A story in the Fort Myers News-Press states that the Washington Nationals have extended negotiations with Lee County to relocate their spring training home from Viera to City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. I think it would be fun to see another big league team train in Fort Myers and you have to think the Minnesota Twins would also like to have another team training in the area if for no other reason then just having another team to play with little to no travel time. However, the implications of such a move of another big league team from the Florida east coast to the gulf coast might not be good for the Florida Grapefruit League circuit in general. If the Nats were to move their spring training site, the only team left on the east coast would be the Marlins, Mets, and the Cardinals. You can read the story here.
This Day in Twins/Senators History – September 6, 1954
On this day back in 1954 the Washington Senators played a black ballplayer for the first time. His name was Carlos Paula and he was from Havana, Cuba. The 6’3″ 26 year-old Paula was a right-handed hitter and started in left field for the Senators seven years after Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut. Only the Yankees in 1955, the Phillies in 1957, the Tigers in 1958 and the Red Sox in 1959 broke the color-line later than did the Senators/Twins franchise.
Carlos Paula was acquired by the Washington Senators prior to the 1954 season from Paris, Texas of the class “B” Big State league. Paula spent most of the 1954 season in class “A” Charlotte before being called up by the Senators late in the season. In his first big league game, Paula started in left field in the first game of a double-header at Griffith Stadium against the Philadelphia Athletics and struck out in his first at bat but finished the game 2 for 5 (double and a single) with 2 RBI’s and helped his team to an 8-1 win. Paula played in 115 games for the Washington Senators in 1955 and hit .299 with 6 home runs and had 45 RBI’s while stealing 2 bases. Carlos got off to a slow start in 1956 and with Jim Lemon having a breakout year and the addition of rookie center fielder Whitey Herzog, there was no room for the struggling Paula in the Senators’ outfield and after 33 games the Senators sent him to the minors and Paula never again played in a big league game. Paula spent 1957-1960 in the minors playing for various organizations before ending his career in Mexico in 1960. One of his minor league stops was with the Minneapolis Millers in 1957 where he played in 104 games. Carlos Paula passed away on April 25, 1983 in Miami, Florida at the age of 55.
Baseball integration time-line
Be sure to check out what else happened to the Minnesota Twins today on our Today in Twins History page.
Elizabethton E-Twins are champs once again
The Elizabethton E-Twins took 2 of 3 from the Burlington Royals and are once again the Appalachian League Champions. The E-Twins lost game one and were down 6-1 after 8 innings in game 3 but the E-Twins came back to win it all with an amazing come from behind victory. A big congratulations to all the team members along with manager Ray Smith and coaches Jeff Reed and Ivan Arteaga.
This Day in Twins History – September 5
9/5/1978 – The Twins Danny Ford costs his team a run during a 4-3 loss to the White Sox at Met Stadium. Trailing 4-0 in the seventh, Ford is on third with the bases loaded when Bombo Rivera singles, Ford backpedals homeward, signaling Jose Morales who was on second to follow him home. Morales arrives there ahead of Ford, and is called out for passing Ford on the bases.
9/5/1997 – The Atlanta Braves send 1B Steve Hacker to the Twins for catcher Greg Myers.
9/5/2010 – As part of the Minnesota Twins 50th anniversary celebration week-end, the Twins played a 3 inning “Legends” game. The Minnies played the Paul’s and the managers were Tom Kelly and Frank Quilici. The Minnies won the game 5-1. Kent Hrbek was a huge hit with the fans when he took out a huge divot in the Target Field turf while going for a foul pop-up. Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington took part in the game as a member of the Minnies but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire passed up the chance to play. The “real” game was played after the Legends game and the Twins beat the Rangers by a score of 6-5 but it was how this game ended that had everyone buzzing. Let me set the stage because we were there to witness this first hand. After 8 innings the Twins led 6-2 and appeared to have the game well in hand but in the top of the ninth with Jon Rauch on the mound for the Twins starting his second inning of relief after Nick Blackburn had pitched the first 7 innings, Ian Kinsler started the 9th inning with a single. Rauch then retired Mitch Moreland and Matt Treanor on strikeouts but Julio Borbon doubled to left scoring Kinsler. Gardenhire then brought in his closer Matt Capps who proceeded to give up a single to former Twin Christian Guzman and Borbon scored the second run of the inning. Michael Young singled and David Murphy then walked to load the bases. Vladimir Guerrero reached on an infield single up the middle that Twins 2B Orlando Hudson fielded behind the bag. Young came running around third and, in the view of third base umpire Alfonso Marquez, briefly tapped hands with Texas 3B coach Dave Anderson. Young then stopped and scrambled back to the bag. He made a dive and appeared to beat Hudson’s throw to third baseman
Matt Tolbert. But standing near the base, Marquez pointed and made the interference call for the third out and the Twins walked away winners as Texas manager Washington and Young pleaded their case to the umps to no avail. Also strange was the fact that Twins closer Matt Capps came in with 2 out in the ninth and faced four batters, giving up a single, another single, a walk and yet another single and never really retiring anybody but yet ended up with the save and credit for 1/3 of an inning pitched.
