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
Starters no longer pitch the innings they used too and relievers are becoming more important in MLB every year. Yes, their are a few “Ace” starters in the game that make the big bucks but they too no longer pitch deep into games like the starters did in the past.
The role of relievers has changed
Relievers are critical pieces of any baseball team that hopes to contend and play late October baseball. The use of relievers and their value to the team has evolved over the years and today’s major league game requires the pitchers in the bullpen to fulfill certain roles. You have the “closer”, you have your set-up guys that pitch important innings, you have the long guy that comes in to pitch multiple innings, and you have relievers that are used to eat innings, probably when the team is losing. Each person in that bullpen knows their role and when they will probably be called upon to pitch. In the past it was not so clear, it was not unusual for starters to pitch some relief when the game situation called for it.
Another key part of relief pitching is your manager and pitching coach and how they plan out each game to see who is available to pitch and who isn’t based on previous usage. Then of course we have the analytics that comes into play. Back in the day, the manager monitored his starter and he called on the bullpen when he felt the time was right. We can’t forget about rule changes, MLB has changed numerous rules that have had an impact on the use of relievers, roster sizes, etc.
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.
The Minnesota Twins announced today that closer Joe Nathan and former Twins Executive Jerry Bell will be inducted in the Twins Hall of Fame on August 3-4.
I would like to see the Minnesota Twins be more transparent about the voting process and the voting results. It would be nice to see who received how many votes and where they ended up when the voting was completed.
It is no secret that I think Cesar Tovar belongs in the Twins Hall of Fame and I did my best this year to try to get him in and so did a number of others. But I have no idea where he ended up in the voting or what the total voting process entails. Seems to me that the fans should be more in the know here. Just saying……
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.
The Minnesota Twins picked 30th in the June 2011 draft and in round one they selected shortstop Levi Michael. The Twins signed Michael to a $1.175 million dollar bonus and sent him directly to A+ Ft. Myers in 2012. At the end of the 2017 the Twins let him go after Michael peaked with 12 games at AAA Rochester. The New York Mets signed him and he is playing in AA ball this season.
The Twins had two supplementary first round picks for the loss of Orlando Hudson and Jesse Crain and at number 50 they took third baseman Travis Harrison and signed him for $1.050 million. Harrison spent three years (2015-2017) in AA Chattanooga and the Twins let him go and Harrison is playing Independent League ball this season.
The Twins used their other (number 55) supplementary pick to take and sign RHP Hudson Boyd from Bishop Verot High School in Ft. Myers for $1 million. Boyd lasted with Minnesota just three seasons and reached A- Cedar Rapids and was sent packing in November 2014 for his off the field issues and no one has bothered to take a chance on him. No longer in pro ball.
Round 2 – Twins select RHP Madison Boer. The Twins released Boer after the 2015 season when he peaked in AA Chattanooga. Boer is no longer in pro ball.
Round 3 – Twins select LHP Corey Williams. Williams got to AA Chattanooga in 2016 but the Twins let him go and he pitched for the St. Paul Saints in 2016-2017 but is no longer in pro ball.
Round 4 – Twins selected RHP Matt Summers. Summers also reached AA Chattanooga before being released in 2015 and no longer in pro ball.
Round 5 – Twins select shortstop Tyler Grimes and in his fourth season he played at A+ Ft. Myers. The Twins let him go and he is no longer playing pro ball.
Round 6 – The Twins selected outfielder Dereck Rodriguez, son of Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez and signed him for $130,000. In 2014 Dereck Rodriguez switched to the mound. The Twins started him out as a reliever in his first season as a pitcher but used him as a starter after that. Rodriguez reached AA Chattanooga in 2017 but left the Twins organization as a free agent after the 2017 season ended and signed with the San Francisco Giants.
Dereck Rodriguez
The Giants had Rodriguez start the season in AAA where in 9 starts he was 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 50.1 innings with just 11 walks. He was called up to the big leagues and made his major league debut on May 29, 2018 in relief and pitched 3.1 innings and allowed four runs but only one earned in Colorado. His next appearance was as a starter against the Phillies and he pitched 6 innings allowing just one run and notched his first big league win. This year Rodriguez has started 12 games and has a 2.25 ERA with a 6-1 record with 80 innings pitched and has 65 strikeouts and allowed only 61 hits. In his 12 starts Rodriguez has gone less than five innings just once. Rodriguez has been one of the most impressive rookie starters in all of baseball despite being allowed to reach minor-league free agency last fall by the Twins.
The Giants can count their found fortune later; for now, it’s enough that they’ve already received a huge contribution from Rodriguez and control him for six more seasons to come. It took 14 years but looks like the San Francisco Giants have finally gotten even for the A.J. Pierzynski trade they made with Minnesota back in November of 2003. That was the trade where the Giants acquired Pierzynski and cash for Boof Bonser, Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano.
The only player the Twins got out of the 2011 draft that put on a Twins uniform was LHP Jason Wheeler and he appeared in 2 games throwing 3 innings before moving him to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I see no record of Wheeler pitching anywhere in 2018 so he may have put baseball in the rearview mirror.
The Twins had a terrible draft in 2011 but the Dereck Rodriguez story is a great one!
