According to ELIAS
June 27 - Carl Pavano tossed a three-hitter yesterday as the Twins easily defeated the Mets, 6-0, in New York, just six days after he had thrown a four-hitter in a 4-1 victory in Philadelphia. Oh, yes, did we mention that Pavano defeated past Cy Young Award winners in each of those games? Johan Santana took the loss on Saturday, after Pavano had downed Roy Halladay last Sunday.
Pavano is the first major leaguer in more than 20 years to earn consecutive complete-game victories, both on the road, over past Cy Young Award winners. The last pitcher to do it was Houston's Jim Deshaies, who in 1989 threw consecutive complete-game wins, defeating Dwight Gooden at Shea Stadium and Rick Sutcliffe at Wrigley Field.
By the way, Pavano also had two singles against the Mets, although neither was involved in any run-scoring by the Twins. He became the first American League pitcher in the DH era to throw a complete-game shutout and get at least two hits in the same game. The last A.L. pitcher to do that was Clyde Wright of the Angels against the Rangers on Sept. 14, 1972.
Courtesy of ELIAS Sports Bureau
Brendan Harris sent down – Repko called up
June 24 - After Thursday’s game the Twins announced that Brendan Harris had been sent down to Rochester after clearing waivers and that the outfielder Jason Repko had been called up.
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The 29 year old Repko (bats right and throws right) was signed by the Twins this past April as a free agent after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers had selected Repko with their first round pick in the 1999 amateur draft. Repko played with the Dodgers for parts of four seasons in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009 where he had 478 plate appearances and hit .226 with 11 home runs, 47 RBI’s, and stole 17 bases in 21 attempts. As a Twins farm-hand, Repko had 228 at bats in Rochester hitting .281 with 6 home runs, 28 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases.
Brendan Harris has been just plain horrible in 2010 and you had to wonder how much longer the Twins would carry Harris on the roster. In 120 plate appearances, Harris was hitting .157 with 4 extra-base hits and 4 RBI’s. Maybe a trip to Rochester will help Harris although you have to think that Harris has played his last game in a Twins uniform.
Tough to strike out
June 21 - Hall of Famer Sam Rice is way ahead of everyone in franchise history with the best strike out per at bat ratio going down swinging just once in every 33.6 at bats in 9,879 plate appearances. It seems as though the players in the past had much bat control or were more patient then the players of today. As you can see, the Twins best in this category is Brian Harper and he struck out once in every 19.6 at bats in 2,691 plate appearances. Where do Joe Mauer and Rod Carew stand you ask? To this point in his career Joe has 3,253 plate appearances and he strikes out once in every 8.8 at bats. Carew struck out once in every 8.7 at bats in his 6,980 Twins plate appearances. What I think is kind of weird is that Tony Oliva was known as a free swinger and he struck out once every 9.8 at bats in 6,879 at bats. Just for comparison, Harmon Killebrew struck out once every 5.81 at bats in 9,462 Twins plate appearances while Justin Morneau is currently at a strike out every 6.71 at bats in 3,889 plate appearances.
Toughest Twins to strike out
RANK | NAME | AB’s PER STRIKE OUT |
1 | Brian Harper | 19.6 |
2 | Mickey Hatcher | 15.0 |
3 | Cesar Tovar | 13.5 |
4 | Lenny Green | 13.3 |
5 | Hosken Powell | 11.0 |
6 | Butch Wynegar | 10.6 |
7 | Lyman Bostock | 10.4 |
8 | Ted Uhlaender | 10.4 |
9 | Al Newman | 10.2 |
10 | Jim Holt | 10.0 |
Toughest Senators to strike out
RANK | NAME | AB’s PER STRIKE OUT |
1 | Sam Rice | 33.6 |
2 | Sam Dente | 27.7 |
3 | Heinie Manusch | 25.1 |
4 | Muddy Ruel | 23.4 |
5 | Clyde Milan | 23.1 |
6 | Rick Ferrell | 21.0 |
7 | Clint Courtney | 19.3 |
8 | Eddie Foster | 19.2 |
9 | Stan Spence | 18.5 |
10 | George Case | 17.5 |
According to ELIAS
June 20 - Joe Mauer’s two-run homer capped the Twins' five-run ninth-inning rally yesterday that wiped out a 9-4 Phillies lead, and the Twins went on to take a 13-10 decision in 11 innings in Philadelphia. In Late-Inning Pressure Situations this season (seventh inning or later, with the score tied or the team at bat trailing by up to three runs or up to four runs with two-or-more runners on base) Mauer is batting a cool .538 (14-26). He's the only major-league player this season batting .500 or better over at least 20 at-bats in those situations.
It was the second time in the last three seasons that the Twins have won a game in which they trailed by five runs in the ninth inning. On May 28, 2008 at Kansas City, the Twins scored five in the ninth and one in the tenth to beat the Royals, 9-8.
Twins broadcaster and master story teller Halsey Hall
June 17 – The Society for American Baseball Research is a great organization and one of the wonderful projects they have going on is the Baseball Biography Project. One of the biographies they have completed is about former Twins announcer and Minnesota legend Halsey Hall. Halsey Hall was born on May 23, 1898 and passed away on December 30, 1977. Halsey became a member of the original Minnesota Twins baseball broadcast team for WCCO in 1961, and continued as a radio and sometimes TV announcer through the 1972 season. Hall was also an accomplished journalist whose first newspaper byline appeared in 1919. Halsey is credited with being the first baseball broadcaster to use the term “Holy Cow” but there are some that would argue that point, regardless if that is true or not, Halsey Hall was one of the region’s most loved sportscasters and a great story teller who had a love for green onions, cigars and wonderful stories. Get a cold drink or a cup of coffee and take a few minutes to learn a little about Halsey Hall by clicking here. If you want to know more about Halsey, you might want to check out Stew Thorneley’s book “Holy Cow! The Life and Times of Halsey Hall”. I have the book and it was a fun read. The Twins Cities SABR chapter is named after Halsey Hall and additional info on Halsey Hall can be found there.
To listen to a very short audio clip of Halsey and his “pantywaist” slip-up courtesy of the Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame just click on the play button.
And the Twins select………
June 7 - With the 21st pick in the 2010 MLB free agent draft the Minnesota Twins selected Ohio State right handed pitcher Alex Wimmers. Wimmers is 6’2” and weighs in at 195. Wimmers fastball is about 88-91 and he has a very good curve and a change-up. None of his pitches are overwhelming but he mixes the three pitches effectively with very good control and the scouting reports say that he throws strikes so that should help him fit in with the Twins very well. Some scouts project Wimmers to be a 3 or 4 starter. For a short video on Wimmers please click here.
UPDATE: August 6 - The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have signed their first round pick from the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, right-handed pitcher Alex Wimmers. The 6-foot-2 junior receives a $1.332 million signing bonus (matching MLB's recommended bonus) and will report to Single-A Ft. Myers (Florida State League) on Sunday, August 8.
Would Tom Kelly take Orioles job?
June 4 - I have to wonder, what would happen if Andy MacPhail the Orioles president of baseball operations would offer the Orioles manager job to Tom Kelly. The history obviously goes back a long ways and MacPhail gave TK his first opportunity to manage in the big leagues. The word seems to be that the Orioles need a “kick-ass” manager; I think TK fits that role to a “T”. The team has some good young players but to date they have not performed. Maybe an old east coast guy like TK would take the helm once again to help an old friend in Baltimore.
Another rumor circulating now connects Minnesota and Baltimore and supposedly the Orioles are interested in a shortstop and rumor has it that Trevor Plouffe is one of their targets. The Orioles are looking to unload starting pitcher Kevin Millwood who is 0-6 I think but has not pitched that badly. Would the Twins pull the trigger on a deal like that? Then again, how serious is Hardy’s injury? I can’t help but be a bit worried about what is going on with Hardy.
Jerry Wayne Terrell
June 2 – The Society for American Baseball Research is a great organization and one of the wonderful projects they have going on is the Baseball Biography Project. One of the biographies they have completed is about former Twins utility player Jerry Wayne Terrell. Jerry was born on July 13, 1946 in Waseca, Minnesota and played for the Twins between 1974 and 1977 before he was granted free agency and signed with the Kansas City Royals where he played from 1978 through 1980 before retiring from baseball. In April of 1980 the membership of the Major League Baseball Players Association voted 582-1 in favor of a strike. Jerry Terrell has long been assumed to be the only dissenting vote but to date he has never stated that this was true or false. Take a few minutes and read the bio about Jerry Terrell here.
Danny Valencia called up
June 2- The Twins have reported that they will call up Danny Valencia after Wednesday night’s game to replace Michael Cuddyer who will be placed on bereavement leave. Cuddyer will be away from the team for several days due to a death of his Father-in-law. We would like to send our condolences to Michael Cuddyer and his family.
Valencia, a right handed hitting 3B has not exactly been hitting the cover off the ball in Rochester where he is hitting .292 with 54 hits in 185 at bats. He has hit 15 doubles but has no triples and no home runs to go along with his 2 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see how Valencia performs in what will probably be a short stay with the Twins.
According to ELIAS
May 31 - The Twins played errorless ball, as usual, in their 6-3 win over the Rangers on Sunday night May 30. Minnesota's total of 12 errors this year is the lowest for any team in major-league history through its first 50 games of a season, shattering the previous record of 17 by the 2006 Red Sox and 2009 Phillies.
Twins position players take the mound
May 30 - Friday, May 28 was kind of an odd day in baseball in the fact that two different games had non-pitchers pitching, utility player Bill Hall pitched a scoreless inning for the Red Sox in their 12-5 loss to the Royals in Fenway and catcher Kevin Cash pitched the final inning for the Astros in their 15-6 loss to the Reds in Cincinnati, giving up one run.
