Nate Palmer

I just started comparing the '65, '67, and '69 rosters last week. That '67 rotation was not to be messed with! Imagining if the '65 or '69 lineup had been combined with the '67 rotation is something of magic.

Too often injuries to star players leave us asking "What could have been?" In 1965 the Minnesota Twins saw two such injuries to Harmon Killebrew and Camilo Pascual.In 2009 it felt like so much broke right for the Minnesota Twins. They stormed back in the division to force a game 163 and defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-5 to advance into the playoffs. Something that certainly took the wind out of their sails was that first baseman and All-Star Justin Morneau suffered a back injury which forced his 30 home runs to the bench. As a fan of Minnesota sports this seems to be too much the norm. Our teams seem to be right on target and then something happens. An injury occurs, a scandal emerges, a whole stadium deflates. 1965 was no different as two very important pieces of the team went down with injuries. Camilo Pascual Pascual was no stranger to missing stints of a season with shoulder discomfort. In ‘65 it would become a bit different as the pitcher would end up needing to have surgery on what was frayed muscles in his back/shoulder area (Thielman, 167). This was quite the blow to the Twins as Pascual was viewed as the Twins leader of the rotation entering the season. While the right-hander would be able to return to action come September after missing the month of August. It is fair to wonder exactly what sort of form Pascual was in after surgery. As a staff, the Twins also missed out on about 100 innings of what a healthy Pascual would normally have tossed for the Twins in a given season. When it came to the World Series against the Dodgers, Pascual did start game 3 of the series which would wind up being his only career postseason appearance. He threw 5 frames and allowed 3 runs in the 4-0 loss to the Dodgers. Harmon Killebrew While stretching to grab an off target throw to record an out at first base, Killebrew collided with Russ Snyder. It seems a bit too ironic that Morneau was referenced at the start of this post as it was a collision at second and a knee to the head that ended his 2010 campaign. Killebrew’s collision resulted in a dislocated elbow to the Twins offensive leader and arguably best player in team history to date. We may never know exactly how much of that elbow injury that Killebrew may have been able to play through. That is because the Twins had built such a lead in their race for the pennant that they could afford to let him continue to sit deep into September. Also while missing that time, it seemed every replacement player who in one way or another filled in for Killebrew seemed to get the hit when the team needed it. You just never truly replace a bat like his which in 103 games had produced a slash line of .278/.393/.507, .900 OPS, as well as 22 home runs. What is more impactful is we can continue to wonder how much of his groove at the plate Killebrew lost with his time away. In his 10 games to close the season he hit only .184/295/.447 with three home runs. Thankfully he would rebound come the postseason to hit .286/.444/.429 but with only one home run. We can only wonder if not missing that time would have allowed his bat to connect with more impact than it did that postseason. The silver lining here, as with almost any injury, is there is an opportunity for others to step up. The two that may have done that the most were pitchers Jim Merrit and Dave Boswell. While they wouldn’t start any World Series games with Pascual’s return, they did become vital parts of the ‘65 mix of pitchers and other Twins teams to come. Another positive was that both Pascual and Killebrew were at least active parts in the Twins 1965 postseason. Even if we will question just how sharp either was. Which hasn’t always been the case for injured Minnesota sports stars. Which “what could have been” moment from over the years stands out to you the most? Feel free to wander to other Minnesota franchises! Yes, we could be here all year with that topic. Thielman, Jim.Cool of the Evening: the 1965 Minnesota Twins. Minneapolis, MN: Kirk House Publishers, 2005. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

If my memory is serving me correctly, the Giants situation involved someone positioned in the center field bleachers with binoculars relaying signs.

