Tag: Frank Viola

Quality Starts and the Minnesota Twins

Regardless if you believe in Quality Starts (QS) or not, the term is used now days in MLB. A QS is defined as pitching six innings or more while allowing three or fewer earned runs. I would be happier if a QS was seven innings and two or fewer earned runs but that is just my age showing. The new “opener” strategy could put a kink in QS but I don’t think the opener strategy is a fit for most teams and will not be a big deal down the line.

Today we are taking a look at consecutive QS for Minnesota Twins starters and we have one pitcher that stands head and shoulders above the rest of the Twins pitchers in QS and that is Johan Santana who had 21 QS in a row in 2004. Impressive or not? You bet your bippy it is, no American League pitcher between 1961-2018 has thrown that many QS in a row. In the National league only four pitchers have thrown that many QS in a row since 1961, Bob Gibson leads with 26 in 1967, Jacob deGrom (2018) and Jake Arrieta (2015) have 24 and Chris Carpenter has 22 in 2005.

The closest to Santana’s streak of 21 in Minnesota is Bert Blyleven who had 12 in 1972 and Jim Merritt who also had 12 in 1967. The biggest surprise on this list to me is Rick Aguilera with 10 QS in 1989. I certainly remember Aggie starting for Minnesota when they first traded for him but I don’t remember him as pitching that well, maybe it was the fact that his record was only 3-4 during the streak.

Johan Santana
Results
Rk Name Strk Start End Games W L GS CG SHO IP H ER BB SO ERA
1 Johan Santana 2004-06-09 2004-09-24 21 18 2 21 1 1 154.1 77 23 30 199 1.34
2 Bert Blyleven 1972-08-19 1973-04-06 12 8 3 12 7 1 99.0 82 19 24 87 1.73
3 Jim Merritt 1967-06-25 1967-08-18 12 5 3 12 4 1 101.1 77 18 8 64 1.60
4 Frank Viola 1987-06-26 1987-08-16 11 8 2 11 4 1 87.0 69 19 21 70 1.97
5 Dick Woodson 1972-07-11 1972-08-28 11 6 4 11 7 2 90.1 61 14 26 43 1.39
6 Eric Milton 2000-09-23 2001-05-13 10 5 3 10 1 1 68.1 67 20 16 45 2.63
7 Scott Erickson 1990-09-23 1991-05-17 10 8 2 10 3 2 77.1 53 10 28 36 1.16
8 Rick Aguilera 1989-08-08 1989-09-26 10 3 4 10 3 0 71.2 61 22 16 55 2.76
9 Roger Erickson 1980-08-01 1980-09-17 10 3 4 10 4 0 80.0 71 18 16 42 2.03
10 Lee Stange 1963-08-06 1963-09-15 10 7 2 10 5 1 83.0 65 16 19 55 1.73
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/31/2018.

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The Minnesota Twins longest streak of QS as a team is 13 QS in a row in 1969. The pitchers in that streak were Dean Chance, Dave Boswell, Jim Perry, Dick Woodson, Tommy Hall and Jim Kaat.

Best seasons by Twins position players & pitchers

As the Twins prepare for their 59th season of play in Minnesota we should look back and be thankful for some great seasons these players have given us in the past. I am using B-R Play Index to come up with the ten greatest seasons by Minnesota Twins players over the years and I am once again using WAR as the tool to do this. I think you might be surprised at some of these.

Continue reading Best seasons by Twins position players & pitchers

Twins pick-off artist’s

It is obviously important for pitchers to keep base runners as close to the base as possible to prevent them from getting a good jump and stealing a base. What Twins pitchers were the best at this seemingly lost art? Jon Lester (Cubs) doesn’t even throw the ball to first any more for fear of throwing the ball away. As you might guess most of the pitchers on this list are lefties but a few right-handed pitchers are sprinkled in.

