Get to know President Ken Schrom

Ken SchromKenneth Marvin Schrom was born in Grangeville, Indiana on November 23, 1954 and attended Grangeville High School where he earned 11 athletic letters and all-state honors in baseball, basketball and all-american honors in football. The Minnesota Twins drafted Schrom in 1973 in the 10th round but Ken passed on the offer and instead accepted a scholarship from the University of Idaho to play football and baseball. Schrom was a two-year letter winner in both football and baseball for the Idaho Vandals from 1973-76. Schrom had dreams of playing QB in the NFL one day but a couple of injuries on the football field caused him to pass on football and focus on his baseball career.

Ken SchromThe California Angels drafted Schrom in 1976 in the 17th round and after signing his first pro contract Ken began his climb to the major leagues. Schrom worked his way through the minors quickly and by 1979 was already pitching in AAA Salt Lake City. Schrom was again in Salt Lake City when the 1980 season opened and he was hoping for a call from the Angels but when that call came on June 10, 1980 he found out that the Angels had dealt him to the Toronto Blue Jays as the PTBNL from an earlier Angels-Blue Jays deal.

It wasn’t long before the Blue Jays called Schrom up to the big leagues and on August 8th, 1980 Ken appeared in his first big league game against the Kansas City Royals at Exhibition Stadium in the second game of a double-header as a reliever pitching the final 2/3 of an inning in a 7-4 losing cause to the Royals. Schrom spent the rest of 1980 with Toronto pitching in relief but the following season he found himself in AAA Syracuse. Schrom started 1982 in Syracuse again but in August the Blue Jays recalled Schrom and he appeared in 6 games before Toronto released him. Schrom signed with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent in December 1982.

In 1983 the Twins turned Schrom into a starter and after a quick 3-1 start in Toledo the Twins called Schrom to the majors. Schrom who threw the fastball, curve, slider and change-up seemed better suited to be a starter than a reliever and the Twins put Schrom in the starting rotation on May 20th and he rewarded them with a 15-8 record earning the Twins Pitcher of the Year award on a team that won only 70 games. Schrom posted a 5-11 record the following season primarily because he pitched most of the season with a strained rotator cuff. Schrom struggled again in 1985 going 9-12 and in January of 1986 the Twins traded pitchers Ken Schrom and Bryan Oelkers to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Roy Smith and Ramon Romero.

Cleveland turned out to be a great fit for Schrom and in his first season there in 1986 he got off to a 10-2 start and was named to the 1986 American League All-Star team. Ken finished the season with a 14-7 record and a 4.54 ERA. The injury bugaboo struck Schrom again in 1987 when he went 6-13 with a 6.50 ERA but it was determined that he was pitching with a tear in his labrum that ended up needing surgery. Schrom sat out 1988 recovering from the surgery. Schrom appeared briefly for El Paso as part of the Milwaukee organization but after just a handful of games ended up getting released and at the age of 34 his playing career was over. You will have to listen to the interview to have Ken tell you himself why his release from El Paso was unique to say the least.

Though his active playing career was over, Ken Schrom was certainly not done with baseball. Schrom spent the next 16 seasons working in a variety of roles in the front office of the El Paso Diablos. The El Paso Diablos under the ownership of Jim Paul were named the Minor League Franchise of the Decade in the 1980’s by Baseball America.

Ken SchromIn 2003 Schrom left El Paso and joined the Corpus Christi Hooks, a “AA” team for the Houston Astros that was owned by Nolan Ryan at the time but was sold this past Fall to the Houston Astros as the club’s GM. In 2005 Ken Schrom was named the 2005 Texas League Executive of the Year. In May of 2009 Schrom was named President of the Hooks  and in 2014 Ken enters his sixth season as club president and 11th full year with the franchise. In September of 2007, the University of Idaho Vandals honored Ken with induction into their Athletics Hall of Fame. Others in his inaugural induction class included Jerry Kramer, a guard for the Green Bay Packers during their 1960s glory years, and Gus Johnson, a five-time All-Star during his 11-year NBA career. To this day Ken Schrom is a loyal Green Bay Packers fan.

