TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
One player debuted in the big leagues as a Minnesota Twin on August 27.
Chip Hale (2B/3B) – August 27, 1989 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 17th round of the 1987 amateur draft. Debuted in the Dome in a Twins 8-5 win over the Seattle Mariners going 1 for 5 with a run scored.
You can check out other Major League Debuts as Twins that I have done by going here.
The other day I was having lunch and reading my newest Memories and Dreams magazine put out by the Hall of Fame. There are always good stories in this magazine and in this edition there was a short one page article by Marty Appel called A Second Look at Hall of Famer Nellie Fox.
I am old enough to have seen Nellie play second base for the Chicago White Sox in early 60’s although by then he was on the down-hill side of his amazing career that started back in 1951. Not only was the man a twelve time all-star but he was the American League MVP in 1959.
Fox was one tough dude to strike out, in over 10,000 plate appearances he struck out just 216 times, that is incredible. He once had a record 98 straight games without being retired on strikes.
That got me to thinking about the Twins and how often they strike out. Now days players strike out more frequently then they once did and baseball and teams just kind of wink and say “yes, he strikes out but look at all those home runs”. If Nellie went 98 games with striking out what is the Twins longest streak of games without striking out.
| Rk | Name | Strk Start | End | Games | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Earl Battey | 1965-08-02 | 1965-09-05 | 35 | 110 | 7 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 12 | .255 | .323 | .677 |
| 2 | Brian Harper | 1989-04-11 | 1989-05-31 | 28 | 74 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 4 | .230 | .294 | .700 |
| 3 | Glenn Adams | 1980-05-24 | 1980-07-04 | 27 | 71 | 8 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | .324 | .354 | .749 |
| 4 | Sandy Valdespino | 1965-07-07 | 1965-08-15 | 27 | 46 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | .348 | .400 | .770 |
| 5 | Hal Naragon | 1961-08-26 | 1962-06-05 | 27 | 55 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .273 | .328 | .619 |
| 6 | Rich Chiles | 1977-07-08 | 1977-08-21 | 25 | 55 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | .200 | .302 | .556 |
| 7 | Mickey Hatcher | 1983-08-23 | 1983-09-19 | 24 | 90 | 11 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 2 | .356 | .366 | .866 |
| 8 | Vic Power | 1962-04-15 | 1962-05-20 | 24 | 89 | 10 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 4 | .303 | .333 | .760 |
| 9 | Chip Hale | 1996-04-02 | 1996-05-21 | 23 | 26 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | .385 | .448 | 1.064 |
| 10 | Frank Kostro | 1967-06-22 | 1967-09-17 | 23 | 21 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .381 | .435 | .816 |
| 11 | Jerry Terrell | 1976-07-25 | 1976-09-05 | 21 | 50 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | .280 | .327 | .647 |
| 12 | Leo Cardenas | 1971-04-27 | 1971-05-20 | 21 | 76 | 12 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 7 | .329 | .381 | .920 |
| 13 | Brian Harper | 1988-07-03 | 1988-08-12 | 20 | 66 | 5 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | .379 | .391 | .952 |
| 14 | Dave Meier | 1984-08-23 | 1985-06-10 | 20 | 45 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | .178 | .213 | .413 |
| 15 | Jose Morales | 1979-09-25 | 1980-05-20 | 20 | 39 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | .282 | .326 | .710 |
| 16 | Rod Carew | 1974-09-29 | 1975-05-10 | 20 | 66 | 11 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | .394 | .461 | .961 |
Are you kidding me, Earl Battey with a 35 game streak of no strike outs during the 1965 pennant race? Wowsers, that is amazing. I sure don’t remember Battey having such a good eye at the plate but when you look at his numbers you will find out he never struck out more than 75 times in a season. Brain Harper is on the list twice, with a 28 game streak and a 20 game streak. I used to love watching Harper bat, he always seemed to make contact and what I remember most about him was how he followed each and every pitch all the way to the catchers glove.
You will notice that the most recent Twins streak of at least 20 games with out striking out goes back to 1996 when Chip Hale had a 23 gamer, today Chip Hale manages the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Who had the longest streak of this kind in 2015 you ask? That would be Nori Aoki from the San Francisco Giants with a 22 game streak from June 6 to August 5 and that was after he had a 20 game streak from May 5 to May 31. He must have had something in his eye because he struck out once a game on June 1, 2 and 3. That means from May 9 to August 5, Aoki had 187 plate appearances and struck out 3 times. Nice! Aoki just signed to play with Seattle a week or so ago.
How about the Minnesota Twins in 2015? The most games streak with out a strikeout was 10 by catcher Kurt Suzuki.
To me one of the oddest things about the above list is that catchers make up the top three streaks and Jose Morales is a bit further down the list and he played a handful of games behind the plate too. Now in 2015 Suzuki has the longest streak. Why is that?
