Tag: Al Worthington

Looking at the Twins SO/9 ratio

Minnesota Twins pitchers have finished dead last in the American League in strikeouts the last three years and you all know where the team has finished in the standing during that time frame. When the Twins came into existence in 1961 the SO/9 average in the American League was 5.2 SO/9 and it slowly climbed to 6.1 SO/9 in 1967 but then started sliding down to under 5.0 SO/9 from 1974 to 1983. Since then it started climbing and for the first time in 2012 it went above 7.0 went it hit 7.4 SO/9 and in 2013 it hit 7.7 SO/9 which is a new high water mark.

From 2006 through 2013 only one team in the AL has finished above the .500 mark in the standings when their pitching staff has had under 1,000 strikeouts and guess who that was? It was the 2008 Minnesota Twins team that finished second to the Chicago White Sox in 2008 when Gardy’s boys went 88-75 and lost game 163 in Chicago. When Twins pitchers have 1,000 or more strikeouts the team won less than 79 games only once and that was the 2000 Twins when they finished the season with a 69-93 mark. Twins pitchers have struck 1,000 or more batters only 10 times in 53 seasons and peaked with 1,164 KO’s in 2006 when the team had a franchise high 7.28 SO/9.

The Twins can spew all the “pitch to contact” babble they want but striking out hitters and winning games goes together like peanut butter and jelly. We can only wait and see what the new Twins pitchers can do. Ricky Nolasco has a career 7.4 SO/9 and Phil Hughes is 7.6 SO/9 so they should help improve the Twins sad 2013 6.11 SO/9 team mark.

So looking back all the way to 1961 what Twins pitchers have had the best SO/9 ratio in a given season? The table below shows the highest SO/9 ratio with a minimum of 50 innings. Not many starters on this list.

Joe Nathan
Joe Nathan
Rk Player SO/9 IP Year G GS W L SV SO ERA
1 Joe Nathan 12.51 68.1 2006 64 0 7 0 36 95 1.58
2 Joe Nathan 12.09 70.0 2005 69 0 7 4 43 94 2.70
3 Joe Nathan 11.67 68.2 2009 70 0 2 2 47 89 2.10
4 Juan Rincon 11.63 82.0 2004 77 0 11 6 2 106 2.63
5 Johan Santana 11.38 108.1 2002 27 14 8 6 1 137 2.99
6 Joe Nathan 11.07 72.1 2004 73 0 1 2 44 89 1.62
7 Glen Perkins 11.06 62.2 2013 61 0 2 0 36 77 2.30
8 Francisco Liriano 10.71 121.0 2006 28 16 12 3 1 144 2.16
9 Tom Hall 10.66 155.1 1970 52 11 11 6 4 184 2.55
10 Casey Fien 10.60 62.0 2013 73 0 5 2 0 73 3.92
11 Johan Santana 10.46 228.0 2004 34 34 20 6 0 265 2.61
12 Ron Davis 10.02 64.2 1985 57 0 2 6 25 72 3.48
13 Glen Perkins 9.98 70.1 2012 70 0 3 1 16 78 2.56
14 Joe Nathan 9.84 67.2 2008 68 0 1 2 39 74 1.33
15 Juan Rincon 9.82 77.0 2005 75 0 6 6 0 84 2.45
16 Francisco Liriano 9.81 100.0 2012 22 17 3 10 0 109 5.31
17 Joe Nathan 9.67 71.2 2007 68 0 4 2 37 77 1.88
18 Johan Santana 9.66 219.0 2007 33 33 15 13 0 235 3.33
19 Johan Santana 9.61 158.1 2003 45 18 12 3 0 169 3.07
20 Tom Hall 9.51 129.2 1971 48 11 4 7 9 137 3.33
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/26/2013.

 

Looking over the Twins history here the best Twins career SO/9 ratio’s with a minimum of 100 innings pitched. How many of these pitchers were originally signed by the Twins? That would be eight.

