Top 20 pitching seasons by a Twins pitcher

Bert Blyleven

The Minnesota Twins have played baseball for 62 seasons and they have had 273 different pitchers start one or more games for them. The number drops to 26 pitchers having started 100 or more games, just six having started 200 or more, three at 300 or more and only Jim Kaat started over 400 or 422 to be exact.

Pitching has not exactly been the Twins strength over the years, the team has been known for producing hitters. But the Twins have had a number of very good pitchers with Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat in the MLB Hall of Fame. The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame includes pitchers Blyleven, Kaat, Frank Viola, Rick Aguilera, Brad Radke, Jim Perry, Camilo Pascual, Eddie Guardado, Johan Santana and Joe Nathan. Three of the inductee’s were relievers.

Former Twins pitcher David West passes away at the age of 57

David West was born on September 1, 1964, in Memphis, TN, to Eugene C. West and Vivian Womble West. David passed away in Palm City, Florida from brain cancer on May 14, 2022.

West fell in love with baseball at an early age. According to Ripbaseball.com, West excelled in American Legion ball, playing for Millington Telephone, but the big left-hander with the 90 mile-per-hour fastball had to wait a bit to play at Craigmont High School. He was declared scholastically ineligible and missed his first two seasons of high school ball. After his Senior season he was named to second team of American Baseball Coaches Association High School All-America squad.

Minnesota Twins pitching leaders in games started

Back on December 19 in 2006 pitcher Brad Radke announced his plans to retire after 12 season of wearing the colors of the Minnesota Twins. That got me to wondering where the Twins pitchers with the most starts for Minnesota came from.

  1. Jim Kaat had 422 starts with the Twins and was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1957 long before the draft was instituted and was one of the original Minnesota Twins in 1961. Debuted August 2, 1959 with the Senators.
  2. Brad Radke had 377 starts with the Twins and was an eighth round pick in the June amateur draft in 1991. Radke debuted on April 29, 1995 in three not so stellar innings of relief and started every game that he appeared in after that.
  3. Bert Blyleven had 345 starts with the Twins after being drafted by Minnesota in round three of the 1969 June amateur draft. Bert debuted on June 5, 1970 and all his appearances but three were starts.
  4. Frank Viola had 259 and just one relief appearance with the Twins after being selected in round 16 of June 1978 amateur draft. Sweet Music debuted on June 6, 1982.
  5. Jim Perry had 249 start for Minnesota after being acquired in a trade on May 2, 1963 from the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jack Kralick.
  6. Dave Goltz had 215 starts for the Twins after drafted in the round five of the 1967 June amateur draft. The Rothsay, Minnesota native debuted on July 18, 1972.
  7. Kyle Gibson had 188 starts with Minnesota after being drafted 22nd in round one of the 2009 June amateur draft. Gibson debuted on June 29, 2013.
  8. Kevin Tapani had 180 starts in 181 appearances in a Twins uniform after being acquired in a trade from the New York Mets in the Frank Viola trade on July 31, 1989. Tapani had debuted with the Mets on July 4, 1989.
  9. Camilo Pascual had 179 starts with Minnesota and was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent prior to the 1952 season long before the draft was instituted and was one of the original Minnesota Twins in 1961. Pascual debuted on April 15, 1954.
  10. Johan Santana had 175 starts with the Twins after being drafted by the Florida Marlins from the Houston Astros in the 1999 rule 5 draft and then being traded to the Twins for Jared Camp who the Twins had originally drafted in the Rule 5 draft that year. Santana debuted on April 3, 2000.

The other players with 150 or more starts for Minnesota are Eric Milton with 165, Scott Baker with 159, Scott Erickson with 153, Kyle Lohse with 152 and Dave Boswell with 150.

The only pitchers mentioned here today to make a start for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field are Kyle Gibson and Scott Baker.

The only pitcher on this list to spend his entire career in Minnesota? That would be Brad Radke.

It is all uphill from here – tough starts by Twins starters

Since the Minnesota Twins started play here in 1961 they have played 9,451 games through August 31, 2020. The Twins obviously needed a starting or in recent times an opening pitcher for each of those games.

Sometimes the starts don’t go exactly as planned as the pitchers on the list included here can attest. If you watched one of these games you were probably saying “get him out of there” but did you know that you were watching something pretty rare? A Minnesota Twins starter getting pulled and sent to the showers before he hardly had a chance to work up a sweat doesn’t happen very often, as a matter of fact it hasn’t happened since 2012 when P.J. Walters was the unlucky victim. Just looking at Twins history, it has happened just 17 times in 9,451 games or in just .0017% of the starts.

