Month: August 2013

Arizona Fall League 2013

AFL logoThe Twins recently announced their contingent of players to participate in the 2013 Arizona Fall League that begins play on October 8 and ends play about mid November. This season the Twins will be part of the Glendale Desert Dogs and the team will be managed by New Britain Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith. Their pitching coach will be Tom Browning who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds for a long time and the hitting coach will be Johnny Washington who never played in the majors but spent a number of years in the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations. The AFL team rosters are usually made up of players from five or six different big league teams and this years Desert Dogs team is made up of players from the Twins, Dodgers, Marlins, Reds, and White Sox. This year the Twins will be sending outfielder Byron Buxton, infielders Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler along with pitchers Trevor May, Alex Meyer, A.J. Achter, and Zach Jones.

The AFL started play in 1992 and will be playing their 22nd season this year. The league was started by MLB in order to create “an easily accessed offseason league. A concern was that some of the best ball players left to play winter ball out of the country, such as in the Caribbean and there was no way to monitor them. If Major League Baseball created a league that it could govern and monitor, it would be better organized. If a player was injured, proper care and treatment would be on hand. With the Arizona Fall League, managers, coaches, scouts and league officials could participate.”

Since the AFL started play in 1992 the Minnesota Twins have sent 125 players to play ball in the desert. Of these 125 players 74 of them (59.2%) have gone on to wear a Twins uniform at one time or another and several others went on to wear big league uniforms for other teams. 14 players (7 hitters and 7 pitchers) on todays Twins team have participated in the AFL at one time or another.

The eligibility rules to play in the AFL are simple.

  • The roster size is 30 players per team.
  • Each Major League organization is required to provide six players subject to the following requirements:
  • All Triple-A and Double-A players are eligible, provided the players are on at least a Double-A level roster no later than Aug. 1.
  • One player below the Double-A level is allowed per Major League team.
  • One foreign player is allowed, as long as the player does not reside in a country that participates in winter ball, as part of the Caribbean Confederation or the Australian winter league.
  • No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.
  • To be eligible, players on Minor League disabled lists must be activated at least 45 days before the conclusion of their respective seasons.

 

Players that get picked to participate in the AFL are usually the “cream of the crop” and stand a good chance of making it to the big leagues. Naturally there are no guarantee’s but your odds are pretty good as the Twins 59.2% success rate shows us. I have spent some time in Arizona over the years and have gone to a few of these AFL games and they are fun to attend. Since there are only a couple of hundred people at each game, you can sit pretty much where ever you wish and ticket prices are very reasonable. I would say there are probably as many scouts and various officials from major league team attending each game as there are fans. When I was there I was able to interact with some scouts and actually chat with the pitchers in the bullpen as the game was taking place. It is a very relaxed atmosphere. Arizona is a great place to be in the fall and all the ballparks are relatively close together so you can watch the teams of your choice at home and away. If you get a chance to take in some of these AFL games, I would highly recommend them if you are a baseball fan because the players you will see could and probably will be on a major league team in the very near future.

Good luck to these future Twins and the Glendale Desert Dogs this season.

According to Elias

Liam Hendriks
Liam Hendriks

Liam Hendriks was the winning pitcher in the Twins’ come-from-behind victory at Texas, improving his record to 2-12 in 25 career starts. The last pitcher with two or fewer victories in his first 25 major-league starts was Jason Hammel (2-12 from 2006 to 2008).

This Day in Twins History – August 29, 1963

Allison and KillebrewWhat a power packed day. In a double header with the Washington Senators in DC Stadium the Twins sweep both ends. In the first game the Twins win 14-2 and hit 8 home runs in the process. Jimmie Hall, Rich Rollins, Bernie Allen, and Bob Allison each hit one out while Vic Power and Harmon Killebrew each hit two out of the park. The Twins win the second game 10-1 and hit 4 more home runs. This time Zoilo Versalles, Jimmie Hall, Bernie Allen, and Harmon Killebrew hit’em out.

How do Twins beer prices compare

beerWith the Twins battling to avoid last place in the AL central division we know how the Minnesota Twins compare to the rest of baseball on the playing field. But how do the Twins compare to the rest of the baseball teams on another important scale, the price of beer? Today TMR announced how beer prices compare across major league baseball by rating the teams based on how much an ounce of beer costs. According to TMR, the most expensive beer can be found at Fenway Park where you will pay about $.60 an ounce which is over twice what you would pay for an ounce of beer at Angel Stadium of Anaheim where it goes for $.28 an ounce, a MLB low. At Target Field the Twins have the 12th highest price at $.38 an ounce which the same price that you can expect to pay in Colorado, Baltimore, and Milwaukee. You can check out how the teams compare by going here. While you are there, check out their chart on how beer prices have changed since 1999. With the weather being as hot as it is and the Twins play being what it is, a cold beer or two or three can help you get through those tough days at the ballpark.

How well do you know your Twins outfield history?

crossword image

By my count the Twins have had 103 players that have played at least 50% of their games roaming the outfield in a Twins uniform. The Twins have had 146 players play at least one game in left field with Dan Gladden leading the pack with 620 games. The Twins have had 90 players play at least one game in center field with Kirby Puckett leading the pack with 1,432 games. The Twins have had 137 players play at least one game in right field with Tony Oliva leading the pack with 1,137 games. That is a lot of different players in three different home ballparks. How well do you know your Twins outfielders? If you enjoy Twins history and like to do crossword puzzles then this might be just the thing for you.