It turns out that September 5 can be a strange day on the base paths.
According to Elias
The Twins scored seven runs in the second inning and added 10 more runs in the fifth inning in their 18-9 win over the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field yesterday. It’s the third time in franchise history that the Twins scored seven or more runs in an inning twice in the same game. They also did it on September 7, 1901 against Milwaukee when the franchise was in Washington and on June 12, 2003 at the Metrodome against the Colorado Rockies. It’s only the second time in White Sox history that they allowed seven or more runs in an inning twice in a game. The other occurrence was 109 years ago – May 30, 1903 against Cleveland.
Scott Diamond was the beneficiary of the Twins’ outburst Tuesday night. Minnesota has scored 139 runs in Diamond’s 22 starts this season, an average of 6.3 runs per game. That’s the highest run support for any major-league pitcher with at least 10 starts this season. The Twins average 4.1 runs in all other games. Source: Elias
According to Elias
Jamey Carroll homered for the Twins in their 4-2 loss at Chicago. Carroll, who has only 13 home runs in 3,388 career at-bats in the majors, snapped his streak of 1,348 consecutive at-bats without a home run (since August 9, 2009). Carroll entered the night with the longest current homer-less streak in the majors; that distinction is now owned by Kansas City’s Chris Getz (currently on the disabled list with 918 at-bats since his last four-bagger). No player had ended a homer-less streak as long as Carroll’s since Rafael Belliard went 1,869 at-bats between round-trippers from May 5, 1987 to September 26, 1997. Source: Elias
As far as the Twins homer-less streaks are concerned, Al Newman is first with 1,647 homer-less at bats and Ben Revere is next with 884 home-less at bats through yesterday’s game and his streak is still active. Carroll is now third on the Twins longest homer-less streak with 412 at bats.
According to Elias
The Twins defeated the Royals, 3-1 and 8-7, in yesterday’s doubleheader, marking the second time this season that Minnesota has taken two in one day from Kansas City. On June 30, the Twins swept two from the Royals, 7-2 and 5-1, in Minneapolis. This marked the first time that the Twins have swept a specific opponent in two games in one day twice in the same season since they gave that treatment to the Athletics way back in 1978. The Twins were on the wrong side of such a thing as recently as last year, which they twice dropped a pair of games on the same day to the Indians. By the way, in all, the Twins played twice in a day four times last season-and lost all eight games! Glen Perkins saved both games for the Twins on Saturday, becoming the first Twins pitcher to earn two saves in one day since Rick Lysander saved a pair of games at Boston on Aug. 18, 1984. Source: Elias
Twins Minor League Player of the Week
Right-handed pitcher Jose Berrios is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. Berrios, 18 years of age (6′ 1″ and about 190) earned the win as he tossed 6.0 innings allowing just one hit and striking out six this week for the E-Town Twins. Berrios was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player draft and signed on June 15. Berrios started the season with the GCL Twins posting a 1.08 ERA (16.2 IP, 2 ER) in eight appearances before being promoted to Elizabethton.
Berrios was one of the most highly touted pitching prospects to come out of Puerto Rico in recent draft history and has a fastball in the 92-95 MPH range and throws a change-up and curve but both off-speed pitches could use some work.
This and That
The Twins announced yesterday that they will have seven players going to the Arizona Fall League Peoria Javelinas this season. The players are catcher Chris Hermann, outfielders Evan Bigley and Nate Roberts along with pitchers Kyle Gibson, Caleb Thielbar, Logan Darnell and Michael Tonkin. Trainer Alan Rail will also be representing the Twins. 13 players on the current Twins roster have participated in the AFL in past years. The roots of the AFL go back to 1992 and that season the Twins participants were Derek Parks, Chip Hale, Jon Henry, Ray Ortiz, Rex Delanuez and Scott Ullger participated as a manager. The reason for the league was to have an easily accessible offseason league where players could be monitored closely and did not have to leave the country. The six clubs in the league are in close proximity to each other so not a lot of travel is required. The rules for participation have changed over the years but currently Major League clubs hold a position draft in August to determine the players who will go to Arizona, most are Double-A or Triple-A players but each club can also send one Single-A player if they wish.
