Tag: Dave Winfield

Top Twins DH

Paul Molitor (Credit Getty Images)

Between 1973-2018 there have been 275 players that have been the Twins DH in at least one game. However, to qualify for this list which ranks them in Baseball-Reference WAR order the player must have been the DH in at least 51% of their games while wearing a Twins uniform. Tony Oliva is the Twins all-time leader in games played as the Twins DH with 406 and his is also the very first Twins DH but he was the Twins DH in only 24% of his games so he does not qualify for this list

 

Results
Rk Player WAR/pos From To G PA R H HR RBI BB BA OPS Pos
1 Paul Molitor 5.2 1996 1998 422 1885 237 530 23 271 146 .312 .794 *D/3H
2 Chili Davis 5.2 1991 1992 291 1163 147 276 41 159 168 .282 .862 *D/H793
3 Jim Thome 4.5 2010 2011 179 582 69 128 37 99 95 .266 .949 *D/H
4 David Ortiz 2.6 1997 2002 455 1693 215 393 58 238 186 .266 .809 *D3/H
5 Jim Dwyer 0.9 1988 1990 145 385 47 95 6 43 53 .289 .767 *D/H97
6 Tyler Austin 0.3 2018 2018 35 136 18 29 9 24 11 .236 .782 /*D3H
7 Dave Winfield 0.3 1993 1994 220 922 107 222 31 119 76 .264 .760 *D/9H3
8 Randy Ruiz 0.2 2008 2008 22 68 13 17 1 7 6 .274 .693 /*DH
9 ByungHo Park 0.1 2016 2016 62 244 28 41 12 24 21 .191 .684 /*D3H
10 Jose Morales 0.1 1978 1980 290 756 79 200 12 101 56 .297 .764 *DH/327
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/16/2019.

 

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 Right Fielders

Twins Top 10 Center Fielders

Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

 

Know your Twins numbers

0 – The lowest number worn by a Twins player or field staff is 0 (zero), worn by catcher Junior Ortiz back in 1990 and 1991.

3 – Worn only by Hall of Fame Twins player Harmon Killebrew and retired on May 4, 1975.

4 – Hall of Famer Paul Molitor wore the number 4 as a Twins player in 1996-1998 and as a coach in 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2014 and as a manager from 2015-2018. 

6 – Worn by four former Twins players, Billy Consolo, Ted Lepcio, Jim Snyder, and Vic Wertz before Tony Oliva. Tony-O had his number 6 retired on July 14, 1991.

10 – Nine different Twins players wore the number 10 before manager Tom Kelly strapped it on his back from 1987-2001 as the Twins skipper. The Twins retired TK’s number 10 on September 8, 2012.

13 – Ten different Twins players and field staff have worn unlucky number 13, the first player being Bill Tuttle back in 1961 and the last player being Jason Kubel in 2014.

14 – Worn by four players and a manager before Kent Hrbek took the number 14 to glory. Twins retired the number on August 13, 1995.

25 – Hall of Fame and one time Twins player Jim Thome wore the number 25 on his back in 2010-2011.

28 – Worn by 14 different players including Bert Blyleven. The first player to wear the number 28 was Pedro Ramos and the last was Jesse Crain 2004-2010. Bert’s number 28 was retired on July 16, 2011.

29 – The seventh and final player to wear the number 29 was Rod Carew. The Twins retired this number 29 on July 19, 1987.

32 – MLB Hall of Famer and one time Twins player Dave Winfield wore the number 32 in 1993-1994.

34 – Nine players wore the number 34 before Kirby Puckett put it on in 1984 and no one has worn the number since Kirby took it off for the last time in 1995. The number was retired on May 25, 1997.

38 – MLB Hall of Famer and one time Twins pitcher Steve Carlton wore the number 38 in 1987-1988.

42 – Only three Twins players (Gerry Arrigo, Jim Manning and Buzz Stephen) wore the number 42 before the number was retired across MLB in 1997.

47 – Hall of Fame pitcher and one time Twins pitcher Jack Morris wore the number 47 in 1991.

73 – The lowest number that has never been worn by a Twins player or field staff.

83 – In the Minnesota Twins 58 year history Twins players and field staff have worn 83 different numbers.

