Tag: Red Sox

It makes me wonder

 

Eddie Rosario
Eddie Rosario

What the heck was Eddie Rosario thinking after failing his first test and then doing whatever he did to fail a second test? The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced yesterday that Minnesota Twins Minor League second baseman Eddie Rosario has received a 50-game suspension without pay after a second positive test for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Rosario is one of the Twins top prospects and has a bright future in baseball and he does something like this just before possible making his major league debut with Minnesota in 2014? I know that youngsters make mistakes and I sure hope that this one wakes Rosario up and gets him thinking straight again.”It’s disappointing, but now he has to pay the consequences and be accountable,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. “Losing 50 games, that’s a huge setback. That’s a lot of development time, a lot of learning that he’ll miss. It sets back his progression [toward] going up to the big leagues. But young people make mistakes, and hopefully he learns from it.”

What the Minnesota Twins TV contract pays them and what is the length of the contract? According to recent reports the Philadelphia Phillies’ new deal with Comcast SportsNet is for 25 years, and the contract is worth $2.5 billion in addition to an equity stake and ad revenue. The rights fee will be paid out on a schedule that increases about 3 to 4% per year, averaging out to $100MM per season over the 25-year term. An average of $100MM per season? That is a good start on your annual payroll.

Lucrative television contracts for Major League Baseball teams are not new. The New York Yankees signed a 12-year, $486 million deal with the Madison Square Garden Network in 1988, a deal that propelled them to an improved financial situation. While teams were trying to improve finances through the“stadium boom”of the 199s and early 2000s, the Yankees were again striking gold with television money. They formed their own network in 2002, and immediately began reaping the benefits. The Yankees received an estimated $85 million per year from YES beginning with the 2013 season, a figure that could pay off 41 percent of their projected payroll of $207 million before selling a single ticket, hot dog or jersey. Prior to the 2010 season, the Texas Rangers signed a deal with Fox Sports Southwest worth $80 million per year. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim raised the bar for television contracts in December of 2011 when they reached a $3 billion, 20-year deal with Fox Sports. None, however, can come close to the level of the deal struck between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Sports late in 202. The deal will pay out an unprecedented $6-$7 billion over the next 25 years. That translates to $240-$280 million in revenue per year. But not all teams are on the same pay scale, the St. Louis Cardinals for example are stuck with a deal that pays out a paltry $14 million per year and does not expire until 2017. A number of small-market teams are locked into similar deals for under $20 million per year including the Florida Marlins ($18 million per year) and Pittsburgh Pirates ($18 million) that will certainly affect budgets for re-signing players and making bids on free agents.

Terry Ryan (courtesy of SI.com)
Terry Ryan (courtesy of SI.com)

If GM Terry Ryan is done tinkering with the Twins line-up. This off-season Ryan has stated repeatedly that the Twins needed starting pitching but that the Twins offense also needs help. Only the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox scored fewer runs in the AL then the Twins sad total of 614. The Red Sox led the AL in runs scored with 853, that is a difference of 239 runs or 1.48 runs per game when compared to the Twins. I sure hope that Ryan doesn’t think that bringing back Jason Kubel on a minor league make good deal solves that problem. At this time the Twins payroll sits around $70 million with 3 arbitration eligible players in Brian Duensing, Trevor Plouffe and Anthony Swarzak that will probably get a total of $7 million or $8 million between them. After that most of the rest of the roster will not get much above league minimum so my guess is that the Twins will start the 2014 season with a payroll of about $85-$88 million, a jump of about $10-$13 million from the 2013 open day payroll. I was hoping for better coming off three miserable seasons in a row. I know that money does not buy you a pennant or happiness for that matter but I also know that you get what you pay for in the long run.

Brian Dozier
Brian Dozier

Why does 2B Brian Dozier get so little respect. Numerous fantasy baseball prognosticators have Dozier rated as one of MLB worst second baseman, rating him in the bottom 33% in all of baseball. I know he only hit .244 but he hit 18 home runs, scored 72 times, knocked in 66 runs and stole 16 bases. I know that fantasy baseball does not take defense into consideration and Dozier did pretty well with his glove but those are some pretty decent numbers for a middle infielder in spite of the low average. The Twins don’t seem to be doing anything to promote Dozier as an up and coming player either and you often hear that Rosario is the 2B of the future. Sometimes we just don’t appreciate what we have and keep thinking that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. I say that Dozier will be better than you think and will become a leader on this Twins team that has no face to it.

