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
August 1, 2008 – There is a very interesting piece and well worth your read at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/31/aschburner.ryan/index.html by Steve Aschburner as he talked with former Twins GM Terry Ryan about the trials and tribulations of a baseball GM at trade deadline time. It also makes note of a new Twins book that Aschburner has coming out soon called The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: Minnesota Twins.
July 28, 2008 – If you look at the last 10 years, the Twins have not been real active at the trade deadlines in July and August but they have made a number of trades and more often than not, they have been a seller versus a buyer. None have been what you could call real blockbuster deals. The trade they made for outfielder Shannon Stewart in 2003 is probably their best acquisition at a trade deadline. Here is a quick look at the deals they have made:
7/31/98 – Traded Greg Swindell and Orlando Merced to the Red Sox for John Barnes, Matt Kinney, and Joe Thomas.
8/25/98 – Traded Mike Morgan to the Cubs for Scott Downs.
8/3/99 – Traded George Williams to Houston for Josh Dimmick.
7/16/00 – The Twins send Butch Huskey and Todd Walker to Colorado for Todd Sears.
8/31/00 – The Twins send Midre Cummings to the Red Sox for Hector De Los Santos.
7/28/01 – The Twins acquire Todd Jones from the Tigers for Mike Redman.
7/30/01 – The Twins acquire Rick Reed from the Mets for Matt Lawton.
7/12/02 – The Twins send Brian Buchanan to San Diego and acquire Jason Bartlett.
7/16/03 – The Twins acquire Shannon Stewart and Dave Gassner from Toronto and part ways with Bobby Kielty.
8/31/03 – The Twins acquire Jesse Orosco and send Juan Padilla to the Mets.
7/31/04 – The Twins send Doug Mientkiewicz to the Cubs and get Justin Jones in return.
7/11/05 – The Twins acquire Brett Boone and cash for a player to be named later.
7/31/06 – The Twins send Kyle Loshe to Cincinnati and get Zach Ward in return.
8/31/06 – The Twins acquire Phil Nevin and trade Adam Harben to the Cubs.
7/30/07 – The Twins trade Luis Castillo to the Mets and receive Drew Butera and Dustin Martin.
8/15/07 – The Twins send Ramon Ortiz to Colorado and receive Matt Macri.
Looking at this list it appears that very few of the trades that have made a huge difference either for the Twins or for the other teams. Maybe with Mr. Smith at the GM helm it will be different in 2008 but I am not holding my breath. The latest rumor has the Twins looking at bringing Latroy Hawkins back to town and I would not mind seeing him sitting in the Twins bullpen.
July 12, 2008 – Did you know that there are only two Minnesota Twin uniform numbers between 0 and 60 that have been worn by only one player each? Junior Ortiz, the sometimes “strange but like-able” catcher from Puerto Rico wore the number 0 in 1990 and 1991. During one of those seasons after a prolonged slump, Ortiz asked that his first name be changed to Joe but after a time he found that did not help so he went back to Junior. Ortiz also served as the designated catcher for Scott Erickson in the Twins 1991 World Series championship season. The only other number lower than 60 that has graced the uniform back of only one player is the famous number 3 worn by Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew.
How about number 13 you ask? The first Twin to wear the number 13 was outfielder Bill Tuttle from 1961 through 1962. Jerry White, the current Twins 1B coach has worn the number 13 since 1999 and has worn the number longer than any other Twin. Other Twins players to wear the number 13 were:
Rich Reese – 1964-1965
John Roseboro – 1968-1969
Dick Woodson – 1972-1974
Tom Lundstedt – 1975
Mike Pagliarulo – 1991-1993
Todd Walker – 1996
Lucky or unlucky, we will let you be the judge of that.
The number worn by more Twins players than any other? The number 21, currently worn by outfielder Delmon Young.
