TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
It isn’t often that a MLB pitcher gets ten or more strikeouts and issues no bases on balls in a game. The way things are headed in baseball nowadays it will probably be even an even rarer event in the future. The other day New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom struck out 14 with no walks over eight innings and all he got for his efforts was a “L” after he gave up a home run to the Miami Marlins Jazz Chisholm in in the second inning and his team ended up losing 3-0.
The last time that Twins fans were able to watch their home-town team play ball in-person at Target Field was back on October 7, 2019. That was the day their beloved Bomba Squad was sent packing from the American League playoffs when they were swept by the New York Yankees three games to zip in the ALDS. Their starting pitcher that day was Jake Odorizzi. Sergio Romo and Trevor May pitched in relief and the only run they scored in the 5-1 loss was a home run hit by right-fielder Eddie Rosario. When Twins fans sadly filed out of Target Field that day little did they know that they would not be able to watch another game in person at Target Field for another 548 days. It will not be until April 8, 2021 when the Twins host the Seattle Mariners in their Home Opener that Twins fans will again be able to cheer on their Twins. All the players named above will be playing for other teams.
Two big league debuts as Twins, 47 years apart
Trevor May (P) – August 9, 2014 – Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Vance Worley to the Minnesota Twins for Ben Revere on December 6, 2012
Hank Izquierdo (C) – August 9, 1967 – Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Twins prior to the 1963 season. Debuted in the 16th inning of a 20 inning 9-7 loss to the Washington Senators at Met Stadium as a PH and went 0 for 2.
J.G. Preston wrote the following about Izquierdo in his blog the J.G. Preston Experience:
“”Another Twins player who debuted at age 36 (and one who, like Mendoza, was also a native of Cuba) was Enrique “Hank” Izquierdo, who had actually retired as a player five years before he finally made the big leagues in 1967. In four seasons with Cincinnati’s Class AAA teams from 1957-60 Izquierdo posted batting averages of .153, .196, .218 and .186. Not exactly encouraging. In 1961 he was a player-coach with the Reds’ AAA team at Jersey City, and in 1962 he stopped playing altogether to be a bullpen catcher for the Cleveland Indians.
But he missed playing, so in 1963 Izquierdo hooked up with the Twins and dropped down to the Class A Florida State League, where he hit .297 and rekindled his career. By 1966 he was back up to AAA, and in ’67 he hit .300 for Denver of the Pacific Coast League to earn another call to the big leagues — this time as part of the active roster, when Earl Battey went on the disabled list with a dislocated thumb. It didn’t hurt that Cal Ermer had replaced Sam Mele as the Twins’ manager; Ermer had started the season at Denver and had also managed Izquierdo in winter ball.
With the Twins in the thick of one of the greatest pennant races in history (they wouldn’t be eliminated until the last day of the season), Izquierdo did just fine when called upon. The Twins went 7-2 in the games he started, and he finished the season with seven hits in 26 at-bats for a .269 batting average.
After the season Izquierdo was drafted by the Houston Astros’ Oklahoma City farm club and spent two years with them. After the 1968 season he was nearly killed while driving a cab in Miami when he was shot during a robbery, then his 1969 season ended prematurely when he was suspended for the rest of the season by American Association president Allie Reynolds after swinging a bat at future major league star Ted Simmons during an on-field argument. Izquierdo went on to manage in Mexico before returning to the Twins as a scout.”
San Diego Padre (and Minnesota native) left-hander Brad Hand is supposedly on the market. Hand led the NL in appearances in 2016 with 82 pitching 89 plus innings and striking out 111 while giving up just 63 hits and posting a 2.92 ERA. The 6’3″ 27 year-old Hand blossomed last season when he became a full-time relief pitcher. Hand is making just under $1.4 million this season and is arbitration eligible for the first time in 2018. Did I mention that Hand held left-handed opponents to a .123/.234/.221 batting line in that time but also shut down right-handed batters to the tune of a .219/.295/.350 triple slash. You would think that with San Diego rebuilding, the Twins would have someone they could part with to have Brad provide a Hand in the Twins bullpen……. I am not big normally on making up trade proposals but if the price is right, this is a no brainer. Don’t forget, prospects are just that, this is a “Brad in the Hand”. Am I on a roll or what?