A couple of days ago the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats announced that the team had three players named to the Eastern League Season Ending All-Star Team, first baseman/DH Chris Colabello, outfielder Aaron Hicks and third baseman Deibinson Romero were all named to the team which was announced from the Eastern League office. Congratulations to all three players.
We went to the Twins /Mariners game yesterday and the Twins and Samuel Deduno won 10-0. It was a warm and muggy Wednesday evening game and my wife was playing Twingo and before the first inning was over all she needed was a “base on balls” to be a Twingo winner. With Jason Vargas pitching for Seattle with a 2.3 BB/9 and Samuel Deduno pitching for the Twins with a 7.9 BB/9 I thought that would be the least of her issues but it took her until the third inning before she finally got that BB when Vargas walked Trevor Plouffe in the bottom of the third and she became a Twingo winner for the second game in a row. Who would have thought it would be tough finding a walk with Deduno pitching? Samuel Deduno pitched a superb game last night going 7 innings only allowing 2 hits with no walks. 68 of his 98 pitches were strikes, an amazing number for Deduno. I enjoy watching Deduno pitch, he does not have the best command but he knows how to get out of trouble and I hope he keeps getting better.
Then there is outfielder Denard Span. I used to real enjoy watching Denard Span play baseball but now that Span has been in the big leagues for a couple of years I see him as a malingerer. Span is not making superstar money but he is making $3 million this year, and will make $4.75 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014, $9 million in 2015. For that kind of money I expect Span who is still only 28 years of age to play in at least 155 games per season and since he became the full-time center fielder in 2009 he has appeared in 145, 153, 70 games and so far this season in 108 games. That does not cut it for me, if you are my regular center fielder I expect your butt in the line-up day in and day out regardless if the team is winning or losing. You get paid to play, not to sit on the bench belly aching that you are not 100%. Who is ever feeling perfect day in and day out? No one. If you worked for me in a regular job Denard, you would have been put on notice a long time ago and if you didn’t starting showing up ready to work day after day you would find yourself on the unemployment line. If I was one of Span’s teammates I would be pretty unhappy with Span and his lack of desire to play. When he does play, I am not sure that Span is willing to do what it takes to win. In my opinion a player of Span’s ability and experience should be stealing at least 25-30 bases a year and yet when he is on base he stands there and waits for someone to knock him in. Is he afraid that he will get hurt if he tries to steal a base? If I was GM Terry Ryan I would trade Span in a heart beat. Now that I am reasonably sure that Ben Revere can play center field at the big league level I get what I can for Span. I trade Span before the rest of the baseball world realizes that Span only plays when he is feeling great and his team is winning. Denard Span is part of the problem on this Twins team, he is not part of the solution. If I am building a team I want players that want to play day after day, I don’t need someone with a low pain threshold that would rather sit than play if he is not feeling 100%. Now I see that the Twins have recalled Matt Carson and put Span on the DL and there is a chance Span is done for the season. What a shocker…..
Speaking of injuries, who is making the decisions for the Twins on who stays on the roster and who goes on the DL? For the second year in a row we have players that seem to be day-to-day for a week or more. Why should Gardy manage with one hand tied behind his back because he has players sitting on his bench that can’t play that day but claim they will be ready tomorrow? I am tired of tomorrow’s, either you play or you find yourself on the DL, it seems simple enough to me, what am I missing here.
This Day in Twins History – August 30
8/30/1983 – With the Twins trailing the Tigers 4-3 in the top of the 8th inning at Tiger Stadium, Tiger pitcher Dan Petry hits Twins outfielder Gary Ward in the face with a fastball. Gary Gaetti was quoted as saying ” I’ve been hit in the head, but I’d never seen anything like that before. His face was broken”. Battered and bruised, Ward returns to the lineup just six days later and goes 4 for 4 against the Rangers at Arlington Stadium. But for the rest of the season Ward struggled mightily, hitting no home runs and driving in only seven runs in his 84 at bats. After the 1983 season ended the Twins traded Ward to the Texas Rangers.Then, one July night in Baltimore in 1984 Ward turned off all the lights in his hotel room after a game and told himself to get past the fear or his career was over. Ward went on to play for 8 more seasons in the big leagues.
8/30/1987 – Kirby Puckett goes 6-for-6 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and 2 singles in Minnesota’s 10-6 win over Milwaukee, tying the AL record for hits in a 9-inning game. His 14 total bases are most in club history. Combined with the previous day’s 4-for-5, two-HR performance, Puckett has a ML-record-tying 10 hits in 2 games.