July 9, 2008 – The Twins find themselves in Detroit this evening awaiting the start of a four game series just before the All-Star break after losing three in a row to the Red Sox in Fenway Park. Yes, the team did lose three games in Beantown but they had a chance to win the first two games of the series when Baker battled tooth and nail with Daisuke Matsuzaka before the Red Sox scored the one and only run in the eighth inning off Brian Bass for a 1-0 win. In the second game Nick Blackburn pitched the Twins to a 4-2 lead after 6 and 2/3 inning before turning it over to the bullpen that could not hold the lead and the Twins lost 6-5. Game 3 ended up 18-5 in favor of the Red Sox and again bullpen relief was nowhere in sight. Boy, do the Twins miss Pat Neshek.
The Twins find themselves at 50-41 at this point and 3.5 games out of the Central Division lead. Are the Twins really in the hunt? I don’t think so, the Twins are not as bad as they showed against the White Sox just a little over a month ago but they are not as good as they have played recently. The Twins are somewhere in between, they are a .500 ball club. Don’t get me wrong, I am not down on the Twins at all but remember that this is a team where the only regulars from last year are Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddyer. The starting pitching staff is totally new with Hernandez, Baker, Blackburn, Slowey and Perkins.
Their two stars Johan Santana and Torii Hunter moved on to other teams as did SP Carlos Silva. If someone would have told me before Spring Training started that this team would be 50-41 at this point in the season I would have asked you what you were smoking. This Twins team is young, exciting, enthusiastic, learning new things about themselves and their teammates every day and best of all, they are just a fun and exciting team to watch. But, they are not yet ready to contend for a division title, they need more experience and they still have a couple of holes to fill at 3B and at SS. Brian Buscher has been hot since he was called up and replaced Mike Lamb at 3B but for some reason Gardy is platooning him now. Nick Punto has returned from his most recent injury and is playing some great SS and is even hitting a bit. If the Twins had a top notch 3B then I think they could leave Punto at SS but they can’t afford to have weak hitter at both SS and 3B.
The Twins desperately need an everyday 3B with some pop but I don’t know where they can find one without giving up the farm. Some rumors out there have the Twins looking at Adrian Beltre from the Mariners but he has a big salary and has been very inconsistent, I don’t think he is the answer. Scott Rolen from Toronto might be available but he too is making big bucks and is well past his prime but the man can play some defense. Bill Hall is probably available in Milwaukee but he can’t play defense at all so he is not the kind of player that would make Gardy happy.
The Twins could also use a little help in the bullpen too what with Bass and Bonser getting kicked around here lately. But again, the price to get some reliable relief help will not come cheap.
Bottom line, I think the Twins should probably be sellers (Lamb, Hernandez, Bonser, and Monroe) and not buyers during this trading period. Francisco Liriano will probably be up soon and he can replace Hernandez. Danny Graves deserves a call up and a shot in the bullpen. As for 3B, it probably remains a platoon position for the rest of the season between Buscher and Harris.
The Twins do seem to be strong in the outfield and there are clubs out there that would “kill” for a Denard Span to play CF but I am not sure the Twins are ready to make that deal yet.
July 5, 2008 – Sadly, the Twins ended their interleague play for another year with a 5-0 shutout of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Twins end 2008 interleague play with a major league best 14-4 record. The Twins now have a 120-90 record in interleague play which comes out to a winning percentage of .571 and that is not too shabby. Interleague play started in 1997 and during the first five years each division played the same division from the other league. As of 2002 the format was changed so that teams played interleague games against various divisions. The Twins record in interleague play by year is:
| YEAR | RECORD |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 7-8 |
| 1998 | 7-9 |
| 1999 | 10-7 |
| 2000 | 7-11 |
| 2001 | 9-9 |
| 2002 | 10-8 |
| 2003 | 10-8 |
| 2004 | 11-7 |
| 2005 | 8-10 |
| 2006 | 16-2 |
| 2007 | 11-7 |
| 2008 | 14-4 |
| TOTAL | 120-90 |
The Twins have played the Milwaukee Brewers the most frequently since they are designated as natural rivals and the Twins hold a winning 29-23 record against the Brew Crew. The Twins have never lost to the Montreal Expos in interleague play and never will. Twins interleague play records against the National League teams are:
Milwaukee Brewers 29-23 Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7 Houston Astros 10-7 Cincinnati Reds 8-7 Arizona D-Backs 8-4 Chicago Cubs 8-10 San Diego Padres 6-3 New York Mets 6-3 St. Louis Cardinals 6-9 Florida Marlins 4-2 Atlanta Braves 4-2 Washington Nats 4-2 Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 Montreal Expos 3-0 San Francisco Giants 3-3 Philadelphia Phillies 3-3 Colorado Rockies 3-3Maybe the Twins should move to the National league!