Is it because catchers just naturally have a better eye for the strike zone? I doubt it. Do catchers learn as the game goes along how the umpire is calling balls and strikes and they can put that information to use? Are catchers skillful enough to do that? Or is it that maybe umpires have a certain degree of empathy for catchers and build friendships with them over time that causes them subconsciously not to call strikes on them as often? You gotta wonder… or is it just a quirk that three Twins catchers are on top of this list?
On one hand the Minnesota Twins front office keep saying that they have no idea on how long the process will take to hire a new Twins manager but they have to make sure that they pick the right person for the job. Apparently GM Terry Ryan isn’t keeping the organization appraised of progress because in today’s edition of the Star Tribune Phil Miller has a quote from Ryan where he states ” I wouldn’t pretend to tell you that we’re done” with the search for the new manager, said Terry Ryan. “We still have a ways to go yet before we get there. But I would say we’re right on schedule.” According to various reports the Twins have interviewed internal candidates Paul Molitor, Doug Mientkiewicz, Gene Glynn, and Terry Steinbach. They have also reportedly talked with Torey Lovullo, Sandy Alomar Jr., Joe McEwing, Chip Hale (who just took the Arizona managers job), and maybe looking to talk with DeMarlo Hale.
The Twins payroll for 2015 has been getting some play in various Twins blogs and news reports. According to Twins prez Dave St. Peter “We haven’t finalized a 2015 budget, but I can assure you, we don’t see it going down significantly.” Going down? Why should it go down? The Twins have stated numerous times that they try to keep player payroll at about 50% of revenue. With the Twins having terrible seasons on the field from 2011-2014, fan attendance at Target Field has fallen each season so everyone assumes that revenue is down. Why is everyone making that assumption and playing right into the Twins hands? According to Forbes Magazine who publishes annual MLB team valuations the Twins revenue in 2010 was $162 million, in 2011 and 2012 it was $213 million, in 2013 it was $214 million, in 2014 it was $221 million. Why doesn’t anyone call the Twins on this? What am I missing here?
Twins pitching prospect Jake Reed who was drafted out of Oregon in round five this past summer is making the pick look really good. Reed pitched for Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids this summer and the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Reed was 3-0 with a 0.29 ERA in a combined 20 games, had eight saves and 39 strikeouts and only three walks in 31 innings. Now in his first week of Arizona Fall League play he has earned AFL Pitcher of the Week honors.
Curious how your favorite Twins and Twins minor leaguers are doing as they play in off-season leagues? You can see their stats here.
The Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League have announced that former Minnesota Twins infielder Luke Hughes will be their new player/coach during the 2014/2014 season.
Last but certainly not least we have the following announcement. What is the world coming to? YIKES! Starting with the 2015 season, the American Association (the league that St. Paul Saints play in) has announced the adoption of extra-inning tiebreaker rules to be used in all regular-season games, based upon existing International Baseball Federation and Can-Am League rules.
Beginning in the 11th inning, the player in the batting order immediately preceding that inning’s leadoff hitter will be placed on second base. The inning will otherwise proceed as usual, with each team getting a turn at bat.
Should the player starting the inning on second base eventually score, it will count in statistics as a run for the player and an RBI for the batter who drove him in (if applicable), but it will not count towards the pitcher’s earned-run average.
American Association commissioner Miles Wolff commented, “This rule was very well-received in the Can-Am League last year, and we’re looking forward to using this innovation in the American Association.” Similar rules are also in effect for most international competitions, including during the World Baseball Classic and the IBAF World Championships.
I am looking forward to a good World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants. Go Blue!
Twins rookie catcher Josmil Pinto went 3 for 4 on Monday, with all three hits being doubles, leaving him with 13 hits in 23 at-bats, a .565 batting average, in seven games in the major leagues. Since 1980, only one player has had at least 20 at-bats and a higher batting average than Pinto in his first seven games in the big leagues; Jay Bruce was 15 for 26 (.577) at that point of his career.