Why shortstop Stephen Drew is still unsigned on the free agent market. I would love to see the Twins open their wallet and sign the 30-year-old Drew to a three-year deal for say $25 million. That is not cheap but I don’t see any shortstops in the Twins minor league system that are ready for the big leagues either.

Miguel Sano
Miguel Sano

What the date will be when Trevor Plouffe becomes Miguel Sano‘s caddie. Although I think that Miguel Sano will start the season in AAA Rochester, I see him in Minnesota as the Twins stating 3B before Memorial Day. I for one can’t wait to see Sano in Minnesota and Plouffe on the bench or with another team.

Just a few thoughts on a cold winter day in Minnesota when the high temperature today will stay below zero and the high temperature for tomorrow is predicted to be a -15 degrees. Holy Cow! I can’t wait to get down to Ft. Myers and catch some spring training action.

This Day in Twins History – December 12, 1969

Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles

In a major deal the Minnesota Twins trade pitchers Dean Chance and Bob Miller, outfielder Ted Uhlaender, and 3B Graig Nettles to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.

The Twins were fresh off a 97-65 season but had lost the ALCS to the Baltimore Orioles 3 games to none in the first year that the ALCS was played. Owner Calvin Griffith fired his feisty manager Billy Martin shortly after the playoffs and hired veteran baseball manager Bill Rigney to take over.

The Twins gave up a lot to acquire Luis “El Tiante” Tiant and Stan “Big Daddy” Williams. The 33 year-old Williams had a phenomenal season in 1970 out of the pen when he went 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA in 68 games while pitching 113.1 innings. 1971 was anther story with Williams going 4-5 with a 4.15 ERA and the Twins traded hin to the Cardinals in September.

Luis Tiant
Luis Tiant

Tiant was only 9-20 in 1969 but he was 21-9 in 1968 and the Twins had high hopes for Tiant. He pitched very well at the start of the 1970 season, and by the end of May was 6-0 with a 3.12 ERA when he went on the disabled list with arm troubles. He came back in early August, but only won one more game the rest of the way and finished the season with a 7-3 record and a 3.40 ERA. Tiant’s arm problems only got worse in the off-season, and the Twins released him at the end of spring training in 1971. The Atlanta Braves signed Tiant but within a month they too let him go and Tiant signed with the Boston Red Sox in May of 1971. With his fastball apparently gone it appeared that Tiant was done. However; Tiant began a remarkable comeback in 1972, reinventing himself as a junkballer, throwing an incredible variety of pitches from all sorts of arm angles. All of these came off a bizarre motion that had him looking straight at second base in the middle of his wind-up. Between 1972-1978, Tiant put up a 121-74 record for the Red Sox with a 3.30 ERA while averaging 243 innings per year. After leaving the Red Sox, Tiant pitched for the Yankees, Pirates and the Angels and left the major leagues in his rear view mirror after the 1982 season and 19 seasons and went on to pitch in Mexico at the age of 42.

Probably not one of the Twins best trades if you consider the wonderful career that Graig Nettles went to have. You just never know for years sometimes how trades really turned out. There was a nice article done by the Cleveland Plain Dealer back in 2009 about Dean Chance that you might enjoy checking out here. I have been trying to get in touch with Chance for an interview for years with no luck what so ever.

Here and there

 

Paul Molitor
Paul Molitor

Yesterday the Minnesota Twins announced that they have added Minnesota native and former Twins player Paul Molitor to their major league coaching staff. Molitor will oversee base running, bunting, infield instruction and positioning, plus assist with in-game strategy from the dugout for manager Ron Gardenhire. I don’t consider this as any kind of bold move by the Twins and I don’t see it adding any wins to the Twins victory total but with the way the Twins have run the bases the last few years it can’t hurt. Molitor served as a bench coach under Tom Kelly back in 2000 and 2001 and coached for the Seattle Mariners in 2004. Despite what has been written over the last couple of years, I still don’t see Molitor as a strong candidate to replace Gardenhire when he vacates the managers seat. I don’t think it is a secret that Molitor covets a big league managers job but teams have not exactly been knocking down his door to discuss a possible managers position with him. I find it interesting however; that Molitor has turned up as a coach with the Twins when TK was nearing the end of his tenure and with Seattle in Bob Melvin‘s final season at the helm in Seattle. Molitor isn’t exactly “Mr. Personality” so I will be interested to see how he interacts with the Twins fans in Ft. Myers come February.