July 4, 2008 – The team played in two stadiums, American League Park in 1901 through 1902 and then played in Griffith Stadium from 1903 through 1960. Griffith Stadium as known as National Park from 1903 through 1920.
Washington’s best season was in 1933 when their record was 99-53. Their worst season was in 1904 when their record was 38-113.
The team made World Series appearances in 1924, 1925, and 1933 with their only World Series championship in 1924.
Team colors were Navy, White, and Red.
Sixteen players with Washington Senators roots are in the major league Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Washington franchise hosted two All-Star games, in 1937 and again in 1956.
The Senators had two rookie of the year winners, ironically they were both outfielders and they were back to back in 1958 (Albie Pearson) and 1959 (Bob Allison).
The Senator’s never had a Cy Young award winner but did have 3 MVP winners. Walter Johnson a right handed pitcher won in 1913 and again in 1924. Roger Peckinpaugh, a shortstop, won the award in 1925.
Two Washington Senator pitchers threw no hitters, Walter Johnson in 1920 and Bob Burke in 1931.
Four Washington batters hit for the cycle, Otis Clymer in 1908, Goose Goslin in 1924, Joe Cronin in 1929, and Mickey Vernon in 1946.
In their final year in Washington, the Senators finished in 5th place with a 73-81 record.
July 3, 2008 – Catcher Joe Mauer should be the starting catcher if there is no last minute push by Jason Varitek voters. Varitek does not even deserve to be in contention but with the heavy Red Sox nation vote he is a perennial high vote collector. Justin Morneau deserves to start at 1B but again with the heavy Red Sox voting it is very likely that Kevin Youkilis will get the starting nod there but I see no way that Morneau will not make the team. I think that will be it for the Twins unless Joe Nathan gets selected. If you look at saves alone then Nathan is running fourth behind Frankie Rodriguez, George Sherrill, and Jonathan Papelbon. Rodriguez is first in saves so he is a shoe in, Sherrill might be the only Oriole selected and then you have to wait and see if Francona wants to go with his man Papelbon or the Twins Nathan. Joe Nathan is a premier closer and deserves to be on the team but the odds are 50-50 at best, it all depends on how AL manager Terry Francona structures his pitching staff and if he goes heavy with starters or closers.
June 14, 2008 – The Twins first pick was number 14 and they used that pick to take outfielder/pitcher Aaron Hicks from Woodrow Wilson High School in California. Although the 6”2” and 170 pound Aaron has a great arm and had pitched in high school, the Twins plan to have Hicks become a position player and that fits with Aaron’s preference of playing every day. Hicks throws right handed and is a switch-hitter and would like to become a great center-fielder like Kirby Puckett and Torii Hunter have been and Carlos Gomez hopes to become in the near future in the land of 10,000 lakes. Hicks is projected as a 5 tool player for Minnesota. Hicks signed with Minnesota on Friday, June 13 for a reported $1.78 million and will be reporting to the Gulf Coast league Twins. The Twins also announced that they had signed 10 other (their number 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15, 17, 23, 27, and 39th) draft picks.
In all 52 players were chosen byt the Twins. 24 of the picks were hitters and of these 24 hitters, 13 were college players and 11 were high school players. The position breakdown for the hitters was 2 catchers, 1 first baseman, 3 second baseman, 2 shorstops, 5 third basemen, and 11 are outfielders.
28 of the picks were pitchers. 19 of these were college players and 13 throw right handed and 6 are lefties. The remaining 9 pitchers taken were high schoolers and of these 5 were right handed and 4 are lefties.
