Tag: Andy MacPhail

Congratulations to Pete Mackanin on being named as Phillies skipper

Pete MackaninFormer Twins infielder and baseball lifer Pete Mackanin has been named as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies for 2016 and a team option for 2017. Mackanin served as the Phillies interim manager since June and has also been an interim manager for the Pirates and the Reds but this will be his first full-time gig as a big league skipper.

“The Phillies are pleased that Pete has accepted the position of manager for the 2016 season,” team president (and former Twins GM) Andy MacPhail said in a statement. “We believe that Pete is the best fit for the role. Since assuming the interim manager position in June, Pete has developed an excellent rapport with our players and has also connected well with the media and our fans. Equally as important is his eagerness to take on the challenge of rebuilding the team and further developing our players. We look forward to his contributions.”

Mackanin, PeteMackanin was a fourth round selection by the Washington Senators in 1969 and  played in 548 games in the majors from 1973 to 1981 with the Rangers, Expos, Phillies and Twins. The Twins acquired Mackanin from the Phillies on December 7, 1979 for pitcher Paul Thormodsgard. Mackanin played in 185 games in a Twins uniform hitting .252 before leaving the team as a free agent after the 1981 season. Mackanin did not play in the majors again after leaving Minnesota. Mackanin’s tie to Minnesota Twins history is that he hit the last Twins home run in Met Stadium and also scored the last Twins run there.

Twins Rule 5 draft history

The 2012 MLB Winter Meetings are just around the corner and will take place in Nashville, Tennesse December 3-6. Once you look past the trades and free agent signings you will see that one of the items on the agenda during these meetings is the annual Rule 5 draft. A lot of baseball fans get excited about this draft but a true gem is hard to find.

The Rule 5 draft has been around for many many years and the rules have changed several times over the years. The cost of drafting a player has been $50K since 1985, from 1958 to 1984 the price was $25K. Any player that is drafted must stay with his new teams 25 man roster during the entire season. Prior to sometime in the 1980’s (I can’t determine the exact year) the team only had to keep a Rule 5 draft pick on the roster for 90 days. There are also rules in place to prevent teams from stashing these Rule 5 picks on the disabled list. In order to send a player to the minors during that first season, the Rule 5 draftee must be offered back to his original club for $25K and if that clubs refuses to take him back, then that team no longer keeps his rights and Rule 5 obligations cease. In todays game it is not unusual for a drafting team to want to keep the player but not on their major league 25 man roster so they work out a trade with the players original team and then the player Rule 5 status is eliminated and he is considered to be traded and the drafting team can do with the player whatever they wish.

From 1959 to 1969 there was also a second draft called the Rule 5 “First Year Player” Draft that allowed teams to select players who had completed one year and were not yet on the club’s 40 man roster.

Later in this article you can review the entire list of Rule 5 draft picks of the Minnesota Twins going back to 1960 but first let’s sum up the Rule 5 draft since 1960 as far as the Twins are concerned. For our purposes here I will only look at regular Rule 5 picks and ignore Rule 5 picks chosen under the “First Year Player” draft portion.

  • From 1960-2011 which is a span of 53 years, the Twins have selected 40 players under the Rule 5 draft umbrella.
  • The team has made no Rule 5 selection in 20 of the 53 years (38% of the time).
  • 21 (53%) players of the 40 selected players stayed on the roster the following season but that is kind of a deceiving stat since most of this occurred early in Twins history. 19 of the 21 actually played at least one game in a Twins uniform, two (Paul Gibson and Dave Moore) never did.
  • 13 (33%) of the 40 selected players have simply been returned.
  • The Twins made a deal to keep the selected player in 4 (10%) of the 40 picks and all of those occurred fairly recently, Scott Diamond in 2010, Jason Jones in 2008, Alejandro Machado in 2006, and Johan Santana in 1999. Only Diamnond and Santana actually played for the Twins.
  • One player (LHP Keith Garagozzo) was kept for about 2 months and then returned.
  • One player (SS Jose Morban) was lost on waivers.

If you look at the Rule 5 draft for the years of 1986-2011, a span of 26 years when Andy MacPhail, Bill Smith, and Terry Ryan have sat in the GM’s chair, there were no Rule 5 selections 9 times or 35% of the time. Of the 17 selections that were made, only outfielder Shane Mack in 1989 and LHP Gary Wayne in 1988 were kept on the roster all season. In four instances, LHP Scott Diamond in 2010, RHP Jason Jones in 2008, Alejandro Machado in 2006, and LHP Johan Santana in 1999 the Twins worked out a trade to keep the player but only two of the four actually played for the Twins, Diamond and Santana. Technically Johan Santana isn’t a true Twins Rule 5 pick since they actually picked Jared Camp in 1999 and then traded him to the Florida Marlins for Johan Santana and cash. If you look at the positions selected in the 1986-2011 timeframe you will find the Twins selecting a RHP 6 times, a LHP 4 times, an OF 4 times and a shortstop on 3 occassions.

