Month: September 2013

Manager Gardenhire staying or going

 Ron Gardenhire

We will find out later today if Ron Gardenhire will win game 1,000 while wearing a Twins uniform or if he will be moving on to greener pastures. My guess is that Gardy will sign a new two-year deal to remain as the Twins skipper and I am fine with that. I am sure that many other Twins fans will not agree with me or with Terry Ryan on his decision. I do think however, that Tom Brunansky, Joe Vavra and Terry Steinbach need to update their resumes. We will just have to wait and see and I will certainly be watching the press confrence this afternoon and will post more on what happens later today.

Twins announce 2013 Minor League Player & Pitcher of the Year

Outfielder Byron Buxton has been named the 2013 Sherry Robertson Award winner as the Twins Minor League Player of the Year and left-handed pitcher Andrew Albers has been named the 2013 Jim Rantz Award winner as the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

 

Byron Buxton
Byron Buxton

Buxton, 19, hit .334 (163-for-488) with 19 doubles, 18 triples, 12 home runs, 77 RBI, 109 runs scored and 55 stolen bases in 125 games this season between Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Ft. Myers. In the field playing primarily center field, Buxton committed two errors in 306 chances and was credited with 9 assists. The right-handed hitting Buxton was named Midwest League MVP as well as the top minor league prospect at midseason and Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. Buxton was the Twins first round pick (second overall) in the 2012 June Amateur draft.

Andrew Albers
Andrew Albers

Albers, 27, began the season at Triple-A Rochester and went 11-5 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP (132.1 IP, 42 ER), allowing 124 hits with 32 walks, 116 strikeouts and three complete games (one shutout) in 22 starts. The left-handed Canadian native was named to the Triple-A All-Star game. At the time of his promotion to Minnesota in August, he ranked first in the International League in strikeouts, tied for second in wins, third in innings pitched and fifth in ERA. With the Twins, Albers went 2-5 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 10 games (all starts). Albers struck out 25 and walked just 7 batters in 60 innings.

Buxton becomes the 44th winner of this award (since 1970) and Albers becomes the 12th winner of this award (since 2002). The 2012 award winners were Oswaldo Arcia and B.J. Hermsen.

Congratulations to both Byron Buxton and Andrew Albers on a job well done.

This Day in Twins History – September 25

Jim "Mudcat" Grant9/25/1965 – The Twins Mudcat Grant one-hits the Washington Senators to win the first game of the DH, 5 – 0 at D.C. Stadium. Senators Don Blasingame‘s double in the 3rd is the only hit for Washington; it is the 4th time that Blasingame has collected the only hit for his team. This is Mudcat’s 20th win of the season and he becomes the first African-American pitcher to win 20 games in the American League. The Twins win the night-cap 5-3.

9/25/1985 – Bert Blyleven beats the Texas Rangers 5-1 at Arlington Stadium and the Twins rack up win number 2,000.

9/25/2000 – In only the second three-team doubleheader in the majors since 1900 and first since Sept. 13, 1951, the Cleveland played host to two different teams, beating the White Sox 9-2 before losing to Minnesota 4-3. It was the Indians’ third doubleheader in six days. By the time Minnesota’s players arrived at the ballpark for their 4-3 win in Cleveland on Monday night, the only trace that Chicago had used the visitor’s clubhouse earlier in a 9-2 loss to the Indians was a pair of white socks left behind by one of the White Sox players.

9/25/2006 – The Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 8-1 at the Metrodome and clinch at least a wildcard playoff spot. This is the first time in history that the wildcard has come from the American League Central Division. It has been an amazing run from a 25-33 start and 11 1/2 games out of first as of June 7th.

9/25/2008 – The Twins cap a thrilling three-game sweep of the Mighty Whities to reclaim first place in the AL Central. The team came back from a 6-1 deficit to win the game on Alexi Casilla‘s walk-off single in the 10th inning for a 7-6 victory. After the game, manager Gardenhire was quoted as saying “I can’t even breathe” while closer Joe Nathan said that “this was the most intense series I have ever been a part of”. On the other side of the coin, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen sighed and said “We wasted 26 innings in this town.”

