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
Tyler Duffey won his ninth game of the season and lowered his ERA to 6.11 in the Twins’ win over the Mariners on Saturday. The only Twins pitcher to finish a season with nine or more wins despite an ERA of 6.00 or higher was LaTroy Hawkins, who went 10-14 with a 6.66 ERA in 1999, his final season as a starting pitcher, before 16 seasons pitching exclusively out of the bullpen.
The Twins will be giving away Twins Stocking Caps this evening to help Twins fans get through the tough upcoming winter prior to facing the Seattle Mariners at Target Field in game number 155 of the 2016 season. The Twins record stands at 55-99 (35.5 games out of first) as the team tries to wrap up what will probably be the teams worst season ever since they started play in Minnesota in 1961.
The Twins have lost 100 or more games just once and that was their 60-102 season in 1982. The ’82 Twins lost game number 100 in their 159th game of the year at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto on September 30th by a 6-4 score. The following season, 1983, the Twins went on to win 70 games and finally reached the .500 mark in 1984.
Sadly today’s Twins have a chance to lose game 100 sooner than the 1982 team and in all likely hood will lose more than 102 games. With no Head of Baseball Operations nor a General Manager yet hired all we fans can do is sit and wait to see what happens next. Wait, how is that different then what we have done all season?
A bad job to have about now? Minnesota Twins season ticket sales, if you have that job make sure you get paid by-the-hour versus on a commission basis.
UPDATE – Twins lost game number 100 on Sunday, September 25 in their final home game by a 4-3 score to the Seattle Mariners and they still have six games to play, all on the road.
Brian Dozier hit his 42nd homer of the season, and his 40th as a second baseman, setting an American League record, in the Twins’ afternoon game yesterday, but he went 0-for-4 in the nightcap, ending his 24-game hitting streak. That was the longest hitting streak in a 40-homer season since Albert Pujols had a 30-game spree in 2003, when he clubbed 43 homers.
The Minnesota Twins have had 53 players (41 pitchers (nine lefties) and 12 position players) that stood at least 6’5″ tall. The Twins have spent the last few years accumulating tall pitchers but so far the fruits of their labors have not been all that eveident.
The tallest player in major league history, Jon Rauch, played for 11 years with seven different major league teams including a stop in Minnesota from 2009-2010. The right-handed Rauch won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The same year, he was also named Baseball America and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year. Keith Hernandez referred to Rauch as “The Wookiee” during SNY broadcasts in 2006.
Rauch wasn’t exactly the friendliest baseball player around and his grumpy, grouchy, surly and testy personality along with his intimidating size and inked body caused most fans that wanted an autograph to pass and look for the next player to come by.
Here I have put together a list of Minnesota Twins players that stood at least 6’5″ tall.
| Rk | Player | Ht | From | To | Age | G | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Rauch | 83 | 2009 | 2010 | 30-31 | 76 | /*1 |
| 2 | Alex Meyer | 81 | 2015 | 2016 | 25-26 | 4 | /*1 |
| 3 | Mike Smithson | 80 | 1984 | 1987 | 29-32 | 128 | *1 |
| 4 | Michael Tonkin | 79 | 2013 | 2016 | 23-26 | 122 | *1 |