In Minnesota we have to look all the way back to 1990 to see a position player (John Moses) take the mound. A total of four Twins position players have toed the pitching rubber for Minnesota and they have pitched in a total of 7 games. One of these pitching appearances was unusual in that Cesar Tovar started the game on the mound and played each position in sequence as the game progressed. Let’s take a look at how these guys fared.
Julio Bequer (first baseman) – September 10, 1961 at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City in a 13-1 loss to the A’s. Julio pitched 1.1 innings giving up 4 hits, 1 walk and 3 runs. Click here the box score. Julio also pitched in a game as a Washington Senator in 1960.
Cesar Tovar (infielder/outfielder) – September 22, 1968 at Met Stadium in a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City A’s. Cesar started the game and pitched one scoreless inning giving up a walk and striking out future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in the process. Cesar went on to play C-1B-2B-SS-3B-LF-CF-RF. This was the only occurrence of a Twins position player pitching at Met Stadium. This is the only instance where a Twins position player pitched and the Twins won the game. Click here to see the box score.
Dan Gladden (outfielder) – June 27, 1988 at Anaheim Stadium in a 16-7 Twins defeat. Dan pitched a scoreless 8th inning facing just three batters and throwing 9 pitches. Click here to see the box score.
Dan Gladden (outfielder) – May 7, 1989 at Cleveland Stadium in a 12-1 loss to the Indians. Gladden pitched one inning giving up a walk, two hits and one run. Click here for the box score.
John Moses (outfielder) – June 24, 1989 at Fenway Park in an 11-2 loss to the Red Sox. John pitched one scoreless inning giving up a walk but only faced 3 batters with the team turned a double play behind him. Click here for the box score.
John Moses (outfielder) – May 19, 1990 at Fenway Park in a 13-1 loss to the Red Sox. John pitched one inning allowing two hits and one run. Click here for the box score.
John Moses (outfielder) – July 31, 1990 at the Metrodome in a 13-2 loss to the California Angels. John pitched one inning walking 2, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs. Click here for the box score. This was the only occurrence of a Twins position player pitching in the Metrodome. This pitching appearance makes Moses the all-time Minnesota Twins leader in games and innings pitched by a position player with a total of 3 innings in 3 games.
Twins attendance
May 29 - According to the Twins official game notes, the Twins will surpass 1 million fans in paid attendance at Target Field on Saturday (game #26 of the season). Going into Saturdays game the paid attendance was 969,998. It will mark the fastest the Twins have drawn 1 million fans in franchise history; the previous record was set on Monday, June 13, 1988 (game #31 of the season). To date, during the 2010 season, the Twins have achieved an average paid attendance of 38,799, placing the team in the top six in Major League Baseball...the Twins trail only the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels in average attendance.
According to ELIAS
May 27 - The Yankees defeated the Twins, 1-0, in their first game ever at Target Field in the completion of a game that was suspended due to rain on Tuesday night. The Yankees played 141 games at the Metrodome, over a span of 28 seasons, and never played a game there in which only one run was scored. Prior to Thursday, the Yankees last 1-0 game at Minnesota was a victory over the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington on July 8, 1972. Derek Jeter drove in the Yankees only run of the game with a sixth inning solo home run. It is the first time in his major-league career that Jeter had the lone RBI in a 1-0 game.
The Twins dropped a 3-2 decision to the Yankees in the scheduled game that followed Minnesota's 1-0 loss in the completion of Tuesday's suspended game. Twins have now lost three straight games, all at home, all by one run. This marks only the third time that the Twins have had a streak of that kind since they moved to Minnesota. The Twins lost three straight games, all at home and all by one run in July of 2007 and in June of 1999.
Why are the Twins losing?
May 26 - The Twins are 11-11 in May and in 10 of their losses they have scored 3 runs or less and in the other loss they scored 4 runs. What is going on you ask? It is all about runners left on base. No team in the American league has left more runners on base than our Minnesota Twins. The Twins have left 359 runners stranded on the bases. Couple that with the fact that they have ground in to a league leading 53 double plays and you have gone a long ways towards determining the problem. But even knowing all this, the Twins are still fifth in the AL in runs scored. You could argue that the Twins are becoming the Chicago White Sox, waiting for the home run versus running and forcing things to happen. Only 4 teams in the AL have stolen fewer bases than the Twins have. Does the problem point back to Gardy?
The greatest baseball game ever played?
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame
May 24 - The game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959 at County Stadium in Milwaukee in front of 19,194 fans has often been called the greatest baseball game ever played. A pitching duel for the ages between the Pirates lefty Harvey Haddix and the Braves right hander Lew Burdette. This game had nothing to do with the Washington Senators or the Minnesota Twins who were not yet a twinkle in Calvin Griffith’s eye, but to me it is one of my favorite baseball memories.
Back in the summer of 1959 I was 11 years old and loved baseball, regardless if it was playing the game, collecting baseball cards, or listening to Milwaukee Braves games on my transistor radio. We had no TV at the time so it was radio or nothing for me. I grew up on a dairy farm outside of Taylors Falls, Minnesota and the Milwaukee Braves were the only games I could pick up so they became my favorite team. Add in the fact that they whipped the hated New York Yankees in the 1957 World Series and that Hammerin Hank Aaron was my favorite player and there was no better team than the Milwaukee Braves. I often went to bed with my radio under my pillow listening to Braves baseball games. I could rattle off the most recent stats of Spahn, Burdette, Buhl, McMahon, Crandall, Adcock, Mantilla, Logan, Mathews, Covington, Pafko, and of course Aaron, what wonderful teams the Braves had back in the late 50’s.
My favorite baseball memories are unique to me, they may not mean a thing to someone else but to me they are what baseball is all about. Some of my favorite baseball memories are listening to Minnesota Twins games on a radio in the barn when I was milking cows and listening to Halsey Hall spin another yarn and laugh like no one else, watching a nail file fall out of Joe Niekro’s back pocket as the umpire looks on, attending my first live baseball game, which happened to be the 1965 All-Star game, Getting to attend the 1987 and 1991 World Series games at the Metrodome, listening to Braves games on my transistor radio, watching Henry Aaron become the home run champion (still is in my book) and many more, I could go on and on. One of those memories however is this 1959 game between the Braves and the Pirates. I tuned in the game in the 8th inning and was amazed to hear that Harvey Haddix not only had no hit the Braves to that point but he had a perfect game going, I was in awe, I had only read about no hitters and had never heard one in progress. Perfect after nine, ten, eleven, twelve, my God, how long could this go on? Then in the 13th inning things started to unravel for the Pirates and Haddix and I will let Craig Muder tell you the rest of the story in his article for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, just click here to read it.
The ending was very confusing as I remember, listening to the Braves announcers explain what happened on the home run by Adcock that turned out not to be a homerun. Harvey (Kitten) Haddix lost the game and sadly, gets no credit for a no-hitter much less a perfect game for 12 innings. No one even mentions that the Braves Lew Burdette pitched a 13 inning 12 hit shutout that day and got the victory. I wonder how pitches were thrown that day! Both Haddix and Burdette are gone now but I bet you that on May 26 of each year they hook up again and take the mound in that big ballpark in the sky and see who the best is on that given day. Damn, I love baseball………
The Quarter Pole
May 21 - After 80 games the Twins find themselves with 24-16 record and on pace to win 96 games. The Twins hold on first place is tenuous at best with the Detroit Tigers hot on their heels but I just don’t see the Tigers as being able to hang on because I think their pitching is very suspect.
The Twins are third in the AL in hitting with a .272 average, 6th in runs scored, and 7th in homeruns. What I find strange is that the Twins with all their speed are only 11th in stolen bases, only the Red Sox, Tigers and Orioles have stolen fewer bases than Minnesota. Is Gardy sitting back and waiting for the homerun too much? I think so, let the boys run Gardy!
From a pitching perspective the Twins rank fourth with a 3.90 ERA and 2 complete games. The Twins have given up 36 homeruns which is about the middle of the pack but as usual they are far and away the best team in giving up the fewest walks (91 compared to the next closest team with 121). One concern with the pitching staff is that the opponents are hitting .273 which is tied for the second worst in the league with the Angels and just behind the Orioles pitchers who are getting hit to a tune of .275.
The Twins excel in fielding and have only been charged with 9 errors all season and the Yankees are second best in fielding and they have 16 errors.
So far so good, the Twins are a fun and entertaining team to watch and if they can avoid injuries to key players, they should win the Central walking away. The bullpen has had its days when you wonder if they could not use some help. Crain must either regain his form of old soon or he will find himself an ex-Twin very quickly. I know that Gardy loves Nick Punto at third base but how long before Danny Valencia forces their hand and gets a shot at 3B?
Welcome to Minnesota Trevor Plouffe
courtesy of MLB.com
May 21 – Trevor Plouffe was called up yesterday from Rochester and right off the bat he found himself in the line-up at Target Field against the Milwaukee Brewers hitting eighth and playing shortstop. The Twins score seven runs in the first and Plouffe contributed immediately by getting a single in his first major league at bat and in the process notching his first big league RBI. The 6’2” 200 lbs right handed Plouffe was the Twins first round pick in 2004 and is 23 years old. Plouffe finished the game with two hits (single and a double), one run scored, and two RBI’s in a 15-3 Twins win. An impressive debut indeed.
Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame
May 18 - The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame began to induct members in 1939. It continued to do so even with all the political turmoil that has befallen Cuban Baseball. The Federacion de Peloteros Profesionales Cubanos en el Exilio continued elections of members after the end of professionalism in Cuba. For a complete list of members inducted, please go to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame pages.
The following one time Twins players are in the Cuban Hall of Fame.