Most pick-offs in a single season by Twins pitchers

Results
Rk Player PO Year G W L W-L% SV IP SO ERA SB CS
1 Jerry Koosman 14 1979 37 20 13 .606 0 263.2 157 3.38 7 16
2 Mark Guthrie 11 1990 24 7 9 .438 0 144.2 101 3.79 17 12
3 Roger Erickson 10 1978 37 14 13 .519 0 265.2 121 3.96 5 15
4 Allan Anderson 8 1990 31 7 18 .280 0 188.2 82 4.53 10 11
5 Jerry Koosman 7 1980 38 16 13 .552 2 243.1 149 4.03 7 10
6 Mark Guthrie 6 1989 13 2 4 .333 0 57.1 38 4.55 5 6
7 Frank Viola 6 1988 35 24 7 .774 0 255.1 193 2.64 7 8
8 Dave Goltz 6 1977 39 20 11 .645 0 303.0 186 3.36 18 16
9 Vic Albury 6 1974 32 8 9 .471 0 164.0 85 4.12 12 13
10 Eddie Bane 6 1973 23 0 5 .000 2 60.1 42 4.92 3 8
11 Jim Merritt 6 1968 38 12 16 .429 1 238.1 181 3.25 8 2

 

Most career pick-offs as a Twins pitcher

Frank Viola
Results
Rk Player PO From To G W L W-L% SV IP SO ERA SB CS
1 Frank Viola 27 1982 1989 260 112 93 .546 0 1772.2 1214 3.86 70 69
2 Jerry Koosman 24 1979 1981 94 39 35 .527 7 601.1 361 3.77 15 33
3 Mark Guthrie 20 1989 1995 240 29 27 .518 8 489.2 388 4.19 50 30
4 Francisco Liriano 17 2005 2012 156 50 52 .490 1 783.1 788 4.33 67 23
5 Roger Erickson 17 1978 1982 114 31 47 .397 0 712.0 321 4.10 23 32
6 Allan Anderson 15 1986 1991 148 49 54 .476 0 818.2 339 4.11 54 38
7 Dave Goltz 15 1972 1979 247 96 79 .549 3 1638.0 887 3.48 111 76
8 Johan Santana 14 2000 2007 251 93 44 .679 1 1308.2 1381 3.22 28 29
9 Geoff Zahn 14 1977 1980 133 53 53 .500 0 852.0 348 3.90 30 42
10 Jim Kaat 14 1961 1973 468 189 152 .554 5 2959.1 1824 3.28 115 47
11 Bert Blyleven 11 1970 1988 348 149 138 .519 0 2566.2 2035 3.28 221 111
12 Vic Albury 11 1973 1976 101 18 17 .514 1 372.2 193 4.11 24 27
13 Jim Merritt 11 1965 1968 122 37 41 .474 6 686.2 527 3.03 14 13
14 Jim Perry 10 1963 1972 376 128 90 .587 5 1883.1 1025 3.15 43 66
15 Kyle Gibson 9 2013 2017 110 36 43 .456 0 632.2 428 4.78 33 11

Note that current Twin pitcher Kyle Gibson made the career list.

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Frank Viola

Another day and another major league debut as a Minnesota Twin, but this was not your run of the mill Twins star that debuted on June 6

Frank Viola

Frank Viola (P) – June 6, 1982 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft. Viola’s debut was not exactly vintage “sweet music” on June 6 when he first stepped on the Metrodome mound to face the Baltimore Orioles and Dennis Martinez and he ended up taking the loss in the 7-5 O’s win but his good days were just on the horizon. Just in case you wanted to know, the Twins selected Bryan Oelkers as their first round pick and fourth overall just ahead of the Mets pick of Dwight Gooden.

To see other Major League Debut’s as Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins who have received Hall of Fame votes over the years

We all know about the Minnesota Twins players who have been enshrined in the MLB Hall of Fame and it is a great and rare honor to get voted in. Over the years a number of outstanding and I think “hall worthy” Minnesota Twins players have received votes but never enough to get that call they have waited for, I would put players like Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat and Jack Morris in that category.

Oliva
Kaat
Morris

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a list of other one-time Twins players who received at least one vote in HOF balloting through 2017 voting, some deserved it and others I have to wonder what the voter was thinking.