Apparently Trevor May isn’t spending all his time rehabbing and based on this article he doesn’t seemed to be too down and out about his injury and TJ surgery.
Glancing Back, and Remembering Bernie Allen is a nice little piece about former Twins 2B Bernie Allen in 1960s baseball, a site I really enjoy. They also have a cool report called “The Top Ten Minnesota Twins (or any team for that matter) of the 1960s” that you can download for free. Take them up on their offer, you can’t go wrong. Click on the book cover to download.
Although the following “According to ELIAS” post is not Twins related, any time you get 20 strikeouts in a nine inning game it is worth mentioning.
Craig Kimbrel was credited with four strikeouts in the ninth inning on Thursday night, tying a major-league record and boosting the total of strikeouts by Red Sox pitchers to 20 in their victory over the Rangers, tying the major-league record for strikeouts by a team in a nine-inning game.
Nomar Mazara, first up for Texas in the ninth, swung and missed at the third strike, as the ball apparently hit his left foot. Although he would have been automatically out had that been the call, he ran to first base and was permitted to remain there, as the umpires apparently did not rule that the ball had hit him, so that when it bounced toward the third-base dugout, it was still live. No sweat for Kimbrel, he just struck out the next three batters to join AJ Burnett, Zack Greinke and Chuck Finley as the only major-league pitchers who have struck out more than three batters in an inning more than once. (Kimbrel also did it with Atlanta in 2012; Finley had three such innings in his career.) Red Sox pitchers have now accounted for three of the six instances in which a team accumulated 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. Roger Clemens accounted for the two other cases personally, against the Mariners in 1986 and at Detroit in 1996.
I really don’t care who you vote for the 2017 All-Star game, except…..that I do urge you to vote for Twins third baseman Miguel Sano. The man is having a tremendous season and he deserves to represent us Minnesota Twins fans along with Ervin Santana in Miami in July. Click on the image to vote.
I went out to the CenturyLink Sports Complex on Tuesday morning and it was pretty much what I expected with the team on the road in Port Charlotte to play the Rays in an exhibition game. The players that stayed behind went through some light workouts and I watched Jose Berrios and Trevor May throw in the bullpen for a short time. Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer stayed behind according to old baseball tradition they have earned the right not to have to travel to road games. Some things never change I guess.
The one odd thing I noticed when I first drove into the complex was some guy flying a drone over the back fields where the minor league players who have not officially started camp yet were going through their paces. I wish I would have stopped and chatted with him to find out who he was and what he was doing but I didn’t. It did get me to thinking though about how long this kind of thing will be allowed. Who was this guy anyway? Maybe just a fan, maybe a Twins employee, maybe a reporter, or maybe a spy… We will never know unless he shows up again I guess.
Rhett Bollinger wrote this morning outfield prospect Alex Kirilloff, the Twins’ first-round pick in the 2016 draft suffered a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on March 8. Kirilloff is the second high Twins position player prospect in recent years to require Tommy John surgery. Miguel Sano missed the 2014 season due to the same procedure. Kirilloff was apparently injured at Elizabethton in late August and a platelet-rich plasma injection therapy was attempted but Kirilloff experienced pain again this spring. I know surgery is always a last resort but had he had the surgery right away, Kirilloff would be almost six months behind the surgery at this point. I know, easy to say now after the fact, but that is the beauty of doing this blog, it gives me the fredom to do so. Is this just a coincidence that the Twins have had two highly rated position players require TJ surgery in three years? This old guy does not believe in coincidences but I am not sure what to make of it, maybe it goes back to those trees being taken out of Target field back in 2010 when the Twins downward spiral began.
