TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
New Britain infielder Chris Colabello is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for April 14-20 Colabello, 28, appeared in six games hitting .381 (8-for-21) with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and four walks. Colabello, who was signed as a minor league free agent this winter, had a two homer game and two other game winning hits this week. Colabello had spent the majority of his career with Worcester of the Independent League Canadian-American Association before signing with the Twins.
Tom Powers of the Twincities.com Pioneer Press did a nice little piece on Colabello back in March that you might enjoy reading.
Josh Willingham’s three-run double in the seventh inning yesterday highlighted the Twins’ come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Rays. Willingham, who had only a .246 batting average for the Athletics last season, has at least one hit in all 14 Twins games this year. The only other major-league player in the past 15 years who hit safely in each of his team’s first 14 games coming off a season with a batting average that low was Scott Brosius. Brosius hit .230 for the Yankees in 2000, but then had a hit in each of their first 14 games in 2001, which was his final season in the big leagues. Source: Elias
Willingham now owns the Twins record for longest hitting streak to start their career with the club and is just one game shy of tying Kirby Puckett, who owns the Twins record hitting safely in each of the Twins first 15 games in 1994.
The Twins pitching staff has allowed 22 home runs this season, only the Boston Red Sox have allowed more with 23.
The Twins have the fourth highest batting average in baseball at .270, the Texas Rangers .306 is the highest average.
The Twins and the Cubs have each ground into 16 double plays, the most in baseball.
Sano
Twins minor leaguer Miguel Sano is the subject of the documentary “Pelotero”, which follows him and countryman Jean Carlos Batista through the process of signing with major league teams. The film, produced by Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, is set for theatrical release this year. Sano went 4-for-5 with three doubles, two RBIs and a run scored Friday night, leading the Class A Beloit Snappers to a 13-3 romp over the South Bend Silver Hawks. Sano raised his average 53 points to .314, moving him above the .300 line for the first time this season. He moved into a tie for the Midwest League lead with 10 extra-base hits, six homers, three doubles and a triple in 15 games.
When he started Opening Day for Tampa, James Shields, who turned 30 on Dec 20, ended a major-league-record streak of 764 games in which the Rays had started a pitcher under the age of 30, however, the Rays have now used a starting pitcher 30 or younger in 909 consecutive games, the last Tampa Rays starter over age 30 was 32-year-old LH Mark Hendrickson, who lost 4-1 on June 25, 2006 versus the Atlanta Braves. The Rays have used a starting pitcher they drafted for the past 178 consecutive games, a major league record, the last game started by a pitcher drafted by another organization was Sep 30, 2010 at KC, when Minnesota Twins draftee Matt Garza started.
The Metrodome served as home to the NFL Minnesota Vikings and University of Minnesota football, Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead concerts, Rev. Billy Graham revivals, two Final Fours, a Super Bowl, an MLB All-Star game, various tractor pulls, Monster truck shows, state high school championships, a Promise Keepers rally, Home and Garden shows, snowmobile races and, oh yes, the Minnesota Twins. The Minnesota Twins have won two World Championships in the Metrodome and called it home from 1982 through the 2009 season. The Twins regular season record in the Metrodome was 2,196 wins and 2,272 losses but the dome always seemed to provide a home field advantage for the Twins. The Metrodome was named after Hubert H. Humphrey who was a former Minneapolis mayor, U.S. Senator and U.S. Vice President. He was a big sports fan and rooted for the Vikings and Twins every chance he got. Because of his dedication to the state and to teamwork, the Metrodome was named in his honor. After the 2009 season the Twins moved to their new home at Target Field and the Metrodome which is still the home of the NFL Minnesota Vikings was renamed to Mall of American Field. The Metrodome was always more suited to host football games versus baseball games and Twins fans hated being indoors on those beautiful Minnesota summer days and evenings but when it was raining or cold as it can be in Minnesota in April and September, fans didn’t complain as they filed in to the dry and warm 69 degree climate controlled Metrodome.
“It was a weird place,” says Kent Hrbek, the Twins’ legendary first baseman who played a key role in both the ’87 and ’91 World Series wins and whose first full season in the majors coincided with the Metrodome’s big league debut. “When we first got in here, you look back at old pictures from ’82, it was just so plastic. “I remember there were signs, a black and white scoreboard, and beyond that, nothing. Just blue seats and concrete. It was something that was really different. Everybody was excited because it was state of the art and it was going to be warm every day. That’s what they sold.”
