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.

Twins and post season play

As 2014 is coming to an end it is a good time to look back on another Twins season, their fourth in a row without post season play. But you have to be a winner to make post season play and the Twins have been anything but a winner the last few years. It has been a toss-up when you try to determine who has been more inept, the Twins players on the field or the ownership and Twins executives that sit behind their desks and make the decisions that determine the experience that Twins fans will have to live with during the up-coming season.

The Twins have had many losing seasons over the years and the real core Twins fans complained but they accepted the team they had and they looked forward to the next season with renewed hope for more wins “next year”. But it is seems different now, I am not sure why, maybe the fans are more passionate, maybe it is social media that allows Twins fans to better express their frustrations but today’s Twins fans are just plain mad and disgusted with the caliber of play their home team has displayed since the 2010 ended. Hopefully the Minnesota Twins organization feels some of the passion that Twins fans have and will start to look at the product from the fans perspective and see what they can do to make the fans experience a little more fun and and not so tough on the wallet.

Since the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins the team has played 8,617 regular season games, winning 4,274, losing 4,335 and playing to a tie on eight occasions in 54 seasons of play. Boy, how time flies by, I still remember that 1961 season.

Looking back at Twins history they have two World Series winners and a third World Series appearance in which they lost game seven to Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition to the 8,617 regular season games the team has played a total of 64 post season games winning 25 and losing 39. Their last post season appearance was in 2010 and that brief playoff run lasted just three games when they were swept by the New York Yankees 3 games to zip. The teams last post season win was back in 2004 (if I am not mistaken that is about 10 years ago, YIKES!) when they beat the Yankees in game 1 of the ALDS series before losing the next three games.

So let’s take a look at the hitting and pitching statistics of the Minnesota Twins in post season play. Let’s see who stood out under the bright lights of post season play and who couldn’t or didn’t deliver when the pressure was on. The names you will see below will bring back many memories, some good, some bad, some sad and in some cases you will say “who in the hell is so and so, I don’t remember him”. But it is fun looking back.

 Hitting in Post Season (had at least one PA)

