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
Josh Willingham hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to give the Twins a 3-2 win over the A’s last night. It was the first time since 1995 that a Minnesota player erased a deficit of two or more runs with a walk-off homer. The last Twins player to do so was Kirby Puckett with a three-run blast in a 7-6 win over the Mariners.
The first-year player draft was initiated in 1965 and since then a total of 60,428 players have been drafted. During that time, a total of 8,493 players (14.05%), which includes drafted players, non-drafted players and foreign-born players, have appeared in at least one Major League game.
Since the first-year player draft was initiated in 1965, 21 players that were drafted went straight to the big leagues to start their professional careers with out playing in a minor league game. Most eventually ended up spending time in the minors. The only Minnesota Twins player to accomplish this feat was LHP Eddie Bane. The Twins drafted Bane out of Arizona State University in June of 1973 and Bane his big league debut at Met Stadium on July 4th. Bane ended up spending parts of three seasons in the big leagues with Minnesota and had a 7-13 big league record between 1973, 1975 and 1976. Former Twins pitcher RHP Mike Morgan was picked by the Oakland A’s out of high school in 1978 and went straight to the big leagues too.
Since the drafted was put in place, the Minnesota Twins have had more first round picks, 58, than any other big league team. Oakland is closest with 53 first round picks and Tampa has the least with 18.
The very first pick in 1965 was ASU outfielder Rick Monday who went on to have a long career. The first player to made it to the big leagues out of this draft was RHP Joe Coleman the 3rd over all pick with the Washington Senators.
The Twins very first rounder in 1965 was shortstop Eddie Leon out of the University of Arizona but he chose not to sign with the Twins. The following season (1966) the Twins picked 3B Bob Jones in round 1 and 20th over all and he never appeared in a big league game. The Twins picked Steve Garvey in round 3 in 1966 but he chose to go to college before starting his long 19 year pro baseball career.
In 1967 the Twins picked Steve Brye in round 1 and 19th over all and he became the first Twins drafted player to play for the Twins when he debuted in 1970 and went on to play for Minnesota between 1970-1976.
The Twins have had the first over all pick twice, once in 1973 when they took RHP Tim Belcher who chose not to sign with Minnesota and catcher Joe Mauer whom they took first in 2001.
In 1978 the Twins picked shortstop Lenny Faedo with their first pick and he played for the Twins from 1980-1984. A number of pretty good players were picked later, HOF Cal Ripken was picked in the 2nd round that year, Kent Hrbek in the 17th round and HOF Ryne Sandberg was picked in round 20. You never know…..
The last high school player to be picked 1st over all is shortstop Tim Beckham picked by Tampa in 2008.
24 drafted players have gone on to be selected to the Hall of Fame. To this point no player selected 1st over all has ever gone on to have a HOF career. The Twins have drafted two players who have gone on to HOF careers, Bert Blyleven in 1969 and Kirby Puckett in 1982.
Since 1965, 33.8% of the picks have been RHP, 13.6% have been LHP, 10.2% have been catchers, 24% have been infielders, and 18.2% have been outfielders.
64% of the players drafted in 2011 went on to sign big league contracts.
Of the 638 players on the 2012 Opening Day rosters, 23.5% were drafted 1-30 over all and 378 or 59.2% were drafted 1-150 over all (basically the first 5 rounds).
These facts have been derived from the 2012 First-Year Player Draft Selection Guide.
Six years ago today, Minnesota Twins star outfielder and Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett passed away at the age of 45 from a stroke he suffered a day earlier. The youngest of nine children born into poverty in a Chicago housing project, Kirby Puckett was the Minnesota Twins first round pick (and third over all) in the 1982 amateur draft. After just 224 minor league games in Elizabethton (rookie), Visalia (A ball), and Toledo (AAA ball) Kirby was called up by Minnesota and made his big league debut on May 8, 1984 against the California Angels in Anaheim Stadium and he never played in the minors again. In his rookie season in 557 at bats, Kirby had only had 12 doubles, 5 triples, 0 home runs, and 16 walks. This lack of power was rare but even more unusual for a player that two years later hit 31 home runs with a .537 slugging percentage.
Puckett played for 12 years in a Minnesota Twins uniform hitting .318 in 1,783 games while hitting 207 home runs and knocking in 1,085 more. Though his numbers were not exceptional, Puckett was voted into Cooperstown on the first ballot in 2001. His respect and enthusiasm for the game factored in as much his .318 average, 1989 batting title, six Gold Gloves, 10 All-Star game appearances and two championship rings. The man known simply as “Puck” was immensely popular with baseball fans everywhere. Fans loved his style, especially the high leg kick that preceded his swing. Twins public address announcer Bob Casey, who became a close friend, introduced him with vigor before every at-bat, “KIR-beeeeeeeeee PUCK-it.” “I wore one uniform in my career and I’m proud to say that,” Puckett once said.