With the Astros now being part of the AL Central, I think Ken will be making his way to Minnesota this summer and will get his first peek at Target Field and maybe get in a little fishing with long-time friend Kent Hrbek along the way. In his down time, Schrom loves a good game of golf and can be found playing chasing that little white ball around the course several times a week and when he is not golfing you might find a rod and reel in his hand. Ken and his wife Cindy, an interior designer, now live in Portland, Texas. They have two adult children, Kayla and Jared.

Anther trip to Hammond Stadium

A little work is being done to the scoreboard.
A little work is being done to the scoreboard.

I was lucky enough to spend a couple of hours at Hammond Stadium this morning as the Twins pitchers and catchers continue going through their paces and prepare for the season ahead. I spent some time watching coach Terry Steinbach work with a bevy of catchers as they spent time practicing the “pitch out” and how best to get into the proper throwing position to get that runner before he reaches the next base. There was no goofing off, the players listened to every word and when Steinbach’s expectations were not met he wasted no time stopping the drill and pointing out the issue and how to correct it.

The hitters don’t report for a couple of days but the injuries and medical issues have already started. Jason Bartlett who is fighting to make the team sprained an ankle the other day that has slowed him down but he seems to be fighting through it. Matt Guerrier is coming off surgery and the team is limiting him on what he can throw and it sounds like he might not be game ready until the second week of March. Darin Mastroianni‘s ankle still is not 100% and he is not participating in any early drills but he told me the other day that he hopes to be ready to go in about 2 weeks. Pedro Florimon had an appendectomy earlier this week so he will be on the sidelines for 2-3 weeks. Minor league pitcher and spring training invitee Edgar Ibarra has been sidelined with Hepatitis B and is not participating in any drills until he recovers and of course we all know about the struggles GM Terry Ryan is fighting through.

Max Kepler
Max Kepler

I had a chance to spend a few minutes with Max Kepler today and he is looking good and enjoying everything about early spring training and is anxious for the hitters to report and for spring training to get officially underway. Sounds like Max is going to focus on the outfield more this year now that his arm injury is behind him. I was able to ask him a couple of questions and you can listen to them here.-

The improvements to the ballpark itself, primarily the new concourse that encircles the stadium is going gangbusters and by all reports it will be finished soon. When I first saw it earlier this month I thought they had no chance of getting it done in time for ST games. It still in not open to the public and workers are still busy with the finishing touches but it will be a very nice addition to the ballpark. The new agility field on what used to be part of the parking area is also nearing completion but I still don’t know what an agility field is. To me it looks like a fenced in pile of dirt with sod on it. But what do I know.

The complex is starting to get cleaned up a bit from all the construction debris and equipment and landscaping is taking place in various parts of the complex. It will be interesting to see how fans will react to the new parking lot that is located behind the softball fields and will either be a long walk to the ballpark or a shuttle ride. I wonder what the shuttles will be like?

What up with Anaheim owner Arte Moreno? He has a gold mine out there and he still isn’t happy. Sounds like he wants the right to develop 155 acres around Angel Stadium and he wants to pay $1 to lease the land for 66 years or he will start looking for a new stadium in another city. What a jerk, hope the city doesn’t let him get away with that crap. You can read more about this here.

I took a few more pictures today and will try to get them uploaded to the  2014 Spring Training Pictures link on the right hand side of the page as soon as I can.

20 Game Winners

twentyOne of the most frequent requests that I receive on this web site is from folks that are looking to find the names of the Twins pitchers that have won 20 or more games in a season so I have decided to publish the list in a post for easy look-up.

Thirteen different Twins pitchers have won 20 or more games in a season on just 15 occasions and no pitcher has won 20 games since Johan Santana did it back in 2004. Two pitchers have done it twice, Camilo Pascual and Jim Perry. Camilo and Jim Perry are the only Minnesota pitchers to win 20 or more in back-to-back seasons. 1969 is the only season that the Twins had multiple 20 game winners when Boswell and Perry each had 20 victories. A big part of the reason for not winning 20 games no days is that with the five man rotation starters only get 32 to 34 starts and the other big reason is that managers today bring in relievers at the drop of a hat or the sight of a baserunner late in the game. 20 game winners are getting as rare as hens teeth, since 1980 the Twins have had four 20 game winners and three no-hitters.