If I ranked the top 5 Twins Rule 5 selections I would rank them in this order, number 1 would be LHP Johan Santana even though he was not actually selected by Minnesota. Second I would go with OF Shane Mack, in third place I have RHP Doug Corbett for his record as a Twins closer and the fact that the Twins then included him in a trade that brought in Tom Brunansky. Fourth I have 1B/OF and PH Rich Reese. I have LHP Scott Diamond as number 5 right now but he could move up the list depending on how his career progresses. I think the biggest star that the Twins lost over the years in the Rule 5 draft was OF Reggie Smith when the Boston Red Sox stole him in 1963. Smith was actually signed by the Twins in June of 1963 as a shortstop and went on to have a great 17 year career with the Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers and Giants. The best Rule 5 draft selection ever has to be HOF outfielder Roberto Clemente whom the Pittsburgh Pirates picked in 1954 from the Brooklyn Dodgers. There are some pretty good Rule 5 picks playing today like Jose Bautista with the Blue Jays, free agent Josh Hamilton, free agent Joakim Soria, Dan Uggla of the Braves, free agent Shane Victorino, and the Nats Jayson Werth.

Twins historical Rule 5 picks

UPDATE – 2013 – The Twins made no selctions in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

UPDATE – 2012 – The Twins who had the fourth selection have selected RHP Ryan Pressly from the Boston Red Sox.

2011 – Twins picked second and took RHP Terry Doyle from the Chicago White Sox but returned him to the White Sox organization. I think he pitched in Japan in 2012.

2010 – Twins had the 12th pick and took LHP Scott Diamond from the Atlanta Braves. The Twins then worked out a trade (Billy Bullock) with Atlanta to keep him. Diamond pitched in 7 games for the Twins in 2011 going 1-5 before spending most of 2012 in Minnesota going 12-9 and was the teams best starting pitcher.

2009 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

2008 – Twins picked number 14 and took RHP Jason Jones from the New York Yankees. Twins sent Charles Nolte to the Yankees to keep Jones but they kept him for only one season and now neither Jones or Nolte is in pro ball.

2007 – Twins made no selections but lost RHP Tim Lahey (who the Twins drafted as a catcher in 2004) who was chosen number 1 by Tampa Bay who then traded him to the Chicago Cubs who then waived him and the Phillies picked him up on waivers and had him on their roster for a week or so but Lahey saw no game action and was returned to Minnesota but never got above AAA again and is out of baseball. The Seattle Mariners took RHP R.A. Dickey from the Twins with the 12th pick and eventually worked out a trade to keep Dickey by sending Jair Fernandez to Minnesota. Dickey again became a free agent after 2008 resigning with Minnesota where he pitched in 2009 before again becoming a free agent and signing with the Mets and pitching there 2010-2012 and this past season he won the NL Cy Young award. The Twins ended up losing outfielder Garrett Guzman to the Washington Nationals with the 16th pick and the Nationals ended up making some kind of an unknown deal to keep Guzman but he never reached the big leagues.

2006 – The Twins picked 15th and took infielder Alejandro Machado from the Nationals and worked out some kind of a trade to keep him and he was in the minor league system for a couple of years but never again reached the majors after playing 10 games for the Red Sox in 2005. The Twins lost RHP Kevin Cameron to the San Diego Padres with pick 13 and Cameron spent 2007 and part of 2008 with the Padres and part of 2009 in Oakland and then left baseball. The Washington Nationals took Levale Speigner from the Twins with the 17th pick and then returned him in June and then a couple of days later worked out a trade with Minnesota giving up outfielder Darnell McDonald.

2005 – The Twins drafted outfielder Jason Pridie from Tampa with the 9th pick but returned him to Tampa. Then in 2007 the Twins reacquired him in the Matt Garza for Delmon Young trade in November 2007. Pridie played in 10 games with Minnesota in 2008 and 1 game in 2009.

2004 – The Twins had the 9th pick and selected RHP Ryan Rowland-Smith from the Seattle Mariners but returned him in March 2005. The Arizona Diamondbacks had the first pick and chose RHP Angel Garcia from the Twins organization but returned him and Gracia never pitched in the big leagues.

