MLB Network to air “The Lyman Bostock Story”

This is a Press Release from MLB Network yesterday. Lyman Bostock was a great baseball player and a wonderful human being. I know I am looking forward to watching it. Here is a link to a post I did on Bostock in 2010.

MLB Network Press Release

9/18/2013 12:01 P.M. ET

MLB Network to air “The Lyman Bostock Story” this Sunday, September 22

Bob Costas narrates special 35 years after the Major League outfielder’s murder; Bostock’s widow, Yuovene Whistler, speaks on-camera for the first time since her husband’s death

MLB Network will televise the The Lyman Bostock Story this Sunday, September 22 at 10:00 p.m. ET, an original program looking back on the star Minnesota Twins and California Angels outfielder who was murdered four seasons into his career at the age of 27. Narrated by MLB Network’s Bob Costas, the special marks the 35th anniversary of Bostock’s death on Monday, September 23 and features the first on-camera interview with Bostock’s widow, Yuovene Whistler, since the night she lost her husband.

Through interviews with Bostock’s former agent Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim, Jim Fregosi, Bostock’s manager with the Angels, and several of Bostock’s former teammates including Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, 1979 American League MVP Don Baylor, Kenny Landreaux, Roy Smalley and Ron Jackson, The Lyman Bostock Story recalls Bostock’s rise to prominence as a hitter with the second-best batting average in the American League in 1977, and his free agency after the 1977 season, which brought him to the Angels. His contract made Bostock one of the highest paid players in baseball at the time of his death.

In what former prosecutor Jack Crawford describes as “the classic instance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Bostock was shot and killed in Gary, Indiana during a September 1978 road trip with the Angels to play the Chicago White Sox. The gunman, Leonard Smith, plead insanity and was spared jail time by being confined to a mental facility, only to be declared sane and released six months later. The controversial verdict ultimately led to a change in Indiana state law. At a time before the Internet, social media and 24-hour news networks, many people first learned of Bostock’s death when broadcaster Dick Enberg, who was the play-by-play voice of the Angels at the time, broke the news on the air before the Angels played the White Sox the next afternoon.

Quotes from The Lyman Bostock Story are included below, and additional quotes and advance copies of the program are available via MLB Network PR.

Yuovene Whistler on seeing Bostock after he died: The worst ever was just seeing his lifeless body lying there and thinking, “What a waste.” It didn’t get any worse than that.

Whistler on her emotions following Bostock’s death: I couldn’t even say that he was murdered. The words would not come off. He just “died.” Just admitting that he was murdered was very traumatic. Once I was able to work through my own personal pain and get clarity on that, it really was about Lyman and just his legacy.

Jim Fregosi on being in the Angels’ clubhouse the day after Bostock passed away: I’ve been in this game 54 years and it’s probably the most difficult day I’ve ever spent. To be surrounded by that type of atmosphere, it is something I would never want to go through again.

Don Baylor on the day after Bostock’s death: There was a photographer inside the locker room wanting to take pictures of [Bostock’s] locker, and somehow I picked him up and threw him out of the locker room.

Dick Enberg on calling the Angels at White Sox game following Bostock’s death: It was horrific. I mean, who expects to go on the air having to announce that one of your ballplayers, someone that everyone cares about is dead suddenly? I mean, you came on the air and you started with, “We begin today’s broadcast telecast with terrible news,” and then just bluntly saying, “Lyman Bostock was murdered last night in Gary, Indiana.” We are not trained to handle a tragedy like that, are we? You think in all of baseball history how many times has that happened? Where a ballplayer plays one day and the next day he’s expected to appear, but he’s gone.

Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim on Bostock’s passing: Lyman was instrumental in having the rules and the laws change in Indiana, so I guess in some ways Lyman still lives. But to me, that’s too great a cost.

About MLB Network: MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, featuring the multiple Emmy Award-winning MLB Tonight, live regular season and Postseason game telecasts, original programming, highlights, and insights and analysis from the best in the business, including Bob Costas, Peter Gammons, Jim Kaat, Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds. MLB Network debuted on January 1, 2009 in a record-setting 50 million homes and is currently distributed in 71 million homes throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to www.MLBNetwork.com.

Taking a look at hitting streaks

Former Twins outfielder Micheal Cuddyer set a Colorado Rockies team record recently when he had a 27 game hitting streak from May 28 through June 30 for the Colorado Rockies. During his streak Cuddyer hit .372 with 6 home runs, 19 RBI and 17 runs scored. The longest Twins hitting streaks this season belong to Joe Mauer with 15 gamer and a 10 gamer, Trevor Plouffe with a 12 gamer and Justin Morneau with an 11 game hitting streak. The Twins have had some pretty good hitting streaks over the years but the longest streak of 31 games goes way back to 1980 and belongs to Ken Landreaux.