9/25/2010 – The Twins scored five runs in the first inning and another five in the fifth before dropping an 11-10 decision in 13 innings at Comerica Park. It was the first time since relocating to Minnesota in 1961 that the Twins lost a game in which they scored at least five runs in each of two different innings. It happened only one other time in franchise history. That was on July 1, 1907, when the Washington Senators suffered a 16-15 loss to the Highlanders in the first game of a doubleheader at New York’s Hilltop Park.

According to Elias

Angry faceThe Twins committed four errors and were blanked by a score of 11-0 in Oakland last night. It is only the second time that the Twins committed at least four errors in a shutout loss by a double-digit margin since the team moved to Minnesota. The only other game of that type that the Twins have had was on April 12, 1994 when they were blanked 12-0 and committed five errors against the Mariners in Seattle. The last major-league team with that dismal a performance was the Rays, who were pummeled 13-0 by the Yankees while committing four errors on May 16, 2002 at Yankee Stadium.

Come Twins, let’s get Gardy at least 3 more wins and wrap up this dismal season. I love baseball and the Minnesota Twins but even I can’t watch this team play the last month or so. I check in on the games during commercial breaks and usually watch the score escalate against the Twins. It has been a long time since I have seen the Twins play this bad. I know it doesn’t do any good to get angry over the Twins play but there is soooooooo little hope for next year.

This Day in Twins History – September 20, 1965

A Catfish whips a Mudcat, at least on this day

Catfish Hunter
Catfish Hunter

Just 537 fans paid to watch the Kansas City A’s Jim “Catfish” Hunter beat Jim “Mudcat” Grant 8-2 at Met Stadium in a makeup game in a cool 52 degree drizzle. Don Mincher hits two home runs. It is the smallest paid crowd to ever watch the Twins play at home. B-R shows paid attendance of 547 but Twins media guide states 537.

Mudcat Grant
Mudcat Grant

The Twins were up by 9.5 games going into this game and would clinch the 1965 AL pennant just 6 days later. The team went on to win 102 games in 1965 the most in Twins history and yet the Twins would finish 1965 with an attendance of just 1,463,268 in 77 home dates for an average of 19,003 fans per game. The Twins played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Twins first ever World Series and lost 4 games to 3.

How do you get a nicknames like Mudcat and Catfish? Legend has it that this is how it came to be. Jim Grant was with the Indians and was the roommate of his boyhood idol Larry Doby when he first came to Cleveland, and Doby dubbed him “Mudcat”, saying that he was “ugly as a Mississippi mudcat”. The nickname stuck. As for Jim Hunter, it was in 1965 that the PR-conscious Athletics’ owner Charles O. Finley that gave Hunter the nickname “Catfish” in an effort to pique fan interest. A story circulated that Hunter’s family gave him the nickname as a child when he went missing and was later found with a string of catfish but there seems to be no truth to that story.

MLB Network to air “The Lyman Bostock Story”

This is a Press Release from MLB Network yesterday. Lyman Bostock was a great baseball player and a wonderful human being. I know I am looking forward to watching it. Here is a link to a post I did on Bostock in 2010.

Lyman Bostock
Lyman Bostock

 

MLB Network Press Release

9/18/2013 12:01 P.M. ET

MLB Network to air “The Lyman Bostock Story” this Sunday, September 22

Bob Costas narrates special 35 years after the Major League outfielder’s murder; Bostock’s widow, Yuovene Whistler, speaks on-camera for the first time since her husband’s death

MLB Network will televise the The Lyman Bostock Story this Sunday, September 22 at 10:00 p.m. ET, an original program looking back on the star Minnesota Twins and California Angels outfielder who was murdered four seasons into his career at the age of 27. Narrated by MLB Network’s Bob Costas, the special marks the 35th anniversary of Bostock’s death on Monday, September 23 and features the first on-camera interview with Bostock’s widow, Yuovene Whistler, since the night she lost her husband.

Through interviews with Bostock’s former agent Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Jim Fregosi, Bostock’s manager with the Angels, and several of Bostock’s former teammates including Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, 1979 American League MVP Don Baylor, Kenny Landreaux, Roy Smalley and Ron Jackson, The Lyman Bostock Story recalls Bostock’s rise to prominence as a hitter with the second-best batting average in the American League in 1977, and his free agency after the 1977 season, which brought him to the Angels. His contract made Bostock one of the highest paid players in baseball at the time of his death.

