Maybe the title of this post should be “A look at the Twins postseason success or lack there of” versus what I have chosen to use. The Minnesota Twins have played in 76 postseason games since 1961 and their record in those games is 28-48 for a .368 winning percentage. They have advanced to the World Series on three occasions and have won two of them, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987 and the Atlanta Braves in 1991 and coming out on the short end of the stick against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965.
Most starts by a Twins SP
I get a number of emails each day and one of them pointed out the following about my favorite pitcher all-time, Warren Spahn.
“Today’s definition of a durable pitcher is more lenient than the guidelines in place between 1942 and 1965, when Warren Spahn totaled 382 complete games for the Braves, Mets, and Giants.
Managers are happy these days if a starter can work six innings, maybe seven. Complete games are very rare, indeed. Just 35 CG’s were registered in the American and National Leagues last season — and only 379 were posted over the past eight years combined. That latter total, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, was three fewer than the number of complete games that Spahn recorded himself.”
Only two Twins starters have over 100 complete games, Bert Blyleven with 141 and Jim Kaat with 133 and the nearest to them for CG’s in Minnesota is Dave Goltz with 80. By the way, the most starts by a Twins starter stands at 42 by Jim Kaat in 1965.
I have attached a B-R Stathead search link for Minnesota Twins pitchers that have had 100 or more starts. The list is relatively short since only 26 pitchers from 1961-2023 have started that many games wearing the Twins uniform. The nice thing about it is you can re-sort the list in any way you want to see who had the most strikeouts, wins, etc. Check it out, I’m sure you will find some things that will surprise you.
Twins player, coach & manager Billy Gardner passes away at 96
Billy Gardner passed away peacefully January 3, 2024, at the age of 96 at home surrounded by family. He was born July 19, 1927, in New London, CT to father Leslie Garder and mother Eva Maynard. He married the love of his life, Barbara Carnaroli, in 1952. They were married 71 years.
Gardner was signed at the age of 17 by the New York Giants in 1944 after graduating from Chapman Technical High School. After spending one year in the minors Gardner was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1946. He returned to baseball in 1947. He worked his way up to the big leagues and debuted with the NY Giants on April 22, 1954 in Forbes Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates and singled in his first big league at bat. Gardner played in the majors for 10 years between 1954-1963 with the Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Gardner was a part of two World Series teams, the 1954 Giants and the 1961 Yankees. Gardner’s nickname was “Slick” because he “could turn a double play in a phone booth”.
Gardner was traded from the Orioles to the Senators on April 3, 1960 for Clint Courtney and Ron Samford and then became one of the original Minnesota Twins when the Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season. Gardner was the Twins starting second baseman in the first game the Twins ever played going 1 for 3 with a sacrifice in the Twins 6-0 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium I. On June 14, 1961 after playing in Minnesota in just 45 games he was traded to the New York Yankees for pitcher Danny McDevitt.
After his playing years, he spent more than 30 years scouting, coaching and managing in the Minors and Majors including managing the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.
Calvin Griffith was looking for a third-base coach in 1981, an opening created when Gene Mauch abruptly resigned in August 1980 and Johnny Goryl moved from third base to the manager’s job. Gardner was hired to coach third but he didn’t keep that job for long as he was promoted to the Twins manager position on May 23, 1981 after Jonny Goryl was let go. He had a 268-353 record with the Twins, including a 60-102 mark in 1982, when many of the core players to the 1987 World Series championship team first came up to the major leagues. The Minnesota Twins, losers of 20 of their last 25 games in 1985, fired Manager Billy Gardner named pitching coach Ray Miller of the Baltimore Orioles to succeed him.
Gardner is survived by his wife Barbara: and four children, Thomas Gardner, Gwen (Bob) Lakowsky, Shelly (Rick) Kraetz and Billy Gardner Jr. (Kristie). He enjoyed spending time with his children, ten grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
We at Twinstrivia.com would like to pass on our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Billy Gardner. Thank you for the memories Billy Gardner.
Twins players that left us in 2023
Another trip around the Sun is behind us and it is time once again to to look back and remember Minnesota Twins players of yesteryear that have left us. They may be gone from this earth but their memories always stay with us.