Twins hitting streaks over 15 games

Rk		Strk Start	End	Games	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OPS
1	Ken Landreaux	1980-04-23	1980-05-30	31	125	13	49	5	1	2	19	.392	.937

2	Brian Harper	1990-07-06	1990-08-04	25	99	14	38	12	0	2	16	.384	.981

3	Lenny Green	1961-05-01	1961-05-28	24	94	14	34	9	2	0	11	.362	.955

4	Torii Hunter	2007-04-11	2007-05-09	23	94	17	35	12	0	5	19	.372	1.054
5	Cristian Guzman	2002-08-01	2002-08-25	23	97	16	35	5	0	2	12	.361	.841
6	Marty Cordova	1996-06-05	1996-06-29	23	91	16	35	10	0	2	18	.385	1.007
7	Kirby Puckett	1993-09-26	1994-04-20	23	97	16	34	8	0	2	21	.351	.895
8	Kent Hrbek	1982-04-17	1982-05-13	23	91	14	28	6	2	5	17	.308	.949

9	Shane Mack	1992-07-26	1992-08-18	22	88	13	40	4	1	1	9	.455	1.057

10	Ben Revere	2012-07-16	2012-08-07	21	90	17	34	5	1	0	13	.378	.862

11	Chuck Knoblauch	1991-09-02	1991-09-25	20	80	10	32	4	1	0	7	.400	.923
12	Ted Uhlaender	1969-08-16	1969-09-07	20	88	16	27	5	0	1	16	.307	.748

13	Nick Punto	2006-07-04	2006-07-28	19	75	12	30	6	2	0	12	.400	.979
14	David Ortiz	2002-07-17	2002-08-06	19	74	17	31	5	0	7	18	.419	1.258
15	Brian Harper	1993-07-20	1993-08-12	19	74	9	29	7	0	1	11	.392	.971
16	Roy Smalley	1979-04-29	1979-05-20	19	81	19	36	3	1	6	16	.444	1.234
17	Bob Allison	1964-06-12	1964-06-28	19	64	14	31	8	0	7	11	.484	1.530

18	Bobby Kielty	2002-09-18	2003-04-21	18	62	10	22	6	1	5	13	.355	1.132
19	Chuck Knoblauch	1997-08-07	1997-08-26	18	79	8	28	2	1	2	6	.354	.867
20	Gary Gaetti	1983-05-06	1983-05-27	18	76	9	25	5	0	3	8	.329	.887
21	Rod Carew	1974-09-07	1974-09-27	18	70	12	26	4	1	1	5	.371	.988
22	Rod Carew	1973-05-30	1973-06-19	18	77	17	31	3	4	3	8	.403	1.122

23	Trevor Plouffe	2012-06-30	2012-07-19	17	67	13	22	4	0	4	11	.328	.951
24	Jacque Jones	2001-09-30	2002-04-12	17	63	16	26	2	0	6	13	.413	1.230
25	Cristian Guzman	2001-06-08	2001-06-26	17	74	16	29	3	1	3	12	.392	1.004
Rk		Strk Start	End	Games	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OPS
26	Paul Molitor	1998-08-31	1998-09-19	17	75	12	25	3	2	3	12	.333	.909
27	Chuck Knoblauch	1993-07-29	1993-08-18	17	69	12	27	5	1	1	4	.391	.978
28	Kent Hrbek	1991-08-11	1991-08-30	17	62	13	26	6	0	4	16	.419	1.203
29	Kent Hrbek	1990-08-21	1990-09-07	17	68	10	23	2	0	3	15	.338	.900
30	Kirby Puckett	1988-09-15	1988-10-02	17	72	17	33	8	0	2	19	.458	1.126
31	Kent Hrbek	1982-05-25	1982-06-13	17	69	12	28	1	2	5	19	.406	1.120
32	Tony Oliva	1970-05-13	1970-06-02	17	73	9	23	5	0	1	13	.315	.775
33	Tony Oliva	1964-07-16	1964-08-01	17	77	11	28	5	1	2	4	.364	.935

34	Orlando Cabrera	2009-09-19	2009-10-06	16	73	21	30	5	1	2	16	.411	1.010
35	Joe Mauer	2008-08-04	2008-08-24	16	63	13	22	0	1	1	10	.349	.870
36	Justin Morneau	2006-06-22	2006-07-09	16	59	13	26	5	0	6	16	.441	1.308
37	A.J. Pierzynski	2002-05-26	2002-06-14	16	60	12	24	7	2	2	7	.400	1.096
38	Matt Lawton	2000-04-13	2000-04-30	16	59	11	26	6	0	1	11	.441	1.121
39	Chili Davis	1991-07-21	1991-08-07	16	61	13	25	7	0	6	17	.410	1.313
40	Kirby Puckett	1991-07-06	1991-07-26	16	64	10	28	3	1	1	13	.438	1.033
41	Kirby Puckett	1986-04-16	1986-05-03	16	74	23	32	5	1	10	20	.432	1.394
42	Gary Gaetti	1984-08-05	1984-08-19	16	65	9	22	4	0	1	9	.338	.814
43	Mickey Hatcher	1983-07-20	1983-08-27	16	62	11	25	5	0	1	12	.403	.948
44	Dave McKay	1975-08-29	1975-09-17	16	60	4	20	3	0	0	10	.333	.743
45	Danny Thompson	1973-04-28	1973-05-17	16	65	7	22	4	1	1	11	.338	.810

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/27/2013.

Some pretty exceptional hitters on this list. Who appears on this list the most often? Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett each had four streaks of 16 games or longer. The biggest surprise on this list has to be Nick Punto with his 19 gamer back in 2006, the eighth longest hitting streak in Twins history.

Just for fun let’s take a look at what opposing hitters have the longest hitting streak when they face Twins pitchers over the years.