99 – The highest number worn by a Twins player was 99 and it was worn by Logan Morrison.

Three players were on the active roster for the Twins but never played in a game for the team: Chuck Schilling, who wore number 18, in 1966; Maurice Ogier, who wore number 17, in 1968; and Dave May, who wore number 20, in 1977. Ogier and May never played in the majors.

Information is courtesy of historian and Minnesota Twins official scorer Stew Thornley’s website

Twins tall drinks of water

The Minnesota Twins have had 53 players (41 pitchers (nine lefties) and 12 position players) that stood at least 6’5″ tall. The Twins have spent the last few years accumulating tall pitchers but so far the fruits of their labors have not been all that eveident.

The tallest player in major league history, Jon Rauch, played for 11 years with seven different major league teams including a stop in Minnesota from 2009-2010. The right-handed Rauch won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The same year, he was also named Baseball America and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year. Keith Hernandez referred to Rauch as “The Wookiee” during SNY broadcasts in 2006.

Rauch wasn’t exactly the friendliest baseball player around and his grumpy, grouchy, surly and testy personality along with his intimidating size and inked body caused most fans that wanted an autograph to pass and look for the next player to come by.

Here I have put  together a list of Minnesota Twins players that stood at least 6’5″ tall.

Jon Rauch and Joe Mauer
Jon Rauch and Joe Mauer
Rk Player Ht From To Age G Pos
1 Jon Rauch 83 2009 2010 30-31 76 /*1
2 Alex Meyer 81 2015 2016 25-26 4 /*1
3 Mike Smithson 80 1984 1987 29-32 128 *1
4 Michael Tonkin 79 2013 2016 23-26 122 *1
5 Mike Pelfrey 79 2013 2015 29-31 64 /*1
6 John Candelaria 79 1990 1990 36-36 34 /*1
7 Walt Bond 79 1967 1967 29-29 10 /*H7
8 Kyle Gibson 78 2013 2016 25-28 96 /*1
9 Jim Hoey 78 2011 2011 28-28 26 /*1
10 Michael Restovich 78 2002 2004 23-25 61 /H97D
11 Dan Naulty 78 1996 1998 26-28 97 /*1
12 Mo Sanford 78 1995 1995 28-28 11 /*1
13 Dave Winfield 78 1993 1994 41-42 220 *D/9H3
14 David West 78 1989 1992 24-27 63 /*1
15 Greg Booker 78 1989 1989 29-29 6 /*1
16 Jeff Little 78 1982 1982 27-27 33 /*1
17 Mike Poepping 78 1975 1975 24-24 14 /*9H
18 Cotton Nash 78 1969 1970 26-27 10 /*3H7
19 Garry Roggenburk 78 1963 1966 23-26 60 /*1
20 Frank Sullivan 78 1962 1963 32-33 31 /*1
21 Phil Hughes 77 2014 2016 28-30 71 /*1
22 Pat Light 77 2016 2016 25-25 13 /*1
23 Joe Mauer 77 2004 2016 21-33 1589 *23D/H9
24 Trevor May 77 2014 2016 24-26 102 *1
25 Kennys Vargas 77 2014 2016 23-25 147 /*D3H
26 A.J. Achter 77 2014 2015 25-26 18 /*1
27 Jared Burton 77 2012 2014 31-33 203 *1
28 Tyler Robertson 77 2012 2013 24-25 42 /*1
29 Carl Pavano 77 2009 2012 33-36 88 /*1
30 Kyle Waldrop 77 2011 2012 25-26 24 /*1
31 Bobby Keppel 77 2009 2009 27-27 37 /*1
32 Garrett Jones 77 2007 2007 26-26 31 /D3H79
33 LaTroy Hawkins 77 1995 2003 22-30 366 *1
34 Todd Sears 77 2002 2003 26-27 31 /*3HD
35 Matt Kinney 77 2000 2002 23-25 22 /*1
36 Mark Redman 77 1999 2001 25-27 46 /*1
37 Scott Stahoviak 77 1993 1998 23-28 344 *3/H5D9
38 Greg Hansell 77 1996 1996 25-25 50 /*1
39 Dave McCarty 77 1993 1995 23-25 167 /*379H8D
40 Erik Schullstrom 77 1994 1995 25-26 46 /*1
41 Bill Krueger 77 1992 1992 34-34 27 /*1
42 Steve Shields 77 1989 1989 30-30 11 /*1
43 George Frazier 77 1986 1987 31-32 69 /*1
44 Curt Wardle 77 1984 1985 23-24 37 /*1
45 Mike Walters 77 1983 1984 25-26 46 /*1
46 Greg Wells 77 1982 1982 28-28 15 /*3DH
47 John Verhoeven 77 1980 1981 27-28 69 /*1
48 Paul Hartzell 77 1979 1979 25-25 28 /*1
49 Jeff Holly 77 1977 1979 24-26 39 /*1
50 Dick Woodson 77 1969 1974 24-29 129 *1
51 Pete Hamm 77 1970 1971 22-23 23 /*1
52 Stan Williams 77 1970 1971 33-34 114 *1
53 Don Williams 77 1963 1963 27-27 3 /*1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/21/2016.