I was doing some painting yesterday at our condo and listening to the Twins play the Rays in Port Charlotte. I could not believe what I was hearing as the Rays ripped pretty much every pitcher the Twins sent to the mound. The Twins didn’t even get a hit until the 7th inning I believe. The game I was listening to was a Rays station so it was interesting to hear their perspective on things. Former player Dante Bichette who had a 14 year big league career was one of the announcers and he had some interesting thoughts and observations as the game went along, I enjoyed listening to him much more than I do to our guy Dan Gladden. But losing 19-0, how can you lose a spring training game 19 to zip and only get three hits yourself? That is dismal, actually it is pathetic, and to think the Twins had numerous Twins “regulars” playing. I am confident that the Twins will be a better team in 2017 than what they showed in 2016 but games like this won’t sell tickets and put fans in the seats.
In 2015 the Twins started the season 1-6 and last year they started 0-9 before putting a game in the “w” column. If the Twins get off to another miserable start in 2017, I am thinking that manager Paul Molitor will be looking for a new job before the end of April. The Twins can’t afford a third consecutive slow start and ticket sales certainly can’t handle that kind of stress. I find it interesting that nothing is being written about the Twins slow starts under Molitor and what happens if the same scenario takes place in 2017. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have no loyalty to Paul Molitor and his leash could be a short one.
Twins beat-writer Phil Miller wrote in past Sunday’s edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the Minnesota Twins could have as many as 12 different pitchers fighting for the five spots in the Twins 2017 starting rotation. Keep that number 12 in the back of your mind as you read this. Here are the pitchers Miller listed as possible starters in 2017.
TWINS STARTING ROTATION CANDIDATESErvin Santana (R), 34: 7-11 last season, but his 3.38 ERA was 10th-best in the American League.
Phil Hughes (R), 30: Missed most of last season because of thoracic outlet syndrome. Gave up league-high 29 home runs in 2015.
Kyle Gibson (R), 29: Fourth year in rotation (98 starts), but ERA rocketed to 5.07 in 2016.
Hector Santiago (L), 29: Acquired from Angels last season. Another starter who gives up lots of home runs.
Jose Berrios (R), 22: Team’s top young pitching prospect has been bombed in majors (8.02 ERA).
Tyler Duffey (R), 26: In 26 starts last season his 6.43 ERA was worst among pitchers with more than 130 innings.
Trevor May (R), 27: Back injury hampered him last season, when he was a reliever. He wants to start.
Adalberto Mejia (R), 23: Picked up from Giants in Eduardo Nunez trade last season. In 566 minor league innings he has 487 K’s.
Nick Tepesch (R), 28: Had 39 starts for Texas in 2013-14. He missed 2015 because of shoulder issues; he’s on a minor league deal.
Ryan Vogelsong (R), 39: Grizzled veteran has 179 starts in 12 seasons; 3-7, 4.81 ERA for Giants last year.
Justin Haley (R), 25: Proven starter in Class AAA was picked up in the Rule 5 draft, meaning he’s likely to make the team.
Stephen Gonsalves (L), 22: Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2016; was dominant at Class AA Chattanooga.
It would be nice to have quality over quantity but one has to play with the cards they are dealt or the starters they might have. In 2016 the American League teams used 157 different starters an average of 10.47 starters per team. The Toronto Blue Jays used only seven starters in 2016 while the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim sent 15 different starters to the mound. The Twins marched out 11 different pitchers to start their games in 2016.
The National League teams used 176 different starters in their quest for wins and that comes out to an average of 11.73 starters. The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants only required eight starters each while the Atlanta Braves had double that, they needed 16 starters to get through the season.
The Twins have used as many as 13 different starters in 1962 and 1995 and as few as six starters in 1972 but they only played 154 games that year. If you look at the Twins average number of starters used over the years per season you end up with 9.68 so even though the battle for the starting rotation will take place this spring and there will probably be five winners by Opening Day, there is no assurance they will be starting games at Target Field come September. Starting pitchers will be lost due to injury, performance, trades, and personal reasons so the more pitchers the Twins have ready to start big league games the better. The message to the pitchers who won’t be Twins starters on Opening Day is to hang in there because your turn is coming, be ready.
The Minnesota Twins have a long history of problems developing starting pitching. Using 100 starts as a barometer, since 1961 the Twins have signed and developed just 11 pitchers in their system that have gone on to get 100 or more starts in a Twins uniform. The only first round pick in the bunch is Pete Redfern, three round tw0 picks, two round three picks, one fourth round pick, one fifth round pick, Brad Radke was an eighth round pick, one 29th round pick and an amateur free agent (Dave Boswell).