Twins opponent hitting streaks of 20 games or more

Rk		Strk Start	End	Games	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BA	OPS	Tm
1	Ron LeFlore	1977-08-03	1981-09-11	26	108	29	43	2	13	.398	1.010	DET-CHW

2	David DeJesus	2008-09-11	2011-04-10	25	105	16	40	2	15	.381	1.027	KCR-OAK

3	Magglio Ordonez	2002-08-19	2003-09-10	23	90	19	32	10	20	.356	1.112	CHW

4	Jim Thome	1994-07-08	1996-07-18	22	90	20	36	7	16	.400	1.210	CLE

5	Ichiro Suzuki	2006-05-01	2008-08-06	20	89	17	40	2	3	.449	1.046	SEA
6	Paul Konerko	2006-07-26	2007-07-08	20	75	15	29	6	16	.387	1.180	CHW
7	Carlos Lee	2003-07-02	2004-07-27	20	82	14	31	4	17	.378	1.010	CHW
8	Rey Sanchez	1999-04-21	2001-04-07	20	74	13	33	0	12	.446	1.090	KCR
9	Rocky Colavito	1963-07-03	1964-07-22	20	78	17	34	9	25	.436	1.403	DET-KCA

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/27/2013.

Those of you that remember Ron LeFlore should take a few minutes to read this story published earlier this year. Even if you never heard of LeFlore, check it out.

They went down swinging

Hitters with 500 are more career strikeouts as Twins

Rk	Player	SO	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	BA	OPS
1	Harmon Killebrew	1314	1961	1974	25-38	1939	8018	6593	1047	1713	475	.260	.901
2	Kirby Puckett	965	1984	1995	24-35	1783	7831	7244	1071	2304	207	.318	.837
3	Gary Gaetti	877	1981	1990	22-31	1361	5459	4989	646	1276	201	.256	.744
4	Torii Hunter	870	1997	2007	21-31	1234	4894	4492	672	1218	192	.271	.793
5	Bob Allison	842	1961	1970	26-35	1236	4643	3926	648	999	211	.254	.840
6	Justin Morneau	806	2003	2013	22-32	1243	5199	4607	654	1285	211	.279	.833
7	Michael Cuddyer	805	2001	2011	22-32	1139	4555	4072	606	1106	141	.272	.794
8	Kent Hrbek	798	1981	1994	21-34	1747	7137	6192	903	1749	293	.282	.848
9	Jacque Jones	737	1999	2005	24-30	976	3786	3492	492	974	132	.279	.782
10	Rod Carew	716	1967	1978	21-32	1635	6980	6235	950	2085	74	.334	.841
11	Greg Gagne	676	1983	1992	21-30	1140	3697	3386	452	844	69	.249	.677
12	Corey Koskie	647	1998	2004	25-31	816	3257	2788	438	781	101	.280	.836
13	Tony Oliva	645	1962	1976	23-37	1676	6880	6301	870	1917	220	.304	.830
14	Roy Smalley	606	1976	1987	23-34	1148	4676	3997	551	1046	110	.262	.750
15	Zoilo Versalles	606	1961	1967	21-27	1065	4500	4148	564	1046	86	.252	.686
16	Tom Brunansky	589	1982	1988	21-27	916	3760	3313	450	829	163	.250	.782
17	Tim Laudner	553	1981	1989	23-31	734	2268	2038	221	458	77	.225	.682
18	Joe Mauer	552	2004	2013	21-30	1157	4972	4300	677	1389	102	.323	.873
19	Jason Kubel	532	2004	2011	22-29	753	2846	2559	334	694	104	.271	.794
20	Randy Bush	505	1982	1993	23-34	1219	3481	3045	388	763	96	.251	.747

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 7/25/2013.

Twins Minor League Players of the Week & Month

Rochester (AAA-International League) left-handed pitcher Andrew Albers is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. In two starts for the Red Wings, Albers went 2-0, pitching 15.0 innings allowing just four earned runs (2.40 ERA), with 11 strikeouts and just two walks. The 6’1″ and 195 lbs. 27 year-old Albers was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent in 2011 but was originally selected by the Padres in the 10th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft from the University of Kentucky. In 12 starts with Rochester this season Albers has thrown 67.2 innings allowing 71 hits, striking out 60 and posting a 3.06 ERA. Previous winners this season include (in order): pitcher Tyler Duffey, infielder Miguel Sano, outfielder Adam Walker, infielder Jorge Polanco, pitcher Kyle Gibson, infielder Chris Colabello, pitcher Logan Darnell and pitcher Taylor Rogers.

MINOR LEAGUERS OF THE MONTH: Rochester (AAA – International League) infielder Chris Colabello is the Twins Minor League Player of the Month for May. In 20 games for the Red Wings, Colabello batted .425 (34-for-80) with 12 doubles, six home runs, 20 RBI while scoring 15 times. Colabello, who was signed as a minor league free agent in 2012, was added to the Twins roster today as the 26th man in time for today’s DH. Fridays Twins /Nats game was rained out and is being made up today. Major league rule allow teams to add an extra player for a doubleheader. The rule’s intent is to allow teams to add pitching, but the Twins are already carrying 13 pitchers and have an off day on Monday, so Gardenhire chose to add an extra pinch hitter

Rochester (AAA – International League) left-handed pitcher Aaron Thompson is the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May. Over a combined 11 appearances between Rochester and Double-A New Britain, he posted a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings and allowed 2 earned runs while holding opponents to a .143 batting average with a a 0.70 WHIP. Thompson, 22, was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent in 2011 after being originally drafted in the first round by the Miami Marlins in 2005. Albers is in his 5th year of minor league ball after missing all of 2009 due TJ surgery. During his minor league career Albers has been primarily a starter going 21-7 with a 2.64 ERA and has averaged 7.7 KO/9.