Rk Player Year W Age G GS CG SHO L IP SO ERA BA
1 Johan Santana 2004 20 25 34 34 1 1 6 228.0 265 2.61 .192
2 Brad Radke 1997 20 24 35 35 4 1 10 239.2 174 3.87 .257
3 Scott Erickson 1991 20 23 32 32 5 3 8 204.0 108 3.18 .248
4 Frank Viola 1988 24 28 35 35 7 2 7 255.1 193 2.64 .245
5 Jerry Koosman 1979 20 36 37 36 10 2 13 263.2 157 3.38 .268
6 Dave Goltz 1977 20 28 39 39 19 2 11 303.0 186 3.36 .247
7 Bert Blyleven 1973 20 22 40 40 25 9 17 325.0 258 2.52 .242
8 Jim Perry 1970 24 34 40 40 13 4 12 278.2 168 3.04 .243
9 Dave Boswell 1969 20 24 39 38 10 0 12 256.1 190 3.23 .226
10 Jim Perry 1969 20 33 46 36 12 3 6 261.2 153 2.82 .247
11 Dean Chance 1967 20 26 41 39 18 5 14 283.2 220 2.73 .229
12 Jim Kaat 1966 25 27 41 41 19 3 13 304.2 205 2.75 .235
13 Mudcat Grant 1965 21 29 41 39 14 6 7 270.1 142 3.30 .247
14 Camilo Pascual 1963 21 29 31 31 18 3 9 248.1 202 2.46 .224
15 Camilo Pascual 1962 20 28 34 33 18 5 11 257.2 206 3.32 .241
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/16/2014.

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You would think that over the years there would have been a number of Twins pitchers that came up just short of joning the 20 game winners list by winning 19 games but that is not the case. Since 1961 the Twins have had one pitcher, Johan Santana in 2006 tht ended the season with 19 games in the win column.

Twins career ERA leaders

A list of Minnesota Twins pitchers with the best Twins career ERA’s with a requirement of having pitched at leat 500 innings in a Twins uniform. Only Dean Chance has an Twin career ERA of under 3.00 and only 18 Twins pitchers have thrown 500 or more innings and have an ERA under 4.00. It just goes to show the state of Twins pitching over the years. But how do the Twins compare to the rest of the American League?

Dean Chance
Dean Chance
Rk Player ERA IP G GS CG SHO W L SV SO BA
1 Dean Chance 2.67 664.0 104 93 34 11 41 34 2 504 .221
2 Jim Merritt 3.03 686.2 122 89 28 6 37 41 6 527 .228
3 Jim Perry 3.15 1883.1 376 249 61 17 128 90 5 1025 .242
4 Johan Santana 3.22 1308.2 251 175 6 4 93 44 1 1381 .221
5 Bert Blyleven 3.28 2566.2 348 345 141 29 149 138 0 2035 .246
6 Jim Kaat 3.28 2959.1 468 422 133 23 189 152 6 1824 .256
7 Camilo Pascual 3.31 1284.2 184 179 72 18 88 57 0 994 .233
8 Dick Woodson 3.35 561.0 129 73 15 5 33 30 2 303 .233
9 Mudcat Grant 3.35 780.2 129 111 36 10 50 35 1 377 .260
10 Dave Goltz 3.48 1638.0 247 215 80 11 96 79 3 887 .264
11 Dave Boswell 3.49 1036.1 187 150 37 6 67 54 0 865 .217
12 Rick Aguilera 3.50 694.0 490 30 5 0 40 47 254 586 .243
13 Dick Stigman 3.69 643.2 138 85 26 4 37 37 7 538 .229
14 Jack Kralick 3.74 510.1 77 75 19 4 26 26 0 289 .267
15 Jerry Koosman 3.77 601.1 94 83 20 3 39 35 7 361 .271
16 Ray Corbin 3.84 652.1 181 63 12 3 36 38 17 348 .258
17 Frank Viola 3.86 1772.2 260 259 54 10 112 93 0 1214 .260
18 Geoff Zahn 3.90 852.0 133 126 36 7 53 53 0 348 .289
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/13/2014.