If you take a closer look at the list you will see there are some pretty good starters on this list. One of these types of starts doesn’t always guarantee that the team would lose either, in four of the seventeen cases the Twins came back to win the game. In six of the seventeen cases shown here the starter didn’t walk away with the “L”.

Al Schroll
Results
Rk Player Date Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB HR UER BF
1 Al Schroll 1961-08-26 BAL L 4-7 GS-1, L 0.0 3 4 3 2 1 1 6
2 Jim Kaat 1962-04-19 CHW L 3-10 GS-1, L 0.0 4 4 2 0 0 2 4
3 Ray Moore 1963-07-05 (1) BAL L 3-4 GS-1, L 0.0 2 4 3 2 0 1 5
4 Jim Roland 1964-08-06 BOS W 6-5 GS-1 0.0 2 4 2 2 1 2 5
5 Tom Hall 1968-08-09 NYY W 4-3 GS-1 0.0 2 3 2 3 0 1 6
6 Dave Boswell 1970-06-28 (2) CHW L 10-11 GS-1 0.0 1 2 2 1 0 0 2
7 Ray Corbin 1974-06-30 (1) CHW L 3-8 GS-1, L 0.0 4 4 4 0 0 0 4
8 Vic Albury 1974-07-19 DET W 7-5 GS-1 0.0 2 3 3 1 1 0 3
9 Ray Corbin 1975-06-30 CAL L 3-10 GS-1, L 0.0 6 6 6 0 1 0 6
10 Pete Redfern 1982-06-26 TOR W 4-3 GS-1 0.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2
11 Bryan Oelkers 1983-06-21 TOR L 3-8 GS-1, L 0.0 4 4 4 1 1 0 5
12 Ken Schrom 1985-07-20 NYY L 3-8 GS-1, L 0.0 3 4 4 1 1 0 4
13 Frank Viola 1986-05-20 BOS L 7-17 GS-1, L 0.0 5 6 6 1 0 0 6
14 Roy Smith 1989-05-26 TEX L 3-5 GS-1, L 0.0 5 4 4 0 0 0 5
15 Kevin Tapani 1990-07-13 (1) BAL L 5-8 GS-1 0.0 2 2 2 0 0 0 2
16 Frankie Rodriguez 1996-07-30 BAL L 4-16 GS-1, L 0.0 2 5 3 2 0 2 5
17 P.J. Walters 2012-06-13 PHI L 8-9 GS-1, L 0.0 4 4 4 0 0 0 4
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 8/29/2020.

If you want to check out some Twins historically bad starts in terms of runs allowed, I did a piece on that called “Historically bad starts by Twins pitchers” back on 2015 that you can also check out.

Twins pitching leaders in complete games by decade

A complete game in baseball is about as rare nowadays as finding a pay phone at your local corner service station. The complete game has gone by the wayside and this year with what is going on in baseball with the COVID-19 situation it will be even more of a rare occurrence.

The top ten MLB pitchers in complete games from 1961 to 2019 are all in the Hall of Fame. The leader is Gaylord Perry with 303 complete games and tenth on the list is Jim Palmer with 211. The Twins Bert Blyleven is number six on that list with 242 complete games.

If you only look at the American League from 1961 through 2019 the leader is Bert Blyleven with 222. Bert is also the all-time Twins leader in complete games with 141 followed by Jim Kaat with 133. So now you know why Bert always brags on TV about pitching complete games.

If we look at Twins complete game leaders by decade you get a list that looks like this:

Twins/Senators franchise leaders in games with 10> K’s

Walter Johnson
Results
Rk Player #Matching   W L W-L% ERA GS CG SHO IP HR BB SO Tm
1 Walter Johnson 46 Ind. Games 36 8 .818 0.51 45 45 13 441.1 1 92 513 WSH
2 Camilo Pascual 40 Ind. Games 27 11 .711 1.97 40 30 8 357.0 15 113 448 WSH,MIN
3 Johan Santana 39 Ind. Games 26 6 .813 1.93 39 2 1 289.0 34 45 442 MIN
4 Bert Blyleven 36 Ind. Games 21 12 .636 1.68 36 24 5 306.0 11 66 406 MIN
5 Jim Kaat 19 Ind. Games 17 1 .944 1.50 18 15 3 174.0 8 33 205 MIN
6 Dave Boswell 14 Ind. Games 12 1 .923 2.12 14 8 2 119.0 12 32 157 MIN
7 Frank Viola 12 Ind. Games 7 2 .778 2.23 12 2 0 93.0 8 23 124 MIN
8 Francisco Liriano 11 Ind. Games 6 2 .750 1.48 11 0 0 79.0 3 18 122 MIN
9 Dean Chance 9 Ind. Games 8 0 1.000 1.11 9 8 3 81.0 2 11 97 MIN
10 Jose Berrios 9 Ind. Games 8 1 .889 0.53 9 1 0 67.2 0 6 96 MIN
11 Eric Milton 8 Ind. Games 7 1 .875 1.89 8 2 2 62.0 4 8 88 MIN
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/14/2020.

Some pretty good pitchers on this list. One of the items that just jumps out at me is the fact that Walter Johnson gave up just one home run in the games that he pitched and struck out 10> while Johan Santana gave up 34 blasts during his 10> K games. Do you think that Bert Blyleven knows that Johan Santana has more 10 strikeout games in a Twins uniform then he does? If you want to see something interesting click on the Ind. Games link for Walter Johnson and check out how many of his complete games were extra inning efforts.

Quality Starts and the Minnesota Twins

Regardless if you believe in Quality Starts (QS) or not, the term is used now days in MLB. A QS is defined as pitching six innings or more while allowing three or fewer earned runs. I would be happier if a QS was seven innings and two or fewer earned runs but that is just my age showing. The new “opener” strategy could put a kink in QS but I don’t think the opener strategy is a fit for most teams and will not be a big deal down the line.

Today we are taking a look at consecutive QS for Minnesota Twins starters and we have one pitcher that stands head and shoulders above the rest of the Twins pitchers in QS and that is Johan Santana who had 21 QS in a row in 2004. Impressive or not? You bet your bippy it is, no American League pitcher between 1961-2018 has thrown that many QS in a row. In the National league only four pitchers have thrown that many QS in a row since 1961, Bob Gibson leads with 26 in 1967, Jacob deGrom (2018) and Jake Arrieta (2015) have 24 and Chris Carpenter has 22 in 2005.

The closest to Santana’s streak of 21 in Minnesota is Bert Blyleven who had 12 in 1972 and Jim Merritt who also had 12 in 1967. The biggest surprise on this list to me is Rick Aguilera with 10 QS in 1989. I certainly remember Aggie starting for Minnesota when they first traded for him but I don’t remember him as pitching that well, maybe it was the fact that his record was only 3-4 during the streak.

Johan Santana

Results
Rk Name Strk Start End Games W L GS CG SHO IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 Johan Santana 2004-06-09 2004-09-24 21 18 2 21 1 1 154.1 77 23 30 199 1.34
2 Bert Blyleven 1972-08-19 1973-04-06 12 8 3 12 7 1 99.0 82 19 24 87 1.73
3 Jim Merritt 1967-06-25 1967-08-18 12 5 3 12 4 1 101.1 77 18 8 64 1.60
4 Frank Viola 1987-06-26 1987-08-16 11 8 2 11 4 1 87.0 69 19 21 70 1.97
5 Dick Woodson 1972-07-11 1972-08-28 11 6 4 11 7 2 90.1 61 14 26 43 1.39
6 Eric Milton 2000-09-23 2001-05-13 10 5 3 10 1 1 68.1 67 20 16 45 2.63
7 Scott Erickson 1990-09-23 1991-05-17 10 8 2 10 3 2 77.1 53 10 28 36 1.16
8 Rick Aguilera 1989-08-08 1989-09-26 10 3 4 10 3 0 71.2 61 22 16 55 2.76
9 Roger Erickson 1980-08-01 1980-09-17 10 3 4 10 4 0 80.0 71 18 16 42 2.03
10 Lee Stange 1963-08-06 1963-09-15 10 7 2 10 5 1 83.0 65 16 19 55 1.73
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/31/2018.

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The Minnesota Twins longest streak of QS as a team is 13 QS in a row in 1969. The pitchers in that streak were Dean Chance, Dave Boswell, Jim Perry, Dick Woodson, Tommy Hall and Jim Kaat.