Since the June amateur free agent draft started in 1965 the Twins have drafted 31 pitchers in round 1 or as round 1 supplementary/compensation picks. Actually part of the Twins issues with starting pitching relates to spending money or the lack there of. The first two right-handed pitchers drafted by the Twins in round 1 were Dick Ruthven in 1972 and Tim Belcher (first overall pick) in 1983 who both refused to sign with Minnesota and went on to have long careers in MLB. The first left-handed pitcher drafted in round 1 to start any games was Eddie Bane and his Twins career lasted 25 starts. As I mentioned earlier, the draft started in 1965 but the Twins only drafted starting pitching in round 1 twice (Ruthven in 1972 and Bane in 1973) between 1965-1981. The first RHP that they drafted in round 1 that actually started a number of games (45 in Twins career) was Willie Banks who the team drafted in 1987. Since 2000 they have drafted a pitcher in round 1 a total of 17 times.
| Rk | Player | GS | From | To | Age | G | W | L | IP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brad Radke | 377 | 1995 | 2006 | 22-33 | 378 | 148 | 139 | 2451.0 | 4.22 |
| 2. | Bert Blyleven | 345 | 1970 | 1988 | 19-37 | 348 | 149 | 138 | 2566.2 | 3.28 |
| 3. | Frank Viola | 259 | 1982 | 1989 | 22-29 | 260 | 112 | 93 | 1772.2 | 3.86 |
| 4. | Dave Goltz | 215 | 1972 | 1979 | 23-30 | 247 | 96 | 79 | 1638.0 | 3.48 |
| 5. | Scott Baker | 159 | 2005 | 2011 | 23-29 | 163 | 63 | 48 | 958.0 | 4.15 |
| 6. | Scott Erickson | 153 | 1990 | 1995 | 22-27 | 155 | 61 | 60 | 979.1 | 4.22 |
| 7. | Dave Boswell | 150 | 1964 | 1970 | 19-25 | 187 | 67 | 54 | 1036.1 | 3.49 |
| 8. | Nick Blackburn | 137 | 2007 | 2012 | 25-30 | 145 | 43 | 55 | 818.2 | 4.85 |
| 9. | Allan Anderson | 128 | 1986 | 1991 | 22-27 | 148 | 49 | 54 | 818.2 | 4.11 |
| 10. | Pete Redfern | 111 | 1976 | 1982 | 21-27 | 170 | 42 | 48 | 714.0 | 4.54 |
| 11. | Roger Erickson | 106 | 1978 | 1982 | 21-25 | 114 | 31 | 47 | 712.0 | 4.10 |
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If you can’t find, sign, and develop your starting pitching, you only have a few options at your disposal, you could make a trade, you can sign a free agent, or you can find one on the waiver wire (ha, ha, ha).
The option I want to write about here is the Twins attempts to trade for starting pitching since the turn of the century, a total of 17 years. Trading for starters hasn’t exactly gone as planned either.
First of all I would like to wish you and your families and friends a very happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving. Without further ado let’s cut to the meat of things.
There were so many options for the 2016 Twins Turkey of the Year that the following didn’t even make the final five this Thanksgiving. Players like Glen Perkins, Trevor Plouffe, Joe Mauer, John Ryan Murphy, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Byung Ho Park, Tyler Duffey, Phil Hughes, Kevin Jepsen, and Trevor May all deserve to be on the list but this years field is just so packed with worthy candidates that all these guys can muster is an honorable mention.
