Tag: Jim Kaat

Top 20 pitching seasons by a Twins pitcher

Bert Blyleven

The Minnesota Twins have played baseball for 62 seasons and they have had 273 different pitchers start one or more games for them. The number drops to 26 pitchers having started 100 or more games, just six having started 200 or more, three at 300 or more and only Jim Kaat started over 400 or 422 to be exact.

Pitching has not exactly been the Twins strength over the years, the team has been known for producing hitters. But the Twins have had a number of very good pitchers with Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat in the MLB Hall of Fame. The Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame includes pitchers Blyleven, Kaat, Frank Viola, Rick Aguilera, Brad Radke, Jim Perry, Camilo Pascual, Eddie Guardado, Johan Santana and Joe Nathan. Three of the inductee’s were relievers.

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A look at Twins Quality Starts over the years

According to WikipediA, 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 has effectively replaced the ‘complete game’ as a meaningful measure of a starting pitcher’s performance.

The quality start was developed by sportswriter John Lowe in 1985 while writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nolan Ryan has used the term “High Quality Start” for games where the pitcher goes seven innings or more and allows three earned runs or fewer, which baseball columnist and formber BBWAA president Derrick Goold referred to as “Quality Start Plus.”

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Checking out the Twins best hitting pitchers

It is probably a good thing that the National League finally adopted the designated hitter rule like the Americal League has had for many years. Sure, pitchers got a key hit now and then but it stood out because it was so rare. But my intent here is to share with you a look at Twins pitchers hitting over the years before the DH rule came into play in 1973.

Jim Kaat

The criteria for this list is simple, you had to have been a Twins pitcher and had a minimum of 50 PA’s. Over the years you have heard that Jim Kaat was a pretty good hitter for a pitcher and he was. As far as I know Kaat was the only Twins pitcher to ever have a baseball card (1973 Topps) showing him hitting. Kind of ironic it would come out the year the AL DH rule came into play. But how many of you knew that Camilo Pascual was pretty good with the bat too.

Credit to B-R Stathead

https://stathead.com/tiny/C8DvN

The only other Twins pitchers to hit a home run but not appear on this list due to not having enough PA’s are Hal Haydel, Al Schroll and Bill Dailey.

Minnesota Twins pitching leaders in games started

Back on December 19 in 2006 pitcher Brad Radke announced his plans to retire after 12 season of wearing the colors of the Minnesota Twins. That got me to wondering where the Twins pitchers with the most starts for Minnesota came from.

  1. Jim Kaat had 422 starts with the Twins and was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1957 long before the draft was instituted and was one of the original Minnesota Twins in 1961. Debuted August 2, 1959 with the Senators.
  2. Brad Radke had 377 starts with the Twins and was an eighth round pick in the June amateur draft in 1991. Radke debuted on April 29, 1995 in three not so stellar innings of relief and started every game that he appeared in after that.
  3. Bert Blyleven had 345 starts with the Twins after being drafted by Minnesota in round three of the 1969 June amateur draft. Bert debuted on June 5, 1970 and all his appearances but three were starts.
  4. Frank Viola had 259 and just one relief appearance with the Twins after being selected in round 16 of June 1978 amateur draft. Sweet Music debuted on June 6, 1982.
  5. Jim Perry had 249 start for Minnesota after being acquired in a trade on May 2, 1963 from the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jack Kralick.
  6. Dave Goltz had 215 starts for the Twins after drafted in the round five of the 1967 June amateur draft. The Rothsay, Minnesota native debuted on July 18, 1972.
  7. Kyle Gibson had 188 starts with Minnesota after being drafted 22nd in round one of the 2009 June amateur draft. Gibson debuted on June 29, 2013.
  8. Kevin Tapani had 180 starts in 181 appearances in a Twins uniform after being acquired in a trade from the New York Mets in the Frank Viola trade on July 31, 1989. Tapani had debuted with the Mets on July 4, 1989.
  9. Camilo Pascual had 179 starts with Minnesota and was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent prior to the 1952 season long before the draft was instituted and was one of the original Minnesota Twins in 1961. Pascual debuted on April 15, 1954.
  10. Johan Santana had 175 starts with the Twins after being drafted by the Florida Marlins from the Houston Astros in the 1999 rule 5 draft and then being traded to the Twins for Jared Camp who the Twins had originally drafted in the Rule 5 draft that year. Santana debuted on April 3, 2000.

The other players with 150 or more starts for Minnesota are Eric Milton with 165, Scott Baker with 159, Scott Erickson with 153, Kyle Lohse with 152 and Dave Boswell with 150.

The only pitchers mentioned here today to make a start for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field are Kyle Gibson and Scott Baker.

The only pitcher on this list to spend his entire career in Minnesota? That would be Brad Radke.

Congratulations to Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat on selection to HOF

Congratulations to Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat on finally getting that call to the Hall that you should have received many years ago. Well deserved and we all thank you for the wonderful memories. The numbers speak for themselves, nothing more needs to be said on why these two gentlemen belong in the MLB Hall of Fame.

Byron Buxton and Twins agree to an extension

Byron Buxton has good reason to smile. Credit to Brace Hemmelgarn – MN Twins

Yesterday afternoon as I was watching the Minnesota Vikings vs the San Francisco 49ers football game the news broke that the Minnesota Twins and Byron Buxton had reached agreement on a seven year extension worth about $100 million. I have to say that I was very surprised, I fully expected that this would not happen and that the Twins would be trading him to a team with deeper pockets that could afford to take such a gamble and not be hurt if Buxton got the big bucks but couldn’t stay healthy.

I like Buxton as a player but I have always been bothered by the fact that he could not stay healthy and for me a player sitting on the bench because he is not healthy enough play is worthless. It makes no difference if it is bad luck, bad karma, or whatever, if you can’t play you bring no value. There have always been players across all sports that spent more time in the training rooms than they did on the playing fields. It is what it is.

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Last Call for Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat to join the National Baseball Hall of Fame?

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced on Friday November 5 the 10-person ballots that will be considered by its Early Baseball Era Committee and Golden Days Era Committee for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2022. These Era Committees will both meet on December 5 at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida.

The Golden Days Era ballot includes Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Roger Maris, Minnie Minoso, Danny Murtaugh, Tony Oliva, Billy Pierce and Maury Wills. Kaat, Oliva and Wills are the only living members of this group. Twins fans are excited to see “Tony O” and “Kitty” get another opportunity to enter the hallowed halls of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Both players are in their early 80’s and deserve the opportunity to enter the HOF while they are still around to enjoy it.

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Former Twins pitcher Dwight Siebler gone at the age of 83

Dwight Siebler

Dwight Leroy Siebler was born in Columbus, Nebraska on August 5, 1937, as the third of four children of William and Viola Siebler. Dwight Siebler passed away on June 16, 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska at the age of 83.

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Twins 1965 World Series star Mudcat Grant passes away at 85

Mudcat Grant

Jim “Mudcat” Grant was born on August 13, 1935 in Lacoochee, Florida, a small town of about 500 people in central Florida. According to the Cleveland Indians, Mudcat Grant died peacefully in Los Angeles, California on June 11, 2021. Jim Grant was 85 years old.

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Ten strikeouts and no walks is a good days work

Johan Santana – Credit Craig Jones at Getty Images

It isn’t often that a MLB pitcher gets ten or more strikeouts and issues no bases on balls in a game. The way things are headed in baseball nowadays it will probably be even an even rarer event in the future. The other day New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom struck out 14 with no walks over eight innings and all he got for his efforts was a “L” after he gave up a home run to the Miami Marlins Jazz Chisholm in in the second inning and his team ended up losing 3-0.

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