Inducted in 1979 - Leo Cardenas - SS
Inducted in 1980 = Zoilo Versalles - SS
Inducted in 1981 - Pedro Ramos - P
Inducted in 1982 - Tony Oliva - OF
Inducted in 1983 - Camilo Pascual - P
Inducted in 1985 - Mike Fornieles - P
Inducted in 1997 - Julio Becquer - 1B
Inducted in 1997 - Luis Tiant - P
Good Eye, Good Eye!
May 15 - The Twins preach to their pitchers that the batter should earn his way on base via a hit, just throw the ball over the plate and take your chances that the batter will hit it to one of your fielders. In recent years, the Twins pitching staff has always been one of the league leaders in fewest bases on balls allowed.
But the shoe is on the other foot when it comes to the Twins hitters where the coaching staff tries to teach patience at the plate, after all, a walk is just as good as a hit. Plus, the more pitches you see, the better the odds are of the batter getting a hit and the quicker the pitcher reaches their so called pitch limits. This year the Twins hitters have taken that advice to heart and after 32 games they have walked 147 times and are on pace for about 700 walks which would be the most not only in Twins history but in franchise history. The 1956 Senators walked 690 times and the most walks by a Twins team was the 1962 Twins when they walked to first base 649 times. Let’s take a look at the top 10 career Twins and Senators batters that believed that a walk was indeed as good as a hit.
Twins
RANK | PLAYER | BASES ON BALLS | PLATE APPEARANCES | BASE ON BALL % |
1 | Harmon Killebrew | 1321 | 8018 | 16.48% |
2 | Kent Hrbek | 838 | 7137 | 11.74% |
3 | Bob Allison | 641 | 4641 | 13.81% |
4 | Rod Carew | 613 | 6980 | 8.78% |
5 | Roy Smalley | 549 | 4675 | 11.74% |
6 | Chuck Knoblauch | 513 | 4571 | 11.22% |
7 | Kirby Puckett | 450 | 7831 | 5.75% |
8 | Tony Oliva | 448 | 6879 | 6.51% |
9 | Matt Lawton | 408 | 3150 | 12.95% |
10 | Tom Brunansky | 394 | 3760 | 10.48% |
Senators
RANK | PLAYER | BASES ON BALLS | PLATE APPEARANCES | BASE ON BALL % |
1 | Eddie Yost | 1274 | 7461 | 17.08% |
2 | Joe Judge | 943 | 8906 | 10.59% |
3 | Buddy Myer | 864 | 7028 | 12.29% |
4 | Mickey Vernon | 735 | 7769 | 9.46% |
5 | Ossie Bluege | 723 | 7452 | 9.70% |
6 | Clyde Milan | 685 | 8312 | 8.24% |
7 | Sam Rice | 680 | 9879 | 6.89% |
8 | Buddy Lewis | 573 | 5937 | 9.65% |
9 | Joe Kuhel | 530 | 5234 | 10.13% |
10 | Goose Goslin | 488 | 5810 | 8.40% |
According to ELIAS
May 15 - Ron Gardenhire decided to intentionally walk Mark Teixeira to load the bases in the seventh inning on Friday night and that strategy backfired when Alex Rodriguez hit a grand slam. The previous time that a team intentionally walked a batter to pitch to A-Rod was in the 2009 regular-season finale against the Rays and he also responded with a grand slam. But Rodriguez did not hit a home run in any of the 36 other instances in his career in which he came to the plate after an intentional walk.
Rodriguez's grand slam was the first by a Yankees player against Minnesota since Alfonso Soriano connected with the bases loaded at the Metrodome on April 21, 2003. That was the longest span during which no Yankees player hit a slam against the Twins/Senators franchise in the live-ball era (1920-present).
Did you know?
May 12 - In 2004, while with the Marlins, Pavano started the final game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal prior to Expos moving to Washington D.C. On October 4, 2009, Pavano was slated to start the final regular season game in Metrodome history. Subsequently, the Twins forced a tiebreaking 163rd game to be played on October 6 vs. Detroit, made the postseason and faced the Yankees in three games. Pavano started the third and deciding game at the Dome vs. New York on October 11 (Yankees swept, winning the final game 4-1). Pavano closed down the Metrodome after 28 MLB seasons and closed down Olympic Stadium from Major League Baseball after 27 seasons. Source – Twins MLB Presspass
According to ELIAS
May 5 - A strange factoid - over the last six seasons, Minnesota has a better record in the games that Joe Mauer has missed (83-70, .542) than in the games that he has played in (368-318, .536).
Liriano wins AL Pitcher of the Month award
May 4 - MLB announced that Francisco Liriano won the AL Pitcher of the month award. Liriano was the only starter in the AL with an ERA of under 1.00 in April. In April, Liriano had a 3-0 record when he started 4 games and pitched a total of 29 innings while striking out 27 batters and giving up only 18 hits and finishing the month with an ERA of 0.93. The last Twins pitcher to win the award was Johan Santana back in September of 2006.
It will be interesting to see if Francisco Liriano who was once dubbed "The Franchise" can continue the roll that he is on. I worry about how Liriano handles adversity, in his last start he had a rough first inning but seemed to take it all in stride. Let's hope that Liriano is back and can assume the role of the staff ace.
According to ELIAS
May 3 - Wilson Ramos, who started behind the plate in the eighth spot in the batting order, was the first catcher in modern MLB history (i.e., since 1900) to collect four or more hits in his big-league debut and he was the first to debut with a four-hit game from that low in the batting order since Yankees pitcher Russ Van Atta went 4-for-4 from the nine hole against the Senators on April 25, 1933.
May 4 - The story continues, Wilson Ramos, who had four hits in his major-league debut on Sunday, collected three more in the Twins' win against the Tigers on Monday night. Ramos is the first major-league player in 68 years to record at least seven hits over his first two career games. The last player to do that was Nanny Fernandez for the 1942 Boston Braves.
Welcome to the big leagues Wilson Ramos
courtesy of MLB.com
May 2 - Catcher Wilson Ramos made an impressive debut in the big leagues when he played his first game as a Minnesota Twin in Cleveland where the Twins beat the Indians 8-3 behind an impressive pitching performance from Francisco Liriano. Ramos was 4 for 5 and was the first Twins rookie since Kirby Puckett (1984) to debut with 4 hits. Ramos hit three singles, a double, and scored a run. Ramos was called up yesterday because Joe Mauer suffered an injury when he landed awkwardly on first base in Friday’s game. It is unknown at this time how long Mauer may be out. It appears that the plan is for Ramos to be the main catcher while Drew Butera continues in the back-up role.
Luke Hughes homers in his first ML at bat
April 29 - Luke Hughes hit a home run in his first major league at bat and in the process became the fifth Minnesota Twin to accomplish this feat. Hughes hit his homerun to right field off Detroit Tiger starter Max Scherzer on a 2-2 count as he lead off the third inning. Actually Hughes was batting in the second inning when Delmon Young was caught stealing third base for the final out of the second inning so that at bat did not count. Hughes, who was born in Perth, Australia, is the eighth Aussie to hit a homer in the major leagues and the first to do so in his first at-bat in the bigs. Unfortunately for Hughes and the Twins, they lost the game to the Tigers by an 11-6 score.
A complete list of Twins to hit a home run in either their first at bat or their first major league game are listed below. Hal Haydel is the only pitcher in the group. Oddly enough, no Twins rookie ever accomplished this feat at the Metrodome.
Player | Date | At Bat | Count | Opp. | Pitcher |
Luke Hughes | 4-28-2010 | 1 | 2-2 | in Detroit | Max Scherzer |
Andre David | 6-29-1984 | 1 | 1-2 | in Detroit | Jack Morris |
Gary Gaetti | 9-20-1981 | 1 | 1-1 | In Texas | Charlie Hough |
Tim Laudner | 8-28-1981 | 3 | 0-1 | Detroit @ Met Stadium | Dave Rozema |
Kent Hrbek | 8-24-1981 | 5 | 2-2 | In New York | George Frazier |
Dave McKay | 8-22-1975 | 1 | 1-1 | Detroit @ Met Stadium | Vern Ruhle |
Eric Soderholm | 9-3-1971 | 2 | 1-1 | Oakland @ Met Stadium | Diego Segui |
Hal Haydel | 9-7-1970 | 2 | 0-0 | Milwaukee @ Met Stadium | Al Downing |
Rick Renick | 7-11-1968 | 1 | 3-1 | Detroit @ Met Stadium | Mickey Lolich |
Know your franchise history
Clark Griffith - player, manager and owner
April 26 - The Society for American Baseball Research is a great organization and one of the wonderful projects they have going on is the Baseball Biography Project. One of the biographies they have completed is about the Old Fox, Clark Calvin Griffith who was born on November 20, 1869 and passed away on October 27, 1955. Griffith is the only man in major league history to serve as player, manager, and owner for at least 20 years each. Take a few minutes and read about this baseball legend here.
Twins first Father-Son combo
Drew Butera
April 20 - In the Twins 50th season they have their first Father-Son combo. Catcher Drew Butera made his major league debut this season and is serving as the back-up catcher to Joe Mauer. Back in 1980 Drew’s father Salvatore (Sal) Butera made his major league debut with Minnesota as the back-up catcher to Butch Wynegar. Drew is slightly bigger than his Dad and both are right handed batters. Both of the Butera’s are better known for their glove work then their stick work. Drew’s career is just starting but his Dad played in the majors from 1980 through 1988 but never really attained a starter role and the most at bats he ever had in a single season was 194 in 1981. Sal played for the Minnesota Twins from 1980 to 1982 before being traded and again in 1987 where he had an opportunity for an at bat in the World Series. Sal also played for the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Interestingly enough, yesterday Ike Davis made his major league debut for the New York Mets as a first baseman. Ike is the son of former Minnesota Twins closer Ron Davis.
