Tag: Bobby Darwin

Twins Iron Men

The Twins have had their share of injuries the last few years and it got me to wondering how often a Twins position player has participated in every game during a particular season and when was the last time this has happened. We all know that Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive games over a span of 17 years. Think about that, every game over a span of 17 years! An amazing streak no matter how you look at it.

Since the Washington Senators packed their bags after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961 they have had only 5 position players in 51 seasons that have played in every regular season game in a particular season and one of those players accomplished that feat twice and the name might surprise you.  Here is the list of Twins players that have played in every Twins regular season game in a particular season.

YEAR Name Games Played
2008 Justin Morneau 163
1984 Gary Gaetti 162
1979 Roy Smalley 162
1969 Harmon Killebrew 162
1967 Cesar Tovar 164
1966 Harmon Killebrew 162

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The Twins position player that led the team in games played the most seasons was outfielder Kirby Puckett. The “Puck” lead his teams in games played on seven occasions between 1985 and 1993 and averaged an amazing 156.66 games during that period. I think the Twins “Iron Man” has to be the great Kirby Puckett.

 

Twins Leader in Games Played Over the Years

YEAR Games Team Played Name Games Played
1961 161 Bob Allison 159
1962 163 Zoilo Versalles 160
1963 161 Zoilo Versalles 159
1964 163 Zoilo Versalles 160
1965 162 Zoilo Versalles 160
1966 162 Harmon Killebrew 162
1967 164 Cesar Tovar 164
1968 162 Cesar Tovar 157
1969 162 Harmon Killebrew 162
1970 162 Cesar Tovar 161
1971 160 Cesar Tovar 157
1972 154 Bobby Darwin 145
1973 162 Rod Carew 149
1974 163 Rod Carew 153
1975 159 Rod Carew 143
1976 162 Rod Carew 156
1977 161 Rod Carew 155
1978 162 Roy Smalley 155
1979 162 Roy Smalley 162
1980 161 John Castino 150
1981 110 John Castino 101
1982 162 Gary Ward 152
1983 162 Gary Ward & Gary Gaetti 152
1984 162 Gary Gaetti 162
1985 162 Kirby Puckett 161
1986 162 Kirby Puckett 161
1987 162 Kirby Puckett 157
1988 162 Kirby Puckett 158
1989 162 Kirby Puckett 159
1990 162 Gary Gaetti 154
1991 162 Chili Davis 153
1992 162 Kirby Puckett 160
1993 162 Kirby Puckett 156
1994 113 Chuck Knoblauch 109
1995 144 Marty Cordova & Kirby Puckett 137
1996 162 Paul Molitor 161
1997 162 Chuck Knoblauch 156
1998 162 Matt Lawton 152
1999 161 Todd Walker 143
2000 162 Matt Lawton & Cristian Guzman 156
2001 162 Luis Rivas & Corey Koskie 153
2002 161 Jacques Jones 149
2003 162 Torii Hunter 154
2004 162 Lew Ford 154
2005 162 Lew Ford 147
2006 162 Justin Morneau 157
2007 162 Torii Hunter 160
2008 163 Justin Morneau 163
2009 163 Michael Cuddyer 153
2010 162 Michael Cuddyer 157
2011 162 Danny Valencia 154

 

STRIKE THREE!

March 4, 2010 – The Minnesota Twins preach putting the bat on the ball and getting it in play because you never know what can happen next, but the Twins have had a number of players over the years that have taken that long walk to the bench after flailing away and missing. Strangely enough, when you look at the franchise top fifty strike-out leaders from a hitting perspective, 46 out of 50 are Twins players and only 4 are Washington Senators and both of them, Jim Lemon and Harmon Killebrew played for the Twins. You would think with the old-time pitchers accumulating so many strike-outs that you would see more Washington Senators on this list. The top Twins strikeout team was the 1997 team (68-94) with 1,121 KO’s and the top Senators strike-out team was the 1960 team (73-81) with 883 KO’s. The top man on the list is Bobby Darwin who led the AL in strikeouts between 1972-1974. Here are the seasonal top ten strike-out performances by Twins/Senators hitters:

Rank Name Strike outs Year
1 Bobby Darwin 145 1972
2 (tie) Carlos Gomez 142 2008
2 (tie) Harmon Killebrew 142 1962
4 Jim Lemon 138 1956
5 Bobby Darwin 137 1973
6 Harmon Killebrew 135 1964
7 (tie) Rich Becker 130 1997
7 (tie) Michael Cuddyer 130 2006
9 Jacques Jones 129 2002
10 Lary Hisle 128 1973

 

Bobby Darwin

December 26, 2009 – Arthur Bobby Lee Darwin, a 6’2” right handed pitcher was signed by the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent prior to the 1962 season. He started his career in 1962 in San Jose, playing “C” ball where he was 11-6 with a 4.12 ERA in 153 innings giving up only 123 hits, but control was not Bobby’s strong suit as he also walked 149 batters in those 153 innings. Never the less, the Angels called up Darwin to start a game late in 1962 against the Cleveland Indians. With only 26 games of minor league ball under his belt, Darwin started the second game of a double header at Cleveland stadium. It was a tough start for Bobby, he lasted just 3.1 innings giving up 8 hits, 4 walks, and 6 runs, 4 of them earned and he ended up taking the loss. Little did Darwin know at the time, but he would not step foot in another major league game for a long time. In 1963 Darwin was waived by the Angels and picked up by the Baltimore Orioles where he toiled in the minors from 1963 through 1968. In 1966 Darwin also had elbow surgery and he was never quite the same pitcher after that. The Los Angeles Dodgers however; still saw something they liked in Darwin and drafted him in the Rule 5 draft in December of 1968. Darwin started the 1969 season with the Dodgers but was ineffective and appeared in only 3 games before being sent back down to the minors. Ready to give baseball, Darwin was asked by a former manager to give up on pitching and to try his luck as a position player. So in 1970 at the age of 27 it was back to single “A” ball and Darwin was working to fight his way back to the major leagues, this time as a hitter. In 1971 the Dodgers called Darwin up for a month or so but he only appeared in 11 games getting 20 at bats while hitting .250 with one home run but the real problem was his 9 strikeouts so he was shipped back to the minors.

It was after the 1971 season that things looked up for Bobby, he found out that he had been traded by the Dodgers to the Minnesota Twins who just happened to be managed at that time by Bill Rigney who was also the Angels manager when Darwin got his first taste of the big leagues, only back then, he was a pitcher. In his first year in Minnesota in 1972, Darwin wins a starting outfield job, hits 22 home runs, (second only to Harmon Killebrew) and he knocks in a team leading 80 RBI’s while hitting .267 but he strikes out a league leading 145 times. In 1973 Darwin hits 18 home runs, knocks in 90, while hitting .252 and again leading the league in strikeouts with 137. In 1974 he hits a career high 25 home runs and knocks in 94 more with an average of .264 but once again he leads the league in strikeouts with 127.The following season, 1975, Darwin struggles along with a .219 average with just 5 home runs in almost 200 at bats and the Twins decide that they have seen enough and they trade Darwin to the Milwaukee Brewers for Johnny Briggs. Darwin’s stay in Milwaukee lasts less than one year before they send him on his way to the Boston Red Sox. Bobby’s stay in Boston is less than a year before they too send him packing, this time to the Chicago Cubs. Darwin gets only a dozen at bats in Chicago before they release him and end Bobby Darwin’s big league career. During his 9 seasons in the majors, Darwin had a 0-1 record with a 10.29 ERA in 7 innings with 6 strikeouts. As a hitter, in 2,224 at bats, Darwin had 83 home runs, 328 RBI’s, 15 steals and a .241 batting average. Not Hall of Fame numbers to be sure but still some decent numbers for a player with an interesting career that started out as a pitcher and turned position player at the age of 27. The man could hit the ball a mile when he connected, but those dang pitchers kept throwing him that danged curve ball.