Tag: 2019 Minnesota Twins

Where is that pitching that Falvey was going to fix?

Falvey and Levine with credit to MN Twins

Doing a little research on the state of Minnesota Twins pitching under the Derek Falvey & Thad Levine regime from 2017 to current. These gents were brought in because they were supposedly going to turn around the Twins pitching woes. Let’s see how they are progressing.

There is never any “perfect” way to compare players or teams but I use WAR for other comparisons and I will use it again here. Here is how the Twins pitching staff compared to other pitching staffs across MLB. Keep in mind we are ranking entire pitching staffs and not starting rotations here.

Continue reading Where is that pitching that Falvey was going to fix?

So where do the Twins go from here?

Minnesota Twins fans and the team itself had such high expectations going into 2021 and yet as we approach the midway point in the season we find the team floundering badly at 31-42. The season opened on April 1 and the team reached their high-water mark for the season on April 8 when they were three games over .500 with a 5-2 record. Since then it has been one step forward and two steps back.

Derek Falvey

So how do you explain this? How does a team that everyone expected to be a serious contender and pretty much a playoff lock in 2021 play such terrible baseball that it is basically unwatchable? Where do you start? Like in most businesses you have to start at the top.

Continue reading So where do the Twins go from here?

Looking at the Twins single game ticket prices for 2020

The 2019 Twins improved by 23 games over the previous season by winning 101 games under first time manager Rocco Baldelli. Along the way the Twins set numerous team records including scoring an amazing 939 runs and hitting an MLB record 307 home runs. The Bomba Squad had Twins fans excited from game 1 through game 162 and attendance jumped back above the 2.2 million mark making it only the second time since they began play in Target Field in 2010 that attendance has gone up from the previous season. Yes, the Twins made the playoffs but were quickly dispatched in three games in the ALDS by the New York Yankees stretching the Twins losing streak in playoff games to a record breaking 16 games going back to 2004. So what impact did the 2019 season have on Twins ticket prices heading into 2020?

All I am going to say right here is that if you are going to head out to Target Field to watch the winning MInnesota Twins in 2020 you will need to pay a little bit more. If you want to see the details, you can check them on my Twins Ticket Price History page.

How did the 2019 Twins hitters compare to other Twins teams?

2019 Minnesota Twins

We all know that the Bomba squad could hit home runs, after all, they hit an MLB record 307 of them in 2019. But just for fun here in mid-winter let’s take a look and see who Rocco Baldelli’s boys ranked as compared to the other 58 Minnesota Twins teams going back to 1961. Those folks over at Baseball-Reference.com or going to help us do just that.

Continue reading How did the 2019 Twins hitters compare to other Twins teams?

Minnesota Twins now best home run hitting team in MLB history

The Minnesota Twins are now the best home run hitting team in MLB history. With six home runs yesterday in a 10-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers the Twins now have 268 home runs on the season,  the best in baseball history. Mitch Garver hit number 268 and his second Bomba of the day in the ninth inning at Comerica Park off Tiger pitcher Joe Jimenez. Garver now has 26 home runs on the season and September is still to be played. Jorge Polanco also hit his 20th home run of the season giving the Twins eight players with 20 or more homers in a season, also a new major league record.

The New York Yankees previously held baseball’s all-time single-season home run with 267 in 2018, followed by the Mariners with 264 in 1997 and the Rangers with 260 in 2005.

Max Kepler The New European Home Run King

Single-Season European Home Run King Max Kepler

Max Kepler

With his 33rd home run, a two-run shot last night, Max Kepler now owns the MLB single-season record for most homers by a European-born player. The Berlin, Germany native surpassed Glasgow, Scotland-born Bobby Thomson, who hit 32 home runs for the 1951 New York Giants. Thomson’s final homer in ’51 was the legendary “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” to clinch the NL pennant.

 

Bobby Thomson

Thomson played in the big leagues for 15 seasons from 1946-1960 for the New York Giants, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles and 246 career home runs. Kepler has 89 career home runs but has played in 1,247 fewer games than Thomson.

 

The Minnesota Twins are real road beasts

1976 – 1986 primary logo

According the MN Twins  July 26 GameNotes:

The Twins have gone 31-19 on the road this season, a .620 road winning percentage
that is the best in baseball. The Twins went 29-52 on the road in 2018. Twins have outscored opponents on the road 307-242. Their 110 road home runs have already surpassed their total of 80 from last year, and are only three shy of the Twins record of 113 set back in 1963.

At 30-20 (.600), Atlanta is the only other club with a .600-plus winning mark.

 

Couple of things about A’s and Twins

The Oakland A’s team that the Twins are playing are no slouches and are a very good team. The Twins have split the first two games and it will be interesting to see how the final two games go. 

The Oakland A’s are 37-17 (.685) dating back to May 16, which is tied with the Yankees for the best record in the majors over that span. They have a 3.66 ERA (201 er in 493.2 ip), which is second lowest to the Dodgers (3.27). The A’s lead the majors in home runs (104), slugging (.491), and extra base hits (226), are tied for second in runs (321) and are fifth in OPS (.824). The A’s have outscored the opposition 321-215 for a run differential of +106.

Since moving to Oakland in 1968, the A’s are 308-304 against Minnesota, that includes 172-131 in Oakland and 136-173 in Minnesota (19-18 at Target Field). The Athletics are 365-373 all-time against the Twins and have a 1,012-1,009 record against the Twins/Senators. The 1,012 are the A’s most against any franchise.

Tonights starter for the Twins Jose Berrios has thrown his curveball 37.4% of the time (337/900) vs right-handed batters this season, 3rd highest among qualified SPs in MLB; League Average is 15.1%. José Berríos has induced opposing hitters to ground into just 5 double plays in 94 opportunities (5.3%) this season, 6th worst among qualified SPs in MLB, the league average is 10.6%. 

Did you know?

The 2019 Minnesota Twins had scored three-or-more runs in 26 consecutive games, dating back to May 6 at Toronto, a single-season franchise record. The streak ended yesterday when the Cleveland Indians beat the Twins yesterday 5-2 in Cleveland.

The overall franchise record is 30 consecutive games, spanning two seasons, from September 14, 2003-April 23, 2004.

What will it take to get Minnesota Twins fans to believe in this team

Before the 2019 season began for the Minnesota Twins pretty much everyone agreed that the Twins fate this season hinged on how well Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano performed. Both were coming off a 2018 season in which they underperformed and/or were injured or both. 

Buxton played in just 28 games hitting .156 for Minnesota and finished the 2018 season in AAA and didn’t even get called up in September, he was miffed to say the least. Sano didn’t do much better appearing in just 71 games and hit .199 with 13 home runs, a career low for him. He played so poorly he was sent all the way back to High A ball in Fort Myers to lose weight and regain his batting form.

The Twins signed free agent Martin Perez on January 30th and expected him to fight for a starting spot. Twins fans were not happy with the signing since the soon to be 28-year old lefty was 2-7 with a 6.22 ERA in 15 starts for the Rangers in 2018. Twins fans wanted the front office to sign a legitimate Ace starting pitcher and some bullpen help and when that did not happen, fans were upset and just didn’t buy tickets for the 2019 season.

Continue reading What will it take to get Minnesota Twins fans to believe in this team