Karbo

The Minnesota Twins are off to a 9-16 start. The team's hitting has been pretty close to non-existent in the first 25 games. They have been able to see guys like Byron Buxton and Luke Keaschall slug the ball all over the ballpark. Both Keaschall and Buxton have a slugging percentage over .450. The Twins' renewed effort to steal bases has been a pleasant surprise. Although the Twins sit in the bottom half of the league in steals, they are almost 25% of the way there to last year's total.
While Keaschall and Buxton have been good at taking good at-bats and setting the tone for other Twins hitters, it's too bad they can't hit in every spot of the order. Coming into Thursday's game against the Chicago white Sox, the Twins ranked in the bottom half in batting average (.216), runs (85), and hitting with runners in scoring position (.216), which this number will be lower because the Twins finished Thursday's game going 0-8. A big reason has been that Carlos Correa's bat must have gotten lost down in Florida at their Minor League camp when the team headed north.
Correa is off to one of the worst starts of his career with a batting average of .167 and splits that look like .222/.274/.496. Those numbers are the third lowest in all of baseball with players who have recorded 80+ at-bats. He has primarily hit out of the fifth spot all year, so I don't think it's a lineup spot issue.
Correa has seen his Exit Velocity at its lowest it's been his whole career at 87.8, couple that with his lowest Max EV. since 2020 at 110.1, to me it looks like he's just missing pitches down and in and pitches in the zone. His barrel percentage is a pitiful 4.4%. One thing I have noticed is that his quality of contact has been more towards topping the ball; his numbers suggest that 44.1% of his swings are on top of the ball, and put that with a 2.9% solid contact rate means he's not seeing the ball well and is resulting to him grounding into the second most double plays (6) so far this year.
I haven't heard of him making any significant batting changes or mechanical issues, but it's clear that he's missing balls that are in the zone and whiffing at balls down and in. Correa says he feels good and that it's not an injury issue, he's just getting unlucky with the harder hit balls, and that he's not too far off from breaking loose. Right now, Correa is in the 74th percentile in Whiff% and 84th percentile in K%, but as you can see from the charts below, a lot of his misses have come in the strike zone. 

I haven't heard of him making any significant batting changes or mechanical issues, but it's clear that he's missing balls that are in the zone and whiffing at balls down and in. Correa says he feels good and that it's not an injury issue, he's just getting unlucky with the harder hit balls, and that he's not too far off from breaking loose.

 
Carlos Correa is expected to remain the Twins' primary shortstop. Carlos Correa is expected to remain the Twins' primary shortstop due to the team's current injury situation and the lack of a Minor League shortstop prospect ready for immediate Major League impact. With Willi Castro just landing on the IL, the Twins are thin at middle infielders. Brooks Lee will likely have to play third until Royce Lewis comes back, and newly acquired Jonah Bride has never played shortstop.
Correa signed a six-year, $200 million contract in 2023, and his 2025 annual salary is $36 million, resulting in a total payroll salary of $37.33 million for this season. That also might be another reason why the Twins are reluctant to make a move. He has shown that he hasn't lost much on the defensive side, already tracking down some in-between hits that any other normal shortstop wouldn't have made a play on, essentially giving the Twins the defensive skills that they don't have with anyone else.
Another possibility would be for the Twins to move him further down in the lineup and shift players like Harrison Bader, Brooks Lee, or Ty France up to the five-hole. The Twins need to desperately get his bat going, especially when Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis come off the injured list. It would be ideal for the Twins to have all hands on deck. Can Correa get going and save his season at the plate?  

With a 7-15 record, the Twins come into the season holding the second-worst mark in the American League. They open up a three-game series against the worst team in the American League, the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox are bringing statistically one of the worst teams in baseball to Target Field.
It was the same day last year, April 22nd, the Twins were 7-13 and were getting ready to host a four-game series vs the White Sox. Their sweep of the White Sox then sparked a 12-game winning streak. From April 22nd through roughly the second week of August, the Twins performed like one of the best teams in baseball. We all know what would happen after that. Is this the series that gets the Twins rolling? Or is this team different?

