Tag: Dan Gladden

Someone needs to wake Gardy up

"<strongI have been a Ron Gardenhire fan for a long time but I have to admit even I am more than a bit confused and irritated with his recent infatuation for having his players play multiple positions. I understand that a team needs to have utility players that can play multiple positions but there is no need to have each player on the 25 man roster be able to play multiple positions. I think you are doing a disservice to the player and the team when you have your players playing out of position. A professional player is best at one particular position no matter how many positions he might be able to play. A player becomes more skillful at his position by playing his position day after day and helps the team because everyone knows how that player will react day in and day out. An everyday player does not become more valuable by playing more positions, he becomes more valuable by becoming a better player in his assigned position. Players are not paid more because they can play more positions, they get paid more when they excel in a particular position.

I believe that Gardy is making a huge blunder by playing Danny Santana out in center field. Santana has been groomed to be a shortstop since the team signed him back in 2007 and now you bring him up to the big leagues for the first time and what do you do but send him out to play center field about 30% of the games he has played in Minnesota. What the hell? Gardy was unhappy with Pedro Florimon because he couldn’t hit and so Santana gets called up because he might be your shortstop of the future. So what does Gardy do? He turns his utility man Eduardo Escobar into the teams starting shortstop and sits Santana on the bench. Santana is still learning to play shortstop and you are playing him in center field one-third of the time? I know you have a hole in center but why send Santana out to the outfield to learn to play center field in the major leagues? Just because Santana has speed does not mean he is a center fielder, he might be, but why have him learn how to play center in the big leagues, that is what the minor leagues are for. Then in a week or two you will complain that Santana is not hitting and you send him down to the minors where he will play shortstop once again. You bring up a guy to the big leagues for the first time in his career and you play him out of position? That is just plain stupid. You hurt Santana’s development at shortstop and you hurt the Twins team while Santana learns to play center. Why in the world do you want Santana to learn to play center anyway? Byron Buxton is your center fielder of the future and is probably just a year or so away and you waste your time and Danny Santana‘s future by playing him out of position? What are you thinking? Look at the big picture Gardy, this is just plain silly.

There is nothing wrong with playing someone out of position in an emergency but to do it on purpose time and time again is just plain wrong. Santana is not the only example, look at Chris Herrmann. The 26-year-old Herrmann is supposedly a catcher and he has been in the big leagues for a total of 81 games and he has played the corner outfield more than he has been behind the plate. Today I read that he going to the minors and you want him to learn how to play center field there, why? Yikes! Dan Gladden would do better in center field now than Herrmann will ever do and Gladden is 56 years old and hasn’t played in the big leagues since 1993. Eduardo Nunez is still another example, why send this infielder out to patrol left field? Nunez played for the Yankees for 281 in four years and the Yankees had him in the outfield 8 times. Nunez has appeared in 11 Twins games, he has played in the Twins infield exactly once, at 3B. Nunez is an infielder, not an outfielder, DH or a PH.

This is not the National League Gardy with double switches and all that goes with that, manage like you want to win some games here in Minnesota. If you want to help develop players then give up your current job and take a job in the minors where you can help them develop all you want. One day you say you want to come to the ballpark everyday and throw out the same line-up day in and day out and the next day you play players in positions they are not familiar with. The majority of the blame for the Twins playing players out of position falls on Gardy’s shoulders because Terry Ryan and Rob Antony let Gardy manage as he wishes for the most part and that is the way it should be. But, I think that Gardy has crossed the line here and Ryan and Antony need to step up and put a stop to this foolishness ASAP.

Bottom line it is the managers responsibility to play his players where they have the best chance to succeed both in the field and in the batting order and to help the home team to win games, I don’t think that Gardy is doing that with this team in 2014.

This Day in Twins History – March 31

March 31, 1987 – Just before the Twins open their championship 1987 season they trade pitchers Bryan Hickerson, Ray Velasquez, and Jose Dominguez to the Giants for pitcher David Blakely and outfielder Dan Gladden.

March 31, 1999 – The Twins send pitcher Dan Serafini to the Cubs and get cash for their coffers.

March 31, 2003 – The earliest opening day in Minnesota Twins history takes place at the Twins beat the Tigers 3-1 in Detroit.

March 31, 2010 – Twins outfielder Denard Span struck his mother, Wanda Wilson, in the chest with a foul ball while batting in the first inning on Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa against the Yankees in a spring training game. Span was leading off the game against the Yankees’ Phil Hughes when he fouled a 3-2 pitch directly to the left of the visitors’ third-base dugout, where a group of friends and family members were settling in for the game. The ball struck his mother, who was sitting three rows from the field and wearing a Twins jersey with Span’s name on it, with a thud that was audible to the players on the Minnesota bench. Span immediately dashed into the seating bowl, consoling her as help arrived. Luckily, Span’s mother was not seriously hurt and after being checked out, watched the remainder of the game.

Make sure you stop by and check out our “Today in Twins History” page every day.