 

Rk Player SO/9 IP G GS W L W-L% SV SO ERA BA
1 Joe Nathan 10.90 463.1 460 0 24 13 .649 260 561 2.16 .186
2 Pat Neshek 10.48 129.2 132 0 11 6 .647 0 151 3.05 .189
3 Johan Santana 9.50 1308.2 251 175 93 44 .679 1 1381 3.22 .221
4 Francisco Liriano 9.05 783.1 156 130 50 52 .490 1 788 4.33 .247
5 Tom Hall 8.52 455.1 139 44 25 21 .543 13 431 3.00 .212
6 Juan Rincon 8.41 441.0 386 3 30 26 .536 3 412 3.69 .248
7 Ron Davis 8.24 381.1 286 0 19 40 .322 108 349 4.51 .264
8 Jared Burton 8.16 128.0 135 0 5 11 .313 7 116 3.02 .216
9 Juan Berenguer 8.15 418.1 211 7 33 13 .717 9 379 3.70 .231
10 Ray Moore 7.95 159.2 126 1 13 10 .565 25 141 4.90 .252
11 Gerry Arrigo 7.93 131.2 54 15 8 7 .533 1 116 4.31 .245
12 Eddie Guardado 7.79 704.2 648 25 37 48 .435 116 610 4.53 .253
13 Dennys Reyes 7.77 126.1 191 0 10 1 .909 0 109 2.14 .238
14 Rick Aguilera 7.60 694.0 490 30 40 47 .460 254 586 3.50 .243
15 Dan Naulty 7.60 111.1 97 0 4 5 .444 5 94 4.61 .234
16 Al Worthington 7.59 473.1 327 0 37 31 .544 88 399 2.62 .221
17 Dick Stigman 7.52 643.2 138 85 37 37 .500 7 538 3.69 .229
18 Dave Boswell 7.51 1036.1 187 150 67 54 .554 0 865 3.49 .217
19 J.C. Romero 7.42 407.2 327 22 25 20 .556 2 336 4.35 .256
20 Mike Trombley 7.36 645.2 365 36 30 34 .469 34 528 4.53 .266
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/26/2013.

Twins pitchers that went the extra mile

The Twins have been in Minnesota for 53 years and have played 8,455 games winning 4,204 and losing 4,243. (just a FYI, the Angels who also started play in 1961 have won 4,220 games). Over the 53 years and 8,455 games Twins starters have pitched 9 innings or more in a start exactly 300 times (3.55%). Keep in mind that I am talking 9 innings or more pitched in a start, not complete games.

But sometimes just going 9 innings does not get the job done as you can see in the table below. In these 71 games the Twins starter took the mound in inning number 10 and sometimes even innings 11 and 12. The last Twins starter to hurl more than 9 innings in a start was Brad Radke in 1997.

But only one starting pitcher for the Twins, Jim Merritt has gone 13 innings and that remains a team record that in today’s pitch count world will probably never be broken. The franchise record is 18 innings held by Hall of Famer Walter Johnson who went the distance in a 1-0 Washington Senators win over the Chicago White Sox at Griffith Stadium in just 2 hours and 50 minutes on May 15, 1918.