In what former prosecutor Jack Crawford describes as “the classic instance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Bostock was shot and killed in Gary, Indiana during a September 1978 road trip with the Angels to play the Chicago White Sox. The gunman, Leonard Smith, plead insanity and was spared jail time by being confined to a mental facility, only to be declared sane and released six months later. The controversial verdict ultimately led to a change in Indiana state law. At a time before the Internet, social media and 24-hour news networks, many people first learned of Bostock’s death when broadcaster Dick Enberg, who was the play-by-play voice of the Angels at the time, broke the news on the air before the Angels played the White Sox the next afternoon.

Quotes from The Lyman Bostock Story are included below, and additional quotes and advance copies of the program are available via MLB Network PR.

Yuovene Whistler on seeing Bostock after he died: The worst ever was just seeing his lifeless body lying there and thinking, “What a waste.” It didn’t get any worse than that.

Whistler on her emotions following Bostock’s death: I couldn’t even say that he was murdered. The words would not come off. He just “died.” Just admitting that he was murdered was very traumatic. Once I was able to work through my own personal pain and get clarity on that, it really was about Lyman and just his legacy.

Jim Fregosi on being in the Angels’ clubhouse the day after Bostock passed away: I’ve been in this game 54 years and it’s probably the most difficult day I’ve ever spent. To be surrounded by that type of atmosphere, it is something I would never want to go through again.

Don Baylor on the day after Bostock’s death: There was a photographer inside the locker room wanting to take pictures of [Bostock’s] locker, and somehow I picked him up and threw him out of the locker room.

Dick Enberg on calling the Angels at White Sox game following Bostock’s death: It was horrific. I mean, who expects to go on the air having to announce that one of your ballplayers, someone that everyone cares about is dead suddenly? I mean, you came on the air and you started with, “We begin today’s broadcast telecast with terrible news,” and then just bluntly saying, “Lyman Bostock was murdered last night in Gary, Indiana.” We are not trained to handle a tragedy like that, are we? You think in all of baseball history how many times has that happened? Where a ballplayer plays one day and the next day he’s expected to appear, but he’s gone.

Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim on Bostock’s passing: Lyman was instrumental in having the rules and the laws change in Indiana, so I guess in some ways Lyman still lives. But to me, that’s too great a cost.

About MLB Network: MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, featuring the multiple Emmy Award-winning MLB Tonight, live regular season and Postseason game telecasts, original programming, highlights, and insights and analysis from the best in the business, including Bob Costas, Peter Gammons, Jim Kaat, Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds. MLB Network debuted on January 1, 2009 in a record-setting 50 million homes and is currently distributed in 71 million homes throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to www.MLBNetwork.com.

Calling Mr. Pohlad…

2010 - present Twins primary logoDue to the extended rain delay of four hours and 23 minutes, the Chicago White Sox are offering fans with tickets to Sunday’s game a complimentary ticket to a home game in April 2014 (excludes Opening Day and Boston series). Once 2014 tickets go on sale, fans can bring their ticket stub or mail it to the U.S. Cellular Field box office to redeem it for a best available outfield reserved or upper level seat.

This past Saturday night the Twins and Tampa Rays game at Target Field was delayed by seven minutes at the start due to rain and delayed again after four innings for two hours and four minutes again due to rain. Down 4-0 and on their way to being shut out for the second day in a row and well on their way to their third straight 90 loss season maybe the Twins should have done a little something for the 1,000 or so fans that stayed for the duration of a 7-0 loss. Many Twins players have long ago given up on this season and started to plan their off-season get-aways and it appears that the Twins front office seems to have forgotten this years ticket buyers also. I wasn’t at that game on Saturday night so I don’t know for a fact that the Twins did nothing but todate I have not seen or read anything anywhere that the Twins threw those fans any kind of bone to thank them for staying to watch the remainder of a dismal game in crappy weather. I did hear that closer Glen Perkins bought some Twins fans a round of beers during the delay. Thanks Glen, very cool. Over 2.2 million fans have paid to see the Twins play this year and that is pretty darn good attendance for a team that is playing terrible baseball.

