Tag: Bob Allison

Twins and post season play

As 2014 is coming to an end it is a good time to look back on another Twins season, their fourth in a row without post season play. But you have to be a winner to make post season play and the Twins have been anything but a winner the last few years. It has been a toss-up when you try to determine who has been more inept, the Twins players on the field or the ownership and Twins executives that sit behind their desks and make the decisions that determine the experience that Twins fans will have to live with during the up-coming season.

The Twins have had many losing seasons over the years and the real core Twins fans complained but they accepted the team they had and they looked forward to the next season with renewed hope for more wins “next year”. But it is seems different now, I am not sure why, maybe the fans are more passionate, maybe it is social media that allows Twins fans to better express their frustrations but today’s Twins fans are just plain mad and disgusted with the caliber of play their home team has displayed since the 2010 ended. Hopefully the Minnesota Twins organization feels some of the passion that Twins fans have and will start to look at the product from the fans perspective and see what they can do to make the fans experience a little more fun and and not so tough on the wallet.

Since the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins the team has played 8,617 regular season games, winning 4,274, losing 4,335 and playing to a tie on eight occasions in 54 seasons of play. Boy, how time flies by, I still remember that 1961 season.

Looking back at Twins history they have two World Series winners and a third World Series appearance in which they lost game seven to Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition to the 8,617 regular season games the team has played a total of 64 post season games winning 25 and losing 39. Their last post season appearance was in 2010 and that brief playoff run lasted just three games when they were swept by the New York Yankees 3 games to zip. The teams last post season win was back in 2004 (if I am not mistaken that is about 10 years ago, YIKES!) when they beat the Yankees in game 1 of the ALDS series before losing the next three games.

So let’s take a look at the hitting and pitching statistics of the Minnesota Twins in post season play. Let’s see who stood out under the bright lights of post season play and who couldn’t or didn’t deliver when the pressure was on. The names you will see below will bring back many memories, some good, some bad, some sad and in some cases you will say “who in the hell is so and so, I don’t remember him”. But it is fun looking back.

 Hitting in Post Season (had at least one PA)

