Tag: Cesar Tovar

Minnesota Twins Top 10 Catchers

In their 56 seasons of baseball in Minnesota the Twins have had 71 different players don the tools of ignorance and squat down behind the plate to catch a major league pitcher. Two those 71 players only caught in one inning of one game. Cesar Tovar did it when owner Calvin Griffith had him play every position in a game in 1968 as a gimmick and  manager Tom Kelly had Jeff Reboulet catch the ninth inning in a 1995 game against the Royals in the Metrodome. It wasn’t an easy inning for Reboulet either, as he caught two different pitchers as the Royals sent 12 men to the plate and scored 6 runs on 6 hits not to mention 2 walks and a wild pitch.

With the Minnesota 2017 TwinsFest going on I thought it would be a good time to rank the Twins catchers. The Twins have been looking for an everyday catcher ever since Joe Mauer hung up his catcher’s mitt after the 1993 season due to a variety of injuries the most serious of which were his concussion problems. Kurt Suzuki filled in since then but he too has moved on. The Twins Top 10 Catchers list ranks the catchers by B-R WAR statistics. Player must have appeared in at least 51% of his games as a catcher to qualify for this list.

Joe Mauer
Rk Player WAR/pos G From To Age AB H HR RBI SB BA OPS
1 Joe Mauer 50.0 1590 2004 2016 21-33 5919 1826 130 804 50 .308 .837
2 Butch Wynegar 15.2 794 1976 1982 20-26 2746 697 37 325 8 .254 .682
3 Earl Battey 14.3 853 1961 1967 26-32 2762 768 76 350 8 .278 .765
4 Brian Harper 13.4 730 1988 1993 28-33 2503 767 48 346 7 .306 .773
5 A.J. Pierzynski 9.4 430 1998 2003 21-26 1428 430 26 193 6 .301 .788
6 George Mitterwald 6.0 514 1966 1973 21-28 1578 377 50 176 9 .239 .676
7 Glenn Borgmann 5.0 442 1972 1979 22-29 1207 277 14 137 4 .229 .630
8 Tim Laudner 3.2 734 1981 1989 23-31 2038 458 77 263 3 .225 .682
9 Terry Steinbach 3.1 347 1997 1999 35-37 1207 309 30 150 8 .256 .719
10 Kurt Suzuki 3.0 368 2014 2016 30-32 1230 323 16 160 0 .263 .680
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/28/2017.
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Anybody on this list surprise you? 

Twins Top 10 Catchers

Twins Top 10 First Baseman

Twins Top 10 Second Basemen

Twins Top 10 Third Baseman

Twins Top 10 Shortstops

Twins Top 10 Center Fielders

Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Twins Top 10 Right Fielders

Top Twins DH

Back when players played 160 games or more

The players today seem to need more rest today than the players did years ago. Sure, they play eight more games then teams did in the past but still you have to wonder what the cause really is and does it pay off in the long run? The last Twins player to play in 160 or more games in a season was Justin Morneau in 2008. If you look at the list you can’t help but notice that three of the 10 names are shortstops, not exactly an easy position. Paul Molitor did it at the age of 39 but then again he was strictly a DH. Zoilo Versalles played 160 or more games four times and also had a season with 159 games and the man weighed 146 dripping wet with rocks in his pockets. You wonder how he did it.

Zoilo Versalles

Rk Name Yrs From To Age
1 Zoilo Versalles 4 1962 1967 22-27 Ind. Seasons
2 Kirby Puckett 3 1985 1992 25-32 Ind. Seasons
3 Harmon Killebrew 3 1966 1969 30-33 Ind. Seasons
4 Gary Gaetti 2 1984 1985 25-26 Ind. Seasons
5 Leo Cardenas 2 1969 1970 30-31 Ind. Seasons
6 Cesar Tovar 2 1967 1970 26-29 Ind. Seasons
7 Justin Morneau 1 2008 2008 27-27 Ind. Seasons
8 Torii Hunter 1 2007 2007 31-31 Ind. Seasons
9 Paul Molitor 1 1996 1996 39-39 Ind. Seasons
10 Roy Smalley 1 1979 1979 26-26 Ind. Seasons
11 Tony Oliva 1 1964 1964 25-25 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/27/2016.

In the American League this past season Manny Machado played in a league leading 162 games and Kyle Seager and Elvis Andrus played in 160 or more. The only National Leaguer to play in 160 or more games was Anthony Rizzo.

