TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
Josh Donaldson while with the Atlanta Braves in 2019. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
I was watching the MLB channel last night when they interrupted their programming with breaking news that the Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora had mutually agreed to part ways after the previous days bombshell of the “caught stealing” penalties dropped on the Houston Astros by MLB. Then just a few minutes into that, they had more breaking news, this time the report was that a source (turned out to be MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand) had reported that third baseman Josh Donaldson had agreed to accept a four-year deal with Minnesota for $92 million guaranteed, including an $8 million buyout of a $16 million club option for a fifth year.
What is going on here? L-R – Jim Pohlad, Michael Cuddyer, Derek Falvey, and ?
The Minnesota Twins find themselves in a strange position this spring. The team is coming off a record-setting 59-103 season and yet there are really no position battles waging in Ft. Myers this spring. All the starting position players are pretty much the same as last season except for the catcher Kurt Suzuki who left via free agency and the Twins signed free agent Jason Castro to replace him and handed him the starting job.
How often does that happen? Usually you lose 103 games and everyone is fighting for a job but that is not the case in the spring of 2017 at the CenturyLink Sports complex where the Twins are preparing for the 2017 season. As I watch the team go through its spring routines there doesn’t seem to be much urgency and the players are acting as if they are all veterans just waiting for the bell to ring in a new season. I can see the players going through the drills but I just don’t see that they are working hard to get better. This team is young, and talented but have they had enough sand kicked in their face yet to really want to win? I hope so.
I am still convinced that Joe Mauer playing first base limits the Twins from taking that next step. Mauer is the grey-beard among the position players at 33 and then Brian Dozier and Jason Castro follow at 29 and the rest of the starting line-up is 25 or under.
If you look at the spring training stats and I know they don’t mean a hill of beans when the season starts BUT this team appears to be a team that can score some runs but will hit for a lower average than what fans might expect. Mauer’s .300 plus days are in his rear view mirror and I am not expecting Jason Castro, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, or Brian Dozier to hit .260 or above. I expect a higher average from Eddie Rosario this year but he too is still unproven.
In spite of what I have written this team should be fun to watch but you must be prepared for those “what the hell just happened” moments. This team will continue to improve as the season progresses and but so much will depend on the teams pitching staff both from the starters and the relievers.
I was used to seeing GM Terry Ryan out next to the fields checking out the action but this year I have not seen Thad Levine at all and Derek Falvey just once and that was this morning. A different style I guess, particularly since all I heard early on about Falvey was how closely he worked with his manager. But you are right, it is still early.
After horrible starts to the season the last two years, how will the Twins leave the starting gate in 2017? Another bad start could would be a serious problem for Paul Molitor and his boys.
In their 56 seasons of baseball in Minnesota the Twins have had 71 different players don the tools of ignorance and squat down behind the plate to catch a major league pitcher. Two those 71 players only caught in one inning of one game. Cesar Tovar did it when owner Calvin Griffith had him play every position in a game in 1968 as a gimmick and manager Tom Kelly had Jeff Reboulet catch the ninth inning in a 1995 game against the Royals in the Metrodome. It wasn’t an easy inning for Reboulet either, as he caught two different pitchers as the Royals sent 12 men to the plate and scored 6 runs on 6 hits not to mention 2 walks and a wild pitch.
With the Minnesota 2017 TwinsFest going on I thought it would be a good time to rank the Twins catchers. The Twins have been looking for an everyday catcher ever since Joe Mauer hung up his catcher’s mitt after the 1993 season due to a variety of injuries the most serious of which were his concussion problems. Kurt Suzuki filled in since then but he too has moved on. The Twins Top 10 Catchers list ranks the catchers by B-R WAR statistics. Player must have appeared in at least 51% of his games as a catcher to qualify for this list.
In 1,013 games Twins second baseman Chuck Knoblauch stole a total of 276 bases and Rod Carew stole 271 bases in 1,635 games. On the other end of the spectrum we have the following heavy-footed plodding group who had no chance to steal a base although a few of them attempted to do so.