Rk Player #Matching PA ? AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP OPS SB
1 Dan Gladden 24 115 104 17 29 6 3 1 15 9 12 .279 .348 .771 7
2 Kirby Puckett 24 109 97 16 30 3 2 5 15 8 17 .309 .361 .897 3
3 Kent Hrbek 24 103 91 10 14 1 0 3 12 11 12 .154 .252 .516 0
4 Greg Gagne 24 96 89 12 19 5 0 4 10 5 22 .213 .271 .675 0
5 Torii Hunter 21 88 80 15 24 8 1 3 8 5 11 .300 .337 .875 2
6 Jacque Jones 18 79 76 6 15 5 0 2 5 1 23 .197 .215 .557 0
7 Michael Cuddyer 21 78 74 5 25 2 1 2 8 4 18 .338 .372 .845 0
8 Corey Koskie 18 78 67 8 15 4 1 1 9 7 21 .224 .321 .679 0
9 Cristian Guzman 18 75 67 9 16 3 0 1 2 5 12 .239 .301 .630 3
10 Doug Mientkiewicz 14 56 53 4 12 1 0 2 6 3 5 .226 .268 .626 0
11 Chuck Knoblauch 12 55 46 8 15 3 0 0 5 7 5 .326 .407 .799 6
12 Harmon Killebrew 13 54 40 6 10 1 0 3 6 14 10 .250 .444 .944 0
13 Tony Oliva 13 53 51 7 16 5 0 3 5 2 10 .314 .340 .928 1
14 Gary Gaetti 12 53 47 9 13 3 1 3 9 3 8 .277 .340 .914 2
15 A.J. Pierzynski 14 50 45 6 14 0 1 2 7 4 4 .311 .360 .849 0
16 Tom Brunansky 12 50 42 10 12 4 0 2 11 8 7 .286 .400 .924 1
17 Shane Mack 11 44 41 4 9 2 1 0 4 2 11 .220 .250 .567 2
18 Luis Rivas 14 43 38 3 6 1 0 0 1 2 9 .158 .195 .379 0
19 Tim Laudner 12 43 36 5 8 2 0 1 6 7 9 .222 .349 .710 0
20 Chili Davis 11 42 35 7 9 2 0 2 6 7 11 .257 .381 .867 1
21 Brian Harper 11 41 39 3 13 4 0 0 2 2 4 .333 .366 .802 0
22 Joe Mauer 9 39 35 1 10 1 0 0 1 4 7 .286 .359 .673 0
23 Shannon Stewart 8 38 35 1 10 2 0 0 2 2 6 .286 .316 .659 1
24 Steve Lombardozzi 11 37 32 5 11 1 0 1 5 4 4 .344 .417 .885 0
25 Jason Kubel 8 32 29 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 13 .069 .156 .260 0
26 Bob Allison 10 30 26 3 2 1 0 1 3 3 10 .077 .167 .397 1
27 Zoilo Versalles 7 30 28 3 8 1 1 1 4 2 7 .286 .333 .833 1
28 David Ortiz 9 29 29 0 8 3 0 0 4 0 10 .276 .276 .655 0
29 Justin Morneau 7 29 29 4 9 3 0 2 4 0 3 .310 .310 .931 0
30 Mike Pagliarulo 11 28 26 5 8 1 0 2 5 1 4 .308 .333 .910 0
31 Matt LeCroy 10 28 26 2 7 0 0 0 1 2 9 .269 .321 .591 0
32 Denard Span 6 28 28 1 10 1 0 0 1 0 2 .357 .357 .750 1
33 Delmon Young 6 27 24 2 5 1 1 0 0 2 6 .208 .296 .630 1
34 Cesar Tovar 6 27 26 2 6 0 1 0 1 1 2 .231 .259 .567 1
35 Randy Bush 11 26 22 5 5 1 1 0 4 3 4 .227 .308 .671 3
36 Frank Quilici 9 26 22 2 4 2 0 0 1 4 4 .182 .308 .580 0
37 Leo Cardenas 6 26 24 1 4 0 1 0 1 1 8 .167 .200 .450 0
38 Don Mincher 7 25 23 3 3 0 0 1 1 2 7 .130 .200 .461 0
39 Earl Battey 7 25 25 1 3 0 1 0 2 0 5 .120 .120 .320 0
40 Nick Punto 6 25 21 0 6 1 0 0 1 3 2 .286 .375 .708 0
41 Don Baylor 7 21 18 3 7 0 0 1 4 1 1 .389 .476 1.032 0
42 Joe Nossek 6 21 20 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200 .200 .400 0
43 Rich Reese 5 21 19 0 3 0 0 0 2 2 2 .158 .238 .396 0
44 Scott Leius 9 20 18 2 5 0 0 1 2 2 3 .278 .350 .794 0
45 Rod Carew 5 17 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 .063 .118 .180 0
46 George Mitterwald 4 16 15 2 5 1 0 0 2 1 5 .333 .375 .775 0
47 Dustan Mohr 7 15 14 4 7 2 0 0 0 1 4 .500 .533 1.176 1
48 Orlando Cabrera 3 15 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 .154 .267 .421 1
49 Lew Ford 4 14 12 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 .250 .357 .690 1
50 Luis Castillo 3 14 11 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 .273 .429 .701 0
51 Jim Thome 3 13 10 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 .100 .308 .408 0
52 Orlando Hudson 3 13 12 2 4 0 0 1 2 0 2 .333 .333 .917 0
53 Gene Larkin 12 12 11 1 3 1 0 0 2 1 1 .273 .333 .697 0
54 Rondell White 3 12 12 1 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 .417 .417 1.167 0
55 Brendan Harris 3 12 12 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 .250 .250 .667 0
56 Al Newman 6 11 9 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 1 .222 .300 .744 0
57 Sandy Valdespino 5 11 11 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 .273 .273 .636 0
58 Danny Valencia 3 11 9 1 2 1 0 0 2 1 3 .222 .273 .606 0
59 Jason Bartlett 3 11 11 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 .273 .273 .636 0
60 Henry Blanco 4 10 8 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 2 .250 .222 .847 0
61 J.J. Hardy 3 10 10 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 .100 .100 .300 0
62 Danny Thompson 3 9 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .125 .222 .472 0
63 Mudcat Grant 3 9 8 3 2 1 0 1 3 0 1 .250 .250 1.000 0
64 Brant Alyea 3 9 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 .222 .222 0
65 Bobby Kielty 7 8 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 .000 .125 .125 0
66 Junior Ortiz 4 8 8 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .125 .125 .250 0
67 Jason Tyner 2 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000 .250 .250 1
68 Jimmie Hall 2 8 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 .143 .250 .393 0
69 Jim Kaat 4 7 7 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 6 .143 .143 .286 0
70 Rick Renick 3 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 .167 .333 0
71 Denny Hocking 3 6 6 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .500 .500 1.167 0
72 Ted Uhlaender 2 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 .167 .333 0
73 Matt Tolbert 2 6 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200 .333 .533 0
74 Carlos Gomez 1 6 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .333 .333 0
75 John Roseboro 2 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 .200 .400 0
76 Jim Holt 2 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
77 Paul Sorrento 4 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 .250 .250 0
78 Roy Smalley 4 4 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 .500 .750 1.750 0
79 Jim Perry 2 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
80 Paul Ratliff 1 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250 .250 .500 0
81 Dave Boswell 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 .000 .000 0
82 Rich Rollins 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .333 .333 0
83 Jose Offerman 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
84 Tom Prince 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
85 Phil Nevin 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
86 Jose Morales 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
87 Sal Butera 1 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 1.333 0
88 Charlie Manuel 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .500 .500 0
89 Les Straker 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
90 Jack Morris 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
91 Jarvis Brown 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
92 Pat Borders 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
93 Bert Blyleven 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
94 Jerry Zimmerman 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
95 Dick Woodson 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 0
96 Stan Williams 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000 0
97 Frank Viola 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
98 Kevin Tapani 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
99 Mike Ryan 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
100 Ron Perranoski 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
101 Camilo Pascual 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
102 Graig Nettles 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 0
103 Tom Hall 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
104 Scott Erickson 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
105 Mark Davidson 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
106 Rick Aguilera 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/17/2014.