MINOR LEAGUE GAME TELEVISED: FOX Sports North announced plans to televise the Cedar Rapids Kernels vs. the Kane County Cougars minor league game live at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, June 10. Coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. with a live version of “Spotlight: Next Generation,” an in-depth look at the Minnesota Twins farm system with an emphasis on the Class A team in Cedar Rapids. The telecast is designed to educate fans about up-and-coming Twins players, FOX Sports North will profile some of baseball’s top prospects, including Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. Anthony Lapanta and Roy Smalley will anchor the telecast from the FOX Sports North studio with Marney Gellner reporting from Cedar Rapids. Key members of the Twins front office, including Paul Molitor and Dave St. Peter will also join the telecast to help showcase the Cedar Rapids Affiliation.

This Day in Twins History – May 31

5/31/1976 – With trade rumors running rampant due to how poorly salary negotiations had progressed, Bert Blyleven walked off the mound after pitching a complete game at the Met in front of 8,379 fans trailing the California Angels 3-1. A number of fans were on Blylevens’ case shouting and singing “bye-bye Bertie” and Blyleven angrily looked up at the hecklers and flashed them the “one finger salute”. That was the final straw for Twins management and Bert along with shortstop Danny Thompson was traded to Texas the next day for pitchers Bill Singer and Jim Gideon, shortstop Roy Smalley, 3B Mike Cubbage and $250,000.

Here is what Blyleven had to say about that trade in a piece he penned for NBC Sports in July 2010 – “In 1976, I could see my first trade coming. I was going to become a free agent at the end of the year, and Twins owner Calvin Griffith didn’t have any interest in negotiating a new contract with me. In fact, at the start of the year, he sent me a contract for the exact same amount I had made the previous year. I rejected it, hoping to get a raise, but his next offer was for 20 percent less, which was allowed as I was under team control. Obviously that was a sign that the Twins weren’t going to keep me around. When the trade to the Rangers came down on June 1 that year, I didn’t handle it very well. When I got my last out in a 3-2, complete-game defeat the night before, I gave the fans a one-finger salute as I left the field. It was a mistake on my part, but I was young and upset at how ownership had treated me. But despite my initial unhappiness, things worked out in the end, and Texas gave me a three-year contract for three times as much as I was making in Minnesota. When the Rangers needed hitting a year and a half later, they dealt me to Pittsburgh as part of a four-team deal. The Pirates added three more years to my contract, which was nice, and also gave me a chance to win my first championship, as we took the World Series in 1979.”

5/31/1980 – Outfielder Ken Landreaux goes 0-for-4 in Minnesota’s 11-1 loss to the Orioles Scott McGregor, ending his hitting streak at 31 consecutive games. It is the longest streak in the AL since Dom DiMaggio’s 34-game streak in 1949. Ken’s streak started on April 23rd. Landreaux had 49 hits in 125 at bats during the streak for a .392 batting average. This streak still remains the team record.

Twins switch-hitters

In baseball, a switch-hitter is a batter that bats either from the right side or the left side depending on if the pitcher is right or left-handed. Most curveballs break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher making such pitches often harder to hit than those from the other side. History tells us that most right-handed batters hit better against lefty pitchers and left-handed batters hit better against right-handers. This so-called platoon benefit is why managers use pinch hitters and LOOGY’s and why some players want to become switch-hitters.

Switch-hitting at its best

Switch-hitters have been around for ever it seems and yet according to sources that I have researched, only about 6% of baseball batters have been switch-hitters. You have to wonder if switch-hitting is such an advantage, why haven’t more of baseball best hitters been switch-hitters? The best career batting average for a switch-hitter is .316 by Frankie Frisch and he currently ranks 71st all-time. Some of the best switch-hitters in our era have been Chipper Jones at .306 and Pete Rose at .303. Detroit Tigers DH Victor Martinez has a career average of .302 making him the highest currently active switch-hitter. Switch-hitters have been around for a long time and there have been some pretty good ones over the years, in addition to the players I just mentioned, you have to add players like Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, Roberto Alomar, Bernie Williams, George Davis, Lance Berkman, Tim Raines and Chili Davis to the list of switch-hitting greats.

Switch-hitting and the rules

A question often asked is can a batter switch for right to left or left to right during an at bat. The only rule that I can find that seemingly applies is 6.06(b) which states that “A batter is out for illegal action when he steps from one batter’s box to the other while the pitcher is in position ready to pitch.” Based on that, it appears you can switch from one batters box to the other as often as you want as long as you do it before the pitcher gets in his pitching position.

Twins switch-hitting history

The Twins currently have four switch-hitters on their 25 man playing roster, C Ryan Doumit, SS Pedro Florimon, OF Aaron Hicks, and utility man Eduardo Escobar.

