There have been some ups and downs during the past 40 or so years as a Twins fan, and save for a few players that will always stand out, either for skill or ineptitude, my memory of those players kind of smooths out over time, and I don't remember the peaks or how important they were to the team in their halcyon days.
Given that the Twins are a frustrating mess right now, I think it's OK to go back and look fondly on some players that perhaps I didn't appreciate as much at the time, and certainly don't appreciate enough now. So let's make this a regular series until I run out of gas.
Michael Cuddyer started poking around at the Major League level in 2001, often spelling Corey Koskie (who, if he hadn't just been inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame, would have a spot in this series as well), and was otherwise fairly positionless. The jack of all trades, master of none. He wasn't really a regular until 2005, and he wasn't a good regular until 2006. Perhaps that long runway is why I don't really appreciate his contributions? First impressions go a long way, especially for baseball fans.
But then Cuddyer took off. 2007 was his best year by WAR, thanks to finally settling into a position (Right Field). The fact that his best position was right field may in part reflect on his not being a great third baseman? Nevertheless, his bat had come around as well. In 2006, his OPS was .867, the highest it would be in a Twins uniform.
His 2009 season, with highlights in the video above, was a season to remember. He hit 32 home runs, and got votes for AL MVP. Perhaps this is a sign of why we don't appreciate Cuddyer as much as he deserves: his best season was also the year that Joe Mauer won the AL MVP.
Michael Cuddyer was always overshadowed - by Mauer, Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter -- and impressions of him were initially not positive thanks to a slow ramp up in his career. But you know what? Michael Cuddyer was pretty good.
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