In full disclosure, I should mention that I have been a Minnesota Twins 20-game plan season ticket holder for many years but did not buy them this year. Why? Because we had seats in the top row of section 103 on the aisle next to section 104. There was an aisle to our left so as we looked towards home plate to watch the action all the people constantly walking up and down the aisle throughout the game blocked our view of play. The seats across the aisle in 104 were seldom used in 2012 so when the 2013 ticket renewal package arrived we asked to see if we could move to section 104 with our 20-game plan. The Twins said no way they want to sell 20 game plans in that section and after chatting with the Twins about this situation about once a month throughout the off-season we could not arrive at an agreement so we have ended up with no season tickets in 2013. We have attended fewer Twins games this season because of this but with the Twins poor play for the third year in a row this has actually been a blessing and has saved us a bunch of money on parking and concessions while we watched the games on TV. It now looks like nothing has changed for 2014 either, the Twins called the other day and asked if we wanted to get our 20-game plan again and I asked them if they were going to allow us to sit in section 104 and they said NO, they still don’t want to sell 20 game plans in that section. To my way of thinking this is unbelievably arrogant (and stupid) to not sell tickets to fans that want to attend Twins games when the team stinks and attendance is falling all around them.

The Twins used to be a fan friendly team but since Target Field was built it seems like the organization has found numerous ways to stick it to the fans. Heck, even the players seem to have that attitude. Over the years you could send a baseball card to a Twins player and 90% of the time you could expect to get your signed card back in the mail a couple of weeks later. This year I have sent about a half-dozen cards to various Twins players and not one card has come back. Trivial? Yes, but it still sends a message.

Maybe the Minnesota Twins organization has gotten too stale and set in their jobs. The Twins try to sell themselves as one of the top fan friendly organizations in baseball when it fits their needs but at times there are members of the Twins organization that come across as arrogant stuck up snobs that refuse to bend their so-called policies and keep doing things the same old way. I am not sure what it is going to take for change to take place in this organization, the Pohlad’s need to take a hard look at the entire structure of this organization and see what they can do to shake it up. That means from President Dave St. Peter on down to GM Terry Ryan, manager Ron Gardenhire, the coaching staff, the medical staff and yes, the Marketing staff that has done nothing since Target field was opened in 2010. Don’t get me wrong, the Twins have many great employees doing what they think is best for the organization with great passion but sometimes you can be in a position so long that you close your mind to new ways of doing things. The time has come for a big shake-up at Target Field both on the playing field and in all the Twins offices.

I personally value loyalty a lot but you can’t keep surrounding yourself with “yes” men and hope to get new ideas and new ways of doing things. Executives, Front office personnel, managers, and coaches, are really no different then the players themselves, they may have done a great job over the years but the time comes when you have to part ways like you did with Voila, Santana, Knoblauch, Cuddyer or a Morneau. The Twins have players on the field that just plain don’t belong in the big leagues and they have off the field personnel that don’t belong in their jobs either. The Minnesota Twins like any other business need new blood now and then and that time is now.

The Twins recently announced that there will be no ticket price increase for 2014, I will believe that when I see it in black and white and do a comparison between the ticket prices and plans for 2013 and 2014. I want to believe the Twins but…..

Twins fans are and will continue to watch through this off-season what the Twins organization does to improve this team from top to bottom. The Twins can brag about the 2014 All-Star game at Target Field all they want but it isn’t going to put butts in the Target Field seats and a better product on the field. Come on Mr. Pohlad, do something about this mess and do it quick because Twins fans are jumping off the band wagon left and right! If you need some help, give me a call.

Twins “games started” history

The Twins will have three starters that will start 20 or more games during this 2013 season. Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Scott Diamond have all passed that mark and there is no chance of anyone else joining that group. Samuel Deduno had 18 starts but he is done for the season. In 2012 the Twins had just one starter with 20 or more starts and that was Scott Diamond. 2012 was the first time in Twins history that they had only one starter with 20 or more starts. The Twins had only two starters with 20 or more starts only twice and those were the strike shortened 1981 and 1995 seasons. The Twins have had three starters start 20 or more games 12 times, four starters with 20 or more starts 17 times and five starters with 20 or more starts on eight occasions with the last two being 2010 and 2011. Only 6 teams in AL history have had 6 starters with 20 or more starts in a season and they were the 1937 White Sox, the 1942 Tigers, the 1944 Philadelphia A’s, the 1962 Senators, and the 2001 Rays. The Rays will be joining that group again on Monday when Alex Cobb makes his 20th start of 2013.