Bill Cambell was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in September 1970 and debuted with the Twins against Cleveland on July 14, 1973. Campbell pitched for the Twins from 1973-1976 saving 51 games. After becoming a free agent after the 1976 season, “Soup” signed with the Boston Red Sox. After leaving the Red Sox, Campbell went on to pitch for the Cubs, Phillies, Cardinals, Tigers before he finished his big league career with Montreal in 1987. Campbell pitched in 455 games, all but nine in relief and had 126 Saves in his 15 season in the big leagues.
Alex Cole signed with the Minnesota Twins as a free agent in February of 1994 and left as a free agent after the 1995 season. Many fans remember Cole breaking his leg in a gruesome injury in May of 1995. Cole, an outfielder, played primarily in centerfield and appeared in 133 games hitting .304 with five home runs. Cole played in the majors from 1990-1996 with the Cleveland Indians, Twins, Rockies and the Red Sox.
Before the 1955 season, Dan Dobbek was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent. Scouts in the Washington organization were touting Dobbek as a potential power hitter in the mold of Harmon Killebrew when he came up to the Senators in 1959 after hitting 23 home runs for the Chattanooga Lookouts. Dobbek was one of the original Minnesota Twins when they moved from Washington and he played in the Twins first-ever game as a defensive replacement for outfielder Jim Lemon. A neck injury Dobbek incurred when he ran into a fence as a Twin in 1961 may have contributed to his short big league career that ended after the 1961 season. The Twins traded Dobbek to the Cincinnati Reds in January of 1962 for catcher Jerry Zimmerman but he never played in the major leagues again. Dobbek spent the remainder of his playing career in the minors, retiring after the 1963 season. Dobbek also played for the Elefantes de Cienfuegos of the Cuban Winter League and was a member of the 1960 Caribbean Series champion team. From 1959-1961 Dobbek played in 198 games hitting fifteen home runs while hitting .208.
George Frazier was traded by the Chicago Cubs with Julius McDougal (minors) and Ray Fontenot to the Minnesota Twins for Dewayne Coleman (minors) and Ron Davis on August 13, 1986. Frazier pitched in 69 games in Minnesota in his 1 and 1/2 year stay, posting a 6-6 record with 8 Saves and had a 4.83 ERA. Frazier was a member of the 1987 World Series winning team as a member of the Minnesota Twins. Frazier was sent to pitch for the Twins once in their postseason run. In Game 4 of the World Series, he was sent to pitch in the seventh inning. The Twins lost 7-2, but he pitched two effective innings in what ended up being his last major league appearance. Frazier became a free agent after the 1987 season and with no takers decided to retire. Over his ten-year career with five big league teams, Frazier appeared in 415 games and was credited with 35 wins, 29 saves, and a 4.20 ERA. Frazier served as a color analyst for the Twins in 1993 and for the Colorado Rockies from 1998 until 2015. Following that he did color commentary for Fox Sports during the Big 12 Baseball championship broadcasts while also serving as a color analyst for Oklahoma baseball on television from 2015 to 2023.
Roric Harrison was signed by the Minnesota Twins as a free agent on April 28, 1978 after spending time in the minor leagues since 1975. Harrison appeared in just nine games for Minnesota in 1978 going 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA and spent of his final season in pro ball with the Twins AAA Toledo team. Harrison was also a good hitting pitcher, and one of his most noteworthy accomplishments came with a bat in his hands. He made just 2 starts in his first big league season with the Baltimore Orioles, with the last one coming on October 3, the final game of the year. Harrison threw 6 innings of 1-run ball against Cleveland, and Grant Jackson pitched the final 3 innings in the 4-3 victory. Harrison also hit a sixth-inning home run off Cleveland starter Ray Lamb. Not only was it Harrison’s first major-league home run, it would be the last home run by an American League pitcher before the onset of the designated hitter rule. Almost 30 years would go by before another AL pitcher homered, thanks to the addition of interleague play. Bobby Witt Sr. of the Texas Rangers broke the dry spell when he hit a homer against Ismael Valdez of the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 30, 1997. Shortly after stepping away from the game, he began a career with Coldwell Banker, rising to the executive level for both the Residential Brokerage and Relocation Services divisions.