 Jacque Jones, Kenny Rogers, Brad Radke, Bret Boone, Jesse Orosco, Chuck Knoblauch, Gary Gaetti, Rick Aguilera, Chili Davis, Terry Steinbach, Jim Eisenreich, Luis Tiant, Frank Viola, Steve Bedrosian, Jim Deshaies, Jeff Reardon, Kent Hrbek, John Candelaria, Rick Dempsey, Graig Nettles, Don Baylor, Chris Speier, Joe Niekro, Bill Campbell, Jerry Koosman, Mike Marshall, Leo Cardenas, Jim Perry, Ron Perranoski, Vic Wertz, Camilo Pascual, Vic Power, Elmer Valo, and Billy Martin.

Best players drafted by Minnesota Twins by round

I went through the history of the Minnesota Twins June Amateur draft choices to see who the best players were that the club drafted, signed and the player debuted with Minnesota across his chest. The player may or may not have played his entire career with the Twins but the WAR numbers are for their entire careers. Why are they ranked by WAR you may ask? Simple, I know of no other way to rank them, so right or wrong, I have chosen B-R WAR.

Twenty five of the 61 rounds shown have no players that qualified meaning that no one ever drafted in that round has made it to the majors with Minnesota. So if the Twins draft you in one of those rounds in the future, the odds are very much against you. Unless you have followed the Twins since day one, you might not recognize or remember some of these players.

Continue reading Best players drafted by Minnesota Twins by round

Some of the Twins worst games ever pitched

Minnesota Twins pitchers have pitched some bad games over the years, here is a list of Twins pitchers that gave up 10 or more runs in a single game. The most runs given up by a Twins pitcher was 11 by the 38-year-old Rick Reed in a 15-1 loss at the Metrodome to the New York Yankees back in 2003.

Rk Player Date Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR Pit
1 Rick Reed 2003-04-21 NYY L 1-15 GS-5, L 4.1 10 11 10 3 4 2 95
2 Rick Aguilera 1996-06-11 SEA L 8-18 GS-4, L 3.0 10 10 9 1 0 1 70
3 Scott Erickson 1994-04-12 SEA L 0-12 GS-4, L 4.0 11 10 7 3 2 1 85
4 Pat Mahomes 1993-04-24 DET L 1-17 GS-3, L 2.2 11 10 10 1 3 3 70
5 Willie Banks 1992-08-04 CHW L 11-19 3-4 1.2 8 10 10 4 1 1 56
6 Frank Viola 1983-07-08 CLE L 4-10 GS-4, L 3.1 8 10 9 3 2 1  
7 John Pacella 1982-07-15 DET L 2-18 1-4 2.2 8 10 4 4 4 3  
8 Geoff Zahn 1980-07-21 (2) BAL L 5-12 GS-6, L 5.2 11 10 10 5 2 3  
9 Joe Decker 1976-05-12 KCR L 5-17 GS-2, L 1.0 8 10 10 3 2 0  
10 Vic Albury 1974-08-06 KCR L 3-17 3-7 5.0 12 10 10 5 2 1  
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/26/2017.

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The Twins trials and tribulations with finding starting pitching

The Minnesota Twins have a long history of problems developing starting pitching. Using 100 starts as a barometer, since 1961 the Twins have signed and developed just 11 pitchers in their system that have gone on to get 100 or more starts in a Twins uniform. The only first round pick in the bunch is Pete Redfern, three round tw0 picks, two round three picks, one fourth round pick, one fifth round pick, Brad Radke was an eighth round pick, one 29th round pick and an amateur free agent (Dave Boswell).

Since the June amateur free agent draft started in 1965 the Twins have drafted 31 pitchers in round 1 or as round 1 supplementary/compensation picks. Actually part of the Twins issues with starting pitching relates to spending money or the lack there of. The first two right-handed pitchers drafted by the Twins in round 1 were Dick Ruthven in 1972 and Tim Belcher (first overall pick) in 1983 who both refused to sign with Minnesota and went on to have long careers in MLB. The first left-handed pitcher drafted in round 1 to start any games was Eddie Bane and his Twins career lasted 25 starts. As I mentioned earlier, the draft started in 1965 but the Twins only drafted starting pitching in round 1 twice (Ruthven in 1972 and Bane in 1973) between 1965-1981. The first RHP that they drafted in round 1 that actually started a number of games (45 in Twins career) was Willie Banks who the team drafted in 1987. Since 2000 they have drafted a pitcher in round 1 a total of 17 times.

