Tag: Brad Radke

21st Century Twins pitching starts

Kyle Gibson in 2018 (credit Patrick Gorski)

The 21st century started on 1/1/2001 so the first quater century has passed at the end of 2025. So lets take a look at what Minnsota Twins starters have started the most games for the Twins in that time period. I’m not going to look at their wins or losses, just how many times they have been able to take the bump to start the game. I will also try identify which pitchers were drafted by the Twins and which were not.

It turns out the leader of the pack is Kyle Gibson who pitched for the Twins between 2013-2019 and had a record of 67-68 with 845 strikeouts in 1,087 innings with a 4.33 ERA. A Twins 1st round pick (22nd overall) in 2009 and debuted on 6/29/2013.

D means he was drafted by the Twins and the number after it indicated the round. Trade means he was acquired in a trade, FA means signs as a free agent, Rule 5 means the Twins drafted him in a Rule 5 draft, and amateur FA means Twins signed him as an amateur free agent.

Keep in mind that some pitchers career’s started in the previous century so their number may look a bit strange.

RkPlayerFromToCountInd. Games Link
1 (D-1)Kyle Gibson20132019188Games List
2 (D-8)Brad Radke20012006180Games List
3 (Trade)Johan Santana20012007170Games List
4 (D-2)Scott Baker20052011159Games List
5 (Trade)Kyle Lohse20012006152Games List
6 (D-29)Nick Blackburn20082012137Games List
7 (D-1)José Berríos20162021135Games List
8 (Trade)Francisco Liriano20052012130Games List
9 (Trade)Carlos Silva20042007124Games List
10 (D-12)Bailey Ober20212025115Games List
11 (Trade)Joe Ryan20212025114Games List
12 (Trade)Joe Mays2001200598Games List
13 (D-2)Kevin Slowey2007201190Games List
14 (Trade)Carl Pavano2009201288Games List
15 (Trade)Ervin Santana2015201885Games List
16 (Trade)Phil Hughes2014201879Games List
17 (Trade)Pablo López2023202578Games List
18 (Trade)Eric Milton2001200366Games List
19 (Trade)Jake Odorizzi2018202066Games List
20 (Trade)Rick Reed2001200365Games List
21 (Trade)Mike Pelfrey2013201564Games List
22 (D-3)Brian Duensing2009201261Games List
23 (Trade)Boof Bonser2006200860Games List
24 (Rule 5)Scott Diamond2011201358Games List
25 (FA)Ricky Nolasco2014201656Games List
26 (Trade)Sonny Gray2022202356Games List
27 (FA)Kevin Correia2013201454Games List
28 (FA)Michael Pineda2019202152Games List
29 (Trade)Kenta Maeda2020202352Games List
30 (Trade)Simeon Woods Richardson2022202551Games List
31 (D-1)Glen Perkins2008201044Games List
32 (Trade)Chris Paddack2022202543Games List
33 (FA)Sam Deduno2012201441Games List
34 (Trade)Tommy Milone2014201640Games List
35 (D-5)Tyler Duffey2015201837Games List
36 (D-2)Anthony Swarzak2009201432Games List
37 (FA)Kenny Rogers2003200331Games List
38 (FA)Martín Pérez2019201929Games List
39 (FA)Dylan Bundy2022202229Games List
40 (amateur FA)Liam Hendriks2011201328Games List
41 (Trade)Trevor May2014201826Games List
42 (Trade)Adalberto Mejía2017201825Games List
43 (Trade)Héctor Santiago2016201725Games List
44 (FA)Chris Archer2022202225Games List
45 (D-8)Zebby Matthews2024202525Games List

Provided by Stathead: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 7/25/2026.

Analyzing Starting Pitcher Trends: From Aces to Relievers

Walter Johnson

I have followed MLB since about 1956 by buying baseball cards, by listening to baseball games on the radio, by subscribing to The Sporting News and reading whatever box scores I could find. But how things have changed over the years, including pitching. One of the biggest changes has to do with starting pitching.

Starting pitchers used to pitch and hit back in the day. They would start every fourth day but over time the starting rotation changed to four to five. Recently some teams have gone to six day rotations and it is not that uncommon nowadays for games to be pitched totally by relief pitchers. Relief pitchers back then were “injured” starters or starters that for one reason or another had become ineffective.

Continue reading Analyzing Starting Pitcher Trends: From Aces to Relievers

Top 20 pitching seasons by a Twins pitcher

Bert Blyleven

The Minnesota Twins have played baseball for 62 seasons and they have had 273 different pitchers start one or more games for them. The number drops to 26 pitchers having started 100 or more games, just six having started 200 or more, three at 300 or more and only Jim Kaat started over 400 or 422 to be exact.

Pitching has not exactly been the Twins strength over the years, the team has been known for producing hitters. But the Twins have had a number of very good pitchers with Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat in the MLB Hall of Fame. The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame includes pitchers Blyleven, Kaat, Frank Viola, Rick Aguilera, Brad Radke, Jim Perry, Camilo Pascual, Eddie Guardado, Johan Santana and Joe Nathan. Three of the inductee’s were relievers.

Continue reading Top 20 pitching seasons by a Twins pitcher

A look at Twins Quality Starts over the years

According to WikipediA, in baseball a quality start is a statistic for a starting pitcher defined as a game in which the pitcher completes at least six innings and permits no more than three earned runs. The quality start has effectively replaced the ‘complete game’ as a meaningful measure of a starting pitcher’s performance.

The quality start was developed by sportswriter John Lowe in 1985 while writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nolan Ryan has used the term “High Quality Start” for games where the pitcher goes seven innings or more and allows three earned runs or fewer, which baseball columnist and formber BBWAA president Derrick Goold referred to as “Quality Start Plus.”