Twins leaders in games played with zero stolen bases
Even catcher Earl Battey who was as slow as they come and once was thrown out at first base on what appeared to be a clean single to right field had 13 career stolen bases.
The Minnesota have lots of issues that need fixing and in spite of their horrendous pitching the very first problem they need to address is Joe Mauer. I know Mauer is making $23 million a year but money is not the issue here. The problem here is that he is playing first base and hitting in one of the top three spots in the batting order while hitting .258 with 26 RBI in 337 plate appearances. Catcher Kurt Suzuki who hits in the bottom of the order is hitting .278 with 25 RBI in just 194 PA’s. I am not trying to show how good Suzuki is, I am trying to show how bad Mauer really is.
In spite of the money that Mauer makes and how poorly he hits, the most biggest problem with Mauer is that he is blocking lots of other moves that can make this team better. I know that Mauer has a no-trade clause and he wants to be a Twin for life but the time has come for Joe to move on. I like Mauer as a person but the reality is that the best thing for Joe and the Minnesota Twins is for him to say good-bye to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and join a contender. Joe deserves to be on a playoff contender as he plays his 13th season in the majors and his leaving would start a new era in Twins baseball. Mauer has been the face of the franchise for years but he has never been the Twins leader. To me it is ironic that an athlete that was good enough to be a catcher, a quarterback, and a point guard doesn’t have leadership skills. Mauer is a follower and not a leader but it is difficult for any other Twins player to step up and assume the leadership role as long as Mauer dons a Twins uniform.
Twins General Manager Terry Ryan (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
GM Terry Ryan and the rest of the organization have to bite the bullet on this one and move Mauer to a team that works for him and probably receive very little in return unless they are willing to swallow a huge chunk of Mauer’s salary. There is just no way I can see Mauer starting for this team the next two plus years without hindering its progress. The team is out the money anyway so why not move Joe to a contender and free up a roster spot and make it a win/win for Mauer, the Twins and most of all, the fans.
It is hard to move forward when you have an anchor that keeps you in that same old spot. Lots of things in our life are not fun to do but these tasks still need to be done, life isn’t always a bowl of cherries. Step up Mr. Ryan and let’s get this deal done.
Kurt Suzuki went 4-for-5 with six RBIs in the Twins’ 14-10 victory over the Phillies on Tuesday. Suzuki is only the second catcher in the Twins’ franchise history to produce at least four hits and six RBIs in a game, joining Joe Mauer, who had five hits and seven RBIs on July 26, 2010.
From the time the Twins started play in 1961 through yesterday June 14 (2016) the Minnesota Twins have hit 7,462 home runs, 3,746 have been hit on the road and 3,716 have been hit at home. The Twins hit 1,872 home runs at the Metrodome, 1,424 at Met Stadium and 420 at Target Field. The most home runs the Twins have hit on the road have been at the Angels home park where they have hit 257.
Of the Twins 7,462 round-trippers only 50 of them have been inside-the-park home runs. Inside-the-park home runs are relatively rare so I am a bit surprised that when Eduardo Nunez hit the latest one back on June 2 that no one mentioned that it was number 50 in Minnesota Twins history. How rare are they? Only .0067% of Twins home runs are of the inside-the-park variety. So what Twins have hit IPHR’s? We have put together a complete list here for you with the help of Baseball-Reference.
Twins inside-the-park home runs from 1961-June 2, 2016
When the umpires call “Play Ball” for the Twins/Orioles game on Monday it will Twins opening day number 56. No I have not attended all the openers but I usually watch them on TV or listen to them on the radio, this time I will be listening or watching on my computer in Cape Coral, Florida.
So who will be in the Twins opening day line-up this year? You can never know for sure until they run on the field but I think that it is a safe assumption that only four players that were in the 2015 season opening loss in Detroit will be in Paul Molitor‘s starting line-up for the start the 2016 season for Minnesota in Baltimore. Those player’s being Kurt Suzuki catching, Joe Mauer at 1B, Brian Dozier at 2B and Trevor Plouffe at 3B. You probably can’t even remember the Twins 2015 opening day line-up, can you?