Going to work or play every day

I seldom missed a day of school back in Taylors Falls and I continued that practice at work during my working career. The Navy of course reinforced the idea that going to work every day was the only way. I am old school and retired now but back in the day when I worked I took a lot of pride in the fact that I showed up for work day in and day out rain or shine.  I figured I was being paid to work so I showed up day after day. It used to drive me crazy when I knew that certain co-workers stayed home because they were hung-over or just plain didn’t feel like working. There were probably times when it would have been safer to stay home due to the snow or ice but not me, I was off to work.

Working every day carries over to my enjoyment of baseball, I like players that come to play ball each day and don’t take time off because they are tired or have a hang-nail. These players are being paid big bucks to play, not to sit on the bench and rest, they can rest on their own time like the rest of us.

"<strongSo where am I going with this? Today we are going to take a look at the Minnesota Twins players that came to play. Today’s players are playing fewer games then their compatriots did 50 or so years ago for a variety of reasons. The change however; is not as great as I expected to find. When was the last time that a Twins player played in every game that season? That would be Justin Morneau in 2008 when he appeared in all 163 regular season games. Since 1961 and 55 baseball seasons only six Twins players have played in every game and Harmon Killebrew is the only one to do it more than once.

 

Rk Player Year G Age PA AB H HR RBI SB BA OPS Pos
1 Justin Morneau 2008 163 27 712 623 187 23 129 0 .300 .873 *3/D
2 Gary Gaetti 1984 162 25 644 588 154 5 65 11 .262 .665 *5/76
3 Roy Smalley 1979 162 26 729 621 168 24 95 2 .271 .794 *6/3
4 Harmon Killebrew 1969 162 33 709 555 153 49 140 8 .276 1.011 *5*3
6 Cesar Tovar 1967 164 26 726 649 173 6 47 19 .267 .691 5847/69H
7 Harmon Killebrew 1966 162 30 677 569 160 39 110 0 .281 .929 *537/H
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/5/2016.

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Working or playing every day can be tough and everyone gets sick or hurt now and then

Continue reading Going to work or play every day

Remembering 1965 – Part 21 – Meet the Manager, Coaches & Players from 1965

The 1965 Minnesota Twins had 35 different players suit up and play ball wearing a Twins logo across their chest against the nine other members of the American league. Their manager, Sam Mele had four coaches at his disposal to help guide the team. Here are the images of the players and coaching staff that made up the 1965 American League champions. Team owner Calvin Griffith also served as the teams General Manager.

Just click on any player image to see a larger image

1965 Twins team picture

1965 Twins team picture

Remembering 1965 – Part 19 – 50th anniversary celebration pictures and video

1965 twins 50th anniversary bannerThe Minnesota Twins hosted a 59th anniversary celebration on July 31 and August 1 for the 1965 American League champions. On July 31st the organization put on a “Championship Breakfast” that was attended by about 250 Twins fans and 11 players from the 1965 championship team that won a Twins record 102 games. Twins TV broadcaster Dick Bremer served as the master of ceremonies.

I was able to attend the breakfast which was held in the Metropolitan Club at Target Field and had a great time meeting other Twins fans and chatting briefly with some of the players. The cost of the breakfast was $75 for season ticket holders and $100 if you were not a Twins season ticket holder with the proceeds going to the Twins Community Fund.

There were 35 players that appeared in a Minnesota Twins uniform in 1965 and 20 of them were in town for the 50 year anniversary celebration. Bernie Allen, Jerry Fosnow, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Jim Kaat, Jerry Kindall, Andy Kosco, Frank Kostro, Jim Merritt, Mel Nelson, Joe Nossek, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual, Jim Perry, Frank Quilici, Rich Reese, Garry Roggenburk, Rich Rollins, Dick Stigman, Sandy Valdespino, and Al Worthington. Coach Hal Naragon was also in attendance.

The ten player’s have passed on are Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Dave Boswell, Harmon Killebrew, Johnny Klippstein, Don Mincher, Cesar Tovar, Ted Uhlaender, Zoilo Versalles, and Jerry Zimmerman. RIP gentlemen and thank you for all the wonderful memories.

John Sevcik and Bill Pleis were unable to attend due to family health issues. Jimmie Hall also was invited but was not in attendance. Why he was not here is unclear, I saw some where that he was not able to change his schedule in time to attend and the other reason that has floated around for a long time is that Hall likes to stay close to home and that he is not a huge fan of the Twins organization due to some conflicts that have arisen in the past over medical claims. I have no idea why Dwight Siebler or Pete Cimino were not in attendance other than Siebler only appeared in seven games and Cimino only appeared in one game.As nored earlier, coach Hal Naragon was in attendance.

