Nine of twelve

Respectfully, no. Babe Ruth is the best player of all time. The reason that is the case is that Ruth, in addition to being one of the best batters of all time, was an excellent major league pitcher. There has been no player who was Ruth's equal as a batter who was even remotely close to being his equal as a pitcher.

There is no one person or one group of people who will make the decision. Just as is happening in other walks of life the virus will make the decision. The virus is the boss and we have no choice but to obey the boss.

Jerry.

I'll take the under on all five. In each case I think there is a good chance that the actual number will turn out to be 0.

2019 was the Twins' 59th season. I didn't pay attention in 1961 because I was only 5 years old. That leaves 58 seasons.

My son and my sister are both professional musicians. The two of them, especially my son who is early in his career, are in the same situation as athletes and others in the entertainment field. And of course they want to advance their careers but it's just not feasible right now. Witness today's StarTribune front page headline: U.S. virus cases reach new single-day record. What it comes down to is that this situation is much, much bigger than the careers of a few athletes. That's unfortunate but I just don't see any way around it that does not entail unacceptable risk.

I've been trying figure out how to say what I want to say about all this. This might not quite be it but here goes anyway. First, a 60-game season with only some of the top-line players is a farce. To attempt to give even a hint of legitimacy to this is totally disingenuous, to put it nicely. Second, the health of the players, of thousands upon thousands of support personnel, and of their families is being placed at risk. And for what? To enable a farce. Third, the political/social situation in our country weighs much more heavily on me right now than the lack of baseball. I frankly don't give two ****s whether baseball resumes or not and this is from someone who has been a true Twins fan through thick and thin for 58 years. I wish the season had been canceled two months ago. That said, I can't wait until real baseball is back. I ardently hope that can happen beginning on opening day in March, 2021.

The next MLB season to be played will have 162 games for each team.

This has been said many times already, but apparently it has to be said again: NO ONE IS REWRITING HISTORY. History can not be rewritten. What happened happened and what did not happen did not happen. Erecting a statue can not change history. Removing a statue can not change history. In my view the people whom you refer to as "the militant left" are attempting to reveal and understand history, not rewrite it. And based on what is learned action can be taken as indicated.

I think everyone should read Rod Carew's full statement. I lifted this from the Pioneer Press web site. Rod Carew’s full statement: “I understand and respect the Minnesota Twins’ decision to remove the Calvin Griffith statue outside Target Field. While I’ve always supported the Twins’ decision to honor Calvin with a statue, I also remember how inappropriate and hurtful his comments were on that fateful day in Waseca. The Twins did what they felt they needed to do for the organization and for our community. “While we cannot change history, perhaps we can learn from it. “I first met Calvin Griffith in 1964 when he traveled to New York City to watch me work out at Yankee Stadium. Calvin and longtime Minnesota Twins scout Herb Stein must have liked what they saw as they signed me to a professional contract shortly thereafter. I can tell you when I got to the major leagues with the Twins in 1967, Calvin was my most ardent supporter. He told manager Sam Mele that I was the Twins’ everyday second baseman. I saw no signs of racism whatsoever. “In 1977, my MVP year, I made $170,000. When the season was over, Calvin called me into his office, thanked me for a great season, told me that I had made the team a lot of money and handed me a check for $100,000. You could have knocked me over. A racist wouldn’t have done that. “There is no way I can apologize for what Calvin said in Waseca in 1978. His comments were irresponsible, wrong and hurtful. I recall my response at the time reflected my anger and disappointment. “Now that more than four decades have passed, I look back on Calvin’s comments and our personal relationship with additional context and perspective. In my view, Calvin made a horrible mistake while giving that speech in 1978. I have no idea what happened that day, but who among us has not made a mistake? I know Calvin paid a heavy price for those comments and I believe his thoughts on race evolved over time. “When he traded me prior to the 1979 season, Calvin told me he wanted me to be paid what I was worth. Later that year the Angels made me the highest paid player in baseball. A racist wouldn’t have done that. “In 1991, the first person I called after I was told I had been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame was Calvin. “I have long forgiven Cal for his insensitive comments and do not believe he was a racist. That was NOT my personal experience with Calvin Griffith — prior to or following that day in 1978.”

This doesn't matter one bit. We would have gotten a team here by 1969 at the very latest whether Calvin brought it here or whether someone else did. It wouldn't have been the same team but I reckon each of us here would be just a big of a fan of that team as we are of the Twins.

Discretion is admirable when it's all just speculation on our part. A very recognizable name came to my mind right away but I'm keeping it to myself.

You pick your battles. If intervening in a situation would be worse than observing the situation the wise choice is to observe, try to make sure everyone is physically safe, and let people blow off steam. A statue is just a hunk of metal. So what if it falls.

The best bluffs are never confirmed because the best bluffers never EVER confirm whether a bluff was a bluff.

Sometimes a team (or a person or any entity of any kind) has to hit rock bottom before meaningful change can take place. In the long view this season may have been the best thing that could have happened to our favorite team because it led to a complete remaking of the organization, which I think has us moving in a very positive direction. I can only hope that some of the events of the recent past in the real world also turn out to be stimuli for meaningful positive change.

Look at the AL standings that year. It was an unusual season. There were 2 very good teams (Hou and Cle), 2 good teams (Bos and NYY), 2 bad teams (CWS and Det), and 9 mediocre teams. Any of those 9 teams could have been the second Wild Card depending on how the flukes of a long season happened to occur. Of those 9 teams the Twins just happened to be the one that had the least bad luck on their side.

The Rosario and Dozier home runs made that whole season worthwhile.

You can if you have adequate reserves (which I'm sure the owners do) and if you'll come out ahead long term. The same applies to the players, although I'm sure there are players who have little to nothing in terms of reserves. I'm not advocating for owners or players here, but this is about more than just this season. For both sides.

Regarding the proposed Hughes bonus, he would have had to pitch a few more innings to get it. It's against major league rules for teams to pay players beyond what is stipulated in their contracts and for good reason. Otherwise players could be paid off for unsavory dealings such as fixing games and the like.

This was my favorite moment of this season. Mauer had just worked Chapman for 10 pitches to hit a double and then Willingham came up. I find it amazing that anyone can do this to a 100+ MPH fastball but good major league batters are a rare and special breed.

And by the way thanks to Phil for contributing and to TD ownership for facilitating that.

If you were a high-level free agent, would you? Of course not. Any dollar amount that the Twins would have offered could not have made up for the abject misery of playing for that team.

I didn't say that I wasn't thinking about the rest of the world, and I didn't say I wasn't going to read the comments. I was just making the observation that one moderator recommended this conversation to take place in another forum while another posted essentially the same conversation here. This seems inconsistent. And I object to your insult, but I accept your apology.

On another similar thread there was a moderator's note stating that there exists another forum for discussion of non-baseball-related topics. I humbly suggest that this thread should be moved to that forum.

I've heard many people say that having a reliable and consistent closer makes it easier for the entire bullpen to succeed because relievers pitch in similar situations each time, learn what works for them in those situations, and exploit that. This makes sense to me. However, for that to succeed probably four good relievers are required, one to close and three to set up. For a team that has that luxury it would be best for the closer to be right-handed (as Cody alluded to in the OP) or, more accurately, to do as well against right-handed batters as against lefties. That said, nothing should be carved in stone. A good manager using that system will sometimes bypass the closer or bring the closer in early if indications point that way during a given game.