The biggest name local player drafted by the Twins is 3B Joe Loftus from Holy Angels High School but it appears that the Twins will not be able to sign Loftus unless they come up with a 6 figure bonus. Joe has committed to Vanderbilt University if he chooses not to sign with the Twins. Not all of these players will be signed but hope springs eternal each year as new blood is brought into each organization.
June 8, 2008 – Well, 62 games have come and gone and there are 100 games left to play and the Twins are sitting with a .500 record. After losing Hunter and Santana and going into the season with a no name starting pitching staff you have to think that playing .500 baseball would satisfy most fans as they watch some of the young players gain experience but apparently that is not the case. That kind of surprises me because this team is fun to watch most of the time but there will be games that will make you wonder. The loss of Hunter and Santana does seem to have negatively impacted attendance as average Twins home attendance in 2008 has dropped to 24,234 from an average of 28,350 in 2007. On the road the Twins are not a good draw either, as only one team, the Baltimore Orioles have attracted fewer fans then Minnesota has. Seldom near the top in overall attendance, the Twins are currently 23rd in overall attendance as compared to 22nd in 2007. Hopefully the fans will get behind this team as it has some stars like Morneau, Mauer, and Nathan and some stars in the making like Gomez, Casilla, and Young. This team just needs experience to challenge for a division title.
Having said that, I am very frustrated with Twins management failure to do something to plug the hole they have had at 3B for years. If this is a young team getting used to playing with each other and getting experience, why are the Twins sending out Lamb to play 3B? Lamb is certainly not a stellar 3B nor the power hitter that the Twins thought they were getting, he has limited range and his throws to first are almost always an adventure. He has provided no power to-date. Geez, get the guy out of there and bring up somebody from the minors that can play the position and let him get some experience. What have the Twins got to lose? Realistically they are not in the division race although they are only 4 games out and the experience gained by a young 3B would be invaluable. What do we gain by sending Lamb out there day after day? If Twins management thinks they are in this race, then do something, make a deal for a REAL 3B and let Lamb do what he does best, pinch hit and play 1B & 3B enough to rest the regulars. So Mr. Smith, you signed Lamb for 2 years, admit the mistake and let’s move on, don’t keep tying Gardenhire’s hands behind his back by forcing him to send Lamb out to 3B day after day.
The pitching staff needs your attention too Mr. Smith, make a deal and sending Boof somewhere where he can get another chance to get in the rotation and acquire some young talent for us to build on. Rincon has shown that he is done here in Minnesota, why do we keep sending him out there? He will probably not fetch much in a trade but I think we have a case here for addition by subtraction, bring Korecky back and he can fill Rincon’s spot, he can’t do any worse. If nothing else, bring Danny Graves up and give him another shot.
May 30, 2008 – The 2008 First-Year player draft will take place on June 5-6 at the Disney Sports complex in Florida. For the second year in a row, MLB has chosen to televise the event on ESPN2. Unlike the NFL draft that drags on and on, MLB allows just 5 minutes between first round picks.
The Twins like many other teams, have done so-so in this draft. Since the draft started in 1965, the Twins have had 46 first round picks and have chosen a pitcher in the first round just 15 times. That seems strange for a team that always talks pitching and fielding over hitting but he Twins have never had a pitcher drafted in the first round become a star and have had a number of big time flops. Over the years they have drafted pitchers like Dick Ruthven (did not sign), Eddie Bane, Bryan Oelkers, Tim Belcher (over all number 1 pick in the 1983 draft but would not sign with Minnesota), Jeff Bumgarner, Willie Banks, Johnny Ard, Todd Ritchie, Dan Serafini, Mark Redman, Ryan Mills, and Adam Johnson. Their most recent pitcher picks have been Matt Garza, Kyle Waldrop, and Glen Perkins and the jury is still out on these guys.
I would like to see the Twins cut back on their drafting of high school players and focus more on college players that have more experience and can get to the big leagues sooner. But this draft is not always about potential and ability as money often determines who gets drafted when. This year the Twins have 2 picks (numbers 14 and 27) and are one of just two teams with multiple picks in the first round. One of the picks is a sandwich pick due to the loss of Torri Hunter.
Here is a nice site that might be worth you time to check out and it includes a possible mock draft – http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/draft .