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According to ELIAS

Dozier streak evokes Twins greats… and Rogers Hornsby

Brian Dozier 2016Brian Dozier extended to 11 his team-record streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit by belting a fourth-inning home run at Chicago on Thursday. It’s the longest streak by any major-league player since Alex Rodriguez had an 11-game streak overlapping the 2006 and 2007 seasons; and it’s the longest in the majors by a middle infielder since the Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby, like Dozier a second baseman, produced at least one extra-base hit in each of 12 consecutive games in 1928. That was The Rajah’s only season playing for the Boston Braves; his extra-base-hit streak began on May 27, a couple of days after he became the team’s manager in addition to being its second baseman.

Dozier has accumulated 20 hits, including six homers, over his last 11 games. The last four Twins players who produced those totals over an 11-game span were all boldface names: Joe Mauer(2009), David Ortiz (2002), Dave Winfield (1993) and Kirby Puckett (1987).

The “Old Fart” Twins

old fart hatWith all the discussion since the season ended about what to do with free agent outfielder Torii Hunter I thought it might be interesting to see who some of the “old farts” were that put on a Minnesota Twins uniforms over the years.

Torii Hunter 2015Hunter is on the list below because he turned 40 on July 18, 2015 and this kind of search only takes into account your age as of June 30th and Torii turned 40 on July 18, 2015. I heard that the Twins are interested in bring Hunter back but not as a full-time player and Torii has not made up his made as yet what he wants to do. Having said that, Hunter’s 2015 season looks pretty good stat wise on the list below.

Only two players on this list were actually signed by Minnesota to begin their professional careers, and they are Hunter and Jesse Orosco. The others were traded for, purchased, acquired on waivers or signed as free agents. Oddly enough Orosco was a second round selection in the 1978 draft and was traded by the Twins to the Mets as the PTBNL in the Jerry Koosman deal before he made his major league debut and did not pitch for Minnesota until his 24th and final season. Hunter as you all know was the Twins number one draft pick (20th overall) in 1993 and left as a free agent after the 2007 season only to return again in 2015 after stints with the Angels and Tigers.

Jesse Orosco
Jesse Orosco
Rk Name Year Age G PA R H HR RBI SB BA OPS Pos
1 Jesse Orosco 2003 46 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
2 Steve Carlton 1988 43 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
3 Joe Niekro 1988 43 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
4 Joe Niekro 1987 42 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 *1
5 Terry Mulholland 2005 42 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 *1
6 Dave Winfield 1994 42 77 328 35 74 10 43 2 .252 .746 *D/9
7 Steve Carlton 1987 42 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
8 Dave Winfield 1993 41 143 594 72 148 21 76 2 .271 .767 *D9/H3
9 Pat Borders 2004 41 19 44 3 12 0 5 2 .286 .683 *2/H
10 Terry Mulholland 2004 41 39 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 *1
11 Paul Molitor 1998 41 126 559 75 141 4 69 9 .281 .718 *D/3H
12 Paul Molitor 1997 40 135 597 63 164 10 89 11 .305 .786 *D3/H
13 Elmer Valo 1961 40 33 36 0 5 0 4 0 .156 .469 *H/7
14 Jim Thome 2011 40 71 242 21 50 12 40 0 .243 .827 *DH
15 Al Worthington 1969 40 46 6 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 *1
16 Ruben Sierra 2006 40 14 33 3 5 0 4 0 .179 .487 /*H*D
17 Jim Dwyer 1990 40 37 75 7 12 1 5 0 .190 .558 *H*D/79
18 Torii Hunter 2015 39 139 567 67 125 22 81 2 .240 .702 *9D/H
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/23/2015.