Jim Merritt
Jim Merritt
Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO BF
1 Jim Merritt 1967-07-26 (2) MIN NYY W 3-2 GS-13 13.0 7 2 2 1 7 46
2 Camilo Pascual 1963-07-23 MIN CLE L 2-3 CG 13 ,L 12.2 7 3 3 2 11 46
3 Dave Boswell 1969-07-14 MIN CHW W 4-3 GS-12 12.0 10 3 2 0 7 46
4 Jim Kaat 1969-05-20 MIN BAL W 3-2 GS-13 ,W 12.0 8 2 1 4 4 47
5 Camilo Pascual 1964-10-01 MIN KCA L 4-5 CG 12 ,L 12.0 12 5 1 3 14 52
6 Jim Roland 1964-05-19 MIN NYY W 7-2 GS-12 ,W 12.0 7 2 2 6 8 50
7 Camilo Pascual 1962-09-12 MIN CHW L 1-2 CG 12 ,L 12.0 12 2 2 2 7 47
8 Dave Goltz 1977-07-25 MIN OAK W 2-1 CG 11 ,W 11.0 8 1 1 1 14 41
9 Bill Singer 1976-09-01 MIN MIL W 3-2 GS-11 11.0 6 2 2 6 3 43
10 Dave Goltz 1976-05-18 MIN OAK W 4-3 CG 11 ,W 11.0 7 3 3 3 7 43
11 Bert Blyleven 1975-08-27 MIN MIL W 1-0 SHO11 ,W 11.0 6 0 0 1 13 39
12 Jim Kaat 1973-06-23 MIN CAL L 1-3 CG 11 ,L 11.0 11 3 3 4 6 46
13 Jim Kaat 1972-05-24 MIN KCR W 1-0 GS-11 ,W 11.0 5 0 0 3 7 40
14 Jim Perry 1970-08-07 MIN OAK W 2-1 CG 11 ,W 11.0 5 1 1 3 7 41
15 Jim Kaat 1969-04-09 MIN KCR L 3-4 GS-12 11.0 8 3 2 5 4 42
16 Jim Kaat 1964-04-26 MIN DET W 3-2 CG 11 ,W 11.0 7 2 2 3 11 43
17 Jim Kaat 1962-08-01 MIN BAL W 3-1 CG 11 ,W 11.0 9 1 1 4 12 47
18 Pedro Ramos 1961-04-28 MIN LAA L 5-6 GS-11 11.0 6 4 4 4 10 43
19 Mudcat Grant 1966-08-28 (1) MIN CHW L 3-4 GS-11 10.2 9 3 3 4 2 44
20 Jack Kralick 1961-04-30 MIN CHW L 3-5 GS-11 ,L 10.2 12 5 5 6 6 50
21 Bert Blyleven 1972-09-27 (1) MIN OAK L 0-1 CG 11 ,L 10.1 7 1 1 2 9 39
22 Jim Kaat 1962-08-10 MIN LAA L 0-1 CG 11 ,L 10.1 6 1 1 4 8 42
23 Brad Radke 1997-09-21 MIN MIL W 2-1 CG 10 ,W 10.0 6 1 1 0 9 36
24 Allan Anderson 1986-06-11 MIN TEX L 2-6 GS-10 10.0 8 2 2 4 3 37
25 John Butcher 1985-05-15 MIN DET W 5-4 GS-10 10.0 12 4 4 2 7 45
26 Frank Viola 1984-09-20 MIN CHW W 5-4 GS-10 10.0 4 4 4 2 6 36
27 Darrell Jackson 1980-08-14 MIN OAK L 1-2 GS-10 10.0 6 1 1 3 4 38
28 Jerry Koosman 1980-07-30 MIN NYY W 2-1 CG 10 ,W 10.0 3 1 1 5 4 38
29 Darrell Jackson 1980-05-10 MIN NYY W 1-0 GS-10 ,W 10.0 5 0 0 1 2 35
30 Dave Goltz 1979-09-27 MIN CHW L 2-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 12 4 4 1 5 42
31 Paul Hartzell 1979-07-01 MIN CHW W 2-1 CG 10 ,W 10.0 8 1 1 2 1 38
32 Dave Goltz 1978-08-24 MIN TEX L 1-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 6 4 4 1 4 36
33 Roger Erickson 1978-08-17 MIN KCR W 6-5 CG 10 ,W 10.0 8 5 5 4 3 41
34 Dave Goltz 1976-06-29 MIN KCR L 0-1 CG 10 ,L 10.0 3 1 0 4 2 36
35 Bert Blyleven 1975-09-15 MIN CAL W 7-6 GS-10 10.0 12 6 5 3 12 42
36 Bert Blyleven 1975-07-17 MIN BAL L 3-6 GS-10 10.0 8 3 3 5 7 42
37 Vic Albury 1974-06-22 MIN CHW L 1-3 CG 10 ,L 10.0 5 3 3 4 5 40
