Twins clubs from 1986-88. Marks career only spanned six years but as a Twin he started 102 games in the magical season of 1987 and batted .267 that year. Although he was a big part of the regular season Mark never got an at bat in the 87’ World Series.

JD Durbin- This guy could have been a big part of the Twins rotation over the next decade. When all was said and done J.D. had only thrown 7.3 innings over four games for the Twins big league club. Because he took so long to develop he became a free agent last season and ended up with Philadelphia where he has gone 6-4 in a mixed role. J.D. was suppose to be the next star to arrive in the Twins organization along with Joe Mauer but hit a wall and never realized his full potential while in a Twins jersey.


Pat Mahomes- Pat was a young and promising right-handed pitcher who arrived on the scene in 92’ following the Twins second World Series title. His first five years as a major leaguer were spent as a Twin but his best year was in 94’ when he went 9-5 as a starter. Thought to be the next big thing, Pat ended his 11 year career with an ERA of 5.47.


David McCarty- This has got to be the definition of an obscure Twins player. David was with the Twins from 1993-95, his first three years in the majors. He hit a whooping 2 homers in 350 at bats in 93’, and three total as a Twin. After 1993 he never played more than 44 games in a season as a Twin.


Quinton McKracken- Quinton spent his only season in a Twins uniform in 2001, hauling in 64 at bats and pulling off a respectable .309 batting average in his short stint. The following year Quinton moved on to bat leadoff for the defending World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks.


Jack Morris- One year? You’re from St. Paul and come home to lead the Twins to a title in the most amazing World Series of all time, you throw a 1-0 10-inning complete-game shut-out in game 7 and you just leave? You deserve to be on the fairly ambiguous list Jack-O. By the way, your Kwik-Trip coffee commercials on the radio are unbearable.


Otis Nixon- This obscure outfielder’s only year as a Twin was in 1998. He played 17 years in the majors but during his 110 games in Minnesota he batted .297 with one dinger and knocked out an impressive 133 hits.

Lenny Webster- Lenny caught for the Twins from 1989-93 during his 12 year MLB career. He was the third string catcher on the Twins 91’ championship team and hit five home runs in his five years as a Twinkie.