2003 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

2002 – The Twins had the 15th pick and chose shortstop Jose Morban from the Texas Rangers. The Rangers apparently did not want Morban back so the Twins tried to slip him through waivers but the Baltimore Orioles claimed him in March 2003 and kept him on the roster all season. Morban played a total of 61 big league games for the Orioles in 2003 and never appeared in the majors again.

2001 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

2000 – Twins used the number 2 selection to take RHP Brandon Knight from the New York Yankees but then returned him in March 2001. Knight appeared in 11 games for the Yankees in 2001-2002 and in 4 games for the Mets in 2008.

1999 – The Twins had the first pick and selected RHP Jared Camp from the Cleveland Indians and the Florida Marlins chose second and took LHP Johan Santana from the Houston Astros organization. That same day the Twins traded Camp to the Marlins for Johan Santana and cash. I guess the Twins thought they could make a few bucks by taking Camp and flipping him for Santana. Camp never appeared in a big league game and we all know the Johan Santana history after spending all of 2000 with Minnesota and appearing in 30 games.

1998 – The Twins selected number 5 and took shortstop Joey Espada from the Oakland A’s organization but returned him and Espada never made a big league roster as a player. The White Sox had pick 9 and took RHP Walker Chapman from Minnesota but returned him and Walker never even got a sniff of the bigs.

1997 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1996 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1995 – The Twins used their first pick to select RHP Joe Jacobsen from the LA Dodgers organization but returned him and Jacobsen never appeared in a major league game. The Orioles used the 11th pick to select outfielder Kimera Bartee from Minnesota but then tried to slip him through waivers and lost him to the Detroit Tigers who kept him on the roster in 2006.

1994 – The Twins selected 12th and selected outfielder Brian Kowitz from the Braves organization but returned him. Kowitz appeared in a total of 10 big league games all for Atlanta.

1993 – The Twins have the 6th pick and use it to select LHP Keith Garagozzo from the Yankee system and keep him for about a month in 1994 during which time he pitches 9.1 innings in 7 games and gives up 10 earned runs on 9 hits to go along with 13 walks and the Twins send him back to the Yankees. Garagozzo never spends another day in the big leagues.

1992 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins but lose RHP Kerry Taylor when the San Diego Padres take him with the 8th pick. Taylor spends the 1993 season with San Diego and pitches in 1 game for the Padres in 1994 before being sent down and never returns to the big leagues.

1991 – The Twins select 10th and take RHP Jesse Cross from the Toronto Blue Jays but end up returning him and Cross never makes it to the big leagues.

1990 – The Twins have the first selection and use it to acquire outfielder Pat Howell from the New York Mets but then return him and Howell ends up playing 32 games for the Mets in 1992. In a tit for tat move the Mets then select LHP Doug Simons from the Twins and keep him on the roster all of 1991 before trading him to the Expos where he appeared in only 7 more big league games.

1989 – The Twins use their 5th pick to select outfielder Shane Mack from the San Diego Padres and he goes on to play for the Twins for the next five years including the 1991 World Championship team. Mack ends up having a nice 9 year MLB career.

1988 – The Twins use the 10th pick to select LHP Gary Wayne from the Montreal Expos and Wayne sticks with the Twins from 1989-1992 before spending his final 2 big league seasons in Colorado and the Dodgers.

1987 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1986 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1985 – The Twins pick last (in the 9 hole) and select RHP Tom Burns from the New York Mets but end up sending him back to the Mets.

1984 – The Twins select 7th and take catcher Mark Salas from the St. Louis Cardinals and end up keeping him in 1985-1986 and part of 1987 before trading him to the Yankees in 1987 for Joe Niekro. Salas ends up with an 8 year career in the majors. The Tigers pick 11th and take outfielder Jim Weaver from the Twins organization and keep him for almost 2 months before returning him. Weaver spends parts of 3 different seasons in the bigs with 3 different teams.

1983 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1982 – The Twins pick in the 2 hole and take Detroit Tigers LHP Paul Gibson and the Twins some how end up keeping him in the minors for 2 seasons before he is declared a free agent and resigns with the Tigers. Gibson never pitches for the Twins but spends all or part of 8 seasons pitching in the major leagues for 3 different teams.

1981 – The Twins take the third player chosen RHP Paul Boris from the New York Yankees  and return him on April 2, 1982 but on April 10th they acquire Paul Boris, Ron Davis, and Greg Gagne from the Yankees and part ways with Roy Smalley. Boris appeared in 23 games for the Twins in 1982 and that was the sum total of his big league career.

