Tag: Miguel Cabrera

Nelson Cruz on a record breaking roll!

Nelson Cruz

Stolen from today’s MN Twins GameNotes. This is just crazy, the man is 39 years old. We are lucky to have watched him this year.

ALL ABOUT THE BOOMSTICK: Historic night in Nellyville:

Nelson Cruz has 30 home runs on the season, tied for second most in the AL.

He now has 30 for the sixth straight season. Active players with 30+ homer streaks include Albert Pujols (12) from 2001-12, Edwin Encarnacion (8) from 2012-19, and Miguel Cabrera (7) from 2007-13.

Cruz’s 30 home runs pass Chili Davis‘ 1991 total (29) for the most by a DH in club history, (MLB all-time record is 54 by David Ortiz in 2006).

Current .652 slugging percentage is the highest in club history (next: Killebrew, .606 in 1961).

Three homers last night marked the 12th time in club history:  Bob Allison (’63), Harmon Killebrew (’63), Tony Oliva (’73), Justin Morneau (’07), Max Kepler (’16), Brian Dozier (’16), Eddie Rosario (’17), Byron Buxton (’17), Eddie Rosario (’18), Max Kepler (’19), Nelson Cruz (’19) and Nelson Cruz (’19).

Becomes the 23rd player in baseball history with multiple three-homer games in a season (first in Twins history). The first in MLB history with multiple after turning 39.

After Cruz’s three-homer game July 25 at CWS, he joins Doug DeCinces (8/3 & 8, 1982) and Johnny Mize (7/13 & 20, 1938) as the only players to homer three times within 10 days.

Leads baseball in home runs since ASG (14), next players, Max Kepler and Mancini have nine. Also leads baseball in RBI since ASG (26)

Joins Jason Kubel (2009) as the only two players in club history with four five+ RBI games in a season.

Thanks for the show Boomstick!

These guys beat up the Twins over the years

With the Minnesota Twins having 57 MLB seasons in the rear view mirror, the Houston Astros winning the World Series in 7 games, the temperatures in the mid 40’s and with no snow on the ground it is a good time to look back on and revisit the hitters that have found Twins pitching to their liking over the years. 

Today we are going to take a look at Twins opponents that have 200 or more hits against the Twins, there are 23 players who fit this criteria. 200 hits is a lot of hits. Six of the 23 hit from the left side, 13 were right-handed hitters and just four (Vizquel, Martinez, Wilson and Murray) of them were switch-hitters. Just missing out on this list were Frank Thomas with 194 hits, Al Kaline with 192 and Sal Bando with 190 hits.

200 or more hits against the Minnesota Twins

Carl Yastrzemski
Results
Rk Player #Matching AB H
?		 HR RBI SO BA OPS Tm
1 Carl Yastrzemski 297 1094 321 43 158 121 .293 .855 BOS
2 George Brett 228 869 275 23 128 74 .316 .869 KCR
3 Paul Konerko 257 926 265 50 136 139 .286 .845 CHW
4 Cal Ripken 207 788 242 26 119 87 .307 .849 BAL
5 Magglio Ordonez 195 739 240 37 145 80 .325 .906 CHW,DET
6 Wade Boggs 179 687 234 6 84 50 .341 .869 BOS,NYY,TBD
7 Bert Campaneris 232 913 229 7 54 115 .251 .633 KCA,OAK,TEX,CAL,NYY
8 Omar Vizquel 212 783 228 5 68 79 .291 .732 SEA,CLE,SFG,TEX,CHW,TOR
9 Victor Martinez 205 764 226 29 121 90 .296 .823 CLE,BOS,DET
10 Reggie Jackson 252 902 225 51 142 243 .249 .818 KCA,OAK,BAL,NYY,CAL
11 Brooks Robinson 230 861 223 20 115 91 .259 .711 BAL
12 Amos Otis 195 740 223 16 100 102 .301 .818 KCR
13 Jim Thome 196 695 218 61 156 221 .314 1.049 CLE,CHW,PHI,BAL
14 Paul Molitor 176 716 217 16 93 76 .303 .825 MIL,TOR
15 Willie Wilson 185 693 216 3 64 113 .312 .752 KCR,OAK
16 Rickey Henderson 198 721 215 23 85 90 .298 .869 OAK,NYY,TOR,ANA,SEA,BOS
17 Robin Yount 208 794 211 18 93 92 .266 .715 MIL
18 Harold Baines 213 716 209 32 127 101 .292 .851 CHW,TEX,OAK,BAL
19 Ivan Rodriguez 178 678 208 29 94 104 .307 .835 TEX,DET,NYY,HOU
20 Luis Aparicio 195 774 205 8 51 60 .265 .649 BAL,CHW,BOS
21 Miguel Cabrera 175 653 205 41 139 109 .314 .960 FLA,DET
22 Frank White 214 704 202 13 73 70 .287 .751 KCR
23 Eddie Murray 168 658 201 44 133 94 .305 .922 BAL,CLE,ANA
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/29/2017.