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Pitching in Post Season (faced at least one batter)

Rk Player #Matching W L W-L% ERA GS CG SHO SV IP ? H ER HR BB SO WHIP
1 Jack Morris 5 4 0 1.000 2.23 5 1 1 0 36.1 35 9 1 10 22 1.24
2 Brad Radke 6 2 3 .400 3.60 6 0 0 0 35.0 37 14 6 8 17 1.29
3 Johan Santana 11 1 3 .250 3.97 5 0 0 0 34.0 35 15 2 10 32 1.32
4 Frank Viola 5 3 1 .750 4.31 5 0 0 0 31.1 31 15 3 8 25 1.24
5 Bert Blyleven 5 3 1 .750 3.18 4 0 0 0 28.1 27 10 3 5 23 1.13
6 Mudcat Grant 3 2 1 .667 2.74 3 2 0 0 23.0 22 7 3 2 12 1.04
7 Kevin Tapani 4 1 2 .333 6.04 4 0 0 0 22.1 29 15 1 5 16 1.52
8 Jim Perry 5 0 1 .000 6.75 2 0 0 0 17.1 21 13 6 6 10 1.56
9 Joe Mays 3 1 1 .500 4.76 3 0 0 0 17.0 21 9 4 2 4 1.35
10 Jim Kaat 4 1 3 .250 4.41 4 1 0 0 16.1 24 8 1 4 7 1.71
11 Eric Milton 3 1 0 1.000 1.65 2 0 0 0 16.1 13 3 2 3 9 0.98
12 Scott Erickson 3 0 0 4.91 3 0 0 0 14.2 13 8 4 9 7 1.50
13 Dave Boswell 2 0 1 .000 1.35 1 0 0 0 13.1 10 2 0 9 7 1.43
14 Carl Pavano 2 0 2 .000 4.15 2 0 0 0 13.0 15 6 3 1 12 1.23
15 Carl Willis 7 0 0 2.92 0 0 0 0 12.1 8 4 2 2 5 0.81
16 Kyle Lohse 5 0 2 .000 3.00 1 0 0 0 12.0 9 4 1 2 14 0.92
17 Les Straker 3 0 0 6.94 3 0 0 0 11.2 12 9 1 7 7 1.63
18 Rick Reed 3 0 2 .000 8.18 2 0 0 0 11.0 15 10 6 2 8 1.55
19 Juan Berenguer 7 0 1 .000 5.23 0 0 0 1 10.1 11 6 1 3 7 1.35
20 Jeff Reardon 8 1 1 .500 2.70 0 0 0 3 10.0 12 3 1 3 8 1.50
21 J.C. Romero 12 0 1 .000 5.59 0 0 0 0 9.2 10 6 1 6 7 1.66
22 Juan Rincon 8 0 0 5.19 0 0 0 0 8.2 6 5 1 6 9 1.38
23 Dan Schatzeder 5 1 0 1.000 3.12 0 0 0 0 8.2 6 3 0 3 8 1.04
24 Rick Aguilera 7 1 1 .500 1.08 0 0 0 5 8.1 7 1 0 1 6 0.96
25 Brian Duensing 2 0 2 .000 11.25 2 0 0 0 8.0 14 10 2 2 4 2.00
26 Joe Nathan 6 0 1 .000 4.70 0 0 0 1 7.2 8 4 1 6 9 1.83
27 Francisco Liriano 2 0 0 5.87 1 0 0 0 7.2 7 5 1 4 8 1.43
28 Ron Perranoski 5 0 1 .000 10.29 0 0 0 0 7.0 13 8 0 1 5 2.00
29 LaTroy Hawkins 10 1 0 1.000 6.75 0 0 0 0 6.2 9 5 0 1 11 1.50
30 Mark Guthrie 6 1 1 .500 1.35 0 0 0 0 6.2 3 1 0 4 3 1.05
31 Tom Hall 3 0 1 .000 6.00 1 0 0 0 6.0 6 4 1 4 6 1.67
32 Stan Williams 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 6.0 2 0 0 1 2 0.50
33 Boof Bonser 1 0 0 3.00 1 0 0 0 6.0 7 2 0 1 3 1.33
34 David West 4 1 0 1.000 6.35 0 0 0 0 5.2 3 4 1 8 4 1.94
35 Nick Blackburn 1 0 0 1.59 1 0 0 0 5.2 3 1 0 2 3 0.88
36 Al Worthington 3 0 0 1.69 0 0 0 0 5.1 5 1 0 2 3 1.31
37 Eddie Guardado 5 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 3 5.0 10 5 2 2 5 2.40
38 Carlos Silva 1 0 1 .000 10.80 1 0 0 0 5.0 10 6 1 0 1 2.00
39 Camilo Pascual 1 0 1 .000 5.40 1 0 0 0 5.0 8 3 0 1 0 1.80
40 Matt Guerrier 5 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 4.2 1 0 0 1 4 0.43
41 Steve Bedrosian 5 0 0 3.86 0 0 0 0 4.2 6 2 0 2 4 1.71
42 Jim Merritt 2 0 0 2.70 0 0 0 0 3.1 2 1 0 0 1 0.60
43 Jon Rauch 5 0 0 3.00 0 0 0 0 3.0 1 1 0 2 1 1.00
44 Terry Mulholland 1 0 0 3.00 0 0 0 0 3.0 3 1 1 0 0 1.00
45 Dick Woodson 2 0 0 10.12 0 0 0 0 2.2 5 3 0 4 2 3.38
46 Johnny Klippstein 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.2 2 0 0 2 3 1.50
47 Brian Fuentes 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.2 1 0 0 0 2 0.38
48 Grant Balfour 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.2 0 0 0 0 2 0.00
49 Terry Leach 2 0 0 3.86 0 0 0 0 2.1 2 1 0 0 2 0.86
50 Scott Baker 1 0 0 3.86 0 0 0 0 2.1 3 1 1 0 2 1.29
51 Jose Mijares 5 0 1 .000 4.50 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 1 1 2 0 1.50
52 Joe Niekro 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 1.00
53 George Frazier 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0.50
54 Dean Chance 1 0 0 13.50 0 0 0 0 2.0 4 3 1 0 2 2.00
55 Michael Jackson 4 0 0 16.20 0 0 0 0 1.2 6 3 0 2 2 4.80
56 Jesse Crain 4 0 1 .000 16.20 0 0 0 0 1.2 7 3 2 1 1 4.80
57 Ron Mahay 3 0 0 5.40 0 0 0 0 1.2 0 1 0 1 2 0.60
58 Keith Atherton 3 0 0 5.40 0 0 0 0 1.2 1 1 0 1 0 1.20
59 Bob Miller 1 0 1 .000 5.40 1 0 0 0 1.2 5 1 0 0 0 3.00
60 Bill Zepp 2 0 0 6.75 0 0 0 0 1.1 2 1 1 2 2 3.00
61 Kenny Rogers 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 1.1 1 0 0 1 3 1.50
62 Tony Fiore 1 0 0 20.25 0 0 0 0 1.1 4 3 0 2 0 4.50
63 Bob Wells 2 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 0 0 2 2.00
64 Dennys Reyes 2 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 1 2 0 3.00
65 Pat Neshek 2 0 1 .000 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 0 0 1 1.00
66 Bill Pleis 1 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 2.00
67 Matt Capps 1 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 0 0 0 2.00
68 Luis Tiant 1 0 0 13.50 0 0 0 0 0.2 1 1 1 0 0 1.50
69 Joe Grzenda 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
70 Glen Perkins 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 0 0 0 0 6.00
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/17/2014.