1980 – The Twins selected two players that year and they took RHP Don Cooper from the Yankee organization with the number 8 pick and he spent the season with Minnesota going 1-5 with a 4.30 ERA. In 58.2 innings Cooper allowed 61 hits, 32 walks and he struck out 33. Cooper pitched briefly for the Twins in 1982, the Blue Jays in 1983, and the Yankees in 1985. Cooper has been the Chicago White Sox pitching coach since 2002. With the 15th pick the Twins selected LHP Jack O’Connor from the Montreal Expos organization and he pitched for the Twins from 1981-1984 and during that period he was 13-14 with a 4.99 ERA in 318.2 inning walking 163 and striking out 177.

1979 – There were 10 players chosen in the Rule 5 draft this year and the Twins took three of them. With the 4th pick they chose infielder Guy Sularz from the San Francisco Giants but returned him before the season started. Sularz spent time with the GIants from 1980-1983. The Twins selected RHP Dave Moore with the 9th overall pick from the Cincinnati Reds and must have worked out some kind of a deal with the Reds because Moore spent the 1980 season with AAA Toledo but moved on after that never reaching the majors. With the last pick, number 10 overall the Twins selected RHP Doug Corbett from the Reds and Corbett was actually a decent reliever for the Twins from 1980-1982 saving 43 games and posting a 2.49 ERA before being traded to the Angels as part of the Tom Brunansky acquisition. In 1982 Corbett led the league in pitching appearances with 54.

1978 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1977 – With the third overall selection the Twins chose RHP John Sutton from the St. Louis Cardinals. Sutton appeared in 17 games for the Twins in 1978 and never again pitched in a big league game.

1976 – With the sixth pick the Twins took outfielder Rich Chiles from the Houston Astros who spent the 1977-1978 seasons in Minnesota in a utility role. Chiles previously had brief big league appearances with the Astros in 71, 72 and 76 and with the Mets in 73.

1975 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1974 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1973 – With the fifth overall pick the Twins selected shortstop Sergio Ferrer from the Dodger organization. Ferrer played sparingly for the Twins in 1974 and again in 1975 before being traded. Ferrer played briefly for the Mets in 78 and 79.

1972 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1971 – The Twins made no Rule 5 selections this year but lost outfielder Brant Alyea when the Oakland A’s took him with the 9th pick. Alyea had big league experience with the Washington Senators in 1965, 1968, 1969 and the Twins in 1970 and 1971. Alyea played a few games for the A’s and Cardinals in 1972.

1970 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1969 – The Twins had the number 7 pick and selected RHP Hal Haydel from the San Francisco Giants and Haydel pitched in 4 games for the Twins in 1970 and in 31 games in 1971 and that was the sum total of his big league career. An interesting footnote is that Haydel is the only Twins pitcher to hit a home run (his one and only) in his first big league game. Haydel also hit a double in his first big league plate appearance. With the 19th and last pick the Giants then selected catcher Mike Sadek from the Twins. I am not sure what transpired here but the Giants kept Sadek but he did not play for them until 1973 and again from 1975-1981.

1968 – The Twins did not select any players but they did lose RHP Moe Ogier whom the LA Angels selected with the fourth overall pick. Ogier never reached the big leagues.

1967 – With the 4th overall pick the Twins selected catcher Bruce Look from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Look appeared in 59 games in 1968. The Twins also picked fifth and took outfielder Jim Holt from the Oakland A’s. Holt played for Minnesota off and on from 1968-1974 before the Twins traded him back to Oakland. The Twins lost outfielder Sandy Valdespino when the Atlanta Braves selected him with the 10th overall pick. Valdespino had played for Minnesota from 1965-1967. The Twins also lost RHP Bob Castiglione when the Atlanta Braves chose him second overall in the “First Year Rule” portion of the draft. Castiglione never reached the majors.

1966 –  The Twins lost shortstop Orlando Martinez to the Atlanta Braves when they selected him 6th overall. Martinez had previously played in 37 games for Minnesota back in 1962. Martinez had a 6 year big league career as a utility player for six different teams in 1962, and 1967-1972. The Twins only selection was in the “First Year Rule” portion of the draft when they selected infielder Greg Werdick who never got above AA ball and was probably returned by the Twins since I can’t find him appearing in any minor league games for the Twins either.

