Month: January 2017

Minnesota Twins Top 10 Catchers

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.

Joe Mauer
Rk Player WAR/pos G From To Age AB H HR RBI SB BA OPS
1 Joe Mauer 50.0 1590 2004 2016 21-33 5919 1826 130 804 50 .308 .837
2 Butch Wynegar 15.2 794 1976 1982 20-26 2746 697 37 325 8 .254 .682
3 Earl Battey 14.3 853 1961 1967 26-32 2762 768 76 350 8 .278 .765
4 Brian Harper 13.4 730 1988 1993 28-33 2503 767 48 346 7 .306 .773
5 A.J. Pierzynski 9.4 430 1998 2003 21-26 1428 430 26 193 6 .301 .788
6 George Mitterwald 6.0 514 1966 1973 21-28 1578 377 50 176 9 .239 .676
7 Glenn Borgmann 5.0 442 1972 1979 22-29 1207 277 14 137 4 .229 .630
8 Tim Laudner 3.2 734 1981 1989 23-31 2038 458 77 263 3 .225 .682
9 Terry Steinbach 3.1 347 1997 1999 35-37 1207 309 30 150 8 .256 .719
10 Kurt Suzuki 3.0 368 2014 2016 30-32 1230 323 16 160 0 .263 .680
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/28/2017.
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Anybody on this list surprise you? 

Twins Top 10 Catchers

Twins Top 10 First Baseman

Twins Top 10 Second Basemen

Twins Top 10 Third Baseman

Twins Top 10 Shortstops

Twins Top 10 Center Fielders

Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Twins Top 10 Right Fielders

Top Twins DH

Most plate appearances with zero home runs

The players on the list below had 400 or more plate appearances in a season as Minnesota Twins but hit no home runs. That didn’t necessarily mean they had a bad season, as you can see that second baseman Rod Carew led the American League in batting that year. Al Newman and Ben Revere make the list twice each.

Rod Carew
Rk Player PA HR Year G AB R H RBI BA Pos
1 Rod Carew 591 0 1972 142 535 61 170 51 .318 *4/H
2 Kirby Puckett 583 0 1984 128 557 63 165 31 .296 *8
3 Ben Revere 553 0 2012 124 511 70 150 32 .294 *98/7H
4 Al Newman 521 0 1989 141 446 62 113 38 .253 *456H/7D8
5 Ben Revere 481 0 2011 117 450 56 120 30 .267 *87H/9D
6 Al Newman 433 0 1990 144 388 43 94 30 .242 *465H/7
7 Lyman Bostock 400 0 1975 98 369 52 104 29 .282 *987/HD
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/27/2017.

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Some of the Twins worst games ever pitched

Minnesota Twins pitchers have pitched some bad games over the years, here is a list of Twins pitchers that gave up 10 or more runs in a single game. The most runs given up by a Twins pitcher was 11 by the 38-year-old Rick Reed in a 15-1 loss at the Metrodome to the New York Yankees back in 2003.

Rk Player Date Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR Pit
1 Rick Reed 2003-04-21 NYY L 1-15 GS-5, L 4.1 10 11 10 3 4 2 95
2 Rick Aguilera 1996-06-11 SEA L 8-18 GS-4, L 3.0 10 10 9 1 0 1 70
3 Scott Erickson 1994-04-12 SEA L 0-12 GS-4, L 4.0 11 10 7 3 2 1 85
4 Pat Mahomes 1993-04-24 DET L 1-17 GS-3, L 2.2 11 10 10 1 3 3 70
5 Willie Banks 1992-08-04 CHW L 11-19 3-4 1.2 8 10 10 4 1 1 56
6 Frank Viola 1983-07-08 CLE L 4-10 GS-4, L 3.1 8 10 9 3 2 1  
7 John Pacella 1982-07-15 DET L 2-18 1-4 2.2 8 10 4 4 4 3  
8 Geoff Zahn 1980-07-21 (2) BAL L 5-12 GS-6, L 5.2 11 10 10 5 2 3  
9 Joe Decker 1976-05-12 KCR L 5-17 GS-2, L 1.0 8 10 10 3 2 0  
10 Vic Albury 1974-08-06 KCR L 3-17 3-7 5.0 12 10 10 5 2 1  
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/26/2017.

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Do you remember Twins All-Star catcher Dave Engle?

Dave Engle was drafted in 1978 by the California Angels in the third round (66 over all) as a third baseman out of USC. His stay in his home state however; was short-lived as he was traded on February 3, 1979 with pitchers Paul Hartzell and Brad Havens and outfielder Ken Landreaux to the Minnesota Twins for Rod Carew who wanted out of Calvin Griffiths Minnesota Twins organization.

