The Minnesota Twins announced today that former Twins right-handed pitcher Joe Nathan and former team President Jerry Bell have been elected to the club's Hall of Fame. Nathan and Bell will become the 32nd and 33rd members of the Twins Hall of Fame when they are inducted during separate, on-field pre-game ceremonies scheduled for Hall of Fame Weekend, Aug. 3-4 when the Twins host the Kansas City Royals at Target Field.
The Twins Hall of Fame, which honors players, managers, coaches and off-field personnel who have contributed to the organization's growth and success since Major League Baseball came to Minnesota in 1961, was created as part of the club's 40th Season Celebration in 2000. The inaugural class of Twins Hall of Famers-infielder Harmon Killebrew, infielder Rod Carew, outfielder Tony Oliva, first baseman Kent Hrbek, outfielder Kirby Puckett and owner Calvin Griffith-were inducted on August 12, 2000. Other inductees include: Broadcaster Herb Carneal and pitcher Jim Kaat (2001), pitcher Bert Blyleven (2002), manager Tom Kelly (2002), outfielder Bob Allison and long-time public address announcer Bob Casey (2003), catcher Earl Battey (2004), owner Carl Pohlad and pitcher Frank Viola (2005), shortstop Zoilo Versalles (2006), third baseman Gary Gaetti and farm director Jim Rantz (2007), pitcher Rick Aguilera (2008), farm and scouting director George Brophy and pitcher Brad Radke (2009), shortstop Greg Gagne (2010), pitcher Jim Perry (2011), pitcher Camilo Pascual (2012), pitcher Eddie Guardado and director of media relations Tom Mee (2013), second baseman Chuck Knoblauch (elected in 2014 but not inducted), radio broadcaster John Gordon and outfielder Torii Hunter (2016), outfielder Michael Cuddyer and general manager Andy MacPhail (2017), and pitcher Johan Santana (2018).
"The Pohlad family and entire Minnesota Twins organization would like to offer congratulations to Joe Nathan and Jerry Bell on their well-deserved election to the Twins Hall of Fame," Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter said. "Joe and Jerry both made significant contributions to the Twins organization over an extended period of time. Election to the Twins Hall of Fame only further cements their place among the greats of this franchise."
Nathan pitched 16 seasons in the major leagues, including seven with the Twins from 2004-11. He finished his Twins career with a record of 24-13, a 2.16 ERA (463.1 IP, 111 ER), 134 walks, 561 strikeouts and a club-record 260 saves in 460 games. Nathan was named to the American League All-Star team four times for Minnesota and was the closer on three different American League Central Division championship teams. He was named the co-winner of the American League Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award with New York's Mariano Rivera in 2009 after saving a club-record 47 games. The Houston, Texas, native was originally drafted by San Francisco in the sixth round of the 1995 First-Year Player Draft and was acquired by the Twins as part of a four-player trade in exchange for catcher A.J. Pierzynski in November 2003. Nathan saved 35-plus games in six different seasons for Minnesota and led all of baseball in saves (246) over a six-season stretch from 2004-09.
Bell was named the third president in Twins history in January 1987. He spent 16 years as Minnesota's Chief Executive, helping lead the team's business operations, while he was instrumental in the Twins 1987 and 1991 World Championship seasons. During his tenure, Bell led the effort to ensure the long-term viability of the Minnesota Twins and specifically oversaw the development, design, construction and opening of Target Field in 2010. Other accomplishments include setting an American League attendance record in 1988, when the Twins became the first A.L. team to attract more than three million fans. He also led the development and construction of Minnesota's spring training facility, CenturyLink Sports Complex, located in Ft. Myers, Fla., which opened in 1991. In addition, Bell became the fourth recipient of the Herb Carneal Award in 2009 as presented by the Minnesota chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Nathan was elected by a 67-member committee consisting of local and national media, club officials, fans and past elected members, using rules similar to those necessary for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The 67-member committee annually considers "player" personnel for induction into the Twins Hall of Fame.
Bell was elected through the "Non-Player" Committee ballot, which consists of 27 voters; voting participants include all living Twins Hall of Famers, the current Twins President and Chief Baseball Officer, Twins Hall of Fame Committee members and Minnesota Baseball historians.
The Twins Hall of Fame membership is permanently displayed in the Hall of Fame Gallery on the Target Field Suite Level, as well as on Target Plaza and in the Minor League Clubhouse at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Ft. Myers, Fla.
As part of the Twins Hall of Fame Weekend celebration, the first 10,000 fans in attendance at Target Field on Saturday, Aug. 3 will receive a Joe Nathan Hall of Fame bobblehead. The first 5,000 fans to enter on Sunday, Aug. 4 will receive Jerry Bell and Joe Nathan Hall of Fame pins.
Single-game tickets to the Twins Hall of Fame induction games and all Twins home games are on-sale now and are available via twinsbaseball.com, by calling (612) 33-TWINS, (800) 33-TWINS or in-person at the Target Field Box Office.