According to ELIAS

Old man Hunter keeps on rolling along

Torii Hunter 2015Torii Hunter hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning which turned out to be the game winner in the Twins’ 10-9 victory over the Indians last night. Hunter, at 40 years and 20 days old, became the second oldest player to hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth or later for the Twins since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. On July 10, 1993, Hall of Famer Dave Winfield hit a two run homer in the top of the ninth inning against Milwaukee turning a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead in a game Minnesota would lose by a score of 5-4. Source: ELIAS

According to ELIAS

Hunter ablaze in May

Torii HunterTorii Hunter and Eduardo Nunez reached Chris Sale for second-inning home runs and the Twins were never headed in their 4-3 victory yesterday in Chicago. Hunter, who will turn 40 this summer, is having quite a month, batting .351 and slugging .623, with six homers and 18 RBIs in 19 games. Since the team moved to Minnesota in 1961, only one 39-or-older Twins player has ever had a month of at least 75 at-bats in which he batted .350 or better while slugging .600 or better; in July of 1993, 41-year-old Dave Winfield batted .355 and slugged .710. Source: ELIAS

Today’s Twins Notes has this to say about Torii today: Torii Hunter hit his 199th career home run in a Twins uniform yesterday to reach 200. The last to do it was Justin Morneau (221 total home runs with Twins) who did it in 2012. Gary Gaetti is next on the list with 201 all-time, Kirby Puckett finished his Twins career with 207 home runs.

Did you know?

  • When Minnesota Twins pitcher Yohan Pino will made his Major League debut Thursday night at 30 years, 175 days old at Target Field against the Chicago White Sox. He became the oldest Twin (since 1961) to make his big league debut. Yohan became the 49th starting pitcher in Major League history since at least 1914 to make his Major League debut at age 30-or-older, and just the 14th since 1982. Starters making their Major League debut at age 30-or-older have won each of their last three starts and four of the last five. Since 1982, teams are 7-6 in the 13 occurrences. The 13 pitchers have combined to go 6-4 with a 3.36 ERA (27 earned runs in 72.1 innings) with
    26 walks and 52 strikeouts.
  • Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has hit 15 home runs while swiping 15 bases this
    season, stealing his 15th earlier this week. It marks the 15th time in Club history and 12th different player with the previous ?ve being Torii Hunter in 2007 (28 homers/18 steals), Lew Ford in 2004 (15 homers/20 steals), Hunter in 2004 (23 homers/21 steals), Hunter in 2002 (29 homers/23 steals) and Corey Koskie in 2001 (26 homers/27 steals). Dozier accomplished the feat in his 68th game which is the fastest ever by a Twin and fastest in baseball since Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers did it in his 68th game.
  • Upon Further Review – Through 1,073 games played this season (through
    Wednesday), Major League Baseball has had 541 replay reviews, which have taken an average of one minute and fifty-one seconds.

*541 Replay Reviews
*130 Confirmed
*153 Stands
*251 Overturned
*7 Record Keeping
*1:51 Average Time

  • Through June 18th the American League has a 79-68 record in Interleague play and is hitting .255 and their pitchers have a 3.80 ERA. National League batters are hitting .254 and their pitchers have a 3.78 ERA.
  • The CWS (College World Series) Legends Team includes former Twins Todd Walker, Eddie Bane, and Dave Winfield (former Minnesota Gopher as well).
  • In baseball, a quality start is a statistic for a starting pitcher defined as a game in which the pitcher completes at least six innings and permits no more than three earned runs. The quality start was developed by sportswriter John Lowe in 1985 while writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The most quality starts in a season for a Twins pitcher since 2003 is 25 by Johan Santana in 2004. If you use the QS formula going back to 1961, then Bert Blyleven‘s 31 QS in 1972 would be the leader.

