Category: General Blogging

This is a general blogging category.

Former Orioles, Twins, Reds pitcher Scott Klingenbeck passes unexpectedly

Scott Edward Klingenbeck was born on February 3, 1971 in Cincinnati, Ohio and passed away unexpectedly on May 20, 2025 at the age of 54. Klingenbeck grew up in Cincinnati, where his love for baseball was evident from a young age. A standout athlete at Oak Hills High School, he quickly earned a reputation as a dominant pitcher with a strong work ethic. His talent led him to Ohio State University, where he excelled as a collegiate pitcher, winning 10 games in 1990 and 11 in 1991—both ranking among the top 10 single-season win totals in program history.

Klingenbeck was first selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 57th round of the 1989 amateur draft but did not sign. He was then taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 60th round of the 1991 amateur draft, but once again, he did not sign. Finally, he was chosen by the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth round of the 1992 amateur draft. He signed and made his pro debut that season with the Kane County Cougars.

Scott made his Major League debut on June 2, 1994, pitching seven innings against the Detroit Tigers and securing a win. Over the course of his career, he played for the Baltimore Orioles (1994–1995), Minnesota Twins (1995–1996), and Cincinnati Reds (1998). His most notable trade came in July 1995, when the Orioles sent him to the Twins in exchange for pitcher Scott Erickson, the 1991 AL Cy Young runner-up.

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Twins minor league players of the week

The Twins have named High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher John Klein as their minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Gabriel Gonzalez

Gonzalez, 21, played in six games for the Kernels, hitting .385 (10-for-26) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.336 OPS. On Wednesday vs. Peoria, he recorded three hits and on Thursday vs. Peoria, he went 4-for-6 with two doubles, one home run and six RBI. The Carupano, Venezuela native was acquired by the Twins in the Jorge Polanco trade with Seattle during the 2023-24 off-season and is a right-handed hitting outfielder. MLB Pipeline has Gonzalez as the Twins 17th best prospect and you can read what they have to say about him here.

John Klein

Klein, 23, made two relief appearances for the Wind Surge, allowing one unearned run in 6.0 innings, with three hits allowed, two walks and six strikeouts. The 6’5″ right-handed Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in August of 2022.

Twins Minor League Report, 5-17-2025.PDF

Rich Rollins, a member of 1965 Twins pennant winning team passes away

Rich “Red” Rollins

Richard John Rollins, known to baseball fans as Rich Rollins, passed away on May 13, 2025 at the age of 86 in Akron, Ohio, leaving behind a legacy that embodies perseverance, talent, and the spirit of the game. A two-time All-Star and a key contributor to the Minnesota Twins’ 1965 American League pennant-winning season, Rollins carved out a successful career despite early doubts about his abilities.

Early Life and Passion for Baseball

Born on April 16, 1938, in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, Rich inherited a deep love for baseball from his father, an ambidextrous welder who played in coal mining leagues. When the family relocated to the Cleveland area, young Rich immersed himself in the game, playing multiple positions—second base, third base, and catcher—for Parma High School. He also played second base for an American Legion team, all while working at Cleveland Indians games as a popcorn vendor.

His journey to professional baseball was far from straightforward. Initially enrolling at Ohio University after high school, Rollins soon received a scholarship offer from Kent State University, despite never having been seen by the coach, Matt Resnick. Recommended by Norbert “Nobby” Lewandowski, a pitcher in the Twins’ farm system, Rollins thrived at Kent State. He earned three consecutive selections to the All-Mid-American Conference team at second base and posted an extraordinary .383 career batting average—second only to future Yankees catcher Thurman Munson.

Despite his success, Rollins faced skepticism from scouts who deemed him too small (5’10”), unable to hit curveballs, incapable of turning double plays, and possessing a weak arm. However, Kent State coaches Matt Resnick and Moose Paskert encouraged him to persevere, helping him refine his skills and stay motivated.

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What the heck ails the Twins?

Rocco Baldelli

What is going on with our Minnesota Twins? They are only 22 games into the 2025 season and it is already no fun to watch this team play ball. A 7-15 record after 22 games? This team is better than that, I am not saying they are one of the upper echelon teams but they are better than 7-15.

So what ails this team? This past off-season they were bragging about having one of the best bullpens in baseball and so far they look like they have one of the worst bullpens. Hopefully that will will straighten itself out soon but it had better happen soon. What about the hitting? I would rate it between dismal and pathetic, they don’t seem to have anyone that can consistently knock in runs, but then again they have not had one of those players in years. Both of these things could be blamed on the Twins front office and ownership but with the Twins for sale I don’t see the Pohlad’s jettisoning Derek Falvey at his point. So the obvious move is to fire the manager and show the remaining Twins fans that the Twins are still trying to win. Perception is reality after all.

Continue reading What the heck ails the Twins?

Twins minor league players of the week

Triple-A St. Paul outfielder Carson McCusker and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Charlee Soto have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Carson McCusker


Carson McCusker, 26, played in four games for the Saints, hitting .357 (5-for-14) with one double, two home runs, three RBI, three walks, a .500 on-base percentage, a .857 slugging percentage and a 1.357 OPS. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound outfielder was signed by the organization in June of 2023.