Since the Twins started play in 1961 through the 2014 season a total of 751 players have put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and appeared in a game either as a hitter or a pitcher. Only 162 of them or 21.57% have appeared in a Twins post season game over the 54 seasons the Twins have called Minnesota home.

Dozier to join a select group of Twins players

When Twins second baseman Brian Dozier scores his next run he will cross home plate for the 100th time this season and become just the 13th player in Twins history to score 100 or more runs in a single season. Twins players have scored 100 runs or more in a single season 19 times. Our old buddy Chuck Knoblauch did it four times (1992, 1995-1997) and in 1996 he scored an amazing 140 runs. The last player to score 100 or more runs for Minnesota was Michael Cuddyer when he scored 102 runs in 2006. Here is the complete list through September 5, 2014.

Brian Dozier
Brian Dozier
Rk Player R ? Year G PA AB H BB IBB SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1 Chuck Knoblauch 140 1996 153 701 578 197 98 6 45 .341 .448 .517 .965
2 Rod Carew 128 1977 155 694 616 239 69 15 23 .388 .449 .570 1.019
3 Zoilo Versalles 126 1965 160 728 666 182 41 3 27 .273 .319 .462 .781
4 Cesar Tovar 120 1970 161 726 650 195 52 5 30 .300 .356 .442 .798
5 Kirby Puckett 119 1986 161 723 680 223 34 4 20 .328 .366 .537 .903
6 Chuck Knoblauch 117 1997 156 716 611 178 84 6 62 .291 .390 .411 .800
7 Tony Oliva 109 1964 161 719 672 217 34 8 12 .323 .359 .557 .916
8 Kirby Puckett 109 1988 158 691 657 234 23 4 6 .356 .375 .545 .920
9 Tony Oliva 107 1965 149 647 576 185 55 12 19 .321 .378 .491 .870
10 Chuck Knoblauch 107 1995 136 629 538 179 78 3 46 .333 .424 .487 .911
11 Harmon Killebrew 106 1969 162 709 555 153 145 20 8 .276 .427 .584 1.011
12 Harmon Killebrew 105 1967 163 689 547 147 131 15 1 .269 .408 .558 .965
13 Lyman Bostock 104 1977 153 660 593 199 51 5 16 .336 .389 .508 .897
14 Kirby Puckett 104 1992 160 696 639 210 44 13 17 .329 .374 .490 .864
15 Chuck Knoblauch 104 1992 155 707 600 178 88 1 34 .297 .384 .358 .743
16 Bob Allison 102 1962 149 613 519 138 84 0 8 .266 .370 .511 .881
17 Michael Cuddyer 102 2006 150 635 557 158 62 5 6 .284 .362 .504 .867
18 Shane Mack 101 1992 156 692 600 189 64 1 26 .315 .394 .467 .860
19 Corey Koskie 100 2001 153 649 562 155 68 9 27 .276 .362 .488 .850
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/6/2014.

When Dozier joins this select list he will have the lowest batting average of any Twins player to score 100 or more runs in a season.

Baseball Triple Doubles

Triple Double StarsThe other day SABR member Clem Comly who also follows basketball wondered who the  “triple doubles” leader might be in baseball history. His search defined a “baseball triple double” as a player that had 2 or more runs, 2 or more hits, and 2 or more RBI in a single game. His used Retrosheet (1913-2014) in his calculations and determined that the all-time baseball leader in triple doubles was Babe Ruth with 247. Lou Gehrig was second with 204, Willie Mays and Alex (A-Rod) Rodriguez were tied for third with 191 and Hank Aaron was fifth with 188.