 

Wilkin Ramirez
Wilkin Ramirez

Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez was activated from the 60-day disabled list and then  outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. Ramirez may exercise his right to declare  free agency and determine if anybody else wants him or he can choose to resign with Minnesota as Doug Bernier did recently. The Twins 40 man roster is 36 but is expected to go to 37 when Samuel Deduno is taken off the 60-day disabled list.

Glen Perkins
Glen Perkins

The Twins also announced yesterday that Twins closer Glen Perkins underwent arthroscopic surgery two days after the 2013 season ended, but he should be ready for spring training in February. Perkins, who saved 36 games in his first full season as the Twins’ closer, had the procedure to repair the meniscus in his right knee. So why did the Twins wait so long to announce this? What would they have to gain? The Twins continue to keep team medical issues close to the vest.

Darin Mastroianni
Darin Mastroianni

Outfielder Darin Mastroianni underwent surgery last week to have the pin in his left ankle removed. The hardware, removed last Wednesday, had been inserted during his May surgery to repair the broken bone in his foot, suffered during the final week of spring training. He too also is expected to be fully healed by spring training.

Baseballamerica.com did a nice little piece on Max Kepler about a week or so ago that you can read at Max Kepler Adds At-Bats In Fall League – BaseballAmerica.com.

Byron Buxton
Byron Buxton

Minor League Baseball and the Topps Company announced on October 22nd that outfielder Byron Buxton, the second overall pick in the June 2012 Draft by the Minnesota Twins, is the 2013 winner of the 54th annual J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year. Buxton finished among the top 12 MiLB™ players in six offensive categories, including a Minor League-best 18 triples. His 109 runs ranked second.

Lincecum
Lincecum

The San Francisco Giants announced that they have agreed to sign free agent to be RHP Tim Lincecum to a two-year $35 million no-trade deal pending a physical.  The 29-year-old Lincecum just completed a $40.5 million, two-year contract that paid him $22 million this past season, that come out to $1.2 million per win this past season. Lincecum has a career record of 89-70 with a 3.46 ERA but that is not the whole story. After posting a 40-17 record with a 2.90 ERA in his first three seasons in the majors, his last four seasons have been a different story. During the last four seasons in which the Giants have won the World Series twice, Lincecum has won 49 games while losing 53 and his ERA has jumped to 3.87 and if you look at the last two years, he has a 4.76 ERA. His KO/9 have dropped from a league leading 10.5 in 2008 to 8.8 in 2013 and his velocity has dropped noticeably. This deal is just plain outlandish and will make this years off season hunt for free agent starters even that much more difficult for teams like the Twins that are desperate for starting pitching. I know Lincecum has won two Cy Young‘s and has thrown a no-hitter but there are many people out there that feel that Lincecum is sliding quickly and he may spend more time in the near future coming out of the bullpen then he will as a starter. This is a bad signing for the Giants and for baseball in general, the only winner here is Tim Lincecum.

 

WORLD_SERIES_neutral

 

The Cardinals and the Red Sox play game 1 of the 2013 World Series starting tonight and  I really have no clear cut preference as who wins the Series but it might be an interesting series to watch. I am leaning a bit towards the Red Sox to win but we will have to wait and see how it turns out. Here is a little something fun for you to look at to see how the Cardinals and Red Sox regular season  prices compared at the register courtesy of Team Marketing Report FactBook.

2013 MLB award winners according to Twins Trivia

At the conclusion of every season the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) are asked to submit their ballots for the top awards across baseball. Each of these awards is named in honor of a player that epitomized a similar role in Major League Baseball. When the BBA voting is completed, I will post the official announcements from the BBA.

 

Connie Mack Award (Top Manager) in the AL

Boston Red Sox Photo DayMy vote goes to John Farrell for leading the Boston Red Sox to the AL East title with a 97-65 record after the team finished dead last in that division in 2012 with 93 losses. An improvement of 28 games.

My second place vote goes to Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona for taking his team from 68 wins in 2012 to 92 wins in 2013 and finishing just one game behind the division winning Detroit Tigers.

My bronze vote goes to Oakland A’s skipper Bob Melvin. Nobody does more with less than Oakland does.