Engle spent 1979 in AAA Toledo as a third baseman and in 1980 he again found himself in Toledo but that year he played in the outfield. Engle made the 1981 Twins team out of spring training and debuted on April 14, 1981. Engle was always first a hitter and finding a position for him was a struggle for Minnesota and they decided to turn him into a catcher. Engle must have been a quick study because by 1983 he was catching for Minnesota. In 1984 he was the Twins lone representative to the All-Star game but did not get a chance to play in the game at Candlestick Park. In 1984 Engle started having more issues throwing the ball back to the pitcher although he had no problems throwing to second or third base if needed. The problem continued to plague him in 1985 and he soon found himself a part-time player. In January of 1986 he was traded by the Twins to the Detroit Tigers for Chris Pittaro and Alejandro Sanchez in one of those “I’ll take yours if you take mine” trades. 

Dave Engle stay in Minnesota lasted 439 games, 176 of them behind the plate. Engle hit .268 as a Twin with 28 home runs and 13 triples which is not too shabby for a catcher. The Tigers released Engle in August of 1986. Engle went on to play for Montreal in 1987-1988 and finished out his big league career in 1989 with Milwaukee.

Did you know that Dave Engle hit the first home run at the Metrodome and that he is Tom Brunansky‘s brother-in-law?

 

Catcher Dave Engle’s ‘stardom’ with Twins was short-lived

Q&A: Engle reflects on childhood with Ted Williams

 

Twenty two years ago, replacement players almost opened the baseball season

Twenty two years ago, the 1995 Opening Day that no one wanted loomed over Major League Baseball. The reason? After the games were completed on August 11, 1994 major league baseball players went on strike forcing MLB to cancel the remaining games in 1994 and for the first time since 1904 there was no World Series. I remember how disappointing it was back then and I hope that we never see it happen again. What is Fall without the World Series? Not to mention how it messed up my fantasy baseball league with me at the top of the standings.

As spring training approached the majority of the teams signed replacement players, players that had retired, career minor league players and anyone that could pitch or hit a baseball was signed. A few major league players crossed the picket lines and some active minor league players also thought the risk was worth the effort. Wannabee baseball players all over the country left their families and jobs behind to see if they could become the new stars of major league baseball. A few teams said they would not play with replacements and some major league managers and coaches said they wanted no part of this charade. 

Some replacements received a reported $5,000 at the beginning of spring training with a bonus of $20,000 if they made it to Opening Day. Salaries reportedly were set at $115,000, with each team permitted to have three players making $275,000.

Continue reading Twenty two years ago, replacement players almost opened the baseball season

Looking ahead to the 1967 baseball season

Fifty years ago the Boston Red Sox won the American League pennant in 1967 in what many think is one of the most if not thee most exciting AL pennant races ever. The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins finished one game back and the Chicago White Sox finished 3 games behind the Red Sox. My plan is to do some postings as the year goes along about the 1967 AL pennant race. I found an article in the April 17, 1967 Sports Illustrated called “RISING DYNASTY FOR THE BIRDS?” that does a recap on each AL team and predicts their chances for the 1967 season. Kind of a fun read. The Boston Red Sox of course played the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series and lost 4 games to 3.

Carl Yastrzemski won the triple crown in 1967 although he and Twins 1B Harmon Killebrew each had 44 home runs that year. Even though you know how the story ends, it will still be fun reliving it.

A quick visit the CenturyLink Sports Complex

With a little extra time on my hands this morning I took a quick trip out to the CenturyLink Sports Complex to see what might be going on out there. I had low expectations of what I would see out there this early in January and those expectations were met.

I arrived about 10 A.M. and the parking lot was pretty much empty, maybe two dozen cars were parked in the hot sun. The spring training ticket window (yes, just one) was open but there was no one buying any tickets, as a matter of fact the entire time I was there I didn’t see anyone buy any tickets. As I walked past the ticket window I saw Pat Reusse head towards the Twins clubhouse and we exchanged pleasantries as we passed each other. The Twins maintenance crews were busy, a couple of guys were power-washing the sidewalk, others were raking, fertilizing the fields, and adjusting sprinklers.

Glen Perkins

I walked to the back fields and they were empty so I chatted briefly with a friend that was out there and finally I saw my first player as Glen Perkins came out to play long toss with rehab coordinator Lanning Tucker. He did that for about an hour and went inside. A couple of other players came out one or two at a time to throw the ball around but I didn’t recognize any of them. There were also a few players that I didn’t recognize starting to do some running on the agility field and I snapped a few photos. About 11:15 A.M. or so things quieted down and I headed back to the condo.

A pretty quiet day and things will pick up each day but I don’t expect to see a lot of players until after Twins Fest is over. I will get the few photos I did take posted in my 2017 Spring Training link in the next day or so. 

 

Analyzing Minnesota Twins First Round Picks – Part 2

 

How long does it take a Twins first round pick to reach the majors?

I wanted to see how long it takes a Minnesota Twins first round selection to reach the major leagues and there is really no good way to measure that so I decided to use the number of months it took for the player to debut in the major leagues after being drafted. I took nothing else, including injuries into consideration. It also does not mean the player stayed in the big leagues, it simply means he made his major league debut by appearing in a big league game.