I though it might be fun to run a similar search for all of baseball during the time period of 1961 through 2014 since 1961 is the year the Minnesota Twins came into existence. I cut the list off at 100 meaning that you had to have at least 100 “triple double” games to make the list. It turns out to be a Whose Who of baseball hitting. You can almost use this list to see who might deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, assuming of course you excluded things like position played, fielding and the whole steroid situation.

Rk Player #Matching
1 Alex Rodriguez 191
2 Barry Bonds 184
3 Sammy Sosa 158
4 Manny Ramirez 157
5 Albert Pujols 152
6 Ken Griffey 143
7 Jim Thome 142
8 Chipper Jones 137
9 Gary Sheffield 134
10 Vladimir Guerrero 134
11 Frank Thomas 127
12 Jeff Bagwell 127
13 Hank Aaron 124
14 Jim Rice 123
15 Frank Robinson 122
16 Eddie Murray 122
17 Willie Stargell 121
18 Carl Yastrzemski 120
19 Mike Schmidt 119
20 Carlos Beltran 118
21 Billy Williams 117
22 Jason Giambi 117
23 Rafael Palmeiro 116
24 Carlos Delgado 115
25 Dave Winfield 114
26 Juan Gonzalez 113
27 Jose Canseco 113
28 Larry Walker 112
29 David Ortiz 111
30 Mark McGwire 111
31 Albert Belle 111
32 Todd Helton 109
33 Andre Dawson 109
34 Mike Piazza 107
35 Willie Mays 107
36 Reggie Jackson 107
37 Joe Carter 107
38 Willie McCovey 103
39 Jeff Kent 103
40 Andres Galarraga 102
41 Jim Edmonds 102
42 Cal Ripken 101
43 Alfonso Soriano 100
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/29/2014.

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The top five highest active players are Albert Pujols with 152, Carlos Beltran with 118, Jason Giambi with 117, David Ortiz with 111 and Alfonso Soriano with 100. Future Hall of Famers? We will have to wait and see.

2006 - present script logo for BP

I also used the same “triple double” criteria to determine who the Minnesota Twins “triple double” leaders are and I used a cutoff of 30 games.

Rk Player #Matching
1 Harmon Killebrew 83 Ind. Games
2 Kirby Puckett 82 Ind. Games
3 Tony Oliva 71 Ind. Games
4 Kent Hrbek 57 Ind. Games
5 Justin Morneau 53 Ind. Games
6 Joe Mauer 45 Ind. Games
7 Bob Allison 44 Ind. Games
8 Gary Gaetti 43 Ind. Games
9 Torii Hunter 36 Ind. Games
10 Jacque Jones 35 Ind. Games
11 Larry Hisle 31 Ind. Games
12 Michael Cuddyer 31 Ind. Games
13 Rod Carew 30 Ind. Games
14 Tom Brunansky 30 Ind. Games
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/29/2014.

I am surprised to see Jacques Jones on this list. Larry Hisle only played in Minnesota for five seasons but he put up some nice numbers during his stay here and a lot of Twins fans have no idea who he is.

This Day in Twins History – April 12

April 12, 1965 – In Minnesota, the Yankees drop their second straight 11 inning opener, as the Twins win 5-4. Twins starter Jim Kaat, stranded because of the ice and snow, is brought to Metropolitan Stadium by helicopter. Kaat is matched by Jim Bouton, who goes five innings, giving up two earned runs. Bob Allison‘s wind-blown fly ball in the 11th drops untouched for a three-base error by Hector Lopez, one of eight errors the two teams committed on this day. Cesar Tovar‘s 2-out single scores the winner off ex-Twins hurler Pedro Ramos. I did a piece about this opening day back in 2008 that you can view at http://wp.me/p1YQUj-tT

.April 12, 1990 – The Twins and Rangers hook up on a deal and the Twins get 2B Fred Manrique and the Rangers receive pitcher Jeff Satzinger.

April 12, 2002 – In their first sellout since winning the World Series in 1991, the Twins beat the Tigers in their home opener, 4-2, in front of 48,244 loud and enthusiastic fans at the Metrodome. The Minnesota franchise had been considered for elimination due to MLB’s contraction plan proposed during the off-season.

April 12, 2005 – The Twins beat the Tigers 5-4 when Shannon Stewart singles off Troy Percival in the bottom of the 9th and breaks a streak in which Percival had not allowed the Twins to score an earned run over 40 innings since 1995.

April 12, 2010 – In the first regular season game at Target Field the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 with starter Carl Pavano getting the win and Red Sox starter Jon Lester took the loss. Closer Jon Rauch recorded the first save at Target Field. The first hit was a single by Red Sox leadoff hitter Marco Scutaro who was later thrown out trying to steal 2B. The first Twins hit was a single by Orlando Hudson. The first homerun at Target Field was a 391 foot shot to right off the bat of Jason Kubel in the 7th inning. Game time temperature was 68 degrees with partly sunny skies. Attendance was 39,715, slightly over the capacity figure of 39,504. Paid attendance was 38,145. The game lasted 2:59.

April 12, 2013 – The New York Mets thumped the Twins 16-5 at Target Field. The temperature at game time was 34 degrees and snow flurries were evident throughout the game. Twins fans came layered in ski gear, hunting clothes and whatever else they could find to keep warm. The Twins provided free coffee and hot chocolate to the Twins fans at the gate as they entered the ballpark. But the fact that the Mets batted around in each of the first 2 innings putting up 10 runs did little to warm Twins fans. The announced attendance was 23,735, but that’s tickets sold and not the actual number of people inside Target Field.