Danny Coulombe is in his second stint with the Twins. He pitched last year with the Baltimore Orioles. Coulumbe was very effective out of that Orioles bullpen, sporting a 2.12 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP over 29 2/3 innings last year. When the Twins re-signed him before this season, they were counting on him being the only lefty in the bullpen so they could use him in any matchup, especially against right-handed hitters. What the Twins have gotten out of Coulombe so far this year is one of the best starts to a season for him, and he also has a nice scoreless streak dating back to last year. Here are some of the incredible stats Coulumbe has put up this year and the latter part of 2024 with the Orioles
He has pitched 17 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings over his last 18 appearances, stretching back to last season. Here are some more astonishing stats so far this year.
9 games 7 2/3 INN 27 batters faced 3 hits 0.00 ERA 0.52 WHIP 0.91 OPP BA .130 OPP OBP .136 OPP SLG .145 BAbip (Batting Avg. on Balls in Play) 2-14 VS RHB 1-13 VS LHB This may be a small sample size this year, but Coulombe has been exceptionally good at getting hitters out this season. He's not a big strikeout pitcher, but he mixes speeds well and has a lot of movement on his pitches. Considering Griffin Jax's shaky start, the Twins should explore using Coulombe in higher-leverage spots.
 
 
 

Byron Buxton is transforming back to the young Byron Buxton. Yeah, he's only hitting .215 with an OBP of .261 and two walks, but when on base, it's more than likely that he'll come around and score. He's been on base 20 times this season and has scored 15 runs, which is a (75%) clip.
The Twins' offense has gained a dynamic edge with Byron Buxton's increased aggressiveness on the basepaths. His ability to pick up extra bases often feels like a guaranteed run, a dimension unseen by fans in recent memory. However, this exhilarating style has unfortunately led to knee injuries and soreness. The team currently faces a balancing act, needing Buck's presence on the bases for the high probability of scoring.

Wallner is going on the IL today with hamstring tightness, assumedly retroactive a day. Who comes up? This decision is a little more complicated than usual because Austin Martin is on the minor league IL, we can't make Castro an OF because we don't have enough left side infielders unless Correa can play, and Larnach isn't running well. Add to that you look at the statistics for the St. Paul Saints and the only three players were really hitting much are Carson McCusker, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Luke Keaschall. McCausker has only had 145 PAs (132 ABs) at AAA between last year and this year, going 38-132 (.288), with 8 HRS, 13 RBI, 48 SOs (33.1%!), and 13 BBs (9%). He's also 6'8", 250 lbs., so I'm guessing not a speed merchant. Good average and OPS, some but not exceptional power, high strikeout rate. Keaschall is in his first year at AAA with a slash line of.261/.379/.348 (.727), and coming off Tommy John surgery so is limited in the field. Good on-base guy, not much power, uncertain defensive home, not an outfielder. Ryan Fitzgerald is hitting with a .882 OPS and can play SS, but he is 30, not really a prospect because of his age and prior performance, and also not outfielder. Emma is not really hitting much at AAA - .704 OPS wiht no HRs and 6 RBIs in 45 ABs. This also Jefferson Morales who placed some outfield, but he's really a catcher and is sitting.238/.304/.405 (.709) so he's not really setting the world on fire.
So what do you do? I would call up Keaschall, put some combination of Bader, Keirsey, and Larnach in the corner OF every day, and have Keaschall play 2B some and DH some. I'm banking on Correa being able to play so he and Lee are the primary left side of the infield, with Castro an occasional fill in and also available as the fifth outfielder.  Frankly, it's not ideal. It would be better Martin was available, but he's not. By the way, I wouldn't be upset if they combined this with bringing up Fitzgerald to have some infield coverage at SS and 3B while sending down Gaspar.
What do you guys think we should do?

