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
Major league debuts as Minnesota Twins on September 15th.
Danny Mota (Credit Getty Images)
Danny Mota (P) – September 15, 2000 – Traded by the New York Yankees with Brian Buchanan, Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton and cash to the Minnesota Twins for Chuck Knoblauch on February 6, 1998. Mota’s debut was at the Dome in a 16-5 loss to the Anaheim Angels. Mota pitched 2.2 innings of relief throwing 51 pitches and faced 16 batters allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk while striking out one.
JC Romero (Credit: EPSON MFP image)
J.C. Romero (P) – September 15, 1999 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 21st round of the 1997 amateur draft. Debuted in a 8-3 Rangers win at the Dome pitching 1.1 scoreless innings and allowing one hit.
Bernardo Brito
Bernardo Brito (OF) – September 15, 1992 – Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Twins on March 31, 1988. Debuted as a PH at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and struck out. Brito was one of three consecutive pinch-hitter TK sent up to the plate in the 8th inning against Ron Darling and Darling retired all of them in a twins 2-1 loss to the Oakland A’s.
George Mitterwald (C) – September 15, 1966 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in April 1965. The Twins were trailing the Tigers 8-5 when Mitterwald replaced Earl Battey as the catcher but had no PA’s in this game. Only 4,337 fans were at Tiger Stadium that day to witness Mitterwald’s debut.
Jim Snyder (2B) – September 15, 1961 – Purchased by the Minnesota Twins from Indianapolis (American Association) in 1961. This future Seattle Mariners skipper made his big league debut in Cleveland Stadium in the Twins 3-2 win over the Indians as the starting second baseman hitting eighth but he was 0 for 3 in the game.
Jim Strickland (P) – May 19, 1971 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970 minor league draft. Starter Jim Perry didn’t have it in his start against the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium so manager Mele called on Jim Strickland to show what he could do to stop the bleeding with the Twins down 5-4 and Angels runners at first and second with two out in the bottom of the third. Strickland retired Sandy Alomar on a grounder to third and he was out of the inning. In the fourth inning he struck out the side (Alex Johnson, Tony Conigliaro, and John Stephenson) and in the top of the fifth the Twins scored three runs and went ahead 7-6. Strickland stayed in the game and retired the Angels on one hit and no runs. Mele brought in Tom Hall and he earned the save by pitching four perfect innings with six strikeouts and the Twins won the game 12-6 and Jim Strickland notched his first big league win in his major league debut.
According to Wikipedia, a “cup of coffee” is a North American sports idiom for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before being returned to the minors, or simply to describe a brief stint served with a professional team. The term originated in baseball and is extensively used in ice hockey,
The 52 players listed below appeared in five or fewer games wearing a Twins uniform. Some of them ended up playing for other major league teams and had long big league careers and others did not. Those that did not play in major league games other than the games mentioned here still achieved their dream of playing in a major league game, a wish that most of us reading this can only dream about. Some of these players had very short big league careers but they climbed the ladder and reached the top, their stay may not have been long but they touched the star they fought so long and hard to achieve.
The reasons that their stays in ‘the show” were not as long as they had hoped were many, some careers ended due to injury, others due to rumors and or politics, personal reasons, maybe they couldn’t stay sober or drug free, some heard the call from their country and other just were not good enough to play in the major leagues. But the bottom line is that they were one of the 758 players that appeared in a Minnesota Twins game so they should not be forgotten.
Although the list below has all the positions covered, most of the players on this list are pitchers. Some of the players on this list like Max Kepler and Alex Meyer will probably drop off this list in the near future but for now they find their names on this list of Twins players that many Minnesota Twins fans have never heard of.
Probably the most famous or infamous player on this list is the now deceased pitcher Fred Bruckbauer. Born in New Ulm, Minnesota Bruckbauer pitched for the University of Minnesota and appeared in one game for the Minnesota Twins on April 25, 1961. The Twins were trailing the Kansas City A’s 7-2 at Municipal Stadium when Fred took the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning. A double by Dick Howser, a single by Jay Hankins, a walk to Jerry Lumpe and a double by Lou Klimchock and Twins manager Cookie Lavagetto had seen enough and brought in Chuck Stobbs, and Bruckbauer’s big league pitching career ended then and there. Fred Bruckbauer’s pitching line for the game and his career was three hits, one walk and four earned runs in zero innings pitched giving him an ERA of infinity. Bruckbauer never again pitched in a major league game, but remember, he pitched in a big league game.
Players who appeared in five or fewer Twins games in their career
Did you know that 355 (or 46.8%) of the 758 players that wore a Twins uniform played in 49 or fewer games as a Minnesota Twin? Don’t get too attached to that player because he will probably not be around for long.
Do any of these guys bring back a special memory for you? Do you remember seeing them play? Feel free to leave a comment.