Original Twins logo designer passes away
April 19 - Ray Barton the artist/designer who was commissioned by Twins team owner Calvin Griffith in 1961 to design a logo for the Minnesota Twins passed away at the age of 80 of cancer at his Little Canada home on April 18, 2010.
original design
The logo showed two baseball players (Minnie and Paul) shaking hands across the Mississippi River. Minnie who represents Minneapolis and the old Minneapolis Millers wears number 20 and Paul who represents St. Paul and the old St. Paul Saints wears number 10. The original logo had the letters "MT" for the Minnesota Twins on the players' jerseys instead of the "M" for Minneapolis on one and "StP" for St. Paul on the other. The words "Win Twins" have been replaced with "Minnesota," but the primary design of the logo featuring two players on opposite sides of a river shaking hands with a baseball in the background has remained virtually unchanged over the past five decades, said Clyde Doepner, the Twins' team historian. The emblem has been part of almost every Twins uniform since the team began play. It was absent only on the 1972 road uniforms when only the faces of "Minnie" and "Paul" were shown, and on the 2009 gray pin-striped road jersey, which featured commemorative patches of the Metrodome and former owner Carl Pohlad. Barton was not that thrilled with his design, thinking it might only appear on paper cups but Calvin liked the logo and thought that it would show that the Twins ball club truly represented both cities and the state of Minnesota in spite of the fact that the Twins home park was located in Bloomington and made it the Twins signature logo that 50 years later stands proudly over the Twins new Target Field. Ray Barton was paid $15 for his original design back in 1961.
Nice to Know
April 19 - The Twins have won each of their first four series this season, the first time in Twins history that they have won each of their first four series.
Through April 18, the Twins have left 109 runners on base and lead the AL in this category, Detroit is second with 108.
In the AL, only the Chicago White Sox (17) have ground into more double plays then the Twins 14 through April 18th.
The Twins have committed just 1 error in the 13 games they have played this season and lead the AL in fielding.
Through April 18 the Twins pitching staff have walked just 31 batters and leads the AL in this statistic.
Through April 18, Twins batters have walked 65 times, more than any team in the AL.
Justin Morneau is 0 for 9 this year with runners in scoring position with two outs.
Jim Thome is currently 12th on the MLB all-time home run list with 564 home runs and his 57 career home runs versus the Twins are the most of any opponent in club history.
Harmon Killebrew
Franchise Pitching Game Started leaders
Minnesota Twins
NAME | SEASONS | GAMES STARTED | COMP. GAMES |
Jim Kaat | 13 | 422 | 133 |
Brad Radke | 12 | 377 | 37 |
Bert Blyleven | 11 | 345 | 141 |
Frank Viola | 8 | 259 | 54 |
Jim Perry | 10 | 249 | 61 |
Dave Goltz | 8 | 215 | 80 |
Keven Tapani | 7 | 180 | 19 |
Camilo Pascual | 6 | 179 | 70 |
Johan Santana | 8 | 175 | 6 |
Eric Milton | 6 | 165 | 10 |
Washington Senators
NAME | SEASONS | GAMES STARTED | COMP. GAMES |
Walter Johnson (HOF) | 21 | 666 | 531 |
Dutch Leonard | 9 | 251 | 130 |
Sid Hudson | 10 | 239 | 112 |
Casey Patten | 8 | 237 | 206 |
Camilo Pascual | 7 | 225 | 62 |
Tom Zachary | 9 | 210 | 93 |
Tom Hughes | 9 | 205 | 139 |
Jim Shaw | 9 | 194 | 96 |
Bob Groom | 5 | 169 | 104 |
Early Wynn (HOF) | 8 | 168 | 92 |
4/13/10
Nice to know
April 12 – The average ticket price for a major league baseball game in 2010 is $26.74, an increase of 1.5% from last season. In Minnesota however; where the Twins are moving in to their new ballpark at Target Field, the average ticket price has jumped 45% to $31.47. The highest average ticket price is in Chicago where the going rate for a Cubs ticket is $52.56. On the other end of the spectrum the lowest average ticket price is the Arizona Diamondbacks $14.31. By the way, with the Twins moving into Target Field, the value of the team has jumped 14% to $405 million according to estimates by Forbes magazine.
Twins Opening Day Pitchers
YEAR | PITCHER | GAME RESULT |
1961 | Pedro Ramos | Twins 6 – Yankees 0 |
1962 | Jack Kralick | KC Athletics 4 – Twins 2 |
1963 | Camilo Pascual | Indians 5 – Twins 4 |
1964 | Camilo Pascual | Twins 7 – Indians 6 |
1965 | Jim Kaat | Twins 5 – Yankees 4 |
1966 | Mudcat Grant | Twins 2 – KC Athletics 1 |
1967 | Jim Kaat | Orioles 6 – Twins 3 |
1968 | Dean Chance | Twins 2 – Senators 0 |
1969 | Tommy Hall | Royals 4 – Twins 3 |
1970 | Jim Perry | Twins 12 – White Sox 0 |
1971 | Jim Perry | Brewers 7 – Twins 2 |
1972 | Bert Blyleven | A’s 4 – Twins 3 |
1973 | Bert Blyleven | Twins 8 – A’s 3 |
1974 | Bert Blyleven | Twins 6 – Royals 4 |
1975 | Bert Blyleven | Twins 11 – Rangers 4 |
1976 | Bert Blyleven | Rangers 2 – Twins 1 |
1977 | Dave Goltz | A’s 7 – Twins 4 |
1978 | Dave Goltz | Mariners 3 – Twins 2 |
1979 | Dave Goltz | Twins 5 – A’s 3 |
1980 | Jerry Koosman | Twins 9 – A’s 7 |
1981 | Jerry Koosman | A’s 5 – Twins 1 |
1982 | Pete Redfern | Mariners 11 – Twins 7 |
1983 | Brad Havens | Tigers 11 – Twins 3 |
1984 | Al Williams | Tigers 8 – Twins 1 |
1985 | Frank Viola | Twins 6 – Angels 2 |
1986 | Frank Viola | Twins 3 – A’s 2 |
1987 | Bert Blyleven | Twins 5 – A’s 4 |
1988 | Frank Viola | Yankees 8 – Twins 0 |
1989 | Frank Viola | Yankees 4 – Twins 2 |
1990 | Allan Anderson | A’s 8 – Twins 3 |
1991 | Jack Morris | A’s 7 – Twins 2 |
1992 | Scott Erickson | Twins 4 – Brewers 2 |
1993 | Kevin Tapani | White Sox 10 – Twins 5 |
1994 | Kevin Tapani | Angels 8 – Twins 2 |
1995 | Scott Erickson | Red Sox 9 – Twins 0 |
1996 | Brad Radke | Twins 8 – Tigers 6 |
1997 | Brad Radke | Twins 7 – Tigers 5 |
1998 | Bob Tewksbury | Blue Jays 3 – Twins 2 |
1999 | Brad Radke | Twins 6 – Blue Jays 1 |
2000 | Brad Radke | Devil Rays 7 – Twins 0 |
2001 | Brad Radke | Twins 3 – Tigers 2 |
2002 | Brad Radke | Twins 8 – Royals 6 |
2003 | Brad Radke | Twins 3 – Tigers 1 |
2004 | Brad Radke | Twins 7 – Indians 4 |
2005 | Brad Radke | Mariners 5 – Twins 1 |
2006 | Johan Santana | Blue Jays 6 – Twins 3 |
2007 | Johan Santana | Twins 7 – Orioles 4 |
2008 | Livan Hernandez | Twins 3 – Angels 2 |
2009 | Francisco Liriano | Mariners 6 – Twins 1 |
2010 | Scott Baker | Angels 6 – Twins 3 |
April 10 - In the Twins 50 years they are 24-26 on opening day. The Twins have had 25 different pitchers take the mound on opening day on their behalf and only four pitchers have had that honor more than twice. Brad Radke was the Twins opening day pitcher 9 times including seven consecutive opening day starts. Bert Blyleven started on opening day 6 times but oddly his only home opening day start was in 1987 in the Metrodome. The only other Twins pitchers with more than two opening day starts are Frank Viola with 4 and Dave Goltz with 3.
My Twins projections for 2010
POS | NAME | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG |
C | Mauer | 530 | 93 | 21 | 93 | 5 | .327 |
!B | Morneau | 586 | 94 | 33 | 117 | 0 | .275 |
2B | Hudson | 580 | 87 | 9 | 55 | 10 | .282 |
SS | Hardy | 585 | 78 | 22 | 70 | 2 | .278 |
3B | Punto | 370 | 50 | 1 | 32 | 13 | .251 |
3B | Harris | 440 | 60 | 7 | 53 | 1 | .269 |
RF | Cuddyer | 575 | 92 | 25 | 93 | 5 | .275 |
CF | Span | 600 | 100 | 8 | 65 | 25 | .299 |
LF | Young | 575 | 80 | 10 | 72 | 6 | .290 |
DH | Kubel | 560 | 78 | 26 | 102 | 0 | .290 |
POS | NAME | IP | WINS | SAV | K | ERA | WHIP |
SP | Baker | 202 | 16 | - | 163 | 4.19 | 1.19 |
SP | Slowey | 180 | 14 | - | 157 | 4.29 | 1.28 |
SP | Pavano | 190 | 9 | - | 143 | 4.44 | 1.36 |
SP | Blackburn | 198 | 12 | - | 95 | 4.01 | 1.35 |
SP | Liriano | 165 | 10 | - | 145 | 4.22 | 1.39 |
CL | Guerrier | 70 | 2 | 28 | 50 | 2.36 | 1.31 |
4/1/10
Rotation Spending By Team
April 1 - Compiled by Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com and reprinted with their permission.
