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 ran across this story that was published that R.J. Anderson did for CBS yesterday. I can’t say I agree with him 100% but he makes a number of good points. You can see the story at:
Here’s how badly the Twins have misfired at developing their top prospects
Joe Mauer‘s single in the 12th inning scored Brian Dozier with the winning run for the Twins against the Indians. It was the eighth walkoff win of the season the for the Twins, the most in one season for the team since 2007 (10). Four of the Twins’ eight walkoff wins this season have come against the Tribe, matching the franchise record for most walkoff wins against one team in one season, done several times, the last coning against the Athletics in 1976.
The Minnesota Twins will honor Jacob Wetterling and show support for his family by wearing a No. 11 patch on their red jerseys Friday night against the Indians. Twins officials said Cleveland players will also wear the patch in support of Jacob.
Jacob Wetterling was a fan of all sports and wore the No. 11 jersey as a child. The Wetterling family has asked people to use the number 11 as a symbol of hope to honor their son and show a commitment to making the world better for kids. Wetterling was kidnapped in October of 1989, and it was learned earlier this week that Danny Heinrich admitted to his abduction and murder.
The Twins will also have a moment of remembrance before Friday night’s game, and there will be a tribute graphic to Wetterling on an outfield wall the rest of the season.
Nice tribute by the Minnesota Twins.
Brian Dozier contributed a single, a stolen base and a run scored to the Twins’ victory over the Royals on Wednesday night, but his streak of five straight games with a home run ended. Dozier tied the major-league record for consecutive games with a home run, all as a second baseman. The other players who did that were Rogers Hornsby (1928), Ryne Sandberg (1989), Robby Thompson (1993), Jose Castillo (2006), and Chase Utley (twice in 2008).
Brian Dozier slammed three homers, his 36th, 37th and 38th of the season in a Labor Day afternoon game at Target Field, though the Royals came away the 11-5 victors in Minneapolis. Dozier has now hit 21 homers in his last 35 games, and he became the first major-leaguer to connect for that many homers over a 35-game span since Shawn Green connected for 22 round-trippers over a 35-game span (including four in one game) for the Dodgers in 2002. Dozier has hit 24 homers in 50 games since the All-Star break, with 22 of them coming while in the game as a second baseman (the other two came in a game in which he was the designated hitter). Dozier broke the American League record for homers by a second baseman after the break; the old mark had belonged to Hall-of-Famer Joe Gordon since 1940, when he hit 21 post-break homers with the Yankees.
Dozier’s season total of 38 home runs has been reached by only one other player since the Twins moved from Washington to Minnesota in 1961. The Hall-of-Famer Harmon Killebrew reached that level in eight different seasons in Minnesota (he had also done it once while the team still played in the nation’s capital), knocking out a team-record of 49 homers in 1964 and 1969.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BOP | Pos Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Dozier | 2016-09-05 | MIN | KCR | L 5-11 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2B |
| 2 | Max Kepler | 2016-08-01 | MIN | CLE | W 12-5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | RF |
| 3 | Justin Morneau | 2007-07-06 (2) | MIN | CHW | W 12-0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1B |
| 4 | Tony Oliva | 1973-07-03 | MIN | KCR | L 6-7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | DH |
| 5 | Harmon Killebrew | 1963-09-21 (1) | MIN | BOS | W 13-4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | LF |
| 6 | Bob Allison | 1963-05-17 | MIN | CLE | W 11-4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | RF |
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BOP | Pos Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Donaldson | 2016-08-28 | TOR | MIN | W 9-6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3B |
| 2 | Alex Rodriguez | 2015-07-25 | NYY | MIN | W 8-5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | DH |
| 3 | Curtis Granderson | 2012-04-19 | NYY | MIN | W 7-6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | CF |
| 4 | Jose Bautista | 2011-05-15 | TOR | MIN | W 11-3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | RF |
| 5 | Evan Longoria | 2008-09-18 | TBR | MIN | L 8-11 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3B |
| 6 | Nick Markakis | 2006-08-22 | BAL | MIN | W 6-3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | RF |
| 7 | Hee-Seop Choi | 2005-06-12 | LAD | MIN | W 4-3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1B |
| 8 | Ellis Burks | 2001-06-19 | CLE | MIN | L 9-10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | DH |
| 9 | Edgar Martinez | 1999-05-18 | SEA | MIN | W 10-1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | DH |
| 10 | Ivan Rodriguez | 1997-09-11 | TEX | MIN | W 7-0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | C |
| 11 | Geronimo Berroa | 1996-08-12 | OAK | MIN | W 11-1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | RF LF |
| 12 | Ernie Young | 1996-05-10 | OAK | MIN | W 15-5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | CF |
| 13 | Darnell Coles | 1994-07-05 | TOR | MIN | W 14-3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3B |
| 14 | Juan Gonzalez | 1992-06-07 | TEX | MIN | W 5-4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | CF |
| 15 | Dave Henderson | 1991-08-03 | OAK | MIN | L 6-8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | CF |
| 16 | Dave Winfield | 1991-04-13 | CAL | MIN | W 15-9 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | RF |
| 17 | Joe Carter | 1989-07-19 | CLE | MIN | W 10-1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | LF |
| 18 | Cory Snyder | 1987-05-21 | CLE | MIN | W 6-3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | RF |
| 19 | Harold Baines | 1984-09-17 | CHW | MIN | W 7-3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | RF |
| 20 | Doug DeCinces | 1982-08-03 | CAL | MIN | L 4-5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3B |
| 21 | Jeff Burroughs | 1981-08-14 (2) | SEA | MIN | W 13-3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | RF |
| 22 | Eddie Murray | 1979-08-29 (2) | BAL | MIN | W 7-4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 1B |
| 23 | Al Oliver | 1979-05-23 | TEX | MIN | W 7-2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | CF |
| 24 | Bobby Grich | 1974-06-18 | BAL | MIN | W 10-1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2B |
| 25 | Joe Lahoud | 1969-06-11 | BOS | MIN | W 13-5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | RF |
| 26 | Tommy McCraw | 1967-05-24 | CHW | MIN | W 14-1 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 1B |
This is one of those rare times when we delve back into the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins franchise history because Carlos Paula played a key role and he should not be forgotten.
