Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Dan Graham

The only player in Twins history to make his major league debut on this day as a Twins player was…

Dan Graham (C/3B) – June 8, 1979 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 1975 amateur draft. Was first drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1973, and by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1974 before being drafted by the Twins in 1975. Appeared in just 2 games with Minnesota before being traded to Baltimore.

To see other Major League Debut’s as Minnesota Twins

Who was this guy?

This pitcher was signed by the Kansas City Royals as an amateur free agent but released just 10 months later. The Cincinnati Reds signed him as a free agent only to lose him to the Minnesota Twins four years later in the Rule 5 draft. He made his major league debut on Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in the eighth inning with the Twins trailing the A’s 7-5. The Twins scored in the top of the ninth inning to tie the ball game when Willie Norwood pinch-hit for Rob Wilfong and delivered a single to left to score two base runners and send the game into extra innings. 

Neither team scored until the 12th inning when both Roy Smalley and Rick Sofield hit home runs for the visiting Twins while the A’s were held scoreless in the bottom of the 12th inning sending A’s fans home disappointed. The pitcher you are trying to identify pitched the last 5 innings for Minnesota and held the A’s scoreless allowing just one hit and striking out six. This pitcher is the only pitcher in Twins history to be credited with a win while making his major league debut on an Opening Day. Do you know who this pitcher is?

Analyzing Minnesota Twins First Round Picks – Part 1

Since the June Amateur Draft began in 1965 the Minnesota Twins have selected 72 players in round one, some are their regular first round selections and other are supplemental picks for the loss of a free agent or failure to sign a round one selection. 

Over the years the Twins have failed to sign seven first round selections, about 10% of their total first round picks. The seven players that did not sign were four position players and three pitchers. You would think most of these would be high school players that chose to go on to college but that is not the case here, six were college players and only one was a high school player. The last time the Twins organization failed to sign a player was 2000 supplemental pick RHP Aaron Heilman.

Minnesota Twins first round draft picks 1965-2016

POS HS COLLEGE
C 2 1
1B 1 1
2B 0 1
SS 8 3
3B 4 2
OF 12 2
RHP 9 10
LHP 1 8
DID NOT SIGN 1  6
  38 34

Twins inside-the-park home runs are a rarity

From the time the Twins started play in 1961 through yesterday June 14 (2016) the Minnesota Twins have hit 7,462 home runs, 3,746 have been hit on the road and 3,716 have been hit at home. The Twins hit 1,872 home runs at the Metrodome, 1,424 at Met Stadium and 420 at Target Field. The most home runs the Twins have hit on the road have been at the Angels home park where they have hit 257.

Eduardo Nunez 2016Of the Twins 7,462 round-trippers only 50 of them have been inside-the-park home runs. Inside-the-park home runs are relatively rare so I am a bit surprised that when Eduardo Nunez hit the latest one back on June 2 that no one mentioned that it was number 50 in Minnesota Twins history. How rare are they? Only .0067% of Twins home runs are of the inside-the-park variety. So what Twins have hit IPHR’s? We have put together a complete list here for you with the help of Baseball-Reference.

 

Twins inside-the-park home runs from 1961-June 2, 2016

Date Batter Opp Pitcher Play Description
1961-07-04 (2) Harmon Killebrew CHW Cal McLish Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1962-04-27 Zoilo Versalles @CLE Dick Donovan Home Run
1963-09-22 Jimmie Hall @BOS Bob Heffner Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1963-09-28 Vic Power @NYY Whitey Ford Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1964-07-04 (1) Tony Oliva @NYY Jim Bouton Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1964-08-04 Rich Rollins BOS Bill Monbouquette Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1964-09-04 Tony Oliva BOS Dave Gray Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1965-04-22 Zoilo Versalles @NYY Pedro Ramos Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1965-06-04 Jimmie Hall WSA Howie Koplitz Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1965-06-18 Rich Rollins @NYY Bill Stafford Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1966-06-04 Tony Oliva CLE Tom Kelley Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1967-05-08 Ted Uhlaender WSA Phil Ortega Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1969-05-13 Rod Carew BAL Mike Cuellar Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1971-07-22 Jim Nettles @NYY Fritz Peterson Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1972-10-04 Eric Soderholm CHW Ken Frailing Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1974-06-24 Danny Thompson @TEX David Clyde Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1975-06-17 (1) Dan Ford OAK Vida Blue Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1975-09-07 Steve Brye @CHW Claude Osteen Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1979-05-08 Ken Landreaux TOR Balor Moore Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1979-05-15 John Castino TEX Sparky Lyle Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1980-07-11 Rick Sofield @SEA Glenn Abbott Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1980-08-20 Mike Cubbage TOR Jackson Todd Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1982-05-28 Tom Brunansky NYY Ron Guidry Home Run
1982-07-19 Tom Brunansky MIL Jerry Augustine Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1982-09-10 Gary Ward @KCR Larry Gura Home Run
1982-09-30 Kent Hrbek @TOR Luis Leal Home Run
1983-09-25 Tom Brunansky @KCR Keith Creel Inside-the-park Home Run
1984-06-23 Randy Bush CHW Tom Seaver Home Run
1984-06-24 Tim Teufel CHW Richard Dotson *WALK-OFF*:*ENDED GAME*:Home Run
1984-09-11 Kent Hrbek KCR Charlie Leibrandt Home Run
1985-07-03 Dave Engle CLE Neal Heaton Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1986-07-03 Ron Washington BAL Mike Boddicker Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1986-10-04 Greg Gagne CHW Floyd Bannister Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1986-10-04 Greg Gagne CHW Floyd Bannister Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1987-05-31 (1) Gary Gaetti @DET Jeff Robinson Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1987-09-24 Greg Gagne TEX Charlie Hough Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1988-07-08 Steve Lombardozzi MIL Bill Wegman Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1988-09-28 Steve Lombardozzi OAK Todd Burns Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1990-05-26 Gene Larkin BOS Mike Boddicker Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1991-05-19 Mike Pagliarulo @DET Dan Petry Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1994-05-17 Shane Mack NYY Jimmy Key Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1997-04-26 Rich Becker TEX Bobby Witt Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1997-05-25 Pat Meares OAK Ariel Prieto Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1997-08-08 Roberto Kelly NYY Dwight Gooden Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1999-09-05 Todd Walker @TBD Ryan Rupe Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
2000-07-29 Chad Moeller NYY Ramiro Mendoza Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
2001-07-26 Torii Hunter @OAK Mark Guthrie Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
2007-07-21 Joe Mauer LAA Scot Shields Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
2014-05-20 Kurt Suzuki @SDP Nick Vincent Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
2016-06-02 Eduardo Nunez TBR Matt Moore Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/14/2016.