The Twins recently announced the Chuck Knoblauch will be enshrined in the Twins Hall of Fame this summer but on this day back in 1998 the Twins traded their 1991 Rookie of the Year and four-time All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees and in turn received pitchers Eric Milton and Danny Mota along with shortstop Cristian Guzman and outfielder Brian Buchanan and $3 million in cash. Knoblauch had publicly asked to be traded because he felt the Twins were not interested in putting a winning team on the field. Here is what CBS had to say about the trade at the time, there are some interesting quotes in this story when you look back on 1998 from 2014.
Knoblauch’s stay in New York was relatively short, just four years but he got his wish to be part of a winning team as the Yankees played in the World Series each of the four years, winning it all three times and getting Knoblauch three more rings to go with the one he won in Minnesota in 1991. Knoblauch developed some throwing issues during him time in New York and eventually started playing some outfield. Knoblauch became a free agent after the 2001 season and signed with the Kansas City Royals but only played 8o games for them in 2002 as before calling it a career.
Eric Milton
Eric Milton was 57-51 with a 4.76 ERA for the Twins during his 6 seasons in Minnesota before he was traded to the Phillies for pitchers Carlos Silva, Bobby Korecky, and the infamous infielder Nick Punto.
Cristian Guzman
Shortstop Cristian Guzman also stayed in Minnesota for six seasons appearing in 841 games hitting .266 and stealing 102 bases. Guzman left the Twins as a free agent after the 2004 season.
The Twins expected big things from outfielder Brian Buchanan but he never panned out and he appeared in only 143 games as a Twins hitting .258 with 16 home runs. In July 2002 the Twins traded “Buck” to the San Diego Padres for shortstop Jason Bartlett who just signed a minor league deal with the Twins once again.
Pitcher Danny Mota appeared in four games for the Twins giving up 10 hits and one walk in 5.1 innings and never put on a major league uniform again.
The Twins trade their 1991 Rookie of the Year and four-time All-Star 2B Edward Charles “Chuck” Knoblauch to the New York Yankees and in turn receive pitchers Eric Milton and Danny Mota along with shortstop Cristian Guzman and outfielder Brian Buchanan and $3 million in cash.
Chuck had first been drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 18th round of the 1986 amateur free agent draft but chose not to sign primarily because his father felt that he was not ready for pro ball so Chuck went on to play for Texas A&M. The Minnesota Twins selected Knoblauch with their first pick (25th overall) in the 1989 amateur free agent draft and four days later Knoblauch signed his first professional contract. After signing with the Twins, the 5’9″ and 175 pound Knoblauch played A ball in Kenosha and Visalia and then in 1990 he moved up to AA ball Orlando under manager Ron Gardenhire. Knobby won the Twins starting 2B job coming out of spring training in 1991 and his big league career was underway. Knoblauch, a right-handed hitter played in 151 games during the 1991 World Championship season hitting .281 while scoring 78 runs and stealing 25 of 30 bases. Knoblauch won the ROY award going away garnering 26 of 28 first place votes. As time went by in Minnesota and the Twins teams struggled, Knoblauch became more aloof and distant from the fans and was known as a difficult autograph to get. In June of 1995 things got ugly in Seattle when Knoblauch was walking toward the team hotel when a 15-year-old boy asked him for an autograph. Knoblauch ignored him. Just as Knoblauch reached the door, the kid yelled, “Knoblauch, you suck!” Knoblauch spun around, backed the kid against a wall and cursed him out. The cops were called. The kid said Knoblauch had torn his shirt and scratched his neck. Knoblauch said he hadn’t laid a hand on the kid. No charges were pressed.
In August 1996 in August, Knoblauch passed up free agency by agreeing to a five-year contract extension. According to a March 1998 Sports Illustrated story, “Frustration had turned Chuck into a zombie.” Lisa Knoblauch is describing her husband’s Season of the Living Dead with the 1997 Minnesota Twins. “He was sad, desolate, miserable. He felt stuck in a five-year contract with a team that was sure to get worse. Requesting a trade seemed the only way out.” During this same time period, Knoblauch’s father (Ray) was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and was quickly losing his battle with the dreadful disease. The Twins and the Yankees agreed on a deal and the trade was made, Knoblauch was a New York Yankee but only after a supposed deal with the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Chad Ogea and Steve Karsay and infielder Enrique Wilson was turned down by Minnesota.
The same I article goes on to say “According to a reporter who covers the team, “Knoblauch whined and whined about wanting a long-term deal. So the team finally commits to him for five years at $30 million, and his commitment to the team lasts barely a year.” One member of the club’s front office says, “During the seven years Knoblauch was in Minnesota, he evolved into a bratty tyrant who ran roughshod over the people around him. Hardly anyone–from his teammates to the clubhouse kids to the valets who park the players’ cars—was unhappy to see him leave.”