The Minnesota Twins beat out several clubs and signed fire-balling Danny Morris as an amateur free agent in June of 1964, for what Minnesota management called a five-figure bonus. Scout Ray Holton did the honors, and Morris was assigned to the Twins’ Cocoa Rookie League team in Melbourne, FL. Morris had his major league debut on September 10, 1968. Morris probably deserved more big league time with the Twins but the Twins excellent pitching staff kept Morris in the minors. Over parts of two seasons (1968-1969), Morris appeared in 6 games, including 3 starts, with the Twins. He had an 0-2 record, and in 16 innings, he allowed 16 hits and 5 earned runs for a 2.81 ERA. He walked 8 and fanned 7. After retiring from the MLB due to injuries–he moved to Oakland City, IN. to work along side his father, Clyde Morris, at Old Ben Coal. After Old Ben Coal closed, Danny opened Friends Bar Grill with his wife Donna in 1990. For 33 years he loved working at Friends and making lifelong friends that he cherished.
Cotton Nash, one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the University of Kentucky. He played in the NBA, the ABA as well as in MLB, as a first baseman and outfielder. When he graduated from college, Nash signed with a Los Angeles team — two of them, in fact. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA draft and also signed with the California Angels. In May of 1967 the California Angels traded Nash to the Chicago White Sox and Nash was called up for a cup of coffee at the tail end of 1967 and made his MLB debut at Fenway Park against the Red Sox going 0 of 2. Then in April 1969 the White Sox traded him to Pittsburgh for Ed Hobaugh but that trade was voided and in July of 1969 the White Sox traded Nash again, this time to the Minnesota Twins for a PTBNL that turned out to be Jerry Crider. Nash played in six games with the Twins in 1969 but he did get his first big league hit off of Steve Barber of the Seattle Pilots at Sick’s Stadium. In 1970 he played in four games with Minnesota so in his two seasons with the Twins he played in ten games and was 3 for 13 with a run scored and two RBI. That was it for Cotton Nash as a big leaguer although he continued to play minor league ball through 1972. His main sporting interest after retirement was breeding thoroughbred horses.
Carlos Pulido was signed at 18 in 1989 by Minnesota, the hard-throwing Pulido was a bright prospect in the Twins’ system, but a 1995 arm injury ruined his chances as a starter. After spending one season with the Twins in 1994, he spent the next decade in the minor leagues, as well as with the Orix BlueWave, before spending two more seasons with the Twins in 2003 and 2004. In his three-season MLB career, all with the Minnesota Twins, Pulido posted a 3–8 record with 47 strikeouts and a 5.98 ERA in 111.2 innings.
Sandy Valdespino was a Cuban outfielder who played for 7 seasons in the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins (1965-67), Atlanta Braves (1968), Houston Astros (1969), Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers (1969-70) and Kansas City Royals (1971). Like many of the Cuban and other Latin American ballplayers who ended up in the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins organization, his journey into professional baseball started with scout “Papa Joe” Cambria when he signed with the Washington Senators in 1957 but did not make his MLB debut until April 12, 1965 with the Minnesota Twins. The Twins outfield was crowded, so Valdespino did not get much playing time but in spite of that was a huge fan favorite. Valdespino played in 5 of the 7 1965 World Series games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and their great pitching staff going 3 for 11 with a double and a run scored. The Atlanta Braves snapped up Valdespino after the 1967 season in the Rule 5 draft. Sadly when all was said and done, Valdespino came up two games short of qualifying for an MLB pension.
Happy New Year
We would like to wish everyone a very safe, happy and healthy 2024.
Twins switch-hitters from 1961-2023
Back in February 2016 I did a post about Twins switch-hitters that you can view here. I decided to update it with a another post that includes just eight more seasons but the results are dramatically different. The player that moved up significantly in home runs hit by a Twins switch-hitter is a player that many Twins fans want to see traded and that player is Jorge Polanco. At the time I did that posting, Polanco had zero home runs, look where he ranks now. By clicking on the various table headings you can re-sort the table to see the leader in any category you wish. I am a huge Polanco fan and I hope the Twins find a way to keep him for a whole slew of reasons.
Credit to Stathead by Baseball-Reference
Merry Christmas to all
I wish for all of you and your families a joyous, safe, and healthy Christmas.