10 years is a long, long time

 

RF Tony Oliva played for the Twins from 1962-1976
RF Tony Oliva played for the Twins from 1962-1976

If the reports are true, the Colorado Rockies and long-time Twins first baseman Justin Morneau have agreed on a two-year $13 million deal. After signing Morneau the Rockies will have two players on their roster that spent all or parts of 10 or more season wearing a Twins uniform. Morneau will join Michael Cuddyer in Colorado. Former Twins LaTroy Hawkins who logged nine seasons with Minnesota and has played with 10 different major league teams will also call Colorado home this season .

Now days with arbitration and free agency players don’t stay with an organization that long and to play for a team for 10 years is getting to be a tougher and tougher task. Since the Twins started here in 1961 there have been 22 players that logged 10 or more season in a Twins uniform with Tony Oliva leading the pack with 15 notches in his belt. The only active player on the list is Joe Mauer and if he stays in Minnesota through 2018 when his current contract expires, he will also wear that Minnesota across his chest for 15 years.

Players that played in Minnesota for all or parts of 10 seasons

Rk Yrs From To Age
1 Tony Oliva 15 1962 1976 23-37 Ind. Seasons
2 Kent Hrbek 14 1981 1994 21-34 Ind. Seasons
3 Harmon Killebrew 14 1961 1974 25-38 Ind. Seasons
4 Jim Kaat 13 1961 1973 22-34 Ind. Seasons
5 Brad Radke 12 1995 2006 22-33 Ind. Seasons
6 Eddie Guardado 12 1993 2008 22-37 Ind. Seasons
7 Kirby Puckett 12 1984 1995 24-35 Ind. Seasons
8 Randy Bush 12 1982 1993 23-34 Ind. Seasons
9 Rod Carew 12 1967 1978 21-32 Ind. Seasons
10 Justin Morneau 11 2003 2013 22-32 Ind. Seasons
11 Michael Cuddyer 11 2001 2011 22-32 Ind. Seasons
12 Torii Hunter 11 1997 2007 21-31 Ind. Seasons
13 Denny Hocking 11 1993 2003 23-33 Ind. Seasons
14 Rick Aguilera 11 1989 1999 27-37 Ind. Seasons
15 Bert Blyleven 11 1970 1988 19-37 Ind. Seasons
16 Joe Mauer 10 2004 2013 21-30 Ind. Seasons
17 Greg Gagne 10 1983 1992 21-30 Ind. Seasons
18 Gary Gaetti 10 1981 1990 22-31 Ind. Seasons
19 Roy Smalley 10 1976 1987 23-34 Ind. Seasons
20 Rich Reese 10 1964 1973 22-31 Ind. Seasons
21 Jim Perry 10 1963 1972 27-36 Ind. Seasons
22 Bob Allison 10 1961 1970 26-35 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/5/2013.

Twins top grand slam home run hitters

Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Killebrew

The Twins have hit three gand slam home runs so far this year. Five Twins players (Allison, Carew, Hrbek, Puckett and Hunter) have each hit three grand slam home runs in a single season. Eighty one different Twins players have hit home runs in a Twins uni with the bases loaded but only 33 players have done it more then once. But who is the Twins king of the grand salami? What Twins player has hit the most career grand slam home runs wearing a Twins uniform?

Rk Player From To HR
1 Harmon Killebrew 1961 1974 10
2 Torii Hunter 1999 2007 9
3 Kent Hrbek 1981 1994 8
4 Kirby Puckett 1984 1995 7
5 Jason Kubel 2006 2011 7
6 Justin Morneau 2003 2013 7
7 Gary Gaetti 1981 1990 6
8 Michael Cuddyer 2002 2011 5
9 Don Mincher 1961 1966 5
10 Rod Carew 1967 1978 4
11 Bob Allison 1961 1970 4
12 Shane Mack 1990 1994 4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/4/2013.

Who has hit the most grand slam home runs since 1961 you ask? None other then Alex Rodriguez who has 23. But then again how many would have he had hit if he had not juiced…. Manny Ramirez is next with 21.

This Day in Twins History – August 29, 1963

Allison and KillebrewWhat a power packed day. In a double header with the Washington Senators in DC Stadium the Twins sweep both ends. In the first game the Twins win 14-2 and hit 8 home runs in the process. Jimmie Hall, Rich Rollins, Bernie Allen, and Bob Allison each hit one out while Vic Power and Harmon Killebrew each hit two out of the park. The Twins win the second game 10-1 and hit 4 more home runs. This time Zoilo Versalles, Jimmie Hall, Bernie Allen, and Harmon Killebrew hit’em out.

Taking a look at hitting streaks

Former Twins outfielder Micheal Cuddyer set a Colorado Rockies team record recently when he had a 27 game hitting streak from May 28 through June 30 for the Colorado Rockies. During his streak Cuddyer hit .372 with 6 home runs, 19 RBI and 17 runs scored. The longest Twins hitting streaks this season belong to Joe Mauer with 15 gamer and a 10 gamer, Trevor Plouffe with a 12 gamer and Justin Morneau with an 11 game hitting streak. The Twins have had some pretty good hitting streaks over the years but the longest streak of 31 games goes way back to 1980 and belongs to Ken Landreaux.