How well do you know your Twins outfield history?

crossword image

By my count the Twins have had 103 players that have played at least 50% of their games roaming the outfield in a Twins uniform. The Twins have had 146 players play at least one game in left field with Dan Gladden leading the pack with 620 games. The Twins have had 90 players play at least one game in center field with Kirby Puckett leading the pack with 1,432 games. The Twins have had 137 players play at least one game in right field with Tony Oliva leading the pack with 1,137 games. That is a lot of different players in three different home ballparks. How well do you know your Twins outfielders? If you enjoy Twins history and like to do crossword puzzles then this might be just the thing for you.

Once you have brought the puzzle up and are ready to print the puzzle, do a right-click with your mouse and you might want to do a print preview first to get the puzzle the right size to fit on a single page. The clues for the puzzle will print on page 2.

Twins outfielders puzzle

Answers? You want answers? Probably just to double-check your work because if you are checking out this site you are probably a big Twins fan and will not need any research to complete the puzzle. If you do need help answering some, the answer might be found else where on this site. If you must see the answers, you can find them on the link below but only do so as a last resort. Thanks, I hope you enjoy it.

Twins outfielders puzzle answers

And leading off for the Twins…..

The Twins just can’t find a leadoff hitter this season. After trading both Denard Span and Ben Revere this past off-season, manager Gardenhire has been searching high and low to find someone who can fill that role. The Twins have tried 6 players leading off the game and they have all failed miserably but since someone has to hit first, Gardy has given that job to 2B Brain Dozier since July 2. During those 29 games Dozier has 135 PA’s and is hitting .258 with a .306 OBP. Not exactly all-star caliber production but it is what it is.

 

Twins leadoff hitters in the games first at bat

Rk I Player Year G OBP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OPS TB HBP ROE
1 Clete Thomas 2013 16 .313 16 14 5 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .214 .527 3 0 1
2 Eduardo Escobar 2013 7 .286 7 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .167 .452 1 0 0
3 Jamey Carroll 2013 25 .280 25 23 3 5 1 0 0 0 2 3 .217 .541 6 0 1
4 Brian Dozier 2013 51 .235 51 48 5 9 0 3 1 1 1 7 .188 .610 18 2 0
5 Aaron Hicks 2013 10 .200 10 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 .000 .200 0 0 0
6 Darin Mastroianni 2013 2 .000 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 0 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/8/2013.

 

How does 2013 compare to how the Twins leadoff hitters has done over the years? I know this is not probably going to shock you but the 2013 team is on a historically bad pace and if thing don’t improve quickly, this will finish as the worst OBP for a leadoff hitter in their history, even worse than the 1982 Twins who finished 60-102. A good leadoff hitter is nice to have but it certainly does not guarantee that you will be in the playoffs or even play .500 ball for that matter.