38 Ray Corbin 1973-09-29 MIN CAL L 3-4 GS-10 10.0 7 3 3 3 5 39
39 Bert Blyleven 1973-08-30 MIN TEX W 5-2 GS-11 ,W 10.0 12 2 2 2 7 43
40 Dick Woodson 1973-07-17 (1) MIN NYY L 3-4 GS-10 10.0 5 3 2 4 2 37
41 Ray Corbin 1972-08-27 (2) MIN DET L 0-1 GS-10 10.0 5 0 0 3 2 36
42 Ray Corbin 1972-08-06 (1) MIN OAK L 3-6 GS-10 10.0 8 3 1 2 4 43
43 Bert Blyleven 1972-07-08 MIN NYY L 0-1 GS-10 10.0 7 0 0 6 10 41
44 Bert Blyleven 1971-09-01 MIN CHW L 0-2 GS-10 10.0 5 0 0 1 6 36
45 Jim Perry 1971-07-15 MIN BOS L 0-3 GS-10 10.0 3 0 0 4 5 36
46 Jim Perry 1968-09-11 MIN CLE L 0-1 GS-10 10.0 8 0 0 0 5 37
47 Jim Merritt 1968-04-22 MIN BAL L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 10.0 6 2 2 2 6 36
48 Jim Kaat 1967-09-18 MIN KCA W 2-0 SHO10 ,W 10.0 6 0 0 0 12 36
49 Dean Chance 1967-08-30 MIN BAL L 2-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 9 4 3 1 7 41
50 Jim Kaat 1964-09-10 MIN CHW L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 10.0 8 2 2 2 5 40
51 Dick Stigman 1964-07-03 MIN NYY W 1-0 SHO10 ,W 10.0 4 0 0 2 5 32
52 Camilo Pascual 1963-08-25 MIN BAL W 5-3 CG 10 ,W 10.0 10 3 1 7 8 45
53 Dick Stigman 1963-05-03 MIN NYY L 3-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 8 4 4 2 8 39
54 Jim Kaat 1962-08-05 (1) MIN DET W 8-3 GS-10 ,W 10.0 7 2 2 1 5 37
55 Camilo Pascual 1961-09-06 (2) MIN CHW L 2-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 10 4 2 4 3 47
56 Jim Hughes 1975-06-19 MIN OAK L 2-5 GS-10 ,L 9.2 9 5 5 6 5 43
57 Jim Kaat 1971-06-09 MIN BAL L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.2 11 2 1 0 6 40
58 Jim Merritt 1968-05-20 MIN DET L 3-4 GS-10 ,L 9.2 6 4 1 2 6 39
59 Camilo Pascual 1961-05-02 MIN NYY L 4-6 GS-10 ,L 9.2 7 6 6 5 7 41
60 Kevin Tapani 1992-08-20 MIN CLE L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.1 3 2 2 2 4 32
61 Neal Heaton 1986-10-02 MIN CHW L 4-8 GS-10 ,L 9.1 7 6 5 1 6 35
62 Brad Havens 1982-09-22 MIN TOR L 2-3 GS-10 ,L 9.1 6 3 2 1 8 33
63 Roger Erickson 1981-05-23 MIN KCR L 0-1 GS-10 9.1 7 0 0 1 7 34
64 Pete Redfern 1981-05-09 MIN CLE L 1-2 GS-10 ,L 9.1 10 2 1 3 7 39
65 Jerry Koosman 1981-05-04 MIN BAL L 3-4 GS-10 ,L 9.1 10 4 3 4 6 41
66 Roger Erickson 1980-07-18 MIN BOS L 0-1 CG 10 ,L 9.1 8 1 1 2 3 38
67 Jerry Koosman 1980-07-02 MIN KCR L 3-4 GS-10 ,L 9.1 10 4 4 2 5 38
68 Dave Goltz 1976-06-21 MIN CAL L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.1 8 2 2 2 1 36
69 Ray Corbin 1972-09-27 (2) MIN OAK L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.1 9 2 2 1 5 39
70 Jim Kaat 1962-05-20 (2) MIN NYY W 4-2 GS-10 9.1 4 2 1 7 7 38
71 Camilo Pascual 1961-09-29 MIN DET L 4-6 GS-10 ,L 9.1 12 6 6 4 7 43
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/25/2013.

