Category: General Blogging

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Twins fun facts from Twins 3/22 ST notes

TWINS WIN!!: The Twins beat the Rays last night at Hammond Stadium by a score of 5-2, snapping their five-game losing streak and winning for the first time since Monday, March 13, a 1-0 victory over the Yankees in Fort Myers. Sonny Gray was the starter and winner, allowing two runs on five hits in 5 innings pitched, allowing his first runs of the spring on solo home runs by René Pinto and Luke Raley. Jovani Moran and Jorge López made their return from the WBC (Puerto Rico) and each pitched 1 scoreless inning. The offense recorded just four hits, led by Carlos Correa, who went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the first inning. Byron Buxton played in his first official spring training game and went 1-for-3 with a leadoff double and run scored.

SPRING FLING: Tonight the Twins will play the 25th of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games. The Twins also played one World Baseball Classic exhibition against Team Dominican Republic March 9, after tonight, three more games will be played at Hammond Stadium and four more games will be played on the road.

NEXT LEVEL JEFF: Ryan Jeffers is playing in his 11th spring game today, he has posted a .916 OPS this spring, including a .333 on-base percentage and a .583 slugging percentage. He made the Twins 2022 Opening Day roster for second time in career (also 2021) and was club’s catcher on Opening Day, April 8 vs. Seattle, going 1-for-2 with a walk. Jeffers posted a 3.59 catcher ERA, lowest of his career.

The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that they have reassigned right-handed pitchers Randy Dobnak and Brock Stewart, catcher Jair Camargo, infielder Andrew Bechtold and outfielder Mark Contreras to minor league camp. The Twins now have 45 active players in camp (13 non-roster): 22 pitchers (5 non-roster), five catchers (3 non-roster), eight infielders (2 non-roster) and 10 outfielders (3 non-roster), plus two players on the 60-day Injured List.

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/21 ST notes

SUNDAY’S RECAP: The Twins were shut out by the Atlanta Braves, 5-0, on Sunday at Hammond Stadium. Kenta Maeda was the starter and took the loss after yielding five runs on four hits (2 HR), with two walks and five strikeouts in 4 innings of work. Pablo López made his first appearance with the Twins after rejoining the team following the 2023 World Baseball Classic, tossing a scoreless frame in the top of the ninth. Minnesota was held to just two hits, singles by Kyle Garlick (1-for-3) and Ryan LaMarre (1-for-2). The Twins were off on Monday.

THE KNUTSON CUP: The Twins and Rays are facing off today for the finale of five scheduled exhibition games. The Twins took the first meeting, 8-4, February 25 at Hammond Stadium and the second meeting, 4-2, March 2 at Tropicana Field; the Rays won the third, 7-4, March 14 at The Trop and the fourth, 2-0, March 16 at The Trop. Since 2006 the Twins hold the exhibition edge 44-34-3 (13-5-1 under Baldelli). The Twins and Rays will play six times during the 2023 regular season, playing three in St. Petersburg from June 6-8 and three in Minneapolis from September 11-13. Byron Buxton is in the Twins’ starting lineup for the first time this spring, batting leadoff as the designated hitter. Carlos Correa is scheduled to make his seventh start of spring tonight….. Hope the boys aren’t too tired to make a road trip to JetBlue Park across town to play the Red Sox tomorrow night.

FORT MYERS IS TWINS TERRITORY: The Twins are celebrating their 33rd spring training in Fort Myers this year. With four home games remaining (including tonight), the club has drawn 74,040 fans in 12 games, good for a 6,170 average crowd that ranks sixth in the Grapefruit League.

Since March 13 the Twins are 2-5-1. No one cares about Spring Training exhibition games, but in those 8 games they have averaged 4.6 hits and 2.4 runs per game. Pretty dismal hitting just 9 days away from Opening Day. What are the chances the Twins Opening Day line-up plays a game or two together before Opening Day?

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/18 ST notes

SPRING FLING: Today the Twins will play the 22nd of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games. Twins also played one World Baseball Classic exhibition against Team Dominican Republic March 9. After today, five more games will be played at Hammond Stadium and five more games will be played on the road. The Twins made the trek to Bradenton today for a tilt against the Pittsburgh Pirates and return home tomorrow to take on the Atlanta Braves at Hammond Stadium. The end of Spring Training is coming fast. Just 12 days until Opening Day.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Twins fell to the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3, yesterday afternoon at Hammond Stadium. Tyler Mahle made the start and took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits (3 HR) with two walks and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. Kyle Farmer went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs, including going back-to-back with Michael A. Taylor in the second inning. Taylor’s was his first homer of spring and he finished the afternoon 1-for-3. Danny Coulombe (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) and Oliver Ortega (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) each recorded scoreless outings in relief.

