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
It is all but official the way I see it, 1B Albert Pujols, soon be 32, has left the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals to sign a 10 year deal worth in excess of $250 million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As a long time fan of baseball I find this signing disgusting, I hate what baseball and baseball players have become, money hungry mercenaries. I know, I know that this is baseball in 2011 but that does not mean that I have to like it and as a baseball fan I have a right to express my feelings.
Pujols has been a Cardinal icon for 11 years and to see him forget his roots and take the Angels deal for a few million dollars more than the Cardinals were supposedly offering makes me sick. The man has banked over $104 million dollars in career earnings with the Cards and now he drops his allegiance like a hot potato. We have all heard it before, but how much money does a person really need? I have seen where Albert Pujols has done a lot of community work but actions speak louder than words and his decision to leave St. Louis, a great baseball city for a few dollars more shows me nothing but greed, straight out-and-out greed. How else can you explain it to me?
When you think of the Cardinals of the current era you think of Pujols, same as you think of Jeter or Mantle with the Yankees, Puckett with the Twins, Banks as a Cub, or Ripken with the Orioles, that is the way it should be. It killed me to see Harmon Killebrew as a Royal, Carew as an Angel, Wade Boggs as a Devil Ray or Steve Carlton as a Twin, that is just plain wrong and to me Pujols should have stayed a Cardinal. This is not a new problem, it has been going on for a long time but it seems to be getting worse.
Baseball should come up with something like a “franchise icon” label that will allow teams to keep a true icon player as a member of their organization during their entire playing career. I am not saying they should not be fairly compensated, I am sure something could be worked out that would be fair for everyone but come up with a plan that will allow teams to keep their icons where they belong. There are a lot of smart baseball people out there, come up with a plan that will allow fans to once again be allowed to grow old with their baseball heroes.
Holy Cow, GM Terry Ryan has been busy, on the job less than two weeks and he has signed Jamey Carroll and now today the Twins announced they have signed C/1B/OF Ryan Doumit to a $3 million one year deal pending a physical. The deal apparently has some incentives and that is a good thing because the switch-hitting Ryan Doumit comes to Minnesota with some baggage. Injury type of baggage, in the form of a concussion history and that is not a good thing for a catcher.
Doumit was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1999 June free agent draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a catcher and has been in the Pirates organization ever since. Doumit made his major league debut in June of 2005. Although not rated as a strong catcher defensively, in his 7 big league seasons Doumit has played in 521 games but he has caught in 426 games, played the OF in 60 and played 1B in 35 games. Injuries have limited Doumit’s time in the line-up and he has never had more than 465 plate appearances in any of his 7 big league seasons.
OK, Ryan Doumit has an injury history but he is still a very nice pick-up and worth the gamble as I see it. Doumit has suffered injuries such as a broken thumb, broken wrist, and a fractured ankle not to mention the concussion issues I brought up earlier. He can play three positions and is a switch-hitter and will be 31 when the season starts in April. He has a little pop in his bat as his 67 home runs in 611 games attest and he has a .271 career average although he did hit only .250 in 2009, and .251 in 2010 but he hit .303 in 77 games last year.
I like the signing but if you think this will send Drew Butera packing you need to think again. Doumit is weak defensively and his strength is offense so there is no way that Gardy keeps him on the bench strictly as a back-up catcher day in and day out. Doumit will be in the line-up some where most of the time so Gardy still needs to have a back-up catcher available and that man will probably be Butera or another catcher with some defensive skills. If Doumit is the DH, Gardy will not want to risk losing his DH if he would suddenly need Doumit to catch. Even if Butera fails to make the team, I see no way the Twins do not carry three catchers next year. In spite of needing to carry three catchers, I like this signing and I give GM Ryan a big thumbs up. Keep working those phones Mr. Ryan, a starting pitcher would be nice and the outfield is still a big question mark.
Jason Bulger
The Twins also announced they have signed yet another relief pitcher to a minor league deal, this time it is former Angel Jason Bulger. Jason is a right hander and stands 6’4″ and goes about 210 and will be 33 in a couple of weeks. Bulger has been in the big leagues off and on with the D-Backs and the Angels since 2005 but has only appeared in 125 games with a 7-2 record. Bulger is another of those relief pitchers with control issues as his career mark of 5.1 BB/9 will tell you.
Finally, the Twins also announced that they plan to add another bronze statue of a former player outside Target Field next year but as yet the player has yet to be publicly identified. He would join statues of Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and the late Twins owner Carl Pohlad and his wife Eloise. Who is it going to be? My guess would be Bert Blyleven and my dark horse choice would be Kent Hrbek. We will find out soon enough.
UPDATE November 23 – The Twins announced that they have officially signed free-agent catcher Ryan Doumit to a one-year deal worth $3 million.
