Yes, the Elizabethton Twins have won the championship again, their 12th Appalachian League title and ninth under current manager Ray Smith.
The Final Out of Elizabethton’s Championship Season
The E-Twins 2018 story (about 7 1/2 minutes long)
Tag: Ray Smith
Former Minnesota Twins first round pick Johnny Ard passes away
Broni John Ard who was better known as Johnny Ard was born on June 1, 1967 in Las Vegas, Nevada and passed away at the South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, Ga on May 3, 2018 at the age of 50 from various medical complications.
Ard played youth and high school baseball in Hemingway in the Peedee region of South Carolina where he was a standout pitcher before moving on to a college career at Francis Marion.
The Minnesota Twins used their 1988 first round selection and 20th overall pick on 6’5″ RHP Johnny Ard out of the State College of Florida. The 1988 draft was not a particularly strong draft for Minnesota with the best known players being Pat Mahomes, Scott Stahoviak and J.T. Bruett.
Like many future Twins players to this day, Ard started his pro baseball career in 1988 with Elizabethton under manager Ray Smith before moving up for a cup of coffee with the low A Kenosha Twins under Ron Gardenhire. In 1989 Ard posted a 13-7 record with a 3.29 ERA in 186 innings with the Visalia Oaks for manager Scott Ullger and earned a 1990 promotion to the AA Orlando Sun Rays who were then managed by Ron Gardenhire and as the staff ace he posted a 12-9 record with a 3.79 ERA in 180 innings and 29 starts.
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On December 5, 1990 the Twins traded the highly touted Ard to the San Francisco Giants along with a PTBNL (Jimmy Williams) for Steve Bedrosian. Ard spent the next three seasons bouncing between AA and AAA in the Giants system but it was a variety of injuries that kept Ard from reaching the big leagues. The Giants released Ard after the 1993 season. After sitting out 1994-1995 Ard got the baseball itch once again in 1996 and pitched for the independent league Aberdeen Pheasants and made 17 starts and posted a nice 9-4 record with a 3.37 ERA but retired from pro ball after that, I am not sure why.
Although Johnny Ard never put on a Minnesota Twins uniform in a big league game he still played a big role in Minnesota Twins history. We at Twinstrivia.com would like to pass on our condolences to the Ard family and friends.
Elizabethton Twins doing well…..again
A recent issue of Twins Game Notes stated that the Rookie-level Appalachian League named its 2014 All-Star Team Friday night. Nick Gordon was named the shortstop, Max Murphy was named an outfielder, Felix Jorge was named right-handed pitcher and Ray Smith was named Manager.
Gordon is hitting .282 (59-for-209) with six doubles and three triples in 51 games. Minnesota-native Max Murphy (currently with Cedar Rapids) hit .378 (45-for-119) with 10 home runs and 26 RBI in 35 games and also earned Appy League Player of the Year honors. Felix Jorge (currently with Cedar Rapids) went 4-2, 2.29 ERA (63.0 IP, 16 ER) with 13 walks and 56 strikeouts in 11 starts and also earned Appy League Pitcher of the Year honors. lastly, manager Ray Smith has led the E-Twins to a record of 34-27 and in first place of the Apply League West Division. Smith is in his 21st year of managing the E-Twins and his team has won the league championship on seven occasions and lost in the championship game five more times. His team has failed to make the playoffs in only seven of his 21 seasons at the helm.
Elizabethton E-Twins are champs once again
The Elizabethton E-Twins took 2 of 3 from the Burlington Royals and are once again the Appalachian League Champions. The E-Twins lost game one and were down 6-1 after 8 innings in game 3 but the E-Twins came back to win it all with an amazing come from behind victory. A big congratulations to all the team members along with manager Ray Smith and coaches Jeff Reed and Ivan Arteaga.
Congrats to E-Twins
With four games left in their regular season, the Elizabethon Twins have clinched the Western Division title and advanced to the Appalachian League playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. Since 2000 the Elizabethton Twins have played in eleven Appalachian Playoffs winning five Championships during those years. The 2012 season marks an unprecedented 24th consecutive winning season for this Minor League Baseball franchise.
Two E-Town Twins, outfielders Candido Pimentel and Max Kepler were chosen as Appy League All-Stars and Pimentel, was named as Player of the Year. Pimentel leads the league in hits, ranks third in batting, fourth in on-base percentage and runs scored, and is tied for fourth in stolen bases. Kepler hit .303 in 218 at bats with 9 home runs, knocked in a team leading 47 RBI’s, has 6 stolen bases and led the team with 118 total bases while playing a stellar outfield with just 1 error. Angel Mata was one of the teams top pitchers with a 4-3 record starting 12 games, allowing only 31 hits in 52.1 innings while striking out a team leading 54 batters and posting a 3.27 ERA.
Congratulations and a job well done to all the E-Town players as well as manager Ray Smith, hitting coach Jeff Reed and pitching coach Ivan Arteaga.