Connie Mack Award (Top Manager) in the NL

Clint Hurdle Easy choice for me here, Clint Hurdle leads the Pittsburgh Pirates to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years with 94 wins after finishing 79-83 in 2012. He is my NL Manager of the Year.

Second place vote stays in the same division with St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny right on Hurdle’s heels in this race after taking the division title over the second place Pirates.

The bronze vote might be a surprise to some but I am giving it to Florida Marlins skipper Mike Redmond for leading that motley crew to 62 wins. That is an amazing achievement!

 

Willie Mays Award (Top Rookie) in the AL

Wil MyersMy AL Rookie of the Year is outfielder Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays. This mid June call-up sparked the Rays offense and put up some very good numbers for roughly half a seasons work. Although he struck out 91 times, he did hit 13 home runs and had a .354 OBP.

My ROY runner-up is also with Tampa Bay, RHP Chris Archer. The 25-year-old Archer had a 9-7 record with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 128+ innings.

The third place vote goes to another outfielder, J.B. Shuck of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I am not sure his potential is as good as some other rookies since he is already 26 but never the less he had a good rookie season getting more at bats than any other AL rookie.

Willie Mays Award (Top Rookie) in the NL

Jose FernandezMy NL Rookie of the Year is Florida Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez. The 2011 first round pick (14th overall) went an astounding 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP in 172+ innings for a team that lost 100 games. A true Ace for years to come if he can stay healthy. I know he only plays every fifth day but what a pitcher he is.

My runner-up choice for the NL ROY is Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig. The 22-year-old Cuban was called up in early June and took the league by storm by putting up a .925 OPS. He did strikeout 97 times but that is nitpicking.

The third place vote goes to power hitting 2B Jedd Gyorko of the San Diego Padres. Gyorko hit 23 home runs and knocked in 63 while hitting for a .249 average. I would expect Gyorko to cut down on his strikeouts and improve his average as his average in the minors was .301.

Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever) in the AL

Greg HollandThe top closer award in the AL this year goes Greg Holland of the Kansas City Royals. Holland had 47 saves in 50 chances with a 1.21 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. In 67 innings he struck out 103 while batters hit him at a .170 clip.

The runner-up this year is Joe Nathan of the Texas Rangers who had 43 saves in 46 chances. Batters hit only .162 and he posted an ERA of 1.39 and a 0.90 WHIP.

Mariano Rivera is third this year in his final season as he awaits induction into the Hall of Fame as the greatest closer in MLB history. The 43-year-old Rivera had 44 saves while putting up a 2.11 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP.

Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever) in the NL

Craig KimbrelThe top closer in the NL is an easy choice, just say Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and you said it all. The man is a machine, a league leading 50 saves in 54 chances with a 1.21 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP in 67 innings with 98 strikeouts. Batting average against was .166

The silver goes to Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman. In 63+ innings Chapman had 38 saves while striking out 112 and kept opposing batters to a .164 average. ERA was 2.54 and WHIP was 1.04.

I will give my third place vote to San Francisco Giants closer Sergio Romo who put 38 saves on the board to go along with his 2.54 ERA and his 1.08 WHIP.

 

Walter Johnson Award (Top Pitcher) in the AL

Max ScherzerMy AL  top pitcher award goes to the Detroit Tigers starter Max Scherzer who went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP with 240 strikeouts in 217+ innings. Opposing batters hit a measly .198 off him this season.

Second place vote goes to Seattle Mariners  pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma who managed to post a 14-6 record with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP for a team that won 67 games. Iwakuma threw 219+ innings and held opposing hitters to a .220 average while striking out 185.

My third place vote goes to Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish who threw 209+ innings and struck out 277 batters while holding opposing batters to a .194 average. Darvish had a slick 2.83 ERA to go along with a 1.07 WHIP.

 Walter Johnson Award (Top Pitcher) in the NL

Clayton KershawMy vote for the best pitcher in the NL goes to Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw who posted a 16-9 record with a league leading 1.83 ERA and a league leading 0.92 WHIP. For good measure he led the league in KO’s with 232 in 236 innings. The league managed to hit him at a .195 pace.

My second place vote goes Florida Marlins HP Jose Fernandez who in just his third year of pro ball goes 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA for a 62-100 team.

My third place vote goes to the big right hander from St. Louis, Adam Wainwright. Wainwright was 19-9 with a 2.94 ERA with starting a league leading 34 games and throwing a league leading 241.2 innings.