1965 – No rule 5 selections for the Twins

1964 – The Twins neither acquired nor lost any players in the regular portion of the draft but in the “First Year Rule” part of the draft they acquired shortstop Jim Jenkins from the Dodgers, shortstop Dennis Reeve from the Cardinals, 2B Ron Theobald from the Cubs, 2B Lewis Nelson from the Houston Col 45’s, and 2B Leonard Boryca from the Red Sox. From this group of infielders, only Theobald reached the majors when he played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971-1972. In this same portion of the draft the Twins lost RHP Pete Magrini to the Red Sox and he appeared in 3 games there in 1966. They lost shortstop Thomas Dix to the White Sox but he never got to the big leagues. They lost RHP Daryl Farnsworth to the Cleveland Indians who also never attained major league ball. The Twins lost LHP Fred Scherman to the Detroit Tigers and he had an 8 year big league career with three different teams from 1969-1976. The Twins lost LHP John French to the LA Angels but French never got above “A” ball. The Twins also lost outfielder Gary Cortopassi to the Cubs, RHP Edward Hill to the Reds, RHP Jerry Lyscio to the Colt 45’s, and catcher Joe Beck to the Atlanta Braves but none of these guys had a sniff of the big leagues.

1963 – With the 7th selection the Twins chose 33 year-old RHP Bill Fischer from the Kansas City A’s. Fischer had 8 seasons of big league experience by the time  Twins selected with this pick and he pitched in just 9 games for Minnesota in 1964. One of the teams that Fischer had previously pitched for was the Washington Senators. While pitching for the Kansas City A’s, Fischer went almost 2 months and 84.1 innings without issuing a base on balls, a record that still stands today. In the “First Year Rule” part of the draft the Twins selected infielder Bill Bethea from the Cardinals and he played in 10 games for the Twins and that was the sum toal of his big league career. The Twins then selected infielder Jim Glover from the Tigers organization who then spent the next 8 years in the Twins system but never achieved big league status. Their next choice was LHP Jim Ollom who pitched in Minnesota in 66-67. Their final selection was 1B/OF Jeff Talbott but he left baseball after a couple of seasons never getting above “A” ball. In this same part of the draft the Twins lost Reggie Smith to the Red Sox. Smith actually started out as a shortstop with the Twins but the Red Sox moved him to the outfield.  Smith went on to become a seven time All-Star who had a wonderful 17 year career. Smith is probably the best player the Twins have ever lost in the Rule 5 draft. The next player the Twins lost in this same draft was LHP Rudy May to the Chicago White Sox who ended up winning 152 big league games over 16 seasons with the Angels, Yankees, Expos and Orioles. May was in the Twins, White Sox and Phillies organizations before making his major league debut with the Angels. The Twins lost 2B John Donaldson to the Kansas City A’s and he went on to have a 6 year major league career with the A’s in Kansas City and Oakland and with the Seattle Pilots. The Twins also lost RHP Larry Bohannon to the Colt 45’s but he never pitched in the majors. The New York Mets selected LHP Rob Gardner from the Twins and he pitched in the majors for all or parts of 8 years while winning a total of 14 games.

1962 – In 62 there were actually three Rule 5 drafts, the regular one and two “First Year Rule” drafts, one for players signed prior to December 3, 1961 and one for players signed after that date. In the normal Rule 5 the Twins selected 1B Charlie Keller Jr. with the 4th selection from the New York Yankees. Keller Jr. never amounted to anything and was returned. In Part I of the “First year Rule” draft the Twins took LHP Marvin Mecklenburg from the Cradinals but he never attained the major leagues. The Twins also selected 1B/OF Rich Reese from the Detroit Tigers and Reese had a nice 10 year big league run, nine years in a Twins uni. In the second portion of the “First Year Rule” draft the Twins selected RHP Wyatt Ross and LHP Richard Taaffe both from the Pirates but neither got above “A” ball. In the same portion of the draft the Twins lost outfielder Roger Sorenson to the Orioles but he too never played in the majors.

1961 – The Twins selected 3B George Banks from the Yankees and he played for the Twins briefly from 1962-1964. The Twins selected 2B John Goryl from the Dodgers and Goryl played a utility role for Minnesota from 1962-1964. Goryl also served as the Twins manager in 1980 and 1981. The Twins selected RHP Georges Maranda from the San Francisco Giants and he went 1-3 for the Twins in 1962. The Twins also took RHP Bruce Swango from the Yankees but he never reached the major leagues.

1960 – After playing as the Washington Senators in 1960 the team moved and became the Minnesota Twins and in the 1960 Rile 5 draft they took catcher Ron Henry from the Milwaukee Braves and he played in Minnesota briefly in 1961 and again in 1964. The Twins also selected LHP Gerry Arrigo who had a nice 10 year big league career and spent all or part of 1961-1964 with the Twins. The Twins also took LHP Gary Dotter from the Cardinals and he pitched in a total of 7 games for the Twins in 1961, and 1963-1964 and that was his entire big league career and his record was 0-0. The only player the Twins lost was RHP Jack Baldschun to the Phillies where he pitched from 1961-1965 before moving on to the Reds in 1966 and 1967 and the Padres in 1969 and 1970.