What about the relievers?

But it is not just starting pitchers that have toiled long and hard to win a game. Here I look at relievers who have pitched 7 or more innings of relief in a game and Ray Corbin holds the team record for pitching 10.1 innings of relief against the Tigers in 1975. Corbin who was a starter/reliever during his five years in Minnesota pitched in just 11 more big league games after this long relief outing allowing at least one earned run in each appearance and never again pitched in a big league game.

Ray Corbin
Ray Corbin
Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO BF
1 Ray Corbin 1975-05-21 MIN DET W 6-5 1-11f,W 10.1 7 2 1 4 4 42
2 Jim Kaat 1969-09-06 MIN OAK W 8-6 9-18 ,W 9.1 8 1 1 5 10 44
3 John Sutton 1978-08-07 MIN SEA L 5-6 5-13 9.0 5 0 0 3 4 34
4 Vic Albury 1975-06-30 MIN CAL L 3-10 1-9f 9.0 6 4 1 7 4 38
5 John Verhoeven 1980-07-21 (1) MIN BAL W 8-7 3-11f,W 8.2 7 2 2 2 2 34
6 Tom Burgmeier 1976-08-30 MIN MIL W 10-3 1-9f ,W 8.2 3 1 1 0 4 29
7 Tom Burgmeier 1976-04-25 MIN BAL W 7-2 1-9f ,W 8.2 5 1 1 1 1 30
8 Al Worthington 1967-08-09 MIN WSA L 7-9 8-16 8.2 2 0 0 2 8 30
9 Tom Johnson 1976-09-02 MIN MIL W 8-4 1-9f ,W 8.1 6 1 1 0 6 31
10 Bill Campbell 1975-06-10 MIN CLE W 5-3 1-10 8.1 7 1 1 1 3 32
11 Tom Hall 1969-08-17 MIN WSA W 4-3 3-11 8.0 2 1 1 3 5 30
12 Pedro Ramos 1961-06-16 MIN CHW W 6-1 2-9f ,W 8.0 4 0 0 1 4 28
13 Dennis Burtt 1985-10-04 MIN CLE L 6-8 1-8 ,L 7.2 6 3 3 0 2 28
14 Pete Filson 1985-05-19 MIN TOR W 8-2 2-9f ,W 7.2 3 1 1 1 2 27
15 Mac Scarce 1978-06-07 MIN CHW L 3-8 2-9f 7.2 6 1 1 2 4 27
16 Tom Burgmeier 1976-08-25 MIN NYY L 4-5 12-19f,L 7.2 3 1 1 2 1 25
17 Vic Albury 1975-06-24 MIN OAK L 4-6 1-8f 7.2 6 2 2 7 4 34
18 Bill Butler 1974-09-13 MIN KCR W 6-5 2-9 7.2 2 0 0 4 3 28
19 Jim Kaat 1962-05-12 MIN KCA W 5-4 2-9f ,W 7.2 2 0 0 1 4 25
20 Dave Goltz 1974-07-19 MIN DET W 7-5 1-8 ,W 7.1 7 2 2 1 4 29
21 Danny Fife 1973-08-22 MIN BAL L 3-4 1-8f ,L 7.1 3 1 1 4 3 28
22 Dave Boswell 1965-05-11 MIN CAL W 3-2 1-8 7.1 4 1 0 2 9 28
23 Lee Stange 1962-08-04 MIN DET W 4-3 2-9f ,W 7.1 6 0 0 1 3 27
24 Bill Pleis 1962-07-04 (1) MIN BOS W 8-4 2-9f ,W 7.1 5 2 2 1 2 28
25 Jack O’Connor 1982-06-26 MIN TOR W 4-3 1-8 7.0 6 1 1 0 5 27
26 Jeff Holly 1977-05-01 MIN DET W 6-5 3-9f ,W 7.0 2 0 0 1 6 23
27 Tom Johnson 1975-08-11 MIN MIL W 8-7 3-9f ,W 7.0 5 1 1 2 4 28
28 Ray Corbin 1975-07-24 MIN BOS L 2-6 3-9f 7.0 5 3 2 4 1 29
29 Jim Hughes 1975-05-04 MIN KCR W 6-3 3-9f ,W 7.0 4 0 0 4 5 30
30 Bill Campbell 1974-08-08 MIN KCR W 3-2 8-14f,W 7.0 5 1 0 6 2 31
31 Bill Hands 1973-09-01 MIN TEX W 10-7 3-9f ,W 7.0 6 1 0 1 6 28
32 Ray Corbin 1971-07-17 MIN WSA W 5-3 3-9f ,W 7.0 4 0 0 1 4 25
33 Jim Perry 1964-08-06 MIN BOS W 6-5 1-7 ,W 7.0 7 1 1 4 6 31
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/25/2013.