Rk Player #Matching PA ? AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP OPS SB
1 Dan Gladden 24 115 104 17 29 6 3 1 15 9 12 .279 .348 .771 7
2 Kirby Puckett 24 109 97 16 30 3 2 5 15 8 17 .309 .361 .897 3
3 Kent Hrbek 24 103 91 10 14 1 0 3 12 11 12 .154 .252 .516 0
4 Greg Gagne 24 96 89 12 19 5 0 4 10 5 22 .213 .271 .675 0
5 Torii Hunter 21 88 80 15 24 8 1 3 8 5 11 .300 .337 .875 2
6 Jacque Jones 18 79 76 6 15 5 0 2 5 1 23 .197 .215 .557 0
7 Michael Cuddyer 21 78 74 5 25 2 1 2 8 4 18 .338 .372 .845 0
8 Corey Koskie 18 78 67 8 15 4 1 1 9 7 21 .224 .321 .679 0
9 Cristian Guzman 18 75 67 9 16 3 0 1 2 5 12 .239 .301 .630 3
10 Doug Mientkiewicz 14 56 53 4 12 1 0 2 6 3 5 .226 .268 .626 0
11 Chuck Knoblauch 12 55 46 8 15 3 0 0 5 7 5 .326 .407 .799 6
12 Harmon Killebrew 13 54 40 6 10 1 0 3 6 14 10 .250 .444 .944 0
13 Tony Oliva 13 53 51 7 16 5 0 3 5 2 10 .314 .340 .928 1
14 Gary Gaetti 12 53 47 9 13 3 1 3 9 3 8 .277 .340 .914 2
15 A.J. Pierzynski 14 50 45 6 14 0 1 2 7 4 4 .311 .360 .849 0
16 Tom Brunansky 12 50 42 10 12 4 0 2 11 8 7 .286 .400 .924 1
17 Shane Mack 11 44 41 4 9 2 1 0 4 2 11 .220 .250 .567 2
18 Luis Rivas 14 43 38 3 6 1 0 0 1 2 9 .158 .195 .379 0
19 Tim Laudner 12 43 36 5 8 2 0 1 6 7 9 .222 .349 .710 0
20 Chili Davis 11 42 35 7 9 2 0 2 6 7 11 .257 .381 .867 1
21 Brian Harper 11 41 39 3 13 4 0 0 2 2 4 .333 .366 .802 0
22 Joe Mauer 9 39 35 1 10 1 0 0 1 4 7 .286 .359 .673 0
23 Shannon Stewart 8 38 35 1 10 2 0 0 2 2 6 .286 .316 .659 1
24 Steve Lombardozzi 11 37 32 5 11 1 0 1 5 4 4 .344 .417 .885 0
25 Jason Kubel 8 32 29 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 13 .069 .156 .260 0
26 Bob Allison 10 30 26 3 2 1 0 1 3 3 10 .077 .167 .397 1
27 Zoilo Versalles 7 30 28 3 8 1 1 1 4 2 7 .286 .333 .833 1
28 David Ortiz 9 29 29 0 8 3 0 0 4 0 10 .276 .276 .655 0
29 Justin Morneau 7 29 29 4 9 3 0 2 4 0 3 .310 .310 .931 0
30 Mike Pagliarulo 11 28 26 5 8 1 0 2 5 1 4 .308 .333 .910 0
31 Matt LeCroy 10 28 26 2 7 0 0 0 1 2 9 .269 .321 .591 0
32 Denard Span 6 28 28 1 10 1 0 0 1 0 2 .357 .357 .750 1
33 Delmon Young 6 27 24 2 5 1 1 0 0 2 6 .208 .296 .630 1
34 Cesar Tovar 6 27 26 2 6 0 1 0 1 1 2 .231 .259 .567 1
35 Randy Bush 11 26 22 5 5 1 1 0 4 3 4 .227 .308 .671 3
36 Frank Quilici 9 26 22 2 4 2 0 0 1 4 4 .182 .308 .580 0
37 Leo Cardenas 6 26 24 1 4 0 1 0 1 1 8 .167 .200 .450 0
38 Don Mincher 7 25 23 3 3 0 0 1 1 2 7 .130 .200 .461 0
39 Earl Battey 7 25 25 1 3 0 1 0 2 0 5 .120 .120 .320 0
40 Nick Punto 6 25 21 0 6 1 0 0 1 3 2 .286 .375 .708 0
41 Don Baylor 7 21 18 3 7 0 0 1 4 1 1 .389 .476 1.032 0
42 Joe Nossek 6 21 20 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200 .200 .400 0
43 Rich Reese 5 21 19 0 3 0 0 0 2 2 2 .158 .238 .396 0
44 Scott Leius 9 20 18 2 5 0 0 1 2 2 3 .278 .350 .794 0
45 Rod Carew 5 17 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 .063 .118 .180 0
46 George Mitterwald 4 16 15 2 5 1 0 0 2 1 5 .333 .375 .775 0
47 Dustan Mohr 7 15 14 4 7 2 0 0 0 1 4 .500 .533 1.176 1
48 Orlando Cabrera 3 15 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 .154 .267 .421 1
49 Lew Ford 4 14 12 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 .250 .357 .690 1
50 Luis Castillo 3 14 11 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 .273 .429 .701 0
51 Jim Thome 3 13 10 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 .100 .308 .408 0
52 Orlando Hudson 3 13 12 2 4 0 0 1 2 0 2 .333 .333 .917 0
53 Gene Larkin 12 12 11 1 3 1 0 0 2 1 1 .273 .333 .697 0
54 Rondell White 3 12 12 1 5 1 0 1 2 0 0 .417 .417 1.167 0
55 Brendan Harris 3 12 12 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 .250 .250 .667 0
56 Al Newman 6 11 9 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 1 .222 .300 .744 0
57 Sandy Valdespino 5 11 11 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 .273 .273 .636 0
58 Danny Valencia 3 11 9 1 2 1 0 0 2 1 3 .222 .273 .606 0
59 Jason Bartlett 3 11 11 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 2 .273 .273 .636 0
60 Henry Blanco 4 10 8 1 2 0 0 1 2 0 2 .250 .222 .847 0
61 J.J. Hardy 3 10 10 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 .100 .100 .300 0
62 Danny Thompson 3 9 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .125 .222 .472 0
63 Mudcat Grant 3 9 8 3 2 1 0 1 3 0 1 .250 .250 1.000 0
64 Brant Alyea 3 9 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 .222 .222 0
65 Bobby Kielty 7 8 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 .000 .125 .125 0
66 Junior Ortiz 4 8 8 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .125 .125 .250 0
67 Jason Tyner 2 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000 .250 .250 1
68 Jimmie Hall 2 8 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 .143 .250 .393 0
69 Jim Kaat 4 7 7 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 6 .143 .143 .286 0
70 Rick Renick 3 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 .167 .333 0
71 Denny Hocking 3 6 6 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .500 .500 1.167 0
72 Ted Uhlaender 2 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 .167 .333 0
73 Matt Tolbert 2 6 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200 .333 .533 0
74 Carlos Gomez 1 6 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .333 .333 0
75 John Roseboro 2 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 .200 .400 0
76 Jim Holt 2 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
77 Paul Sorrento 4 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 .250 .250 0
78 Roy Smalley 4 4 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 .500 .750 1.750 0
79 Jim Perry 2 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
80 Paul Ratliff 1 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250 .250 .500 0
81 Dave Boswell 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 .000 .000 0
82 Rich Rollins 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .333 .333 0
83 Jose Offerman 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
84 Tom Prince 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
85 Phil Nevin 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
86 Jose Morales 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
87 Sal Butera 1 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 1.333 0
88 Charlie Manuel 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .500 .500 0
89 Les Straker 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 0
90 Jack Morris 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
91 Jarvis Brown 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
92 Pat Borders 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
93 Bert Blyleven 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
94 Jerry Zimmerman 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
95 Dick Woodson 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 0
96 Stan Williams 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000 0
97 Frank Viola 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
98 Kevin Tapani 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
99 Mike Ryan 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
100 Ron Perranoski 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
101 Camilo Pascual 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
102 Graig Nettles 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 0
103 Tom Hall 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
104 Scott Erickson 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0
105 Mark Davidson 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
106 Rick Aguilera 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/17/2014.