Continue reading A look at Twins Quality Starts over the years

Minnesota Twins pitching leaders in games started

Back on December 19 in 2006 pitcher Brad Radke announced his plans to retire after 12 season of wearing the colors of the Minnesota Twins. That got me to wondering where the Twins pitchers with the most starts for Minnesota came from.

  1. Jim Kaat had 422 starts with the Twins and was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1957 long before the draft was instituted and was one of the original Minnesota Twins in 1961. Debuted August 2, 1959 with the Senators.
  2. Brad Radke had 377 starts with the Twins and was an eighth round pick in the June amateur draft in 1991. Radke debuted on April 29, 1995 in three not so stellar innings of relief and started every game that he appeared in after that.
  3. Bert Blyleven had 345 starts with the Twins after being drafted by Minnesota in round three of the 1969 June amateur draft. Bert debuted on June 5, 1970 and all his appearances but three were starts.
  4. Frank Viola had 259 and just one relief appearance with the Twins after being selected in round 16 of June 1978 amateur draft. Sweet Music debuted on June 6, 1982.
  5. Jim Perry had 249 start for Minnesota after being acquired in a trade on May 2, 1963 from the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jack Kralick.
  6. Dave Goltz had 215 starts for the Twins after drafted in the round five of the 1967 June amateur draft. The Rothsay, Minnesota native debuted on July 18, 1972.
  7. Kyle Gibson had 188 starts with Minnesota after being drafted 22nd in round one of the 2009 June amateur draft. Gibson debuted on June 29, 2013.
  8. Kevin Tapani had 180 starts in 181 appearances in a Twins uniform after being acquired in a trade from the New York Mets in the Frank Viola trade on July 31, 1989. Tapani had debuted with the Mets on July 4, 1989.
  9. Camilo Pascual had 179 starts with Minnesota and was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent prior to the 1952 season long before the draft was instituted and was one of the original Minnesota Twins in 1961. Pascual debuted on April 15, 1954.
  10. Johan Santana had 175 starts with the Twins after being drafted by the Florida Marlins from the Houston Astros in the 1999 rule 5 draft and then being traded to the Twins for Jared Camp who the Twins had originally drafted in the Rule 5 draft that year. Santana debuted on April 3, 2000.

The other players with 150 or more starts for Minnesota are Eric Milton with 165, Scott Baker with 159, Scott Erickson with 153, Kyle Lohse with 152 and Dave Boswell with 150.

The only pitchers mentioned here today to make a start for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field are Kyle Gibson and Scott Baker.

The only pitcher on this list to spend his entire career in Minnesota? That would be Brad Radke.

Twins to welcome back fans to Target Field in 2021

The last time that Twins fans were able to watch their home-town team play ball in-person at Target Field was back on October 7, 2019. That was the day their beloved Bomba Squad was sent packing from the American League playoffs when they were swept by the New York Yankees three games to zip in the ALDS. Their starting pitcher that day was Jake Odorizzi. Sergio Romo and Trevor May pitched in relief and the only run they scored in the 5-1 loss was a home run hit by right-fielder Eddie Rosario. When Twins fans sadly filed out of Target Field that day little did they know that they would not be able to watch another game in person at Target Field for another 548 days. It will not be until April 8, 2021 when the Twins host the Seattle Mariners in their Home Opener that Twins fans will again be able to cheer on their Twins. All the players named above will be playing for other teams.

Continue reading Twins to welcome back fans to Target Field in 2021

Twins pitching leaders in complete games by decade

A complete game in baseball is about as rare nowadays as finding a pay phone at your local corner service station. The complete game has gone by the wayside and this year with what is going on in baseball with the COVID-19 situation it will be even more of a rare occurrence.

The top ten MLB pitchers in complete games from 1961 to 2019 are all in the Hall of Fame. The leader is Gaylord Perry with 303 complete games and tenth on the list is Jim Palmer with 211. The Twins Bert Blyleven is number six on that list with 242 complete games.

If you only look at the American League from 1961 through 2019 the leader is Bert Blyleven with 222. Bert is also the all-time Twins leader in complete games with 141 followed by Jim Kaat with 133. So now you know why Bert always brags on TV about pitching complete games.

If we look at Twins complete game leaders by decade you get a list that looks like this:

Best seasons by Twins position players & pitchers

As the Twins prepare for their 59th season of play in Minnesota we should look back and be thankful for some great seasons these players have given us in the past. I am using B-R Play Index to come up with the ten greatest seasons by Minnesota Twins players over the years and I am once again using WAR as the tool to do this. I think you might be surprised at some of these.

Continue reading Best seasons by Twins position players & pitchers

According to ELIAS – Jose Berrios

Berrios setting records after a late debut

 

Jose Berrios

Jose Berrios improved to 6–1 this season, allowing two runs in eight innings in Minnesota’s 6–2 win over Seattle yesterday. Berrios is only the second Twins pitcher since 1980 to win at least six of his first seven appearances in one season. The other was Brad Radke in 2001. Berrios, who didn’t make his season debut until May 13, is the first pitcher in franchise history to win six games this early in the calendar year after not pitching in the majors in April. (That includes the Washington Senators from 1901 through 1960.)

According to ELIAS – Jose Berrios

Berrios pitches deep into another victory

Jose Berrios

Jose Berrios allowed two hits over 7.2 innings to earn his second win is as many starts this season as the Twins defeated the Rockies, 2–0, to gain a split of their doubleheader yesterday. Berrios, who allowed only one run in 7.2 innings in his season debut against the Indians last weekend, is only the third Twins pitcher in the last 30 seasons to pitch into the eighth inning and win each of his first two appearances of a season. The others were Brad Radke (2001) and Andrew Albers (2013).