. Diamondbacks - $22,008,925 . Athletics - $13,210,000 . Nationals - $10,224,000
Approximately $736MM will be spent on the 2010 salaries of the 150 projected members of Opening Day rotations. That's an average of $4.9MM per pitcher. On average, a team will spend $24.5MM on its rotation in 2010. The median figure is $22.8MM. The White Sox, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Rockies, and Giants don't have any projected starters earning less than $1MM. The Blue Jays will pay more to Halladay in 2010 than they will pay their entire rotation.
Closer by Committee? What a Joke!
April 1 - You have got to be kidding. A closer by committee has not worked to any degree for any team in a long time. The only time that teams go to closer by committee is when they have no closer. Ideally the Twins would invest some of their Nathan insurance money and get a legitimate closer but if they foolishly choose not to go down that path, then the Twins should just pick their best closer candidate and put him in the closer role and leave him there until he proves he cannot handle the job. How is that better than closer by committee? It is a better option because then everyone has a defined role day in and day out. The relievers will not come to the ballpark wondering if they will be pitching the sixth, seventh, eighth or closing on any given day. The Twins had an outfield by committee last year and it hurt all their outfielders, you would think Gardy and the Twins brain trust would learn from that experience. I say name Matt Guerrier as your closer and give the man a shot. If Guerrier can’t do the job, I would send Crain out there next. The season starts Monday Gardy, do your team a favor and name a closer. What have you got to lose? Best case you find a closer and worst case is you find out who can't close.
UPDATE April 2 - Twins manager Gardenhire has named Jon Rauch as the Twins closer and the Twiins plan to go closer by committee is dead before it even started. Smart move Gardy!
Joe and Joe
March 23 - First of all, congratulations to the Minnesota Twins and Joe Mauer for getting a deal done, and in the nick of time too, because both the fans and the writers were all confident that a deal would get done and Joe would resign with Minnesota but lately some ugly rumors and discussions had started surfacing that maybe Mauer should be traded if he is not interested in signing for the “big” money that the Twins were offering. These kinds of stories could only cause ill will between all parties concerned and it is a good thing that both sides were able to get together and get a deal done before the ‘mud slinging” had a chance to really get going and things were said that would not be easily forgotten.
Now that everyone has had a chance to relax and take a deep sigh of relief after Joe Mauer signed an eight year extension for $184MM it is time for the Twins brain trust to get back to solving the next big issue, what to do about the closer problem. When Joe Nathan hurt his elbow back on March 6, he decided to take two weeks and see if he could pitch through the pain and the other day he decided at he couldn’t and now will undergo the infamous TJ or “Tommy John” surgery which has a minimum recovery time of 12 months.
Internally the names that have been discussed have been Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, Jesse Crain, Pat Neshek, Anthony Slama, and Francisco Liriano but I don’t see any of these names as the answer. Let’s take a look at each one of these guys.
Jon Rauch has the most experience of the bunch with 26 career saves on the books but Gardy says that he wants a closer that can punch out a hitter when needed and Rauch’s strikeouts have dropped from 86, to 71, to 66 and 49 in the last 4 years. In addition, Rauch has given up 37 homeruns in the last 4 years, I am not sure that I would like to see Rauch as my everyday closer.
Jesse Crain is also not strikeout pitcher and seems to be too inconsistent from one outing to another in my eyes to be sent out to shut the door on a team day in and day out. Having said that, Crain can be very effective for short periods of time but I would never let Crain pitch more than one inning in whatever role he is in.
Jose Mijares is the lone lefty in the group but he just lacks the experience at this stage of his career to carry the load as the teams closer. He has the stuff to do the job but his lack of experience and his questionable attitude will keep him in his current role.
Matt Guerrier probably has the right mental attitude to be a closer but I am not sure he has the “stuff” to get the job done. Matt gives up about 10 homeruns a year on average and his strikeouts have dropped for the last 3 years in a row. Matt is one of the best set-up guys in the business and I would hate to weaken that spot to put him in a closer role where he might be less effective.
Pat Neshek is coming off an injury and did not pitch at all in 2009. Neshek’s funky delivery has served him well in the past but I don’t think that the Twins can thrust him into a closer role after such a long layoff. He meets Gardy’s requirement of having the “punch-out” ability and he for the most part can keep the ball in the ballpark but the recent injury is just more risk then the Twins will want to take at this time.
Francisco Liriano probably has the stuff to be the closer but his mentality will not allow him to fill that role. You have to be a “cool customer” to be a closer and not allow a bad call or runners on base to get to you and there is no way that Liriano can over come these obstacles at this point in his career. Plus you have to ask yourself, is Liriano really ready to jump back into the starter role? If he is, he is probably more valuable there then in the closer role.
How about Anthony Slama? Would you put a rookie driver in your Corvette? I think not.
So, there you have it, the Twins have a good bullpen but they have a missing piece and it is a key missing piece. The Twins don’t have the right spare part to fix their engine without going outside the organization. It won’t be a cheap fix and you have to give up something to get something but the Twins have no choice. The Twins $90+ million car has headed full speed into 2010 and right now the brakes are not working, they need to find the missing link that can slam on the brakes on the opposing team in the 9th inning of those close games when the Twins have the lead. The Twins cannot afford NOT to find a closer, and soon.
Former Twins 2B and ROY Chuck Knoblauch pleads guilty
March 16 - Former Twins second baseman and 1991 AL Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch has pled guilty to misdemeanor assault on his common-law wife. According to the original criminal complaint, Knoblauch’s wife stated to police that Knoblauch hit her in the face and choked her last September. According to court records, Knoblauch entered his plea today in exchange for a deferred- adjudication probation. If Knoblauch completes his one-year probation successfully the conviction on the assault of a family member would be expunged from the record. Knoblauch was also fined $1,000.
Spring Training History
March 12 - The Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators have held spring training in the following locations: Phoebus, Va. (1901); Washington, D.C. (1902-1904); Hampton, Va. (1905); Charlottesville, Va. (1906); Galveston, Texas (1907); Norfolk, Va. (1910); Atlanta (1911); Charlottesville, Ga. (1912-1916); Atlanta (1917); Augusta, Ga. (1918-1919); Tampa (1920-1929); Biloxi, Miss. (1930-1935); Orlando (1936-1942); College Park, Md. (1943-1945); Orlando (1946-1990); Ft. Myers (1991-present).
Was the Twins Dome advantage just a fallacy?
March 12 - For years opposing players and managers and writers across the country have complained about the huge home advantage that the HHH Metrodome provided for the Minnesota Twins. But when you look at the actual numbers, you will see that the Twins actually had a better winning percentage when they played at Metropolitan Stadium than they had at the Metrodome. It is also interesting to me that the Twins appeared to be a better road team when they played at Met Stadium then when they played at the Metrodome. Maybe calling the Dome home was a disadvantage when they went on the road? Another fun fact is that the Twins best decade was the 60's. It will be interesting to see what Target Field has in store for the Twins in 2010 and beyond.
Twins wins/losses by the decade
YEARS | WINS | LOSSES | WINNING % |
1961 – 1969 | 789 | 666 | ,542 |
1970 – 1979 | 812 | 794 | .506 |
1980 – 1989 | 733 | 833 | .468 |
1990 – 1999 | 718 | 833 | .463 |
2000 – 2009 | 863 | 758 | .502 |
GRAND TOTAL | 3,915 | 3,884 | .502 |
Twins wins/losses at each stadium
STADIUM | YEAR | WINS | LOSSES | WINNING % |
Met Stadium | 1961 – 1981 | 1,719 | 1,612 | .516 |
HHH Metrodome | 1982 – 2009 | 2,196 | 2,272 | .491 |
Twins wins/losses at home versus on the road by stadium
STADIUM | YEARS | WINS HOME | LOSSES HOME | WIN % HOME | WINS ROAD | LOSSES ROAD | WIN % ROAD |
Met | 1961 - 1981 | 910 | 759 | .545 | 809 | 853 | .487 |
Metrodome | 1982 – 2009 | 1,214 | 1.028 | .541 | 982 | 1.244 | .441 |
Twins average wins/loses at home versus on the road by stadium
STADIUM | YEARS | AVG WINS AT HOME | AVG LOSSES AT HOME | AVG WINS ON ROAD | AVG LOSSES ON ROAD |
Met | 1961 - 1981 | 43.33 | 36.14 | 38.52 | 40.62 |
Metrodome | 1982 – 2009 | 43.36 | 36.71 | 35.07 | 44.43 |
Nathan and the Twins
March 10 - It is all over the news, bad news for Joe Nathan, the Twins, and Twins fans everywhere. Joe Nathan has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow and right now the decision has been made to rest if for several weeks to see if that helps. No one seems to be holding out much hope that the rest will allow Nathan to pitch in 2010. You can understand the Twins point of view; they have a lot on the line so waiting two weeks or so seems a small price to pay in hoping for a miracle.
The Twins can pursue a trade for a proven closer or a closer in waiting. Word is that Jason Frasor who is currently with Toronto is available as are Heath Bell and Kerry Wood and all three have the necessary experience. Right now that seems like the best option but the price could be more than the Twins want to pay since everyone will be asking for the moon with the Twins in dire straits. If the Twins look internally to fill the void, that would present another problem because they would weaken another area to fill the closer role. But if the Twins choose that path, then I think that the pecking order for the closer role should be Rauch, Crain and Mijares. I think that Guerrier is too valuable in the role he is currently in to move to the closer position. Neshek is coming off TJ surgery himself and I can’t see the Twins putting him into the closer role at least during the first half of the season. The Twins don’t have anyone in the minors that they would trust in such a key role for a team expected to go deep in the playoffs. Whatever they do, the Twins must make a decision soon and get the bullpen calmed down with designated roles for everyone, and you don’t want the relievers to go day to day without knowing what their role will be on any given day.
