February 14, 2011 – It may have been Valentine’s Day today but there was nothing about today at the ballpark that made it any different from any other spring day as Twins players and hopefuls worked up a sweat as they prepared for another season of baseball. The day started off kind of cool, the kind of cool where you welcome standing in the sunshine to feel those warm rays from the bright sun here in Ft. Myers. Officially spring training has not started but every day there are more players and more fans showing up at Hammond Field. Reporters are starting to show up also, Kelly Thesier was there and LaVelle E. Neal III rolled in too but he didn’t show up until after 11 AM. I had a very nice chat with Kelly Thesier who writes for MLB.com and then I listened in as she did a quick interview with pitching coach Rick Anderson primarily discussing Scott Baker. I didn’t see anything real special out at the park today but as I mentioned earlier, the number of fans is growing quickly but the players are very generous with their time after practice on their way back to the clubhouse and they sign everything that is put in front of them and pose for pictures when requested. Matter of fact, that is how I got a number of my pictures today that you can view on my 2011 spring training gallery. Tsuyoshi Nishioka remains the hot topic in camp and he seems to be everyone’s number one autograph target. There are already balls signed by Nishioka selling on E-bay for 80 to 90 dollars.
Have you seen Rusty?
February 14, 2011 – This is the water tower on top of the Wyman building in downtown Minneapolis. Carmichael Lynch, the ad agency occupies the top 4 floors of the building. Brock Davis, who works for Carmichael Lynch was asked to come up with some concepts for the water tower. After reviewing a number of options, projection was selected as it was the most economical medium and ideal for keeping the historic tower in its natural state. This tower, which they named Rusty, faces Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins. Several other projection ideas are in the works, but this simple face has been the clear favorite so far as it brings to life the physical structure itself allowing it to complete the overall look of the character. Currently, they are working to have Rusty react in real time to the games in the stadium, so that if the team wins, he can cheer and if they lose, he cries. A huge “Thank You” to Brock Davis of Carmichael Lynch for providing this video. Click on “Rusty” to watch the video and keep in mind it will take a minute or so for the video to down-load so please be patient.
Checking out the action at the ballpark
February 7 – I arrived in Cape Coral a couple of days ago and I decided that it was time for me to make my first visit to Hammond Field this morning and see what is going on out there. It was a windy but sunny day with the temperature in the low 70’s when I arrived at about 10:30 AM. There were just a handful of fans when I parked next to the minor league complex and there were no players on any of the practice fields. But just a few minutes later a couple of players I could not identify came out and did some agility drills and a bit later I could hear someone taking batting practice in the batting cages so I headed over to check it out. As I was approaching the cages I could see a small group of Japanese press that had assembled and they were watching Tsuyoshi Nishioka take some practice swings. I only saw Nishioka hit from the left side but and he seemed to be putting some good wood on the ball. This was the first time I had seen Nishioka up close and he was bigger than I had expected him to be. He is built solidly and to be honest he is a lot bigger below the waist than what I would expect from an infielder that is known for his base stealing skills. Later I watched Nishioka walk to another field to do some running and on the way I asked if I could get a picture but his interpreter (I assume) just waved his hand saying, no pictures. Later Nishioka’s agent joined him on the field and watched as Nishioka and he interpreter ran some sprints but obviously not at full speed. After that workout I again asked for a picture and again got the shake-off. I guess that is understandable as he did not want to be bothered during his workout session. About 15 minutes after he finished practice he came out to the parking lot where four fans asked for autographs but he and his interpreter just walked right past them towards a group of about a half dozen Japanese press that had assembled next to his car. Nishioka spent about 5-10 answering their questions as his agent looked on. One of the fans struck up a conversation with Nishioka’s agent and asked him if he would ask Nishioka to sign autographs for the four fans. When the short press conference for the Japanese press ended, Nishioka again headed for his vehicle but his agent whispered something to Nishioka and he walked over to the four waiting fans and signed an item for each of them without a smile or a word being said. He then turned around and jumped into the driver’s seat of his shiny new black Cadillac Escalade with his agent and interpreter in tow and he was gone. I hope that Nishioka is as fast on the base paths as he was in leaving the parking lot in his shiny Escalade. Today, outside of Nishioka, I saw no other Twins from the big league club.