Let’s cut to the chase and get right to it with our fourth runner-up, The Pohlad family, the 75th richest family in the US of A and Jim Pohlad serves as their spokesman. Mr. Pohlad watched this team deteriorate for six seasons before he finally realized that what we have here is a “total systems failure” when his team set a new record with 103 losses. Finally he told his GM Terry Ryan that his services were no longer needed as of the end of the season and Terry Ryan said OK and walked away in July. The team didn’t put a permanent replacement in place until after the World Series was over in early November although Rob Antony served as the interim GM. According to the new Chief of Baseball Operations for the Twins, he interviewed with brothers Jim, Bill, and Bob Pohlad and a host of other Twins organization members before getting offered the job. The one stipulation that Jim Pohlad put on the new CBO was that Paul Molitor manages the Twins in 2017. Why would you do that to a manager who is in the final year of his contract and why would Molitor stay on the job? Sounds like Pohlad doesn’t want to do the dirty work in dumping Molitor, that’s why he has employees like Derek Falvey.
Our third runner-up is former GM Terry Ryan. Terry Ryan was always one of my favorite people in the Twins organization. A very good down to earth baseball man who has watched how baseball has changed over the years but unfortunately I think that the pace of change within baseball caught up with him and made him one of baseball’s dinosaurs and you all know what happened to the dinosaurs. I think that there should always be a place in baseball for people like Terry Ryan. Ryan had either bad luck or bad input on many of his free agent signings over the last few years and his trades have not panned out either. One of his biggest mistakes was his decision this past season to try to make Miguel Sano an outfielder when he had never played there before, not only was Sano not able to play the outfield he was so confused and stressed by the position change that he was no longer the power hitter the Twins have been waiting for.
Second runner-up is our pitching coach Neil Allen. Allen talks a story about how he wants to change the pitching staff and make them better but so far we have not seen zilch. After two seasons at least show me a couple of pitchers that have improved under the tutelage of Allen because I sure have not seen them. Who really hired Neil Allen to be the pitching coach any way because Paul Molitor said that he never met Allen before Twins Fest in 2015. Add in the fact that Allen has been a recovering alcoholic since 1994 but fell off the wagon and was charged with a DWI and suspended by Minnesota on May 26 and you have a recipe for disaster. Allen was reinstated on July.
Our runner-up this year is Twins skipper Paul Molitor who will start year three of his three-year contract. I am still amazed that Molitor has hung on as the Twins manager going into the final year of his contract. Players in 2017 have no reason to buy into Molitor’s ideas and plans because the players will be here longer than Molitor will. What faith does management have in you when they force you to manage in this situation, they might as well tell him don’t buy any green banana’s and to go month to month on his rent payments. Molitor took over 70 win team and managed them to 83 win in his first year, then in year two he managed them to 59 wins. The honeymoon has worn off quickly and the sooner Derek Falvey gives Molitor the pink slip the better it will be for all concerned including Paul Molitor who looks like he has aged 20 years in his two season at the helm of the Minnesota Twins. For his own health and well being Paul Molitor should walk away sooner than later.
That of course bring us to this years winner of the Twins Turkey of the Year award. The 2016 Minnesota Twins season was so outrageously bad that it would not be fair to award this years honor to just one individual. Instead this years award goes to all the players, field staff, and front office personnel who made up the 2016 Minnesota Twins team. The team finished with the worst record in baseball at 59-103, a drop from 83 wins in 2015, a drop of 24 games in the win column. Yikes! The team was out scored 722 to 889, only the 1996 Twins gave up more runs. Twins hitters did hit 200 home runs led by Brain Dozier’s 42 but the pitching staff gave up 221 round-trippers. The Twins used 11 starting pitchers and the starter with the most wins had nine victories. Miguel Sano led the team in strikeouts with 178, oh wait, he is a hitter, on the pitching staff Ervin Santana had 149 K’s. The good news? The Minnesota Twins say they will not raise ticket prices in 2017, a good idea after going 407-565 (.418%) during the last six seasons. I know this is really a radical idea but maybe you should consider lowering ticket prices….. but then again that is not how you earned the 2016 Twins Turkey of the Year award.
2015 – Pitcher Ricky Nolasco
2014 – Outfielder Aaron Hicks
2013 – Presdident Dave St. Peter
2012 – Owner Jim Pohlad
2011 – Catcher Joe Mauer
2010 – 3B Brendan Harris
2009 – Glen Perkins
The Minnesota Twins have had 53 players (41 pitchers (nine lefties) and 12 position players) that stood at least 6’5″ tall. The Twins have spent the last few years accumulating tall pitchers but so far the fruits of their labors have not been all that eveident.