Starting pitching signed and developed by the Twins since 1961

Brad Radke
Rk Player GS From To Age G W L IP ERA
1. Brad Radke 377 1995 2006 22-33 378 148 139 2451.0 4.22
2. Bert Blyleven 345 1970 1988 19-37 348 149 138 2566.2 3.28
3. Frank Viola 259 1982 1989 22-29 260 112 93 1772.2 3.86
4. Dave Goltz 215 1972 1979 23-30 247 96 79 1638.0 3.48
5. Scott Baker 159 2005 2011 23-29 163 63 48 958.0 4.15
6. Scott Erickson 153 1990 1995 22-27 155 61 60 979.1 4.22
7. Dave Boswell 150 1964 1970 19-25 187 67 54 1036.1 3.49
8. Nick Blackburn 137 2007 2012 25-30 145 43 55 818.2 4.85
9. Allan Anderson 128 1986 1991 22-27 148 49 54 818.2 4.11
10. Pete Redfern 111 1976 1982 21-27 170 42 48 714.0 4.54
11. Roger Erickson 106 1978 1982 21-25 114 31 47 712.0 4.10
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/20/2016.

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If you can’t find, sign, and develop your starting pitching, you only have a few options at your disposal, you could make a trade, you can sign a free agent, or you can find one on the waiver wire (ha, ha, ha). 

The option I want to write about here is the Twins attempts to trade for starting pitching since the turn of the century, a total of 17 years. Trading for starters hasn’t exactly gone as planned either.

Continue reading The Twins trials and tribulations with finding starting pitching

Twins masters of the pickoff

In baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher, throwing a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who is either leading off or about to begin stealing the next base.

Twins career leaders in pickoffs

Frank Viola

Rk Player PO G W L W-L% SV IP ERA BF
1 Frank Viola 27 260 112 93 .546 0 1772.2 3.86 7450
2 Jerry Koosman 24 94 39 35 .527 7 601.1 3.77 2527
3 Mark Guthrie 20 240 29 27 .518 8 489.2 4.19 2101
4 Francisco Liriano 17 156 50 52 .490 1 783.1 4.33 3341
5 Roger Erickson 17 114 31 47 .397 0 712.0 4.10 3074
6 Allan Anderson 15 148 49 54 .476 0 818.2 4.11 3474
7 Dave Goltz 15 247 96 79 .549 3 1638.0 3.48 6887
8 Johan Santana 14 251 93 44 .679 1 1308.2 3.22 5281
9 Geoff Zahn 14 133 53 53 .500 0 852.0 3.90 3621
10 Jim Kaat 14 468 189 152 .554 5 2959.1 3.28 12385
11 Bert Blyleven 11 348 149 138 .519 0 2566.2 3.28 10542
12 Vic Albury 11 101 18 17 .514 1 372.2 4.11 1630
13 Jim Merritt 11 122 37 41 .474 6 686.2 3.03 2760
14 Jim Perry 10 376 128 90 .587 5 1883.1 3.15 7791
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/13/2016.
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Some interesting pickoff tidbits

Four time Cy Young award winner and Hall of Famer Steve Carlton pitched for the Minnesota Twins in a total of just eight games in his short stint in Minnesota in 1987-1988 and he had one pickoff and that was the last one in his illustrious career in which he picked off a MLB career leading 144 runners.

Tippy Martinez pitched for Minnesota in his final season in the big leagues in 1988 after pitching for the Yankees in 1974-1976 and the Orioles in 1976-1986. According to Wikipedia:

“Martinez may be best known for picking off three Toronto Blue Jays at first base in one inning during an August 24, 1983 game at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. The Orioles, having replaced both their starting catcher and his backup while rallying to tie the game in the ninth inning, entered the tenth with reserve infielder Lenn Sakata in the game at catcher. Three consecutive Blue Jays hitters reached first base and each one, thinking it would be easy to steal a base on Sakata, took a big lead. Martinez picked off all three baserunners, then became the winning pitcher when the Orioles won the game on Sakata’s home run in the bottom of the tenth.”

Korean pitcher ordered to do community service for firing a pickoff throw at opponent’s head.