December 23, 2010 – One of the fun things about going to baseball games for me is that you never know when a manager or player ejection will take place over a close play or a bad or missed call by an umpire. It is these kinds of calls that make baseball the game that it is and that is why I hope that MLB never goes “instant replay crazy”. It is always fun for the fans to see the players emotions get the best of him, right or wrong, and then watch as he has his say with the umpire. Sometimes it is just a few words, probably not nice ones, that force the ump to throw that player out of the game and at other times the player gets to go on and on for what seems an eternity before he gets the heave-ho. Actually, I think that this is a part of baseball that is slowing going by the way-side as umpires are just too dang quick with the thumb and their ejection buttons. Baseball is after all, entertainment, and what better way to give the fans their money’s worth then to let them watch a good old fashion debate between an upset player and an umpire. Come on now, what is more fun than seeing a player stick his nose right in the umpires face and call him an %#@-hole or a *^%$-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
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
October 3, 2010 – After hitting his 20th home run Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, Delmon Young joins Justin Morneau (2008), Torii Hunter (2007), Michael Cuddyer (2006) and Kirby Puckett (1988) as the only players in club history to hit at least 20 home runs, collect at least 40 doubles and drive in at least 100 runs in a single season. Among those five, Morneau and Puckett are the only players to finish those seasons with a plus-.300 batting average. Source: Twins Press Pass
July 31, 2010 – I just wanted to take a look and see who the leaders for games played at each position by the Minnesota Twins and the Washington Senators. With the way things are in baseball today and players on the move through free agency it is hard to keep the same players for any length of time. The only current player that might have a shot at moving on to the list below in the near future is Joe Mauer and if all goes well that might happen late in 2011 or early 2012.
May 15, 2010 – The Twins preach to their pitchers that the batter should earn his way on base via a hit, just throw the ball over the plate and take your chances that the batter will hit it to one of your fielders. In recent years, the Twins pitching staff has always been one of the league leaders in fewest bases on balls allowed.
But the shoe is on the other foot when it comes to the Twins hitters where the coaching staff tries to teach patience at the plate, after all, a walk is just as good as a hit. Plus, the more pitches you see, the better the odds are of the batter getting a hit and the quicker the pitcher reaches their so called pitch limits. This year the Twins hitters have taken that advice to heart and after 32 games they have walked 147 times and are on pace for about 700 walks which would be the most not only in Twins history but in franchise history. The 1956 Senators walked 690 times and the most walks by a Twins team was the 1962 Twins when they walked to first base 649 times. Let’s take a look at the top 10 career Twins and Senators batters that believed that a walk was indeed as good as a hit.
Minnesota Twins
HOF Harmon Killebrew played for the Senators/Twins from 1954-1974
May 2, 2010 – Catcher Wilson Ramos made an impressive debut in the big leagues when he played his first game as a Minnesota Twin in Cleveland where the Twins beat the Indians 8-3 behind an impressive pitching performance from Francisco Liriano. Ramos was 4 for 5 and was the first Twins rookie since Kirby Puckett (1984) to debut with 4 hits. Ramos hit three singles, a double, and scored a run. Ramos was called up yesterday because Joe Mauer suffered an injury when he landed awkwardly on first base in Friday’s game. It is unknown at this time how long Mauer may be out. It appears that the plan is for Ramos to be the main catcher while Drew Butera continues in the back-up role.
May 3, 2010 – Wilson Ramos, who started behind the plate in the eighth spot in the batting order, was the first catcher in modern MLB history (i.e., since 1900) to collect four or more hits in his big-league debut and he was the first to debut with a four-hit game from that low in the batting order since Yankees pitcher Russ Van Atta went 4-for-4 from the nine hole against the Senators on April 25, 1933.
May 4, 2010 – The story continues, Wilson Ramos, who had four hits in his major-league debut on Sunday, collected three more in the Twins’ win against the Tigers on Monday night. Ramos is the first major-league player in 68 years to record at least seven hits over his first two career games. The last player to do that was Nanny Fernandez for the 1942 Boston Braves.
October 21, 2009 – I thought that it would be fun to take a look back over the Twins history just to see who the Twins leaders are in home runs at each position. Some of the numbers that I found from the Twins 49 seasons in Minnesota were really a surprise to me and I have followed the Twins since their inception in 1961.
POSITION
PLAYER
HOME RUNS
AT BATS PER HOME RUN
Catcher
Tim Laudner
77
26.46
1B
Kent Hrbek
293
21.13
2B
Rod Carew
46
96.74
SS
Zoilo Versalles
86
48.23
3B
Gary Gaetti
201
24.82
OF
Kirby Puckett
207
35.00
DH
Matt LeCroy
53
21.40
P
Jim Kaat
14
71.00
You have to be thinking, this can’t be right, where is Twins all-time home run slugger Harmon Killebrew? But when you look at the numbers you will see that Harmon played 14 seasons with the Twins but he split his time playing four positions, he played 881 games at 1B, 481 games at 3B, 455 games in the OF, and 122 games as a DH. Killebrew smashed 191 home runs as a first baseman, 142 as an outfielder, 129 while playing the hot corner, and 13 more when he was the DH. The Twins currently have some players on the roster like Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, and Joe Mauer that could be slugging their way on to this list very soon.
When you look at the Washington Sentaors/Nationals numbers from 1901 to 1960 to get a franchise perspective you see how much different baseball is today from its earlier years. I think the one interesting number that jumped out at me here was Roy Sievers and the fact that he hit a home run in every 16.95 at bats when he played the outfield.It is always fun to look at historical numbers and to do comparisons.
It is all but official the way I see it, 1B Albert Pujols, soon be 32, has left the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals to sign a 10 year deal worth in excess of $250 million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As a long time fan of baseball I find this signing disgusting, I hate what baseball and baseball players have become, money hungry mercenaries. I know, I know that this is baseball in 2011 but that does not mean that I have to like it and as a baseball fan I have a right to express my feelings.