I went to my first Twins spring training game of the season yesterday and saw the Twins beat the Cardinals 7-6 in an entertaining game. When we drove to the park it was crazy, traffic was backed up everywhere and I was sent driving all around the complex before they finally found a parking spot for me in right field of one of the complex’s softball fields. A five minute walk got me in the ballpark but it was the bottom of the first inning and the Twins were already down 2-0 and Adam Wainwright was starting for the Cardinals. It was a back and forth game and I think the Nathan situation was on some of the player’s minds. Nick Punto, playing 3B made two errors and just did not look like his head was in the game. There were some other fielding plays that could have been called errors but were not due to the generosity of the official scorer. Carl Pavano started for the Twins and looked OK but he did give up six hits in three innings. The big blow came in the bottom of the 8th inning with the score tied 6-6 and Danny Valencia came up to the plate for the first time and parked the ball over the left field fence for a home run. It was a nice ending to a fun day at the ballpark. Oh, why the traffic jam? I guess it was because the Twins drew their largest ever crowd to a spring training game at Hammond Stadium, 8,220 baseball starved fans got to see the Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals.
UPDATE March 21 - The Twins announced this morning that Joe Nathan will undergo "Tommy John" surgery sometime this week. The doctor and location are still to be determined.
Did you know?
March 6 - That the year 1977 marked the first time in their 17 year history that the Twins wore their names on the backs of their uniforms.
STRIKE THREE!
March 4 - The Minnesota Twins preach putting the bat on the ball and getting it in play because you never know what can happen next, but the Twins have had a number of players over the years that have taken that long walk to the bench after flailing away and missing. Strangely enough, when you look at the franchise top fifty strike-out leaders from a hitting perspective, 46 out of 50 are Twins players and only 4 are Washington Senators and both of them, Jim Lemon and Harmon Killebrew played for the Twins. You would think with the old-time pitchers accumulating so many strike-outs that you would see more Washington Senators on this list. The top Twins strikeout team was the 1997 team (68-94) with 1,121 KO's and the top Senators strike-out team was the 1960 team (73-81) with 883 KO's. The top man on the list is Bobby Darwin who led the AL in strikeouts between 1972-1974. Here are the seasonal top ten strike-out performances by Twins/Senators hitters:
Rank | Name | Strike outs | Year |
1 | Bobby Darwin | 145 | 1972 |
2(Tie) | Carlos Gomez | 142 | 2008 |
2 (Tie) | Harmon Killebrew | 142 | 1962 |
4 | Jim Lemon | 138 | 1956 |
5 | Bobby Darwin | 137 | 1973 |
6 | Harmon Killebrew | 135 | 1964 |
7 (Tie) | Rich Becker | 130 | 1997 |
7 (Tie) | Michael Cuddyer | 130 | 2006 |
9 | Jacque Jones | 129 | 2002 |
10 | Larry Hisle | 128 | 1973 |
Time to play some games 
March 3 – I got out to Hammond Stadium this morning to watch the Twins work out one more time. When I got to the ballpark about 10 AM it was in the high 50’s, the wind was blowing from the northwest, all the way from Minnesota I think, it was cloudy and it was a raw Florida day. It has been a cold winter here in southwest Florida with temps running about 15 degrees below normal. I was very surprised to see more cars in the parking lot then I have seen on any of my previous visits, so that must mean that fans are getting anxious for some baseball.
Spring training can be boring, as the picture above shows. The pitchers break up into their groups and go through their fundamentals and then once they have completed their assigned tasks then the groups change “stations” and they do something else. Some may be running, some are pitching batting practice while others are getting their throwing in under the watchful eyes of pitching coach Rick Anderson. The hitters do the same things, break into groups and go through their routines of hitting, fielding and running. Actually the Twins coaching staff does a great job of keeping them all pretty busy.
Players are constantly moving from one field to another to get to their next station and in the process of doing that they frequently have to go through the fans that are all waiting for practice to be over so they can get their pictures and autographs. The fans are actually pretty good at respecting that the players have jobs to do and they seldom interrupt them but when they do, the players politely tell them “after practice”. Most of the players are very good about signing and posing for pictures after practice and some stay out there a long time. Gardy and TK have always been very agreeable at signing autographs and posing for pictures with the fans. The Twins run a nice spring training site and not every team allows the fans to mingle with the ballplayers from their favorite team.
Things change starting Thursday as the Twins will be playing their first exhibition game, a night game down the road against the Boston Red Sox. Practice changes when games start because players have their game routines while the “non participants” go through different practice routines. Before too long, the minor league teams will start practice and then there will be even more activity on the practice fields. But practice is still practice and the Twins players are ready to start playing some baseball. Then again in another 2 weeks, exhibition games will bore them and they will be ready for some real action.
February 28 - To listen to some cool baseball clips with numerous baseball greats, please click on the Radio Baseball Cards icon. The great Don Drysdale does a very nice job in these quick short but interesting radio interviews. Several of these clips are with former Minnesota Twins players.
Remembering Lyman Wesley Bostock
February 26 - Some knowledgeable baseball people will tell you that Lyman Bostock was “the best player that you never heard of”. Lyman’s career was cut tragically short, only playing four seasons (three with the Twins and one with the Angels) but he left a lasting memory for many of us. SABR has done a nice biography about Lyman and you can read it by clicking here. There are also some video clips that show Bostock in action and explain the tragic event that ended Bostock’s once promising career and you can watch them by clicking here for part I and here for part II. You have to wonder what kind of career this man might have had.
Spring Training Report
February 24 - I went out to the ballpark on Monday morning to catch the first official work-out and had a good time. There were a number of people there but not a huge crowd by any means. It was easy to get around and view the different activities on the different practice fields. I saw Jose Mijares throwing so he obviously cleaned up his visa issues and he does look considerably thinner. Jon Rauch was throwing at the same time and boy is Rauch a physically imposing figure, he is what 6"11"? By the way, Joe Mauer was in there catching some of the pitchers.
I went over to the next field and there I saw Gardy and TK running a "pitcher cover first base drill". That is kind of fun to watch as the pitcher throws the ball to a catcher. In the mean time a coach hits another ball to a 1B who then lobs the throw to the pitcher covering first. Over and over again the same old thing, but yet sometimes during the season it looks like they never practiced it before. Gardy and TK try to make it fun and you can hear some of the banter going on back and forth. One of the things they do also is to have the coach drop a ball somewhere next to the pitcher and the pitcher has to quickly find it, pick it up and get ready to throw to first, One time Deolis Guerra was the pitcher and all of a sudden all 10 or so of the pitchers threw their balls at Guerra at the same time, there were balls everywhere and everyone got a big kick out of it including Deolis who was laughing as he threw his glove in the air.
The next field had some batting practice for the catchers and other position players that had reported early. I watched Mauer and Cuddyer hit a couple of times and they were putting a good hurt on the balls.
I was in kind of a hurry due to othe plans so I didn't go over to the minor league fields to see what was going on there but obviously some of the boys had reported early and were doing some hitting and throwing the ball around.
It appears that the players come out for stretching about 9:30 AM and practice starts about 10:00 AM. They wrap up between 11:30 and Noon and that is the best time to get pictures and autographs. The players and coaches all seem very good about that. In the picture above you can see Cuddyer as he signs and signs and signs.
For more Twins spring traing coverage, please check out the Fort Myers NEWS-PRESS.COM site by clicking here.
Pitchers that hated to walk batters
Carlos Silva
February 22 - With Twins pitchers and catchers working out for the first time today, it is a good time to take a look at the top control pitchers in franchise history. The Twins always preach to their pitchers that walks will kill. If you want to pitch for the Minnesota Twins you need to get your pitches over the plate and force the hitter to put the ball in play. This strategy has worked for the Twins in the past and I don’t see it changing in the future. So let’s take a look and see what Twins pitchers gave up the fewest walks per inning pitched and at the same time compare how Washington Senators pitchers in the past compared to their modern day counterparts.
Minnesota Twins
Rank | Pitcher | BB/9 | IP |
1 | Carlos Silva | 1.303 | 773 |
2 | Brad Radke | 1.634 | 2,451 |
3 | Jim Merritt | 1.769 | 686 |
4 | Jim “Mudcat” Grant | 1.879 | 780 |
5 | Kevin Tapani | 1.959 | 1,171 |
6 | Scott Baker | 2.054 | 653 |
7 | John Butcher | 2.148 | 502 |
8 | Jim Kaat | 2.177 | 3,014 |
9 | Dean Chance | 2.250 | 664 |
10 | Allan Anderson | 2.320 | 818 |
Washington Senators
Rank | Pitcher | BB/9 | IP |
1 | Al Orth | 1.555 | 677 |
2 | Watty Lee | 1.794 | 526 |
3 | Dutch Leonard | 1.910 | 1,899 |
4 | Walter Johnson | 2.074 | 5,914 |
5 | Garland Braxton | 2.115 | 583 |
6 | Doc Ayers | 2.301 | 1,122 |
7 | George Mogridge | 2.417 | 1,016 |
8 | Casey Patten | 2.430 | 2,059 |
9 | Charlie Smith | 2.440 | 822 |
10 | Roger Wolff | 2.442 | 527 |
Spring Training Report
February 20 - I have been out to Hammond Stadium twice in the last week and to be honest there is not a whole lot going on there yet. Sure, there are a few players there playing catch and taking some fielding and batting practice but that is about it. To date there has been no coaching staff members that I have seen. Who have I seen there? Let’s see, I have seen Kyle Gibson, Matt Bashore, Juan Portes, Toby Gardenhire, JJ Hardy, Pat Neshek, Kevin Slowey, and Scott Baker. I was kind of embarrassed when I was talking to a player that I thought was Kyle Gibson and it turned out to be Matt Bashore. Ouch! Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, and Mike Cuddyer are said to be here too but I have not seen them. There were some minor league players I did not recognize and there were a number of minor league players from other organizations that are also hanging around. I won’t be out there again till sometime next week and with pitchers and catchers reporting on Sunday, I expect to see a lot more action.
