Tag: Troy Percival

Twins all-opponent team closer

We are going to close out our Twins all-opponent team series today by naming the teams closer. I will tell you up front that the best closer I have seen in the 60 years I have followed major league baseball is Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees. Watching Rivera close out a game was almost like watching a machine, as near perfection as you can get. You all know my history with the Yankees, I have always disliked them since I was a pup, but in this case greatness needs to be recognized for what it is. If Mariano Rivera is not a first ballot Fall of Fame baseball player then no one is. 

Mariano Rivera

Now that my praise for Mariano Rivera is out-of-the-way we will go on to name the Twins all-opponent team closer and he is Troy Percival. Percival closed games for the Angels for 10 seasons before moving on to close for the Tigers, Cardinals and Rays. Percival was an All-Star four times and had 358 career saves over his 14 years in the big leagues.

Troy Percival

In 47 games against our Minnesota Twins he pitched 47.2 innings giving up just 19 his while striking out 56 batters and notched 23 saves. The man gave up just two earned runs against Minnesota (none as an Angel pitcher) and one of those was on the only home run that a Twins batter (Justin Morneau) hit off him. Fittingly it seems, he earned the win in that game when the Tigers came back to win the game in 10 innings 5-4 at Comerica Park. His career ERA against Minnesota? Make that 0.38 .

https://bbref.com/pi/shareit/smWmb

 

Our previous selections for the Twins all-opponent team

Catcher – Ivan Rodriguez

First Baseman – Paul Konerko

Second Baseman – Lou Whitaker

Third Baseman – Wade Boggs

Shortstop – Cal Ripken

Left Field – Jim Rice

Center Field – Fred Lynn

Right Field – Magglio Ordonez

DH – Edgar Martinez

Starting Pitcher (right-handed) – Jim Palmer

Starting Pitcher (left-handed) – David Wells

 

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Morales, Durbin, Brede, Sorrento & Kusick

Still more major league debuts as Minnesota Twins on September 8.

 

Jose G. Morales

Jose G. Morales (C) – September 8, 2007 –  Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2001 MLB June Amateur Draft. Morales had a pretty cool big league debut at U.S. Cellular Field albeit in a Twins 8-7 loss to the White Sox. Morales started behind the plate hitting eighth and had a single, a double and another single before being lifted for a pinch-runner.

J.D. Durbin

J.D. Durbin (P) – September 8, 2004 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 2000 MLB June Amateur Draft. The “Real Deal” as he liked to call himself saw his first big league action in Camden Yards in a Twins 9-0 blowout of the Orioles. Durbin pitched the ninth inning for the Twins and closed them out on one hit with 11 pitches.

Brent Brede (OF/1B) – September 8, 1996 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 1990 amateur draft. Brent got to wear his Twins uniform in a real game for the first time at The Metrodome but it was in a losing cause as the home team lost 4-2 to the California Angels. Brede appeared a s a PH in the ninth inning but Angels closer Troy Percival sent him back to the bench after swinging at strike 3.

 

Paul Sorrento

Paul Sorrento (1B) – September 8, 1989 – Traded by the California Angels with Rob Wassenaar (minors) and Mike Cook to the Minnesota Twins for Kevin Trudeau (minors) and Bert Blyleven on November 3, 1988. Sorrento played in the majors for the first time at Royals Stadium as a ninth inning PH and coaxed a walk from Royals closer Jeff Montgomery but it was in vain as the Twins lost 6-0.

Craig Kusick

Craig Kusick (1B) – September 8, 1973 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in June 1970. Kusick’s first taste of the big leagues took place at the Met but he went 0 for 4, but at least he got to shake hands on the field after a 6-2 Twins victory.

 

You can check out other Major League Debuts as Twins that I have done by going here.

This Day in Twins History – April 12

April 12, 1965 – In Minnesota, the Yankees drop their second straight 11 inning opener, as the Twins win 5-4. Twins starter Jim Kaat, stranded because of the ice and snow, is brought to Metropolitan Stadium by helicopter. Kaat is matched by Jim Bouton, who goes five innings, giving up two earned runs. Bob Allison‘s wind-blown fly ball in the 11th drops untouched for a three-base error by Hector Lopez, one of eight errors the two teams committed on this day. Cesar Tovar‘s 2-out single scores the winner off ex-Twins hurler Pedro Ramos. I did a piece about this opening day back in 2008 that you can view at http://wp.me/p1YQUj-tT

.April 12, 1990 – The Twins and Rangers hook up on a deal and the Twins get 2B Fred Manrique and the Rangers receive pitcher Jeff Satzinger.

April 12, 2002 – In their first sellout since winning the World Series in 1991, the Twins beat the Tigers in their home opener, 4-2, in front of 48,244 loud and enthusiastic fans at the Metrodome. The Minnesota franchise had been considered for elimination due to MLB’s contraction plan proposed during the off-season.

April 12, 2005 – The Twins beat the Tigers 5-4 when Shannon Stewart singles off Troy Percival in the bottom of the 9th and breaks a streak in which Percival had not allowed the Twins to score an earned run over 40 innings since 1995.

April 12, 2010 – In the first regular season game at Target Field the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 with starter Carl Pavano getting the win and Red Sox starter Jon Lester took the loss. Closer Jon Rauch recorded the first save at Target Field. The first hit was a single by Red Sox leadoff hitter Marco Scutaro who was later thrown out trying to steal 2B. The first Twins hit was a single by Orlando Hudson. The first homerun at Target Field was a 391 foot shot to right off the bat of Jason Kubel in the 7th inning. Game time temperature was 68 degrees with partly sunny skies. Attendance was 39,715, slightly over the capacity figure of 39,504. Paid attendance was 38,145. The game lasted 2:59.

April 12, 2013 – The New York Mets thumped the Twins 16-5 at Target Field. The temperature at game time was 34 degrees and snow flurries were evident throughout the game. Twins fans came layered in ski gear, hunting clothes and whatever else they could find to keep warm. The Twins provided free coffee and hot chocolate to the Twins fans at the gate as they entered the ballpark. But the fact that the Mets batted around in each of the first 2 innings putting up 10 runs did little to warm Twins fans. The announced attendance was 23,735, but that’s tickets sold and not the actual number of people inside Target Field.

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.