The American League's (AL) Washington Senators moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season and renamed themselves the Twins. The franchise has had a successful history since then, and some solid catchers have worn Twins jerseys over the years.
This post surveys the best Minnesota Twins catchers in team history based on both career and single-season Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
Keep scrolling to learn more!
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The Best Minnesota Twins Catchers of All Time
A Quick History of the Minnesota Twins
The Washington Senators were one of the AL's original teams back in 1901. After six decades of baseball in the US capital city, the Senators' owner moved the team to Minneapolis after the 1960 team.
This new team, now named the Twins, found success pretty quickly.
The 60s Through the mid-80s
The first game in Minnesota Twins history was played on April 11, 1961 in what resulted in a 6-0 victory over Whitey Ford and the New York Yankees.
Despite the success in the Twins inaugural game, they had a mediocre season in 1961, finishing 70 - 90. That mark was essentially flipped the following year, as the Twins finished '62 with a 91 - 70 record.
Just three years later, Minnesota reached its first World Series. The 1965 Series was a thriller and featured a large number of legendary ballplayers. Despite an excellent performance by the Twins, they ultimately lost in seven games to an LA Dodgers team led by the dominant Sandy Koufax.
The Twins mostly played .500 + baseball for the rest of the 60s, and even reached the ALCS in '69 and '70.
The Twins in the 70s also played .500 + baseball most seasons, as their average winning percentage during the decade was .506. Stars like Rod Carew and Bert Blyleven (both future Hall of Famers) shined during this time.
As the 70s turned into the 80s, however, the Twins hit a rough patch and experienced a period of subpar seasons. To illustrate this point, Minnesota only had a .438 winning percentage between 1980 - 1986.
Soon, the Twins fortunes would change for the better.
Two Championships in Five Years
New skipper Tom Kelly took over the club in 1987. Although the Twins had just come off a bad season, the ‘87 team was full of talent, much of it from young players like Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Greg Gagne.
Minnesota ended up having a strong season, particularly when they played at home. In the World Series, the Twins faced the St. Louis Cardinals and took them to seven games before sealing their victory at the Metrodome.
It was the Twins first championship in team history (not including the Washington Senators 1924 championship).
The next three seasons had their share of ups and downs. The Twins played excellent baseball in 1988 (91 - 71) but finished below .500 in 1989 and 1990.
Then came 1991, in which the Twins finished 95 - 67 and won the AL West. In the 1991 World Series, the Twins advanced to face a dangerous Atlanta Braves team.
The Braves took the Twins down to the wire in the Series. Kirby Puckett was the game six hero, forcing what would go on to be arguably the greatest game seven in World Series history.
Future Hall of Famers Jack Morris and John Smoltz faced off in game seven and had an epic pitcher’s duel, taking a scoreless game into extra innings. In the 10th, Gene Larkin singled home Dan Gladden and the Twins claimed their second World Series championship in five years.
The Twins Since the Early 90s
The following season, the Twins had another strong performance (90 - 72), although they did not make the playoffs. It would be the last season that Minnesota finished above .500 for nearly a decade.
During the 90s, the Twins went 718 - 833 for the decade, good for just a .462 winning percentage.
Early into the next decade, manager Tom Kelly retired and was replaced by Ron Gardenhire.
The next decade (2010 - 2019), the Twins had a 765 - 855 record (.472). The 2019 team was a bright spot in this decade, and their 101 - 61 record was second only to the 1965 club for most wins in a season by the Twins.
Wins Above Replacement (WAR)
Generally referred to as WAR, Wins Above Replacement is a metric developed to measure the overall contribution that a layer makes to his team.
According to the MLB, the following is the definition of WAR:
“WAR measures a player's value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he's worth than a replacement-level player at his same position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent).”
Interestingly, there is a different WAR formula used for pitchers and for position players. Also, the calculation for WAR can vary slightly by publisher, such as Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs.
Still, it is an extremely useful and popular metric since it does such a good job at capturing the overall value that a player provides.
In this article, I researched every catcher that has ever played for the Twins and ranked them by both career and single season WAR, using Baseball Reference as my source. Meaning, I scanned player data going back to 1961 - the first season in Twins history.
What follows is a summary of the top three Minnesota Twins catchers ranked by career WAR, while the second list highlights the top three best seasons by a Twins catcher, ranked by single season WAR.
Top 3 Minnesota Twins Catchers by Career WAR
Please note: The player must have at least 100 games played as a member of the Twins to be eligible for the career WAR list.