Stan Musial Award (Top Player) in the AL

Miguel CabreraOnce again this year my vote for the top player in the AL goes to Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. I am not going to list a bunch of his stats here, if you want to see them just look them up. The 2012 Triple Crown winner won his third straight batting title in 2013 and finished second in home run and RBI’s. Cabrera has played for 11 years in the big leagues and is just 30 years old….

The runner-up again is the LA Angels outfielder Mike Trout. If there was no Cabrera in the AL this guy might be the winner two years running.

The third place vote goes to the surprising Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles who had a league leading 54 home runs and 138 RBI. An amazing season for a guy that only hit more than 21 home runs once and had 60 or more RBI just once.

Stan Musial Award (Top Player) in the NL

Paul GoldschmidtAlthough it was a tight race, the top player in the NL in 2013 should be Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Playing for a .500 team this first sacker appeared in 160 games hitting at a .302 clip while finishing first in RBI with 125, tied for first in home runs with 36 and scored 103 runs, good for third most in the NL.

Finishing a close second is outfielder Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although this talented player led his team to the playoffs for the first time in many years, he did not lead the NL in any of the hitting categories,

The third place vote goes to Atlanta Braves 1B Freddie Freeman. The 24-year-old had a very nice season with 23 home runs, 109 RBI and a .319 batting average.

 

There you have, the Twin Trivia 2013 MLB award winners. Congratulations to all the winners.

Thoughts on the Gardenhire extension and other things

Ron Gardenhire
Ron Gardenhire

Two days have past since Terry Ryan and the Twins announced that they have extended manager Ron Gardenhire‘s contract by two years and the sky has not fallen as yet. I was in favor of Gardenhire being kept on as the Twins skipper but I had the perception that I was in the minority based on what I was reading in numerous Twins blogs, the  local papers and what I was hearing on all the sports talks shows that allowed fans to call in and state their views. Now I am not so sure that fans are all that upset with Gardy staying on. I am curious why. Are Twins fans really happy with the extension or are Twins fans just apathetic about anything the Twins are doing now days? I would hate to see that Twins fans are getting indifferent to the home team and see no hope.

I am an old-timer so I can remember back to the 60’s when the Twins first called Minnesota home. The Twins won 102 games in 1965 and went on to lose the World Series in 7 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers and then followed it up with 89 wins and a second place finish in 1966. On June 9th of 1967 owner Calvin Griffith grew impatient with skipper Sam Mele and fired him bringing in Cal Ermer to take over the manager’s job and Ermer managed the Twins in one of the greatest AL pennant races ever only to lose out to the Boston Red Sox by losing their final two games in Beantown. The Twins had a down year in 1968 going 79-83 and Calvin fired Ermer for his efforts. Griffith then hired Billy Martin to bring the Twins back from the previous seasons seventh place finish and Martin did just that by leading the Twins to a 97-75 record and a trip to the playoffs where they unfortunately had to play the Baltimore Orioles and lost the ALCS three games to none. Shortly after the playoff loss, owner Calvin Griffith fired Martin and started a firestorm of fans reactions. How do you fire a manager that won 97 games and took the team to the playoffs? There are many possible reasons why that happened but the point here is that the Twins fan base went crazy and many people including myself were very upset about seeing Martin let go. I was so upset about it that I didn’t attend a Twins game in Met Stadium for two years. I know, it was silly when I look back on it but Griffith really ticked me off, I really liked the feisty Billy Martin as the Twins manager. I guess the point I am making is that the Twins fans now days don’t seem to be as agitated about the Gardenhire extension as Twins fans were with the Martin firing back in 1969 even though the team fan base is much larger now then it was back then.

I can’t imagine anything better than to see Twins fans engaged and expressing their feelings both positive and negative to the Minnesota Twins organization. Negative comments about the Twins are not necassily a bad thing, it just shows that they care and are passionate about their team. We need to see more passion about what the Twins are doing or not doing by having more fans pass on their thoughts to the Twins organization. The Twins have done a lot of good things over the years and they have done a lot of bad things but one of the things I really think is wonderful about the Twins organization is that they allow their fans to communicate with the front office. All you have to do is go to the Twins web site, click on Roster, then on Front Office and you are able to send an e-mail to pretty much anyone in the organization. I have looked at a number of other big league teams and believe me, this is not something that many MLB teams do. I am not saying the Twins will do what you want, I am just saying that they are willing to listen to what you have to say. Don’t just gripe in the comments on blog sites, send an e-mail to the Twins and let them know what you think.