Twins starters with 20 or more starts

Year Tm #Matching
2011 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Brian Duensing / Francisco Liriano / Carl Pavano
2010 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Francisco Liriano / Carl Pavano / Kevin Slowey
2008 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Livan Hernandez / Glen Perkins / Kevin Slowey
2005 Minnesota Twins 5 Kyle Lohse / Joe Mays / Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2003 Minnesota Twins 5 Kyle Lohse / Joe Mays / Brad Radke / Rick Reed / Kenny Rogers
1990 Minnesota Twins 5 Allan Anderson / Mark Guthrie / Roy Smith / Kevin Tapani / David West
1979 Minnesota Twins 5 Roger Erickson / Dave Goltz / Paul Hartzell / Jerry Koosman / Geoff Zahn
1963 Minnesota Twins 5 Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual / Jim Perry / Lee Stange / Dick Stigman
2007 Minnesota Twins 4 Scott Baker / Boof Bonser / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2004 Minnesota Twins 4 Kyle Lohse / Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2002 Minnesota Twins 4 Kyle Lohse / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Rick Reed
2000 Minnesota Twins 4 Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Mark Redman
1999 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke
1998 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Bob Tewksbury
1997 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Brad Radke / Rich Robertson / Bob Tewksbury
1994 Minnesota Twins 4 Jim Deshaies / Scott Erickson / Pat Mahomes / Kevin Tapani
1993 Minnesota Twins 4 Willie Banks / Jim Deshaies / Scott Erickson / Kevin Tapani
1992 Minnesota Twins 4 Scott Erickson / Bill Krueger / John Smiley / Kevin Tapani
1991 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Scott Erickson / Jack Morris / Kevin Tapani
1989 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Shane Rawley / Roy Smith / Frank Viola
1988 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Bert Blyleven / Charlie Lea / Frank Viola
1987 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Mike Smithson / Les Straker / Frank Viola
1985 Minnesota Twins 4 John Butcher / Ken Schrom / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1984 Minnesota Twins 4 John Butcher / Ken Schrom / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1983 Minnesota Twins 4 Bobby Castillo / Ken Schrom / Frank Viola / Albert Williams
1982 Minnesota Twins 4 Bobby Castillo / Brad Havens / Frank Viola / Albert Williams
1980 Minnesota Twins 4 Roger Erickson / Darrell Jackson / Jerry Koosman / Geoff Zahn
1978 Minnesota Twins 4 Roger Erickson / Dave Goltz / Gary Serum / Geoff Zahn
1977 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Goltz / Pete Redfern / Paul Thormodsgard / Geoff Zahn
1976 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Goltz / Jim Hughes / Pete Redfern / Bill Singer
1974 Minnesota Twins 4 Vic Albury / Bert Blyleven / Joe Decker / Dave Goltz
1973 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Joe Decker / Jim Kaat / Dick Woodson
1970 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry / Bill Zepp
1968 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Dean Chance / Jim Kaat / Jim Merritt
1967 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Dean Chance / Jim Kaat / Jim Merritt
1966 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1964 Minnesota Twins 4 Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual / Dick Stigman
1961 Minnesota Twins 4 Jim Kaat / Jack Kralick / Camilo Pascual / Pedro Ramos
2013 Minnesota Twins 3 Kevin Correia / Scott Diamond / Mike Pelfrey
2009 Minnesota Twins 3 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Francisco Liriano
2006 Minnesota Twins 3 Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2001 Minnesota Twins 3 Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke
1996 Minnesota Twins 3 Brad Radke / Rich Robertson / Frankie Rodriguez
1986 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1975 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Dave Goltz / Jim Hughes
1972 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Jim Perry / Dick Woodson
1971 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1969 Minnesota Twins 3 Dave Boswell / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1965 Minnesota Twins 3 Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual
1962 Minnesota Twins 3 Jim Kaat / Jack Kralick / Camilo Pascual
1995 Minnesota Twins 2 Brad Radke / Kevin Tapani
1981 Minnesota Twins 2 Pete Redfern / Albert Williams
2012 Minnesota Twins 1 Scott Diamond
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2013.
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Seasons with 20 or more starts