Manager Sam Mele who is 93 was not able to attend due to health concerns but he did make a short video that was played for the crowd. Coaches Billy Martin, Johnny Sain, and Jim Lemon have also passed on. Coach Hal Naragon as mentioned earlier was in attendance.

I took a few pictures at the championship breakfast that I will share with you here. Just click on the first thumbnail image to get started.

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1965 TWINS A.L. CHAMPIONSHIP REUNIONMinnesota Twins; Target Field; Minneapolis Minnesota
1965 TWINS A.L. CHAMPIONSHIP REUNIONMinnesota Twins; Target Field; Minneapolis Minnesota

The Twins were kind enough to provide me with a group picture from the Saturday celebration. Clicking on the picture will enlarge it slightly.

BACK ROW L - R: Jim Merritt, Jerry Kindall, Dick Stigman, Rich Reese, Mel Nelson, Andy Kosco, Frank Kostro, Garry Roggenburk, Jerry Fosnow, Bernie Allen, Hal Naragon FRONT ROW L - R: Joe Nossek, Sandy Valdespino, Rich Rollins, Jim Perry, Camilo Pascual, Al Worthington, Frank Quilici, Jim Kaat, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Tony Oliva
BACK ROW L – R: Jim Merritt, Jerry Kindall, Dick Stigman, Rich Reese, Mel Nelson, Andy Kosco, Frank Kostro, Garry Roggenburk, Jerry Fosnow, Bernie Allen, Hal Naragon
FRONT ROW L – R: Joe Nossek, Sandy Valdespino, Rich Rollins, Jim Perry, Camilo Pascual, Al Worthington, Frank Quilici, Jim Kaat, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Tony Oliva

 

Charley Walters: Memories of 1965 still fresh for Twins great Jim Kaat

Fox Sports: 1965 Minnesota Twins reunion video (19 minutes)

Twins celebrate 1965 American League Champions video (several combined video’s about 30 minutes total)

KSTP Breaking News! Minnesota Twins clinch the 1965 AL pennant! 9/26/1965 radio aircheck

Another short 1965 reunion video

 

200 hits in a season

Jose AltuveLast Wednesday Houston Astros 2B Jose Altuve went two for five in the Astros 5-2 win over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. His single in the seventh inning was his 200th hit of the season. As of today, Altuve, a 2014 All-Star has 206 hits and the hitter closest to him in hits is Indians outfielder Michael Brantley with 180 hits. The 24 year-old five foot six inch second sacker who is in his fourth season with the Astro’s is showing everyone that he is a real good baseball player. In the last 10 seasons MLB hitters have had 200 or more hits on 36 occasions but last year there were none and this season Altuve may well be the only one. Is pitching taking over baseball?

So when was the last time the Minnesota Twins had a hitter with 200 or more hits in a season? Can’t remember? Maybe that is because it hasn’t happened for many a year. The last Twins hitter to have 200 or more hits in a season was 39 year-old DH Paul Molitor back in 1996. The amazing Kirby Puckett did it a total of five times including four in a row from 1986-1989 and he came up just short in 1985 with 199 hits. The Twins now in their 54th season have had only 13 hitters that have gotten 200 or more hits in a single season. The Twins have never had more than one hitter in a season get 200 or more hits but in 1977 Rod Carew had 239 hits and Lyman Bostock came up just short with 199 hits.

Twins hitters with 200 or more hits in a season

Kirby Puckett

Rk Player H Year ? Age G AB R HR RBI BA OPS Pos
1 Paul Molitor 225 1996 39 161 660 99 9 113 .341 .858 *D3/H
2 Kirby Puckett 210 1992 32 160 639 104 19 110 .329 .864 *8/DH45
3 Kirby Puckett 215 1989 29 159 635 75 9 85 .339 .843 *8/HD
4 Kirby Puckett 234 1988 28 158 657 109 24 121 .356 .920 *8/H
5 Kirby Puckett 207 1987 27 157 624 96 28 99 .332 .900 *8/DH
6 Kirby Puckett 223 1986 26 161 680 119 31 96 .328 .903 *8/H
7 Rod Carew 239 1977 31 155 616 128 14 100 .388 1.019 *3/H4D
8 Rod Carew 200 1976 30 156 605 97 9 90 .331 .858 *3/4H
9 Rod Carew 218 1974 28 153 599 86 3 55 .364 .879 *4/H
10 Rod Carew 203 1973 27 149 580 98 6 62 .350 .881 *4/H
11 Cesar Tovar 204 1971 30 157 657 94 1 45 .311 .725 *798/5H4
12 Tony Oliva 204 1970 31 157 628 96 23 107 .325 .878 *9/8H
13 Tony Oliva 217 1964 25 161 672 109 32 94 .323 .916 *9/8H7
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2014.