The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have optioned outfielder Matt Wallner to Triple-A St. Paul and reassigned infielder Brooks Lee to minor league camp. The Twins now have 52 active players in camp (18 non-roster): 26 pitchers (7 non-roster), six catchers (4 non-roster), nine infielders (3 non-roster) and 11 outfielders (4 non-roster), plus two players on the 60-day Injured List.

WBC TV Viewership: The March 10 Japan vs. Korea game on TBS at the Tokyo Dome registered a 44.4 rating, the most-watched game in the history of the World Baseball Classic in any country until the March 16 quarterfinal game vs. Italy registered a 48.0; that game out-rated all sports competitions during the Tokyo Olympics.

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/17 ST notes

SPRING FLING: Today the Twins will play the 21st of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games. Twins also played one World Baseball Classic exhibition against Team Dominican Republic March 9. After today, eleven spring training games remain to be played.

YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Twins were shut out, 2-0, by the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday afternoon at Hammond Stadium. Joe Ryan was the starter and was saddled with the loss, allowing two runs on five hits (1 HR), with one walk and five strikeouts. Relievers Jeff Hoffman (1.0 IP, 2 K), Caleb Thielbar (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 K), Jhoan Duran (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K), Griffin Jax (1.0 IP, 1 K) and Jorge Alcala (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K) combined for 5.0 scoreless innings in relief of Ryan. Kyle Garlick (1-for-3) and Nick Gordon (1-for-3) tallied the Twins’ two hits of the afternoon.

(BAD) LUCK OF THE IRISH: Since 2006, the Twins have gone 4-11-1 on St. Patrick’s Day. Make that 5-11-1 after they lost again today to the Orioles by a 5-3 score.

TO THE MAX: Max Kepler is in his 10th spring training, all with the Twins. He enters today hitting .409 (9-for-22) with three doubles, two home runs, three RBI, four walks, a .500 on-base percentage and a 1.318 OPS in nine games so far this spring. He leads Twins players in games since 2017 (721), and was the club’s 2022 Opening Day right fielder for sixth consecutive season. Hit third career grand slam May 23 vs. Detroit, off Elvin Rodriguez, it was also the 1,000th home run by a Twins player in Target Field history. Led team in defensive runs saved with nine, ranking ninth in baseball (per FanGraphs).

54 active players in camp (19 non-roster):
26 pitchers (7 non-roster)
6 catchers (4 non-roster)
10 infielders (4 non-roster)
12 outfielders (4 non-roster)
2 60-day Injured List

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/13 & 3/14 ST notes

SPRING FLING: Today the Twins will play the 18th and 19th of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games. The Twins also played one World Baseball Classic exhibition against Team Dominican Republic March 9. After today, seven more games will be played at Hammond Stadium and six more games will be played on the road. The Twins will enjoy their second scheduled off-day of the spring tomorrow before hosting the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon at Hammond Stadium.

WE DO TALK ABOUT JOSE: Jose Miranda is batting .429 (6-for-14) with two doubles, three home runs, five RBI, four walks, a .556 on-base percentage and a 1.770 OPS in six games this spring. Miranda is in his second major league spring training with the Twins after making his major league
debut on May 2, 2022 at Baltimore. He became one of four rookies in club history (since 1961) with at least 100 hits, 25 doubles, 15 home runs, 60 RBI and 25 walks in rookie season, joining Tony Oliva (1964), Gary Gaetti (1982) and Marty Cordova (1995).

OBER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS: Bailey Ober is making his third spring start today. He tossed 1.0 scoreless inning, with one walk and three strikeouts, in his first outing March 1 vs. Philadelphia and worked 2.0 perfect innings, with two strikeouts, in his last start March 8 at Toronto. Ober is in his third spring training with the Twins (also 2021-22). He re-claimed the jersey number 17 in the offseason, when Chris Archer departed via free agency; Ober debuted wearing uniform number 82, switched to 17 prior to 2022 spring training and had it for about a month until the Twins signed Archer, moving Ober to 16. Ober likes the number 17 because his dad wore it in college, playing
Division III basketball at Champlain College. Ober made the Twins Opening Day roster for first time in career in 2022 going 2-3, 3.21 ERA (56.0 IP, 20 ER) with 11 walks and 51 strikeouts in 11 starts. Missed time on the 15-day Injured List with a right groin strain from April 30-May 21 and went back
on the IL with the same injury from June 6-September 16.