 

 

According to Elias

Jared Burton
Jared Burton

Jose Reyes snapped a scoreless tie with his RBI double off Jared Burton in the eighth inning and he came around to score an insurance run in the Blue Jays’ 2-0 win at Minnesota yesterday. With his loss on Sunday, Burton’s record fell to 2-9 this season, a major-league high for losses by a reliever. Burton’s nine losses match the most for a Minnesota reliever in any of the last 29 years. Two other Twins absorbed nine losses out of the bullpen in one season since 1985: Rick Aguilera (4-9 in 1998) and Matt Guerrier (6-9 in 2008).

If you look back through the Twins entire history going back to 1961 you will find that “Iron Man” Mike Marshall hold the Twins record for most losses by a reliever not starting a single game with 12 in the “L” column. There are some pretty good relievers on this list and it goes to show that won/lost records for relievers mean very little. The list below reads like a list of “Whose Who” of Minnesota relievers.

Twins relievers with 8 or more losses in a season

Mike Marshall - Twins pitcher 1978 - 1980
Mike Marshall – Twins pitcher 1978 – 1980
Rk Player L Year Age G GS GF W W-L% SV IP H SO ERA HR BA
1 Mike Marshall 12 1978 35 54 0 51 10 .455 21 99.0 80 56 2.45 3 .225
2 Ron Davis 11 1984 28 64 0 57 7 .389 29 83.0 79 74 4.55 11 .253
3 Ron Perranoski 10 1969 33 75 0 52 9 .474 31 119.2 85 62 2.11 4 .205
4 Jared Burton 9 2013 32 65 0 12 2 .182 2 61.1 57 56 3.96 6 .243
5 Matt Guerrier 9 2008 29 76 0 15 6 .400 1 76.1 84 59 5.19 12 .275
6 Rick Aguilera 9 1998 36 68 0 64 4 .308 38 74.1 75 57 4.24 8 .262
7 Ron Davis 9 1982 26 63 0 53 3 .250 22 106.0 106 89 4.42 16 .261
8 Al Worthington 9 1967 38 59 0 44 8 .471 16 92.0 77 80 2.84 6 .229
9 Mike Trombley 8 1999 32 75 0 56 2 .200 24 87.1 93 82 4.33 15 .272
10 Jeff Reardon 8 1987 31 63 0 58 8 .500 31 80.1 70 83 4.48 14 .232
11 Keith Atherton 8 1986 27 47 0 31 5 .385 10 81.2 82 59 3.75 9 .264
12 Ron Davis 8 1983 27 66 0 61 5 .385 30 89.0 89 84 3.34 6 .266
13 Tom Burgmeier 8 1975 31 46 0 37 5 .385 11 75.2 76 41 3.09 7 .265
14 Ron Perranoski 8 1970 34 67 0 52 7 .467 34 111.0 108 55 2.43 7 .259
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/9/2013.