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! It is another "What If Wednesday" with your ole pal William Malone IV.
Scenario: what would happen if Corey Koskie's ground rule double off Mariano Rivera in game two of the 2004 ALDS had stayed in play?
Let's set the scene! 2004 American League Division Series. Game two. The Minnesota Twins are playing in the Bronx against the mighty New York Yankees, but they lead the series 1-0. AL Cy Young winner Johan Santana had tossed an absolute gem in game one, but Brad Radke got hit around a bit in game two. They trailed 5-3 entering the eighth inning. Minnesota had the top of their order up, and Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre countered with veteran reliever Tom Gordon in a set-up role.
Gordon had no issues retiring Shannon Stewart, and he seemingly had no issues retiring Jacque Jones as well. But Jorge Posada couldn't hold onto strike three, and Jones arrived safely at first base. Torii Hunter lined a single to center field on the second pitch of his at-bat, forcing Torii to call upon legendary closer Mariano Rivera for a five out save.
This might've been a mistake on Torre's part. On paper, going to Mariano Rivera is the smartest decision any manager could ever make. But these games aren't played on paper. The humans who play them need to perform. And in order to perform, a pitcher like Rivera needs to be properly warmed up. He had not been throwing during the Jones at-bat. The ESPN broadcast cuts to him just beginning to stretch after Jones reached first. Because the Torii Hunter at-bat was just two pitches, there was almost no time for Rivera to get some real warm-up tosses from the bullpen mound. Go watch the broadcast footage for yourself.
The Yankees have other options. They could've simply asked Rivera for a six out save, something he had done several times under the bright lights of October. They could've stuck with Gordon, who was pitching well. It's not really his fault that Jorge Posada couldn't block a strike three pitch in the dirt that he got Jones to bite on. The only blemish was a base hit to Hunter. A third option would've been to start the inning with Rivera already throwing, so you know he'll be ready at the first sign of trouble.
But instead, they put an ice cold Mariano Rivera out there on the mound against budding superstar Justin Morneau. It wasn't the prettiest of RBI singles, but the 23-year old first baseman delivered a run scoring knock on the very first pitch he saw. The Twins now trailed by only one, and there were runners at the corners. 
 
After that, fellow Canadian infielder Corey Koskie pieced together possibly the greatest at-bat of his career. He battled with Rivera for nine pitches, eventually lofting an RBI double to the opposite field. It allowed the tying run to score, but also cost the Twins a run at the same time. Pinch runner Luis Rivas had the speed to score from first, but the ball bounced just over the left field wall for a ground rule double. Rivas was stuck at third, and now Rivera was a little more warmed up. He was finally locked in. Jason Kubel struck out. Cristian Guzman hit a weak groundout. The game was now tied going into the bottom of the eighth. 
 