 

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.

How rare is 4 XBH in a game?

In yesterday’s Minnesota Twins 6-5 loss to the New York Yankees at Target Field Yankee second baseman Brian Roberts went four for five with four extra base (three doubles and a triple) hits.

You don’t see that too often so it was time for me to see how often this feat has been done by a Twins player in a 9 inning game. Come to find out it has been done only six times by the Twins and the only player to do it twice was the late great Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.

Puckett 1987 Topps

Rk Player Date Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR XBH RBI Pos Summary
1 Michael Cuddyer 2005-09-21 OAK W 10-4 5 4 2 4 3 0 1 4 4 RF
2 Corey Koskie 2001-07-12 MIL W 13-5 5 5 3 4 2 0 2 4 3 3B
3 Rich Becker 1996-07-13 CLE L 11-19 6 6 3 4 1 1 2 4 6 CF
4 Kirby Puckett 1989-05-13 TOR W 10-8 5 5 1 4 4 0 0 4 3 CF
5 Kirby Puckett 1987-08-30 MIL W 10-6 6 6 4 6 2 0 2 4 4 CF
6 Cesar Tovar 1967-05-21 CAL W 12-3 6 6 3 4 2 0 2 4 4 2B CF
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/5/2014.

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The most XBH in a regulation nine inning game since 1961 stands at five. The players that accomplished this were Josh Hamilton (TEX) with four HR and a 2B in 2012, Shawn Green (LAD) with four HR and a 2B in 2002, Steve Garvey (LAD) with three 2B and 2 HR in 1977 and Willie Stargell (PIT) with three 2B and 2 HR in 1970. Catcher Kelly Shoppach (CLE) also had three doubles and a 2 HR in 2008 but it was in a 13 extra-inning game. As far as I can tell, no player has ever had more than five XBH in a game going back to 1914.

This Day in History – April 21

 

Ray Moore
Ray Moore

April 21, 1961 – The Minnesota Twins played their inaugural home game at Metropolitan stadium but came away with a loss against Joe McClain and the Washington Senators. The Senators score 2 in the top of the ninth off reliever Ray Moore and pin a 5-3 defeat on the Twins. 24,606 fans attended the Twins first home game and team ownership was disappointed that the game was not a sell-out with about 6,000 seats sitting empty. Temperature at game time was 63 degrees. There were no line-up cards available so Twins manager Cookie Lavagetto and Senators manager Mickey Vernon had to scribble their line-ups on pieces of scrap paper.

April 21, 1967 – Tony Oliva of Minnesota lost a home run due to a base running blunder. Playing in Detroit in the third inning, Cesar Tovar was the runner at first base. Oliva hit the ball out of the park off Denny McLain, but then passed Tovar between first and second. He was credited with a single and one RBI for scoring Tovar. In the ninth inning Oliva hit another home run and this one counted.

John ButcherApril 21, 1985 – The Twins had won the first two games of the 1985 season under manager Billy Gardner but then proceeded to lose nine in a row before John Butcher took the mound for the Twins against the Oakland A’s at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium on this day and shut out the A’s on just 3 hits facing only 28 batters and threw just 81 pitches. The game lasted just 1 hour and 55 minutes and Kirby Puckett went 3 for 5 and knocked in both runs.

April 21, 1994 – Eddie Murray set a major league record with his 11th switch-hit home run (home run from each side of the plate) game as the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 10-6 at the Metrodome.

April 21, 2004 – The Twins sell pitcher Brad Thomas to the Boston Red Sox.

 

Joe Nathan
Joe Nathan

April 21, 2007 – The Twins had started the 2007 season with 19 consecutive stolen bases before Torii Hunter gets caught in the 8th inning of their 17th game of the season. However; the Twins beat the Royals at Kauffman Stadium 7-5 and Joe Nathan performs a rarity during his 6th save of the season when he retires the Royals 1-2-3 in the ninth getting Esteban German, Tony Pena, and David DeJesus all looking at 3rd strikes. Getting the side out 1-2-3 for a save, all on called third strikes is rare feat and was last done in 2003 by Jose Valverde.

April 21, 2012 – With his leadoff single in the ninth inning, Josh Willingham extended his season-opening hitting streak to 15 games. He improved upon the record he set Friday night, the longest hitting streak by a player to start his Twins career. And he tied Kirby Puckett’s 1994 Twins record for the longest season-opening hitting streak. His streaks ended as he went hitless on April 22nd.

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.