On September 28, 1995 in the bottom of the first inning in a game at the Metrodome, Puckett was hit by a pitch from Cleveland Indians starter Dennis Martinez that broke his jaw in what turned out to be his last at-bat of the 1995 season and his last at bat in a major league game. Puckett woke up one morning the following spring and couldn’t see out of his right eye. It was eventually diagnosed as glaucoma, forcing him to call it quits that July. It was a sad ending to a brilliant career.
After his career ended prematurely, Puckett tried to remain upbeat but his personal life began to deteriorate. Shortly after his induction to Cooperstown, his then-wife, Tonya, accused him of threatening to kill her during an argument – he denied it – and described to police a history of violence and infidelity. In 2003, he was cleared of all charges from an alleged sexual assault of a woman at a Twin Cities restaurant. He kept a low profile after the trial and eventually moved to Arizona. His relationship with the Twins organization ended in 2002, but the Twins kept trying to re-establish a connection and get him to come to spring training as a guest instructor. Puckett put on considerable weight, as well and his weight gain concerned friends and former teammates. Kirby suffered a massive stroke early Sunday, March 5th at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona and passed away the following day.
Baseball Digest article called “The game I will never forget” as told by Kirby Puckett to George Vass
SABR BioProject write-up on Kirby can be found here.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune obituary for Kirby can be found here.
In their first year of eligibility, Kirby Puckett and Dave Winfield are elected to the MLB Hall of Fame. The former Twins are the fourth pair of teammates selected by BBWAA in the same year.
Kirby Puckett who spent his entire career as a Minnesota Twin was a Twins icon from the day he was called up in 1984 until he lost sight in his right eye and had to leave baseball after the 1995 season at the age of 36. Puckett, a fan favorite where ever he went led the Minnesota Twins to World Series championships in 1987 and 1991 and was an All-Star for 10 consecutive years. Kirby Puckett suffered a massive stroke and died on March 6, 2006.
Dave Winfield is a Minnesota native and attended the University of Minnesota where he was a star in both baseball and basketball. In 1973, he was named All-American and voted MVP of the College World Series as a pitcher. After his college eligibility was concluded, Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports. The San Diego Padres selected him as a pitcher with the fourth overall pick in the MLB draft and both the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and the Utah Stars (ABA) drafted him and though he never played college football, the Minnesota Vikings selected Winfield in the 17th round of the NFL draft. Winfield signed with the San Diego Padres and the Padres immediately put Winfield in right field and Winfield was on his way to a Hall of Fame career with not a single day of minor league baseball on his resume. Winfield’s 22 year career also included stops with the Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, and the Cleveland Indians. Winfield had 3,110 career hits with hit number 3,000 coming at the Metrodome in a Twins uniform.
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.
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.
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.
| Position | Games | Name | Games | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catcher | 831 | Earl Battey | 874 | Muddy Ruel |
| 1B | 1,609 | Kent Hrbek | 2,025 | Joe Judge |
| 2B | 1,128 | Rod Carew | 1,339 | Buddy Myer |
| SS | 1,112 | Greg Gagne | 1,445 | George McBride |
| 3B | 1,311 | Gary Gaetti | 1,625 | Eddie Yost |
| LF | 620 | Dan Gladden | 1,093 | Goose Goslin |
| CF | 1,432 | Kirby Puckett | 1,635 | Clyde Milan |
| RF | 1,138 | Tony Oliva | 1,592 | Sam Rice |
| DH | 406 | Tony Oliva | — | — |
| Rank | Name | Games played | Plate appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harmon Killebrew | 2,329 | 9,462 |
| 2 | Kirby Puckett | 1,783 | 7,831 |
| 3 | Kent Hrbek | 1,747 | 7,137 |
| 4 | Tony Oliva | 1,676 | 6,879 |
| 5 | Rod Carew | 1,635 | 6,980 |
| 6 | Bob Allison | 1,541 | 5,921 |
| 7 | Gary Gaetti | 1,361 | 5,459 |
| 8 | Torii Hunter | 1,234 | 4,894 |
| 9 | Randy Bush | 1,219 | 3,480 |
| 10 | Roy Smalley | 1,148 | 4,675 |