One oddity that I noticed when looking over this data was that only two players got their 200 or more hits from one spot in the batting order. Ricky Henderson had 214 out of his 215 hits against Minnesota hitting lead-off while Carl Yastrzemski had 228 of his 321 hits out of the three-hole.

WOW! Look at the Hall of Famer’s on this list plus some of the others will be in shortly. Anyone on this list surprise you? How about players that you thought would be on the list but are not?

 

The Twins all-opponent team first baseman

First Base – Paul Konerko – He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 13th pick in the first round of the 1994 amateur draft. In 1997, he was named the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and Baseball Weekly and was named Pacific Coast League MVP .

This 6 time All-Star spent 18 seasons in the big leagues starting his career as a Dodger in 1997 (55 games) before being traded to the Redlegs (26 games) for a brief stay and then again being traded, this time to the White Sox where he menaced the Twins for 16 years before he hung up his spikes after the 2014 season. He played 212 games against Minnesota reaching base via a hit 222 times with 31 doubles and 5 triples and hit .286 (OPS of .850) with 43 home runs and 110 RBI. Runner-up is Miguel Cabrera in a very close call.

Our previous selections for the Twins all-opponent team

Catcher – Ivan Rodriguez

According to ELIAS

Kepler, Max walkoff 061216Max Kepler‘s first career home run–a 10th-inning three-run blast over the centerfield wall and off the batters-eye at Target Field gave the Twins a dramatic 7-4 win over the Boston Red Sox yesterday afternoon. Among the 138 players in major-league history to hit 300 career home runs, only two had their first one come as a walkoff shot in extra innings: Miguel Cabrera (in his major-league debut) and Alfonso Soriano.

Congratulations Max!

According to ELIAS

Escobar has found his power stroke

Eduardo Escobar 2015Eduardo Escobar homered in the Twins’ win over the White Sox last night, giving him seven homers in his last 22 games, dating back to August 20. Escobar had hit only 13 homers in 346 games in the major-leagues before his current hot stretch began.

Hunter’s been on target lately

Torii Hunter 2015Torii Hunter drove in his 70th run of the season in the first inning of the Twins win over the Tigers yesterday. Hunter and Adrian Gonzalez are the only major-league players to drive in at least 70 runs in each season since 2006, although Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Cano could soon join that group.

According to ELIAS

Miguel Sanol 2015Sano stars in Twins’ win

Miguel Sano went 3-for-3 with two homers and six RBIs in the Twins 11-1 win over the Rangers last night at Target Field. In the expansion era, only five players have produced two homers and six RBIs in a game at a younger age than Sano (22 years, 93 days): Ron Santo (21 years, 123 days old in 1961), Rennie Stennett (22/29 in 1973), Aramis Ramirez (22/33 in 2000), Miguel Cabrera (22/66 in 2005) and Justin Upton (21/268 in 2009).

