Twins Centerfielders: A History

Let me start my Blog with a post on Twins centerfielders.

Back, many years ago, the Minnesota Twins had a player starting in centerfield by the name of Kirby Puckett. You may remember his smile, his hustle, his determination, his non-athletic look or maybe you remember his heroics in the 1991 World Series. Whatever you remember about Kirby Puckett, he was the Minnesota Twins. Towards the end of what would be his career, he named his successor - Torii Hunter.

Torii Hunter soon took over after some centerfield mishaps (remember Rich Becker?, Otis Nixon?) He would soon become the smiling, hustling, determined centerfield that we remember in Kirby Puckett. He was generous off the field and made plays on the field. No matter what your feelings are about Torii Hunter - he took over for a player that was much loved not just in Minnesota - but all across the country.

Hunter soon grabbed national attention with his acrobatic catches. His highway robbery of Barry Bonds in the All-Star game is still shown year after year. He had his years in which he would play extremely well and then he would have years in which he would be injured or struggle. Finally, after the 2007 season, Hunter would find himself in a new position - Free Agency.

Out in public, the Twins were making their move to retain Hunter. In public, Hunter was putting himself in position to stay with the Twins. But, it didn't happen that way. During the offseason, Hunter signed a (we'll just say) large contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Maybe he wasn't the team player that we thought he was, or maybe the Twins just have changed and didn't offer him Kirby Puckett-like Free Agency money.

During the same offseason, the Twins lost another stable on their team: Johan Santana. With free agency looming for Santana, the Twins needed to make a move. It was to sign him to a contract, lose him to free agency or to trade him. For the Twins, only the latter made sense. It was to spend a record amount on a pitcher or to find young guys to "fill holes." They traded him. In this trade, they received several young pitchers and a guy named Carlos Gomez, which is where we are today.

I'm going to preempt these next two paragraphs with a little caveat...it is too early to make a final decision on the Hunter/Santana/Gomez decisions. However...

Gomez has looked very good this year. Sure, he is very liberal in his swings. Sure, he has been picked off a few times. Sure, he hasn't made the acrobatic catches (editor's note: he just made a nice diving grab in centerfield to rob the Chicago White Sox of a hit). But he is young and will make poor decisions here and there.

He has hit well and has made things happen on the bases. He may never fill the shoes of Torii Hunter, but Torii never filled Kirby Puckett's shoes. Nobody will ever give Twins fans the excitement that Puckett gave them in the 1991 World Series. Nobody will ever give Twins fans the jaw-dropping catches of Torii Hunter. But Carlos Gomez will give Twins fans enjoyment and excitement for years and years.