| 5 | Mike Pelfrey | 79 | 2013 | 2015 | 29-31 | 64 | /*1 |
| 6 | John Candelaria | 79 | 1990 | 1990 | 36-36 | 34 | /*1 |
| 7 | Walt Bond | 79 | 1967 | 1967 | 29-29 | 10 | /*H7 |
| 8 | Kyle Gibson | 78 | 2013 | 2016 | 25-28 | 96 | /*1 |
| 9 | Jim Hoey | 78 | 2011 | 2011 | 28-28 | 26 | /*1 |
| 10 | Michael Restovich | 78 | 2002 | 2004 | 23-25 | 61 | /H97D |
| 11 | Dan Naulty | 78 | 1996 | 1998 | 26-28 | 97 | /*1 |
| 12 | Mo Sanford | 78 | 1995 | 1995 | 28-28 | 11 | /*1 |
| 13 | Dave Winfield | 78 | 1993 | 1994 | 41-42 | 220 | *D/9H3 |
| 14 | David West | 78 | 1989 | 1992 | 24-27 | 63 | /*1 |
| 15 | Greg Booker | 78 | 1989 | 1989 | 29-29 | 6 | /*1 |
| 16 | Jeff Little | 78 | 1982 | 1982 | 27-27 | 33 | /*1 |
| 17 | Mike Poepping | 78 | 1975 | 1975 | 24-24 | 14 | /*9H |
| 18 | Cotton Nash | 78 | 1969 | 1970 | 26-27 | 10 | /*3H7 |
| 19 | Garry Roggenburk | 78 | 1963 | 1966 | 23-26 | 60 | /*1 |
| 20 | Frank Sullivan | 78 | 1962 | 1963 | 32-33 | 31 | /*1 |
| 21 | Phil Hughes | 77 | 2014 | 2016 | 28-30 | 71 | /*1 |
| 22 | Pat Light | 77 | 2016 | 2016 | 25-25 | 13 | /*1 |
| 23 | Joe Mauer | 77 | 2004 | 2016 | 21-33 | 1589 | *23D/H9 |
| 24 | Trevor May | 77 | 2014 | 2016 | 24-26 | 102 | *1 |
| 25 | Kennys Vargas | 77 | 2014 | 2016 | 23-25 | 147 | /*D3H |
| 26 | A.J. Achter | 77 | 2014 | 2015 | 25-26 | 18 | /*1 |
| 27 | Jared Burton | 77 | 2012 | 2014 | 31-33 | 203 | *1 |
| 28 | Tyler Robertson | 77 | 2012 | 2013 | 24-25 | 42 | /*1 |
| 29 | Carl Pavano | 77 | 2009 | 2012 | 33-36 | 88 | /*1 |
| 30 | Kyle Waldrop | 77 | 2011 | 2012 | 25-26 | 24 | /*1 |
| 31 | Bobby Keppel | 77 | 2009 | 2009 | 27-27 | 37 | /*1 |
| 32 | Garrett Jones | 77 | 2007 | 2007 | 26-26 | 31 | /D3H79 |
| 33 | LaTroy Hawkins | 77 | 1995 | 2003 | 22-30 | 366 | *1 |
| 34 | Todd Sears | 77 | 2002 | 2003 | 26-27 | 31 | /*3HD |
| 35 | Matt Kinney | 77 | 2000 | 2002 | 23-25 | 22 | /*1 |
| 36 | Mark Redman | 77 | 1999 | 2001 | 25-27 | 46 | /*1 |
| 37 | Scott Stahoviak | 77 | 1993 | 1998 | 23-28 | 344 | *3/H5D9 |
| 38 | Greg Hansell | 77 | 1996 | 1996 | 25-25 | 50 | /*1 |
| 39 | Dave McCarty | 77 | 1993 | 1995 | 23-25 | 167 | /*379H8D |
| 40 | Erik Schullstrom | 77 | 1994 | 1995 | 25-26 | 46 | /*1 |
| 41 | Bill Krueger | 77 | 1992 | 1992 | 34-34 | 27 | /*1 |
| 42 | Steve Shields | 77 | 1989 | 1989 | 30-30 | 11 | /*1 |
| 43 | George Frazier | 77 | 1986 | 1987 | 31-32 | 69 | /*1 |
| 44 | Curt Wardle | 77 | 1984 | 1985 | 23-24 | 37 | /*1 |
| 45 | Mike Walters | 77 | 1983 | 1984 | 25-26 | 46 | /*1 |
| 46 | Greg Wells | 77 | 1982 | 1982 | 28-28 | 15 | /*3DH |
| 47 | John Verhoeven | 77 | 1980 | 1981 | 27-28 | 69 | /*1 |
| 48 | Paul Hartzell | 77 | 1979 | 1979 | 25-25 | 28 | /*1 |
| 49 | Jeff Holly | 77 | 1977 | 1979 | 24-26 | 39 | /*1 |
| 50 | Dick Woodson | 77 | 1969 | 1974 | 24-29 | 129 | *1 |
| 51 | Pete Hamm | 77 | 1970 | 1971 | 22-23 | 23 | /*1 |
| 52 | Stan Williams | 77 | 1970 | 1971 | 33-34 | 114 | *1 |
| 53 | Don Williams | 77 | 1963 | 1963 | 27-27 | 3 | /*1 |
.
With a few exceptions the Minnesota Twins appear to have gone belly up and are just walking through the motions as they continue their march to 100 or more losses. There isn’t much good news coming out of Target Field lately so we have to search for some to watch and cheer for and one of those items is Brian Dozier‘s hitting streak which has now hit 22 games. The Twins have a dozen games left to play in 2016, the first six are at home against the Tigers and the Mariners and the next six are on the road at Kansas City and in Chicago against the the White Sox.