While Rob Manfred is currently trying to put together plans for when baseball might resume, the sign-stealing scandal is still a reality that is lingering out there. One former Minnesota Twin had the sort of conviction about cheating that caused him to speak out about sign stealing twice during his career.Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball will have coronavirus to thank when the 2020 MLB season isn’t marked only by the effects of the Astros and unresolved Red Sox sign-stealing sagas in history books. Even so, there is one player from baseball and Minnesota Twins history that the commissioner may want to clone and have his presence in each major league clubhouse in order to gain back the trust of fans. That man is right-handed pitcher Al Worthington. There are likely few reasons someone in 2020 that wasn’t living in the 50s and 60’s or spends potentially too much time on baseball reference would know about the Alabama native Worthington. For Twins Daily readers, he did finish the last six years of his major league career with the Twins so you may have come across his name because of that. Worthington was part of a great stretch of Twins teams from 1964-1969. After first coming over to the Twins and pitching as a reliever he appeared in 41 games, the first 20 without allowing a run, and finishing with a 1.37 ERA. Worthington had the best ERA of the ‘65 World Series roster of pitchers. Then in 1969, manager Billy Martin thought highly enough of him that he was able to get the right-hander to come out of retirement to join his squad’s bullpen. While Worthington isn’t getting confused for Sandy Koufax or even his teammates such as Jim Perry, Mudcat Grant, or Dean Chance, he was a solid part of all those competitive Twins teams. Before coming to the Twins, Worthington was nothing more than a journeyman. Traveling back and forth between the minor and majors with a sprinkling of pennant-winning baseball in there too. None of that is the reason why Manfred needs to consider clones of Worthington putting on each team's uniform. Worthington has a track record of calling out cheating, specifically sign stealing. He did it first as a member of the San Francisco Giants in 1959. Manager Bill Rigney in that occurrence chose to listen to Worthington and stop the practice. Which unfortunately for them led to losing three straight games at a critical point at the end of their season. The following season, after just being acquired by the White Sox from the Red Sox, Worthington again found out that there was cheating happening once again. He again approached his manager Al Lopez on the issue. This time it seems things did not go the way Worthington had hoped. He then chose to leave the team after pitching only 5 1/3 innings for his new team. We can only imagine how different the current state of sign stealing may have gone if someone on the rosters in question had chosen to stop it while it was happening. Mike Fiers deserves credit for shedding light on the issue, but it seems fair to wonder what reality we may be living in if someone had followed Worthington’s lead and stopped the practice while it was happening. So if Manfred really wants to make us feel secure again about the integrity of the game when it comes to sign stealing, cloning Worthington might be the best way to do just that. He has a track record of calling these practices out into the light. He also was not a fan of the spitball, calling it cheating as well. We will have to report back about his feelings on pitchers using pine tar. As I will recommend several times, at least until baseball starts, go read Cool of the Evening by Jim Thielman. It is where I first encountered this unique little side story to Worthington’s career. Thielman has done a good job of making each player I read about my new favorite of the team, Worthington now included. Thielman, Jim.Cool of the Evening: the 1965 Minnesota Twins. Minneapolis, MN: Kirk House Publishers, 2005. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I came at this initially thinking that this trade didn't have enough impact on winning teams with Milton only seeing the one playoff run. Although that run did take them into a ALCS. That combined with the longevity of Guzman maybe required it getting a bit more attention than I gave it.

I forgot about the trading involved within the Rule 5 when Johan was selected. In my head was thinking of him as a pure selection which certainly made it one of the top 5 transactions, but not trade. You may have found the first big omission! And a BIG one at that!

Reardon was on the list. Just didn't make the cut ultimately for me, but certainly an important part of that championship team!

Got my wires crossed somewhere. It was '89! Thanks for the catch.