Straight to the big leagues – just one, Eddie Bane a LHP out of college.

Second Season

10th month of pro ball – just one, Bryan Oelkers a LHP out of college.

13th month of pro ball – again just one, Adam Johnson a RHP out of college.

14th month of pro ball – again just one, Matt Garza RHP out of college.

Third Season

22nd month of pro ball – two players, Paul Powell an OF out of college and Chuck Knoblauch a SS out of college who went on to win ROY award as a 2B.

23rd month of pro ball – one player, Dave McCarty a collegiate 1B.

26th month of pro ball – two players, Travis Miller a LHP out of college and Todd Walker a collegiate 2B.

27th month of pro ball – three players, Lenny Faedo a SS out of high school, Scott Stahoviak a SS out of college and briefly played 3B in the majors, Glenn Perkins a LHP out of the University of Minnesota.

Fourth Season

34th month of pro ball – two players, Joe Mauer a C from Cretin-Derham Hall a Minnesota high school and Matt LeCroy a C out of college.

36th month of pro ball – one player, Byron Buxton a high school OF.

39th month of pro ball – two players, Steve Brye a 3B/OF out of high school went on to become the first Twins first round draft choice to debut as a Twins player and Ben Revere a high school OF.

Fifth Season

46th month of pro ball – three players, Jose Berrios a high school RHP, Jeff Reed a C out of high school and Rick Sofield who was drafted as a SS out of high school but play in the OF for Minnesota.

48th month of pro ball – two players, Kyle Gibson a collegiate RHP and Dan Serafini a high school LHP.

49th month of pro ball – two players, Mark Redman a collegiate LHP and Willie Banks a high school RHP.

50th month of pro ball – one player, Torii Hunter a high school OF.

51st month of pro ball – one player, Michael Cuddyer was drafted as a high school SS and played primarily in the OF.

Sixth Season

58th month of pro ball – one player, Aaron Hicks a high school OF.

63 month of pro ball – one player, Chris Parmelee a high school OF.

Seventh Season

70th month of pro ball – one player, Denard Span a high school OF.

71st month of pro ball – one player, Trevor Plouffe a high school SS but played 3B

74th month of pro ball – one player, Alex Wimmers a collegiate RHP

75th month of pro ball – two players, Matt Fox a collegiate RHP and Derek Parks drafted as a RHP and C but was a catcher for Minnesota.

Eighth Season

82nd month of pro ball – two players, Todd Ritchie a RHP out of high school and Bob Gorinski drafted as a high school SS but played OF with the Twins.

87th month of pro ball – one player, Kyle Waldrop a high school RHP 

Continue reading Analyzing Minnesota Twins First Round Picks – Part 2
Published
Categorized as MLB Draft

Analyzing Minnesota Twins First Round Picks – Part 1

Since the June Amateur Draft began in 1965 the Minnesota Twins have selected 72 players in round one, some are their regular first round selections and other are supplemental picks for the loss of a free agent or failure to sign a round one selection. 

Over the years the Twins have failed to sign seven first round selections, about 10% of their total first round picks. The seven players that did not sign were four position players and three pitchers. You would think most of these would be high school players that chose to go on to college but that is not the case here, six were college players and only one was a high school player. The last time the Twins organization failed to sign a player was 2000 supplemental pick RHP Aaron Heilman.

Minnesota Twins first round draft picks 1965-2016

POS HS COLLEGE
C 2 1
1B 1 1
2B 0 1
SS 8 3
3B 4 2
OF 12 2
RHP 9 10
LHP 1 8
DID NOT SIGN 1  6
  38 34

 

Continue reading Analyzing Minnesota Twins First Round Picks – Part 1

I miss the old days

Kyle Gibson

The Minnesota Twins have announced that all their arbitration eligible players have been signed for 2017. All five pocketed some nice change but starting pitcher Kyle Gibson increased his pay by 394% from $587,500 in 2016 to $2.9 million in 2017.

Bob Gibson

For that kind of increase I would have expected a “Cy Young” award season but I don’t remember that being the case. Lets see, I remember a real good pitcher named Gibson, oh, that was a guy named Bob Gibson and he is in the Hall of Fame. He last pitched in 1975 and his salary peaked out at $175,000.

Our Gibson, Kyle was 6-11 last season with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. In his 25 starts he pitched 147.1 innings and allowed 175 hits including 20 home runs. The man deserved a pay cut and not a pay increase of 394%, he should be pitching for the major league minimum this year of $535,000. But the MLB arbitration rules prohibit common sense like that.

In the old days they could give a player a maximum pay cut of 20%, that rule should still be in place. It is BS that baseball players get increases year after year no matter how bad a season they have. But that is the world we live in today. No one said that life is fair but things like this are just plain wrong.

Hey Kyle, don’t forget to increase your charitable contributions by 394% this year too. If you start 30 games in 2017 that comes out to almost $100,000 a start, you can afford it.