This Day in Twins History – July 26, 1967

Jim Merritt
Jim Merritt

Twins pitcher Jim Merritt, a 23-year-old lefty sets a team record when he pitches the first 13 innings of an 18 inning 3-2 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium in game two of a doubleheader. It sure would be nice to know how many pitches Jim threw that game as he faced 46 batters, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7. Ron Kline, Al Worthington and Jim Roland pitched 5 scoreless innings of relief with Worthington getting the win and Roland earned the save. Merritt was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in November of 1968 for shortstop Leo Cardenas.

It should be noted too that Yankee starter Fred Talbot pitched 7 innings allowing 1 earned run before being relieved by Bill Monbouquette who then three 9 scoreless innings of relief allowing just 3 hits before giving way to Joe Verbanic and Thad Tillotson who took the loss when he allowed an unearned run in the top of te 18th inning.

Not a game for the memory books for Yankee Roy White or Twin Cesar Tovar as both went 0 for 8, then again Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard were 0 for 6 so they had nothing to brag about either. But then who wants to play 18 innings in the second game of a doubleheader The Twins lost the first game of the DH 6-1.

The first game of the Twins versus Yankees series was also an odd game as it ended in a 1-1 tie after 9 innings. Jim Kaat had the Bronx Bombers  shut out 1-0 with two outs in the 9th inning and then Mickey Mantle hit a home run to make it 1 to 1. I am not sure what caused the game to be stopped at that point. It was one of two tie games the Twins played in 1967.

Don’t forget to check out our Today in Twins History page every day.

Twins Hall of Fame voting now open

Fan voting for the Twins Hall of Fame class of 2012 is now open and will remain open through midnight on January 4, 2012. The 2012 ballot has 18 former players. After the voting deadline has passed, votes will be counted and the top vote-getter with at least 50% of the ballot will be elected and honored during the 2012 season. If a second candidate receives 75% of the vote, there will be two candidates who will receive membership in the Twins Hall of Fame. Started back in 2000, the Twins Hall of Fame currently has 23 inductees that you can see on the “Twins Hall of Fame” page on this site. I would urge you to stop over at http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/fan_forum/hof_ballot.jsp and vote for the player or players that you think are worthy to admission into the Twins Hall of Fame.

I am lucky enough to have seen all of these players play in a Twins uniforms and that makes it a bit easier I think for me to vote than for some of the younger voters who can only go by statistics and what they have heard and read about the player(s) in question. Voting is conducted by a 54-member committee, which includes local and national baseball writers, Twins broadcasters, Twins Hall of Fame members, local TV and Radio members, select Twins front office personnel and the fans so I am not sure exactly how much say the fans really have in this vote. Sure it is a popularity thing, much like the All-Star game voting in that respect but still it is fun for the fans to vote and have their say in who deserves the honor of being a Twins Hall of Fame member.

I vote every year and this year my votes go to:

1. Camilo “Little Potato” Pascual a right-handed pitcher who pitched for the Senators/Twins franchise from 1954-1966. Pascual was known for having the best curveball in his era and in his 13 seasons with the franchise he posted a 145-141 record for a team that was often closer to the cellar than the penthouse.  Camilo finished what he started and he led the AL in complete games in 1959, 1962 and 1963. He led the AL in strikeout for three consecutive seasons from 1961 to 1963 and he won 20 or more games in both 1962 and 1963. Camilo Pascual who I think has been a forgotten man by the Twins to this point is 77 now and no one deserves to be in the Twins Hall of Fame more than he does. It is a disgrace that this great pitcher has been left out of the Twins Hall of Fame for so long.