Some Twins payroll poop
As I work on updating some payroll information on this website I thought I would put together some Minnesota Twins payroll information that I found interesting. As you might expect MLB team payroll information is pretty inconsistent depending on where you look. For the most part my sources are Forbes, Spotrac, Cot’s and Fangraphs. It is dang near impossible to compare apples to apples and as many of you know, you can pretty much get the numbers to show whatever you want them to show. So here are some interesting fun Twins Payroll fun facts.
- From 1991-2023 the Twins have spent $1,066,264,835 guaranteed money on 117 free agents.
- Since 2010 when Target Field opened through 2023 the Twins have ranked 10th, 9th, 11th, 21st, 18th, 19th, 18th, 21st, 18th, 18th, 18th, 16th, 18th and 17th.
- History above seems to indicate where ownership wants the Twins opening days payroll to rank, it will be interesting to see where it ends up when the 2024 season opens.
88-Year Old Dan Dobbek Passes Away
Dan Dobbek, one of the original 1961 Minnesota Twins died in his home in Portland, Oregon on November 28 just eight days short of 89th birthday, of congestive heart failure with dementia surrounded by his family. Dan was born December 6, 1934, in Ontonagon, Mich., to John and Marion (McKinnon) Dobbek. He had an older sister Dolores, who died at 26.
Dan was drafted and served in the U.S. Army in 1957-1958. He played professional baseball for the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins. Jim Kaat noted that he and Dan Dobbek were both signed by Twins scout Dick Wiencek. In his first year in pro ball in 1956 with the Class B Hobbs Sports, Dobbek played in 129 games hitting .340 with 23 home runs and had 144 RBI. Dan was drafted by Uncle Sam and served in the U.S. Army in 1957-1958. He made his MLB debut with the Washington Senators on September 9, 1959 going 1 for 4 against the Chicago White Sox at Griffith Stadium in a 5-1 loss. Dobbek spent the 1960 season with the Senators appearing in 110 games but had only 288 PA’s while hitting just .218 with 10 home runs.
Read more: 88-Year Old Dan Dobbek Passes Away
When the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins, Dan Dobbek became one of the original Twins. Although Dobbek did not start the Twins first game in 1961 against the New York Yankees he entered the game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement for Jim Lemon and had the honor of being just one of ten Twins who played in that first Twins game, a 6-0 Twins shutout at Yankee Stadium I. Later that year on July 2 in a game at Municipal Stadium against the Kansas City Athletics Dobbek ran into a fence hurting his shoulder and cutting his head. It was later determined he would need surgery for the injured shoulder. After the 1961 season, the Twins traded Dobbek to the Cincinnati Reds for catcher Jerry Zimmerman.
Dan Dobbek never played in the major leagues again, finishing his pro career in the minors with the Reds and then again in the Twins minor league system and retired after the 1963 season. Dobbek also played for the Elefantes de Cienfuegos of the Cuban Winter League and was a member of the 1960 Caribbean Series champion team. After leaving baseball, Dobbek worked over 30 years for several different laundry companies in Portland.
Dan Dobbek leaves behind his wife, Helen Joan (Lingelbach) Dobbek; and sons, Thomas John and Patsy and Daniel Joseph and Johnita; as well as a granddaughter, Cecilia Palos; and a great-granddaughter, Athena of Georgetown, Ky.
Thank you for the memories Dan Dobbek. We at Twinstrivia.com pass on our condolences to the Dobbek family, friends and fans.
Top left-handed hitting Twins power hitters
The Minnesota Twins have been known as a home run hitting team over the years. It got me to thinking since I was a left-handed batter when I was young and played ball with the other kids, who makes up the top 10 of Twins left-handed hitting home run hitters over the years.
The Twins leading power lefty, is as many of you might suspect, native-Minnesotan first baseman Kent Hrbek with 293 home runs. Nine Twins left-handed batters have hit 100 or more home runs in a Twins uniform. Just as an aside, there are ten Twins right-handed batters with 100 or more home runs wearing Twins colors over the years. Since the Twins began play they have hit a total of 9,002 home runs. 3,564 have been hit left-handed and 5,438 right-handed.