I watched the Twins press conference on TV Monday afternoon and was really taken back when owner Jim Pohlad was asked a question about the organizations loyalty and what he was going to do to improve the Twins. His response was – “I think everybody knows that we value consistency and loyalty,” Twins owner Jim Pohlad said. “We did go with a two-year extension because we’re pretty sure that somewhere in those two years we can get Gardy’s 1,000th victory.” Apparently Pohlad was trying to be funny here but I have to wonder if anyone else associated with the Twins had said in front of Pohlad if they would still be collecting a Twins paycheck today. Then again maybe it was just me that did not see the humor in it.

Another item I took away from the press conference was about the Twins coaching staff. GM Ryan stated that the entire coaching staff has been invited back I still have not heard officially that they have all accepted and will be returning. I can’t help but wonder what is going on there. Oh, the Twins did say they are considering adding a seventh coach, I am thinking they should spend their money on a player versus hiring another coach.

GM Terry Ryan
GM Terry Ryan

The Twins had a call to season ticket holders on Tuesday and apparently Terry Ryan said that everyone is available for trade, including Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton. I know that when you lose 90+ games three years in a row you are not exactly loaded with untouchables but Sano and Buxton are two players you just can’t trade under any circumstances. Who could any team possibly offer the Twins that has that much potential and will be under team control for as long as these two will be? If the Twins were contenders and needed a missing piece or two I could maybe understand it but the Twins ar far from contending and giving up players like this would be the worst move the Twins could possibly make. Then there is Joe Mauer who is sitting on a no-trade clause and he isn’t going anywhere either. I know Terry Ryan has to say what he said about everyone being available but there is no way that Mauer, Buxton, or Sano are going anywhere. I have a better chance of being the Twins GM than Ryan does in trading Mauer, Buxton or Sano.

Today the Twins assigned pitchers Cole De Vries, Shairon Martis, Josh Roenicke and outfielder Clete Thomas to AAA Rochester leaving the 40 man roster at 36. There are numerous other players on the 40 man roster that could easily be taken off in the near future. So the moves have begun.

 

On This Day in Twins History – September 6, 1954

Carlos Paula
Carlos Paula

On this day in 1954 the Washington Senators played a black ballplayer for the first time. His name was Carlos Paula and he was not African American, he was from La Habana, Cuba. The 26 year-old Paula started in left field for the Senators seven years after Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Paula went 2 for 5 with a double and knocked in 2 runs in a 8-1 win in game one of a DH against the Philadelphia A’s. The Senators lost game two by a 3-2 score at Griffith Stadium. Only 4,865 fans were on hand to witness this historic occasion.

Paula was acquired by the Washington Senators from the Paris Indians of the Big State League in an unknown transaction after the 1953 season. Paula’s major league career lasted just three seasons and 157 games, all with the Senators from 1954-1956. Paula played in the minors after that from 1957-1959 for the Philadelphia A’s, New York Yankees, New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Braves organizations but never again had a chance to play in the majors. Paula played his final season (1960) in Mexico City. Carlos Paula had a career batting average of .271 in 457 at-bats with 9 home runs and 60 RBI.

According to the SABR bio on Zoilo Versalles the Twins shortstop who was the 1965 AL MVP both he and Carlos Paula lived in the same neighborhood. As a youngster Versalles patterned his play after flashy Almendares star shortstop and active major leaguer Willy Miranda who many consider to have been the slickest fielding shortstop ever born in Cuba. Versalles also received encouragement and inspiration from another neighborhood big-leaguer, Carlos Paula, who once gave the young hopeful one of his tattered and discarded fielder’s mitts.

Only the Yankees in 1955, the Phillies in 1957, the Tigers in 1958 and the Red Sox in 1959 broke the color-line later than did the Senators/Twins franchise.

Box score game one

Box score game two

With MLB baseball you just never know

Since the all-star break I have found it difficult to sit down and come up with something interesting to write about the Minnesota Twins. It is not the Twins fault, they have won two series (Indians and Angels) in a row and are 4-2 since the break but I am just stuck in rut.  I don’t want to spend time writing about possible trade scenarios that have no chance of  taking place, there are plenty of blogs writing about that. Fire Ron Gardenhire? I have been there and given my thoughts about that. I think the problem is that I know this team is not going anywhere and it frustrates me because I know this team is going to go through streaks of playing winning baseball when they are fun to watch and then they will play like crap for a series or two and drive me nuts. Yet I know and understand that is how young players play the game and learn to win.

