Twinstrivia.com would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful time with your family and friends and stay safe if you need to travel.
Month: November 2019
2019 Twins Turkey of the Year is ….
Welcome to our second decade of Twins Turkey of the year awards. I sure hope you are all enjoying the snow that we were blessed with over the last few days as you made your way to enjoy Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Let’s get right down to business of naming this years Twins Turkey of the Year.
Twins unveil baby blue alternate uniform for 2020
As part of the celebration of the 60th season of Major League Baseball in Minnesota, the Twins on Monday unveiled a throwback baby blue alternate uniform for the 2020 season. The uniform features baby blue tops and pants with “Twins” written in scarlet red cursive lettering as a replica of the club’s road uniform worn during the 1973-86 seasons.
“No uniform in the history of Minnesota Twins baseball drives more fan engagement than the old-school baby blues,” Twins President and CEO Dave St. Peter said. “With that popularity in mind, we are excited to bring this uniform back as part of our 60th Season Celebration. It’s going to be fun to watch the 2020 Twins wearing the same look as Twins legends from the 1970s and 1980s.”
At least the Twins haven’t used this excuse for not signing FA’s
As part of an article in “The Athletic” on November 22, Ken Rosenthal wrote this:
The Twins, aggressively exploring the market for rotation help, would love to sign a starter along the lines one of Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner or Hyun-Jin Ryu. The high income tax rate in Minnesota, though, could present something of an obstacle.
The 9.85 percent rate in Minnesota is second only to California’s 13.3 percent (New York’s rate is higher than Minnesota’s when combining city and state rates, but most players live outside the city).
State income tax rate usually is not a primary consideration for free agents, but in certain cases the best gross deal might not be the best net deal, complicating the decision.
It made me snicker and wonder how long it will be before the Minnesota Twins start using this as an excuse for not being able to sign the big free agents. Maybe even start lobbying the state legislature to give Minnesota athletes a tax break?
Twins Top 10 list for lowest batting average with 500+ AB’s
It is always fun to look back and see if former Minnesota Twins players were as good as you remember them.
Today we look back and see what Twins players had the lowest batting average in a season in which they had 500 or more at bats. Not a great list for Zoilo to appear on just two years removed from winning the American leagues MVP award. I was surprised to see a current Twins player on this list. Some pretty good players on this list but you have to be a good player to get 500 at bats in a big league season.
| Rk | Player | BA | AB | Year | Age | G | R | H | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoilo Versalles | .200 | 581 | 1967 | 27 | 160 | 63 | 116 | 6 | 50 |
| 2 | Max Kepler | .224 | 532 | 2018 | 25 | 156 | 80 | 119 | 20 | 58 |
| 3 | Tom Brunansky | .227 | 542 | 1983 | 22 | 151 | 70 | 123 | 28 | 82 |
| 4 | Gary Gaetti | .229 | 577 | 1990 | 31 | 154 | 61 | 132 | 16 | 85 |
| 5 | Gary Gaetti | .230 | 508 | 1982 | 23 | 145 | 59 | 117 | 25 | 84 |
| 6 | Roy Smalley | .231 | 584 | 1977 | 24 | 150 | 93 | 135 | 6 | 56 |
| 7 | Brian Dozier | .236 | 628 | 2015 | 28 | 157 | 101 | 148 | 28 | 77 |
| 8 | Torii Hunter | .240 | 521 | 2015 | 39 | 139 | 67 | 125 | 22 | 81 |
| 9 | Zoilo Versalles | .241 | 568 | 1962 | 22 | 160 | 69 | 137 | 17 | 67 |
| 10 | Brian Dozier | .242 | 598 | 2014 | 27 | 156 | 112 | 145 | 23 | 71 |
Play you best players, let them rest in the off-season
When I go to the ballpark or watch a baseball game on TV I always expect the teams best players to be on the field day in and day out during the baseball season. I am old school in that regard and it is disappointing to me when today’s managers rest players so frequently. I believe that players are paid to play and only an injury that does not physically allow them to play should keep them off the field and in the dugout.
Apparently that is not how the Twins play baseball. Coming to the ballpark and playing every day is not how it is done in Minnesota. The last player to play 160 or more games in a season for the Minnesota Twins was Justin Morneau back in 2008, that was 12 years ago. Morneau put together a 218 consecutive games played streak that started on June 28, 2007 and ended on June 20, 2009.
Over the years the Twins have had 21 instances when a player has appeared in 160 games or more. Eleven players have accomplished this feat with Zoilo Versalles leading the pack with four such seasons, Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett each did it three times, Cesar Tovar, Leo Cardenas and Gary Gaetti did it twice while Tony Oliva, Roy Smalley, Paul Molitor, Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau each did it once. This past season the Twins “Ironman” was Jorge Polanco with 153 games played.
Looking at just the American League (due to no DH in the National League) this past season there were four players that appeared in 160 or more games and there have been no instances from 1961-2019 where there hasn’t been at least one players appearing in 160 games in a season, excluding strike shortened seasons.
Going back to 1961 the Twins have the third longest streak in the AL without a player appearing in 160 or more games. The last Cleveland Indians player to play in 160 or more games was Grady Sizemore in 2007 and the longest streak in the AL without a player playing in 160 games belongs to the Los Angeles Angels who had Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus qualify back in 2001. I found it interesting that the Texas Rangers who did not begin play until 1972 and play in the very hot Texas temperatures had 13 players play in 160 or more games between 1972-2019.
Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli is AL MOY winner
Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was voted as the American League Manager of the Year by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Ballots for each award were submitted before the start of the postseason from two writers in every city, based on the league covered. Of the 30 ballots cast in the AL, Baldelli and New York Yankee skipper Aaron Boone each received 13 first-place votes, but Baldelli pushed ahead with 13 second-place votes, as compared to Boone’s nine, along with two third-place votes. Baldelli’s buddy Kevin Cash, who managed the Tampa Rays finished third in the voting.
The youngest manager in the American League and a rare managerial hire from outside the Twins’ organization, Rocco Baldelli lived up to all the anticipation in 2019, becoming the seventh skipper in Major League history to win at least 100 games in his rookie season as he guided Minnesota to its first division championship since 2010. Baldelli is the Twins’ fourth Manager of the Year Award winner, joining his three most recent predecessors in Tom Kelly (1991), Ron Gardenhire (2010) and Paul Molitor (2017).
Happy Veterans Day!
Don’t forget to thank a Veteran, or two, or three, for their service today and every day.
Recent Minnesota Twins news events
The first thing we do need to do is to congratulate catcher Mitch Garver and DH Nelson Cruz on being named 2019 American League Silver Slugger winners. Garver and Cruz are the first Minnesota Twins teammates to win Silver Sluggers since Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in 2008.
The last previous winner of a Silver Slugger award was outfielder Josh Willingham in 2012. Kirby Puckett and Joe Mauer have each won the award five times. Garver and Cruz are the seventh and eighth Minnesota Twins players to be awarded Silver Slugger.
The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. The award was started in 1980. A complete list of Twins award winners can be seen here.