The Twins had a sellout crowd of 8,568 at Hammond Stadium yesterday to watch the visiting New York Yankees. I’m always amazed at big crowds like that here in Florida for Spring Training games when everyone knows that visiting teams seldom if ever bring any “starters” to play. Yesterday’s Yankee visit was no exception with their starting line-up being Peraza, Volpe, Cabrera, Calhoun, Hicks, Ortega, Chaparro, Florial, and Narvaez. No exactly a “Murders Row”.

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/11 ST notes

YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Twins and Baltimore Orioles tied, 5-5, in Sarasota last night. Twins entered the top of the ninth down by two runs and scored one on Danny De Andrade‘s RBI single. With runners at the corners and two outs, De Andrade stole second base and Ben Ross stole home to score the game-tying run. Dennis Santana then worked a one-two-three ninth inning to secure the tie. Joe Ryan made the start for the Twins and tossed 3.0 scoreless innings, with two hits allowed and four strikeouts.

Today the Twins will played the 15th of 33 scheduled spring training games (32 Grapefruit League contests and one World Baseball Classic exhibition)…after today, nine more games will be played at Hammond Stadium and seven more games will be played on the road.

FARMER AT THE FORT: Kyle Farmer is in his first spring training with the Twins, after being acquired via trade from Cincinnati last November, is hitting .385 (5-for-13) with one double, one home run, four RBI and two runs scored in six games so far. Twins are his third organization (Los Angeles-NL – 2013-18 & Cincinnati – 2019-22), was Cincinnati’s Opening Day shortstop in 2022. Led the Reds in games (145), multi-hit games (36), four-hit games (3), hits (134), doubles (25), total bases (203), RBI (78) and starts at SS (97). Received the Ernie Lombardi Award as the Reds’ Most Valuable Player and the Joe Nuxhall Good Guy Award from the local chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have optioned right-handed pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul.

The Twins now have 63 active players in camp (26 non-roster): 31 pitchers (11 non-roster), eight catchers (6 non-roster), 12 infielders (5 non-roster) and 12 outfielders (4 non-roster), plus two players on the 60-day Injured List.

Tomorrow’s pitchers against the Detroit Tigers are Minnesota: Aaron Sanchez (R), Jhoan Duran(R), Jorge Alcala (R), Griffin Jax (R), Jeff Hoffman (R), Oliver Ortega (R).

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/5 ST notes

CoolToday Park in North Port

YESTERDAY’S RECAP: The Twins fell to the Atlanta Braves yesterday, 7-5, in North Port. Louie Varland was the starter and took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits (2 HR), with one walk and three strikeouts in 2.0 innings of work; became the first Twins starter to work in the third inning this spring. The Twins’ bench came through for the club, recording five of the club’s eight hits on the afternoon – all during a five-run, eighth-inning rally. Chris Williams went 1-for-1 with a two-run double, while Yoyner Fajardo, Jose Salas and Jake Rucker all had RBI singles.

GLOBAL GAME: The 2023 World Baseball Classic starts this week, with pool play in Taichung, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; Phoenix, Arizona; and Miami, Florida. The Twins will be well-represented, with 16 players and staffers from across the organization partaking. Here’s the full list: José De León (Puerto Rico), Edouard Julien (Canada), Jorge López (Puerto Rico), Pablo López (Venezuela), Jovani Moran (Puerto Rico), Emilio Pagán (Puerto Rico), Dereck Rodríguez (Puerto Rico), Christian Vázquez (Puerto Rico), Bert Blyleven (Kingdom of the Netherlands), Julio Borbón (Dominican Republic), Ramon Borrego (Venezuela), Tony Diaz (Dominican Republic), Rudy Hernandez (Venezuela), Dustin Morse
(Kingdom of the Netherlands), Luis Ramirez (Venezuela) and Martijn Verhoeven (Kingdom of the Netherlands).