In spite of its bad reputation, the Metrodome does have a lot of Twins history attached to it which I am not going to rehash here now but the other day I ran across a nice piece written by Jayson Hron at Historically Inclined called Metrodome: Home sweet storm home. It is a nice history of what transpired in April of 1982 at the Metrodome when the 1982 baseball season opened to cold and snowy weather. I am sure most of you don’t remember what transpired back in 1982 in the Metrodome and some of you were not even around back then. If you have a few minutes, check it out.
“Carl Pavano overcame a rough start to pitch the Twins to a 7-3 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Monday night. Pavano allowed a home run to each of the first two batters he faced – Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson – but bounced back to pitch seven strong innings and earn the victory. Over the last 40 years, only three other pitchers have pitched at least seven innings and earned a victory after allowing a home run to the first two batters they faced: Houston’s Joe Niekro on July 5, 1982, Atlanta’s Doyle Alexander on June 20, 1987, and the Mets’ Pete Smith on June 22, 1994.” Source: Elias
The Twins have crawled out of the starting gate at a 2-7 clip and now are headed for New York and Tampa. I know that they have played just nine games but let’s look at some of the numbers that the Twins have put up so far in 2012. I know there will be fans that say that it is too early to get a good feel for what this team can accomplish this year and that the sample size is real small and I agree, but no matter how you color it, this team is playing poorly and under performing in all three categories, hitting, pitching and fielding.
The Twins starting pitchers are 0-5 and are the only team in the American league without a win to their credit. By contrast, Texas Rangers starting pitchers are 6-0.
The Twins starting pitching ERA is 5.54 with the opposition hitting at .284 clip. The Yankees starting pitching ERA is 5.26 and opponents are hitting .308, it will be interesting to see if the Twins hitters can take advantage of this.
Twins starting pitchers have only walked 12 batters, only Cleveland has been better this year.
Twins starters as we know are not strikeout pitchers and their numbers back that up with the lowest number of strikeouts in the league at 24 in 52 innings.
Twins relievers are in the middle of the pack with a 2-2 mark and a 4.50 ERA and only four teams in the league have thrown fewer innings than the Twins bullpen has (that surprises me). Opponents are only hitting .250 against the Twins relief staff.
Twins relievers have only given up three home runs, it just seems like more.
Twins pinch-hitters are 0 for 5.
Twins DH’s are among the worst in the league hitting a combined .206 scoring 2 runs with 1 home run and 2 RBI’s.
The Twins are hitting .258 (fifth best in the league) but are tied with Seattle for fewest home runs with 7.
The Twins have stolen 4 bases in 5 attempts and have hit into a league leading 13 double plays.
Twins hitters have left 63 runners stranded as compared to the White Sox fewest at 49. The Yankees have left a league leading 76 “ducks on the pond”.
Scoring runs continues to plague Minnesota as they have scored just 28 times tieing them for league worst with Oakland.
The Twins fielding percentage is .980, the third worst in the league and the team has turned just 6 double plays. As a team they have committed nine errors in nine games.
What are the Twins going to do with Justin Morneau? The last few days you hear that Justin is unhappy as a DH and wants to play 1B. This is a no brainer, send the guy out to play first, what have you got to lose? The man is hitting .206 with one home run and two RBI’s as a DH and claims he is still feeling his way in the DH role. He has been DHing for a month now in Florida and here, how tough can it be to get a routine?. Oh, and slide Morneau down to the fifth spot in the order and move Willingham up one spot, seems like another no brainer. Put Parmelee in right and Doumit at DH and then you don’t have to worry about that catchers back-up role and you can use Clete Thomas as a defensive sub for Willingham or Parmelee when the Twins have a late inning lead.
Maybe the Twins can play a bit better on the road and take a couple from the New York Yankees who have probably already put 3 wins in their win column knowing the Twins are coming to town. I sure hope that the Twins can turn things around soon.
The Yankees and Twins will meet four times at Yankee Stadium this season, all in this series. The home town Yanks are 28-5 in home regular season games vs. Minnesota since the start of the 2002 season (33-7 including home postseason games). In 2011, went 3-1 versus the Twins at Yankee Stadium. In season series play, the Yankees have won the last 10 consecutive home season series when playing the Twins (2002-11).