So this is today's "What If Wednesday" with your ole pal William Malone IV. What if that double stayed in play? One assumption we are making is that Rivas can score from first, giving Minnesota a 6-5 lead. Juan Rincon pitched a dominant bottom of the eighth inning. He struck out Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, while getting Bernie Williams to ground out. He pitched an equally dominant ninth, striking out Ruben Sierra and Miguel Cairo, while getting John Olerud to ground out. But had the Twins been winning, it's safe to assume that Ron Gardenhire would've turned to Joe Nathan for those three outs in the ninth inning.
The playoff struggles of Nathan have been well discussed over the years. This game is even one of those examples of failure. But he did pitch a 1-2-3 tenth inning while the game was tied, retiring the Jeter-ARod-Sheffield trio. Nathan tossed a shutout 11th to, before blowing the game in the 12th. His failures in this game came in his third inning of work. We'd only need one inning if that Koskie double stayed in play. And it was against 7-8-9 in the Yankees order too. So for this "What If" scenario, we'll say Nathan can get those three outs in the ninth inning.
Now the Twins have a 2-0 series lead. They lost game three 8-4, once again scoring two runs in the ninth inning off Mariano Rivera when he came in trying to clean up someone else's mess without throwing warm-up pitches. For as great as he was, and he is the undisputed greatest relief pitcher of all-time, the inherited runner numbers are a little lacking. Part of this was because Joe Torre would frequently put him in the game without any time to properly warm-up. He allowed 35% of inherited runners to score under Torre, compared to just 24% after Joe Girardi took over in 2008. The Major League average is a little over 30% in any given year, give or take. It was 32% in 2004, the year of this playoff series. It was 33% last year.
Now that that sidebar about inherited runners is over, we've got a series that Minnesota leads 2-1. We'll assume game three plays out the same way. But game four is a little trickier. Johan Santana was asked to start on three days rest when the Twins were facing elimination. If they were ahead 2-1, they would likely start Kyle Lohse instead. Lohse was 9-13 with a 5.34 ERA during the 2004 season. He also had a really bad regular season start on September 29th that season. Weirder things have happened in the wonder sport of baseball, but you can't sit here and predict that the Twins would win that game with Lohse starting.
And now we're onto game five with a fully rested Johan Santana. He tossed seven shutout innings in game one, and five innings of run run ball on short rest in game four. He was pulled at 87 pitches in game four, laboring a bit in that final inning. It seemed like the short rest was finally catching up to him a bit. He had also tossed two gems against the Yankees during the regular season. They couldn't hit him. Minnesota was going to win that game with Santana on full rest.
That's right. They win the damn series if Corey Koskie's double against Rivera in game two simply stays in the field of play. But what next? Minnesota would've played the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Because of how the schedule worked out, Santana likely wouldn't have been available until game three. Boston had swept the Angels during the ALDS, so Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez were available in games one and two.
It's honestly somewhat reasonable to think the Twins could've won game one. Schilling's ankle was soup at that point. God know what possessed him to do what he did in game six with the bloody sock, but the initial injury occurred during game one of the ALDS against Anaheim. The Yankees hit him pretty hard in game one, and Schilling allowed six runs over just three innings. A very capable Brad Radke could've held down the fort, guiding Minnesota to a game one win.
Game two is trickier. Pedro Martinez pitched well, but the Red Sox just didn't hit. The Twins rotation fell off after Radke, and you feel like Boston could've scored a few more runs against Carlos Silva. Johan Santana can beat Bronson Arroyo in game three, and you're split at two games each after Derek Lowe beats Lohse.
One thing people never talk about with the 2004 ALCS is how the Red Sox were bailed out by Mother Nature. A rainout between games three and four pushed game five back into the scheduled off day for travel ahead of game six. This allowed them to flip Martinez and Schilling in the rotation, giving Schilling extra time to rest his ankle. Had game five been on its regularly scheduled date, Boston might've been stuck with a bullpen day. Schilling just wasn't ready to go yet. But a strong start from Martinez in game five followed by whatever voodoo magic Schilling had working in game six could be enough to send Minnesota home.
They probably would've started Santana on three days rest in game six while facing elimination. But again, Schilling just had something going for him with that damn bloody sock.
That's how things would've played out if Corey Koskie's double in game two of the 2004 ALDS had stayed in play. The Minnesota Twins would reach the ALDS, but lose in six games against the Boston Red Sox. I hope you all enjoied this week's edition of "Willy's What If." How do you think things would've played out if that double stayed in play? And if you have ideas for a future topic, please send them in the comments!
 

