Twins miss the boat on the Big Train

Walter Perry Johnson.

417 career wins.

5,914 innings pitched.

A 2.17 lifetime ERA.

The Big Train.

Twins career wins leader? What the fuck?

In my ongoing secret, but nonetheless scarring battle with the Metrodome scoreboard, the idiot board has struck again. Before the last White Sox game we saw Saturday, the Big Train's name popped up as the Twins' career leader in several categories.

"Walter Johnson played for the Twins?" the Girl asked.

"No," I grumbled "... They're just idiots."

Here's the thing - the Twins have a very legitimate claim to Johnson and his records. When the Twins were "founded" in 1961, they were a transplanted version of the Washington Senators. Harmon Killebrew was on the Senators from 1954 to the move six years later. Jim Kaat was also a Senator who made the switch. Obviously, 20 or 30 who-dat's and other also-ran's made the switch, too, but those two names stand out among the rest.

My question? Why count him as a.) the Twins career leader when he died 14 years before the switch and b.) If you consider him part of the franchise for wins, why is his number not retired?

The second question is easy in theory - no numbers were used then, but why no mention of him anywhere?

Here's the list of retired numbers: Killebrew (3); Tony Oliva (6); Rod Carew (29); Kent Hrbek (14); and Kirby Puckett (34). With just a quick pass through Baseball-Almanac.com, I also found Joe Cronin, Tris Speaker and Bull Durham were former Senators.

You guessed it, no mention of them in the Metrodome, either.

My point is that if you're already recognizing Washington players as career leaders, why not go the extra two feet and formally bring them in under the Twins umbrella. They have an ironclad claim to those former players, moreso than the new Nationals or the second coming of the Sens who moved to Texas to become the Rangers (managed first by Ted Williams).

It just makes no sense to me. Right now two of the greatest players the game has seen have no final farewell when all it would take would be to hang a few extra banners in the seats no one sits in anyways... OK, the seats no one is in in the upper deck... and in right center field.

Had the Twins denied any knowledge of their previous incarnation, it's one thing. But to list old players from Washington on their history page and then not claim Johnson or Speaker as their own makes no sense based only on the fact that they had no real numbers to retire.

Granted, Speaker only played one year (in 1927) but when Johnson, who is arguably one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball history, played wire to wire (from 1907 to 1927) for Washington, why is his banner not up next to Puckett or Hrbek?

With all due respect, neither one of those guys will be top 10 in anything except to get in line at a free buffet.