Category: Who am I?

Who is this guy and why is he the last of his kind?

Question mark 2I was the Boston Red Sox 18th round selection in 1991 as an outfielder. In the spring of 1995 circumstances dictated that I become a replacement player. I made my major league debut as the Red Sox starting center-fielder on May 21, 1995 in Fenway Park and I had two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Just two years later I was a relief pitcher and appeared in 28 games for the Red Sox and posted a 3-0 record. After leaving Boston I pitched for the A’s, Marlins, Cubs, Rangers, Braves, Royals and finally for the Twins where my 14 year big league career ended. I once spent the off-season working as an extra on “All my Children”. My legacy, right or wrong, is that I am the last replacement player to retire from major league baseball. Who is this guy?

If you have no clue who it is but what to know, you can read the article below.

The last replacement player

 

Did you know?

Question markPitching a complete game without striking out or walking a single batter is a rare feat and only one Minnesota Twins pitcher has ever done it, name him.

Three pitchers have done it against the Twins, Dick Donovan in 1962, Bud Black in 1989 but he lost the game, and Joel Pineiro in 2006. In the last 22 years it has only been done twice, Pinero in 2006 and Rick Porcello in 2014.

The answer is Allan Anderson on 8/4/1988 – boxscore

Quality starts were not my forte

In my short Minnesota Twins career which was spread over two seasons I started a total of seven games but had zero quality starts. No other pitcher in Twins history can say that. Who am I?

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Who am I?

Rocky Colavito pitchingIt is very infrequent when I do a piece on a non Twins player but this is one of those times. See if you can identify this position player that pitched in the big leagues on two occasions. He played against the Twins many times.

Here is what 1960s baseball wrote:

“In the first game of a double-header in Yankee Stadium, ?? was the winning pitcher in a 6-5 Yankee triumph over the Tigers. ?? entered the game in the fourth inning, relieving starter Steve Barber.

In 2.2 innings, ?? allowed no runs on one hit, striking out one Tiger batter and walking two. He was the last non-pitcher to win a major league game until catcher Brent Mayne won a game for the Colorado Rockies in 2000.” Who is this guy?

Who am I?

Elmer ValoIf I were still alive today it would be my 94th birthday making me the oldest player to ever wear a Minnesota Twins uniform. I was a left-handed hitting outfielder that was born in Czechoslovakia and played in the major leagues for 20 seasons but I only spent a part of one season in Minnesota. In 6,091 career plate appearances I walked 942 times and struck out just 284 times and posted a career .398 OBP which is identical to Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio. So who am I?

Hint: I played for three different franchises that relocated while I was a team member.

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Who am I?

who am I?In 14 years in the majors I pitched in 602 games but started just 69 of them. That in itself is kind of strange because when I started my big league career with the Giants my first two games in the big leagues were complete game shutouts. In the next three starts I gave up a total of four earned runs but lost all three games.

I pitched for the Minnesota Twins for six seasons. In those six seasons I pitched in 327 games and never started a single game. In those 327 games I pitched more innings and won more games than any pitcher in Twins history that had zero starts on his resume. Who am I?

Now that our mystery pitcher has been identified, you can learn more about him in a January 2010 interview I did with him.

Who am I?

question-mark-baseball

I was a Minnesota Twins 19th round pick and I played in Minnesota for all or parts of three seasons before being traded. During one of those seasons, I was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie team. During my time as a Twin I had 1,062 plate appearances with a .260 batting average with 24 home runs. I hold the Twins career record for most plate appearances without being hit by a pitch. As a matter of fact, no player in franchise history going back to 1901 has ever stepped up to the plate as many times as I have without being plunked at least once. There are only 12 players in major league history with 1,000 or more plate appearances and a zero in the “Hit by Pitch” column and I am one of them. I do however; have a long ways to go to catch up with the all-time leader who is Mark Lemke with 3,664 plate appearances and was never hit by a pitch.  So who am I?

Just as a FYI, Nolan Ryan had 957 plate appearances without being hit by a pitch. In his 27 seasons he hit 158 batters and no one ever retaliated? Hard to believe.

 

Danny Valencia
Danny Valencia

Update as of November 10 – As you can see by the comments section, Shane Wahl nailed it right away that it was former Twins 3B Danny Valencia. Nice job Shane.

I threw 151 pitches in a game

Willie BanksThe Twins drafted me in the first round (third overall) out of St. Anthony’s High School in 1987. I made my major league debut with the Twins on July 31, 1991 at Yankee Stadium in relief and pitched 2 innings. I pitched for the Twins from 1991-1993 before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. During my time in Minnesota I had a 16-17 record with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. In 259.2 innings I struck out 191 batters and I issued a free pass to 127 hitters. I pitched in 52 games for the Twins and started 45 of them but I had no complete games.

One game in particular stands out during my time in Minnesota. On August 14, 1993 in the first game of a double-header at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum I threw 151 pitches during my 8 innings on the mound and I left the game with the score knotted at 1-1. The Twins scored 4 runs in the top of the 12th inning and won the game 5-1. Larry Casian pitched the final 4 innings of relief throwing just 53 pitches and was credited with the win, it just doesn’t seem fair does it? Since Baseball-Reference.com starting keeping track of pitch counts in 1988 no Twins pitcher has thrown more pitches in a game then I did on this day. Do you remember me?

Yes, the answer is Willie Banks.

Who am I?

Cummings, MidreI was the Minnesota Twins first ever first round supplemental pick but I played for three other big league teams before I played for the Minnesota Twins,  who am I? For extra credit name the player the Twins lost to free agency to get this pick. Come on now, no cheating by looking it up…….

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Who am I?

 

I was born in Cuba and signed by super scout Joe Cambria and the Washington Senators as a amateur free agent prior to the 1960 season but I never played for the Washington Senators big league ballclub.  I finally made the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins but I appeared in only 37 games in a Twins uniform. I then went on to play for the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Oakland A’s, and the Texas Rangers. I was in the majors for parts of seven seasons and I played in 436 games. I had 1,038 plate appearances in the big leagues but I was not what you called a power hitter as I never hit a big league home run. I did however, play all nine positions in the big leagues. After my playing career ended, I spent many years in the Seattle Mariners organization performing numerous duties. One of my duties for the Mariners was in scouting and I am credited with signing Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel. Who am I?

UPDATE: The answer is shortstop Marty Martinez.