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April 23, 1961 Pitcher Kralick Delivers Twins' Only RBI In the final game of the Twins' first ever home series, Jack Kralick pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout in a 1-0 Twins win versus the expansion Senators. Kralick's bat provided the Twins' only run, driving in Billy Gardner with a fifth-inning single. With the win the Twins improved to 7-2 on the season. April 23, 1980 Landreaux Begins Record Hit Streak Ken Landreaux began a 31-game hitting streak by breaking up Angel pitch
So I missed out on getting the Twins Fur Bomber Hat last Saturday. Not that I was coming up specifically for that, but it would have been nice. However, I did get a sunburn and a chance to see a one-hitter instead. I'll take that deal any time. The Twins have two giveaways this week. On Saturday there is a Twins Red Cap to the first 20,000 fans and on Sunday there is a "Twins Customizable Shirt" in Youth M or XL for the first 5000 kids 14 and under. Looks like the shirt will have the basic "Tw
Through his first 15 games of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, Byron Buxton owns a .082/.135/.122 slash line. He's just 4-52 and has struck out in 24 of his at bats. There's no one who wants to see things turnaround more than Buxton, but the question is, where do we go from here? First, we have to take a look at what isn't working. The reality is that Buxton is striking out 46.2% of the time, up from 35.6% a season ago, and easily the worst mark of his career. Despite his success at Trip
http://files.shandymedia.com/styles/page_full/s3/images/photos/thefumble/ncaa-college-world-series-finale7.jpg Courtesy of Getty Images Pavin Smith is a first baseman for the Virginia Cavaliers who is the best college hitter available in the draft. Smith is 6’2” and weighs 210 pounds, with a sweet swing that brings Jay Bruce to mind. The Florida native played baseball at Palm Beach Gardens High School and was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 32nd round of the 2014 draft, but he did not s
Over the offseason, Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Phil Hughes rehabbed from his recent Thoracic Outlet surgery. After getting hit on the kneecap by a comebacker, it seemed Hughes was going to use the months ahead as a time to get all phases of his body right. Now looking at early returns in the 2017 season, it's fair to wonder if "right" is something that will ever completely exist again. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is a condition that causes symptoms such as numbness in extremities, as well a
As I write this, the Twins have dropped three of the last four. Pride and hope take their lumps. Whatever bunkers Twins fans have built to survive 90 loss seasons are restocking their apocalyptic buffets. The Twins will go back into the mines tonight to try to find baseball gold, and it seems increasingly like Byron Buxton is the canary early-warning system for disaster. Thus far, he's looking a little rough. If he drops back to the minors, or stops seeing playing time, things look rougher for
Right now, the Minnesota Twins have an unsustainable pitching output. While they find themselves near the top of Major League Baseball in ERA, WHIP, and BAA, the reality is that regression is coming. Regardless of how steep that hits, the reality for the Twins in the coming months, is that they should finally have some tough decisions to make on the mound. For far too many of the previous seasons, the practice for Minnesota has been to simply swap out a broken down arm for the next man up. Whe
Before the 2017 season began, I wrote that Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor may be managing for his career in 2017. The crux of the thought process is that he's unproven, age isn't on his side, and a new job isn't incredibly likely to present itself. Now into the early part of the season, it's beginning to appear that the Twins record may not be the determining factor in his employment status a year from now. While not electrifying by any means, the Twins have gotten out to a nice start. A
April 16, 1961 First Grand Slam in Twins History Bob Allison hit the first grand slam in Twins history in the top of the first in the first game of a doubleheader in Baltimore. The Orioles’ Chuck Estrada, who had tied for the league lead with 18 wins the previous season and would win 15 in 1961, walked three straight to start the game, filling the bases for the cleanup hitter Allison. After giving up a double to Jim Lemon, Estrada was pulled having given up four runs without recording an out
http://www.the3rdmanin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2017-MLB-Draft.png Jeren Kendall is a centerfielder for the Vanderbilt Commodores who is regarded as the top outfielder available in the 2017 draft. Kendall is 5’10’’ and weighs 180 pounds, and is often referred to as a smaller version of Jacoby Ellsbury. The Commodores’ outfielder played prep baseball at Holmen High School in Wisconsin and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 30th round, but chose to attend college. Kendall bats left
The Twins are coming home 6-3, and with the seasons we've suffered through they might as well all strut onto Target Field wearing uniforms designed to mimic John Travolta's white suit from Saturday Night Fever. They should have a "Pinch 'n Slap" booth at each entrance to help fans confirm they are not dreaming. Ice cream in mini batting helmets should come with six cherries on top. But we're all gonna talk about losing that series to Detroit, and we're especially going to talk about Byron Buxt
I stumbled into a free ticket to the Red Sox game against the Pirates on Thursday. It was a makeup game and a guy seated near me also said he'd gotten his tickets free from someone. (He also insisted that Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City is new, so our conversation was not illuminating for me. Only USAFChief is entitled to consider Kauffman "new".) I anticipated that attendance might be sparse - April games tend to be attended in the low 30,000s rather than the high 30,000s anyway, and a makeup