But the Twins are not the only team playing inconsistent baseball. When the season started I had the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Angels winning their divisions with the Rays and Royals as wild cards in the AL. When I look at the American League standings now I see the Tigers, Red Sox, and A’s winning their divisions with the Rays, Orioles, and the Rangers in hot pursuit as possible wild card candidates. The Blue Jays have stunk and are playing .455 baseball, who would have predicted that? I thought that the Red Sox would suck again this year and they have 61 wins in the bank, better than any team in baseball. In the NL I had the Nationals, Reds, and Dodgers as division winners with the Braves and Pirates as wild card winners. The standings in the NL now show us that the Cards are going head-to-head with the Pirates, The Dodgers are battling with the D-Backs and the Braves are running away from the Phillies and the third place Nats. Heck, the Miami Marlins have won more games than the Astros and almost as many as the White Sox.

It just goes to show how unpredictable MLB baseball really is from year to year and why it is such an interesting and great game. A team can sign a slew of free agents or make a mega trade (hello Blue Jays) and all the baseball experts or talking heads as I like to call them jump on the bandwagon and predict great things and guarantee a cake walk to the playoffs. But when the season ends you find this teams players packing their bags and cleaning their golf clubs when game 162 is in the books. I had originally picked the Detroit Tigers and the Washington Nationals to play in World Series 2013 and for the Nats to win in six games. Now the Nationals will have to play some amazing baseball just to get in to the playoffs. Last time I looked, the Twins were 100 to 1 to win the World Series. Those are some long odds indeed but I remember back in 1987 when I made my annual February trip to Las Vegas and put $10 down on the Twins to win it all and I put $400 in my pocket later that year.

An interview with 1995 Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova

Marty Cordova in spring training getting ready for the 1996 season.
Marty Cordova in spring training getting ready for the 1996 season.

Recently I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to interview 1995 AL Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova. We talked about Marty’s nine-year big league career from the time he was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round of the 1989 draft until he retired from baseball in 2005. Cordova played for the Twins (1995-1999), Blue Jays (2000), Indians (2001), and the Orioles (2002-2003).

Cordova was the American League Rookie of the Year winner in 1995 in a close vote (105 to 99) over Angels outfielder Garret Anderson. Other players receiving more than ten votes that year were pitchers Andy Pettitte and Troy Percival. Cordova was the fifth and most recent Minnesota Twin to win ROY honors. Other Twins to win the award were Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, John Castino, and Chuck Knoblauch.

1996 may have been Cordova’s best season with Minnesota before a variety of injuries started taking their toll. After leaving Minnesota as a free agent after the 1999 season, Cordova signed with the Red Sox but never played there and then moved on to Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore. Cordova signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005 but retired before just as spring training was about to begin.

To learn more about Marty Cordova past and present, find out why his first baseball card at Elizabethton was unique, and to listen to the interview, just click here.

This Day in Twins History – June 24

6/24/1955 – Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league homer, off Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators 18-7. Here is what dcbaseballhistory.com wrote about this event. “The visiting Tigers pounce to a 13-0 lead in the top of the 5th, when 3B Harmon Killebrew boots a grounder. In the bottom of the frame, Killebrew would bat and work a 2-2 count against Detroit southpaw Billy Hoeft. Tigers catcher Frank House tells Killebrew that Hoeft’s next offering would be a fastball. Hoeft delivered that fastball and Killebrew rocketed the ball out of the park for his first major league home run. Killebrew would later say that, of all the home runs he hit at Griffith Stadium, the home run off Hoeft was the longest he ever hit in Griffith.”

6/24/1968 – In a one game series, the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in County Stadium in Milwaukee in a game called after 5 innings due to rain. The reason the game was played in Milwaukee was that in 1968, Bud Selig, a former minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves who had been unable to stop the relocation of his team three years earlier, contracted with the Allyn brothers who owned the White Sox to host nine home games (one against each of the other American League clubs) at Milwaukee County Stadium as part of an attempt to attract an expansion franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Frank Jackson of The Hardball Times did a nice blog earlier this year on the Milwaukee White Sox that is well worth your read.