Let’s take a look at how the Twins compare to the rest of the American League from 1961 to current again with the requirement of 500 innings.

Team ERA under 2.00 ERA under 3.00 ERA under 4.00
Angels 0 3 30
Yankees 0 7 29
Orioles 0 6 26
Whie Sox 1 4 25
A’s 0 5 25
Red Sox 0 2 22
Tigers 0 1 20
Rangers 0 0 20
Indians 0 4 19
Royals 0 1 19
Twins 0 1 18
Blue Jays 0 1 11
Mariners 0 0 7
Rays 0 0 5

The only ERA under 2.00 belongs to Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm who had a 1.92 ERA for the Pale Hose in 675.2 innings but he only had 3 starts in those 361 games between 1963-1968.

It’s almost that time

The weather was great again yesterday albeit a little windy when I stopped out at Hammond Stadium yesterday to see what was going on with the Twins. The Twins semi with all the baseball supplies arrived yesterday and there was no time being wasted getting it unloaded. The pitchers and catchers are due to report this coming week-end and the first workout I believe is scheduled for Monday so the 2014 season preparation is just days away.

The early camp arrivals continue to work on several of the fields. With more arrivals each day, they now take hitting on two fields and there is infield going on at another. Joe Lepel and Tommy Watkins busy throwing batting practice and providing some tips along the way.

 

Miguel Sano
Miguel Sano

Miguel Sano continues to work both on his hitting and on his fielding. The man is not afraid to work hard and that is a plus. Sano gets bigger every time I see him. The word at the ballpark is that he is about 255 but he could be heavier than that. But that weight does not look bad on him, there is a lot of muscle there. Sano is not like a lot of players that are always moving 100 MPH from here to there, he moves slowly, almost in a plodding fashion as he goes from field to field. At third base he is no Brooks Robinson but he seems to make the normal plays he should and his throws have not been as bad as I have heard. His throws to second base and first base are not always chest high but his throwing is better than I expected. Sano has also been working hard on his English language skills and he is willing to step up and answer questions from the press and he looks fairly comfortable, you have to give him credit for that. Sano did a short interview with Chris Parks from ABC-7 and I also captured it here so that you could all get a chance to hear it. The Sano sound bite can be found here. Sano sound bite can be found here – 140211_001.

 

Brian Dozier
Brian Dozier

I also captured a sound bite with Brian Dozier that was also done by Chris Parks and with the wind conditions it is a bit rough but you still get the gist of it – 140211_002. I don’t think that there is a microphone or recorder that Dozier will pass up, he is always willing to talk to anyone that is willing to listen. If you need a comment or sound bite then Dozier is your guy, I think he is quickly becoming the new Twins spokesman and I think he will become one of the leaders on this Twins team. I like Eddie Rosario as a hitter but I don’t think he will be taking Dozier’s job anytime soon.

Jason Bartlett
Jason Bartlett

Shortstop Jason Bartlett is out there everyday and working hard, I know that spring training has not started and not a single pitch has been thrown yet but I will tell you this, I think that the 34-year-old Bartlett who was out of baseball in 2013 is going to give Pedro Florimon a run for his money this spring. Bartlett looks to be a in great shape and is already helping other players with their skills.

By the way, one of my favorite Twins-to-be, Max Kepler turned 21 on February 10th, hard to believe, it seems like he has been around longer than that. Happy Birthday Max and welcome back to Ft. Myers.

As is normal during my visits to the ballpark, I took a few more pictures that you can find in the 2014 Spring Training link on the right hand side of the page.

This Day in Twins History – February 11

 

Dick Woodson - Twins pitcher from 1969 - 1974
Dick Woodson – Twins pitcher from 1969 – 1974

1974 – Forty-eight major league players invoke the new arbitration procedure established to settle contract differences. The first is pitcher Dick Woodson (seeking a contract for $30,000) and his team, the Twins (offering $23,000), who present their respective cases to Detroit lawyer and labor arbitrator Harry H. Platt, who must decide on one of the monetary amounts presented. Woodson wins. Get the story first hand on what transpired and why from Dick Woodson by going to my Salaries page and listen to the interview I had with Dick about this subject. You will find the interview about half way down the page.