 Twins hitting streaks over 15 games

Ken Landreaux

Rk Strk Start End Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA OPS
1 Ken Landreaux 1980-04-23 1980-05-30 31 125 13 49 5 1 2 19 .392 .937
2 Brian Harper 1990-07-06 1990-08-04 25 99 14 38 12 0 2 16 .384 .981
3 Lenny Green 1961-05-01 1961-05-28 24 94 14 34 9 2 0 11 .362 .955
4 Torii Hunter 2007-04-11 2007-05-09 23 94 17 35 12 0 5 19 .372 1.054
5 Cristian Guzman 2002-08-01 2002-08-25 23 97 16 35 5 0 2 12 .361 .841
6 Marty Cordova 1996-06-05 1996-06-29 23 91 16 35 10 0 2 18 .385 1.007
7 Kirby Puckett 1993-09-26 1994-04-20 23 97 16 34 8 0 2 21 .351 .895
8 Kent Hrbek 1982-04-17 1982-05-13 23 91 14 28 6 2 5 17 .308 .949
9 Shane Mack 1992-07-26 1992-08-18 22 88 13 40 4 1 1 9 .455 1.057
10 Ben Revere 2012-07-16 2012-08-07 21 90 17 34 5 1 0 13 .378 .862
11 Chuck Knoblauch 1991-09-02 1991-09-25 20 80 10 32 4 1 0 7 .400 .923
12 Ted Uhlaender 1969-08-16 1969-09-07 20 88 16 27 5 0 1 16 .307 .748
13 Nick Punto 2006-07-04 2006-07-28 19 75 12 30 6 2 0 12 .400 .979
14 David Ortiz 2002-07-17 2002-08-06 19 74 17 31 5 0 7 18 .419 1.258
15 Brian Harper 1993-07-20 1993-08-12 19 74 9 29 7 0 1 11 .392 .971
16 Roy Smalley 1979-04-29 1979-05-20 19 81 19 36 3 1 6 16 .444 1.234
17 Bob Allison 1964-06-12 1964-06-28 19 64 14 31 8 0 7 11 .484 1.530
18 Bobby Kielty 2002-09-18 2003-04-21 18 62 10 22 6 1 5 13 .355 1.132
19 Chuck Knoblauch 1997-08-07 1997-08-26 18 79 8 28 2 1 2 6 .354 .867
20 Gary Gaetti 1983-05-06 1983-05-27 18 76 9 25 5 0 3 8 .329 .887
21 Rod Carew 1974-09-07 1974-09-27 18 70 12 26 4 1 1 5 .371 .988
22 Rod Carew 1973-05-30 1973-06-19 18 77 17 31 3 4 3 8 .403 1.122
23 Trevor Plouffe 2012-06-30 2012-07-19 17 67 13 22 4 0 4 11 .328 .951
24 Jacque Jones 2001-09-30 2002-04-12 17 63 16 26 2 0 6 13 .413 1.230
25 Cristian Guzman 2001-06-08 2001-06-26 17 74 16 29 3 1 3 12 .392 1.004
Rk Strk Start End Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA OPS
26 Paul Molitor 1998-08-31 1998-09-19 17 75 12 25 3 2 3 12 .333 .909
27 Chuck Knoblauch 1993-07-29 1993-08-18 17 69 12 27 5 1 1 4 .391 .978
28 Kent Hrbek 1991-08-11 1991-08-30 17 62 13 26 6 0 4 16 .419 1.203
29 Kent Hrbek 1990-08-21 1990-09-07 17 68 10 23 2 0 3 15 .338 .900
30 Kirby Puckett 1988-09-15 1988-10-02 17 72 17 33 8 0 2 19 .458 1.126
31 Kent Hrbek 1982-05-25 1982-06-13 17 69 12 28 1 2 5 19 .406 1.120
32 Tony Oliva 1970-05-13 1970-06-02 17 73 9 23 5 0 1 13 .315 .775
33 Tony Oliva 1964-07-16 1964-08-01 17 77 11 28 5 1 2 4 .364 .935
34 Orlando Cabrera 2009-09-19 2009-10-06 16 73 21 30 5 1 2 16 .411 1.010
35 Joe Mauer 2008-08-04 2008-08-24 16 63 13 22 0 1 1 10 .349 .870
36 Justin Morneau 2006-06-22 2006-07-09 16 59 13 26 5 0 6 16 .441 1.308
37 A.J. Pierzynski 2002-05-26 2002-06-14 16 60 12 24 7 2 2 7 .400 1.096
38 Matt Lawton 2000-04-13 2000-04-30 16 59 11 26 6 0 1 11 .441 1.121
39 Chili Davis 1991-07-21 1991-08-07 16 61 13 25 7 0 6 17 .410 1.313
40 Kirby Puckett 1991-07-06 1991-07-26 16 64 10 28 3 1 1 13 .438 1.033
41 Kirby Puckett 1986-04-16 1986-05-03 16 74 23 32 5 1 10 20 .432 1.394
42 Gary Gaetti 1984-08-05 1984-08-19 16 65 9 22 4 0 1 9 .338 .814
43 Mickey Hatcher 1983-07-20 1983-08-27 16 62 11 25 5 0 1 12 .403 .948
44 Dave McKay 1975-08-29 1975-09-17 16 60 4 20 3 0 0 10 .333 .743
45 Danny Thompson 1973-04-28 1973-05-17 16 65 7 22 4 1 1 11 .338 .810
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/27/2013.