#1. Joe Mauer, 55.2 career WAR
Joe Mauer is a future Hall of Famer hands down the best catcher in Minnesota Twins history. The Saint Paul, Minnesota native and six-time AL all-star spent his entire 15-year big league career with the Twins.
Although he had considerable playing time as a DH and first baseman, the vast majority of his career he played catcher. And in 2009, Mauer won the AL MVP award in a season where he caught 112 games.
Mauer was a rare catcher that excelled both offensively and defensively. From an offensive perspective, he had a lifetime .306 batting average and won the AL batting title three different times (2006, 2008 and 2009). Mauer is the only catcher in the history of the MLB to win three batting titles.
Additionally, he collected over 2,100 career hits, approximately 143 home runs, and won five silver slugger awards (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013).
Behind the plate, Mauer won three gold glove awards (2008 - 2010). He had a lifetime .995 fielding percentage as a catcher and a caught stealing percentage of 33%.
Mauer led AL catchers multiple times in caught stealing percentage and in fielding percentage, and he regularly finished top three in the league for a variety of other defensive categories.
#2. Terry Steinbach, 28.0 career WAR
Terry Steinbach is among the best Twins catchers of all time, as his 28.0 career WAR is second highest highest among all current and former Minnesota Twins catchers.
The three-time all-star spent his most productive years with the Oakland A’s before finishing up his career with the Twins between 1997 - 1999.
Over a 14-year big league career, Steinbach hit .271/.326/.420 with 1,453 hits, 162 home runs and 745 RBIs. He owned a .989 fielding percentage as a catcher and gunned down 436 runners caught stealing (36%).
In addition to his three all-star game selections, other notable achievements from Steinbach's career include being named MVP of the 1988 all-star game and earning a World Series ring with the Athletics in 1989.
Though Steinbach came to fame playing on the West Coast, he is a Minnesota native with deep roots in the state. For example, Steinbach played college baseball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and he became a coach for the Twins after his playing days were over.
#3. Butch Wynegar, 26.5 career WAR
Butch Wynegar began his career with the Twins and ended up spending half of his 13-year MLB career with the club.
His first two years in Minnesota were arguably the best of his career.
Wynegar was named an all-star during his rookie season in 1976, and he finished second in the AL rookie of the year award voting behind Detroit Tigers sensation Mark Fidrych.
The following season, Wynegar set career highs in runs (76), RBIs (79), and total bases (197), leading to his second consecutive all-star game selection.
In total, Wynegar collected over 1,100 career hits, approximately 65 home runs and owned a .255/.348/.347 slash line. Defensively, Wynegar had a career .989 fielding percentage as a catcher and threw out 40% of runners attempting to steal.
Honorable Mentions
- A.J. Pierzynski, 23.8 career WAR
- John Roseboro, 22.4 career WAR
- Kurt Suzuki, 19.5 career WAR
- Earl Battey, 18.8 career WAR
Top 3 Seasons by Twins Catchers, Ranked by Single Season WAR
Please note: The player must have at least 60 games played in one season as a member of the Twins to be eligible for the single-season WAR list.
#1. 2009 - Joe Mauer (7.8 WAR)
Joe Mauer's 2009 season was one of the best of any catcher in baseball history.
The catcher for the Twins hit a league leading .365/.444./587 (all career highs) en-route to winning the AL MVP award.
He also set career highs that season in hits (191), home runs (28), RBIs (96), OPS (1.031), total bases (307), and more.
Mauer led all of the AL in 2009 in oWAR (7.7), batting average (.365), and runs created (138), to name a few.
Behind the dish, Mauer had a .996 fielding percentage and gunned down 26% of attempted base runners, leading to his second consecutive gold glove award.
Other accolades from the '09 season include being named the AL's starting catcher at the all-star game and winning the silver slugger award.
#2. 2006 - Joe Mauer (5.8 WAR)
The second-best WAR in a season by a Twins catcher was Joe Mauer's 5.8 in 2006.
The 23-year-old had a fantastic third season in the big leagues, leading the AL in batting average (.347) and earning his first all-star game nod.
Mauer collected 181 hits, 13 home runs, 84 RBI and a .936 OPS in '06. From a defensive perspective, he had a .996 fielding percentage and threw out 38% of runners caught stealing.
Mauer led all catchers in the league in 2006 in range factor/game with 7.58. He also won his first of many silver slugger awards and finished sixth in AL MVP voting.