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Twins rookies with 100 or more hits

A quick look at Twins rookies over the years and how many hits they had in their rookie season. To make the list they had to have 100 or more hits in their first season in the big leagues.

Oliva, Tony 6

Rk Player H Year Age G AB R 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA
1 Tony Oliva (RoY-1st) 217 1964 25 161 672 109 43 9 32 94 12 .323
2 Rich Rollins 186 1962 24 159 624 96 23 5 16 96 3 .298
3 Lew Ford 170 2004 27 154 569 89 31 4 15 72 20 .299
4 Kirby Puckett (RoY-3rd) 165 1984 24 128 557 63 12 5 0 31 14 .296
5 Kent Hrbek (RoY-2nd) 160 1982 22 140 532 82 21 4 23 92 3 .301
6 Chuck Knoblauch (RoY-1st) 159 1991 22 151 565 78 24 6 1 50 25 .281
7 Bernie Allen (RoY-3rd) 154 1962 23 159 573 79 27 7 12 64 0 .269
8 Luis Rivas 150 2001 21 153 563 70 21 6 7 47 31 .266
9 Rod Carew (RoY-1st) 150 1967 21 137 514 66 22 7 8 51 5 .292
10 Carlos Gomez 149 2008 22 153 577 79 24 7 7 59 33 .258
11 Tim Teufel (RoY-4th) 149 1984 25 157 568 76 30 3 14 61 1 .262
12 Joe Mauer 144 2005 22 131 489 61 26 2 9 55 13 .294
13 Zoilo Versalles 143 1961 21 129 510 65 25 5 7 53 16 .280
14 Marty Cordova (RoY-1st) 142 1995 25 137 512 81 27 4 24 84 20 .277
15 Butch Wynegar (RoY-2nd) 139 1976 20 149 534 58 21 2 10 69 0 .260
16 Bobby Darwin 137 1972 29 145 513 48 20 2 22 80 2 .267
17 Chad Allen 133 1999 24 137 481 69 21 3 10 46 14 .277
18 Jimmie Hall (RoY-3rd) 129 1963 25 156 497 88 21 5 33 80 3 .260
19 Bob Randall 127 1976 28 153 475 55 18 4 1 34 3 .267
20 Tom Brunansky 126 1982 21 127 463 77 30 1 20 46 1 .272
21 Dan Ford 123 1975 23 130 440 72 21 1 15 59 6 .280
22 Ron Washington 122 1982 30 119 451 48 17 6 5 39 3 .271
23 Cesar Tovar 121 1966 25 134 465 57 19 5 2 41 16 .260
24 Ben Revere 120 2011 23 117 450 56 9 5 0 30 34 .267
25 Gary Gaetti (RoY-5th) 117 1982 23 145 508 59 25 4 25 84 0 .230
26 Jerry Terrell 116 1973 26 124 438 43 15 2 1 32 13 .265
27 Bobby Mitchell 113 1982 27 124 454 48 11 6 2 28 8 .249
28 John Castino (RoY-1st) 112 1979 24 148 393 49 13 8 5 52 5 .285
29 A.J. Pierzynski 110 2001 24 114 381 51 33 2 7 55 1 .289
30 Willie Norwood 109 1978 27 125 428 56 22 3 8 46 25 .255
31 Mark Salas (RoY-8th) 108 1985 24 120 360 51 20 5 9 41 0 .300
32 Corey Koskie 106 1999 26 117 342 42 21 0 11 58 4 .310
33 Lyman Bostock 104 1975 24 98 369 52 21 5 0 29 2 .282
34 Dustan Mohr (RoY-8th) 103 2002 26 120 383 55 23 2 12 45 6 .269
35 Steve Lombardozzi 103 1986 26 156 453 53 20 5 8 33 3 .227
36 Rick Sofield 103 1980 23 131 417 52 18 4 9 49 4 .247
37 Denard Span (RoY-6th) 102 2008 24 93 347 70 16 7 6 47 18 .294
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/10/2014.

Who will be the next Twins rookie to join this list?

You’re outta here!

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
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