Know your franchise history
Moe Berg
February 15 - The Society for American Baseball Research is a great organization and one of the wonderful projects they have going on is the Baseball Biography Project. One of the biographies they have completed is about Moe Berg, a very interesting individual that played for the Washington Senators between 1932 and 1934. Berg also played for the Brooklyn Robins, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, and the Boston Red Sox during his 15 year major league career. You have to read this biography if you get a few minutes, just click on the picture of Moe Berg to get started.
Twins sign Jacque Jones to minor league deal
Jacque Jones
February 9 - The Twins announced today that they have signed former Twins outfielder Jacque Jones to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. At the same time the team announced that Jason Pridie has been claimed on waivers by the New York Mets when the Twins had to move a player to make room for recent signee Orlando Hudson. I don’t see Pridie leaving as any real loss to the team but it does kind of send a message as to what the 2010 team’s make-up may be.
Pridie
Jones is a 10 year veteran last seeing major league action with the Florida Marlins back in 2008. The left handed Jones spent the first 7 years of his career with the Twins between 1999 and 2005 before leaving for free agency. It will be interesting to see if Jones can make the team as the teams 5th outfielder. My guess is no and that this signing is more of a favor to Jacque Jones than anything else. It looks to me at this point that the Twins outfielders will be Cuddyer, Span, and Young with Kubel playing the corners periodically and with Nick Punto as the Twins fifth outfielder. I also heard Bill Smith state in an interview that Alexi Casilla could also play in the outfield if needed. It looks like it will be an interesting spring in Ft. Myers. Some strange goings on to be sure, it looks like the Twins are going for the gusto.
Kent Hrbek and the 82 Twins
February 7 - The 2010 baseball season is just about upon us and we can’t wait to see what the Twins new ballpark, Target Field, will be like. But before that can happen, baseball fans all over Twins territory want to hear that local boy and AL MVP Joe Mauer will sign a long term deal to stay in a Minnesota Twins uniform. Twins fans love Joe Mauer and not only want him to stay but they expect him to stay and spend his entire career in Minnesota.
If you think back to 1982 there was another local boy by the name of Kent Hrbek that was just starting to make a name for himself in the Twins new stadium at the time, the HHH Metrodome. Hrbek also had the option to leave as a free agent later in his career but he chose to stay in Minnesota and play his entire career in front of his hometown fans. Back on July 5, 1982 Sports Illustrated published a very nice story about Kent Hrbek and the 1982 Twins and if you have a few minutes to spare, take the time to click on the SI cover and check out the story written by Steve Wulf, you won’t be sorry.
Twins to sign Orlando Hudson?
February 4 - The hot rumor in baseball circles is that the Minnesota Twins are close to a deal with 32 year old and twice All-Star 2B Orlando Hudson. Hudson has been in the big leagues for 8 seasons with the Blue Jays, the Diamondbacks, and the Dodgers in 2009. The switch hitting Hudson started last season on a hot streak but cooled off and the Dodgers acquired Ronnie Belliard and he took some at bats away from Orlando but Hudson still played in 149 games getting 631 at bats. You have to figure that Hudson will hit second in the Twins line-up and thus move Hardy down the order. I can easily see Hudson scoring 85 runs, hitting 10 homeruns, knocking in about 58 RBI’s, stealing 10 bases and hitting about .285. Certainly a nice addition to the Twins line-up and it strengthens the Twins bench at the same time. Although Hudson probably has lost some range, he has won a gold glove 4 out of the last 5 years. I also think that in an emergency, Gardy can still send Punto into the outfield should that be necessary. Here is the line-up the way I see it, Span in CF, Hudson at 2B, Mauer catching, Morneau at 1B, Cuddyer in RF, Kubel at DH, Hardy at SS, Young in LF, and Harris/Punto at 3B, I like it. Hopefully Mr. Smith can get this deal done.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 5 - Twins announce that Orlando Hudson has accepted their one year $5 million dollar offer. Nice job Mr. Smith.
What “they” said about Bert in 1976
January 31 - An interesting story about Bert Blyleven written by Pat Jordan in the June 14, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. It is a fun read and I hope you enjoy it. I wonder what Bert would say about that story today? To read the story just click on the Sports Illustrated cover.
Two Triple Plays in One Game
January 30 - by Arne Christensen - During last night’s Mariners game I heard Rick Rizzs talk about a two triple play game Gary Gaetti and the Minnesota Twins had many years ago. I was curious enough to look up the game, which happened in 1990, on July 18, at Fenway. The next day, the Associated Press said the Twins had become "the first team in major-league history to turn two triple plays in the same game. Third-to-second-to-first, naturally.
In fact, the Twins had two more triple plays than runs – they lost to the Boston Red Sox 1-0.
"As a coach, when you’re in that situation, you say ‘Oh, run. Oh, no,’ " said Rac Slider, Boston’s third-base coach, who had the best seat in the house for both. "That’s all you can do."
Former Twin Tom Brunansky hit into the first triple with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. Jody Reed repeated the feat with runners at first and second in the eighth. Both bat right-handed.
Both hard grounders went to Gary Gaetti at third. Both times, he stepped on the bag for the forcer and threw to second baseman Al Newman. Both times Newman threw to Kent Hrbek to get the batters by at least a full stride.
"They fell right into our laps," Minnesota manager Tom Kelly said.
Gaetti said: "I may think about it later and think it was nice I was there (as) a part of it. But I would much rather have had a win."
Both victims knew what was happening.
Reed recalled later, "I knew it. I knew it. I said, ‘Here, we go. ‘ I knew it, particularly because I didn’t get out of the box very well."
"It’s a pretty strange feat," Brunansky said. "When I looked over . . . I saw a lot of people heading over to the dugout."
Gaetti wasn’t overly surprised, particularly with Brunansky up, that it happened again. He alerted Newman to be ready and even told Wade Boggs, who was on third, to watch for the triple play. "He just looked at me and spit," Gaetti said. "I think he rolled his eyes, too."
Reed had doubled Boggs to third and Carlos Quintana had walked.
"I play Brunansky to pull," Gaetti said. "I just thought that the situation was set up for that – the sinker-ball pitcher (Scott Erickson) and Bruno’s up there.
"I thought about how the play could develop. I didn’t have to move more than arm’s length for the ball. Then I said, ‘I’ve got to try this.’ "
Reed’s grounder, following a double by Naehring and walk to Boggs, was even easier. It came to Gaetti right at the bag.
"Reed hits the ball down there a lot," Gaetti said. "It’s the same perfect situation. And his ball was hit harder than Bruno’s."
It was up to Newman to make the final throw into the record books.
"I was really nervous on the second one because I had plenty of time, and I kind of aimed the ball over there," he said. "That’s when you get in trouble."
The triple plays overshadowed a big night for Red Sox rookie shortstop Tim Naehring, who drove in the only run in the fifth inning with his first major-league hit.
Twins sign Jim Thome, why?
January 27 - The announced that they have signed 39 year old DH Jim Thome to a one year deal for $1.5 million with another $750,000 on the table as incentives based on at bats. Thome, a left handed hitter and a five time all-star will begin his 20th season in the big leagues in 2010 having played for the Indians, the Phillies, the White Sox, and last year he split time between the Sox and the Dodgers. The man has hit more home runs against the Twins than any other player, 57 I believe and his career home run count stands at 564. I have enjoyed watching Jim Thome play baseball over the years and I have read numerous articles stating how nice a guy he is and how he helps many a charity. But I have got to ask, why would Bill Smith and the Twins sign Jim Thome? Where do you play him?
The Twins already have a nice DH and part time outfielder in the left handed Jason Kubel. Everyone is in agreement that Kubel will remain the primary DH so what do you need Thome for? The man has not put on a glove in anger since 2007 so there is no chance of him playing in the field short of a major calamity. A pinch hitter off the bench you say, let’s look at what Jim Thome accomplished as a pinch hitter for the White Sox and the Dodgers last year. For the Sox, Thome had 9 plate appearances as a pinch hitter and had nothing but a walk to show for his efforts to go along with his 4 strikeouts. As a Dodger, Thome had 17 plate appearances in which he struck out 7 times and had 4 singles and 3 RBI’s. Yes, 4 singles, no doubles, no triples, and no home runs. I am not saying that Thome is washed up, but some players are not suited to getting off the bench and taking their hacks once a day or once every several days and Thome’s history albeit short does nothing to make me think he can fill the role as the big bopper of the bench. Let’s assume for a moment here that Thome does pinch hit and bloops a single down the right field line, you think Gardy is going to let him run and clog up the bases and kill a rally? No sir, Gardy is too smart for that so he will burn another bench player running for Thome. So to get this rally going we have burned at least two bench players. If you decide to play Thome as the DH then either Delmon Young or Kubel probably sits, what is the point of that? Carlos Gomez was traded to solve the crowded outfield problem and now here once again we have found a new way to keep Young from playing full time. If the Twins don’t think that Young can fill their outfield role full time, then they should just trade the guy and be done with it. Geez, enough is enough already.
Even by today’s standards $1.5 million is still a lot of money and I think Bill Smith just threw it out his Target Field window. Why not save that money and pool it with the money they still have to spend to fill either the 2B or 3B hole and get a player that can really help this team. Smith’s master plan for 2010 is obviously well beyond me because I just don’t get it. I am also amazed at how the local press and bloggers all seem to be in favor of this signing. Again, I ask why?