Historical Twins teams leadoff hitters in the games first at bat

Rk Year G OBP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OPS TB HBP ROE
1 1995 144 .507 144 120 34 49 10 2 3 3 20 21 .408 1.107 72 4 0
2 1996 162 .481 162 133 37 49 8 1 5 5 21 20 .368 1.038 74 8 2
3 1992 162 .414 162 144 41 49 9 2 5 5 16 27 .340 .948 77 2 5
4 1970 162 .407 162 151 40 55 9 3 1 1 11 10 .364 .891 73 0 0
5 1994 113 .398 113 95 25 27 6 1 4 4 18 16 .284 .893 47 0 1
6 1987 162 .383 162 141 29 41 10 0 3 3 20 23 .291 .808 60 1 3
7 1977 161 .379 161 143 37 43 5 3 1 1 18 12 .301 .777 57 0 5
8 1997 162 .370 162 140 38 38 4 2 3 3 20 23 .271 .763 55 2 0
9 2009 163 .362 163 142 26 38 4 1 3 3 21 19 .268 .735 53 0 1
10 1990 162 .358 162 151 37 47 6 2 2 2 8 23 .311 .775 63 3 3
11 1976 162 .358 162 148 33 44 6 1 1 1 14 10 .297 .730 55 0 1
12 1966 162 .358 162 150 28 46 8 3 0 0 9 24 .307 .758 60 3 2
13 1973 162 .352 162 146 27 41 8 3 2 2 16 24 .281 .770 61 0 2
14 2005 162 .352 162 150 19 45 6 1 1 1 10 17 .300 .725 56 2 2
15 1969 162 .352 162 146 36 41 9 1 3 3 15 11 .281 .770 61 1 4
16 1998 162 .352 162 150 24 45 7 2 2 2 10 28 .300 .765 62 2 2
17 1971 160 .350 160 149 21 45 6 1 0 0 10 5 .302 .706 53 1 2
18 2002 161 .348 161 153 29 48 12 2 11 11 8 33 .314 .982 97 0 4
19 1975 159 .346 159 143 24 39 9 0 0 0 16 14 .273 .682 48 0 1
20 1999 161 .342 161 147 29 41 9 2 5 5 13 24 .279 .811 69 1 1
21 1978 162 .340 162 146 28 39 7 0 2 2 16 23 .267 .696 52 0 1
22 1980 161 .335 161 151 28 44 6 2 2 2 10 11 .291 .733 60 0 3
23 1967 164 .335 164 150 36 41 12 2 2 2 12 17 .273 .755 63 2 2
24 1989 162 .333 162 143 32 35 4 1 1 1 17 17 .245 .641 44 2 3
25 1986 162 .333 162 151 28 43 5 2 6 6 8 23 .285 .797 70 3 1
Rk Year G OBP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OPS TB HBP ROE
26 2004 162 .333 162 153 24 45 6 0 6 6 8 16 .294 .784 69 1 1
27 2000 162 .327 162 149 32 40 10 4 3 3 13 27 .268 .777 67 0 1
28 1993 162 .321 162 153 21 43 1 0 1 1 7 20 .281 .628 47 2 3
29 2010 162 .321 162 144 28 34 9 1 1 1 16 18 .236 .654 48 2 2
30 2007 162 .321 162 147 23 37 4 1 0 0 15 17 .252 .614 43 0 4
31 2006 162 .321 162 145 22 35 4 0 1 1 17 21 .241 .611 42 0 2
32 2001 162 .321 162 146 19 36 7 3 4 4 15 24 .247 .739 61 1 0
33 1968 162 .321 162 147 27 37 7 0 2 2 10 13 .252 .661 50 5 1
34 1962 163 .319 163 143 29 32 5 1 1 1 17 13 .224 .613 42 3 1
35 1961 161 .317 161 148 25 38 9 0 1 1 13 18 .257 .655 50 0 2
36 2011 162 .315 162 148 29 37 3 3 1 1 14 22 .250 .646 49 0 2
37 1972 154 .312 154 142 25 36 3 1 0 0 9 9 .254 .600 41 3 3
38 2003 162 .309 162 153 28 41 9 1 6 6 9 28 .268 .766 70 0 3
39 1964 163 .307 163 151 31 38 9 2 3 3 9 23 .252 .704 60 3 0
40 1985 162 .302 162 149 25 36 6 1 0 0 13 18 .242 .598 44 0 2
41 2012 162 .302 162 152 22 39 9 1 1 1 10 15 .257 .651 53 0 0
42 2008 163 .301 163 147 25 33 5 1 2 2 16 27 .224 .614 46 0 2
43 1974 163 .301 163 148 25 34 5 1 3 3 12 19 .230 .638 50 3 5
44 1963 161 .298 161 154 24 41 8 2 5 5 7 15 .266 .740 68 0 1
45 1984 162 .296 162 154 27 40 2 1 1 1 7 17 .260 .601 47 1 1
46 1979 162 .296 162 150 22 36 4 1 0 0 12 16 .240 .576 42 0 1
47 1981 110 .291 110 103 17 25 1 1 1 1 7 16 .243 .592 31 0 0
48 1983 162 .290 162 153 24 38 5 0 4 4 8 19 .248 .650 55 1 2
49 1991 162 .278 162 149 23 32 3 1 3 3 12 21 .215 .587 46 1 1
50 1988 162 .272 162 155 25 37 8 0 5 5 7 19 .239 .659 60 0 2
Rk Year G OBP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OPS TB HBP ROE
51 1965 162 .265 162 153 29 34 13 1 2 2 8 31 .222 .625 55 1 3
52 1982 162 .253 162 151 12 30 2 0 0 0 11 29 .199 .465 32 0 0
53 2013 111 .252 111 101 16 18 1 3 1 1 8 20 .178 .529 28 2 2
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/8/2013.

 

Let’s take a look at some of the Twins best ever leadoff hitters and see who had the best years and when they had them. I don’t think there is much question that Chuck Knoblauch was the best leadoff hitter the team has ever had.

Best Twins leadoff hitters in the games first at bat

Chuck Knoblauch

Rk I Player Year G OBP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OPS
1 Chuck Knoblauch 1995 134 .500 134 111 32 44 9 2 2 2 19 20 .396 1.068
2 Chuck Knoblauch 1996 151 .497 151 125 36 49 8 1 5 5 18 19 .392 1.089
3 Cesar Tovar 1970 156 .417 156 145 39 54 9 3 1 1 11 10 .372 .913
4 Chuck Knoblauch 1997 155 .374 155 134 36 37 4 2 3 3 19 21 .276 .777
5 Jacque Jones 2002 132 .364 132 124 27 40 10 2 11 11 8 26 .323 1.065
6 Denard Span 2009 143 .364 143 125 20 34 4 0 2 2 18 17 .272 .716
7 Cesar Tovar 1971 142 .359 142 133 19 42 6 1 0 0 8 4 .316 .735
8 Denard Span 2010 151 .338 151 133 27 33 8 1 1 1 16 17 .248 .684
9 Lenny Green 1962 149 .315 149 133 25 31 5 1 1 1 13 13 .233 .624
10 Kirby Puckett 1985 160 .300 160 148 25 36 6 1 0 0 12 18 .243 .597
11 Zoilo Versalles 1965 155 .258 155 148 27 33 12 1 2 2 6 30 .223 .616
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/8/2013.

 

Here we are looking at the Twins best players leading off in any inning. I know a good leadoff hitter is important but when you look at the numbers over an entire season and the number of times that the leadoff hitter actually leads off any inning, I think you will find that none of them even average two leadoff plate appearances a game. I think the best you will find on the list below is about 1.97 per game.