Once you have brought the puzzle up and are ready to print the puzzle, do a right-click with your mouse and you might want to do a print preview first to get the puzzle the right size to fit on a single page. The clues for the puzzle will print on page 2.

Twins outfielders puzzle

Answers? You want answers? Probably just to double-check your work because if you are checking out this site you are probably a big Twins fan and will not need any research to complete the puzzle. If you do need help answering some, the answer might be found else where on this site. If you must see the answers, you can find them on the link below but only do so as a last resort. Thanks, I hope you enjoy it.

Twins outfielders puzzle answers

Twins Minor League Player of the Week

Danny Santana
Danny Santana

New Britain (AA – Eastern League) shortstop Danny Santana is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. In seven games for the Rock Cats, Santana hit .429 (8-for-23) with one home run, five RBI, one double, two triples, two stolen bases and four runs scored. The 22-year old from Monte Plata, Dominican Republic, is hitting .296 (150-for-506) this season, with 22 doubles, 10 triples, two home runs, 43 RBI, 26 stolen bases and 63 runs scored with a .331 OBP in 123 games for New Britain.

Although Santana is only 22, he is already in his sixth season in the Twins organization. The 5’11” switch-hitting Santana is a slick fielder and is well liked by many in the Twins organization. Since 2010 his OBP has gone from .285, to .289, to .298, to .329 and now to .331. Don’t be surprised is Santana makes a serious run at taking over the Twins shortstop job within the next year or two.

According to Elias

Chris Herrmann
Chris Herrmann

Twins rookie catcher Chris Herrmann banged out three hits in Minnesota’s 7-6 win at Detroit, including a run-scoring double which snapped a 6-6 tie in the eighth inning. It was the third three-hit game of the season for Herrmann, all of which have come in games in which he was behind the plate. That ties him with the Marlins’ Rob Brantly for the most games of three or more hits by a rookie catcher this season. Since 1986, the only other rookie catcher to record as many three-hit games in one season for the Twins as Herrmann was Joe Mauer with three in 2004.

Back in the day when the Twins didn’t allow facial hair

Bert Blyleven
Bert Blyleven

I ran across this brief story that was printed in the New York Times in July of 1986 that I thought you might enjoy. How times have changed….

How much is a beard worth? To Bert Blyleven, the Minnesota Twins’ pitcher, $50 a day. The Twins have a rule against beards and have never had a bearded player. So when Blyleven was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Twins last August, he shaved the beard he had worn for years. Now he misses the beard, saying it was ”a happy thing” during more successful times. According to The Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Blyleven asked Howard Fox, the club president, for permission to grow a beard. Fox said it would cost Blyleven a $50 daily fine to be paid to charities of his choosing. Blyleven agreed and said the money should go to the United Way and to buy Twins tickets for senior citizens. If he keeps the beard until the end of the season, it will cost him $5,000. His salary this year is $1.3 million.

Home plate can be hard to find

Some days home plate seems the size of a postage stamp to Twins pitchers and here are some of those days. The most walks a Twins pitcher has issued in one game stands at nine and five Twins pitchers have met that fate. The last time it happened was back in 1987, I can just see TK  and pitching coach Dick Such in the dugout now. Maybe that is when the Twins implemented their pitch to contact plan. What I think is odd is that in four of the five instances the Twins ended up winning the game. The only time it happened in a home game was Jim Hughes effort in 1975 at the Met. One of the games, the Jim Roland effort was a shutout. Baseball is a strange game!

Juan Berenguer
Juan Berenguer
Rk Player Date Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR BF AB
1 Juan Berenguer 1987-06-02 BOS L 5-6 GS-4 3.2 3 4 4 9 5 0 24 14
2 Jim Hughes 1975-07-19 NYY W 2-1 GS-9 ,W 8.2 4 1 1 9 6 0 41 30
3 Tom Hall 1970-09-23 OAK W 7-4 GS-8 ,W 7.2 2 4 4 9 9 2 34 25
4 Luis Tiant 1970-05-05 DET W 8-5 GS-6 ,W 5.2 2 2 2 9 4 1 28 19
5 Jim Roland 1963-04-21 (1) CHW W 7-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 3 0 0 9 7 0 38 29

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/15/2013.

On the other hand, the Twins record for most consecutive games without issuing a free pass belongs to Joe Nathan who did not issue a base on balls for 27 consecutive games (25.1 innings) between 9/2/2004 – 5/7/2005. The record holders for this feat within a single season belongs to Casey Fien who went 20 games (18.2 innings) without a walk from May 28th through July 13th earlier this season and Rick Aguilera who went 20 games (19 innings) from 4/25/1994 – 6/24/1994. The major league record holder in this category is Dennis Eckersley who went 41 games and 50 innings without a free pass from 8/17/1989 – 6/10/1990.

Twins Minor League Player of the Week

DJ Hicks
DJ Hicks

Ft. Myers (A – Florida St. League) first baseman D.J. Hicks is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. In six games for the Miracle, Hicks hit .435 (10-for-23) with two home runs, eight RBI, two doubles and scored five runs. Dalton Hicks was drafted by the Twins in the 17th round of the 2012 First-Year Player draft, was signed and played his first year of pro ball in Elizabethton. The 6’5″ left-handed hitting Hicks is hitting .308 in 28 games with the Miracle this season after getting promoted from Cedar Rapids where hit .297 in 89 games to start the season.