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Pitching in Post Season (faced at least one batter)

Rk Player #Matching W L W-L% ERA GS CG SHO SV IP ? H ER HR BB SO WHIP
1 Jack Morris 5 4 0 1.000 2.23 5 1 1 0 36.1 35 9 1 10 22 1.24
2 Brad Radke 6 2 3 .400 3.60 6 0 0 0 35.0 37 14 6 8 17 1.29
3 Johan Santana 11 1 3 .250 3.97 5 0 0 0 34.0 35 15 2 10 32 1.32
4 Frank Viola 5 3 1 .750 4.31 5 0 0 0 31.1 31 15 3 8 25 1.24
5 Bert Blyleven 5 3 1 .750 3.18 4 0 0 0 28.1 27 10 3 5 23 1.13
6 Mudcat Grant 3 2 1 .667 2.74 3 2 0 0 23.0 22 7 3 2 12 1.04
7 Kevin Tapani 4 1 2 .333 6.04 4 0 0 0 22.1 29 15 1 5 16 1.52
8 Jim Perry 5 0 1 .000 6.75 2 0 0 0 17.1 21 13 6 6 10 1.56
9 Joe Mays 3 1 1 .500 4.76 3 0 0 0 17.0 21 9 4 2 4 1.35
10 Jim Kaat 4 1 3 .250 4.41 4 1 0 0 16.1 24 8 1 4 7 1.71
11 Eric Milton 3 1 0 1.000 1.65 2 0 0 0 16.1 13 3 2 3 9 0.98
12 Scott Erickson 3 0 0 4.91 3 0 0 0 14.2 13 8 4 9 7 1.50
13 Dave Boswell 2 0 1 .000 1.35 1 0 0 0 13.1 10 2 0 9 7 1.43
14 Carl Pavano 2 0 2 .000 4.15 2 0 0 0 13.0 15 6 3 1 12 1.23
15 Carl Willis 7 0 0 2.92 0 0 0 0 12.1 8 4 2 2 5 0.81
16 Kyle Lohse 5 0 2 .000 3.00 1 0 0 0 12.0 9 4 1 2 14 0.92
17 Les Straker 3 0 0 6.94 3 0 0 0 11.2 12 9 1 7 7 1.63
18 Rick Reed 3 0 2 .000 8.18 2 0 0 0 11.0 15 10 6 2 8 1.55
19 Juan Berenguer 7 0 1 .000 5.23 0 0 0 1 10.1 11 6 1 3 7 1.35
20 Jeff Reardon 8 1 1 .500 2.70 0 0 0 3 10.0 12 3 1 3 8 1.50
21 J.C. Romero 12 0 1 .000 5.59 0 0 0 0 9.2 10 6 1 6 7 1.66
22 Juan Rincon 8 0 0 5.19 0 0 0 0 8.2 6 5 1 6 9 1.38
23 Dan Schatzeder 5 1 0 1.000 3.12 0 0 0 0 8.2 6 3 0 3 8 1.04
24 Rick Aguilera 7 1 1 .500 1.08 0 0 0 5 8.1 7 1 0 1 6 0.96
25 Brian Duensing 2 0 2 .000 11.25 2 0 0 0 8.0 14 10 2 2 4 2.00
26 Joe Nathan 6 0 1 .000 4.70 0 0 0 1 7.2 8 4 1 6 9 1.83
27 Francisco Liriano 2 0 0 5.87 1 0 0 0 7.2 7 5 1 4 8 1.43
28 Ron Perranoski 5 0 1 .000 10.29 0 0 0 0 7.0 13 8 0 1 5 2.00
29 LaTroy Hawkins 10 1 0 1.000 6.75 0 0 0 0 6.2 9 5 0 1 11 1.50
30 Mark Guthrie 6 1 1 .500 1.35 0 0 0 0 6.2 3 1 0 4 3 1.05
31 Tom Hall 3 0 1 .000 6.00 1 0 0 0 6.0 6 4 1 4 6 1.67
32 Stan Williams 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 6.0 2 0 0 1 2 0.50
33 Boof Bonser 1 0 0 3.00 1 0 0 0 6.0 7 2 0 1 3 1.33
34 David West 4 1 0 1.000 6.35 0 0 0 0 5.2 3 4 1 8 4 1.94
35 Nick Blackburn 1 0 0 1.59 1 0 0 0 5.2 3 1 0 2 3 0.88
36 Al Worthington 3 0 0 1.69 0 0 0 0 5.1 5 1 0 2 3 1.31
37 Eddie Guardado 5 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 3 5.0 10 5 2 2 5 2.40
38 Carlos Silva 1 0 1 .000 10.80 1 0 0 0 5.0 10 6 1 0 1 2.00
39 Camilo Pascual 1 0 1 .000 5.40 1 0 0 0 5.0 8 3 0 1 0 1.80
40 Matt Guerrier 5 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 4.2 1 0 0 1 4 0.43
41 Steve Bedrosian 5 0 0 3.86 0 0 0 0 4.2 6 2 0 2 4 1.71
42 Jim Merritt 2 0 0 2.70 0 0 0 0 3.1 2 1 0 0 1 0.60
43 Jon Rauch 5 0 0 3.00 0 0 0 0 3.0 1 1 0 2 1 1.00
44 Terry Mulholland 1 0 0 3.00 0 0 0 0 3.0 3 1 1 0 0 1.00
45 Dick Woodson 2 0 0 10.12 0 0 0 0 2.2 5 3 0 4 2 3.38
46 Johnny Klippstein 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.2 2 0 0 2 3 1.50
47 Brian Fuentes 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.2 1 0 0 0 2 0.38
48 Grant Balfour 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.2 0 0 0 0 2 0.00
49 Terry Leach 2 0 0 3.86 0 0 0 0 2.1 2 1 0 0 2 0.86
50 Scott Baker 1 0 0 3.86 0 0 0 0 2.1 3 1 1 0 2 1.29
51 Jose Mijares 5 0 1 .000 4.50 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 1 1 2 0 1.50
52 Joe Niekro 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 1.00
53 George Frazier 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0.50
54 Dean Chance 1 0 0 13.50 0 0 0 0 2.0 4 3 1 0 2 2.00
55 Michael Jackson 4 0 0 16.20 0 0 0 0 1.2 6 3 0 2 2 4.80
56 Jesse Crain 4 0 1 .000 16.20 0 0 0 0 1.2 7 3 2 1 1 4.80
57 Ron Mahay 3 0 0 5.40 0 0 0 0 1.2 0 1 0 1 2 0.60
58 Keith Atherton 3 0 0 5.40 0 0 0 0 1.2 1 1 0 1 0 1.20
59 Bob Miller 1 0 1 .000 5.40 1 0 0 0 1.2 5 1 0 0 0 3.00
60 Bill Zepp 2 0 0 6.75 0 0 0 0 1.1 2 1 1 2 2 3.00
61 Kenny Rogers 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 1.1 1 0 0 1 3 1.50
62 Tony Fiore 1 0 0 20.25 0 0 0 0 1.1 4 3 0 2 0 4.50
63 Bob Wells 2 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 0 0 2 2.00
64 Dennys Reyes 2 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 1 2 0 3.00
65 Pat Neshek 2 0 1 .000 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 1 0 0 1 1.00
66 Bill Pleis 1 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 2.00
67 Matt Capps 1 0 0 9.00 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 0 0 0 2.00
68 Luis Tiant 1 0 0 13.50 0 0 0 0 0.2 1 1 1 0 0 1.50
69 Joe Grzenda 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
70 Glen Perkins 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 0 0 0 0 6.00
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/17/2014.