Some pretty exceptional hitters on this list. Who appears on this list the most often? Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett each had four streaks of 16 games or longer. The biggest surprise on this list has to be Nick Punto with his 19 gamer back in 2006, the eighth longest hitting streak in Twins history.

Just for fun let’s take a look at what opposing hitters have the longest hitting streak when they face Twins pitchers over the years.

Twins opponent hitting streaks of 20 games or more

Ron LeFlore

Rk Strk Start End Games AB R H HR RBI BA OPS Tm
1 Ron LeFlore 1977-08-03 1981-09-11 26 108 29 43 2 13 .398 1.010 DET-CHW
2 David DeJesus 2008-09-11 2011-04-10 25 105 16 40 2 15 .381 1.027 KCR-OAK
3 Magglio Ordonez 2002-08-19 2003-09-10 23 90 19 32 10 20 .356 1.112 CHW
4 Jim Thome 1994-07-08 1996-07-18 22 90 20 36 7 16 .400 1.210 CLE
5 Ichiro Suzuki 2006-05-01 2008-08-06 20 89 17 40 2 3 .449 1.046 SEA
6 Paul Konerko 2006-07-26 2007-07-08 20 75 15 29 6 16 .387 1.180 CHW
7 Carlos Lee 2003-07-02 2004-07-27 20 82 14 31 4 17 .378 1.010 CHW
8 Rey Sanchez 1999-04-21 2001-04-07 20 74 13 33 0 12 .446 1.090 KCR
9 Rocky Colavito 1963-07-03 1964-07-22 20 78 17 34 9 25 .436 1.403 DET-KCA
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/27/2013.

Those of you that remember Ron LeFlore should take a few minutes to read this story published earlier this year. Even if you never heard of LeFlore, check it out.

They went down swinging

Harmon Killebrew

Hitters with 500 are more career strikeouts as Twins

Rk Player SO From To Age G PA AB R H HR BA OPS
1 Harmon Killebrew 1314 1961 1974 25-38 1939 8018 6593 1047 1713 475 .260 .901
2 Kirby Puckett 965 1984 1995 24-35 1783 7831 7244 1071 2304 207 .318 .837
3 Gary Gaetti 877 1981 1990 22-31 1361 5459 4989 646 1276 201 .256 .744
4 Torii Hunter 870 1997 2007 21-31 1234 4894 4492 672 1218 192 .271 .793
5 Bob Allison 842 1961 1970 26-35 1236 4643 3926 648 999 211 .254 .840
6 Justin Morneau 806 2003 2013 22-32 1243 5199 4607 654 1285 211 .279 .833
7 Michael Cuddyer 805 2001 2011 22-32 1139 4555 4072 606 1106 141 .272 .794
8 Kent Hrbek 798 1981 1994 21-34 1747 7137 6192 903 1749 293 .282 .848
9 Jacque Jones 737 1999 2005 24-30 976 3786 3492 492 974 132 .279 .782
10 Rod Carew 716 1967 1978 21-32 1635 6980 6235 950 2085 74 .334 .841
11 Greg Gagne 676 1983 1992 21-30 1140 3697 3386 452 844 69 .249 .677
12 Corey Koskie 647 1998 2004 25-31 816 3257 2788 438 781 101 .280 .836
13 Tony Oliva 645 1962 1976 23-37 1676 6880 6301 870 1917 220 .304 .830
14 Roy Smalley 606 1976 1987 23-34 1148 4676 3997 551 1046 110 .262 .750
15 Zoilo Versalles 606 1961 1967 21-27 1065 4500 4148 564 1046 86 .252 .686
16 Tom Brunansky 589 1982 1988 21-27 916 3760 3313 450 829 163 .250 .782
17 Tim Laudner 553 1981 1989 23-31 734 2268 2038 221 458 77 .225 .682
18 Joe Mauer 552 2004 2013 21-30 1157 4972 4300 677 1389 102 .323 .873
19 Jason Kubel 532 2004 2011 22-29 753 2846 2559 334 694 104 .271 .794
20 Randy Bush 505 1982 1993 23-34 1219 3481 3045 388 763 96 .251 .747
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/25/2013.

This day in Twins history – May 17

5/17/1963 – Outfielder Bob Allison becomes the first Twin to ever hit 3 home runs in a single game when he bangs out 3 against the Indians in Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland.

5/17/1998 – David (Boomer) Wells pitched the 13th perfect game in modern major league history as the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0 at Yankee Stadium in front of nearly 50,000 fans on Beanie Baby Day.

5/17/2002 – In a game they would rather forget, the Twins score three times in the top of the 14th at Yankee stadium to take a 13-10 lead, Jason Giambi hits a one-out grand slam off reliever Mike Trombley to give the Bronx Bombers a one-run victory.

Harmon Killebrew5/17/2011 – The face of the Minnesota Twins, the man that every baseball fan in Minnesota knew, the greatest slugger in Twins history, Hall of Famer, Harmon Clayton Killebrew passed away today in Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of 74 after suffering from esophageal cancer. The Twins, who were in Seattle wore a number “3” on their right sleeve and will continue to do so for the rest of the season. The Twins players also announced that they will wear their 1961 throw back jerseys for all their remaining home games. The Twins grounds crew painted a large white number “3” behind second base and dug up home plate and placed a picture of Harmon Killebrew batting under home plate and then replaced home plate at Target Field. By the way, the Twins beat the Mariners 2-1 with Killebrew’s number “3” jersey hanging in the dugout. A sad day for sure.