In the Twins 53 years of existence the team has had 62 players that were switch-hitters but not all of them actually batted and we will touch more on that later. The Twins very first switch-hitter was actually a pitcher, Pedro Ramos. Ramos pitched and batted (1 for 4 with 2 RBI) in the Twins very first game when Ramos and the Twins shut out the New York Yankees 6-0 on April 11, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. The first Twins switch-hitting position player to appear in a game was SS Marty Martinez when he had an at bat against the Yankees at Met Stadium on May 30, 1962 in game 2 of a doubleheader. Martinez actually appeared in 3 earlier games as a Twins but was used strictly as a pinch-runner by manager Sam Mele. It wasn’t until 1976 however; that the Twins actually had a regular position player switch-hitting and that year they had two, rookie catcher Butch Wynegar and SS Roy Smalley. The Twins are playing their 53rd season and there has only been one year, 1973 that they have not had a switch-hitter step into the batters box wearing a Twins uniform. On the other hand, they had nine switch-hitters (Cristian Guzman was the only starter) at one time or another on their 1999 team that finished 63-97.

Twins switch-hitting pitchers

Looking at the Twins 62 switch-hitters, eleven of them were pitchers and claimed to be switch-hitters but only Pedro Ramos, Jim Perry, Dan Serafini, JC Romero, and Joe Mays actually set foot in the batters box. The other six, Stan Perzanowski, Darrell Jackson, Pete Filson, Jason Ryan, Pat Neshek, and Eric Hacker were switch-hitters only on the back of their baseball cards because they never batted in a Twins game. Jim Perry actually hit five home runs as a Twin.

Home runs from each side of the plate club

The Twins switch-hitter with the most home runs is Roy Smalley and he hit 163 career home runs and 110 of them were when he was a Minnesota Twin. The “home runs from each side of the plate” club is relatively exclusive but three of the members were Twins. Roy Smalley accomplished that rare feat twice, once against the Boston Red Sox at the Metrodome on May 30, 1986 and once earlier in his career as a New York Yankee in 1982. Chili Davis became the second Twin to join the club when he did it against the Royals on October 2, 1992. Ryan Doumit became the third Twin to do so when too joined the exclusive fraternity against the Royals on July 22, 2012. Chili Davis hit a home run from each side of the plate 11 times in his illustrious 19 year career. Just for comparisons sake, Mickey Mantle did it on 10 occasions.

One oddity that seems to stand out to me is how few of the switch-hitters employed by the Twins over the years actually threw left-handed. If you exclude the 11 switch-hitting pitchers from the list you are left with 51 switch-hitters and only one of the 51 threw left-handed, the other fifty were right-handed. Kind of strange. The lone left-handed position player was John Moses. But keep in mind that John Moses an outfielder by trade, actually pitched in 3 games for the Twins and it gets even stranger.

Twins best switch-hitters

So let’s take a look at the Twins top switch-hitters, there is no good way to rank them so I will list here all the Twins switch-hitters that have 1,000 or more plate appearances in a Twins uniform. The chart also shows positions played, games played, home runs and batting average. All the numbers on this chart are their Twins career numbers. Many of these players played for other teams but those numbers are not included here, I am only interested in their numbers as Minnesota Twins for this story.

	Name	Positions	PA	Games	HR	AVG
1	Roy Smalley	6,5,3	4676	1148	110	.262
2	Cristian Guzman	6	3538	841	39	.266
3	Butch Wynegar	2,5	3188	794	37	.254
4	Nick Punto	5,4,6,8,3	2707	747	12	.248
5	Gene Larkin	3.9.5.4	2670	758	32	.266
6	Denny Hocking	4,6,8,5,3	2455	876	25	.252
7	Al Newman	6,4,5,8	1876	618	0	.231
8	Alexi Casilla	4,6,5,8	1764	515	11	.250
9	Chili Davis	DH,9,3	1163	291	41	.282
10	Luis Castillo	4	1036	227	3	.299
11	Matt Walbeck	2	1008	275	8	.230

Interactive Whiteboards by PolyVision

Some interesting numbers and players on this chart, about half the players were starters and half were utility players. No surprise that Smalley is the leader in home runs or that Chili Davis is second on that list but finding that Cristian Guzman is number 3 in the Twins switch-hitter home run list really surprised me.

A bonus question for you, this Twins switch-hitter had a career .425 batting average albeit in just 43 plate appearances, do you know who he is?

Fun facts about Twins home openers

The Minnesota Twins are playing their final spring training game today and I am sure they are hoping for a quick non extra inning game so they can grab a quick shower and board the plane for their flight to Minneapolis where they look to get settled in before they open the season against the Detroit Tigers on Monday, April 1. It seems that the baseball gods are having a good laugh and are playing an April Fool’s joke on both the Twins and the Tigers by making them play ball on day that the weather prognosticators say will be a windy 31 degrees at game time with wind chills in the 20’s.

When the Twins first moved here from Washington they played outdoors in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 through the 1981 season. In-door baseball was just at the starting gate about this time as Roy Hofheinz was in the process of building the “Eighth Wonder of the World” in Houston in what would open in April 1965 as the Harris County Domed Stadium but was later called simply as the Astrodome.

Let’s take a look at some of the interesting facts about the Twins home openers.