Did you know?
January 24 - That in the Minnesota Twins first 26 seasons (1961-1986) the Twins had 11 different managers and that in the last 23 years (1986-2009) the Twins have had just 2 managers.
Top franchise home run teams
January 23 - The home run, the long ball, the big blast, or whatever you want to call it is fun to watch and it can put runs on the score board in a hurry. The home run is loved by most baseball fans (pitchers excluded of course) but it does not guarantee a winning season. The 1965 Twins hit 150, the 1987 Twins hit 196 and the 1991 Twins hit 140 home runs and all three teams played in a World Series. The Twins big slugger as we all know was Harmon Killebrew who hit 49 out of the park in 1964 and again in 1969. Matter of fact, the Killer holds the top nine Twins home run seasons, Bob Allison joins him in the top ten with 35 in 1963. The Twins least productive season from a home run perspective was the strike shortened season of 1981 when the Twins hit only 47 long balls in 109 games and Roy Smalley was the team leader with a total of 7. Their lowest full season home run output was 81 in 1976 when they finished third with an 85-77 record and Disco Danny Ford hit 20 round trippers.
Twins top 10 home run teams
| YEAR | HOME RUNS | RECORD | FINISH |
1 | 1963 | 225 | 91-70 | 3 |
2 | 1964 | 221 | 79-83 | 6 |
3 | 1986 | 196 | 71-91 | 6 |
4 | 1987 | 196 | 85-77 | 1 |
5 | 2004 | 191 | 92-70 | 1 |
6 | 1962 | 185 | 91-71 | 2 |
7 | 2009 | 172 | 87-76 | 1 |
8 | 1961 | 167 | 70-90 | 7 |
9 | 2002 | 167 | 94-67 | 1 |
10 | 2001 | 164 | 85-77 | 2 |
1987 - World Champions
2004 – Central Division Champions
2009 – Central Division Champions
2002 – Central Division Champions
The Senators top home run teams never even got a sniff of the top spot in their league as their top 10 home run teams never finished better than in fifth place. Their pennant winning teams of 1924, 1925, and 1933 hit 22, 56, and 60 home runs respectively. The Senators top sluggers were none other than the Twins big bopper, Harmon Killebrew who hit 42 as a Senator in 1959 and Roy Sievers who hit 42 out of the park for the 1957 Senators and hit 39 more in 1958.
Senators top 10 home run teams
| YEAR | HOME RUNS | RECORD | FINISH |
1 | 1959 | 163 | 63-91 | 8 |
2 | 1960 | 147 | 73-81 | 5 |
3 | 1958 | 121 | 61-93 | 8 |
4 | 1956 | 112 | 59-95 | 7 |
5 | 1957 | 111 | 55-99 | 8 |
6 | 1938 | 85 | 75-76 | 5 |
7 | 1949 | 81 | 50-104 | 8 |
8 | 1954 | 81 | 66-88 | 6 |
9 | 1955 | 80 | 53-101 | 8 |
10 | 1950 | 76 | 67-87 | 5 |
Kouzmanoff traded to the A’s
January 16 - It has been reported that the San Diego Padres have traded 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Oakland A’s and now the door is quickly closing on any hopes of the Twins getting a major league caliber 3B. The free agent market at 3B is drying quickly up with Joe Crede, Melvin Mora, and Andy Kennedy as the last men standing and there are rumors out there that the Orioles are hot on the Crede trail. I am not sure that Mora is any improvement over what we currently have at playing third now and we certainly don’t want Adam Kennedy.
So what do the Twins do, they still have holes at 3B and 2B? The 2B free agent market still has Orlando Hudson who would be a great pick-up and Felipe Lopez who would also be a nice fit but after that it drops down to Ronnie Belliard and of course Adam Kennedy again.
It seems that the Joe Mauer salary negotiations are already impacting the team that the Twins can put on Target Field. The Twins need to sign Mauer but they find themselves between a rock and a hard spot because they have a pretty solid team but they have two major holes in their infield. If the team is going to seriously contend, the Twins need to bite the bullet and spend the money to fill at least one of the two holes and probably play Punto in the other position. If they do nothing, they still end up with a high salary team with diminished hopes of making the playoffs and you can already hear the “time to rebuild” chatter starting to gather momentum.
You can bring Danny Valencia up and play him at 3B but he is not ready. The sad part is that neither his hitting not his fielding is ready to play in the big leagues, if either his glove or his bat were ready, it would be easier to throw him in the fire and suffer with the other but that is not the case.
I guess that is why Mr. Smith makes the big bucks, to make these kinds of decisions, but here we are, about a month away from spring training and the Twins have two major holes in the infield and Mauer is still not signed for the long term. Do something Mr. Smith, show us you are breathing and that there is more going on at Target Field then just everyone “patting themselves on the back” for the great ballpark that will open in April. If nothing else, at least bring back Joe Crede, maybe he can play 3B at Target Field five days a week. I think the ball is in your court Mr. Smith, I know you have been working hard and that you have really been getting after it, but now it is time we see the fruits of your labor.
Central Division 2000 to 2009
January 15 - It is easy to complain about the Twins after a series of bad games or when they can’t seem to fill a position with what we consider a star or for that matter even an adequate player but all it takes is a quick look at the last decade and you will see how good the Twins really have been. Did you know that in the American League only the Yankees with 965 wins, the Red Sox with 920 wins, the Angels with 900 wins, and the A’s with 890 wins have won more games in the last ten years then the Minnesota Twins with their 863 victories? During this time period the Seattle Mariners with 116 wins in 2001 had the most wins in a single season and on the other side of the coin the Detroit Tigers lost the most games in a single season in 2003 when they came up on the short-end of the score 119 times. During the past decade only four AL teams have won 100 or more games in a single season, the Yankees did it four times, the A’s twice, and the Mariners and Angels each accomplished the feat once. On the 100 or more losses side, the Royals lead with four, the Rays have done it three times, the Tigers have done it twice, and the Mariners did it once.
2000-2009
Team | Wins | Losses | Win Percentage |
Twins | 863 | 758 | .532 |
White Sox | 857 | 764 | .529 |
Indians | 816 | 804 | .504 |
Tigers | 729 | 891 | .450 |
Royals | 672 | 948 | .415 |
If you assign 1 point to a first place finish, 2 for second, 3 for third, 4 for fourth place, and 5 for a fifth place finish you come up with the following average finish for the past decade in the Central Division.
Team | Points | Average Finish |
Twins | 20 | 2.0 |
White Sox | 22 | 2.2 |
Indians | 27 | 2.7 |
Tigers | 36 | 3.6 |
Royals | 44 | 4.4 |
In the past decade the Twins have finished first 5 times, the White Sox have won 3 times, and the Indians finished first twice and the Tigers and Royals have never won a Central Division title. The Royals have finished in fifth and last place on 5 occasions.
Twins sign Clay Condrey
January 7 - The Twins announced they signed relief pitcher Clay Condrey yesterday and put him on the 40 man roster replacing reliever Bobby Keppel who was given his release so he can sign with a team in Japan. Condrey is 34 years old, stands 6’3” and weighs 225. The right handed Condrey throws a sinker, cutter, curveball, changeup, and a four-seam fastball, that is a lot of pitches for a reliever. Condrey has pitched in the big leagues off and on since 2002 but he did spend all of 2004 and 2005 in the minors. 2008 is the only season that Condrey has spent the entire year in the majors.
When I look at his career stats, I see a journeyman pitcher who may or may not help the Twins. Condrey has appeared in 179 games and has an 18-12 record with an ERA of 4.10 and a WHIP of 1.470. He has struck out 143 in 250+ innings but what I don’t like is the 281 hits he has given up. The press talks about him filling a role in the pen while the team waits for Neshek to return from surgery but I see him more as a long guy, last man on the staff, filling the Keppel role. Time will tell I guess.
No call to the hall for Bert again this year!
January 6 - Once again this year Bert Blyleven failed to garner enough votes to get elected to the Hall of Fame. This year Bert colled 400 votes (74.2%) but still was 5 votes short of that magic number. I'm sorry, but all can say to those voters who left Bert off the ballot is "shame on you" and I think it sucks that Bert has to wait still another year.
Slick
January 5 - I recently ran across a story about manager Billy Gardner and the 1984 Twins written by Ron Fimrite in the September 24, 1984 issue of Sport Illustrated that I really enjoyed and I bet you will too. Billy Gardner played in 1,150 minor league games and 1,034 major league games and that is not counting the games he coached or managed.
Billy signed with the New York Giants prior to the 1945 season and started his quest for the big leagues with class “D” Bristol. Gardner made his major league debut on April 22, 1954 at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field in a Giants 7-4 loss to the Pirates but Billy who came in to play 2B late in the game was 1 for 1 in his first big league game. After being sold by the Giants to the Orioles, Billy went on to play for the Senators, Twins, Yankees, and finally the Red Sox where he played in his final major league game in 1963. Billy played in the minors in 1964 before moving in to coaching and managing in the minors from 1965 through 1980.
In 1981 Calvin Griffith gave Billy a shot at managing the Minnesota Twins when he hired Gardner to replace Johnny Goryl. Slick managed some really poor Twins teams for several years before the 1984 team made a nice run at the title before finishing in second place. A poor start in 1985 ended Billy Gardner’s Twins managing career when he was fired and replaced by Ray Miller. Gardner finished his Twins managing career with a 268-353 record. Billy surfaced in the majors again in 1987 when he piloted the Kansas City Royals to a 62-63 record before being replaced by John Wathan. Billy Gardner was a player’s manager and it is hard to find any player who had bad things to say about the man they called Slick, Whitey, and Shotgun. Click on the cover of the Sports Illustrated to read the Billy Gardner article.