Some old newspaper clips about the Twins

The Minnesota Twins have had their ups and downs over the years and I ran across a variety of press clippings that pertained to the home-town nine and I thought that I would share them with you. Some are sad, some stupid, some funny and some historical but they are all part of Twins lore and history. Some will bring back some bad memories and other will cause you to to say, oh yes, I remember that. The clipping come from a variety of newspapers including the Boston Globe, Orlando Sentinel, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

April 12, 1985 – There will be no more spitting on the Minnesota Twins’ clubhouse floor. Nor will there be any more gum wrappers lying around or cramped dressing areas. The Twins Thursday unveiled the remodeled Metrodome clubhouse, done in the team’s colors of red, white and blue, with ash wood trim — the same color as baseball bats.”Some of these players make $800,000 a year, and they come in five or six hours before a game,” said architect David Shea, who was the principal designer for the remodeling.

June 30, 1985 (Peter Gammons – Boston Globe) – Billy Gardner got fired because (1) the Twins’ pitching fell apart, and (2) he simply is not in the mold of owner Carl Pohlad and GM Howard Fox. What can one say about a staff on which the only pitcher with an ERA under 4.20 was Frank Euefemia? Or when Ron Davis became so afraid of pitching that he hyperventilated in the bullpen and created excuses to beg out of games? Ray Miller was brought in to straighten out the pitching, and he is a man who deserves the chance. He needed to leave Baltimore, where his rapport with writers and his ambition had turned off pitchers and alienated fellow coaches.

September 20, 1985 – Baseball, as a business, is not for those with weak stomachs, says Carl Pohlad, who is completing his first full season as owner of the Minnesota Twins. Pohlad: ”I live and die every game. When I bought the team, I knew sports had more ups and downs than other businesses, and I thought I could cope. In my other enterprises, I can cope. But I have difficulty coping with a tough loss on the ball field.” Pohlad bought the Twins from long-time owner Calvin Griffith a little over a year ago. ”I used to think I was pretty good at managing stress,” the 69-year-old banking magnate told the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce.

July 29, 1986 – Amid rumors of his firing, Minnesota Twins Manager Ray Miller met Monday with top club officials to discuss the team’s poor performance and how to solve the problem. ”I’m not satisfied with the way the team’s been playing,” Twins President Howard Fox said in New York, where Minnesota faced the Yankees. ”I thought we’d be better than we’ve been. We’re re-evaluating the whole thing.” Fox said Twins owner Carl Pohlad has given him the authority to make any managerial change.

July 4, 1986 – Former Minnesota Twins’ farm director George Brophy, who resigned last January because of illness, will become a special assistant scout for the Houston Astros Aug. 1, he said. Brophy, 59, was struck in June 1985 by aplastic anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder. When Brophy still wasn’t back to work in January, Twins president Howard Fox asked him to take early retirement as part of a program established by owner Carl Pohlad for longtime employees. Brophy said he began to respond to a new form of treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

July 31, 1986 – Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad says he’s ”disappointed” with his struggling American League club but says he won’t comment on the future of Manager Ray Miller. Pohlad said ”we’re all disappointed” at the team’s record, which stood Wednesday morning at 43 and 57. ”I don’t like it, the fans don’t like it and neither does anybody else. We’re doing the best we can.”

September 13, 1986 – Tom Kelly, who guided the Orlando Twins to the Class AA Southern League pennant in 1981, was named manager of the Minnesota Twins on Friday for the remaining 23 games after Manager Ray Miller was fired. Kelly, 36, took over Friday night as interim manager after Minnesota President Howard Fox announced, ”It would be in the best interest of everyone concerned that the termination of Ray Miller’s position would take place at this time.””Our record games behind is exactly three games worse than it was last year at this time without a bullpen,” Miller said.

October 23, 1986 – The Minnesota Twins, who have said they hope to name a new manager by next week at the latest, have interviewed former Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs manager Jim Frey. Frey met for almost three hours Tuesday with Twins owner Carl Pohlad, said Pohlad’s son, Jim, a team director who was also in on the meeting. Jim Pohlad said the only candidates who have been recommended by Twins Vice President Andy MacPhail are Frey and Tom Kelly. Kelly, the Twins’ third-base coach for the last three years and former Orlando Twins manager, served as interim manager for the final three weeks of the 1986 season after Ray Miller was fired.