According to Elias

Torii Hunter as TigerTorii Hunter‘s solo home run in the ninth inning broke a 6-6 tie and Miguel Cabrera added some insurance with a homer of his own to give the Tigers an 8-6 win at Target Field yesterday. Hunter is the second player to appear in at least 500 games for the Minnesota Twins and then hit a game-winning home run in the ninth inning or later against them. He joins Rod Carew, who connected for a home run in the 15th inning to give the Angels a victory over Minnesota in 1980.

According to Elias – All-Star edition

Jeter flourishes in his final All-Star appearance

Derek jeter
Derek Jeter

 

Derek Jeter, as usual, rose to the occasion in his final All-Star game appearance, going 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored in the American League’s 5-3 win. Jeter finishes his career with a .481 (13-for-27) batting average in the All-Star game, which currently stands as the second highest for any of the 100 players with at least 15 All-Star at bats in major-league history, behind Charlie Gehringer, who went 10-for-20 (.500) in six appearances in the Mid Summer Classic.

Jeter became the second player in major-league history with multiple hits in the All-Star game in his final major-league season, joining George McQuinn, who had two hits representing the Yankees in the 1948 game. Jeter, at 40 years and 19 days old, also became the oldest player with at least two hits in an All-Star game. Only one player over the age of 38 had done that prior to Jeter: Carl Yastrzemski, who had two hits in the 1979 contest at age 39 years, 329 days.

Jeter’s first-inning double was his fifth career All-Star hit in the opening frame, tied with Wade Boggs and Stan Musial for the second most first-inning hits in All-Star history, behind Willie Mays (6).

Trout is the All-Star MVP

 

Mike Trout
Mike Trout

Mike Trout had two hits and two RBIs and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 All-Star game on Tuesday night. Trout, 22 years and 342 days old, became the second youngest player to win the All-Star game MVP, behind Ken Griffey Jr., who captured the award in the 1992 game at 22 years, 236 days old.

Trout became the fourth Angels player to win the All-Star game MVP, joining Leon Wagner (1962), Fred Lynn (1983) and Garret Anderson (2003).

 

American League jumps on Wainwright in the first

The American League jumped on Adam Wainwright for three runs in the first inning in the All-Star game on Tuesday night. Derek Jeter led off with a double, Mike Trout followed with a triple and after Robinson Cano struck out, Miguel Cabrera unloaded a two run home run. It’s only the second time in major-league history that three of the first four batters had an extra-base hit for a team in the All-Star game. The only other time that happened in the Mid Summer Classic was in 2004, when Ichiro Suzuki led off the first inning with a double, Ivan Rodriguez followed with a triple, and then after a Vladimir Guerrero ground out, Manny Ramirez hit a two-run homer.

Wainwright allowed only four extra base hits (three doubles and a homer) in the first inning in the 19 starts he made prior to the All-Star break this season.

Cabrera goes deep out of the cleanup spot

Miguel Cabrera – the American League’s cleanup hitter – hit a two-run home run in the first inning to stake the A.L. to a 3-0 lead in their 5-3 win over the N.L. in Tuesday’s All-Star game. Cabrera’s 14 home runs this season are the fewest for the American League’s cleanup hitter in an All-Star Game since 1990, when Cal Ripken batted fourth for the A.L. with nine homers to that point.

Perkins saves it for the A.L. in his home ballpark

Glen Perkins
Glen Perkins

Minnesota’s Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth inning to record a save in the American League’s 5-3 win in the All-Star game at Target Field. Prior to Perkins, only two pitchers registered a save in the All-Star game in their home ballpark: Detroit’s Mickey Lolich (1971 at Tiger Stadium) and Seattle’s Kazuhiro Sasaki (2001 at Safeco Field).