Jim Manning became the youngest Twins player to appear in a MLB game when he came in to pitch in relief at the tender age of 18 years, 8 months and 25 days against the Los Angeles Angels at Met Stadium. Manning had been signed as a free agent prior to the 1961 season and pitched in just 45 innings in a dozen class D ball games in 1961 before make his major league debut on this date in 1962. Jim made four more appearances for the Twins before being sent down to the minors and he never made another big league appearance again. Manning pitched in the Twins minor league system through 1965 but did not get above AA ball. In 1966 Manning pitched in the Washington Senators AA team in York before walking away from baseball at the age of 22.
Don’t forget to check our Today in Twins History page each day, there are all kinds of interesting facts out there.
This week (April 5-13) the Twins Minor League Player of the Week is none other than Rochester infielder Brian Dozier. Dozier, 24, appeared in six games hitting .391 (9-for-23) with three doubles, a home run, four RBI’s and three walks. Dozier, who was drafted by the Twins in the eighth round of the 2009 amateur draft. The right-handed swinging Dozier hit .277 (13-for-47) with three home runs and nine RBI’s in 22 spring training games. Dozier was drafted out of the University of Southern Mississippi and signed by scout Earl Winn.
If you are a long time baseball fan and enjoy baseball history you should take a few minutes and check out fellow Baseball Bloggers Alliance member Graham Womack’s of Baseball: Past and Present story called The BPP All-Time Dream Project. According to Graham, “Over the past two months, I conducted a project having people vote on nine-player all-time dream teams. The idea was for voters to pick a team to win a one-off, sandlot game, the ultimate cosmic playoff. This wasn’t about a 25-man roster or designated hitters or relievers, just finding nine players to win a game. I received more than 600 votes in all from a mix of baseball figures, fellow writers, and others. To help with the presentation and do justice to the subject matter, I recruited a number of my favorite baseball writers and hired an illustrator, Sarah Wiener to create trading cards for each player. Like the cards? A complimentary set can be had for the first 100 people who donate $25 to 826 Valencia, a non-profit that teaches journalism to kids. We’re looking to raise $3,000 and, as of press time, we’re about halfway there. If everyone who reads this post donates even a dollar, we’ll shatter the goal. To donate, go here.”
Can you imagine what it would be like to watch this team play? No Minnesota Twins made the team but Washington Senators Walter Johnson is the teams starting pitcher. Some Twins that did receive votes are Joe Mauer, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Paul Molitor, Graig Nettles, and Dave Winfield. Check out the story, you won’t be sorry.
The Twins announced today that they have claimed 28-year-old outfielder Clete Thomas (bats left and throws right) on waivers from the Detroit Tigers who had designated Thomas for assignment on April 12th. The Twins expect Thomas to be at Target Field tonight prior to Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers. The Twins made room on their 40-man roster, by transferring right-handed pitcher Scott Baker to the 60-day disabled list. The Twins will make a corresponding roster move prior to adding him to the 25-man roster.
Michael Clete Thomas was first drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round of the 2002 amateur draft but did not sign and ended up being drafted by the Tigers in round six of the 2005 draft and he signed with the Tigers at that time. Thomas worked his way up through the Detroit minor league system before making his major league debut on March 31, 2008. Thomas appeared with the Tigers in 40 games in 2008, 102 games in 2009 and then spent 2010-2011 with the Tigers AAA team in Toledo. This season he appeared in 3 games with Detroit but had no plate appearances. In the big leagues, Thomas has appeared in 145 games hitting .253 with 8 home runs and is 5 for 5 in stolen bases. Thomas has played all three outfield positions while with the Tigers. In the minors, Thomas has shown the ability to steal a base with 148 steals in 192 attempts. In 2011 Thomas hit a career high 12 home runs with Toledo.
You have to wonder what the Twins see in Thomas and why they want to put him on the 25 man roster. Who will the Twins send down to make room for Thomas? My guess is that Ben Revere may well be Rochester bound if indeed the Twins keep Thomas. The other option of course is that the Twins are going to make some kind of a deal, maybe with Boston since the Red Sox just lost Jacoby Ellsbury for 6-8 weeks due to a shoulder injury yesterday and there have been rumors floating around that Clete Thomas was someone that the Red Sox were interested in. Were the Tigers trying to slip Thomas past everyone on waivers so that they could make a deal with Boston? Who knows.
Here are some thoughts on Clete Thomas from a Tigers blog at Motor City Bengals.
UPDATE: The Twins announced that Ben Revere was optioned to Rochester after Saturdays game.