Here is a chance for you to look back to the last 10 years worth of Twins opening day line-ups. Some players are obviously familiar and others you probably have forgotten even played for Minnesota and some younger fans may have never even heard of some of these guys. For me it is interesting to see how much baseball teams turn-over from year to year and what positions the Twins seem to have trouble with.
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
LF
CF
RF
DH
SP
YEAR
2015
Kurt
Suzuki
Joe
Mauer
Brian
Dozier
Trevor
Plouffe
Danny
Santana
Oswaldo
Arcia
Jordan
Schafer
Torii
Hunter
Kennys
Vargas
Phil
Hughes
2015
2014
Kurt
Suzuki
Joe
Mauer
Brian
Dozier
Trevor
Plouffe
Pedro
Florimon
Josh
Willingham
Aaron
Hicks
Oswaldo
Arcia
Chris
Colabello
Ricky
Nolasco
2014
2013
Joe
Mauer
Justin
Morneau
Brian
Dozier
Trevor
Plouffe
Pedro
Florimon
Josh
Willingham
Aaron
Hicks
Chris
Parmelee
Ryan
Doumit
Vance
Worley
2013
2012
Joe
Mauer
Chris
Parmelee
Alexi
Casilla
Danny
Valencia
Jamie
Carroll
Josh
Willingham
Denard
Span
Ryan
Doumit
Justin
Morneau
Carl
Pavano
2012
2011
Joe
Mauer
Justin
Morneau
Tsuyoshi
Nishioka
Danny
Valencia
Alexi
Casilla
Delmon
Young
Denard
Span
Mike
Cuddyer
Jason
Kubel
Carl
Pavano
2011
2010
Joe
Mauer
Justin
Morneau
Orlando
Hudson
Nick
Punto
J.J.
Hardy
Delmon
Young
Denard
Span
Mike
Cuddyer
Jason
Kubel
Scott
Baker
2010
2009
Mike
Redmond
Justin
Morneau
Alexi
Casilla
Joe
Crede
Nick
Punto
Denard
Span
Carlos
Gomez
Mike
Cuddyer
Jason
Kubel
Francisco
Liriano
2009
2008
Joe
Mauer
Justin
Morneau
Brendan
Harris
Mike
Lamb
Adam
Everett
Delmon
Young
Carlos
Gomez
Mike
Cuddyer
Craig
Monroe
Livan
Hernandez
2008
2007
Joe
Mauer
Justin
Morneau
Luis
Castillo
Nick
Punto
Jason
Bartlett
Rondell
White
Torii
Hunter
Mike
Cuddyer
Jeff
Cirillo
Johan
Santana
2007
2006
Joe
Mauer
Justin
Morneau
Luis
Castillo
Tony
Batista
Juan
Castro
Shannon
Stewart
Torii
Hunter
Jason
Kubel
Rondell
White
Johan
Santana
2006
C
!B
2B
3B
SS
LF
CF
RF
DH
SP
I am writing this from the Norwegian Pearl as we cruise in the Caribbean Sea on our way to dock in Roatan, Honduras tomorrow morning after leaving Costa Rica last night. Then on to Belize City, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico before returning to Miami and Cape Coral Florida on Monday. Hot and humid here, I hope you have the same where ever you are when you attend a 2016 baseball season opener. I can’t wait for REAL baseball again.
I almost forgot to mention that while I am in the Caribbean stopping in places like Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico I have and will continue to be on the lookout for some potential ace pitchers that the Minnesota Twins can sign. But sadly, I must report that like most of the Twins scouts that have looked for good pitching for the last 56 years I too have struck out.
The season opener is not far away and in my mind (such as it is) the Twins line-up is pretty well set short of any last-minute injuries. But before spring training ends I would like to see manager Paul Molitor tinker with a few different batting orders to see what might work best.