Twins career QS leaders from 1961 to present day

Rk Player QS From To G GS CG SHO W L W-L% SV IP SO ERA HR BF BA
1 Jim Kaat 253 1961 1973 468 422 133 23 189 152 .554 6 2959.1 1824 3.28 270 12385 .256
2 Bert Blyleven 218 1970 1988 348 345 141 29 149 138 .519 0 2566.2 2035 3.28 243 10542 .246
3 Brad Radke 208 1995 2006 378 377 37 10 148 139 .516 0 2451.0 1467 4.22 326 10244 .276
4 Jim Perry 156 1963 1972 376 249 61 17 128 90 .587 5 1883.1 1025 3.15 166 7791 .242
5 Frank Viola 144 1982 1989 260 259 54 10 112 93 .546 0 1772.2 1214 3.86 213 7450 .260
6 Dave Goltz 129 1972 1979 247 215 80 11 96 79 .549 3 1638.0 887 3.48 119 6887 .264
7 Johan Santana 112 2000 2007 251 175 6 4 93 44 .679 1 1308.2 1381 3.22 144 5281 .221
8 Camilo Pascual 101 1961 1966 184 179 72 18 88 57 .607 0 1284.2 994 3.31 123 5362 .233
9 Kevin Tapani 98 1989 1995 181 180 19 6 75 63 .543 0 1171.1 724 4.06 109 4897 .270
10 Eric Milton 83 1998 2003 166 165 10 4 57 51 .528 0 987.1 715 4.76 149 4196 .259
11 Scott Baker 76 2005 2011 163 159 4 2 63 48 .568 0 958.0 770 4.15 123 4004 .266
12 Dave Boswell 76 1964 1970 187 150 37 6 67 54 .554 0 1036.1 865 3.49 106 4344 .217
13 Scott Erickson 73 1990 1995 155 153 14 7 61 60 .504 0 979.1 527 4.22 83 4244 .275
14 Geoff Zahn 71 1977 1980 133 126 36 7 53 53 .500 0 852.0 348 3.90 68 3621 .289
15 Nick Blackburn 69 2007 2012 145 137 5 0 43 55 .439 0 818.2 388 4.85 117 3577 .303
16 Allan Anderson 69 1986 1991 148 128 15 3 49 54 .476 0 818.2 339 4.11 87 3474 .282
17 Francisco Liriano 68 2005 2012 156 130 1 1 50 52 .490 1 783.1 788 4.33 76 3341 .247
18 Kyle Lohse 67 2001 2006 172 152 4 3 51 57 .472 0 908.1 561 4.88 128 3982 .285
19 Mudcat Grant 67 1964 1967 129 111 36 10 50 35 .588 1 780.2 377 3.35 88 3227 .260
20 Joe Mays 66 1999 2005 193 146 10 6 48 65 .425 0 946.1 487 4.85 127 4110 .282
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/22/2014.

If you took the list from above and looked at QS%, the Twins career leader is Johan Santana with .640% followed by Bert Blyleven at .632%. Nick Blackburn was not always a fan favorite but his career QS% is .504%, 14th best in team history. Who has the best career QS% in the AL since 1961? That would be Pedro Martinez at .751%. How about the NL you say? That is non other than Sandy Koufax at .782%.

Check out the BA column on the list above, the best is an amazing .217 career BA allowed by the late great Dave Boswell, the man has not gotten his due here in Minnesota and should be in the Twins Hall of Fame. Aren’t statistics fun?

Baseball is such an amazing game, you never know what you will see next and how many times have you watched a game and told yourself, Geez, I have never seen that happen before. How about this one, Brewers score three on one wild pitch.

