The Twins Almanac: Weekend Edition

[Matt Johnson]

This weekend's Almanac features three pitchers with Minnesota connections: Minnetonka graduate Jim Brower, Coon Rapids graduate Logan Shore, and 1991 World Series Champion Carl Willis. 

Dec. 28: Happy 64th birthday to Carl Willis . After being out of the majors for a few years, the 30-year-old reliever led the 1991 World Series Champions with a 1.067 WHIP. 

He was clutch in Game 6 of the World Series. There's no "And we'll see you tomorrow night" without the eight-straight outs Willis came in and got from the seventh to the ninth innings. (He inherited a bases-loaded jam with one out in the seventh and got an RBI groundout from Ron Gant to tie the game at 3-3 before striking out David Justice to limit the damage. He then set Atlanta down in order in the eighth and ninth to get to extra innings. Rick Aguilera pitched the 10th and 11th. Atlanta didn't have as much bullpen depth as Minnesota. After Alejandro Peña made light work of the Twins in the ninth and 10th innings, Bobby Cox brought in starter Charlie Leibrandt for the 11th inning and the rest is history.) 

Dec. 28: Happy 30th birthday to Coon Rapids native and seven-year minor league pitcher Logan Shore. He was the Minnesota Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year his senior season at Coon Rapids (2013) after going 9-0 with a 0.27 ERA and batting .429. The Twins selected him in the 29th round but he chose instead to play at the University of Florida in hopes of improving his draft stock. It was a prudent business decision because when the Oakland A's drafted him in the second round three years later he received a $1.5 million signing bonus. Needless to say, he was a stud with the Florida Gators, being named SEC Freshman of the Year his first year and SEC Pitcher of the Year his third and final year before going pro. 

In addition to baseball, Shore also lettered in hockey in high school. 

Dec. 29: Happy 52nd birthday to 1991 Minnetonka graduate and Golden Gophers all-time great Jim Brower, who is still going strong as an amateur pitcher here in Minnesota. 

Brower collected a paycheck as a pitcher for SEVENTEEN years, including nine seasons in the majors with Cleveland, the Reds, Expos, Giants, Atlanta, the Orioles, Padres, and Yankees. He led the majors with 89 appearances with the Giants in 2004. (I think being able to say you pitched in more major league baseball games than anyone else on the planet that year is a pretty cool brag.) 

After his final stint in the majors with the Yankees in 2007, he did not go quietly. He pitched at Triple A in three different organizations in 2008, and then pitched in Hiroshima, Japan, for the independent St. Paul Saints and Long Island Ducks, and the Venezuelan Winter League before pitching his final pro season in Italy of all places. 

He has two World Series rings for coaching roles with the 2015 Royals and 2016 Cubs. These days, he is still a very impressive amateur pitcher, and runs Brower Baseball—a training facility in Eden Prairie. 

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[Matt Johnson]

Someone pointed out that Cleveland inquired about selecting Shore in the third round out of high school, but the money wasn't sufficient to lure him away from his commitment to Florida State. I suppose word got around which is why nobody selected him until the Twins took a flier in the 29th round. The point remains the same, though, that looking at the money on the table at the time, Shore elected to play in college instead.