Rk I Player Year G OBP PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OPS
1 Chuck Knoblauch 1996 152 .462 288 242 65 87 15 5 8 8 35 38 .360 1.024
2 Chuck Knoblauch 1995 136 .458 240 202 52 72 13 5 4 4 32 32 .356 .988
3 Shane Mack 1992 133 .413 213 189 52 64 14 1 7 7 19 34 .339 .948
4 Kirby Puckett 1986 147 .385 270 253 58 87 12 2 10 10 13 29 .344 .911
5 Cesar Tovar 1970 156 .376 303 277 67 88 17 4 3 3 23 17 .318 .817
6 Denard Span 2009 144 .369 260 230 43 66 6 1 4 4 30 38 .287 .743
7 Chuck Knoblauch 1997 156 .368 272 242 59 70 9 3 4 4 27 34 .289 .768
8 Cesar Tovar 1971 147 .365 271 257 49 85 12 3 0 0 13 10 .331 .766
9 Denard Span 2010 151 .361 277 242 50 65 12 3 1 1 32 37 .269 .716
10 Zoilo Versalles 1966 130 .347 236 217 36 63 14 2 1 1 15 31 .290 .735
11 Jacque Jones 2002 135 .345 232 220 49 68 18 2 13 13 12 49 .309 .931
12 Lenny Green 1962 151 .336 298 268 52 70 12 2 5 5 26 18 .261 .712
13 Cesar Tovar 1968 142 .333 255 234 43 64 13 3 3 3 14 14 .274 .726
14 Zoilo Versalles 1964 137 .322 242 225 42 61 12 3 8 8 14 27 .271 .780
15 Kirby Puckett 1985 161 .320 300 282 42 78 10 3 1 1 18 31 .277 .664
16 Dan Gladden 1988 130 .315 248 230 46 60 12 1 6 6 17 29 .261 .715
17 Cesar Tovar 1967 136 .311 241 223 48 57 11 3 2 2 15 16 .256 .670
18 Cesar Tovar 1972 131 .311 238 221 43 57 8 1 0 0 14 15 .258 .614
19 Zoilo Versalles 1965 157 .285 284 267 54 64 20 3 2 2 14 47 .240 .645
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/8/2013.

 

A little of this and a little of that

When I listened to the Twins radio broadcast of their game against the Astros on Sunday while waterproofing my deck I found it amusing that Dan Gladden and Cory Provus seemed to be making fun of the Astros high strikeout total this season. I guess they both forgot that the Twins batters are no slouches themselves when it comes to not making bat contact. As of this morning Astros batters have struck out 1,034 times in 110 games, that averages out to 9.4 KO’s per game. The White Sox follow with 925 strike outs, the Red Sox have 909 strike outs and the Twins are next with 902 strike outs for an average of 8.4 per game. Had Willingham not gotten injured and Hicks played a full season in Minnesota the Twins might put up a serious challenge to Houston. Even without Willingham and Hicks the Twins are on pace to strikeout 1,356 times this season and blow away their previous team strikeout record of 1,121 that the 68-94 Twins of 1997 set.

On the good news side we have the Twins grounding into a total of only 60 double plays, the fewest in the league. The Orioles have the next fewest with 68.

Although the Twins seldom hit into double plays, stealing bases is not one of their strength’s as they have pilfered just 36 bases, only the Tigers with 29 and the Mariners with 35 have less.

The Twins OBP this season is .312. The Tigers and the Red Sox at .345 have the best OBP and as you might guess the Astros .299 trail the pack. The league average is .320. The Twins best ever OBP was .357 in 1996 while a .299 OBP in 1968 is the lowest full season OBP in Twins history.

Opposing batters have found Twins pitchers to be their league favorites as they have compiled a .278 batting average against Minnesota’s chuckers. Oddly enough, Twins pitchers have only given up 102 long balls ranking second best in that category behind the 86 given up by the Tigers.

Drew Butera
Drew Butera

There was a lot of speculation leading into the July 31 trading deadline that a number of Twins would be calling a new zip code home. When the trading deadline passed the Twins had made only one trade and he wasn’t even on the Twins 25 man roster at the time when GM Terry Ryan sent catcher Drew Butera to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash. The non-waiver Major League trading deadline has been July 31st since the 1986 season. Apparently that date is not necessarily circled in red on the Twins calendar of things to do. As a matter of fact, between 2000-2013 no team has made fewer trades in July then the Twins have. In the past 14 July’s the Minnesota Twins have consummated 15 trades.

