The 2012 Minnesota Twins have the unfortunate distinction of being the only club in more than 35 years with some unusual position players on its roster. What unenviable characteristic distinguishes these clubs from among all other post-war teams?
| Rk | Year | Tm |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012 | Minnesota Twins |
| 2 | 1979 | Cleveland Indians |
| 3 | 1976 | California Angels |
| 4 | 1976 | San Diego Padres |
| 5 | 1976 | Texas Rangers |
| 6 | 1972 | Montreal Expos |
| 7 | 1968 | San Francisco Giants |
| 8 | 1959 | Philadelphia Phillies |
Hint #1: There were twelve such teams from 1920 to 1941, and seven more from 1942 to 1945. Seventeen of those 19 teams were Braves, Phillies, Athletics and Reds clubs.
Hint #2: The recent passing of 1960s Giant third baseman Jim Davenport led me to this topic (though he wasn’t one of the players that put the 1968 Giants on this list).
Congratulations to bstar! He correctly identified that only these post-war teams had two players qualify for the league batting championship with ISO of 0.05 or less. More after the jump.