May 19, 1988 (Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel) – The way I understand it, the Minnesota Twins will honor Orlando with their presence each spring only if the city gives them some choice property, presumably a chunk with a lakefront view. The Twins want freebie land to develop for economic opportunities outside of baseball, and if they don’t get it they’ll leave for Fort Myers in 1990.To the Twins, I say so long, goodbye and don’t let the door hit you in your pinstriped behinds. Baseball fans, calm yourselves. City fathers want the Twins to stay.

November 1, 1988 (Tim Povtak, Orlando Sentinel) – The ”privatization” of Tinker Field, which would give the Minnesota Twins almost total control of the baseball complex, is key to an arrangement that has brought Orlando and the major-league team close to signing a 10-year contract for spring training.Twins owner Carl Pohlad and much of his administrative staff met for an hour with city officials Monday in Mayor Bill Frederick’s office, discussing major points in the agreement.The Twins, who have one more year on their contract, and the city have been negotiating for more than a year.

January 10, 1989 – The Minnesota Twins will continue making Orlando their spring training base, at least for the next 10 years, if the professional baseball team agrees to a settlement offered Monday by the Orlando City Council.The council offered to pay $3 million over the next three years for the Twins to build new major and minor-league clubhouses, batting tunnels and a grandstand at Tinker Field. The city also relinquished its rights to concession and parking revenues associated with Tinker Field and agreed to provide 6,000 square feet in office space for team officials at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

January 26, 1989 (Larry Guest, Orlando Sentinel) – Spring baseball long has been a time of charm and grace, a respite of innocence when reality gave way to fantasy. It was six weeks of green grass and a warming sun, a genteel preamble of wind sprints and good will before the hard competition and grim business of the regular season took over.It was a ritual for the romantics, a flashback to the simpler times.Never has the passing of that poppycock been made more crystal clear than by the hard capitalists in charge of today’s Minnesota Twins.

February 3, 1989 – Minnesota Twins General Manager Andy MacPhail says the Twins should not be portrayed as ”Northern carpetbaggers” in their negotiations with the city of Orlando. MacPhail says the Twins simply are keeping up with the business of modern baseball.Orlando has been the spring-training home of the Twins for 53 years, but that relationship is in jeopardy. The Twins want the city, which is asking for a 10-year commitment, to upgrade facilities at Tinker Field to accommodate both their minor and major-league players.

October 8, 1991 – He says his job is tougher because he works in one of the smallest baseball cities, but Vice President/General Manager Andy MacPhail has excelled, and Monday he was given a new 3-year contract that will carry through the 1994 season.The contract is the first MacPhail has had with the Twins, having worked the past six years on 1-year agreements.”I’m very grateful to owner Carl Pohlad,” MacPhail said. ”There is no one I would rather work for than Carl Pohlad or nowhere that I would rather live and work than where I am.’MacPhail, 38, said the difference between making decisions in Minnesota rather than in New York or Los Angeles is that ”we have to balance everything in terms of affordability”.

October 16, 1995 – Thelma Griffith Haynes, the former co-owner and executive of the Minnesota Twins baseball club, died Sunday, Oct. 15. She was 82. Haynes of Lexington Parkway, Orlando, who co-owned the team with her brother, Calvin Griffith of Melbourne, sold it to Carl Pohlad in 1984. Her father, Clark Griffith Sr., founded the Washington Senators in the early 1920s. The family moved the ball club to Minnesota in 1961. Orlando was the team’s spring training site from the 1930s until 1990. Born in Montreal, Canada, she moved to Central Florida in 1982.

May 28, 1997 – Angered that the Minnesota Legislature took no action on their stadium proposal during this year’s regular session, the Minnesota Twins reiterated Tuesday that they will ask for permission to sell or move the team.The club hopes to get that approval at the June 10-12 owners meetings in Philadelphia and immediately would begin taking offers. ”We set out to get an answer from the people of Minnesota. We were told that answer was to be given through the Legislature,” said Bob Pohlad, son of Twins owner Carl Pohlad.

October 7, 1997 – Major league baseball would allow the Twins to leave Minnesota, Gov. Arne Carlson said after meeting Monday in Milwaukee with acting commissioner Bud Selig. Carlson made the comment after he and a group of legislators flew to Milwaukee to ask Selig how Twins owner Carl Pohlad’s deal to sell the Twins to North Carolina businessman Don Beaver would fare with team owners. Pohlad has said he can’t afford to lose any more money in the Metrodome, and that the team must have a baseball-only stadium with revenue from suites, club seating, and other amenities.