6/24/1977 – Ralph Garr of the White Sox homered off Minnesota’s Paul Thormodsgard in Minneapolis. It came in the third inning with two men on and no one out. Jim Essian, the runner on first, thought the ball might be caught by the Twins’ right fielder, Dan Ford, so he retreated towards first base. Garr was watching the flight of the ball and passed Essian after rounding the bag. He was credited with a single and two runs batted in.

6/24/1984 – 2B Tim Teufel gives the Twins a 3-2 win over the White Sox with a three-run inside-the-park walk off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth at the Metrodome.

6/24/1989 – Twins outfielder John Moses is asked to pitch at Fenway Park in an 11-2 loss to the Red Sox. John threw one scoreless inning giving up a walk but only faced 3 batters with the team turned a double play behind him. John is the fourth Twins position player to pitch and this is the fifth occurrence of a Twins position player pitching for the Twins.

 

A few odds and ends about the draft

2013 draftThe 2013 MLB first-year player draft day has finally arrived and later this evening we will learn who the Twins have selected in a draft that many of the “talking head” experts claim has three sure-fire stars, but the Twins draft fourth.

There have been 61,666 players drafted since the draft was instituted in 1965 when the Kansas City Athletics selected Arizona State outfielder Rick Monday with the very first pick. So far, 24 of these players have gone on to become Hall of Fame players. Of these 24 HOF players, eight were selected in round 1 and no first pick overall is on this list. Not to build up hope and put too much pressure on the Twins selection tonight but three HOF players (Carlton Fisk, Dave Winfield, Barry Larkin) have been selected as the fourth pick overall. The Boston Red Sox (Carlton Fisk, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice) and the San Diego Padres (Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith, Tony Gwynn) lead the list of HOF players drafted with three each, the Minnesota Twins have selected two Hall of Fame players in Bert Blyleven in 1969 and Kirby Puckett in 1982. The latest round that a HOF has been picked? That would be the Philadelphia Phillies 20th round pick in 1978, Ryne Sandberg.

Just because a player is drafted does not mean that he will be signed. In 2012, 73.74% of the players drafted were signed, between 2000 and 2011 the percentages varied between 56.56% and 64.85%, so why the huge jump in 2012? Probably due to the fact that the draft was reduced from 50 rounds to 40 rounds for the first time. But percentages can be deceiving, in 2012 there were 913 players signed, the lowest number since there were 895 draftees signed in 2006.

Over the years first round picks were often signed to huge ridiculous contracts but now that a slotting system was implemented in 2012, that has changed the landscape for everyone. In addition a bonus pool is assigned to each team limiting them to what they can spend on their first 10 picks. These limits however are only “strong recommendations” and teams can spend more but they have to be prepared to pay a luxury tax and possibly even give up their first rounds selection for next year and/or the year after depending on how much they exceed the slot amount. The Twins bonus pool number for their top 10 picks for this year is $8,264,500 and their fourth overall pick has a slot limit of $4,544,400.

It has been reported that some teams are looking to limit what they pay to their top selections so that they have more pool money to spend on their lower top 10 picks. I find that an interesting concept but not one that I think I would pursue if I was the GM. For me, it is all about quality versus quantity. According to MLB, they looked at how the 2012 opening day rosters were structured and here is what they found.

23.36% were round 1 picks
11.37% were round 2 picks
9.03% were round 3 picks
7.76% were round 4 picks
9.35% were round 5 picks
14.80% were selected in rounds 6-10

It will be interesting to see if the Twins find diamonds with their picks or if their picks turns out to be no more than lumps of coal, but either way the Twins will pay big money to add these new prospects to their organization. Draft picks are no different than baseball in general, you never know what you will get each year. I think someone said some thing like this about a box of chocolates once upon a time…

UPDATE – The Twins selected right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart who also was a star quarterback at St. Pius X High School in Houston, Texas with their first selection. Stewart throws about 95 MPH and has touched 97 MPH and is widely regarded as having a “high ceiling” but first, the Twins have to sign the high school star so he does not accept his football scholarship to Texas A&M. Stewart is a type 1 diabetic but that should be a non-issue. The Twins then selected right-hander Ryan Eades from LSU with their second pick. Eades is reported to throw a fastball between 90-95 and has a hard breaking ball as part of his arsenal. The down side with Eades is his injury history which reportedly includes a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in high school.