A quick look at the 2010 numbers
January 31, 2011 – With the 2011 season about two months away I thought it would be fun to review where the 2010 Twins finished in comparison to the rest of the American league teams in various hitting, pitching and fielding categories. Here is what I found:
HITTING
At Bats – 5 of 14
Runs – 5 of 14
Hits – 3 of 13
Doubles – 3 of 14
Triples – 1 of 14
Home Runs – 9 of 14
Stolen Bases – 12 of 14
Bases on Balls – 4 of 14
Strike Outs – 12 of 14
Batting Average – 3 of 14
OBP – 2 of 14
Slugging – 4 of 14
Total Bases – 5 of 14
Sacrifice fly 3 of 14
PITCHING
ERA – 4 of 14
Complete Games – 4 of 14
Shutouts – 2 of 14
Innings pitched – 4 of 14
Hits allowed – 12 of 14
Runs allowed – 3 of 14
Earned Runs allowed – 5 of 14
Home runs allowed – 8 of 14
Bases on Balls allowed – 1 of 14
Strike outs – 10 of 14
FIELDING
Number of Errors committed – 13 of 14
Fielding Percentage – 2 of 14
Double Plays – 6 of 14
What happened to cartoon logo’s?
January 26, 2011 – A week or so ago Jim Caple of ESPN.com who I enjoy reading from time to time wrote a fun little article that he called “What happened to cartoon logo’s”? I found it to be a fun read and interesting too in the fact that he rated the Minnesota Twins Minnie and Paul logo as his second favorite in baseball today. Take a few minutes of your time and check out the story here.
Is Justin Morneau “really” healthy?
January 25, 2011 – Yesterday the big Twins story was that GM Bill Smith has asked Justin Morneau not to attend TwinsFest this coming week-end so that he does not take 3-5 days away from his workouts as he prepares for the 2011 season.
I am not a believer in coincidences and to me a glass is more often half empty then it is half full so I have to ask, how healthy is Justin Morneau? Without Morneau at first base the Twins hope for another post season appearance is all but done before the first “play ball” echo dies at Target Field. Smith is a master at providing as little information as possible and playing his cards close to the vest. I take everything that Mr. Smith says with a grain of salt, no, I am not saying that Smith is not being truthful, I am just saying that he provides you with a bit of valid information but he never answers the question head on.
So what is the deal with Morneau? Morneau has a history of being an extremely hard worker and starting his baseball regiment early to prepare for the up-coming season. So much so, that in past years he has been asked to “back it down” and take it a bit easier early in the spring so that he can conserve some of his energy for the long and grueling season ahead. Morneau is famous for his bright and early workouts at Ft. Myers; he is like those Army ads “where he gets more done by 9AM than most people do in an entire day”. Now Smith is saying that he doesn’t want to tear Morneau away from his workouts for 3-5 days and get him out of his rhythm in late January? Come on now Mr. Smith, tell me how Justin taking a few days off in late January is going to hurt him. Justin is either healthy and ready to play for the Twins this season or he is not, attending TwinsFest or not attending makes absolutely no difference.
This is not about Morneau attending TwinsFest; it is about Morneau’s health. I really hope that I am wrong here but I am very concerned about Morneau’s health and if he is going to be able to answer the call come April 1 when the season gets underway. Without Morneau at first base the Twins hopes of getting into the playoffs are almost nonexistent and everyone knows that. So what is to be gained by keeping Morneau’s health status a secret? Ticket sales? No, they will sell out again this year no matter if Morneau is at first or not. Will Smith get the competitive advantage in some kind of a trade or free agent signing? Who knows, but I really have an uneasy feeling about all of this. I will feel a lot better when I see Justin working out like he normally does in early February at the ballpark.