The Twins called the “Met” home for 21 years and their record in their Met Stadium home openers was 21-9 including winning 10 out of 11 between 1964-1974.
The first Twins pitcher to get credited with a win in a Twins home opener was Bill Pleis in 1964.
Of those 21 Met home openers, only 5 of the games were actual season openers as the Twins started their season on the road most of the time. The Twins were 2-3 in season openers at the Met.
During the Met Stadium years the Twins opened the season 6 times against the A’s, five times as Oakland and once as Kansas City and they won four and lost two.
Between 1961 and 1981 they opened the home season as early as April 6 (1971) and as late as April 23 (1972).
The average temperature at the start of a Twins home opener at Met Stadium was 56.48 degrees.
The coldest start to a Twins home opener occurred on April 14, 1962 when it was 33 degrees at game time and the Twins ended up losing to the Los Angeles Angels 12-5 in front of 8,363 hardcore Twins fans. The coldest start ever to a game at Met Stadium took place against the New York Yankees in May 2, 1967 when the temperature stood at 32 degrees and the Twins trounced the Yankees 13-4.
The warmest start to a Twins home opener took place on April 22, 1980 when the California Angels and Rod Carew were in town to take a 8-1 pasting at the hands of the Twins who were as hot as the 89 degree temperature that day. Geoff Zahn pitched a complete game and Hosken Powell, Ron Jackson and Roy Smalley all hit home runs.

The Twins moved indoors in 1982 and played in the HHH Metrodome through the 2009 season so the out-door temperatures mattered little as it was always between about 66-72 degrees inside.

Of the 28 seasons that the Twins played dome ball, they opened the season at home 15 times and their record in these season opening games was 7-8.
The Twins were 9-4 when their first game of the season at the Dome was not a season opener.
Many of the Twins openers at the Dome were night games, something not done at any out-door venue in Minnesota.
Between 1982 and 2009 they opened the home season as early as March 31 (2008) and as late as April 27 (1995).

Since the Twins have called Target Field home in 2010 they have never played a season opening game there until this year. The earliest game they have played there was April 8, 2011. The Twins are 2-1 in Target Field home openers. The average temperature at a Target field home opener so far has been 57.67 degrees but even if the temperature is only 31 degrees on Monday, the average temperature for a Target field home opener will still be about 51 degrees.

Here is a chart showing the Twins outdoor home openers.

YEAR	Date	Temperature	Result	Season opener
1961	4/21	63	lost 5-3	no
1962	*4/14	33	lost 12-5	no
1963	4/9	49	lost 5-4	yes
1964	*4/22	56	won 7-6	no
1965	4/12	44	won 5-4	yes
1966	4/12	52	won 2-1	yes
1967	4/14	51	won 5-3	no
1968	4/17	62	won 13-1	no
1969	4/18	59	won 6-0	no
1970	4/11	49	won 8-2	no
1971	4/6	53	lost 7-2	yes
1972	*4/23	44	won 8-4	no
1973	4/13	51	won 8-4	no
1974	4/9	53	won 3-1	no
1975	4/15	48	lost 7-3	no
1976	4/13	75	lost 4-1	no
1977	4/15	77	lost 3-2	no
1978	4/14	50	won 14-5	no
1979	4/17	63	lost 6-0	no
1980	4/22	89	won 8-1	no
1981	4/9	65	lost 5-1	yes

2010	4/12	65	won 5-2	no
2011	4/8	63	won 2-1	no
2012	4/9	45	lost 5-1	no
2013	4/1	35	lost 4-2	yes

* = The Twins had home openers postponed in 1962 (April 13), 1964 (April 21), and 1972 (April 22).

They came to play

The major league baseball season is a real grind, you are scheduled to play 162 games in about 185 days give or take and that includes travel time. I am not even going to mention spring training and the post season. Many of us go to work Monday through Friday but we usually have week-ends off and a few holiday scattered in to re-charge our batteries. Once the baseball season starts the player’s life is totally baseball, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that playing baseball is tougher than a normal job that we all do, I am just saying that it is not as easy as many of us would like to think. I know, I know, we would all still gladly trade places with any player out there.

Baseball is a marathon, you need to keep chugging along, working through illness and injury while you strive for peak performance and you do this in front of the general public and all the writers and reporters that are out there every day looking for something they can put on TV or in the paper. Ability is critical but if your team doesn’t also have durability you are probably headed for a long season.

The Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken Jr. holds the major league record for consecutive games played with 2,632 in a streak that started on May 30, 1982 and ended on September 19, 1998. Think about that, every game from 1982 to 1998, an amazing streak and a record I am sure will never be broken.

So that takes me to why I am writing this post, what is the Minnesota Twins record for most consecutive games played and who holds the record? The Twins have played in Minnesota for 52 years and yet the Twins record for consecutive games played stands at 319, a far cry from 2,632. I think many of you will be surprised to learn that the Minnesota Twins consecutive games played record holder is still playing for the Twins today and is none other than Justin Morneau, yes the same guy that has not played more than 135 games since 2008. Let’s take a look at the Twins six longest consecutive games played streaks and see who owns them. Some of the “gamers” on this list will probably surprise you.