Since the Twins started play in 1961 through the 2014 season a total of 751 players have put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and appeared in a game either as a hitter or a pitcher. Only 162 of them or 21.57% have appeared in a Twins post season game over the 54 seasons the Twins have called Minnesota home.

Maddux, Glavine, Thomas elected to HOF

Greg Maddux
Greg Maddux

Congratulations to Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas on getting elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year on the BBWAA ballot. All three cleared the 75-percent threshold required to gain election to the Hall of Fame and thus will be inducted in ceremonies July 25-28 at Cooperstown, N.Y. According to the BBWAA web site, “Maddux was the leading vote getter with 555 votes of the 571 ballots, including one blank, cast by senior members of the BBWAA, writers with 10 or more consecutive years of service. That represented 97.2 percent of the vote. Glavine received 525 votes (91.9 percent) and Thomas 478 (83.7).

Tom Glavine
Tom Glavine

In his second year on the ballot Craig Biggio missed getting elected by just two votes. Former Twins pitcher Pitcher Jack Morris received 351 votes (61.5) in his final year on the ballot and will be eligible for the Expansion Era Committee consideration in the fall of 2016. Former Twins reliever Todd Jones who had asked that no one vote for him for the HOF was granted his wish and he will be dropped from the ballot. Former Twins outfielder Jacque Jones and pitcher Kenny Rogers each received but one vote and will also be dropped from future HOF ballots. Rafael Palmeiro only received 4.4% of the vote and will also be dropped from future voting. You can see the complete voting results at http://baseballhall.org/voting-results .

Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas

I am very disappointed that Tim Raines (46.10%), and Edgar Martinez (25.20%) received such low vote totals, I don’t understand how some of the voters can not vote for these and other baseball greats. It appears that the DH role continues to plague some players and I just don’t understand that. DH is a position created by major league baseball and yet voters do not give it the credit it deserves. Each position has unique characteristics and has to be looked at in its own right. Wake up voters, the DH has been around for 40 years and it is not going away in the near future so give the men that play the DH role the credit they deserve. Closers only pitch an inning or so in about 60 games a season, often lose more games than they win and damn near never hit and yet you have no problem electing them to th HOF and yet most DH’s are kept out? STUPID!

On a side note, the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) hit it right on this year by selecting Maddux, Glavine and Thomas to be elected to the HOF. You can see how we voted here.

 

Twins “games started” history

The Twins will have three starters that will start 20 or more games during this 2013 season. Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Scott Diamond have all passed that mark and there is no chance of anyone else joining that group. Samuel Deduno had 18 starts but he is done for the season. In 2012 the Twins had just one starter with 20 or more starts and that was Scott Diamond. 2012 was the first time in Twins history that they had only one starter with 20 or more starts. The Twins had only two starters with 20 or more starts only twice and those were the strike shortened 1981 and 1995 seasons. The Twins have had three starters start 20 or more games 12 times, four starters with 20 or more starts 17 times and five starters with 20 or more starts on eight occasions with the last two being 2010 and 2011. Only 6 teams in AL history have had 6 starters with 20 or more starts in a season and they were the 1937 White Sox, the 1942 Tigers, the 1944 Philadelphia A’s, the 1962 Senators, and the 2001 Rays. The Rays will be joining that group again on Monday when Alex Cobb makes his 20th start of 2013.

Twins starters with 20 or more starts

Year Tm #Matching
2011 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Brian Duensing / Francisco Liriano / Carl Pavano
2010 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Francisco Liriano / Carl Pavano / Kevin Slowey
2008 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Livan Hernandez / Glen Perkins / Kevin Slowey
2005 Minnesota Twins 5 Kyle Lohse / Joe Mays / Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2003 Minnesota Twins 5 Kyle Lohse / Joe Mays / Brad Radke / Rick Reed / Kenny Rogers
1990 Minnesota Twins 5 Allan Anderson / Mark Guthrie / Roy Smith / Kevin Tapani / David West
1979 Minnesota Twins 5 Roger Erickson / Dave Goltz / Paul Hartzell / Jerry Koosman / Geoff Zahn
1963 Minnesota Twins 5 Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual / Jim Perry / Lee Stange / Dick Stigman
2007 Minnesota Twins 4 Scott Baker / Boof Bonser / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2004 Minnesota Twins 4 Kyle Lohse / Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2002 Minnesota Twins 4 Kyle Lohse / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Rick Reed
2000 Minnesota Twins 4 Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Mark Redman
1999 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke
1998 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Bob Tewksbury
1997 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Brad Radke / Rich Robertson / Bob Tewksbury
1994 Minnesota Twins 4 Jim Deshaies / Scott Erickson / Pat Mahomes / Kevin Tapani
1993 Minnesota Twins 4 Willie Banks / Jim Deshaies / Scott Erickson / Kevin Tapani
1992 Minnesota Twins 4 Scott Erickson / Bill Krueger / John Smiley / Kevin Tapani
1991 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Scott Erickson / Jack Morris / Kevin Tapani
1989 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Shane Rawley / Roy Smith / Frank Viola
1988 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Bert Blyleven / Charlie Lea / Frank Viola
1987 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Mike Smithson / Les Straker / Frank Viola
1985 Minnesota Twins 4 John Butcher / Ken Schrom / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1984 Minnesota Twins 4 John Butcher / Ken Schrom / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1983 Minnesota Twins 4 Bobby Castillo / Ken Schrom / Frank Viola / Albert Williams
1982 Minnesota Twins 4 Bobby Castillo / Brad Havens / Frank Viola / Albert Williams
1980 Minnesota Twins 4 Roger Erickson / Darrell Jackson / Jerry Koosman / Geoff Zahn
1978 Minnesota Twins 4 Roger Erickson / Dave Goltz / Gary Serum / Geoff Zahn
1977 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Goltz / Pete Redfern / Paul Thormodsgard / Geoff Zahn
1976 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Goltz / Jim Hughes / Pete Redfern / Bill Singer
1974 Minnesota Twins 4 Vic Albury / Bert Blyleven / Joe Decker / Dave Goltz
1973 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Joe Decker / Jim Kaat / Dick Woodson
1970 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry / Bill Zepp
1968 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Dean Chance / Jim Kaat / Jim Merritt
1967 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Dean Chance / Jim Kaat / Jim Merritt
1966 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1964 Minnesota Twins 4 Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual / Dick Stigman
1961 Minnesota Twins 4 Jim Kaat / Jack Kralick / Camilo Pascual / Pedro Ramos
2013 Minnesota Twins 3 Kevin Correia / Scott Diamond / Mike Pelfrey
2009 Minnesota Twins 3 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Francisco Liriano
2006 Minnesota Twins 3 Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2001 Minnesota Twins 3 Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke
1996 Minnesota Twins 3 Brad Radke / Rich Robertson / Frankie Rodriguez
1986 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1975 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Dave Goltz / Jim Hughes
1972 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Jim Perry / Dick Woodson
1971 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1969 Minnesota Twins 3 Dave Boswell / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1965 Minnesota Twins 3 Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual
1962 Minnesota Twins 3 Jim Kaat / Jack Kralick / Camilo Pascual
1995 Minnesota Twins 2 Brad Radke / Kevin Tapani
1981 Minnesota Twins 2 Pete Redfern / Albert Williams
2012 Minnesota Twins 1 Scott Diamond
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2013.
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Seasons with 20 or more starts