Twins fun facts from Twins 3/4 ST notes

Louie Varland

THIS LAND IS VARLAND: Louie Varland is in his first career spring training, making his second start…tossed 2.0 scoreless inning with one hit allowed and one strikeout February 25 at Baltimore…went 8-5, 3.06 ERA (126.1 IP, 43 ER), 42 walks, 146 strikeouts, a 1.26 WHIP and a .242 (117-for-484) opponent batting average in 24 minor league games (23 starts)…named Jim Rantz Award winner as Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season, joining José Berríos (2014-15) as the only pitcher to win the award in back-to-back seasons…led all Twins minor leaguers in strikeouts (146) and innings pitched (126.1), was tied for first in games started (23) and was second in ERA (3.06), second in winning percentage (.615), fourth in opponent batting average (.242) and WHIP (1.26), and tied for fifth in wins (8)…made major league debut on September 7 at New York-AL, striking out seven in 5.2 innings pitched, fanning Aaron Judge in the first inning for his first career strikeout…went 1-2, 3.81 ERA (26.0 IP, 11 ER) in 5 starts with the Twins.

I was at CoolToday Park as the Atlanta Braves beat the Minnesota Twins today by a score of 7-5 and it was not as close as the score indicates. The Braves took Varland behind the woodshed and put a serious beating on him right from the get-go. The Twins trailed 7-0 before they scored all five of their runs in the top of the eighth inning with little to no help from the big leaguers (Christian Vazquez & Ryan Jeffers) that were in attendance. The game lasted 2 hour and 33 minutes but it seemed like it went on for four hours. We were supposed to check out CoolToday Park last Spring but the game we were going to attend was called off due to the lockout. It is a beautiful ballpark with lots of parking available. It is about 75 miles north of Fort Myers in North Port. The only complaint I would have is that it kind of a pain getting from one level to another primarily because the signage is non-existent telling you where the stairs are.

Sandy Valdespino a member of 1965 Twins team dies at age 84

Sandy Valdespino

Hilario “Sandy” Valdespino was born on January 24, 1939 at San Jose de las Lajas, Mayabeque (Cuba) and died on February 26, 2023 in Moultrie, Georgia at the age of 84. A Cuban native, Sandy Valdespino signed with the Washington Senators in 1957 and played in the Senators — and then Twins — farm system until 1965. He won the International League batting title in 1964 with the Atlanta Crackers, earning a promotion to the big leagues the following season.

Valdespino, a short but stocky 5’8″ and 170 pounder played for the Minnesota Twins for three seasons from 1965-1968 primarily in left field and as a pinch-hitter but never could earn a full-time role. During his time in Minnesota he appeared in 259 games but had only 450 AB’s hitting .220 with 4 home runs.

Valdespino is best remembered for a great catch he made on June 18, 1967 against the Cleveland Indians. You can read more about Valdespino’s great catch and his relationship with other Twins players here in SABR’s Bio on Valdespino.

Valdespino also played for Atlanta, Houston, Milwaukee, Kansas City and the Seattle Pilots in his 382-game major-league career. He played 1,446 minor league games before finishing his career in the Mexican League in 1974.

Survivors include his wife, Esperanza Valdespino; his daughter, Esperanza Valdespino; and grandchildren, Hillary Williams, Norman Williams Jr., Ashley Valdespino, Terrance Valdespino and Bianka Valdespino. He was preceded in death by a son, Hilario Valdespino Jr. We here at Twinstrivia.com pass on our condolences to the Valdespino family, friend and all his fans. Thank you for the great memories.

Star Tribune Obituary

Twins fun facts from Twins ST notes

Credit – FOX 9

Since the Twins are publishing their Twins Notes for each Spring Training game I thought that I would pick out one item from each days notes and pass it along here. Today’s note is from March 2.

This season marks Rocco Baldelli’s fifth as the Twins’ manager, he will enter the regular season with a career managerial record of 288-258 and two division titles (2019 and ’20). Baldelli is one of eight managers in team history (since 1961) with 250 victories. Rocco’s coaching staff for 2023 includes: first base/catching coach Hank Conger, quality control coach Nate Dammann, assistant bench coach Tony Diaz, hitting coach Rudy Hernandez, pitching coach Pete Maki, bullpen coach Colby Suggs, hitting coach David Popkins, assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez, assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon, bench coach Jayce Tingler and third base/outfield coach Tommy Watkins.