Charlee Soto


Charlee Soto, 19, started for the Kernels on Friday vs. Beloit, pitching 5 shutout innings, with one hit allowed, no walks and six strikeouts. The Philadelphia, PA native was drafted by the Twins in the first round (34th overall) of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Reborn Christian Academy in Kissimmee, FL. Soto is rated as the Twins 8th best prospect by MLB Pipeline

MLB teams revenue versus payroll

An interesting chart showing how much revenue each MLB team generated in 2024, and how much of that is going towards their payroll in 2025. I borrowed this chart Brooksgate off of X.

Revenue data calculated by Forbes and Payroll Data comes from Spotrac.

The chart indicated that the Minnesota Twins fall right in the middle of the pack which seems to be where the Twins have stated over and over that they want to be. The Kansas City Royals rank 9th, the Detroit Tigers are 12th, The Cleveland Guardians are 25th and the Chicago White Sox are 29th.

I find it interesting that the luxury tax of $150 million paid by the Los Angeles Dodgers is more than the 2025 payroll for 10 teams or 33.33% of all the MLB teams. Not exactly an even playing field!

Sticky: Twins.TV

Xfinity/Comcast subscribers will be able to watch Twins games on channel 1261. DirecTV and DirecTV Stream customers will get games on channels 668-3 (satellite) and 668 (streaming), respectively.

Spectrum will have Twins games on channels 428 or 468, or 319 in Wisconsin.

Midco will have games on channel 638.

Other TV providers that have agreed to carry Twins games:

  • BEVCOMM
  • Consolidated Telcom
  • Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC)
  • Dickey Rural Services
  • Gardonville Cooperative Telephone
  • Halstad Telephone Company
  • Interstate Telecommunications Company
  • MLGC
  • North Dakota Telephone Company
  • Northwest Communications Cooperative
  • Paul Bunyan Communications
  • Red River Telephone
  • Reservation Telephone Company
  • Runestone Telephone
  • SCI Broadband
  • Sjoberg’s Cable
  • Tremolo Communications
  • United Telephone Mutual Aid
  • Venture Communications
  • West Central Telephone Association
  • Wikstrom Telephone Company

Where and how to watch the Minnesota Twins in 2025.

MLB, cable companies reach deal to broadcast Twins games
Twins broadcasts remain unavailable on major television providers

Bet the farm on it

My buddy here has assured me that his picks this season are right on the money. After months of study, research, computer analysis and a long conversation with the Woonsocket Rocket himself, the prediction for the 2025 American League Central Division is right here.

As a bonus he is throwing in another sure bet and that is that the Los Angeles Bums (Dodgers) will NOT be winning the World Series in 2025. He is not going to tell you the actual winner but he has a couple clues for you on who will win, it will be an American League team but no, it will not come from the AL Central. Alright, one more clue, it won’t be from the AL East either.

Enjoy the baseball season everyone!

Twins Game Notes for Sunday March 23

Just for the fun of it I thought I would post today’s Minnesota Twins Game Notes out here so that those of you that have never seen them might see what you are missing. I try to post them every day during the regular season and they always have fun and interesting facts.

Twins Notes, 3-23 at BOS (3)

Jose Valdivielso – a member of 1961 Twins passes away

Jose Valdivielso

One of the few remaining members, Jose Valdivielso, of the 1961 Minnesota Twins passed away on March 4, 2025 at the age of 90. José Martinez de Valdivielso Lopez was born on May 22, 1934 in Matanzas, Cuba.

Valdivielso started his professional baseball career as a shortstop with the Class C 1953 Lubbock Hubbers in the West Texas-New Mexico League. During the 1954 season Valdivielso was assigned to the Washington Nationals in an unknown transaction and was sent from Lubbock to the Class B Rock Hill Chiefs and then on to the Class A Charlotte Hornets. He started the 1955 season with Charlotte but was called up by the Washington Nationals and made his MLB debut on June 21, 1955 at Griffith Stadium against the Chicago White Sox in a 6-1 Nats loss in which Valdivielso went 0 for 3. Valdivielso split his time with the Nats and their minor league teams in 1955-1956.

Valdivielso with Minneapolis Millers in 1958

Somehow he ended up playing for the Chicago White Sox AAA Indianapolis Indians in 1957 and in 1958 he split his time with the AAA Boston Red Sox Minneapolis Millers and the AAA San Francisco Giants Phoenix Giants. He started the 1959 season with the AAA Baltimore Orioles Miami Marlins and then low and behold he showed back up with the Washington Nationals where he played in the rest of the 1959 and the 1960 season.

In 1960, the team’s sixtieth and last season in Washington, Valdivielso was the Senators’ most-used shortstop, starting in 92 games and playing a career-high 117 contests. But by late September he had lost his starting job to Zoilo Versalles, a 20-year-old fellow countryman.

Valdivielso spent the 1961 season with the Minnesota Twins but only played in 76 games mainly as a defensive replacement and had just 158 PA’s in which he hit .195 with 29 hits and 9 RBI. One of those 29 hits was his lone Twins home run a long blast to left field that took place on June 4, 1961 at Tiger Stadium off Frank Lary in a 10-4 Twins loss to the Detroit Tigers. Jose played his final major league game at Met Stadium against the Detroit Tigers and went 2 for 3 with an RBI on the 1961 season’s final game, which was called in the top of the sixth inning on account of rain.

Valdivielso never played in the major leagues again and finished his career with the Minnesota Twins AAA Vancouver Mounties in 1962, and the Chicago White Sox AAA Indianapolis Indians in 1963-1964. In total, Jose Valdivielso collected 213 hits in the majors, with 26 doubles and eight triples to go along with his nine home runs.

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