Koskie inducted into Twins Hall of Fame
Corey Koskie (Anola, Man.) delivers his Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame induction speech at Target Field on Sunday. Photo: MLB.com/Minnesota Twins
August 20, 2025
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Corey Koskie (Anola, Man.) was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony at Target Field on Sunday.
With that, he became the 41st member – and second Canadian player (joining Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) – to enter the Twins’ shrine.
“Everyone in this stadium knows that feeling, that voice that says, ‘I’m not good enough, I don’t belong,'” said Koskie in his inspirational induction speech. “The guys to my left [pointing to the Twins’ Hall of Fame inductees] had the courage to ask, ‘Now what?’ They faced the fear. They fought through it. We all get knocked down. Getting knocked down hurts. It’s humbling. It’s our responsibility to get up and fight. And I learned something: The game is bigger than how I feel about myself. It’s about the fans watching. It’s about making a kid smile in that five-second moment we have together.
“So, thank you, to my teammates, my friends, my coaches, the Twins staff, the Pohlads and my family. A farm boy from Anola, Manitoba that didn’t start playing serious baseball until [I was] 19 is your testament that no mountain is too high. No challenge is too difficult to tackle. Where there is a will, there is a way. Where there’s no will, there’s no way. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you, Minnesota.”
Koskie spoke with his wife and four sons in attendance, as well as numerous ex-Twins teammates including Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Eddie Guardado and Brad Radke.
Following his speech, Koskie threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Morneau.
Founded in 2000, the Twins Hall of Fame honours players, managers, coaches and off-field personnel who have contributed to the growth and success of the organization.
“For more than two decades, Corey Koskie’s presence and impact have been felt across Twins Territory, embodying what it means to be a Minnesota Twin through his leadership and community stewardship,” Twins president and CEO Dave St. Peter said in a statement.
“Corey was a clubhouse leader, a critical offensive catalyst and one of the best defensive third basemen in club history on several of the most important Minnesota Twins teams of the last 25 years. Post-career, he became a community leader, an annual presence in support of the Twins Community Fund and occasionally joined his family on local town ball fields.”
Chosen by the Twins in the 26th round of the 1994 MLB draft, Koskie made his big league debut four years later.
In 1999, his first full season in the majors, he hit .310 with 11 home runs, 58 RBIs and finished with an .855 OPS.
Two years later, he enjoyed his finest season when he batted .276 with 26 home runs, 103 RBIs, 27 stolen bases and 100 runs. This made him the first American League third baseman to register 100 runs, 100 RBIs, 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in the same season.
For the four-season span from 2001 to 2004, Koskie hit .272 with 127 doubles, nine triples, 80 home runs, 312 RBIs, 266 walks, 315 runs and had an .837 OPS. Among Twins hitters in that period, he was first in walks, second in RBIs and doubles, third in homers and runs, and fourth in hits.
The Canadian third baseman was also a key member of the Twins’ American League Central Division-winning clubs from 2002 to 2004.
Overall, in 816 games in his seven seasons with the Twins, Koskie hit .280 with 180 doubles, 101 home runs, 437 RBIs, 66 stolen bases, 385 walks, 438 runs and an .836 OPS.
His .280 batting average and .966 career fielding percentage are the best in franchise history among Twins third basemen (minimum of 425 games).
After departing the Twins, Koskie played two more big league seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (2005) and Milwaukee Brewers (2006).
Koskie continues to live in the Minneapolis area and support the Twins Community Fund.
He was elected to the Twins Hall of Fame by a 70-member committee, consisting of local and national media, club officials, fans and past elected members.
In 2015, Koskie was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall in St. Marys, Ont., along with Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.), Carlos Delgado, Felipe Alou and Bob Elliott (Kingston, Ont.).