Rk Yrs From To Age
1 Brad Radke 12 1995 2006 22-33 Ind. Seasons
2 Jim Kaat 12 1961 1973 22-34 Ind. Seasons
3 Bert Blyleven 9 1970 1988 19-37 Ind. Seasons
4 Frank Viola 8 1982 1989 22-29 Ind. Seasons
5 Kevin Tapani 6 1990 1995 26-31 Ind. Seasons
6 Dave Goltz 6 1974 1979 25-30 Ind. Seasons
7 Jim Perry 6 1963 1972 27-36 Ind. Seasons
8 Scott Baker 5 2007 2011 25-29 Ind. Seasons
9 Joe Mays 5 1999 2005 23-29 Ind. Seasons
10 Eric Milton 5 1998 2002 22-26 Ind. Seasons
11 Camilo Pascual 5 1961 1965 27-31 Ind. Seasons
12 Nick Blackburn 4 2008 2011 26-29 Ind. Seasons
13 Carlos Silva 4 2004 2007 25-28 Ind. Seasons
14 Johan Santana 4 2004 2007 25-28 Ind. Seasons
15 Kyle Lohse 4 2002 2005 23-26 Ind. Seasons
16 Scott Erickson 4 1991 1994 23-26 Ind. Seasons
17 Allan Anderson 4 1988 1991 24-27 Ind. Seasons
18 Mike Smithson 4 1984 1987 29-32 Ind. Seasons
19 Geoff Zahn 4 1977 1980 31-34 Ind. Seasons
20 Dave Boswell 4 1966 1969 21-24 Ind. Seasons
21 Francisco Liriano 3 2009 2011 25-27 Ind. Seasons
22 LaTroy Hawkins 3 1997 1999 24-26 Ind. Seasons
23 Ken Schrom 3 1983 1985 28-30 Ind. Seasons
24 Albert Williams 3 1981 1983 27-29 Ind. Seasons
25 Roger Erickson 3 1978 1980 21-23 Ind. Seasons
Rk Yrs From To Age
26 Pete Redfern 3 1976 1981 21-26 Ind. Seasons
27 Mudcat Grant 3 1964 1966 28-30 Ind. Seasons
28 Scott Diamond 2 2012 2013 25-26 Ind. Seasons
29 Carl Pavano 2 2010 2011 34-35 Ind. Seasons
30 Kevin Slowey 2 2008 2010 24-26 Ind. Seasons
31 Rick Reed 2 2002 2003 37-38 Ind. Seasons
32 Bob Tewksbury 2 1997 1998 36-37 Ind. Seasons
33 Rich Robertson 2 1996 1997 27-28 Ind. Seasons
34 Jim Deshaies 2 1993 1994 33-34 Ind. Seasons
35 Roy Smith 2 1989 1990 27-28 Ind. Seasons
36 John Butcher 2 1984 1985 27-28 Ind. Seasons
37 Bobby Castillo 2 1982 1983 27-28 Ind. Seasons
38 Jerry Koosman 2 1979 1980 36-37 Ind. Seasons
39 Jim Hughes 2 1975 1976 23-24 Ind. Seasons
40 Joe Decker 2 1973 1974 26-27 Ind. Seasons
41 Dick Woodson 2 1972 1973 27-28 Ind. Seasons
42 Jim Merritt 2 1967 1968 23-24 Ind. Seasons
43 Dean Chance 2 1967 1968 26-27 Ind. Seasons
44 Dick Stigman 2 1963 1964 27-28 Ind. Seasons
45 Jack Kralick 2 1961 1962 26-27 Ind. Seasons
46 Mike Pelfrey 1 2013 2013 29-29 Ind. Seasons
47 Kevin Correia 1 2013 2013 32-32 Ind. Seasons
48 Brian Duensing 1 2011 2011 28-28 Ind. Seasons
49 Glen Perkins 1 2008 2008 25-25 Ind. Seasons
50 Livan Hernandez 1 2008 2008 33-33 Ind. Seasons
Rk Yrs From To Age
51 Boof Bonser 1 2007 2007 25-25 Ind. Seasons
52 Kenny Rogers 1 2003 2003 38-38 Ind. Seasons
53 Mark Redman 1 2000 2000 26-26 Ind. Seasons
54 Frankie Rodriguez 1 1996 1996 23-23 Ind. Seasons
55 Pat Mahomes 1 1994 1994 23-23 Ind. Seasons
56 Willie Banks 1 1993 1993 24-24 Ind. Seasons
57 John Smiley 1 1992 1992 27-27 Ind. Seasons
58 Bill Krueger 1 1992 1992 34-34 Ind. Seasons
59 Jack Morris 1 1991 1991 36-36 Ind. Seasons
60 David West 1 1990 1990 25-25 Ind. Seasons
61 Mark Guthrie 1 1990 1990 24-24 Ind. Seasons
62 Shane Rawley 1 1989 1989 33-33 Ind. Seasons
63 Charlie Lea 1 1988 1988 31-31 Ind. Seasons
64 Les Straker 1 1987 1987 27-27 Ind. Seasons
65 Brad Havens 1 1982 1982 22-22 Ind. Seasons
66 Darrell Jackson 1 1980 1980 24-24 Ind. Seasons
67 Paul Hartzell 1 1979 1979 25-25 Ind. Seasons
68 Gary Serum 1 1978 1978 21-21 Ind. Seasons
69 Paul Thormodsgard 1 1977 1977 23-23 Ind. Seasons
70 Bill Singer 1 1976 1976 32-32 Ind. Seasons
71 Vic Albury 1 1974 1974 27-27 Ind. Seasons
72 Bill Zepp 1 1970 1970 23-23 Ind. Seasons
73 Lee Stange 1 1963 1963 26-26 Ind. Seasons
74 Pedro Ramos 1 1961 1961 26-26 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2013.

