The Twins drafted me in the first round (third overall) out of St. Anthony’s High School in 1987. I made my major league debut with the Twins on July 31, 1991 at Yankee Stadium in relief and pitched 2 innings. I pitched for the Twins from 1991-1993 before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. During my time in Minnesota I had a 16-17 record with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. In 259.2 innings I struck out 191 batters and I issued a free pass to 127 hitters. I pitched in 52 games for the Twins and started 45 of them but I had no complete games.
One game in particular stands out during my time in Minnesota. On August 14, 1993 in the first game of a double-header at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum I threw 151 pitches during my 8 innings on the mound and I left the game with the score knotted at 1-1. The Twins scored 4 runs in the top of the 12th inning and won the game 5-1. Larry Casian pitched the final 4 innings of relief throwing just 53 pitches and was credited with the win, it just doesn’t seem fair does it? Since Baseball-Reference.com starting keeping track of pitch counts in 1988 no Twins pitcher has thrown more pitches in a game then I did on this day. Do you remember me?
Yes, the answer is Willie Banks.
Willie? Is that you?
I was a fan. You were erratic, but fun to watch.
You got it, none other then Willie Banks.
While pitch counts were not a big thing at the time, there was one columnist who thought that it was a lot of pitches from a young pitcher.
For some reason it stuck in my mind.
(of course, coward that I am, I checked with Baseball-Reference before answering)