Kent Hrbek 1983 Fleer1985 – Twins 1B Kent Hrbek signs a new contract that makes him the club’s first $1 million player.

 

Twins GM Terry Ryan battling cancer

 

Twins Press Release

2/10/2014 2:03 P.M. ET

Statement from Terry Ryan of the Minnesota Twins

 

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN – As the Minnesota Twins prepare to open Spring Training in Fort Myers, FL, I felt it was important to take this opportunity to share information surrounding my personal health.

During the course of a routine annual physical, Twins team physician Dr. Vijay Eyunni detected a lump in my neck which required further review. A subsequent biopsy confirmed the lump was cancerous, leading to an official medical diagnosis of Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Thankfully, incremental tests indicate the cancer appears to be confined to my neck and has not spread to other regions of my body.

At the direction of Dr. Eyunni, I am currently being treated at the Mayo Clinic as well as Minnesota Oncology. I’ve been assured this form of cancer is treatable and remain optimistic about my return to good health in the near future.

Understanding the need to focus on treatment and recovery, I will not be in Fort Myers as we commence Spring Training. That said, I’m highly confident in the proven leadership of our baseball operations team including Rob Antony, Mike Radcliff, Ron Gardenhire and others as we collectively prepare for the 2014 Major League season.

Lastly, my family and I would like to say thank you to Dr. Eyunni as well as the doctors and medical staff at the Mayo Clinic and Minnesota Oncology. In addition, we are grateful for the many friends and colleagues who have sent their well wishes and support throughout this challenging time. It’s my intention to see you back at the ballpark as soon as possible.

……………………

GM Terry Ryan
GM Terry Ryan

I would certainly like to pass on my prayers and best wishes to Terry Ryan and his family as they go through this difficult time. Fighting cancer is never an easy battle but I know that Terry Ryan is a fighter and he will win this battle.

The hardest workers at Hammond Stadium so far are the construction workers

I went out to Hammond Stadium again this morning and hung around for a couple of hours talking baseball with other fans and watched some of the early arrivals hit and take some infield. Not much going on as yet. Some of the players I recognized today that were participating in early workouts of one variety or another were Trevor Plouffe, Jason Bartlett, Miguel Sano, Nate Roberts, Adam Walker, Lewis Thorpe, Wilkin Ramirez, Kyle Gibson, Jared Burton, Mike Kvasnicka, AJ Pettersen, and Amaurys Minier. These players and others that I did not recognize were working under the tutelage of some minor league coaches and Joe Lepel. After hitting, some of the infielders including Jason Bartlett and Miguel Sano took some infield on field 4 practicing their fielding and working on turning double plays. It was interesting watching Bartlett and Sano doing some of these infield drills on their knees. All in all there is not much going on out at the ballpark as yet with no players having officially reported. I would however expect that more players will arrive over the week-end and that the action will pick up next week. The people working the hardest at Hammond Stadium these days are probably the construction workers that are trying to getting things ready for the start of spring training. I took some more pictures today primarily of the ball players and I have uploaded them to the “2014 Spring Training” link you can find on the right hand side of this page. I will be out there again early next week and I will keep you updated on what I see going on at Hammond Stadium..

This Day in Twins History – February 6, 1998

Chuck KnoblauchThe Twins recently announced the Chuck Knoblauch will be enshrined in the Twins Hall of Fame this summer but on this day back in 1998 the Twins traded their 1991 Rookie of the Year and four-time All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees and in turn received pitchers Eric Milton and Danny Mota along with shortstop Cristian Guzman and outfielder Brian Buchanan and $3 million in cash. Knoblauch had publicly asked to be traded because he felt the Twins were not interested in putting a winning team on the field. Here is what CBS had to say about the trade at the time, there are some interesting quotes in this story when you look back on 1998 from 2014.