Bonus tidbit

Trivia question for you. How many different Twins pitchers have started at least one game since the Twins came into existence?

How important are 30 or more starts in a season from each starting pitcher?

The Twins and Terry Ryan have put in a lot of time this off-season to try to round up some pitchers that they can put in the starting rotation so that manager Gardenhire can hopefully call on each of them to start 30-35 games each. That will be no easy task as last season the team leader in pitching starts was Scott Diamond with 27 and he didn’t even join the starting rotation until May 8th.

If you look back through franchise history you will find that the great Hall of Fame pitcher Walter (The Big Train) Johnson pitched for the Wasinhton Senators for 21 seasons from 1907-1927 and he started 666 games, that is an average of 31.71 starts each year for 21 years. He set the the franchise games started in a season record with 42 in 1910. Twins lefty Jim Kaat equalled that mark of 42 starts in the Twins 1965 AL Championship season and followed that up with 41 starts in 1966 making him the only pitcher in franchise history to have back-to-back 40+ starts seasons.

I thought it would be interesting to review the Gardenhire era from 2002 through 2012 to see how many pitchers he has had that have started 30 or more games in a season for the Twins.

2002 – Rick Reed and Kyle Lohse

2003 – Brad Radke, Kyle Lohse, Kenny Rogers, Joe Mays (and Rick Reed chipped in 27 starts)

2004 – Johan Santana, Carlos Silva, Brad Radke, and Kyle Lohse

2005 – Johan Santana and Brad Radke

2006 – Johan Santana and Carlos Silva

2007 – Johan Santana, Carlos Silva, and Boof Bonser

2008 – Nick Blackburn

2009 – Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker

2010 – Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano

2011 – Carl Pavano

2012 – None, Scott Diamond led the pack with 27

In this 11 year time frame the Twins have had 12 different pitchers provide 30 or more starts in a single season and only three of them were actually drafted by the Twins, the rest were acquired in another manner. Radke was an 8th round pick in 1991, Blackburn was a 29th round pick in 2001, and Scott Baker was a 2nd round pick in 2003.

Chart showing numbers of pitchers with 30 or more starts

(Central Division champs marked with an *)
YEAR Twins Tigers Indians WSox Royals Totals
2002 2* 2 1 3 2 10
2003 4* 2 1 4 1 12
2004 4* 4 3 2 1 14
2005 2 3 5 4* 2 16
2006 2* 4 3 5 0 14
2007 3 2 3* 4 1 13
2008 1 2 1 4* 3 11
2009 2* 3 0 3 1 9
2010 2* 2 1 3 2 10
2011 1 4* 2 2 2 11
2012 0 3* 2 1 2 8
Totals 23 31 22 35 17 128
LHP Jim Kaat
LHP Jim Kaat
Pitcher # of starts Years Pitched Avg. # of starts per season
1. Jim Kaat 422 1961-1973 32.46
2. Brad Radke 377 1995-2006 31.42
3. Bert Blyleven 345 1970-1976 & 1985-1988 31.36
4. Frank Viola 259 1982-1989 32.38
5. Jim Perry 249 1963-1972 24.90
6. Dave Goltz 215 1972-1979 26.88
7. Kevin Tapani 180 1989-1995 25.71
8. Camilo Pascual 179 1961-1966 29.83
9. Johan Santana 175 2000-2007 21.88
10. Eric Milton 165 1998-2003 27.50
11. Scot Baker 159 2005-2011 22.71
12. Scott Erickson 153 1990-1995 25.50
13. Kyle Lohse 152 2001-2006 25.33
14. Dave Boswell 150 1964-1970 21.43

Blackburn’s 127 pitches

Nick Blackburn

May 26, 2011 – Nick Blackburn threw 127 pitches in a complete-game win against the Mariners on Tuesday, May 24. That’s the third-most pitches thrown in one game for Minnesota since Ron Gardenhire became their manager in 2002. Eric Milton threw 131 in 2002 and Kenny Rogers matched that total a year later. Source: Elias

You’re outta here!