A rough All-Star debut for Puig

Yasiel Puig had a rough night in his first All-Star appearance, striking out in each of his three trips to the plate. Only three other players in major-league history struck out in each of their plate appearances with at least three trips to the plate in an All-Star game: Jim Hegan (1950), John Roseboro (1961) and Johnny Bench (1970).

According to Elias and a little extra

Kyle Gibson
Kyle Gibson

The biggest pitch Kyle Gibson threw in his seven scoreless innings on Friday night was the one that induced a Miguel Cabrera double-play grounder with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Cabrera entered the game with a career .417 batting average with the bases loaded which was the second-highest such average for any player who debuted in the expansion era (since 1961) and has at least 100 at-bats with the bases full, behind Tony Gwynn (.444). Twins beat the Tigers 2-0 at Comerica Park. Miguel Cabrera enters today’s game with impressive career numbers vs. Minnesota. Cabrera is batting .314 (139×443) with 31 doubles, 28 home runs and 108 RBI in 118 career games against the Minnesota Twins. He ranks third among all active players with 28 home runs and 108 RBI, fourth with 78 runs scored, sixth with 31 doubles and eighth with 139 hits against the club. Cabrera has hit safely in each of his last six games and 11 of his last 14 contests vs. Minnesota.

Rich Rollins - Twins 3B from 1961 - 1968
Rich Rollins – Twins 3B from 1961 – 1968

When I modified the number of at bats need to qualify from 1oo to 50 then I get an interesting cast of characters that knew how to hit in the clutch but maybe did not have careers as long as Gwynn and Cabrera. Note that former Twins 3B Rich Rollins is very high on the list and that outfielder Jason Kubel was a qualifier too. Phil Nevin was a Twins player too but since he only had 8 hits in a Twins uniform we didn’t see his clutch hitting skills. This list is from 1961-current.

Rk Player G Gtot BA BAtot PA AB R H HR RBI BB SO OBP SLG OPS
1 Pat Tabler 105 1202 .489 .282 109 88 80 43 2 108 11 9 .505 .693 1.198
2 Russ Snyder 70 1365 .483 .271 67 60 77 29 2 68 5 5 .507 .717 1.224
3 Felix Jose 53 747 .481 .280 56 52 39 25 2 60 1 9 .464 .788 1.253
4 Jeff Keppinger 67 818 .456 .282 69 57 55 26 0 65 4 4 .435 .614 1.049
5 Tony Gwynn 153 2440 .444 .338 158 133 211 59 3 143 9 8 .433 .594 1.027
6 Rich Rollins 75 1002 .443 .269 75 70 66 31 4 80 4 4 .467 .714 1.181
7 Ian Desmond 60 682 .434 .270 60 53 41 23 2 51 0 7 .383 .585 .968
8 Rennie Stennett 81 1237 .423 .274 80 71 65 30 1 71 4 3 .425 .521 .946
9 Mike Blowers 89 761 .420 .257 92 81 48 34 7 92 5 20 .424 .827 1.251
10 Rusty Greer 97 1027 .418 .305 98 79 98 33 6 97 10 14 .449 .684 1.133
11 Miguel Cabrera 164 1723 .414 .321 165 140 170 58 4 150 10 28 .418 .614 1.032
12 Joe Orsulak 93 1494 .410 .273 96 78 90 32 2 82 9 7 .448 .564 1.012
13 Mark Grace 163 2245 .402 .303 168 127 173 51 3 156 21 8 .429 .575 1.003
14 Carlos Guillen 148 1305 .402 .285 154 127 122 51 3 140 11 16 .403 .622 1.025
15 Mike Hargrove 109 1666 .402 .290 111 82 136 33 1 101 20 14 .486 .549 1.035
16 Jim Gentile 83 936 .400 .260 86 70 73 28 6 92 11 23 .453 .729 1.182
17 Eddie Murray 298 3026 .399 .287 302 238 285 95 19 299 22 34 .387 .739 1.127
18 Kevin Seitzer 118 1439 .398 .295 116 93 118 37 4 110 17 8 .466 .624 1.089
19 Phil Nevin 125 1217 .397 .270 135 116 106 46 7 120 9 28 .422 .621 1.043
20 Ross Gload 58 795 .396 .281 62 53 29 21 1 50 4 8 .403 .547 .950
21 Mike LaValliere 71 879 .393 .268 72 61 34 24 1 62 5 6 .403 .557 .960
22 Troy Tulowitzki 97 934 .393 .299 102 89 82 35 2 81 4 17 .392 .562 .954
23 Jason Kubel 105 1036 .392 .262 115 97 71 38 8 110 7 22 .391 .732 1.123
24 Richie Zisk 109 1453 .392 .287 110 97 97 38 3 99 6 22 .400 .598 .998
25 Bill Madlock 128 1806 .390 .305 128 105 154 41 3 116 7 7 .383 .600 .983
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/14/2014.