November 19, 1997 – The Twins moved a step closer to North Carolina when baseball appointed a five-man committee Tuesday to guide the team through the sport’s relocation rules. The Minnesota Legislature last week defeated a proposal to finance a new ballpark, and Pohlad has an agreement with North Carolina businessman Don Beaver to negotiate a sale unless stadium financing is approved by Nov. 30. Beaver has said he would apply to move the team to North Carolina following the 1998 season.

December 4, 1997 – Paul Molitor, who returned home to the Twins in 1996 and became the 21st player in history to top 3,000 hits, is expected to play elsewhere in 1998, which could be his final season. Ron Simon, Molitor’s agent, said Molitor probably will sign with Toronto or Baltimore by Monday because he is unwilling to play for the Twins in what could be a lame-duck season in Minnesota. Owner Carl Pohlad has an agreement to sell the team to a North Carolina businessman, and the team could move after ’98 unless it gets a new stadium.

July 20, 1998 – Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad plans to work out a lease that will keep his team playing at the Metrodome for the next two years, according to a published report. The Minneapolis Star Tribune cited an unnamed source close to Pohlad, who said Pohlad would work out the lease in the hope of finding a way to build a new baseball stadium.The Twins and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission are scheduled for a settlement hearing today. The commission has filed a lawsuit trying to block the Twins from exercising an escape clause that would let them out of their Metrodome lease after this season.

November 7, 2001 (Phil Rogers) – In a move almost certain to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos, Major League Baseball owners voted Tuesday to authorize Commissioner Bud Selig to fold two teams before the 2002 season. If the plan goes through, it will mark the first time since 1899 that Major League Baseball has closed an existing franchise. “We’re plowing historic ground here,” Selig said. Selig said the teams to be dissolved were not identified specifically during a meeting of owners and that there are more than two under consideration.

November 17, 2001 – JUDGE: TWINS MUST PLAY – Baseball was barred from eliminating the Minnesota Twins next season when a judge Friday ordered the team to play its 2002 home schedule in the Metrodome. Twins owner Carl Pohlad also was ordered not to sell the team unless the new owner agrees to have the team play its 2002 home schedule in the ballpark. The decision by Hennepin County District Judge Harry Seymour Crump throws into question last week’s vote by baseball owners to eliminate two major-league teams next season.

December 23, 2001 – Alabama businessman Donald Watkins, who wants to buy the Twins, shook hands with nearly 200 avid fans Saturday at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. “The weather may be cold up here, but the reception is warm,” said Watkins, who hopes to meet with officials of the commissioner’s office on Jan. 10 to discuss a possible purchase of the team. Current owner Carl Pohlad wants out after failing to gain approval of government financing for a new ballpark.

March 31, 2002 – An enjoyable summer could follow the lousy winter. After dealing with Commissioner Bud Selig, Carl Pohlad and other embarrassments to the grand old game during the offseason, it’s the fans who needed to hit the showers. They wanted to feel clean again. Along the way, the Twins became America’s Team, gamely fighting off contraction and vowing to contend. Everyone loves the underdog, so people from all over will be pulling for the plucky Twins. Pulling for the Minnesota ball club feels good because it’s like casting a vote against big, corrupt business — as represented by the owners who tried to make the franchise disappear.

August 17, 2002 – The axe is now hovering over Cinderella’s head, ready to ruin baseball’s best story. But for what it’s worth, sports fans, the executioners feel your pain. “It’s not the players who are hurting,” Denny Hocking said. “It’s not the owners who are hurting. It’s the fans.” If fans were paid by the lip service they receive, they’d all be Alex Rodriguez. For all the supposed angst, players started the Doomsday Clock. T-minus two weeks until the ninth work stoppage since 1972.

 

Would Tom Kelly take Orioles job?

June 4, 2010 – I have to wonder, what would happen if Andy MacPhail the Orioles president of baseball operations would offer the Orioles manager job to Tom Kelly. The history obviously goes back a long ways and MacPhail gave TK his first opportunity to manage in the big leagues. The word seems to be that the Orioles need a “kick-ass” manager; I think TK fits that role to a “T”. The team has some good young players but to date they have not performed. Maybe an old east coast guy like TK would take the helm once again to help an old friend in Baltimore.

Another rumor circulating now connects Minnesota and Baltimore and supposedly the Orioles are interested in a shortstop and rumor has it that Trevor Plouffe is one of their targets. The Orioles are looking to unload starting pitcher Kevin Millwood who is 0-6 I think but has not pitched that badly. Would the Twins pull the trigger on a deal like that? Then again, how serious is Hardy’s injury? I can’t help but be a bit worried about what is going on with Hardy.