#3. 2008 AND 2013 - Joe Mauer (5.6 WAR)
Third on our list is not one but two stellar seasons by Joe Mauer. In both the 2008 and 2013 seasons, he earned a 5.6 WAR.
In 2008, Mauer had a league leading .328 batting average, along with a .413 OBP and a .451 slugging percentage.
He collected 176 hits, nine of which were home runs alongside 85 RBIs. Behind the dish, Mauer earned his first gold glove award and led all catchers in the AL with a .997 fielding percentage.
In 2013, Mauer hit .324/.404/.476 and won his fifth and final silver slugger award.
Though his offensive was strong that year, Mauer’s defensive play was particularly impressive. His 1.3 dWAR in 2013 was the highest of his career.
He also led AL catchers with a 43% caught stealing percentage and had a .996 fielding percentage.
Honorable Mentions by Decade
- 1960s
- Earl Battey (4.2 WAR in 1963)
- 1970s
- Butch Wynegar (4.4 WAR in 1979)
- 1980s
- Brian Harper (2.8 WAR in 1989)
- 1990s
- Brian Harper (2.8 WAR in 1990)
- 2000s
- A.J. Pierzynski (4.5 WAR in 2003)
- 2010s
- Mitch Garver (4.2 WAR in 2019)
- 2020s
- Ryan Jeffers (3.3 WAR in 2023)
List of All Minnesota Twins Catchers With a 2.5+ WAR Season
Earning a single season WAR that’s 2.5 or higher reflects a productive year for MLB ballplayers. A number of Minnesota Twins catchers have met or exceeded this mark since the team first began playing back in 1961.
The table below shows every Twins catcher who has had a 2.5+ WAR season.
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Twins Catchers Over the Last 10 Years
Please note: the following list shows all MN Twins catchers by year based on the order of games caught per season for the Twins. Catchers with the most games caught per season start at the top.
2014 Twins
- Kurt Suzuki (primary)
- Josmil Pinto
- Eric Fryer
- Chris Herrmann
2015 Twins
- Kurt Suzuki (primary)
- Chris Herrmann
- Eric Fryer
2016 Twins
- Kurt Suzuki (primary)
- Juan Centeno
- John Ryan Murphy
2017 Twins
- Jason Castro (primary)
- Chris Gimenez
- Mitch Garver
- Eduardo Escobar
2018 Twins
- Mitch Garver (primary)
- Bobby Wilson
- Jason Castro
- Willians Astudillo
- Chris Gimenez
- Juan Graterol
2019 Twins
- Mitch Garver (primary)
- Jason Castro
- Willians Astudillo
2020 Twins
- Ryan Jeffers (primary)
- Alex Avila
- Mitch Garver
- Willians Astudillo
2021 Twins
- Ryan Jeffers (primary)
- Mitch Garver
- Ben Rortvedt
- Willians Astudillo
2022 Twins
- Gary Sanchez (primary)
- Ryan Jeffers
- Sandy Leon
- Caleb Hamilton
- Jose Godoy
2023 Twins
- Christian Vazquez (primary)
- Ryan Jeffers
Complete List of All Twins Catchers Over the Last 10 Years
The below list shows every Minnesota Twins catcher who played in at least one defensive game as a catcher for the team since 2014.
Catchers are listed in alphabetical order by first name.
- Alex Avila
- Ben Rortvedt
- Bobby Wilson
- Caleb Hamilton
- Chris Gimenez
- Chris Herrmann
- Christian Vazquez
- Eduardo Escobar
- Eric Fryer
- Gary Sanchez
- Jason Castro
- John Ryan Murphy
- Jose Godoy
- Josmil Pinto
- Juan Centeno
- Juan Graterol
- Kurt Suzuki
- Mitch Garver
- Ryan Jeffers
- Sandy Leon
- Willians Astudillo
Thank You for Reading
Hopefully you found this article to be both educational and entertaining! Personally, I learned a lot from the time I spent researching and writing it.
If you want to get in touch, please go to the Contact Us page or simply send me an email to scott (at) catchershome (dot) com. I’m always happy to hear from readers.
Thanks for stopping at Catchers Home.
Sources for this Article
- Baseball Almanac
- Fangraphs
- Retrographs
- Star Tribune
Scott Perry
Scott Perry is the owner and lead author at Catchers Home. He's a former baseball player, a current coach, a husband and a Dad. He remains as passionate about baseball today as he was as a kid.