There are many ways to build championship teams. One way is through the trade. Here is an attempt to rank the top 5 trades that helped to build contending Minnesota Twins teams throughout their history.In 1960, before the Minnesota Twins were that, the Washington Senators made a trade that sent Roy Sievers to the Chicago White Sox for 1B Don Mincher and C Earl Battey. At the time Sievers was viewed as the type of player that would hopefully push the White Sox over the top for the pennant. Griffith and the Senators really wanted Sammy Esposito with Battey but instead ended up with Mincher. Mincher may not have been a Hall of Famer but swung a quality bat and was good enough to help carry the 1965 Twins through Harmon Killebrew injuries. If it wasn’t for Joe Mauer, Battey would be in the conversation for best backstop in Twins history. Griffith and the Twins pulled off a series of instrumental trades leading up to winning the 1965 American League Pennant. With acquiring Mincher and Battey being one of them. That got me thinking, what trades have led directly to a Twins window of contention? Here are my top 5 trades that directly led to the Twins being playoff contenders over their history. 5. Received Shannon Stewart and PTBNL (Dave Gassner) for Bobby Kielty-- July 2003 At the close of July 13th games in 2003 the Twins were 44-49, in third place in the AL Central, and 7.5 games back of first place. The Twins decided to swing a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that brought outfielder Stewart to Minnesota with the hopes that the outgoing Kielty would be able to help the fellow third place Blue Jays. After coming to the Twins, Stewart in part helped propel the Twins to a playoff berth as he in 65 games slashed .322/.384/.470 with an .854 OPS. As was all too common in the current era of Twins baseball the team would lose to the Yankees in the first round. Stewart would stick around Minnesota after signing as a free agent that winter and would go on to play through 2006 in Minnesota. He would hit .287/.347/.405 over those next three seasons and the Twins would be in the playoffs in 2 out of those 3 years. 4. Received Cesar Tovar for Gerry Arrigo--December 1964 Just prior to one of the best seasons in Twins history, the team sent left-handed pitcher Arrigo to the Cincinnati Reds. In exchange the Twins received 24-year-old Venezualan Cesar Tovar. Tovar didn’t figure in too much in that first season only appearing in 18 games. He would figure to be a fixture of many other good Twins teams through the rest of his tenure in Minnesota. Tovar played primarily as a second baseman but could be found all over the diamond and figured in regularly at the top of the Twins lineup beginning in ‘66 when he played in 134 games. In 1967, Tovar played every position for the Twins (all 9 in one game in fact). From 1965-1972 Tovar slashed .281/.337/.377 and was involved to some level in MVP voting from 1967-1971. He would be involved in the postseason for the Twins in both 1969 and 1970. While his postseason performance in ‘69 wasn’t great, he rebounded the next season collecting 5 hits in three games including a triple, run, and RBI. 3. Received Jim Perry for Jack Kralick--May 1963 When thinking through these trades, there was a time where it really felt like Perry vs. Mudcat Grant for this list. Ultimately, it was Perry’s longevity that got him on the list over Mudcat. Which is somewhat ironic since Mudcat would follow Perry from to Minnesota from Cleveland in a separate trade. Perry would pitch 10.1 innings for the Indians before the trade in 1963 and would finish out the season with the Twins with 168.1 innings and a 3.74 ERA. While in 1965, Perry would seem to take a backseat to Grant and Jim Kaat he would actually wind up with the highest bWAR of the trio at 2.6 WAR over 167.2 innings. Perry would go on to play for the Twins through the 1972 season appearing in two All-Star games, starting games in the 1969 and 1970 playoffs, and winning the Cy-Young in 1970. 2. Kevin Tapani, Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, David West, and PTBNL (Jack Savage) for Frank Viola--December 1987 In this trade the Twins got a bit of a haul of players as they traded away one legend of Twins World Series history in Viola to the New York Mets. In return they received two players who went on to have similar status as the team won the championship again in 1991 in Tapani and Aguilera. From 1989 to mid-1995 Tapani was with the Twins. He currently stands with the 8th best WAR (19.1) in team history. The Yooper (via Des Moines, IA) went on to start two games in the ‘91 World Series. One of which being his 8.0 inning two run start in the second game of the series. A game in which he gave way to none other than Aguilera. Minus a brief stint in 1995 with the Boston Red Sox, Aguilera was with the Twins for 1989-1999. He ranks 12th all-time in WAR for the Twins (15.5) and is second in saves (254) just behind Joe Nathan’s 260. Aguilera appeared in 4 games during the 1991 World Series. Including a 2.0 inning outing to get the win in Game 6. Both pitchers were very good for a long time for the Twins. That lumped in with some significant performances on the way to the World Series in 1991 puts them at number two on this list. In all honesty, as I type this maybe they deserved more credit for the number one spot. Speaking of which… 1. Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser for A.J. Pierzynski (November 2003) To make room for some up and coming catcher named Mauer, Pierzynski was moved to the San Francisco Giants in a trade that truly marks a generation of Twins fandom. Nathan came in as a relatively unknown converted pitcher from shortstop and would go on to be a face of the franchise. As stated above, he would eventually surpass Aguilera as the franchise saves leader. He locked down the backend of a bullpen that often seemed to buoy a starting rotation that outside of the top two or three spots felt weak for a contending team. Nathan also ranks 9th all-time in WAR for the club just behind Tapani. Liriano may be one of the biggest stories of “what could have been” but he helped provide some of the most exciting baseball I have seen with my own eyes next to this past season in 2019. While his tenure with the Twins seems marred by injuries and failed expectations, his rookie season in 2006 was one to remember. Paired with Johan Santana, Liriano held a 2.16 ERA, a 208 ERA+, made the All-Star roster, and was third in rookie of the year voting. Boof Bonser may not get any accolades, but he was as good as any third wheel could be. His 2006 season still provided some solid starts as he went 7-6 over 100.1 innings with a 4.22 ERA and a 106 ERA+. This trio did help add to a base of players that provided for some exciting teams in the early 2000s. Now it is your turn. What trades do you think influenced some runs at contention the most in Twins history? Have I romanticized my number one choice a little too much? I would love to hear what you think! Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