The day the DH was born – January 11, 1973

After a seven-hour meeting in the Lancaster Room of the Sheraton-O’Hare Motor Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, American League owners voted 8-4 for something they called the “designated pinch hitter for the pitcher,” or DPH, an abbreviation quickly modified to DH. I asked Clark Griffith how the Twins voted and here is what he had to say. “The Twins voted for it and I think that was a mistake. The vote was based on having Killebrew and Oliva for DH. I was involved in the drafting of the rule and after the vote it occurred to me that we used the wrong statistic to support it. The stat used was pitcher BA v. hitters BA and it should have been pitchers and those who hit for pitchers v. other batters. In essence, that means measuring the ninth hitter with all others. The effect of not removing a pitcher for a PH was not considered either. The DH is a horrible rule that should be allowed to go away. I love reading NL box scores for their complexity.”

From what I can determine, Charlie Finley, former Oakland Athletics owner, is generally credited with leading the push for the DH in 1973. He was strongly supported by American League President Joe Cronin and owners Nick Mileti (Cleveland), Jerry Hoffberger (Baltimore), John Allyn (Chicago) and Bob Short (Texas). John Fetzer (Detroit), Bud Selig (Milwaukee) and Calvin Griffith (Minnesota) would make 8 votes in favor with Boston, New York, Kansas City and California voting against the DH.

 

Current rules for the DH

A hitter may be designated to bat for the starting pitcher and all subsequent pitchers in any game without otherwise affecting the status of the pitcher(s) in the game. A Designated Hitter for the pitcher must be selected prior to the game and must be included in the lineup cards presented to the Umpire-in-Chief.

The Designated Hitter named in the starting lineup must come to bat at least one time, unless the opposing club changes pitchers. It is not mandatory that a club designate a hitter for the pitcher, but failure to do so prior to the game precludes the use of a Designated Hitter for that game.

Pinch hitters for a Designated Hitter may be used. Any substitute hitter for a Designated Hitter himself becomes a Designated Hitter. A replaced Designated Hitter shall not re-enter the game in any capacity. The Designated Hitter may be used defensively, continuing to bat in the same position in the batting order, but the pitcher must then bat in the place of the substituted defensive player, unless more than one substitution is made, and the manager then must designate their spots in the batting order.

A runner may be substituted for the Designated Hitter and the runner assumes the role of the Designated Hitter.

A Designated Hitter is “locked” into the batting order. No multiple substitutions may be made that will alter the batting rotation of the Designated Hitter.

Once the game pitcher is switched from the mound to a defensive position this move shall terminate the DH role for the remainder of the game. Once a pinch-hitter bats for any player in the batting order and then enters the game to pitch, this move shall terminate the Designated Hitter role for the remainder of the game.

Once a Designated Hitter assumes a defensive position this move shall terminate the Designated Hitter role for the remainder of the game.

At first, the designated hitter rule did not apply to any games in the World Series, in which the AL and NL winners met for the world championship. From 1976-1985, it applied only to Series held in even-numbered years, and in 1986 the current rule took effect, according to which the designated hitter rule is used or not used according to the practice of the home team. The list below shows the career numbers for players that played at least 50% of their games at DH.

Rk Player G From To Age AB R H HR RBI BA
1 Harold Baines 2830 1980 2001 21-42 9908 1299 2866 384 1628 .289
2 Frank Thomas 2322 1990 2008 22-40 8199 1494 2468 521 1704 .301
3 Don Baylor 2292 1970 1988 21-39 8198 1236 2135 338 1276 .260
4 Edgar Martinez 2055 1987 2004 24-41 7213 1219 2247 309 1261 .312
5 David Ortiz 1969 1997 2013 21-37 7057 1208 2023 431 1429 .287
6 Hal McRae 1837 1973 1987 27-41 6568 873 1924 169 1012 .293
7 Chili Davis 1562 1988 1999 28-39 5525 808 1540 249 954 .279
8 Andre Thornton 1225 1977 1987 27-37 4313 650 1095 214 749 .254
9 Travis Hafner 1183 2002 2013 25-36 4058 619 1107 213 731 .273
10 Billy Butler 1015 2007 2013 21-27 3768 445 1124 118 562 .298
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/5/2014.
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The list below shows the numbers for Twins players that played at least 50% of their games at DH.