Do you know your Twins pitching history?
January 22, 2011 – The 2006 Twins pitching staff holds the team record for strikeouts in a single season with 1,164. Johan Santana led the staff with 245 KO’s. On the other hand, the 1994 Twins pitching staff only struck out 602 opponents and the only pitcher on the Twins staff with over 100 KO’s was Scott Erickson and he had 104. The 1981 Twins pitchers only had 500 strikeouts but then again they only played 109 games that season.
The 2005 Twins pitching staff only walked 348 batters while the Twins 1982 staff allowed 634 batters to get a free base.
The 1996 pitching staff allowed 233 home runs led by Brad Radke’s 40 round trippers. The 1976 staff kept the ball in the ball park the best by only allowing 89 home runs. The 1981 team only allowed 79 home runs but as stated earlier, they only played 109 games that season.
The 1963 and 1967 Twins staffs tied for the most complete games in a single season with 58 and the team with the fewest complete games was the 2006 Twins who ended up with one complete game all season. Who was it you ask? Johan Santana lost 2-0 in Detroit that day so it was only an 8 inning complete game.
The 1972 Twins finished with a 77-77 record but the pitching staff put up an all-time team best seasonal ERA of 2.84. The 1995 team finished with a 56-88 record and posted an ERA of 5.76 and gave up an average of 6.17 runs per game.
In the Minnesota Twins first 50 years they have only had a 20 game winner on 15 occasions and only once have they had more than one pitcher on their staff win 20 or more games in the same season. Camilo Pascual did it in 1962 and 1963, Jim Grant in 1965, Jim Kaat in 1966, Dean Chance in 1967, Dave Boswell and Jim Perry in 1969, Jim Perry again in 1970, Bert Blyleven in 1973, Dave Goltz in 1977, Jerry Koosman in 1979, Frank Viola in 1988, Scott Erickson in 1991, Brad Radke in 1997, and Johan Santana in 2004.
Fast and furious or slow and steady?
January 17, 2011 – After just one season of calling Target Field home, the Twins brain trust has determined that they have a need for speed. The Twins are coming off of a season where they stole just 68 bases. The last time the Twins stole that few bases was 25 years ago, back in 1985. Since the Twins started playing in Minnesota they have stolen a total of 4,343 bases or an average of 87 “swipes” per season. The teams all-time high for SB’s was 151 in 1997 and their all-time low was 32 way back in 1963 but that year they also slugged a team all-time high of 225 home runs to make up for it.
There does not seem to be any consistency to where the Twins finish in the standing based on their stolen base totals. Back in 1997 when they stole 151 bases, they finished fourth with a 68-94 mark. In their World Series seasons, they had 92 SB’s in 1965, 113 SB’s in 1987 and 107 SB’s in 1991. Here is a table showing the Twins top base stealing teams:
| Rank | Year | Won | Lost | Finish | SB | CS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997 | 68 | 94 | 4th | 151 | 52 |
| 2 | 2001 | 85 | 77 | 2nd | 146 | 67 |
| 2 | 1976 | 85 | 77 | 3rd | 146 | 75 |
| 4 | 1996 | 78 | 84 | 4th | 143 | 53 |
| 5 | 1992 | 90 | 72 | 2nd | 123 | 74 |
| 6 | 1999 | 63 | 97 | 5th | 118 | 60 |
| 7 | 2004 | 92 | 70 | 1st | 116 | 46 |
| 8 | 1969 | 97 | 65 | 1st | 115 | 70 |
| 9 | 1987 | 85 | 77 | 1st | 113 | 65 |
| 10 | 2007 | 79 | 83 | 3rd | 112 | 30 |
| 10 | 1998 | 70 | 92 | 4th | 112 | 54 |
But will Gardy use the speed tool if he has the chance? The numbers tell me that he will not. If we compare Gardenhire and Tom Kelly we see that in TK’s fifteen seasons his teams swiped 1,699 bases or an average of 113 per season with a high of 146 in 2001. When you look at Gardy’s 9 seasons you end up with 859 stolen bases for an average of 95 per year with a high of 116. In TK’s final season as manager in 2001, his team ended up with 146 steals, the following year with Gardy at the helm his boys stole just 79 bases with pretty much the same cast of characters. So it will be interesting to see if the Twins burn up the base paths in 2011.