Knoblauch’s stay in New York was relatively short, just four years but he got his wish to be part of a winning team as the Yankees played in the World Series each of the four years, winning it all three times and getting Knoblauch three more rings to go with the one he won in Minnesota in 1991. Knoblauch developed some throwing issues during him time in New York and eventually started playing some outfield. Knoblauch became a free agent after the 2001 season and signed with the Kansas City Royals but only played 8o games for them in 2002 as before calling it a career.

Eric Milton
Eric Milton

Eric Milton was 57-51 with a 4.76 ERA for the Twins during his 6 seasons in Minnesota before he was traded to the Phillies for pitchers Carlos Silva, Bobby Korecky, and the infamous infielder Nick Punto.

Cristian Guzman
Cristian Guzman

Shortstop Cristian Guzman also stayed in Minnesota for six seasons appearing in 841 games hitting .266 and stealing 102 bases. Guzman left the Twins as a free agent after the 2004 season.

The Twins expected big things from outfielder Brian Buchanan but he never panned out and he appeared in only 143 games as a Twins hitting .258 with 16 home runs. In July 2002 the Twins traded “Buck” to the San Diego Padres for shortstop Jason Bartlett who just signed a minor league deal with the Twins once again.

Pitcher Danny Mota appeared in four games for the Twins giving up 10 hits and one walk in 5.1 innings and never put on a major league uniform again.

First 2014 visit to Hammond Stadium

I was excited to get my first look at the changes that are taking place at Hammond Stadium this year and yesterday I went out there to see what was going on. For the most part it is a construction area and kind of messy and muddy in parts of the complex but work is going on everywhere.

The main changes to the ballpark itself are the new concourse that encircles the entire ballpark and the new “grassy knoll” in the left field corner. The grassy knoll appears finished but the concourse is definitely a work in progress. With the work underway, the new concourse is obviously not accessible to the public at this time so it is not possible to get pictures from there and to see what the field of play looks like from the concourse.

The area between field 5, the Twins batting cages, The Twins bullpen and the field with just an infield is a construction area so access there this spring might be questionable. This was a spring training gathering place for fans over the years and a prime autograph location but I am not sure it will be available this year. It is really too early to tell.

I bought tickets to a couple of spring training games and they told me to try to get to the ballpark early because the parking area has been changed due to the construction in the area. The parking areas on the right as you first drive in have not changed but as you get closer to the minor league complex the construction has eliminated many parking spots. The folks selling the tickets said they do not expect that the parking area will be cleaned up by the times games start so that could make things interesting but they do expect the concourse to be completed. From what I see of the concourse, I would be surprised if that is done by the time the Twins play the Boston Red Sox on March 1st.

I saw a few minor league players on field 3 hitting but I did not see any Twins players working out at all. I did see Kyle Gibson walk by and later I ran into Jared Burton and Glen Perkins and asked them if I could take a picture but they said “not today, a bad day for pictures today” and they kept on walking back towards the Twins clubhouse. Kind of unusual for Burton because he is usually willing to stop and talk with fans, maybe they had a bad day or they were just upset about having to walk through some muddy construction on their way to the clubhouse.

Nate RobertsNate Roberts walked by and I asked if I could take a picture and he was kind enough to stop and pose for me. We chatted briefly and he went on his way. Seems like a very nice guy and if you are a Duck Dynasty fan you have to like the beard that Roberts is sporting.

All toll I probably saw a dozen or so players today and about as many fans. Some were looking for autographs and others were there to buy tickets. The funny thing was when I asked if they were Twins fans, more said Red Sox then anything else. It sure was good to be back at spring training again and I am sure there will be more players and more fans when I stop by in the next few days for another visit.

Plans to renovate City of Palms Park (the old Red Sox facility) and bring the Washington Nationals to Fort Myers appear to be on hold, if not dead because Ft. Myers can’t meet the costs the developer has proposed the city pay to renovate the stadium. The Nationals, who train at Space Coast Stadium in Brevard County, have been looking elsewhere to move their spring training operations. Hopefully that changes because it would be nice to see another team in Ft. Myers.

If you want to see some of the pictures I took at the ballpark on Tuesday, you can find the link called 2014 Spring Training on the right hand side of the page.