If Dozier plays in every game and his hitting streak continues he could tie the Twins hitting streak record of 31 in Kansas City and then go for the record in Chicago. That would be pretty awesome since we plan to be in Chicago that final baseball week-end of the season catching a few Twins games at US Cellular Field which is a field I have never been at, but I have watched a game at White Sox Park back in 1965.
| Rk | Name | Strk Start | End | Games | AB | H | HR | RBI | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Landreaux | 1980-04-23 | 1980-05-30 | 31 | 125 | 49 | 2 | 19 | .392 | .441 | .937 |
| 2 | Brian Harper | 1990-07-06 | 1990-08-04 | 25 | 99 | 38 | 2 | 16 | .384 | .415 | .981 |
| 3 | Lenny Green | 1961-05-01 | 1961-05-28 | 24 | 94 | 34 | 0 | 11 | .362 | .455 | .955 |
| 4 | Torii Hunter | 2007-04-11 | 2007-05-09 | 23 | 94 | 35 | 5 | 19 | .372 | .394 | 1.054 |
| 5 | Cristian Guzman | 2002-08-01 | 2002-08-25 | 23 | 97 | 35 | 2 | 12 | .361 | .366 | .841 |
| 6 | Marty Cordova | 1996-06-05 | 1996-06-29 | 23 | 91 | 35 | 2 | 18 | .385 | .447 | 1.007 |
| 7 | Kirby Puckett | 1993-09-26 | 1994-04-20 | 23 | 97 | 34 | 2 | 21 | .351 | .400 | .895 |
| 8 | Kent Hrbek | 1982-04-17 | 1982-05-13 | 23 | 91 | 28 | 5 | 17 | .308 | .366 | .949 |
| 9 | Brian Dozier | 2016-08-27 | 2016-09-18 | 22 | 94 | 33 | 11 | 22 | .351 | .425 | 1.190 |
| 10 | Shane Mack | 1992-07-26 | 1992-08-18 | 22 | 88 | 40 | 1 | 9 | .455 | .500 | 1.057 |
Keep it up Brian Dozier, we need something exciting to watch and the 2016 season winds down for us Twins fans.
UPDATE: September 21, 2016 – Dozier’s hit streak now stands at 23.
UPDATE: September 23, 2016 – Dozier’s hit streak comes to an end at 24 games in game 2 of a DH against the Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander on 9/22/2016. Nice run by Mr. Dozier.
The end is quickly approaching to what may be the Minnesota Twins worst season in history. The team fired GM Terry Ryan back in July and has been looking to revamp the front office ever since. The recent chatter coming out of the organization is that the team hopes to have a head of Baseball Operations hired by the end of September while at the same time stories have come out that a number of people who the ballclub was interested in hiring have no interest in coming to Minnesota. Owner Jim Pohlad did say back in July when Ryan was let go that manager Paul Molitor would be back in 2017 for his third and final year of his contract.
If I am Paul Molitor, why would I come back in 2017? What manager worth his salt manages in his final year of a three-year deal? What kind of message does that send to the players not to mention the fans? Why come back and work for a GM or Head of Baseball Ops who didn’t hire him? An extension looks extremely unlikely after a season of 100 or so losses while working for someone who did not hire him in the first place. The easiest way out for everyone is for Paul Molitor to resign after the season ends and for the new Head of Baseball Ops to hire his own field staff.
Brian Dozier had a two-run single in the Twins’ four-run second inning yesterday extending his hitting streak to 19 games. Dozier has 30 hits, 11 home runs and 22 runs batted in during this streak. The only other players in Twins franchise history with at least 30 hits, 10 home runs and 20 runs batted in over a 19-game span were Harmon Killebrew in 1961 (32 hits, 10 HR, 26 RBI) and Kirby Puckett in 1986.
When you are compared to two Hall of Famers you are in pretty good company. Dozier deserves more credit this year then he has received.
Jorge Polanco went 3-for-4 with a home run, four runs batted in and two runs scored in the Twins’ win over the Tigers yesterday. Polanco is the first Twins shortstop with at least three hits, one homer, four RBI and two runs scored in a game since Greg Gagne did it on the next to last day of the 1986 season. Gagne went 3-for-4 with two homers, four RBI and three runs scored in a win over the White Sox.
Brian Dozier hit his 40th home run of the season in the Twins 4-2 loss to the Tigers last night at Comerica Park. Dozier could become the eighth player to hit 40 homers in a season for a team that won less than 40 percent of its games. The last player to do that was Jeff Burroughs, who hit 41 long balls in 1977 for the Braves, who finished 61-101 (.377).
By the way, the following has nothing to do with Brian Dozier but it is still a fun read over at D.C. Baseball History. Maybe it could have happened here, after all, Minnesota ladies do love Brian Dozier.