Glen Perkins announced his retirement yesterday after spending his entire 12 year big league career in a Minnesota Twins uniform. Perkins was born in St. Paul and attended Stillwater High School before moving on to the University of Minnesota. In 2004 the Twins drafted Perkins in the first round with their 22nd pick, two picks after Trevor Plouffe and three picks before Kyle Waldrop. Perkins selection was a compensatory selection from the Seattle Mariners for them having signed Twins close Eddie Guardado as a free agent.
Perk made his major league debut on September 21, 2006 at Fenway Park with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Perkins was drafted as a starter but he struggled in that role in 2008-2009 and was turned into a full-time reliever in 2010. The Twins moved Perkins into the closer role in 2012 and he flourished there until injuries started talking their toll in 2016.
In his 12 season in Minnesota the three-time All-Star posted a 35-25 record with a 3.88 ERA and 120 saves. The 120 saves by Perkins puts him third on the all-time Twins save list behind Joe Nathan with 260 and Rick Aguilera with 254.
My memories of Glen Perkins will be that he was a good closer but that he had a kind of Jekyll and Hyde attitude problem, I always saw Perkins as a “me first, team second” kind of guy and over the years he had his share of issues with the Twins front office. I saw his interactions with fans in spring training on a number of occasions where he could be a real jerk at times. I am surprised that Perkins lasted in Minnesota as long as he did, as a matter of fact I had selected Perkins as my very first Twins Turkey of the Year back in 2009.
I see Glen Perkins departure from the Twins as plus through subtraction and I really won’t miss him as a Twins player, I hope he doesn’t get a chance to spread his attitude in a Twins front office job. There is more to life than just baseball.
The Twins haven’t signed any free agents this off-season but it is only a matter of time before they do. One of the relief spots they need to fill is the closer role. The Twins traded Brandon Kintzler, their closer to the Washington Nationals this past summer for 20 year-old left-handed starter Tyler Watson and some international bonus slot cash. Watson pitched in class A ball for both the Nats and Twins.
Brandon Kintzler earned $2.925 million last year and saved 28 games in Minnesota during the four months he was a Minnesota Twin in 2017. In 2016 he saved 29 games. Although not a prototypical closer, he got the job done for the Twins for a modest price on a team in 2016 that lost 103 games. After the Twins traded Kintzler, reliever Matt Belisle received the most save opportunities and he notched 9 saves.
Let’s take a look at the Twins last 12 seasons and see how their closers did and how much they were paid.
If you look at the percentage of games closed for the top three Twins closers over the last 12 seasons you end up with a save percentage of 90.3 for Joe Nathan, 86.8 for Glen Perkins, and 86.5 for Brandon Kintzler. In 2017 the average closer had 25 saves in 29 opportunities and saved 86.7% of games they were asked to save.
These guys made their major league debuts as Minnesota Twins on September 5.
Kyle Waldrop
Kyle Waldrop (P) – September 5, 2011 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (25th) of the 2004 MLB June Amateur Draft. Waldrop debuted at Target Field in a 4-0 loss to the White Sox pitching 1.2 innings (40 pitches) of relief and allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk.
Francisco Liriano
Francisco Liriano (P) – September 5, 2005 – Traded by the San Francisco Giants with Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan to the Minnesota Twins for A.J. Pierzynski and cash on November 14, 2003. Debuted in the Metrodome in relief in a 7-0 loss to the Rangers. Liriano threw 17 in his one inning of relief giving up a run on a home run to Gary Matthews, the first man he faced but he did strike out the next two batters.
Matt Lawton
Matt Lawton (OF) – September 5, 1995 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 1991 amateur draft. Debuted in a Tigers 6-4 win over the Twins at the Dome as a pinch-hitter but was struck out by Mike Christopher looking.
Jesus Vega (1B) – September 5, 1979 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins from the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1977 minor league draft. Debuted at the old Met in a 8-3 Twins victory over the visiting Royals as a pinch-hitter but flew out to right field.
Trevor Plouffe (SS/2B/OF/3B) – May 21, 2010 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (20th) of the 2004 MLB June Amateur Draft. A nice debut at shortstop for Trevor going 2 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI.
Luis Rodriguez (2B/3B/SS) – May 21, 2005 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent on June 1, 1997
Gene Larkin (1B/OF) – May 21, 1987 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round of the 1984 amateur draft. Going 2 for 4 with an RBI in your first big league game is pretty nice.
Frank Eufemia
Frank Eufemia (P) – May 21, 1985 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round of the 1982 amateur draft. Debut not too shabby considering he was pitching in a blow-out loss, 3.1 innings and no runs allowed.
Paul Boris (P) – May 21, 1982 –Traded by the New York Yankees with Ron Davis and Greg Gagne to the Minnesota Twins for Roy Smalley on April 10, 1982. Boris’s major league debut was one he would like to forget.
Jerry Crider (P) – May 21, 1969 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1962
A save (abbreviated SV or S) is a statistic awarded to a relief pitcher, often called a closer, who enters the game under certain conditions and maintains his team’s lead until the end of the game. The save rule was first adopted for the 1969 season and amended for the 1974 and 1975 seasons. Baseball researchers have worked through the official statistics retroactively to calculate saves for all major league seasons prior to 1969.
The first save credited to a Minnesota Twins pitcher occurred on April 16, 1961 long before the save rule was actually in existence in 1969.