The tallest player in major league history, Jon Rauch, played for 11 years with seven different major league teams including a stop in Minnesota from 2009-2010. The right-handed Rauch won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The same year, he was also named Baseball America and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year. Keith Hernandez referred to Rauch as “The Wookiee” during SNY broadcasts in 2006.
Rauch wasn’t exactly the friendliest baseball player around and his grumpy, grouchy, surly and testy personality along with his intimidating size and inked body caused most fans that wanted an autograph to pass and look for the next player to come by.
Here I have put together a list of Minnesota Twins players that stood at least 6’5″ tall.
| Rk | Player | Ht | From | To | Age | G | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Rauch | 83 | 2009 | 2010 | 30-31 | 76 | /*1 |
| 2 | Alex Meyer | 81 | 2015 | 2016 | 25-26 | 4 | /*1 |
| 3 | Mike Smithson | 80 | 1984 | 1987 | 29-32 | 128 | *1 |
| 4 | Michael Tonkin | 79 | 2013 | 2016 | 23-26 | 122 | *1 |
| 5 | Mike Pelfrey | 79 | 2013 | 2015 | 29-31 | 64 | /*1 |
| 6 | John Candelaria | 79 | 1990 | 1990 | 36-36 | 34 | /*1 |
| 7 | Walt Bond | 79 | 1967 | 1967 | 29-29 | 10 | /*H7 |
| 8 | Kyle Gibson | 78 | 2013 | 2016 | 25-28 | 96 | /*1 |
| 9 | Jim Hoey | 78 | 2011 | 2011 | 28-28 | 26 | /*1 |
| 10 | Michael Restovich | 78 | 2002 | 2004 | 23-25 | 61 | /H97D |
| 11 | Dan Naulty | 78 | 1996 | 1998 | 26-28 | 97 | /*1 |
| 12 | Mo Sanford | 78 | 1995 | 1995 | 28-28 | 11 | /*1 |
| 13 | Dave Winfield | 78 | 1993 | 1994 | 41-42 | 220 | *D/9H3 |
| 14 | David West | 78 | 1989 | 1992 | 24-27 | 63 | /*1 |
| 15 | Greg Booker | 78 | 1989 | 1989 | 29-29 | 6 | /*1 |
| 16 | Jeff Little | 78 | 1982 | 1982 | 27-27 | 33 | /*1 |
| 17 | Mike Poepping | 78 | 1975 | 1975 | 24-24 | 14 | /*9H |
| 18 | Cotton Nash | 78 | 1969 | 1970 | 26-27 | 10 | /*3H7 |
| 19 | Garry Roggenburk | 78 | 1963 | 1966 | 23-26 | 60 | /*1 |
| 20 | Frank Sullivan | 78 | 1962 | 1963 | 32-33 | 31 | /*1 |
| 21 | Phil Hughes | 77 | 2014 | 2016 | 28-30 | 71 | /*1 |
| 22 | Pat Light | 77 | 2016 | 2016 | 25-25 | 13 | /*1 |
| 23 | Joe Mauer | 77 | 2004 | 2016 | 21-33 | 1589 | *23D/H9 |
| 24 | Trevor May | 77 | 2014 | 2016 | 24-26 | 102 | *1 |
| 25 | Kennys Vargas | 77 | 2014 | 2016 | 23-25 | 147 | /*D3H |
| 26 | A.J. Achter | 77 | 2014 | 2015 | 25-26 | 18 | /*1 |
| 27 | Jared Burton | 77 | 2012 | 2014 | 31-33 | 203 | *1 |
| 28 | Tyler Robertson | 77 | 2012 | 2013 | 24-25 | 42 | /*1 |
| 29 | Carl Pavano | 77 | 2009 | 2012 | 33-36 | 88 | /*1 |
| 30 | Kyle Waldrop | 77 | 2011 | 2012 | 25-26 | 24 | /*1 |
| 31 | Bobby Keppel | 77 | 2009 | 2009 | 27-27 | 37 | /*1 |
| 32 | Garrett Jones | 77 | 2007 | 2007 | 26-26 | 31 | /D3H79 |
| 33 | LaTroy Hawkins | 77 | 1995 | 2003 | 22-30 | 366 | *1 |
| 34 | Todd Sears | 77 | 2002 | 2003 | 26-27 | 31 | /*3HD |
| 35 | Matt Kinney | 77 | 2000 | 2002 | 23-25 | 22 | /*1 |
| 36 | Mark Redman | 77 | 1999 | 2001 | 25-27 | 46 | /*1 |
| 37 | Scott Stahoviak | 77 | 1993 | 1998 | 23-28 | 344 | *3/H5D9 |
| 38 | Greg Hansell | 77 | 1996 | 1996 | 25-25 | 50 | /*1 |