July trade activity by club from 2000-2013

39 – Pirates, Padres
37 – Red Sox
36 – Cubs
35 – Dodgers
31 – Yankees
29 – White Sox, Indians, Rockies
28 – Royals
27 – Reds, Giants
26 – Orioles, Astros, Mets, Rangers
25 – Phillies
24 – Mariners
23 – Diamondbacks, Braves
21 – Marlins, Brewers, Cardinals
20 – Nationals/Expos
17 – Tigers, A’s, Blue Jays
16 – Rays
15 – Twins, Angels

Back on July 15 the Twins sent Oswaldo Arcia, Eduardo Escobar and Chris Parmelee down to Rochester and the next day called up catcher Chris Herrmann and infielder Doug Bernier. Herrmann has been with the Twins off and on but it was a long-awaited return to the big leagues for Bernier who saw action in just two games in a brief stay with the

Doug Bernier
Doug Bernier

Colorado Rockies back in 2008. Bernier has been in the minors since 2002 and has over a 1,000 minor league games under his belt. Though his primary position is shortstop, Bernier has played all over the diamond including pitching a couple of times but he has not ever squatted behind the plate. Bernier has spent time in the Yankee and Pirates organizations before hooking up with the Twins this past February. Todate Bernier has appeared in 10 games for the Twins and is hitting .261. It appears that the Twins will be letting Jamey Carroll go after this season or possibly trading him in a waiver deal this month and are auditioning for a new utility infielder. So far Bernier appears to be able to handle the role and I am sure he will be much cheaper than Carroll not to mention 6 years younger.

 

Andrew Albers
Andrew Albers

The Twins also recalled 27-year-old left-handed starter Andrew Albers from Rochester. Albers was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2008 but shortly thereafter injured his elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery missing all of 2009 and then was released by the Padres. Albers spent 2010 pitching in an independent league in Canada and showed enough promise to be signed by Minnesota prior to the 2011 season. This year Albers was 11-5 with a 2.68 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in Rochester. Albers has pitched 132.1 innings this year in 22 starts allowing 124 hits while striking out 116. Albers is expected to make his major league debut against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. It will be interesting to see what Albers can do in the big leagues, he has not had an ERA over 3.75 on any team he has pitched for. Albers will be wearing number 63.

Manager Ron Gardenhire needs 20 more Twins victories in the remaining 54 games to reach the 1,000 win plateau as the Twins skipper. With his position at risk, it would be a real shame if Gardy can’t get those 20 wins. I hope he gets those wins and many more as the Twins manager.

 

 Twins Minor League Standings as of August 5

AAA Rochester is 63-54 and in 1st place

AA New Britain is 54-60 and in 5th place 16.5 games out

High A Fort Myers is 67-41 and won first half title but is currently in 4th place in the second half at 22-19 but only 1.5 games out

Low A Cedar Rapids is 67-43 and won the first half title and is leading the second half with a 27-15 record.

Rookie Elizabethton is 19-23 and in fourth place 8.5 games behind

Rookie GCL Twins are 19-19 and in third place 2 games behind

DSL Twins are 27-26 and in fourth place 7.5 games behind

Twins forgotten man?

 

Eduardo Escobar
Eduardo Escobar

The Twins plan for an infield consisting of Justin Morneau, Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon and Trevor Plouffe may not yet be set in concrete but the forms are in place and the Cemstone truck is coming up the street. Jamey Carroll has a tight grip on one of the utility spots and now Gardy is making noise that he wants more power on his bench then he had last year and that would not bode well for Drew Butera as a third catcher. But I have my doubts that Gardy will make his wish a reality because he is just too concerned about getting a catcher hurt and losing his DH for the rest of the game. I just don’t understand his hang-up about that, if he lost his DH for the rest of a particular game who cares, it is just one game, big deal.

Most of the media and blog buzz is about the Twins starting pitching or who will play centerfield and almost everyone on the 40 man roster seems to have been put through the shredder, analyzed and re-analyzed except for one guy, nobody ever talks about Eduardo Escobar. I think Escobar is an interesting player and I have not seen him play very much but he can play 2B, short, and 3B and I keep seeing reports that he can also play the outfield but all I have found is that he played the outfield once in his seven minor league seasons and once with the White Sox last season before being traded to Minnesota as part of the Francisco Liriano trade. Escobar is still only 24 but he has over 600 minor league games and 59 big league games on his resume. Hitting is not Escobar’s strength as his career average in the minors is .267, it is his glove and his flexibility that will make him a valuable tool in Gardy’s arsenal. Escobar can steal some bases, can hit it out of the park a couple of times a year and the man is a switch-hitter. Everything I heard and saw after the trade to Minnesota last year indicated that he was a popular presence in the White Sox clubhouse and all the players hated to see him go. I am not saying that Escobar should be a starter, I am just saying that we should not over look him, I think he can fit a role on this team. I have always liked the under-dog and Eduardo Escobar seems to fit that role for me. Getting a couple of hits in his first spring game today was nice to see.

It has been a long winter and it was good to be able to listen to a Twins baseball game again today. I will say however; that it didn’t take long for Dan Gladden to get on my nerves. the man is there to broadcast a baseball game and not to tell me about his personal life and where he likes to stop and have a cold drink and feed his face. Describe the baseball action Gladden and try to act like a professional announcer you are paid to be.

Guardado and Mee to join Twins Hall of Fame

Eddie "Every Day" Guardado
Eddie “Everyday Eddie” Guardado (courtesy of the Minnesota Twins)

 

 

The Twins announced that pitcher Eddie Guardado and former executive Tom Mee have been selected to be inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame at Target Field on June 16 prior to the Twins vs Detroit Tigers game. Guardado and Mee will become
the 25th and 26th members of the Twins Hall of Fame.