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2013 BBA annual award winners

BBA LOGOThe Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in the fall of 2009 to encourage cooperation and collaboration between baseball bloggers of all major league teams as well as those that follow baseball more generally. As of this writing, the organization consists of 232 blogs spanning all 30 major league squads as well as general baseball writing.

 

2013 Connie Mack Award

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance holds annual award voting in various categories. The first of those awards, The Connie Mack Award, is given to the best manager in each league.

 American League – John Farrell – Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox skipper won the closest of all the votes held by the BBA this year. Garnering 38% of the vote, Farrell held off the Cleveland Indians’ Terry Francona by less than 3%.

Farrell took over a Red Sox team that was in shambles and had just traded away a good portion of the roster to free up payroll. Expectations entering 2013 were low but the team wouldn’t be held down. Farrell, fresh from his work in Toronto, stepped in and helped right the ship. His leadership led the team to the American League’s best record at 97-65. He would continue that success into the postseason and help the team capture the eighth championship in team history.

 National League – Clint Hurdle – Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have steadily improved over the last few seasons but were left just short of a winning record each time. Still, the writing was on the wall and many felt this was the year Pittsburgh would compete late into the season. Those that believed in the Pirates were rewarded by a team that not only produced a winning record but nearly won their division and found themselves in the postseason. They defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh to the delight of the home town crowd. Hurdle was the recipient of 79% of the vote from the BBA membership.

 Previous Connie Mack Award Winners

2012: Bob Melvin, Oakland; Davey Johnson, Washington

2011: Joe Maddon, Tampa; Kirk Gibson, Arizona

2010: Ron Washington, Texas; Bud Black, San Diego

2009: Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles of Anaheim; Jim Tracy, Colorado

 

Willie Mays Award

The Willie Mays Award is given by the Alliance to the top rookie in each league every year.

 American League – Wil Myers – Tampa Bay Rays

The center piece of the trade that sent James Shields to the Kansas City Royals, Myers was one of baseball’s top overall prospects going into the 2013 season. He would arrive on the scene in June and immediately show that the hype was worthy of his presence. Myers would finish the season hitting .293 with 13 home runs and 53 runs batted in while playing highlight reel defense. The Rays will feature Myers in the outfield for some time to come and his production will help fans accept the departure of Shields. Myers earned 95% of the BBA vote this year.

National League – Jose Fernandez – Miami Marlins

The National League winner had to withstand a late-season surge from Dodgers’ outfielder Yasiel Puig. Fernandez produced a season that could withstand Puig-mania and earned the BBA’s respect along the way with 71% of the vote.

Fernandez worked hard for an underwhelming group in Miami and often took things into his own hands to produce victory. His 12 wins and 2.19 earned run average over 28 starts was enough to garner a lot of attention for the youngster this year. Add his 187 strikeouts and a late-season no-hitter to the list and it became evident who the top rookie was in the National League in 2013.