In 2019 the Minnesota Twins won 101 games and saw great success in part due to the quality coaches they had in the clubhouse. The 1965 season wasn't much different, as Billy Martin and Johnny Sain gave a great boost to that club as well.The 2019 Minnesota Twins benefitted from having some very good coaches to help support Rocco Baldelli in his first season as the Twins manager. That benefit was noticed across the league as we saw James Rowson (Marlins), Jeremy Hefner (Mets), and Derek Shelton (Pirates) picked away by opposing clubs. That poaching from the major league club only highlights the high-quality coaches and positive effects for the Twins organization. As I have begun my journey into taking a much closer look than I had previously at the 1965 Twins, one thing quickly became apparent about that club. It greatly benefited from two spectacular coaches who supported manager Sam Mele. One is a name you will recognize and eventual Twins manager the other you may not, but these two were third base coach Billy Martin and pitching coach John Sain. Johnny Sain Sain came to the Twins from the hated New York Yankees. Calvin Griffith had to make him a very well paid coach to bring him to Minnesota, but it seems to have been worth every penny he spent to get him (roughly $20,000) to groom the ‘65 pitching staff. Sain would receive a lot of labels for the way he coached, including outspoken and playing favorites with his pitchers. Result-getter may be the best, as the Twins saw their ERA drop from 3.58 to 3.14 from ‘64 to ‘65. (Wolf, 19) Whatever the label, the one that mattered most was that his pitchers absolutely loved having him as a coach. One thing Sain did that would most certainly fit within the culture that the current Twins have developed is that he crafted pitching approaches individually for each player. He did not have a one-size fits all plan, Sain would find what each pitcher needed to succeed. (Thielman, 48) He was so highly regarded that Yankees third baseman Clete Boyer, when asked who he would vote for manager of the year during the 1965 season, responded that he would write in Sain (Thielman, 46). Twins pitcher Al Worthington said, “No man alive knows more about that little baseball and how to throw it than Johnny Sain.” Fellow Twin Mudcat Grant gave credit to Sain for making him a winner. (Wolf, 19) Billy Martin Martin had his own ties back to the Evil Empire but had recently closed out his playing career with the Twins in 1961. After hanging up his cleats, Martin joined the Twins front office as a scout before being brought in to coach in ‘65. Martin was his own sort of fiery and was seemingly brought in to counteract a much calmer Mele, or in the worst case scenario, take his job. Eventually Martin did become the Twins manager, but that was not be until 1969. In 1965, Martin’s greatest accomplishment was turning 25-year-old Zoilo Versalles into an everyday, cornerstone shortstop. Versalles was a key cog to the team's success and played in 160 games, slashed .273/.462/.781, had an MLB-leading 45 doubles, AL-leading 12 triples, was an All-Star, Gold Glove winner, and MVP. The influence on individual players didn’t stop with Versalles, as can be imagined when someone walks into a clubhouse with World Series accolades as a player that included a .333 batting average, five home runs, and 19 RBIs. As good as both Sain and Martin were, there wasn’t complete harmony amongst that ‘65 staff. Versalles helped put Mele and Martin in a mom-against-dad type feud before leaving spring training when the shortstop was removed from a game due to his sloppy defense. At one point in the season Sain’s relationship became so strained with the rest of the coaching staff he started dressing in the player’s portion of the locker room separate from the other coaches. Somehow, they still were able to put together one great team regardless! When it comes to assigning responsibility for wins and losses, players are still the ones who need to have the skills and the abilities to execute. There is no doubt that good coaching can find incremental improvements to move a team to another level of play. It appears that Shelton, Rowson, and Hefner have been recognized for that in 2019. Sain and Martin certainly did that in 1965. Now it is time to see if the new Twins hires (Mike Bell and Bob McClure) can jump in with the returning and promoted staff to do that for whenever the next baseball games are played. What are some of your favorite stories about Martin or Sain? How much will Rowson, Shelton, and Hefner be missed? Have the Twins filled their roles well? Would love to hear your thoughts on all those questions in the comments! Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Resources Used: Thielman, Jim.Cool of the Evening: the 1965 Minnesota Twins. Minneapolis, MN: Kirk House Publishers, 2005. Wolf, GregoryThe Pennant for the Twin Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins (The SABR Digital Library Book 32) Phoenix, AZ: Society for American Baseball Research, Inc., Kindle edition. Click here to view the article

From the reading I have been doing lately, it seems Versalles overtakes Oliva in large part due to his ability to field SS. Right now we live in an era of several very good offensive shortstops, that was not the case in '65. There was such a need for offensively capable middle infielders it seems that any life there made you an All-Star. That value of offensive capability at short seems to be represented in that 1.9 higher WAR for Versalles.

