Article: Nearing The End Of An Era

[DocBauer]

So you saw the team come to Met Stadium... saw a group of 60s core players come up like Oliva, Hall, Carew and Blyleven. I don't know if there were any great young cores in the '70s, but Bostock probably wasn't the only one... then the 82 team through Puckett and Gagne in 1984.

 

I don't know if you can call them a great core or not...but you are making my memory take a stroll down the lane. Bostock, Larry Hisel, Ford, Smalley, Wynegar were all some pretty good ones. Unfortunately, they didn't fimish their careers in Minnesota, with the exception of Smalley coming back of course.

[jimbo92107]

Bravo and thank you to Michael Cuddyer. He was an excellent player, a real team leader, and could become an excellent coach or manager. What an arm!

[stringer bell]

 

Seems like just yesterday that prized prospect Cuddyer got his first call up with the Twins.  I believe it was a pinch runner, but as a fan it w nice to see "the future".  Kind of like this past season with both Sano and Buxton seeing time on the major league roster.

Cuddy got recalled for the first time on or about 9/11. He had to wait for days to join the team because games were postponed and teams were stranded with no planes flying. His debut was September 23 in Cleveland. He started as the DH and was 1-2 (a double) with a walk.

[Otto von Ballpark]

It would be a bit unorthodox but I've felt for a while that the Twins should just elect the '2001 team' to the Twins Hall of Fame. What that year's team meant to the organization given the whole contraction mess and near decade of futility before that is incalculable. Certain players from that team will make the Twins HOF anyhow, but that team as an entity deserves some sort of recognition by the organization.

Pretty sure the Twins don't need or want anything to do with contraction in the Twins hall of fame -- that was a self-created mess. As was much of the 1990s malaise (Don Beaver, Dave St Peter's cancer kid ad). We are all glad that the 2001-2002 teams put most of that nonsense in the rear view mirror, but the Twins organization bringing it up as some sort of hurdle they overcame would be the height of hypocrisy.

Edited December 14, 2015 by spycake

[Devereaux]

Twins Hall of Fame? His place in franchise history (including Senators):

 

28th - games played (14th of Twins)

12 - HR

22 - total bases

24 - slugging

25 - OPS

26 - runs scored

27 - offensive WAR (BR)

28 - hits

 

[h2oface]

 

Michael Cuddyer , what a classy individual, what a community ambassador what a great family guy, and a team jokster/ prankster and Magician!

 

I will remember most of his magic tricks he'd pull in Spring Training, and really probably all season long....

 

Also i will remember how he hit like .340 for the Rockies the very first year he left he Twins and got to play in those elements in that Ball Park.

 

What a great Twins Player and a human Being!  Michael Cuddyer  CUDDY Bear

 

I think that you are referring to the second year of Cuddyer's three year contract with Colorado - 2013, .331. The first year - 2012 - was pretty pedestrian, while Willingham was raking for the Twins. It would have been nice if Cuddyer had given the Twins a year like 2013. 

[h2oface]

 

When I said I was 70 and usher for the 1961 season I should have shared the starting lineup - just looking at the names brings back great memories. 

 

Bob Allison
Earl Battey
Reno Bertoia
Billy Gardner
Lenny Green
Jim Lemon
Don Mincher
Camilo Pascual
Zoilo Versalles

 

 

Killebrew had over 500 at bats in 1961. Are you meaning the starting lineup on opening day? ...... and does that make you 124 now?

[Seth Stohs]

 

I don't know if you can call them a great core or not...but you are making my memory take a stroll down the lane. Bostock, Larry Hisel, Ford, Smalley, Wynegar were all some pretty good ones. Unfortunately, they didn't fimish their careers in Minnesota, with the exception of Smalley coming back of course.

 

Those are some pretty solid players... now with the economics at the time, they weren't able to stay together in Minnesota. 

 

Doc, with your years of following this organizations, I'd love to see you write some historical blogs for Twins Daily. For me, it might be interesting to read about some of the prospects of those '60s and '70s teams, some that made it, some that didn't. Or just your memories or stories from those eras. I'm guessing that a lot of people here would be interested in that. 

 

For me, my earliest memories were starting in '81 getting some pbaseball cards and starting to put names and faces and reading stats and stuff, but for Twins-related memories, it starts mostly in 1984. I remember being all excited about Mark Funderburk and Bernardo Brito and Freddie Toliver.. For most of our readers, I bet their formative baseball years were either '87/'91 or now this group of guys that came up from 1998-2002. Eight year olds then are now 25ish and those are the memories they have. 

[SwainZag]

I've saved the issue from 2002 and recent framed the cover and put it up in my office.  Cuddy isn't on it, but I think it's a great momento of those teams.

 

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site569/2014/0711/20140711__140713contraction-2_300.jpg

[Sarah]

I still have that one too Swain Zag - hopefully someday I will get them all to sign it!

[Thrylos]

 

It would be a bit unorthodox but I've felt for a while that the Twins should just elect the '2001 team' to the Twins Hall of Fame. What that year's team meant to the organization given the whole contraction mess and near decade of futility before that is incalculable. Certain players from that team will make the Twins HOF anyhow, but that team as an entity deserves some sort of recognition by the organization.

 

I think that the '87, '91 and '65 teams (in that order) are ahead in the line as far as team recognition goes...