Best seasons by Twins position players & pitchers

As the Twins prepare for their 59th season of play in Minnesota we should look back and be thankful for some great seasons these players have given us in the past. I am using B-R Play Index to come up with the ten greatest seasons by Minnesota Twins players over the years and I am once again using WAR as the tool to do this. I think you might be surprised at some of these.

Twins pick-off artist’s

It is obviously important for pitchers to keep base runners as close to the base as possible to prevent them from getting a good jump and stealing a base. What Twins pitchers were the best at this seemingly lost art? Jon Lester (Cubs) doesn’t even throw the ball to first any more for fear of throwing the ball away. As you might guess most of the pitchers on this list are lefties but a few right-handed pitchers are sprinkled in.

Most pick-offs in a single season by Twins pitchers

Results
Rk Player PO Year G W L W-L% SV IP SO ERA SB CS
1 Jerry Koosman 14 1979 37 20 13 .606 0 263.2 157 3.38 7 16
2 Mark Guthrie 11 1990 24 7 9 .438 0 144.2 101 3.79 17 12
3 Roger Erickson 10 1978 37 14 13 .519 0 265.2 121 3.96 5 15
4 Allan Anderson 8 1990 31 7 18 .280 0 188.2 82 4.53 10 11
5 Jerry Koosman 7 1980 38 16 13 .552 2 243.1 149 4.03 7 10
6 Mark Guthrie 6 1989 13 2 4 .333 0 57.1 38 4.55 5 6
7 Frank Viola 6 1988 35 24 7 .774 0 255.1 193 2.64 7 8
8 Dave Goltz 6 1977 39 20 11 .645 0 303.0 186 3.36 18 16
9 Vic Albury 6 1974 32 8 9 .471 0 164.0 85 4.12 12 13
10 Eddie Bane 6 1973 23 0 5 .000 2 60.1 42 4.92 3 8
11 Jim Merritt 6 1968 38 12 16 .429 1 238.1 181 3.25 8 2

 

Most career pick-offs as a Twins pitcher

Frank Viola

Results
Rk Player PO From To G W L W-L% SV IP SO ERA SB CS
1 Frank Viola 27 1982 1989 260 112 93 .546 0 1772.2 1214 3.86 70 69
2 Jerry Koosman 24 1979 1981 94 39 35 .527 7 601.1 361 3.77 15 33
3 Mark Guthrie 20 1989 1995 240 29 27 .518 8 489.2 388 4.19 50 30
4 Francisco Liriano 17 2005 2012 156 50 52 .490 1 783.1 788 4.33 67 23
5 Roger Erickson 17 1978 1982 114 31 47 .397 0 712.0 321 4.10 23 32
6 Allan Anderson 15 1986 1991 148 49 54 .476 0 818.2 339 4.11 54 38
7 Dave Goltz 15 1972 1979 247 96 79 .549 3 1638.0 887 3.48 111 76
8 Johan Santana 14 2000 2007 251 93 44 .679 1 1308.2 1381 3.22 28 29
9 Geoff Zahn 14 1977 1980 133 53 53 .500 0 852.0 348 3.90 30 42
10 Jim Kaat 14 1961 1973 468 189 152 .554 5 2959.1 1824 3.28 115 47
11 Bert Blyleven 11 1970 1988 348 149 138 .519 0 2566.2 2035 3.28 221 111
12 Vic Albury 11 1973 1976 101 18 17 .514 1 372.2 193 4.11 24 27
13 Jim Merritt 11 1965 1968 122 37 41 .474 6 686.2 527 3.03 14 13
14 Jim Perry 10 1963 1972 376 128 90 .587 5 1883.1 1025 3.15 43 66
15 Kyle Gibson 9 2013 2017 110 36 43 .456 0 632.2 428 4.78 33 11

Note that current Twin pitcher Kyle Gibson made the career list.

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Frank Viola

Another day and another major league debut as a Minnesota Twin, but this was not your run of the mill Twins star that debuted on June 6

Frank Viola

Frank Viola (P) – June 6, 1982 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft. Viola’s debut was not exactly vintage “sweet music” on June 6 when he first stepped on the Metrodome mound to face the Baltimore Orioles and Dennis Martinez and he ended up taking the loss in the 7-5 O’s win but his good days were just on the horizon. Just in case you wanted to know, the Twins selected Bryan Oelkers as their first round pick and fourth overall just ahead of the Mets pick of Dwight Gooden.

To see other Major League Debut’s as Minnesota Twins