Rk Yrs From To Age
1 Brad Radke 12 1995 2006 22-33 Ind. Seasons
2 Jim Kaat 12 1961 1973 22-34 Ind. Seasons
3 Bert Blyleven 9 1970 1988 19-37 Ind. Seasons
4 Frank Viola 8 1982 1989 22-29 Ind. Seasons
5 Kevin Tapani 6 1990 1995 26-31 Ind. Seasons
6 Dave Goltz 6 1974 1979 25-30 Ind. Seasons
7 Jim Perry 6 1963 1972 27-36 Ind. Seasons
8 Scott Baker 5 2007 2011 25-29 Ind. Seasons
9 Joe Mays 5 1999 2005 23-29 Ind. Seasons
10 Eric Milton 5 1998 2002 22-26 Ind. Seasons
11 Camilo Pascual 5 1961 1965 27-31 Ind. Seasons
12 Nick Blackburn 4 2008 2011 26-29 Ind. Seasons
13 Carlos Silva 4 2004 2007 25-28 Ind. Seasons
14 Johan Santana 4 2004 2007 25-28 Ind. Seasons
15 Kyle Lohse 4 2002 2005 23-26 Ind. Seasons
16 Scott Erickson 4 1991 1994 23-26 Ind. Seasons
17 Allan Anderson 4 1988 1991 24-27 Ind. Seasons
18 Mike Smithson 4 1984 1987 29-32 Ind. Seasons
19 Geoff Zahn 4 1977 1980 31-34 Ind. Seasons
20 Dave Boswell 4 1966 1969 21-24 Ind. Seasons
21 Francisco Liriano 3 2009 2011 25-27 Ind. Seasons
22 LaTroy Hawkins 3 1997 1999 24-26 Ind. Seasons
23 Ken Schrom 3 1983 1985 28-30 Ind. Seasons
24 Albert Williams 3 1981 1983 27-29 Ind. Seasons
25 Roger Erickson 3 1978 1980 21-23 Ind. Seasons
Rk Yrs From To Age
26 Pete Redfern 3 1976 1981 21-26 Ind. Seasons
27 Mudcat Grant 3 1964 1966 28-30 Ind. Seasons
28 Scott Diamond 2 2012 2013 25-26 Ind. Seasons
29 Carl Pavano 2 2010 2011 34-35 Ind. Seasons
30 Kevin Slowey 2 2008 2010 24-26 Ind. Seasons
31 Rick Reed 2 2002 2003 37-38 Ind. Seasons
32 Bob Tewksbury 2 1997 1998 36-37 Ind. Seasons
33 Rich Robertson 2 1996 1997 27-28 Ind. Seasons
34 Jim Deshaies 2 1993 1994 33-34 Ind. Seasons
35 Roy Smith 2 1989 1990 27-28 Ind. Seasons
36 John Butcher 2 1984 1985 27-28 Ind. Seasons
37 Bobby Castillo 2 1982 1983 27-28 Ind. Seasons
38 Jerry Koosman 2 1979 1980 36-37 Ind. Seasons
39 Jim Hughes 2 1975 1976 23-24 Ind. Seasons
40 Joe Decker 2 1973 1974 26-27 Ind. Seasons
41 Dick Woodson 2 1972 1973 27-28 Ind. Seasons
42 Jim Merritt 2 1967 1968 23-24 Ind. Seasons
43 Dean Chance 2 1967 1968 26-27 Ind. Seasons
44 Dick Stigman 2 1963 1964 27-28 Ind. Seasons
45 Jack Kralick 2 1961 1962 26-27 Ind. Seasons
46 Mike Pelfrey 1 2013 2013 29-29 Ind. Seasons
47 Kevin Correia 1 2013 2013 32-32 Ind. Seasons
48 Brian Duensing 1 2011 2011 28-28 Ind. Seasons
49 Glen Perkins 1 2008 2008 25-25 Ind. Seasons
50 Livan Hernandez 1 2008 2008 33-33 Ind. Seasons
Rk Yrs From To Age
51 Boof Bonser 1 2007 2007 25-25 Ind. Seasons
52 Kenny Rogers 1 2003 2003 38-38 Ind. Seasons
53 Mark Redman 1 2000 2000 26-26 Ind. Seasons
54 Frankie Rodriguez 1 1996 1996 23-23 Ind. Seasons
55 Pat Mahomes 1 1994 1994 23-23 Ind. Seasons
56 Willie Banks 1 1993 1993 24-24 Ind. Seasons
57 John Smiley 1 1992 1992 27-27 Ind. Seasons
58 Bill Krueger 1 1992 1992 34-34 Ind. Seasons
59 Jack Morris 1 1991 1991 36-36 Ind. Seasons
60 David West 1 1990 1990 25-25 Ind. Seasons
61 Mark Guthrie 1 1990 1990 24-24 Ind. Seasons
62 Shane Rawley 1 1989 1989 33-33 Ind. Seasons
63 Charlie Lea 1 1988 1988 31-31 Ind. Seasons
64 Les Straker 1 1987 1987 27-27 Ind. Seasons
65 Brad Havens 1 1982 1982 22-22 Ind. Seasons
66 Darrell Jackson 1 1980 1980 24-24 Ind. Seasons
67 Paul Hartzell 1 1979 1979 25-25 Ind. Seasons
68 Gary Serum 1 1978 1978 21-21 Ind. Seasons
69 Paul Thormodsgard 1 1977 1977 23-23 Ind. Seasons
70 Bill Singer 1 1976 1976 32-32 Ind. Seasons
71 Vic Albury 1 1974 1974 27-27 Ind. Seasons
72 Bill Zepp 1 1970 1970 23-23 Ind. Seasons
73 Lee Stange 1 1963 1963 26-26 Ind. Seasons
74 Pedro Ramos 1 1961 1961 26-26 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2013.