Knoblauch played in New York from 1998-2001 and the team went to the World Series each year he was there, winning 3 and losing to Arizona in 2001. But Chuck’s time as a Yankee was not all peaches and cream as he started to develop a throwing issue and as time went by, his throws to first base from 2B grew progressively problematic. In 1999 Chuck committed 26 errors at 2B and slowly the Yankees started to use him more and more as a DH and in the outfield. Knoblauch played just 82 games at 2B for the Yankees in 2000 and that was the last time that Chuck played 2B in the big leagues. After the 2001 season Knoblauch left the Yankees through free agency and signed with the Kansas City Royals but hit only .210 in 80 games and the once promising career was over.
Chuck Knoblauch was named in the Mitchell Report and later appeared before a Congressional Committee to give testimony. He admitted using human growth hormone in 2001. A full text of that report can be seen here. In September of 2009, Chuck Knoblauch surrendered to authorities in Harris County, Tex., after he was charged with assaulting his common-law wife. Knoblauch entered a guilty plea in exchange for deferred-adjudication probation. Chuck Knoblauch is now doing motivation speaking through AthletePromotions.com. There is a nice piece written by Classic Minnesota Twins about the May 2, 2001 “Dollar Dog Rebellion” when Knoblauch and the Yankees were at the Metrodome that you will enjoy raeding.
Eric Milton
The left-handed starting pitcher Eric Milton who was the Yankees number one pick (20th overall) in the 1996 amateur free agent draft was the supposed plum in the Knoblauch trade. Although the big lefty (6’3″ and 210 pounds) pitched for Minnesota from 1998-2003 starting 165 games and putting up a 57-51 won/lost record, he never attained the super star status that many expected of him. Milton struck out 13 and no-hit (5th no-hitter in Twins history) the Anaheim Angels 7-0 at the Metrodome on September 11, 1999 but even then he was critized because it was an early Saturday morning game due to an up-coming Minnesota Gopher football game at the Dome later in the day and many of the Angels regulars sat out the game. In his six seasons in Minnesota, Milton struck out 715 in 987 innings with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The Twins traded their one time All-Star pitcher to the Philadelphia Phillies on December 3, 2003 for pitcher Carlos Silva, infielder Nick Punto, and a PTBNL who turned out to be pitcher Bobby Korecky.
Cristian Guzman
The switch-hitting shortstop Cristian Guzman played for the Twins from 1999 through the 2004 season before leaving as a free agent. The speedy Guzman led the league in triples in 2000, 2001, and 2003 and was named to the All-Star team in 2001. Guzman wasn’t a bad shortstop but for some reason he just was not given a lot of love by either the fans or the team. You can view a Twins commercial with Cristian Guzman in their 2001 “Get to Know’em” campaign here.
Brian Buchanan
The big (6’4″ and 230 pounds) right-handed hitting outfielder Brian Buchanan did not turn out to be the bigger slugger that the Twins had hoped they had acquired and “Buck’s” stay in Minnesota only lasted from 2000-2002 for a total of 143 games. In those 143 games, Buchanan hit .258 with 16 home runs but it was his 113 strikeouts in 414 at bats that kept Buchanan from becoming a regular outfielder. The Twins sent Brain to the San Diego Padres for shortstop Jason Bartlett on July 12, 2002. Buchanan is the son-in-law of former Boston Celtic great John Havlicek.
Danny Mota was a right-handed pitcher but his stay in Minnesota was very brief, Mota pitched in four games for the Twins in 2000 and that turned out to be his entire major league career. The Dominican born Mota appeared in 4 games throwing 5.1 innings allowing 10 hits and 5 runs and ending his big league career with a 8.44 ERA. I am not sure much else needs to be said about Mr. Mota.
Last April the Platoon Advantage did a piece on Chuck Knoblauch and his “Twins Family Tree” that I have copied here because I think it is kind of cool. Danny Mota’s Twins contribution is left out and of course Delmon Young has since been traded but never the less these kinds of family tree charts are fun and interesting to look at. It teaches us to look past the original trade and what it brings to the ballclub.
George Mitterwald (C) – September 15, 1966 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in April 1965. The Twins were trailing the Tigers 8-5 when Mitterwald replaced Earl Battey as the catcher but had no PA’s in this game. Only 4,337 fans were at Tiger Stadium that day to witness Mitterwald’s debut.
Jim Snyder (2B) – September 15, 1961 – Purchased by the Minnesota Twins from Indianapolis (American Association) in 1961. This future Seattle Mariners skipper made his big league debut in Cleveland Stadium in the Twins 3-2 win over the Indians as the starting second baseman hitting eighth but he was 0 for 3 in the game.