The January 25th Minnesota Twins press release stated that “Guardado was elected by a 56-member committee consisting of local and national media, club officials, fans and past elected members, using rules similar to those necessary for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The 56-member committee annually considers “player” personnel for induction into the Twins Hall of Fame. Guardado was the top vote getter, followed by Chuck Knoblauch, Cesar Tovar and Dan Gladden. Mee was elected through the Veterans Committee ballot, which consists of 18 voters; voting participants include all living Twins Hall of Famers, current Twins President and General Manger and two Minnesota Baseball historians. The 18-member committee votes every other year on “non-player” personnel for induction into the Twins Hall of Fame”.

The 42-year old Guardado was born in Stockton, California and was the Twins 21st round selection in the 1990 June amateur draft but he did not sign with the team until May 23, 1991. Guardado started his pro career with Elizabethton and pitched in Kenosha (A), Visalia (A+), and Nashville (AA) before the Twins called and said they needed his help in the big leagues.

On June 13, 1993 Eddie made his major league debut at the Metrodome as the Twins starter against the Oakland A’s but it was not a propitious beginning as Eddie gave up a home run to Terry Steinbach who was batting second in the A’s batting order in the top of the first inning. The Twins came back with four of their own in the bottom of the inning and led 4-1 after one inning. Guardado left with a 4-3 lead after pitching 3.1 innings and giving up 5 hits, 3 walks while striking out 3 but the Twins relievers could not hold the lead and the Twins lost 7-6. Guardado pitched in 19 games starting 16 of them in 1993 but as time went along it became apparent that Eddie’s true calling would be in the bullpen. “Everyday Eddie” soon became a bullpen fixture and pitched for the Twins from 1993-2003 and returned for 9 games in 2008. Guardado became the Twins closer in 2001 and saved a league leading 45 games in 2002 and had 41 saves in 2003 and was selected to the All-Star team both years. Guardado became a free agent after the 2003 season and signed with the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners traded Guardado to the Cincinnati Reds in June of 2006 and “Every Day” Eddie pitched there for two season before playing for the Texas Rangers and the Twins again in 2008 and then finishing his active big league career as a Ranger once again in 2009. During his stay in Minnesota Guardado had a 37-48 record with 116 saves and is the Twins all-time pitching leader in games appeared with 648 throughout his career, recording at least 60 appearances in eight different seasons. Additionally, he is the Twins all-time leader in innings pitched (579.0) as a reliever and stands third on the Twins all-time saves list with 116.

Tom Mee (courtesy of the Minnesota Twins)
Tom Mee (courtesy of the Minnesota Twins)

St. Paul native Tom Mee is widely regarded as the Minnesota Twins first employee and he served in a variety of roles in the Twins organization including radio/TV broadcaster, public address announcer but was best known for serving as Director of Media Relations for 30 years. After retiring in 1991, Mee went on to be the teams official scorer and he performed those duties until he left that post in 2007.

Mee received the Robert O. Fischel award for Public Relations excellence in 1988 and in 2007 he became the second ever recipient of the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award. The Tom Mee Library, which is located in the Baseball Communications office at Target Field, is named in his honor

A number of fans seemed surprised and disappointed at Eddie Guardado’s selection to the Twins Hall of Fame stating that the bar has been lowered but if they took the time to look at what he accomplished in a Twins uniform they would see that he is fully deserving of the honor that the Twins will bestow on him this summer. Although Guardado was not blessed with the greatest physical abilities he proved over the years that he was one of the Twins best.

  • Third on the franchise all-time saves list behind Joe Nathan and Rick Aguilera with 116.
  • Third on the franchise strikeouts per 9 innings ranking behind only Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano.
  • Second in franchise history in games appeared by a pitcher behind only Hall of Famer Walter Johnson.
  • Only “Iron Mike” Marshall appeared in more games in a season than Guardado did.
  • Only Nathan and Aguilera finished more games than Eddie did in franchise history.
 

This Day in Twins History – August 8

1974 – The Royals – Twins game at Royals Stadium is briefly interrupted by President Nixon’s resignation speech. The speech is broadcast after it begins and the next inning is delayed until the conclusion of the speech. The Twins prevail over the host Royals‚ 3 – 2 in 14 innings when Tony Oliva’s sacrifice fly drives home Rod Carew. Bill Campbell pitches 7 innings of relief for the win.

1987 – The Twins beat the Oakland A’s 9-2 at the Metrodome as Twins pitcher Steve Carlton wins the 329th and final game of his Hall of Fame career. Carlton pitches 8 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs while striking out two batters

1988 – The Indians and the Twins were scoreless after 3 innings at the Metrodome with Allan Anderson on the mound for the local nine. In the top of the fourth inning with no one out, the Indians Ron Washington and Willie Upshaw singled to put runners on first and second and then Joe Carter smashed a long drive to the left field corner where Twins outfielder Dan Gladden snagged it for an out and wheeled and fired a strike to Steve Lombardozzi at 2B to nail Washington and then Lombo relayed the ball to Gene Larkin at first to get the runner there by at least 5 feet and completed the unusual 7-4-3 triple play. The Twins went on to win the game by a 7-2 score with Gladden going 3 for 5 with a run scored, a stolen base, and a RBI. Catcher Brian Harper was 4 for 4 but played second fiddle to Gladden on this day.

