Month: March 2021

Opening Day Complete Games

Bert Blyleven

As you watch the 2021 MLB Opening Day games tomorrow one of the things that you are unlikely to see is a complete game win by a starting pitcher. Back in the day, it was normal to see starting pitchers throw complete games in their final one or two spring training exhibition starts and complete games on OD were a normal occurrence. Not so in todays baseball.

Last year Chicago Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks pitched a complete game throwing 103 pitches as he shutout the Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 on July 24. It was the first complete game on OD (not counting a five inning effort by Gerrit Cole in 2020) since April 1, 2013 when Clayton Kershaw shutout the San Francisco Giants 4-0. The last complete game on OD in the American League goes back even farther, back to April 1, 2011 when Felix Hernandez got a CG 6-2 win against the Oakland A’s. The last pitcher to pitch a complete game against the Twins was Rick Rhoden when he was pitching for the New York Yankees on April 5, 1988 after the Minnesota Twins won the 1987 World Series.

The Minnesota Twins OD complete games are documented below.

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What’s in store behind the 2021 door

I will jump right in and say that I am very optimistic about the 2021 Minnesota Twins winning the American League Central title even though with the exception of the Cleveland Indians I see the rest of the Central Division teams improving.

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How concerned are the Twins about the FSN/Sinclair snafu

With many of the streaming options dropping Fox Sports North of late many Minnesota Twins fans like a number of other MLB fans are left in a lurch for a way to watch their favorite teams play ball in a couple of weeks when the 2021 season opens. I am still connected to my Xfinity cable box but I can certainly sympathize with the fans that have no way to watch Twins baseball.

In a recent Star Tribune article Chip Scoggins wrote that “Multiple people familiar with the situation told me local franchises with FSN ties are looking at viewership losses of between one-quarter and one-third of their audience. That’s big, and sobering.”

In that same article Dave St. Peter said he understands frustration of fans who can’t watch the Twins because they don’t have access to FSN. “People want to be able to watch their teams,” St. Peter said. “I don’t think that is an unrealistic or unfair expectation.”

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A historical look at Twins players & their strike outs

Today’s baseball is so different than the baseball I grew up watching over the years. In the old days you had better be a big time slugger if you were strikeout prone or you would find yourself looking for work in the real world. Today’s baseball seems to have no issue with players with high strikeout rates.

In the short 60-game season in 2020 the Minnesota Twins were tenth in runs scored in the American League but thanks to their good pitching (ranked second in the league) they were able to win the division title on the last day when the Chicago White Sox choked coughing up a three game lead with just eight to play by losing seven out of their last eight games.

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Twins to welcome back fans to Target Field in 2021

The last time that Twins fans were able to watch their home-town team play ball in-person at Target Field was back on October 7, 2019. That was the day their beloved Bomba Squad was sent packing from the American League playoffs when they were swept by the New York Yankees three games to zip in the ALDS. Their starting pitcher that day was Jake Odorizzi. Sergio Romo and Trevor May pitched in relief and the only run they scored in the 5-1 loss was a home run hit by right-fielder Eddie Rosario. When Twins fans sadly filed out of Target Field that day little did they know that they would not be able to watch another game in person at Target Field for another 548 days. It will not be until April 8, 2021 when the Twins host the Seattle Mariners in their Home Opener that Twins fans will again be able to cheer on their Twins. All the players named above will be playing for other teams.

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