Personally I would like to see the Twins move Joe Mauer to the lead-off spot in the batting order. Mauer has hit in the three hole 1,145 times during his career and he has knocked in less than 53 runs a year from that position if you average it out. You have to be honest, that is a pathetic number, some guys have the knack for getting the runners in, Mauer does not posses that skill. I know that the three hole is usually the teams best hitter but Mauer is not the teams best hitter at this point in his career. Mauer however; has shown a skill for getting on base although his OBP has been dropping the last few years, never the less at this time and with an inexperienced Byron Buxton the time has come to slip Mauer in to the lead-off position. Here is the line-up I would try if I was the Twins manager for a day, I know it is not perfect but I think it is worth a try.
Joe Mauer (L) at 1B
Brian Dozier (R) 2B
Eddie Rosario (L) LF
Miguel Sano (R) RF
Trevor Plouffe (R) 3B
Byung Ho Park (R) DH
Eduardo Escobar (S) SS
Kurt Suzuki (R) C
Byron Buxton (R) CF
I know I am asking a lot of Eddie Rosario to hit third but I think he has the skills and the patience to hit there. You could swap Dozier and Rosario in the order and have Rosario bat second but the Twins are heavy from the right-side and I like to see the lefty-righty thing for at least the top of the order. Mauer is going to probably be around for several more years, the Twins have to find a way to maximize his skills.
Joe Mauer’s OBP has been dropping but it is still better than most of the Twins hitters so until someone better comes along, why not put Mauer at the top of the batting order? What have you got to lose by at least giving it a shot for a couple of weeks?
The other day I was having lunch and reading my newest Memories and Dreams magazine put out by the Hall of Fame. There are always good stories in this magazine and in this edition there was a short one page article by Marty Appel called A Second Look at Hall of Famer Nellie Fox.
I am old enough to have seen Nellie play second base for the Chicago White Sox in early 60’s although by then he was on the down-hill side of his amazing career that started back in 1951. Not only was the man a twelve time all-star but he was the American League MVP in 1959.
Fox was one tough dude to strike out, in over 10,000 plate appearances he struck out just 216 times, that is incredible. He once had a record 98 straight games without being retired on strikes.
That got me to thinking about the Twins and how often they strike out. Now days players strike out more frequently then they once did and baseball and teams just kind of wink and say “yes, he strikes out but look at all those home runs”. If Nellie went 98 games with striking out what is the Twins longest streak of games without striking out.
Are you kidding me, Earl Battey with a 35 game streak of no strike outs during the 1965 pennant race? Wowsers, that is amazing. I sure don’t remember Battey having such a good eye at the plate but when you look at his numbers you will find out he never struck out more than 75 times in a season. Brain Harper is on the list twice, with a 28 game streak and a 20 game streak. I used to love watching Harper bat, he always seemed to make contact and what I remember most about him was how he followed each and every pitch all the way to the catchers glove.
You will notice that the most recent Twins streak of at least 20 games with out striking out goes back to 1996 when Chip Hale had a 23 gamer, today Chip Hale manages the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Aoki as a KC Royal in 2014
Who had the longest streak of this kind in 2015 you ask? That would be Nori Aoki from the San Francisco Giants with a 22 game streak from June 6 to August 5 and that was after he had a 20 game streak from May 5 to May 31. He must have had something in his eye because he struck out once a game on June 1, 2 and 3. That means from May 9 to August 5, Aoki had 187 plate appearances and struck out 3 times. Nice! Aoki just signed to play with Seattle a week or so ago.
How about the Minnesota Twins in 2015? The most games streak with out a strikeout was 10 by catcher Kurt Suzuki.
To me one of the oddest things about the above list is that catchers make up the top three streaks and Jose Morales is a bit further down the list and he played a handful of games behind the plate too. Now in 2015 Suzuki has the longest streak. Why is that?
Is it because catchers just naturally have a better eye for the strike zone? I doubt it. Do catchers learn as the game goes along how the umpire is calling balls and strikes and they can put that information to use? Are catchers skillful enough to do that? Or is it that maybe umpires have a certain degree of empathy for catchers and build friendships with them over time that causes them subconsciously not to call strikes on them as often? You gotta wonder… or is it just a quirk that three Twins catchers are on top of this list?