And if my Googling abilities aren't failing me, that manager would be eventual Twins manager Gene Mauch. At that time was managing the Phillies.

The Minnesota Twins, 101 wins, and the 2019 season will be one that many of us will tell stories about to our children, grandchildren, and maybe even great grand-children if we are lucky or young enough. We will tell them about Bombas and Nelson Cruz naps. There may also be some sour-faced remarks about the New York Yankees.Twins fans before me, in an era before I was thought of (I was born the year of the Twins first World Series), would have spoken in a similar way we will about 2019 of the 1965 club. That season the Twins broke the 100 win mark for the first time on their way to 102 wins and a World Series appearance. Those were the days where there was no such thing as a playoff outside of the World Series so the Twins had to win the American League outright to make it to the championship. While 2019 era fans will have names like Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Jose Berrios, Taylor Rogers and others roll off our tongues. Fans who were around for 1965 would speak in similar tones of players like Zoilo Versalles, Bob Allison, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, and Harmon Killebrew. Looking back on that year, it was a pretty exciting group and we are only scratching the surface in our list here. In the organization's fifth season after moving to Minnesota from Washington, the Twins as they were led by their manager Sam Mele sent six players to the All-Star game. The six included Harmon Killebrew, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Jimmie Hall, Earl Battey, and Mudcat Grant. The All-Stars didn’t have to travel far as the game was played in the Twins home ballpark, Metropolitan Stadium. This era of Twins baseball and specifically this ‘65 team has always been an interesting group to me personally. Now, since we do not have any live baseball to follow, it seemed as good a time as any to spend "social distancing" reading up on this historic group. It also feels to be a team we overlook as we mention the great teams of 1987 and 1991. The ‘65 team did miss out on that coveted ring which is the obvious reason they aren’t rattled off as often. From the point of dominating a league they deserve serious attention even half a century later. I hope you join me along this journey as I hope to continue to uncover fun bits of information about this team. Even maybe draw some connections between this 100-win club and the one we watched take the field this past season. Of course your favorite facts and memories about this team are always welcome. Maybe you even have something you are curious about that we could explore together. My hope is that as it is turning out to be for me, that the 1965 Twins may be able to fill part of the baseball void that the 2020 version can’t right now due to events bigger than baseball. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I do want to be clear that this isn't my idea or just from my brain. Stark found this as he spoke with a number of managers around how strategy will adjust with the three-batter rule. The question managers will ask if this plays out as outlined is do I prefer one of my best bats to potentially be walked or that he gets to hit with a potentially less favorable matchup. There is no certainty in how any of it will play out. Maybe managers will just ask their lefty to pitch to righty and see what happens. The Twins may be one of the better lineups assembled to absorb whatever comes their way, but teams with only one or two clear cut impact bats won't want that guy consistently skipped over in big moments. It ultimately sounds like enough managers are asking the question so we may see something come out of it this season.

Love seeing you in the comments gagu! Miss being able to chat baseball as much as we once did!

That would be the point of the stack is to eliminate the intentional walk and ensure that your big bats get pitched too. Even if it is no longer that opposite hand matchup that might be preferred.