319 games – Justin Morneau (1B/DH) – Streak started on June 29, 2007 and ended on June 20, 2009.
249 games – Harmon Killebrew (3B/1B, and OF) – Streak started on September 21, 1965 and ended on July 4, 1967.
245 games – Harmon Killebrew (3B/1B) – Streak started on September 23, 1968 and ended on July 7, 1970.
230 games – Gary Gaetti (3B/OF) – Streak started on September 29, 1983 and ended on June 22, 1985.
210 games – Roy Smalley (Shortstop) – Streak started on April 6, 1979 and ended on June 2, 1980. Smalley’s streak would actually have stood at 254 and in second place on this list had he not chose to sit out the last day of the 1978 season.
203 games – Cesar Tovar (played all over) – Streak started on September 4, 1966 and ended on May 4, 1968.

In the Twins 52 year history only 5 players have appeared in every game that the Twins played that particular season so it is a fairly rare occurrence with only one player accomplishing this feat twice. The most recent occurrence was Justin Morneau appearing in all 163 games in 2008 and that was 24 years after Gary Gaetti appeared in all 162 games in 1984. In 1979 Roy Smalley played in all 162 games, Harmon Killebrew did it twice playing in 162 games in 1966 and again in 1969 and Cesar Tovar played in all 164 games in 1967.

The list of players that have led the Twins in games played over the years is an interesting list indeed. Who has led the Twins in games played the most frequently? That would be Kirby Puckett who did it eight times including five years in a row.

2012 – Joe Mauer played in 147 of a possible 162 games.

2011 – Danny Valencia played in 154 of a possible 162 games.

2010 – Michael Cuddyer played in 157 of a possible 162 games.

2009 – Michael Cuddyer played in 153 of a possible 163 games.

2008 – Justin Morneau played in all 163 games.

2007 – Torii Hunter played in 160 of a possible 162 games.

2006 – Justin Morneau played in 157 of a possible 162 games.

2005 – Lew Ford played in 147 of a possible 162 games.

2004 – Lew Ford played in 154 of a possible 162 games.

2003 – Torii Hunter played in 154 of a possible 162 games.

2002 – Jacque Jones played in 149 of a possible 161 games.

2001 – Luis Rivas & Corey Koskie played in 153 of a possible 162 games.

2000 – Cristian Guzman & Matt Lawton played in 156 o fa possible 162 games.

1999 – Todd Walker played in 143 of a possible 161 games.

1998 – Matt Lawton played in 152 of a possible 162 games.

1997 – Chuck Knoblauch played in 156 of a possible 162 games.

1996 – Paul Molitor played in 161 of a possible 162 games.

1995 – Karby Puckett & Marty Cordova played in 137 of a possible 144 games.

1994 – Chuck Knoblauch played in 109 of a possible 113 games.

1993 – Kirby Puckett played in 156 of a possible 162 games.

1992 – Kirby Puckett played in 160 of a possible 162 games.

1991 – Chili Davis played in 153 of a possible 162 games.

1990 – Gary Gaetti played in 154 of a possible 162 games.

1989 – Kirby Puckett played in 159 of a possible 162 games.

1988 – Kirby Puckett played in 158 of a possible 162 games.

1987 – Kirby Puckett played in 157 of a possible 162 games.

1986 – Kirby Puckett played in 161 of a possible 162 games.

1985 – Kirby Puckett played in 161 of a possible 162 games.

1984 – Gary Gaetti played in all 162 games.

1983 – Gary Gaettti and Gary Ward played in 157 of a possible 1962 games.

1982 – Gary Ward played in 152 of a possible 162 games.

1981 – John Castino played in 101 of a possible 110 games.

1980 – John Castino played in 150 of a possible 161 games.

1979 – Roy Smalley played in all 162 games.

1978 – Roy Smalley played in 158 of a possible 162 games.

1977 – Rod Carew played in 155 of a possible 161 games.

1976 – Rod Carew played in 156 of a possible 162 games.

1975 – Rod Carew played in 143 of a possible 159 games.

1974 – Rod Carew played in 153 of a possible 163 games.

1973 – Rod Carew played in 149 of a possible 162 games.

1972 – Bobby Darwin played in 145 of a possible 154 games.

1971 – Cesar Tovar played in 157 of a possible 160 games.

1970 – Cesar Tovar played in 161 of a possible 162 games.

1969 – Harmon Killebrew played in all 162 games.

1968 – Cesar Tovar played in 156 of a possible 162 games.

1967 – Cesar Tovar played in all 164 games.

1966 – Harmon Killebrew played in all 162 games.

1965 – Zoilo Versalles played in 160 of a possible 162 games.

1964 – Tony Oliva played in 161 of a possible 163 games.

1963 – Zoilo Versalles played in 159 of a possible 161 games.

1962 – Zoilo Versalles played in 160 of a possible 163 games.

1961 – Bob Allison played in 156 of a possible 162 games.

When I looked back over the entire franchise history going back to 1901 for the Washington Senators I found that there was a true “iron man” who currently stands number 9 on the MLB all-time consecutive games played list with 829 games. Senators 3B Eddie Yost started his streak on August 30, 1949 and he played in every game through May 11, 1955. That is a lot of games.

