TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week two.
Prior to play on April 20 the Twins are 5-1 and in first place in the American League one game up on the Detroit Tigers.
The Bomba Squad won 101 games in 2019, taking first place in the AL Central for the first time in nine years, only to get swept by the Yankees in the AL Division Series. The record breaking 2019 season brought about a 16% increase in average attendance at Target Field. More fans watched them on television, too. The Twins posted an average rating of 6.33 on FS North, fourth highest in baseball. The rating was 63% higher than 2018, the second-biggest year-over-year increase in baseball in 2019.
Forbes annually publishes what they perceive to be the values of all the major league baseball teams taking a number of things into consideration. You can find their most current list that was published by going here. Once you are at their site and you see their value ranking list, you can get more detailed information on what makes up a particulars teams value by clicking on the team name. The Minnesota Twins are ranked number 19, a nice jump up from number 23 in 2019 and you can see the detailed info that was collected by Forbes by clicking here. The 8% increase in the Minnesota Twins value from 2019 was only exceeded by the Orioles, Yankees and Nationals who all increased their value by 9%. In the AL Central division the White Sox are ranked number 14, the Detroit Tigers are ranked number 23, the Cleveland Indians are number 25 and the Kansas City Royals are number 29. As you would expect, the New York Yankees are number one at a team valuation of $5 billion (up 9% for 2019) and the Miami Marlins have the lowest team valuation at $980 million, a drop from a billion dollars in 2019.
You can find historical Minnesota team valuations on my “Payroll page“.
Looks like the Pohlad’s are doing pretty well, Calvin Griffith is probably rolling over in his grave when numbers like this are published. When any team in baseball tells you that they can’t afford to sign one of their stars, send them the Forbes link.
With no baseball being played and “classic” games being broadcast on the radio and television I thought I would do something a bit different, at least for awhile, since no baseball is being played. I thought I would give up a brief recap of Minnesota Twins games from 1961.
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week one.
Yankee manager Ralph Houk inspects the jacket of Twins manager Cookie Lavagetto prior to the Twins first ever game, played April 11, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. Twins win 6-0.
It seems like all we have heard the last few years is how the baseball games have gotten longer and we need to find ways to speed up the game. I agree that the games are longer, but is this something new? How about how the game is played today, with the “home run” being king?
According to a article by Charles Johnson in the Tribune on June 11, 1961 they had the same issues and gripes back then. I have followed baseball since the late 1950’s and when I complain about the game I say we should go back to when I thought baseball was more fun, back in the 50’s and 60’s. But Charley is complaining about how the game was played back then. Yes, the games are longer, TV is to blame for some of this, but has the game really changed that much?
I think one of my favorite statements that Charley Johnson makes is –
Strange as it may seem, the spectator’s aren’t leading the fight to find ways and means of shortening their stay in the stands. It’s coming largely from sports writers, players, managers, club and league officials.
Yankee manager Ralph Houk inspects the jacket of Twins manager Cookie Lavagetto prior to the Twins first ever game, played April 11, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. Twins win 6-0.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I ran across this article as I was doing research on the Minnesota Twins 1961 season. Right now I am in mid June of 1961, the Twins just finished a 13 game losing streak and the Twins skipper Cookie Lavagetto has been put on “furlough” by owner Calvin Griffith. What the heck? Who used the word furlough before this COVID-19 business happened? Apparently the Twins did back in 1961.
The Minnesota Twins have had many great hitters over the years but how many of them have had 1,000 or more hits while wearing a Minnesota Twins uniform? There has been just 14 of them, do you think you can name them all off the top of your head? Grab a pencil and paper and write down their names and see how many of them you can name. Feel free to leave a comment on how you did. When you are all done, click on the link below to see the entire list.
Did any of the names on this list surprise you? How many of these players did you get to see play when they were active Twins players? What Twins player didn’t you get to see play that you would have enjoyed watching?
Bob Allison just missed getting on this list with 999 hits while Jacque Jones with 974 hits and Brian Dozier with 928 hits were the others with over 900 hits but under 1,000.
Have a great day and stay safe and healthy during this difficult time as we pass the time waiting for the COVID19 issue to pass.
The Minnesota Twins signed Marwin Gonzalez as a free agent in February 2019 because he could play a number of positions and he was a solid player both with his glove and his bat. The Twins plan was to play Gonzalez most every day at a different position to give manager Rocco Baldelli the flexibility to give the regulars a day off on a regular basis. Hopefully that plan would allow for more rest for the “regulars” throughout the season. Gonzalez ended up playing in 114 games with appearances in the OF (59), 3B (40), 1B (21), DH (3), 2B (2) and 1B (1).
Some time ago I did a series of posts that I called my “Top 10 lists” about the best Twins players at each position and Harmon Killebrew did not make the cut in any of the positions. How is it possible you ask that a Hall of Famer that played 1,939 games in Twins colors (and 390 more as a Washington Senator) is not the best player at any position? The simple answer is that Harmon Killebrew did not play at least 51% of his games at any one position and that was an arbitrary figure that I chose to see who qualified at a position.
If you are a baseball fan you must have read and or subscribed to the Baseball Digest at one time or another and now you have a chance to read it again for FREE. Not just current issues but all the issues going back to 1942. Long before the computers, cell phones and the internet came into existence the Baseball Digest and the Sporting News were your go to places to read about baseball and its players. I subscribe to the Baseball Digest Archives but now everyone can access it at no cost. Thank you Baseball Digest!
As fans await the return of baseball on the field, Baseball Digest will unlock its archive and make its complete inventory of more than 800 issues from 1942 through 2019 available for free online.Unlimited access to the archive site at no cost will continue until at least July 15 and fans can take advantage of the free offer by visiting baseballdigest.com/free.