September 6, 1954 – On this day in 1954 the Washington Senators played a black ballplayer for the first time. His name was Carlos Paula and he was from Havana, Cuba. The 26 year-old Paula started in left field for the Senators seven years after Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut. Paula hit fifth in the Senators batting order and went 2 for 5 with a double and knocked in 2 runs in a 8-1 win in game 1 of a double-header against the Philadelphia A’s. The Senators lost game 2 by a 3-2 score at Griffith Stadium. Only the Yankees in 1955, the Phillies in 1957, the Tigers in 1958 and the Red Sox in 1959 broke the color-line later than did the Senators/Twins franchise. Box Score.
I recently ran across a very nice write-up on Carlos Paula and his time with the Washington Senators on the National Basball Hall of fame web site called: #GOINGDEEP: CARLOS PAULA, THE MAN WHO INTEGRATED THE WASHINGTON SENATORS. Take the time to read it and to enjoy the wonderful pictures. According to the story, Carlos Paula had ties to Minnesota Twins 1965 MVP Zoilo Versalles.
Chattanooga Lookouts (AA) right-handed pitcher Aaron Slegers is the Twins minor league player of the week. Slegers made two starts for the Lookouts, going 1-0, 1.29 ERA (14.0 IP, 2 ER) with three walks and 13 strikeouts. Slegers, who turns 24-years-old today, has made 25 starts for the Lookouts this season, going 10-7, 3.78 ERA (145.1 IP, 55 ER) with 46 walks and 104 strikeouts.
In four seasons in the Twins system, he has gone 28-25, 3.54 ERA (452.1 IP, 178 ER with four complete games, 105 walks and 328 strikeouts.
The 6′ 10″ 245 pound Slegers was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Indiana University and signed for $380,000. Prior to signing with Minnesota Slegers was limited to 10 innings from 2010 (his senior year of high school) to 2012 (his red shirt sophomore year of college) with forearm pain, a broken right wrist and a stress fracture in his right tibia.
The Minnesota Twins did all of their scoring in the first three innings of their 11-3 win over the visiting White Sox yesterday. It was the second time this season that Minnesota scored 11 runs through the first three innings of a game at Target Field; they also did that in a 17-5 win over the Rangers on July 2. Before 2016, the Twins hadn’t scored 11 times before the fourth inning of a home game since August 15, 1987, against the Mariners at the Metrodome.
2016 Arizona Fall League participants were announced a couple of days ago, the Twins will be sending catcher Mitch Garver, outfielder Tanner English, infielder Nick Gordon, right-handed pitcher John Curtiss and left-handed pitchers Mason Melotakis and Randy Rosario. Ivan Arteaga will serve as pitching coach and the Twins players will be part of the Surprise Saguaros along with players from the Rangers, Red Sox, Royals, and Pirates and will start play on October 11 versus Mesa.
There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League: the Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros. The roots of the Arizona Fall League go back several years, when the Major Leagues wanted to create an easily accessed off-season league. A concern was that some of the best ball players left to play winter ball out of the country, such as in the Caribbean and there was no way to monitor them.
Major League Baseball created a league that it could govern and monitor, it would be better organized. If a player was injured, proper care and treatment would be on hand. With the Arizona Fall League, managers, coaches, scouts and league officials could participate.
2016 Arizona Fall League Schedule
UPDATE: Stephen Gonsalves was added as a Twins participant.
Entering his start against the Twins at Target Field last night, Jose Quintana had limited rookies to a .141 batting average (10 for 71) and only four RBI this season. But a trio of rookies tagged him for hits in a five-run second inning by Minnesota, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler singled, and Byron Buxton connected for a three-run homer–and that outburst catapulted the Twins to an 8-5 victory over the White Sox breaking the Minnesota Twins 13-game losing streak.