Rk Player G From To Age AB R H HR RBI BA
1 Glenn Adams 501 1977 1981 29-33 1387 138 390 29 196 .281
2 David Ortiz 455 1997 2002 21-26 1477 215 393 58 238 .266
3 Paul Molitor 422 1996 1998 39-41 1700 237 530 23 271 .312
4 Chili Davis 291 1991 1992 31-32 978 147 276 41 159 .282
5 Jose Morales 290 1978 1980 33-35 674 79 200 12 101 .297
6 Dave Winfield 220 1993 1994 41-42 841 107 222 31 119 .264
7 Jim Thome 179 2010 2011 39-40 482 69 128 37 99 .266
8 Danny Goodwin 172 1979 1981 25-27 425 52 103 8 55 .242
9 Jim Dwyer 145 1988 1990 38-40 329 47 95 6 43 .289
10 Rondell White 137 2006 2007 34-35 446 40 102 11 58 .229
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/5/2014.

A few odds and ends about the draft

2013 draftThe 2013 MLB first-year player draft day has finally arrived and later this evening we will learn who the Twins have selected in a draft that many of the “talking head” experts claim has three sure-fire stars, but the Twins draft fourth.

There have been 61,666 players drafted since the draft was instituted in 1965 when the Kansas City Athletics selected Arizona State outfielder Rick Monday with the very first pick. So far, 24 of these players have gone on to become Hall of Fame players. Of these 24 HOF players, eight were selected in round 1 and no first pick overall is on this list. Not to build up hope and put too much pressure on the Twins selection tonight but three HOF players (Carlton Fisk, Dave Winfield, Barry Larkin) have been selected as the fourth pick overall. The Boston Red Sox (Carlton Fisk, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice) and the San Diego Padres (Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, Tony Gwynn) lead the list of HOF players drafted with three each, the Minnesota Twins have selected two Hall of Fame players in Bert Blyleven in 1969 and Kirby Puckett in 1982. The latest round that a HOF has been picked? That would be the Philadelphia Phillies 20th round pick in 1978, Ryne Sandberg.

Just because a player is drafted does not mean that he will be signed. In 2012, 73.74% of the players drafted were signed, between 2000 and 2011 the percentages varied between 56.56% and 64.85%, so why the huge jump in 2012? Probably due to the fact that the draft was reduced from 50 rounds to 40 rounds for the first time. But percentages can be deceiving, in 2012 there were 913 players signed, the lowest number since there were 895 draftees signed in 2006.

Over the years first round picks were often signed to huge ridiculous contracts but now that a slotting system was implemented in 2012, that has changed the landscape for everyone. In addition a bonus pool is assigned to each team limiting them to what they can spend on their first 10 picks. These limits however are only “strong recommendations” and teams can spend more but they have to be prepared to pay a luxury tax and possibly even give up their first rounds selection for next year and/or the year after depending on how much they exceed the slot amount. The Twins bonus pool number for their top 10 picks for this year is $8,264,500 and their fourth overall pick has a slot limit of $4,544,400.

It has been reported that some teams are looking to limit what they pay to their top selections so that they have more pool money to spend on their lower top 10 picks. I find that an interesting concept but not one that I think I would pursue if I was the GM. For me, it is all about quality versus quantity. According to MLB, they looked at how the 2012 opening day rosters were structured and here is what they found.

23.36% were round 1 picks
11.37% were round 2 picks
9.03% were round 3 picks
7.76% were round 4 picks
9.35% were round 5 picks
14.80% were selected in rounds 6-10

It will be interesting to see if the Twins find diamonds with their picks or if their picks turns out to be no more than lumps of coal, but either way the Twins will pay big money to add these new prospects to their organization. Draft picks are no different than baseball in general, you never know what you will get each year. I think someone said some thing like this about a box of chocolates once upon a time…

UPDATE – The Twins selected right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart who also was a star quarterback at St. Pius X High School in Houston, Texas with their first selection. Stewart throws about 95 MPH and has touched 97 MPH and is widely regarded as having a “high ceiling” but first, the Twins have to sign the high school star so he does not accept his football scholarship to Texas A&M. Stewart is a type 1 diabetic but that should be a non-issue. The Twins then selected right-hander Ryan Eades from LSU with their second pick. Eades is reported to throw a fastball between 90-95 and has a hard breaking ball as part of his arsenal. The down side with Eades is his injury history which reportedly includes a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in high school.