Lots has been discussed about how the new three-batter rule will effect the pitching side of the game. What hasn't been discussed as much is how it could effect hitting strategies as the new rule is implemented in 2020. So just how could it affect the Twins 2020 lineup?The Minnesota Twins and the rest of the MLB will soon see how the new three-batter minimum rule for relief pitchers will affect in-game strategy. This past weekend Jayson Stark put out an interesting article on how managers may use different strategies in reaction to this rule moving into 2020. Something I hadn’t considered seriously enough was how the three-batter rule may affect lineup construction outside of how valuable being able to alternate lefties and righties might become. Stark explains that there is the potential that intentional walks may be utilized more often to avoid bad matchups. This would allow the continuation of the same-handed batter/pitcher matchup. This is where a new strategy Stark calls a “stack” might become a valuable strategy in regard to lineup construction. A stacked lineup would move managers to construct lineups in a way that would put right-handed or left-handed bats in bunches. Better ensuring that one of their top hitters wouldn’t be intentionally ushered to first base simply because of a bad matchup based on handedness. Shortly after Stark posted said article and strategy we saw a Twins spring training lineup that would fit the stack mold. One of the many strengths of the Twins lineup we have been able to marvel at has been its pretty remarkable strength from both sides of the plate. Because of that, projected lineups for the Twins often have more of the traditional lefty-righty mix. Something like: LH Luis Arraez RH Josh Donaldson RH Nelson Cruz LH Max Kepler S Jorge Polanco RH Miguel Sano LH Eddie Rosario RH Mitch Garver RH Byron Buxton By no means am I saying this is my Opening Day lineup. It is simply for illustrative purposes and one way the lineup could be constructed. I would guess most of the season the Twins will use this sort of lineup construction. What could a stacked lineup look like if the Twins do face a team who tries to beat the three-batter rule by using intentional walks? Say, Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians. S Jorge Polanco RH Josh Donaldson RH Nelson Cruz RH Miguel Sano LH Max Kepler LH Eddie Rosario LH Luis Arraez RH Mitch Garver RH Byron Buxton This lineup, in the event intentional walks begin to be utilized more, helps to protect some of the big bats from getting skipped if teams attempt to avoid bad matchups with a good hitter all from a handedness stand point. Only in playing the games will we truly see if this becomes a thing. With a manager like Francona and his history of using his bullpen creatively in the division, it seems that much more likely the Twins could see some unique scenarios this season. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rocco counters with. Can you see this becoming a thing in the MLB this season? Listing out these lineups does continue to reinforce one thing. This Twins lineup is deep and should be very fun to watch in 2020! Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins used to be marked by the "Twins Way" and a very prescribed way of developing major league players. In recent years, we have seen the shift in philosophy where the team is now much more focused on finding the right, individual process for each player to help him succeed. This spring has brought forth several examples of that process in action.As the Minnesota Twins have moved into Fort Myers and gotten well on their way with spring training in preparation for the 2020 season, we have begun to hear some great insights on how players' offseasons have gone. What has caught my eye in the last week are all the stories on how so many Twins pitchers have been preparing for the season and how the Twins are encouraging their personal growth. One thing stands out in each story. Each pitcher is being coached to try to find his best individual approach. A team that just a decade ago was known for the “Twins Way” of playing has in the new regime fully embraced an approach where they don’t want a specific best type of player. Instead they are trying to make the best of whatever types of players they have on their roster. That isn’t to say there are not some traits this front office targets, but long gone are the days of a prescribed method on how to bring them up. Long gone are the horror stories of batting stances and approaches that encourage simply hitting the ball the other way. Long gone are the days of the dreaded “pitch to contact” conversations. With the new approach there is a strong willingness to experiment and find the little things to put a player in a position to improve and succeed. Aaron Gleeman highlighted Trevor May speaking to that approach as he described his transition from starter to back-end reliever. The biggest change he made was to move away from his curveball as his primary breaking ball and embrace his slider more. A change of a grip, plus confirmation from the technology the Twins have implemented, and May was on his way to an improved approach. Taylor Rogers recently spoke to the Twins' new way of helping players improve and joked that the Twins may have more technology than the military. Here is more from that interview where he highlights all the approaches the Twins are using with that technology. With a high emphasis early in the clip on individualizing the process. Another interesting read over at FanGraphs focused on how Zack Littell has really developed and used two sliders in his approach as a reliever. What I found great about this is that there is no cookie-cutter way of how Littell can employ his sliders. It is a feel thing and a reading of specific situations. There is clearly a thought process on how to decide what to use but the prescription is not readily available to everyone. In fact, only Littell knows exactly which slider he will throw when the catcher puts down the sign. Of course, technology and personal conversations with pitching coach Wes Johnson were part of Littell’s journey to using two sliders. As humans we are much more comfortable living in black and white ways of living. That way is predictable and much easier to follow. The old “Twins Way” thrived on a “this is the way to do it” mentality it seemed a majority of the time. Now the Twins embrace the gray area in order to find what is best for each individual. Because of that approach we have already seen many break-out performances from Twins players. It can also help us have faith that those players can continue to grow and perform and that others like Kenta Maeda, Matt Wisler, Lewis Thorpe and Jose Berrios can take some steps forward in 2020 and help the Twins contend and win in the playoffs. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article