Previous Willie Mays Award Winners

2012: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

2011: Eric Hosmer, Kansas City/Jeremy Hellickson Tampa Bay (tie); Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta

2010: Neftali Feliz, Texas; Buster Posey, San Francisco

2009: Andrew Bailey, Oakland; Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh

 

Goose Gossage Award

The Goose Gossage Award honors the best relief pitchers in Major League Baseball. The award is the only award given by the BBA to have been awarded to the same player in consecutive years. This year, that player adds a third consecutive award to his virtual trophy case.

National League – Craig Kimbrel – Atlanta Braves

In 2011, Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel was awarded both the Goose Gossage and Willie Mays awards. Last season, Kimbrel received 87% of the vote to claim his second consecutive award as the National League’s premier relief pitcher. Kimbrel received an astonishing 90% of the vote from the Alliance to claim his third straight Goose Gossage Award. He would lead the National League in saves again this year, reaching the magical mark of 50 saves.

 American League – Koji Uehara – Boston Red Sox

Uehara joined the Red Sox this season and became one of the most polarizing figures on the team. His 21 saves were a key part of the Red Sox success this year and his continued success throughout the postseason made him a star. His 52% of the BBA vote was good enough to hold off Greg Holland of the Kansas City Royals, who garnered 36% of the BBA support for his fine season.

Previous Goose Gossage Award Winners

2012: Fernando Rodney, Tampa Bay; Criag Kmbrel, Atlanta

2011: Jose Valverde, Detroit; Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta

2010: Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay; Brian Wilson, San Francisco

 

 Walter Johnson Award

The Walter Johnson Award honors the pitcher in each league that excelled far beyond anyone else. This year’s award was a dominant choice in both leagues for the Alliance.

American league – Max Scherzer – Detroit Tigers

Scherzer’s sixth year in the league would easily be his most dominant. He led the American League with 21 wins as well as with a .875 winning percentage and 0.970 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched). He kept base runners off the base paths and away from scoring. A 2.90 earned run average would be backed up by 240 strikeouts over 214.1 innings. The Tigers’ pitcher was dominant throughout most of the season and the Alliance recognized that with 95% of their vote.

National League – Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers

Not to be outdone, Kershaw garnered 98% of the vote on the National League side of the BBA. While Kershaw would not win many games this season, he would not yield many runs, either. He would lead the league with a 1.83 earned run average. He would also lead the league in strikeouts with 232 and 0.915 WHIP. Kershaw proved once again to be dominant and the BBA recognized that by making him the first two-time winner of the Johnson award.

Previous Walter Johnson Award Winners

2012: Justin Verlander, Detroit; R.A. Dickey, New York Mets

2011: Justin Verlander, Detroit; Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

2010: Felix Hernadez, Seattle; Roy Halladay, Philadelphia

2009: Zack Greinke, Kansas City; Tim Lincecum, San Francisco

 

Stan Musial Award

The Stan Musial Award, is given every year to the premier player in each league.

 American league – Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Angels’ outfielder would garner his second-consecutive Musial Award by holding off the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera once again in 2013. His .323 batting average, 27 home runs, 97 runs batted in, and league leading 109 runs and 110 walks were enough to convince the Alliance that he deserved the award once again. Trout earned 65% of the Alliance vote while Cabrera would take the other 35%, marking the second straight year that the two players would receive the only votes.

 National League – Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates phenomenal season comes to fruition for one of the team’s most consistent stars. McCutchen was the team’s leader on and off the field and the Alliance recognized his importance to the great run the Pirates produced. He would hit .317 with 21 home runs, 84 runs batted in, 97 runs, 38 doubles and 27 stolen bases for the Bucs. Cutch received 69% of the BBA vote to earn his first Musial award.

Previous Stan Musial Award Winners

2012: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

2011: Jose Bautista, Toronto; Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers

2010: Josh Hamilton, Texas; Joey Votto, Cincinnati

2009: Joe Mauer, Minnesota; Albert Pujols, St. Louis