December 23, 2010 – One of the fun things about going to baseball games for me is that you never know when a manager or player ejection will take place over a close play or a bad or missed call by an umpire. It is these kinds of calls that make baseball the game that it is and that is why I hope that MLB never goes “instant replay crazy”. It is always fun for the fans to see the players emotions get the best of him, right or wrong, and then watch as he has his say with the umpire. Sometimes it is just a few words, probably not nice ones, that force the ump to throw that player out of the game and at other times the player gets to go on and on for what seems an eternity before he gets the heave-ho. Actually, I think that this is a part of baseball that is slowing going by the way-side as umpires are just too dang quick with the thumb and their ejection buttons. Baseball is after all, entertainment, and what better way to give the fans their money’s worth then to let them watch a good old fashion debate between an upset player and an umpire. Come on now, what is more fun than seeing a player stick his nose right in the umpires face and call him an %#@-hole or a *^%$-up? Give the fans in the stands a chance to yell “kill the ump” and really get into the game. It really makes no difference if the player or the umpire is in the right, give the player a chance to have his say, maybe kick some dirt on the plate or the ump’s shoes, or throw his cap out to second base, or maybe run over to first base, jerk it off its foundation and send it flying half way out to an outfielder that is standing there with his glove up to his face to hide his laughter? Or listen to the fans cheer or boo as the player starts chucking bats and balls back onto the playing field from the dugout. It is just fun and will generate water cooler and Facebook talk for days. Maybe it adds 5 minutes to a game that would otherwise be forgotten but now you have a classic situation that may stick with a fan forever. Maybe 30 years from now some fan will tell his kids, I remember this one hot summer night back in August of 2010 I think it was, and the Twins were playing the Yankees at Target Field when Bobby Akens went ballistic after getting called out on a play at the plate or just a few days later in Boston when Joe Smith went nuts after getting called out on strikes for the third time in the game. Umpires need to realize that baseball is entertainment and that we fans did not put our good money down for tickets to watch them ump, we paid to see the players play so it is time for the umpires to play their part and show some patience and do their part in the production and continue to let baseball be the best entertainment sport there is. Let the players play, have their say, and if need be, if all else fails, throw their butt out.

Torii Hunter
Torii Hunter

The Twins have had their fair share of player ejections (105) over the years and the one that stands out for me is the Joe Niekro ejection, the one with the nail file falling out of his back pocket, a real classic and one of my favorite Twins moments. What about you? Do you have a favorite Twins player ejection story? Did you know that the Twins player with the most ejections has 5 and that it is none other than outfielder Torii Hunter? Hunter of all people, which surprised me when I looked at the numbers and saw that. So here is a complete list of all Minnesota Twins player ejections from 1961 through 2010 that will maybe jog your memory a bit. I am not including any coach or manager ejections here as that will be a story for another day.

(Ejection list updated through 2012 as of March 2013)

5 – Torii Hunter

4 – LaTroy Hawkins, Kent Hrbek

3 – Rod Carew, Dan Gladden, Eddie Guardado, Cristian Guzman, Jacque Jones, Chuck Knoblauch, Tony Oliva, Dave Ortiz, Vic Power, Denard Span

2 – Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Tom Brunansky, Brian Harper, Mickey Hatcher, Ron Jackson, Corey Koskie, Brad Radke, Rich Reese, JC Romero

1 – Allan Anderson, Wally Backman, Bert Blyleven, Orlando Cabrera, Jamey Carroll, John Castino, Jack Cressend, Mike Cubbage, Michael Cuddyer, Chili Davis, Ron Davis, Scott Diamond, Jim Dwyer, Terry Felton, Pete Filson, Greg Gagne, Johnny Goryl, Lenny Green, Dave Hollins, Butch Huskey, Craig Kusick, Ken Landreaux, Fred Manrique, Charlie Manual, Pat Mears, Doug Mientkiewicz, George Mitterwald, Joe Niekro, Camilo Pascual, Tom Prince, Kirby Puckett, Nick Punto, Mike Redmond, Kenny Rogers, Jim Roland, Phil Roof, Mark Salas, Carlos Silva, Mike Smithson, Rick Sofield, Shannon Stewart, Danny Thompson, Danny Valencia, Jesus Vega, Frank Viola, Mike Walters