In 2014 Jon Lester of the Red Sox finishes his year having faced 346 batters with at least one runner on base, yet without having attempted a single pickoff throw.

The pinch-hit grand slam, it has been awhile

Dwyer, JimOdds are that you will not recognize the player in this picture but he is still in the Twins organization and has been on the Fort Myers Miracle coaching staff since 2006. He played in the big leagues for 18 seasons for seven different teams but never had more than 260 at bats in any single season and played for the Minnesota Twins in 1998, 1999 and 1990.

It has been over 25 years since a Minnesota Twins batter pinch-hit a grand slam for the Minnesota Twins. This Twins were ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning when “Pig Pen” stepped into the left-handed batters box to hit pinch-hit for Twins catcher Tim Laudner who was hitting in the 7-hole on that day. Right-hander Donn Pall was the third pitcher used by the mighty whitey’s that inning and he gave up the grand salami to Jim Dwyer and the Twins were up 7-2 and would eventually win the game by a score of 10-3 as Frank Viola won his 22nd game of the season. No one has pinch-hit a grand slam home run for the Twins since September 15, 1988.

Pinch-hit grand slam home runs in Twins history

Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt PA AB R H HR RBI
1 Jim Dwyer 1988-09-15 MIN CHW W 10-3 1 1 1 1 1 4
2 Mike Cubbage 1978-08-08 MIN SEA W 10-2 1 1 1 1 1 4
3 Rod Carew 1976-09-09 MIN TEX W 6-0 1 1 1 1 1 4
4 Tony Oliva 1975-06-29 MIN TEX L 7-9 1 1 1 1 1 4
5 Rich Reese 1972-07-09 MIN NYY L 6-9 1 1 1 1 1 4
6 Harmon Killebrew 1971-09-03 (1) MIN OAK W 9-4 1 1 1 1 1 4
7 Rick Renick 1970-06-30 MIN KCR W 8-5 1 1 1 1 1 4
8 Rich Reese 1969-08-03 MIN BAL W 5-2 1 1 1 1 1 4
9 Julio Becquer 1961-07-04 (1) MIN CHW W 6-4 1 1 1 1 1 4
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/5/2016.

ERROR, ERROR, RECOMPUTE: A bit of a technical glitch with my search, it turns out that the last player to pinch-hit a home run for the Twins was not Jim Dwyer but our old friend Matt LeCroy in 2004. Here is the corrected list.

LeCroy, Matt 4

here
Rk Player Date ? Tm Opp Rslt PA AB R H HR RBI Pos Summary
1 Matt LeCroy 2004-05-19 MIN TOR W 6-5 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH 1B
2 Greg Colbrunn 1997-08-04 MIN TOR W 9-3 3 3 1 1 1 4 PH 1B
3 Jim Dwyer 1989-06-10 MIN CHW W 11-8 2 2 1 1 1 4 PH DH
4 Carmelo Castillo 1989-04-11 MIN DET W 14-0 2 1 1 1 1 4 PH RF
5 Jim Dwyer 1988-09-15 MIN CHW W 10-3 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
6 Ron Washington 1986-07-03 MIN BAL W 11-7 2 2 2 2 1 4 PH 2B
7 Dave Engle 1982-07-06 MIN DET L 6-11 4 4 1 3 1 4 PH RF
8 Mike Cubbage 1978-08-08 MIN SEA W 10-2 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
9 Rod Carew 1976-09-09 MIN TEX W 6-0 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
10 Tony Oliva 1975-06-29 MIN TEX L 7-9 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
11 Danny Walton 1973-04-17 MIN CAL W 10-5 2 2 2 2 1 4 PH DH
12 Rich Reese 1972-07-09 MIN NYY L 6-9 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
13 Harmon Killebrew 1971-09-03 (1) MIN OAK W 9-4 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
14 Rick Renick 1970-06-30 MIN KCR W 8-5 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
15 Rich Reese 1970-06-07 MIN WSA W 10-9 3 3 1 1 1 4 PH 1B
16 Rich Reese 1969-08-03 MIN BAL W 5-2 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
17 Julio Becquer 1961-07-04 (1) MIN CHW W 6-4 1 1 1 1 1 4 PH
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/20/2016.