| 39 | Dave McCarty | 77 | 1993 | 1995 | 23-25 | 167 | /*379H8D |
| 40 | Erik Schullstrom | 77 | 1994 | 1995 | 25-26 | 46 | /*1 |
| 41 | Bill Krueger | 77 | 1992 | 1992 | 34-34 | 27 | /*1 |
| 42 | Steve Shields | 77 | 1989 | 1989 | 30-30 | 11 | /*1 |
| 43 | George Frazier | 77 | 1986 | 1987 | 31-32 | 69 | /*1 |
| 44 | Curt Wardle | 77 | 1984 | 1985 | 23-24 | 37 | /*1 |
| 45 | Mike Walters | 77 | 1983 | 1984 | 25-26 | 46 | /*1 |
| 46 | Greg Wells | 77 | 1982 | 1982 | 28-28 | 15 | /*3DH |
| 47 | John Verhoeven | 77 | 1980 | 1981 | 27-28 | 69 | /*1 |
| 48 | Paul Hartzell | 77 | 1979 | 1979 | 25-25 | 28 | /*1 |
| 49 | Jeff Holly | 77 | 1977 | 1979 | 24-26 | 39 | /*1 |
| 50 | Dick Woodson | 77 | 1969 | 1974 | 24-29 | 129 | *1 |
| 51 | Pete Hamm | 77 | 1970 | 1971 | 22-23 | 23 | /*1 |
| 52 | Stan Williams | 77 | 1970 | 1971 | 33-34 | 114 | *1 |
| 53 | Don Williams | 77 | 1963 | 1963 | 27-27 | 3 | /*1 |
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The 2015 MLB season finally opens later today when the Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals. So that means I had better get my predictions done here and now. Normally I try to do these predictions about a week or so before the season opens but the last couple of weeks I have had some computer problems and that has limited my postings on this site. This is my second hard drive crash in the last 11 months, what is up with that? Apparently just writing about the Twins brings bad luck. Luckily I have a back-up laptop with me but it doesn’t have all my images and tools that my original laptop has on it plus it is much sloooooower. So let’s get to it before something happens to this laptop.
The first thing we have to do of course is look at our Minnesota Twins. We have a new manager in Paul Molitor and a number of new coaches but we don’t have enough new and younger players. I think the Twins will break down and bring up Eddie Rosario, Trevor May, Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, and Jose Berrios before the All-Star game. Some may be just for a look-see but others won’t see the minor league busses again. Before the Ervin Santana suspension was announced I had the Twins finishing at 78-84, now I am not so optimistic. After consulting with the numbers experts here is what we came up with.
…………………………………..
NL East
1. Washington Nationals
2. Florida Marlins (wild card)
3. New York Mets
4. Atlanta Braves
5. Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
2. St. Louis Cardinals (wild card)
3. Cincinnati Reds
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Chicago Cubs
NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. San Francisco Giants
3. San Diego Padres
4. Colorado Rockies
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
AL East
1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. Boston Red Sox (wild card)
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. New York Yankees
5. Tampa Rays
AL Central
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Minnesota Twins
AL West
1. Seattle Mariners
2. Los Angeles Angeles (wild card)
3. Texas Rangers
4. Oakland A’s
5. Houston Astros
World Series
Nationals over the Mariners
