Joe and Kirby Can Co-Exist in Twins Lore

Justin Morneau addressed the throng of Minnesota Twins fans gathered at Target Field on Saturday night. There to celebrate the retirement of Joe Mauer’s jersey, it was the other half of the “M&M Boys” that offered some thoughts. Among his comments Justin noted that Joe’s favorite player growing up was Kirby Puckett. The star of yesteryear is thought fondly of, while the one currently receiving organizational praise is heavily scrutinized. It’s probably time to put down that cause and appreciate them equally.

Puckett was the Willians Astudillo of decades ago. He was the short and stocky athlete that allowed every man, woman, and child to believe their major league dreams weren’t so far out of reach. Puckett didn’t toil away in the minor leagues though, as he was a man who performed admirably on the highest stage. A batting champ, 10 time All Star, six-time Gold Glove winner, and member of two World Series teams, the peak was as good as there ever was. The result was a Hall of Fame induction and years of post-playing career celebration.

The parallels between the Twins hero that was and the one that was before run so deep. It’s in that reality that the need to divide the two remains so unfortunate.

Twins fans will never stop wondering what Puckett’s career may have been had it not been cut short due to Glaucoma. Those same fans will never have to guess what Mauer’s career looked like after a brain injury changed his trajectory forever. One of the two saw his days on the diamond end immediately, only to be instantly celebrated with a Hall of Fame induction at the first opportunity. The other was forced to remake himself, miscast in a new role, and playing on a contract offered under different circumstances. A similar crossroads was approached, but next steps moved the two players in opposite directions.

There’s certainly something to be said about achieving the ultimate goal, a World Series title in baseball. That’s not an individual accomplishment in this sport however, even with the highlight reel offerings provided during both stretches. Puckett contributed to those trophies while Joe was never presented the same opportunity. It’s probably in those accomplishments that the division begins.

Whether you like analytics or not, Puckett’s career was worth a total of 44.9 fWAR, or roughly one spot higher than Mark Texeira on the all-time leaderboard. Joe Mauer topped 50 career fWAR, and while he played three more seasons, the time at first base was largely to his detriment. The most obvious parallel between these two is their injuries and how one was ended and the other was changed.

We’ll get to a point in the next five years where Joe Mauer’s Hall of Fame candidacy becomes a reality. Writers will need to put pen to paper, and the decision will come down to whether a catching career reminiscent of Johnny Bench is worthy of induction. He was the best in the game for roughly a decade, but following injury, played out of position and over his head in a role miscast for his skillset. Where Puckett got benefit of doubt regarding his injury, Joe will be judge because of his.

It’s fair to wonder what if for Kirby. Although he was set to be 36 years old in 1996, coming of an .894 OPS season doesn’t suggest that regression was close. A first ballot inclusion likely would not have been the result, but future celebration was sure to come. The reverse narrative will need to work in Mauer’s favor, and a campaign pushed by those in Twins Territory should be what fuels that fire. Rather than continuing to debate a contract signed under different circumstances, or a personality that didn’t jump off the page, celebrating the greatness that was should be a unifying discussion.

Players like Kirby and Joe don’t come along often for organizations. Even those that are the best rarely sustain that production for this type of length, and for every All-Star selection there is, very few push the envelope towards a Hall of Fame discussion. When each new ballot comes out, and there’s an opportunity for a bronzed cap to be added in the halls of Cooperstown, it should be something we all find excitement in.

Joe Mauer’s favorite player was Kirby Puckett. Puck might have considered Joe one of his favorites as well. You can bet that Kirby is waiting to welcome Joe into The Hall, and its time Twins fans get on board with that movement as well.

Puckett's Memory Defies Analytics

On Sunday March 6, Twins Territory was reminded of a somber event. It was the 10 year anniversary of Kirby Puckett's death. No doubt one of the organization's all time greats, it's tough to fathom it having been a decade since his passing. For everything that followed him in his final years, Puckett represented everything that was beautiful for baseball and the Twins while he was involved in the sport. In talking about him, we may have found the missing piece in defying new found analytics.

The ten year anniversary of his passing seems like an odd day to point out his flaws as a player. While most of them are well documented and understood, the conversation seems best suited on any other day. Regardless, in taking place, we may be through the looking glass in figuring out exactly what the connection is to statistics, analytics, and how players are viewed.

Here's where the talking points got started:

Man, people love Kirby Puckett's career -- to a fault. Rod Carew was better, and you can make an argument for Mauer https://t.co/S5NyE3Z6tl

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) March 6, 2016

And here's where they concluded:

Kirby Puckett was a great baseball player. But he wasn't one of the all-time greats. If that makes me a blasphemer, so be it.

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) March 6, 2016

Now, there's little room to argue that either of those statements in inaccurate. Misplaced considering the event, no doubt, but accurate nonetheless. The point here however, is that Puckett, and the perception of him is actually quite insightful in regards to the game today and advanced analytics.

As baseball has continued to trend towards a game of numbers, and sabermetrics have gained momentum in mainstream media, players are generally evaluated more on paper than ever before. Warne makes that point indirectly without explicitly stating as such.

Kirby Puckett is a Hall of Famer, even despite numbers that generally fall somewhere well outside of that norm. Picking up 10 All Star awards, six Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, he collected just 2,304 hits and 207 homers. He drove in just north of 1,000 runs (1,085), but slashed an impressive .318/.360/.477 over his 12 year career.

A continued notion that his career was cut short due to an eye injury tends to tread water when stacked against the fact he retired at the age of 35, having debuted at just 24 years old. During his 12 seasons, Puckett's 44.9 fWAR ranks him 234 all time.

That brings us to current Twin, Joe Mauer, whose fWAR sits at 45.1 (ahead of Puckett) with at least a couple more seasons ahead of him. Mauer has yet to reach the 2,000 hits plateau (but should in the next two seasons). He hasn't driven in 1,000 runs, and he probably won't ever hit 200 homers. In fact, Mauer's .313/.394/.451 career slash line actually pales in comparison to that of Puck. A six time All Star himself, Mauer owns three Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers, along with his three batting titles (all as a catcher).

The point here isn't to suggest Mauer's career has been one of better production than that of the late Twins hero, but the argument is a pretty solid one. Instead, what Warne led us to is that sabermetrics and analytics have changed the way in which we view the game of baseball completely.

Puckett's last season with the Twins was in 1995. At that time, Fangraphs was far from even a realistic thought and numbers generally ended in the nightly box score. Mauer didn't play his first game with the Twins until 2004, as teams around Major League Baseball began to shift towards looking for any competitive advantage they could muster. What that's given us is two very different trains of thought.

Among Twins Territorians, you'd be hard pressed to find two players that find themselves at the opposite end of a perception spectrum, despite being incredibly intricately linked. Puckett was heralded because he was a star who made "The Catch," and gave us "We'll see you tomorrow night." Mauer is a one-time Hall of Fame lock, now forced to assume a different type of value while being expected to produce to the non-existing terms of a contract signed with differing circumstances.

Sabermetics, analytics, numbers, and statistics will forever have a place in the game of baseball. The more we lend ourselves the opportunity to understand and appreciate all avenues, the further respect can be given, and perspective seen, for major leaguers whose strengths are incomparable. Kirby Puckett was an amazing baseball player, a fringe Hall of Famer, and a Twins fan favorite. His career, and the actual remembrance of it may be the insight we need to separate what was, what is, and what it all means.