1998 – Paul Molitor stole his 500th base in Minnesota’s 6-3 loss to Baltimore to become only the fifth player ever with 3,000 hits and 500 steals. Molitor joined Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins and Lou Brock.

2004 – The A’s beat the Twins 6 – 5 in 18 innings. It is the second-longest game in the 23-year history of the Metrodome. With the score tied 3 to 3, the A’s score 3 in the top of the 18th off Terry Mulholland to take a 6-3 lead. The Twins come back with 2 in the bottom of the 18th with a Morneau home run but leave Matthew LeCroy stranded on first when Koskie and Cuddyer fly out to end the rally and the Twins hope of a huge comeback victory. The game lasts 4 hours and 57 minutes.

2005 – One time Minnesota Twins manager (1976-1980) Gene Mauch passes away at the age of 79. Mauch was the seventh manager in Twins history. I think one of my favorite Gene Mauch quotes was “I’m not the manager because I am always right, but I am always right because I am the manager”.

2009 – The Twins third manager, Cal Ermer passed away at the age of 85 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Ermer replaced the fired Sam Mele in June 1967 with the Twins in sixth place with a 25-25 record. The Twins went 66-46 the rest of the season but lost the American League pennant on the final day of the season. Ermer was fired after the Twins finished in seventh place in 1968 with a 79-83 record.

This Day in Twins History – May 20

Ray Moore

1962 – The Twins split a double header at Yankee Stadium losing the first game 4-3 and winning the second game 4-2. Twins reliever Ray Moore becomes the first Twins pitcher to lose and win a game in the same day. There is a nice SABR Biography of “Farmer” or” Old Blue” that you can read here.

 

1970 – Rod Carew becomes the first Twins player to hit for the cycle when he accomplishes that rare feat in a 10-5 win over the Royals in Kansas City.

1984 – Boston’s Roger Clemens strikes out 7 batters in 7 innings en route to his first ML victory, 5-4 over the Twins.

1986 – The Twins trade pitcher Eric Broersma to Oakland for pitcher Keith Atherton.

1989 – Danny Gladden ties a major league record when get gets 7 official at bats against the Texas Rangers in a 9 inning game. Randy Bush ties a Twins record with 8 RBI’s in a 19-3 win at Arlington Stadium.

1994 – The Twins are hot having won 9 out of their last 10 games and are beating the Boston Red Sox 10 to 1 after 4 1/2 innings at the Metrodome. Then in the bottom of the fifth the Twins send up 16 batters, get 10 hits (8 singles, 1 double, and 1 home run), 2 walks, a hit batter, score 11 runs and leave 2 on base against three Red Sox pitchers and take a 21 – 1 lead and they hold on for a 21-2 victory. Now that is a fun inning if you are a Twins fan.

outfielder Marty Cordova

1995 – Minnesota Twins outfielder Marty Cordova ties a rookie record of home runs by hitting home runs in five consecutive games.

Carlos Silva

2005 – In an amazing pitching performance, Carlos Silva beats the Brewers 7-1 at the Metrodome with a 74 pitch complete game win in a game that lasted 2 hours and 27 minutes.

 

2011 – The funeral for Harmon Killebrew was held at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona. Several hundred mourners, including past and present members of the Minnesota Twins, attended the service on a gorgeous sunny morning. The Twins just happened to be in town because they were scheduled to play the Arizona Diamondbacks in their first interleague play of 2011. Current Twins Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, and Justin Morneau, as well as manager Ron Gardenhire, were pall bearers, along with ex-Twin Paul Molitor and Killebrew’s former teammates Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Frank Quilici. Bert Blyleven, now a Twins broadcaster, was the only non-family member other than the pastor to speak at the service. A private burial is planned for Monday, May 23 in Killebrew’s hometown of Payette, Idaho.

Hamm’s beer and the Twins

As I listened to a Twins game on my PC the other day here in Cape Coral, Florida with Dan Gladden and Cory Provus announcing the action I was sitting out in the lanai next to the pool with a cold beer sitting next to me and my mind wandered back to my childhood when I first started following the Twins.  I was 13 at the time and every evening we were out in the barn milking the cows when Twins baseball came on the air. Back then, if you wanted to listen to a Minnesota Twins game when the team first moved here from Washington D.C. in 1961 you had to turn your radio dial to 830 on the AM dial and listen to WCCO radio where Ray Scott, Bob Wolff, and Halsey Hall described the action for you. We had an old beat up radio in the barn that was turned on as soon as the lights were turned on and the radio was always tuned to 830 WCCO, as a matter of fact you couldn’t tune it to anything else because the station dial was missing. Back then, one of the Minnesota Twins main sponsors on radio and TV was Hamm’s beer. I can still here that Hamm’s jingle to this day. Hamm’s also was a sponsor for other baseball teams including the Cubs, White Sox and the Orioles. Back then some of the announcers actually worked for and were hired by the sponsors themselves and were not working for the baseball teams that they broadcast for. If my information is correct, HOF Twins broadcaster Herb Carneal worked for Hamm’s when he joined the Twins.