A possible Bullpen strictly from the 2012 Draft???? In a draft that nabbed Buxton and Berrios (and to a lesser extent AB Walker) the Twins drafted Luke Bard, Mason Melotakis, JT Chargois, Zach Jones, Tyler Duffey, DJ Baxendale and Taylor Rogers. Some relief pitchers are already making an impact, some are on the cusp of a Major League career, some are still projects. What are the chances of that potential Bullpen? If it does happen: Would you be happy with it? Would the 2012 Draft be
It's Monday. The Twins aren't playing at the moment, but they're going to unload the war wagons and take on Detroit on their turf. The Twins have taken two series from divisional foes, and winning a third series would feel like a nice little start to somethin' somethin'. Five to one. That makes me pause for a second to remind people to appreciate The Doors like they ought to appreciate them. If you're going to roll down your car windows and drive down a rural highway this summer, you'd better
Just for fun because these are all small sample sizes here and they could do a complete 180 after one more appearance, but some interesting and largely encouraging things I noticed with Brooks Baseball pitch tracking. http://www.brooksbaseball.net/ Phil Hughes: I wanted him out of the rotation all off season because his off-speed and breaking stuff varied from awful to non-existent. The usage of Hughes' fastball, which has brought a chorus of boos due to a lack of velocity, decreased 40% from la
What an opening week for Major League Baseball. The Rockies are rolling, the Nationals gave up a dozen runs in the first inning on Saturday, oh, and the Twins are somehow 5-1. Enjoy the moment. The Twins are off Monday and are in Detroit Tuesday through Thursday before coming home for a ten-day homestand, The only promotion/giveaway at Target Field this week is a Fur Trapper Hat giveaway to the first 10,000 fans that show up on Saturday. Here's what the rest of the week looks like: Monday,
April 9, 2000 Twins & Royals Go Back-to-Back-to-Back Already up 6-0 entering the top of the sixth in Kansas City, Corey Koskie leads the inning off with a base hit. Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy then proceed to hit three consecutive home runs on four total pitches. Coomer homers again in the seventh, again with Koskie on base. Eric Milton retires the first 20 batters in order and has a 2-hit shutout going into the 8th. After retiring the first two batters, including former T
This morning, fellow citizens of Twins Territory left their homes to find infant animals, such as deer and rabbits, lining up to sniff their hands in the dewy grass and pastel sunlight. Maybe. Look, none of us really know what the 4-0 life is like. Last time it happened was 1987, an era the nearest adolescent to you will tell you is "ancient" before building another cube-pig-insult-to-nature on Minecraft. You hate the Minecraft, don't you? It's always nice to beat the White Sox, too. Exce
Do you like Wins (Ws) or do you dislike Strikeouts (Ks)? The Minnesota Twins are 4-0 to begin the season and they've used all aspects of the game to help them win those 4 games. They've pitched very well, they've played great defense and they've scored plenty of runs to win two games and as much as they needed to win the other two games. Unfortunately, Byron Buxton is struggling mightily at the plate and he's hitting out of the number 3 spot in the batting order. He's still playing great def
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Early 2017 draft board: #1 – J.B. Bukauskas – rhp – University of North Carolina Bukauskas has been on fire this spring, with a strikeout to walk ratio of 70/11 in 47 innings. Some scouts do not think he will be a starter because he is only 6’0”, but his pitching repertoire is better than any other in the draft class. Bukauskas’ upside is a top of the staff starter, and if he has to move into the bullpen he should become a great closer. If I were picking number
-SHTICKBALL- Yesterday afternoon at a major league baseball game, Cody Goldstein, 26, had to endure the pain and subsequent later consequences of eating an entire baseball helmet full of tortilla chips, liquid cheese jalapenos, and a meat-like substance. This unfortunate turn of events came about when Cody’s girlfriend, Amber, only ate approximately three chips, thus fulfilling her craving for the salty snack. “That was rough, polishing that whole thing off, but I was able to power through
Are the Minnesota Twins building a framework of winning baseball? The Minnesota Twins begin the 2017 season with new hope as they enter a new era of their franchise. After hiring a new Chief Baseball Officer in Derek Falvey and a new General Manager in Thad Levine, the Twins seem headed in the right direction. Of course, it’s hard to go anywhere but up after a 103-loss season but, with this new regime taking over the organization, the feeling is they will turn this team around and, maybe, th
Coming into the 2017 Major League Baseball season, there were few things that looked like a bigger question mark for the Minnesota Twins than their bullpen. With an uncertain starting rotation, the pen had been comprised mainly of holdovers, with veteran additions of Matt Belisle and Craig Breslow. What’s worth noting though, is the Twins have their own secret weapon. Last fall, we saw relievers put onto full display in the Postseason and World Series. The Chicago Cubs leaned on Aroldis Chapma
On Saturday, Tait went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. The 19-year-old is hitting .219 with 17 doubles and 15 home runs at High-A Cedar Rapids.
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