| Player | H | G | Year | Age | PA | AB | R | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josmil Pinto | .565 | 13 | 7 | 2013 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .600 | .913 | 1.513 |
| Gary Ward (RoY-9th) | .463 | 19 | 13 | 1980 | 26 | 46 | 41 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .489 | .780 | 1.269 |
| Glenn Williams | .425 | 17 | 13 | 2005 | 27 | 43 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | .452 | .450 | .902 |
| Mike Ryan | .393 | 24 | 27 | 2003 | 25 | 68 | 61 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 12 | 2 | .441 | .754 | 1.195 |
| Steve Lombardozzi | .370 | 20 | 28 | 1985 | 25 | 65 | 54 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | .426 | .481 | .908 |
| Tommy Watkins | .357 | 10 | 9 | 2007 | 27 | 32 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | .438 | .357 | .795 |
| Player | H | G | Year | Age | PA | AB | R | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | ||||
| Chris Parmelee | .355 | 27 | 21 | 2011 | 23 | 88 | 76 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 0 | .443 | .592 | 1.035 |
| John Barnes | .351 | 13 | 11 | 2000 | 24 | 41 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .415 | .459 | .874 |
| Chip Hale | .333 | 62 | 69 | 1993 | 28 | 213 | 186 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 18 | 17 | 2 | .408 | .425 | .832 |
The Twins announced yesterday that they will have seven players going to the Arizona Fall League Peoria Javelinas this season. The players are catcher Chris Hermann, outfielders Evan Bigley and Nate Roberts along with pitchers Kyle Gibson, Caleb Thielbar, Logan Darnell and Michael Tonkin. Trainer Alan Rail will also be representing the Twins. 13 players on the current Twins roster have participated in the AFL in past years. The roots of the AFL go back to 1992 and that season the Twins participants were Derek Parks, Chip Hale, Jon Henry, Ray Ortiz, Rex Delanuez and Scott Ullger participated as a manager. The reason for the league was to have an easily accessible offseason league where players could be monitored closely and did not have to leave the country. The six clubs in the league are in close proximity to each other so not a lot of travel is required. The rules for participation have changed over the years but currently Major League clubs hold a position draft in August to determine the players who will go to Arizona, most are Double-A or Triple-A players but each club can also send one Single-A player if they wish.
A couple of days ago the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats announced that the team had three players named to the Eastern League Season Ending All-Star Team, first baseman/DH Chris Colabello, outfielder Aaron Hicks and third baseman Deibinson Romero were all named to the team which was announced from the Eastern League office. Congratulations to all three players.
We went to the Twins /Mariners game yesterday and the Twins and Samuel Deduno won 10-0. It was a warm and muggy Wednesday evening game and my wife was playing Twingo and before the first inning was over all she needed was a “base on balls” to be a Twingo winner. With Jason Vargas pitching for Seattle with a 2.3 BB/9 and Samuel Deduno pitching for the Twins with a 7.9 BB/9 I thought that would be the least of her issues but it took her until the third inning before she finally got that BB when Vargas walked Trevor Plouffe in the bottom of the third and she became a Twingo winner for the second game in a row. Who would have thought it would be tough finding a walk with Deduno pitching? Samuel Deduno pitched a superb game last night going 7 innings only allowing 2 hits with no walks. 68 of his 98 pitches were strikes, an amazing number for Deduno. I enjoy watching Deduno pitch, he does not have the best command but he knows how to get out of trouble and I hope he keeps getting better.
Then there is outfielder Denard Span. I used to real enjoy watching Denard Span play baseball but now that Span has been in the big leagues for a couple of years I see him as a malingerer. Span is not making superstar money but he is making $3 million this year, and will make $4.75 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014, $9 million in 2015. For that kind of money I expect Span who is still only 28 years of age to play in at least 155 games per season and since he became the full-time center fielder in 2009 he has appeared in 145, 153, 70 games and so far this season in 108 games. That does not cut it for me, if you are my regular center fielder I expect your butt in the line-up day in and day out regardless if the team is winning or losing. You get paid to play, not to sit on the bench belly aching that you are not 100%. Who is ever feeling perfect day in and day out? No one. If you worked for me in a regular job Denard, you would have been put on notice a long time ago and if you didn’t starting showing up ready to work day after day you would find yourself on the unemployment line. If I was one of Span’s teammates I would be pretty unhappy with Span and his lack of desire to play. When he does play, I am not sure that Span is willing to do what it takes to win. In my opinion a player of Span’s ability and experience should be stealing at least 25-30 bases a year and yet when he is on base he stands there and waits for someone to knock him in. Is he afraid that he will get hurt if he tries to steal a base? If I was GM Terry Ryan I would trade Span in a heart beat. Now that I am reasonably sure that Ben Revere can play center field at the big league level I get what I can for Span. I trade Span before the rest of the baseball world realizes that Span only plays when he is feeling great and his team is winning. Denard Span is part of the problem on this Twins team, he is not part of the solution. If I am building a team I want players that want to play day after day, I don’t need someone with a low pain threshold that would rather sit than play if he is not feeling 100%. Now I see that the Twins have recalled Matt Carson and put Span on the DL and there is a chance Span is done for the season. What a shocker…..
Speaking of injuries, who is making the decisions for the Twins on who stays on the roster and who goes on the DL? For the second year in a row we have players that seem to be day-to-day for a week or more. Why should Gardy manage with one hand tied behind his back because he has players sitting on his bench that can’t play that day but claim they will be ready tomorrow? I am tired of tomorrow’s, either you play or you find yourself on the DL, it seems simple enough to me, what am I missing here.