Hamm’s was established in 1865 when Theodore Hamm a German immigrant inherited the Excelsior Brewery from his friend and business associate, A. F. Keller. Keller had constructed his brewery over artesian wells in a section of the Phalen Creek valley in St. Paul, Minnesota known as Swede Hollow. Hamm hired Christopher Figg to be his masterbrewer, and by the 1880’s the Theo. Hamm Brewing Company was reported to be the second largest in Minnesota. Hamm’s also had a brewery in San Francisco, California from 1954 to 1972. Since then, the Hamm’s brand had changed hands several times but is still produced today by MillerCoors. Hamm’s beer was always known as a low-cost blue-collar beer and the name Hamm’s is probably more famous for its jingle and its mascot Sascha, the Hamm’s beer bear than it is for its product. The original jingle, with lyrics by Nelle Richmond Eberhart originated from a 1909 song called “From The Land of Sky-Blue Water.” It started with tom-tom drums, then a chorus intoned:

From the Land of Sky Blue Waters, From the land of pines’ lofty balsams, Comes the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Brewed where nature works her wonders, Aged for many moons, gently mellowed, Hamm’s the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. From across the rippling water, Through the whisp’ring pines and birches, Comes the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Comes a call to cool enchantment, Comes a call to cool refreshment, Hamm’s the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Hints of lakes and sunset breezes, Dance and sparkle in each glassful, Hamm’s the beer refreshing, Hamm’s the beer refreshing. Here is an example of one of the old Hamm’s beer TV spots. If this commercial brought back some fond memories, you can find a number of other old Hamm’s commercials by searching on YouTube.

Sascha, the Hamm’s beer mascot was created by Patrick DesJarlait, an Ojibwa, in 1952 for an advertising campaign produced by the Campbell-Mithun advertising agency but it was Ray Tollefson that actually drew the bear that Campbell-Mithun liked the best and the rest is history. Tollefson later he went on to create the little flame girl for Minnegasco and Albert & Stanley for Grain Belt Beer before passing away at the age of 91 in 2002. The Hamm’s Beer bear was featured in numerous signs and all kinds of merchandise including glasses, clocks, ashtrays and  it became so well-known and tied to its Minnesota roots that in 2000, the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper named Sascha the Hamm’s bear as a runner-up in its list of “150 Influential Minnesotans of the Past 150 Years”. Rumor has it that the current Twins mascot, T.C. was “modeled” after Sascha. What do you think, you see a resemblence?

Sascha the Hamm’s beer bear

Sascha the Hamm’s bear remains as one of the most memorable icons of all-time and Frank Kelly Rich did a neat piece on what he considered the top 10 alcohol icons for Modern Drunkard Magazine. Here is what Frank wrote about Sascha.

 

The Hamm’s Bear

Perhaps a Little Too Happy?

Hamm’s Beer

The joyous bear haunting baby-boomers dreams was conceived by Ojibwa Indian Patrick DesJarlait in 1952. Though his name was never revealed on air, around the brewery he was called Sascha, after the brewery founder’s wife. Which must have thrilled her no end — what woman wouldn’t want to be the namesake of an obese male bear?

Being saddled with a chick name didn’t seem to bother Sascha much. He spent most of his time dancing and getting into weird adventures with the other animals of the forest, to the point one wonders if there was something other than fish in the “Sky Blue Waters.”

The wildly popular commercials employed plot devices ranging from good old-fashioned fun like pie fights and log-rolling to more risqué activities, such as train robbery, gunplay, arson, and gleeful wolf-abuse. The spots would saturate the airwaves for over 30 years, which is especially impressive when you consider Spuds MacKenzie lasted less than three.

Why It Worked: Most beer commercials of the day involved some shill bragging about how good their product was, while the Hamm’s spots came equipped with humor, plot and punch line. The occasional interaction between cartoons and real actors was ground breaking—Sascha beat Roger Rabbit to the punch by 40 years.

Evolution: Sascha’s appearance didn’t vary a great deal, aside from slicker graphics and the transition from B&W to color. He sired a cub at one point and eventually learned to speak (his sole utterance: “It bears repeating”). The only major mutation was the occasional Pinocchio-esque transformation into a real bear.

Sascha was eventually and inevitably slain by do-gooders who claimed he was hustling beer to children. The monstrous amount of Sascha-related ephemera cranked out during his long reign has become quite collectable, and the lovable mammal is still celebrated by The Hamm’s Club, which throws a yearly convention.

Dark Secret: Was probably a stoner. All the signs are there: perpetually goofy grin, impromptu hippie-style dancing at the sound of drums, and militant veganism (his single attempt to break his diet with a little fish concluded with him shooting a hole through the bottom of the boat.)

Claim to Fame: Sascha eventually reached such heights of popularity-inspired hubris that he felt compelled to step into the ring with undefeated boxing legend Rocky Marciano (Rocky remained undefeated at the end of the commercial.)

If you are inclined to read the entire story called “Ten Greatest Alcohol Icons of All Time” you can find it here.

“Ten Greatest Alcohol Icons of All Time” Reprinted with written permission from Modern Drunkard Magazine
 

 

TwinCities.com did a nice piece on Hamms back in October 2009 called “Remembering: Theo. Hamm Brewing Co.” that you might enjoy reading.