The current active MLB consecutive game streak is in the firm grasp of Detroit Tiger 1B Prince Fielder who stands at 343 and counting. Actually Fielder has missed just 1 game (September 13, 2010) since September 3, 2008 and if he had not skipped that game due to a stomach virus his streak would be at 669 today. The man has been in the big leagues since 2005 and full time since 2006. Since 2006 he has played in 157, 158, 159, 162, 161, 162, and 162 games. An amazing streak for a man his size.

This Day in Twins History – September 30, 1981

Metropolitan Stadium 1979 — Metropolitan Stadium in 1979. Note the Met Sports Center, home of the Minnesota North Stars in the background.

The Minnesota Twins played their final home game at Metropolitan Stadium in front of 15,900 fans on a drizzly and cloudy 52 degree day and lose to the Kansas City Royals 5-2. DH Roy Smalley makes the final Twins out at Met Stadium. John Verhoeven was the last Twins pitcher to toe the rubber at Met Stadium. Box score.

Home plate went missing just before the Minnesota Twins last game at Metropolitan Stadium in 1981. Ballpark access was apparently a little easier back in the day and a couple of presumably young pranksters dug it up and it was never heard from again. The Twins managed to locate a new one, though, and it was used in the final game against the Kansas City Royals. After the game, the historic plate and the three bases were given away in a raffle to those in attendance. The winner of the plate was a college kid named Bill Schnobrich, who worked part-time as a peanut vendor at the Stadium.

Schnobrich has moved to southern California but he was back in the Twin Cities recently and picked the plate up from a friend who’d been holding onto it. No doubt familiar with the prices some stadium memorabilia has been fetching in recent years, the Bible teacher is now thinking about selling it.

The first major league home run hit in Metropolitan Stadium came off the bat of Dale Long of the Washington Senators on April 21, 1961. The last major league home run hit in Metropolitan Stadium came off the bat of Clint Hurdle of the Kansas City Royals on September 30, 1981. Harmon Killebrew hit two-hundred forty-six home runs in The Met (the most by any player in history) & the total number of major league home runs hit in Metropolitan Stadium was 2,866.

Don’t forget to check out the Today in Twins History page to see other exciting Twins events that occurred on this day in Minnesota Twins history.

Twins Iron Men

The Twins have had their share of injuries the last few years and it got me to wondering how often a Twins position player has participated in every game during a particular season and when was the last time this has happened. We all know that Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive games over a span of 17 years. Think about that, every game over a span of 17 years! An amazing streak no matter how you look at it.

Since the Washington Senators packed their bags after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961 they have had only 5 position players in 51 seasons that have played in every regular season game in a particular season and one of those players accomplished that feat twice and the name might surprise you. Here is the list of Twins players that have played in every Twins regular season game in a particular season.

YEAR	Name	Games Played
2008	Justin Morneau	163
1984	Gary Gaetti	162
1979	Roy Smalley	162
1969	Harmon Killebrew	162
1967	Cesar Tovar	164
1966	Harmon Killebrew	162

Interactive Whiteboards by PolyVision

The Twins position player that led the team in games played the most seasons was outfielder Kirby Puckett. The “Puck” lead his teams in games played on seven occasions between 1985 and 1993 and averaged an amazing 156.66 games during that period. I think the Twins “Iron Man” has to be the great Kirby Puckett.

Twins Leader in Games Played Over the Years

YEAR	Games Team Played	Name	Games Played
1961	161	Bob Allison	159
1962	163	Zoilo Versalles	160
1963	161	Zoilo Versalles	159
1964	163	Zoilo Versalles	160
1965	162	Zoilo Versalles	160
1966	162	Harmon Killebrew	162
1967	164	Cesar Tovar	164
1968	162	Cesar Tovar	157
1969	162	Harmon Killebrew	162
1970	162	Cesar Tovar	161
1971	160	Cesar Tovar	157
1972	154	Bobby Darwin	145
1973	162	Rod Carew	149
1974	163	Rod Carew	153
1975	159	Rod Carew	143
1976	162	Rod Carew	156
1977	161	Rod Carew	155
1978	162	Roy Smalley	155
1979	162	Roy Smalley	162
1980	161	John Castino	150
1981	110	John Castino	101
1982	162	Gary Ward	152
1983	162	Gary Ward & Gary Gaetti	152
1984	162	Gary Gaetti	162
1985	162	Kirby Puckett	161
1986	162	Kirby Puckett	161
1987	162	Kirby Puckett	157
1988	162	Kirby Puckett	158
1989	162	Kirby Puckett	159
1990	162	Gary Gaetti	154
1991	162	Chili Davis	153
1992	162	Kirby Puckett	160
1993	162	Kirby Puckett	156
1994	113	Chuck Knoblauch	109
1995	144	Marty Cordova & Kirby Puckett	137
1996	162	Paul Molitor	161
1997	162	Chuck Knoblauch	156
1998	162	Matt Lawton	152
1999	161	Todd Walker	143
2000	162	Matt Lawton & Cristian Guzman	156
2001	162	Luis Rivas & Corey Koskie	153
2002	161	Jacques Jones	149
2003	162	Torii Hunter	154
2004	162	Lew Ford	154
2005	162	Lew Ford	147
2006	162	Justin Morneau	157
2007	162	Torii Hunter	160
2008	163	Justin Morneau	163
2009	163	Michael Cuddyer	153
2010	162	Michael Cuddyer	157
2011	162	Danny Valencia	154

Tag: Roy Smalley