Bonus tidbit

Trivia question for you. How many different Twins pitchers have started at least one game since the Twins came into existence?

According to Elias

A’s pound Twins 18-3

Each of the nine players in the A’s starting lineup had at least one RBI and one run scored in the team’s 18-3 pounding of the Twins on Wednesday. That marked only the third time in the A’s franchise history that all nine starters did that in a game. The other two times that happened were on August 16, 1928 (vs. Detroit), when the franchise was located in Philadelphia, and on June 18, 2000 (at Kansas City).

The 18 runs that Oakland put on the board are the second most scored by a team at Target Field since the Twins began playing their home games there in 2010, behind the 19 run outburst Minnesota had against the Orioles on July 16, 2012.

Byron Buxton is 2013 Minor League Player of the Year

Byrron Buxton futures game 2013

Baseball America announced today that Byron Buxton is the 2013 Minor League Player of the Year joining Joe Mauer (2003) as the only Twins players to be so honored. The Twins second overall pick in the 2012 draft from Appling County High in Baxley, Georgia is on the fast track to Minnesota. A few days ago the Twins announced that Buxton will be joining the Twins contingent of players heading for the Arizona Fall League where he will join infielders Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler along with pitchers Trevor May, Alex Meyer, A.J. Achter, and Zach Jones playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs.

Buxton started the season at low Class A Cedar Rapids and was promoted in late June to high Class A Fort Myers, Buxton hit a cumulative .334/.424/.520 with 49 extra-base hits, 55 stolen bases and a sparkling 76-to-105 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 125 games. He led the minors with 18 triples, finished second with 109 runs scored, one behind Marcus Semien of the White Sox and 12th in stolen bases. Even more impressive, Buxton ranked sixth in the minor league batting race, 10th in hits (163) and seventh in on-base percentage, despite being a full year younger than any other member of those top-10 lists.

Twins minor league attendance numbers

I enjoy the work that Ballpark Digest does and check their site every day, as a matter of fact I have their RSS feed going to this site whenever they publish anything new. This past Monday they published their 2013 minor league attendance totals and averages for every team as well as how they ranked over all. They also have affiliated attendance by league. Check them out, they are interesting to look at and see how the Twins minor league teams rank.

 September Call Ups

The Minnesota Twins announced on September 8th that they have recalled infielder Eduardo Escobar, outfielder Chris Parmelee, left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond and right-handed pitchers Michael Tonkin and Cole De Vries from Triple-A Rochester. Additionally, the Twins have selected the contracts of catcher Eric Fryer and right-handed pitcher Shairon Martis from Rochester. To make room on the Twins 40-man roster right-handed pitcher Sam Deduno and outfielder Wilkin Ramirez have been transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.