Bert Blyleven finally elected to Hall of Fame
Congratulations Bert! It is well deserved!
21 Years ago Today
December 25, 2010 – It has been 21 years since former Minnesota Twins player, coach and manager Billy Martin died in an automobile accident on Christmas Day 1989 near Binghamton, New York. Martin, the fiery, feisty and frequently combative player and baseball manager was 61 years old when he died.
According to the sheriff’s office in Broome County, Billy Martin was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by William Reedy, 53, a longtime friend of Martin from Detroit. The accident occurred at 5:45 P.M. near Martin’s home. The Associated Press quoted witnesses as having said the pickup truck skidded off the icy Potter Hill Road in Fenton, continued 300 feet down an embankment and stopped at the foot of Martin’s driveway. Martin was taken to Wilson Memorial Hospital in Johnson City, N.Y., where efforts to revive him failed, said Michael Doll, a hospital spokesman. Doll said that Alfred Manual “Billy” Martin, Jr., born on May 16, 1928, was pronounced dead at 6:56 P.M. of severe internal injuries and possible head injuries. The authorities said neither Martin nor Reedy was wearing a seat belt. William Reedy passed away from pancreatic cancer in July of 2009 at the age of 72.
Billy Martin played for the New York Yankees from 1950-1957 (where he made his only all-star appearance in 1956), the Kansas City A’s in 1957, The Detroit Tigers in 1958, the Cleveland Indians in 1959, The Cincinnati Reds in 1960 and the Milwaukee Braves early in 1961 before being traded to the Minnesota Twins on June 1, 1961 where he finished out the 1961 season appearing in 108 games. His playing career ended when the Twins released him prior to the 1962 season. Billy played 2B, SS, or 3B and participated in a total of 1.021 games major league games while hitting for a .257 average in 3,419 at bats. Although Billy liked his teams to run when he was managing, he himself only stole 34 bases while getting thrown out 29 times. Martin did hit 64 home runs while knocking in 333 during his 11 big league seasons.
Martin spent eight years (962-1969) in the Minnesota organization after his retirement as an active player. Billy served as a scout from 1962-1964 before becoming the Twins third-base coach from 1965 through mid-June 1968, before taking over as manager of their AAA affiliate, the Denver Bears for the last half of the 1968 campaign. He succeeded Cal Ermer as the Twins skipper following the ’68 season. In 1969, Martin’s only season as manager of the Twins, he won a division championship but lost the ALCS to the Orioles in 3 a three game sweep. He was fired after the season by owner Calvin Griffith and his firing caused a fire-storm of protest from Twins fans all over Twins territory for a number of years.
Billy Martin went on to manage the Detroit Tigers from 1971-1973, the Texas Rangers from 1973–1975, the New York Yankees from 1975-1978, and 1979, the Oakland A’s from 1980-1982, and then the New York Yankees again from 1983, 1985, and 1988. In his 16 years as a manager, Billy Martin finished with a 1,253-1,013 (.553) won-loss mark and led his teams to 2 pennants and 1 World Series championship.
Services for Billy Martin were held at St Patrick’s Cathedral before he was laid to rest at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. His grave is located about 150 feet from the grave of Babe Ruth.
Here a couple of short youTube video’s that you might enjoy watching:
A short news coverage video clip of Martin’s funeral.
You can see the graves of Babe Ruth and Billy Martin in this short video.
A video on the reaction to the death of Billy Martin by a variety of players and friends.
Mickey Mantle telling a Billy Martin story about breaking curfew.
Mickey Mantle telling a GREAT Billy Martin story.
Mickey Mantle’s version of the Copacabana fight.