2. Allan “Red” Worthington was a right-handed reliever for the Twins from 1964-1969 and a strong case can be made that Al Worthington was the Twins first great closer. The man put up amazing numbers back when closers role did not really exist and relief pitchers pitched several innings at a crack. Look at these numbers and tell me how we would look at a closer today that put up numbers like this. In Worthington’s 6 seasons in Minnesota he was 37-31 with an ERA of 2.62 and a WHIP of 1.19 while having a 7.6  SO/9 ratio. Al Worthington, now 82, deserves your vote.

3. Cesar “Pepe” Tovar passed away at the age of 54 in 1994 and is no longer with us but memories of this wonderful little player are still with me. Tovar played for the Twins in a number of roles for 8 seasons from 1965-1972 after being acquired in a trade from Cincinnati. Pepe could play anywhere, as a matter of fact he played all nine positions in a game for the Twins back on September 22, 1968 and Tovar remains the only Twins position player to start a game on the pitcher’s mound. The 5’9″ 155 pound right-handed hitting Tovar spent most of his time in the outfield but he also played 3B, 2B, and Shortstop. 1970 was probably his best year and that year he played in 161 games, had 726 plate appearances, scored 120 runs, led the league in doubles (36) and triples (13), while hitting 10 home runs and knocking in 54 more to go with his .300 batting average. That doesn’t even count his 30 stolen bases.

One player I will probably never vote for the Twins Hall of Fame is former 2B and 1991 AL Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch. Don’t get me wrong, Knoblauch was a great player but his attitude stunk, his me first thinking, and his relationship with the fans left a lot to be desired so Knobby will not be getting a vote for the Twins Hall of Fame in the near future.

So PLEASE, get out there and vote!

A look at the top closers in franchise history

December 16, 2009 – A successful team needs to have a top notch closer, a pitcher that can come in and slam the door on the opposition game after game. In the past, closers were expected to pitch more than one inning but in today’s game most closers pitch only in the ninth inning. The Twins have been blessed over the years with some very good closers and a strong case could be made that their current closer Joe Nathan, is the best of the bunch. Assuming nothing bad happens to Nathan, he should be expected to break the Twins all time saves record now held by Rick Aguilera early in 2010.

Update – Turns out that something did happen and Joe Nathan had TJ surgery and missed all of 2010 and came back in 2011 to take over the Twins career saves lead before leaving as a free agent after the 2011 season. Table has been updated to show the updated numbers.

Just as an interesting tidbit, In looking at the Twins top ten closers in terms of saves, only two were left-handed, the same hold true for the Washington Senators/Nationals who also had only two southpaws in their top 11 save leaders.

Twins Saves Leaders

Joe Nathan
Joe Nathan
Name R/L Years pitched Saves K/BB
1 Joe Nathan R 2004-2011 260 4.19
2 Rick Aguilera R 1989-1999 254 3.27
3 Eddie Guardado L 1993-2003, 2008 116 2.26
4 Ron Davis R 1982-1986 108 1.89
5 Jeff Reardon R 1987-1989 104 3.36
6 Al Worthington R 1964-1969 88 2.15
7 Ron Perranoski L 1968-1971 76 1.27
8 Mike Marshall R 1978-1980 54 1.55
9 Bill Campbell R 1973-1976 51 1.76
10 LaTroy Hawkins R 1995-2003 44 1.83

Senators Saves Leaders

Firpo Marberry
Firpo Marberry
Name R/L Years pitched Saves K/BB
1 Firpo Marberry R 1923-1932, 1936 96 n/a
2 Walter Johnson R 1907-1927 34 n/a
3 Tex Clevenger R 1957-1960 29 1.29
4 Garland Braxton L 1927-1930 28 n/a
5 Jack Russell R 1933-1936 26 n/a
6 Dick Hyde R 1955-1960 23 1.04
7 Tom Ferrick R 1947-1948, 1951-1952 22 n/a
8 Mickey Harris L 1949-1952 19 n/a
9 Allan Russell R 1923-1925 19 n/a
10 Pete Appleton R 1936-1939, 1945 17 n/a
11 Jim Shaw R 1913-1921 17 n/a