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
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week fourteen.
The Twins are now 34-50 and mired in ninth place 20.5 games behind the AL leading Detroit Tigers who have the New York Yankees nipping at their heels just a 1/2 game back.
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week thirteen.
The Twins, now 33-47 were 5-3 this past week and moved up one spot in the standings to eighth place just a half game ahead of the Angels and one game up on the last place Kansas City Athletics. The 51-29 Tigers are still hanging on to first place with a half game lead on the New York Yankees. Over in the National League the Cincinnati Reds have a three game cushion over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A complete game in baseball is about as rare nowadays as finding a pay phone at your local corner service station. The complete game has gone by the wayside and this year with what is going on in baseball with the COVID-19 situation it will be even more of a rare occurrence.
The top ten MLB pitchers in complete games from 1961 to 2019 are all in the Hall of Fame. The leader is Gaylord Perry with 303 complete games and tenth on the list is Jim Palmer with 211. The Twins Bert Blyleven is number six on that list with 242 complete games.
If you only look at the American League from 1961 through 2019 the leader is Bert Blyleven with 222. Bert is also the all-time Twins leader in complete games with 141 followed by Jim Kaat with 133. So now you know why Bert always brags on TV about pitching complete games.
If we look at Twins complete game leaders by decade you get a list that looks like this:
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week twelve.
The Twins once again had a 3 win and 4 loss week and remain in ninth place with a 28-44 record, a full 18 games out of first place and they haven’t gotten to the All-Star break yet. The 46-26 Detroit Tigers have a 1.5 game lead on the Bronx Bombers.
This is a copy of a MLB press Release dated June 29, 2020. I put a copy of it here so that everyone is aware of the rules and regulations that will be used by MLB in 2020.
First Workouts of 2020 Summer Camp presented by Camping World to Be Held
Major League Baseball today announced some of the unique features that will be a part of the 2020 regular season, including health and safety protocols that will impact play on the field as well as revised operating procedures away from it. Summer Camp presented by Camping World begins on Wednesday, July 1st, the mandatory reporting date. All Players and Club staff will be required to go through medical testing and screening processes before entering Club facilities. Full baseball activities and first workouts will be allowed on Friday, July 3rd and each Club’s Opening Day will be held on either Thursday, July 23rd or Friday, July 24th. A sampling of the modifications for the 2020 season, which are documented in the comprehensive Operations Manual that has been distributed to the 30 Major League Clubs, includes:
Bob McClureBill EversPhoto credit to Carlos Gonzalez of Star Tribune
Star Tribune Twins beat writer La Velle E. Neal III must have been up bright and early this morning as he posted that the Minnesota Twins will not allow their two oldest coaches, bullpen coach Bob McClure, 68, and major league coachBill Evers, 66, to work games this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pete Maki, the minor league pitching coordinator, is in line to step in as the new bullpen coach, while Evers’ role is expected to be filled in the near future. McClure is on the left and Evers is on the right in the images above.
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week eleven.
Starting a new week the ninth place Minnesota Twins are 25-40 on the season and 16.5 games behind the league leading Detroit Tigers.
Rain check from July 3 game against the White Sox.
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week ten.
The ninth place Twins are 22-36 on the season and 15.5 games behind the league leaders. The Tigers and Indians are tied for first place with 38-21 marks and the Yankees are just a game back nipping at their heels.
I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week 9.
The Twins start the week with a record of 19-32, a whopping 14.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians who have taken over first place by a 1/2 game over the Detroit Tigers.
Jim Kaat
June 8 – The Twins finally snap their 13 game losing streak when they beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 in Memorial Stadium. It is their first win since May 25th and their first road victory in this road trip that started in Washington on the 26th of May. The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Jim Kaat led off the inning with a single and Twins lead-off hitter Billy Martin hit his first home run wearing a Twins uniform. The Twins were out hit 10 to 7 but starter Jim Kaat kept the Orioles off the board for 7 innings before running into a bit of trouble in the eighth inning after retiring the first batter. The O’s followed with a double, walk and a single that scored a run and sent Kaat to the showers. Don Lee came in to retire Brooks Robinson and then Chuck Stobbs was brought in and he retired Jim Gentile. Stobbs picked up his second save when he kept the Orioles from scoring in the ninth. It turns out that it would be his final big league save. Kaat picked up the win, upping his record to 2-5 and he also had a good day with the bat going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored. Martin also had two hits for Minnesota. The win got the Twins out of the cellar and put their record at 20-32 and in the process gave interim manager Sam Mele his first win as a manager. As an aside, the win also ends the Twins longest losing streak of the season. Box Score
Off the field owner Calvin Griffith was busy also signing Jim Roland to a $50,000 bonus and sending him to Wilson in the class B Carolina League. Jim Roland picture credit to Denver Post via Getty Images.
The Minnesota Twins have selected 1B/DH Aaron Sabato with their first round selection (27th overall) in the June free agent draft. Here is what the Twins stated in their press release.
The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that they have selected infielder Aaron Sabato from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with the 27th overall selection in the first round of the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound first baseman set a North Carolina freshman record for home runs in a season with 18 in 2019 (the eighth-most ever by any UNC player). Sabato also led the team in batting average (.343), hits (79), doubles (25), RBI (63) and slugging percentage (.696), while posting an OPS of 1.149. He had 44 extra-base hits, which tied for the second highest single-season total in Tar Heels history, matching Kyle Seager (2008) and Dustin Ackley (2009). Sabato, 21, was also named 2019 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Co-National Freshman of the Year, First Team All-American and Freshman All-American; Baseball America and D1 Baseball First Team Freshman All-American and Third Team All-American; NCBWA National Freshman Hitter of the Year; ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American; Perfect Game First Team Freshman All-American; ACC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-ACC. He was hitting .292 (19-for-65) with six doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBI, 20 runs scored, 22 walks and a .478 on-base percentage in 19 games as a sophomore for the Tar Heels before the 2020 season was shortened due to COVID-19. Sabato was ranked as the 41st-best prospect in the 2020 Draft by MLB.com and 35th by Baseball America. The Rye Brook, NY native attended the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT where he was ranked as the fourth-best player in the state and the 35th-best shortstop in the country by Perfect Game. His father played baseball at Mercy College, while his brother, Teddy, also played at UNC. This is the 12th time the Twins have selected a college position player with their first selection in the draft, with the most recent being Trevor Larnach from Oregon State University in 2018. Additionally, the Twins have now selected a position player with their first pick six times since 2014 (Keoni Cavaco in 2019, Larnach in 2018, Royce Lewis in 2017, Alex Kirilloff in 2016, and Nick Gordon in 2014). Since 2001, 16 of the Twins’ first round selections have reached the major leagues. This year marks the third time in Twins history they have had the 27th overall selection in the MLB June Amateur Draft, doing so in 2008 (RHP Carlos Gutierrez) and 1991 (INF Scott Stahoviak). Aaron Sabato was recommended by Twins scout Ty Dawson.
My opinion for what it is worth? I don’t like the pick. My reasoning is simple, I don’t like to see a first round pick used to select a first basemen/DH. Sabato was chosen the Twins say as the best hitter on the board at the time. Fine, but first basemen are a dime a dozen and there is really no other position he can play. Add in the fact that he is also slow and I think you have a bad pick. Who knows how this will turn out, only time will tell.