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season has finally arrived. These games count, and it is glorious.
A new season comes with new player. The Minnesota Twins have added wonderful players such as Harrison Bader and Ty France. They both impressed in their regular season debuts for the team, although in a losing effort. Sadly, roster space is not unlimited. New players means you need to say goodbye to others. Which can be sad.
The great Max Kepler went 1-for-3 with a double and two walks in his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. A fantastic performance, helping fuel them to a 7-3 win against the Washington Nationals. This should come as no surprise to fans of the Twins, for they saw Kepler unleash countless games of brilliance during his time in the Twin Cities. This includes 11 walk-off plate appearances, which ties him with Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett for the most in club history.
The amazing ability for Kepler to perform in the clutch went well beyond walk-off hits. Even in some of the games where he delivered a walk-off, Minnesota only found themselves in that position because Kepler had put the team on his back earlier. Let’s take a look at some of these unbelievable outings by our favorite German outfielder.
June 18, 2019 - Some might call this one of the greatest bench performances in Twins history! Max Kepler did not start on June 18, 2019 against the Boston Red Sox. But he certainly finished, delivering a walk-off single in the 17th inning.
It seemed like this marathon game was only destined to go 13 innings. Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 13th. But a game is never over when you have Kepler on your team! He came off the bench, and tied things up with a solo home run of his own. This helped extend the game, eventually leading to the 17th inning walk-off heroics.
September 22, 2020 - All of the desperate Twins haters were celebrating in late-September of 2020. It seems like Minnesota was not going to defend their AL Central crown. They trailed the Chicago White Sox in a tight division race. But these haters did not account for the brilliance of Max Kepler, and his ability to put a team on his back in a playoff race.
Kepler hit a walk-off single against the Detroit Tigers on September 22, 2020. But this never would have happened if he didn’t hit a game tying home run in the eighth inning.
June 14, 2024 vs Oakland Athletics - Fans of the Twins might remember that Max Kepler had a walk-off single against the Oakland Athletics on June 14, 2024. They were foolish to intentionally walk Carlos Correa with Mr. Clutch himself in the on-deck circle. But what you might forget is the three run homer Kepler launched in the sixth inning.
Minnesota was trailing 4-1 after five innings. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay, known for his long leash with starting pitchers, could’ve called it a day for rookie right hander Mitch Spence. But they left him in, and Kepler took advantage of this disastrous mistake. He wound up hitting a three run homer against Spence in the sixth inning, tying the game at four.

In baseball, timing is everything. Yet, the Minnesota Twins front office has displayed some of the worst timing for news in the last 18 months, and they have let fan morale reach new lows because of it.
On Monday, just a mere three days before the start of the 2025 season - the 41st full season under the ownership of the Pohlad estate – word got out that the Twins owners were looking for at least $200 million more than the $1.5 billion valuation/offers they were getting over the winter from prospective buyers to help offset a debt over $400 million that the team has incurred since 2020.
While it appears there is still interest in the club, the prospect of the team being sold any time soon has gotten lower. As a result, the Pohlads might just slink back into the owner’s box that they were looking to get out of just six months ago when they announced they were exploring a sale of the ball club their father Carl bought in 1984 for $40 million.
The thought of that happening is very unsettling to a large sum of the Twins fan base. There’s good reason for it. The fans have recently let their frustration show, as 2024 saw attendance decrease following a 2023 season in which they won a playoff game and playoff series for the first time since 2002.
Part of that decrease was a dreadful collapse in the season’s final six weeks. But another, and larger, part of that attendance dive was from Twins chair Joe Pohlad saying the payroll had to be “right-sized” when spring training was getting underway and the roster still had some holes.
Saying that part aloud, across radio dials of the upper Midwest, sent the message to the fans that the front office was not going to be able to provide modest improvements to a ballclub that looked to be on the doorstep of being an actual American League pennant contender.
Then at the trade deadline, the Twins sat 6.5 games atop the AL Central, and their front office did nothing to improve the team. No reason was given other than the usual jargon (nothing piqued our interest, etc.), but it seemed the Twins could not take on any additional payroll in the season.
The wheels fell off. The Twins turned into dust faster than half the Avengers at the end of ‘Avengers:Infinity War’. Fan morale sank to lows not seen since the likes of Scott Diamond and Samuel Deduno were getting regular starts for the team.
After the Twins were long eliminated, in late September, the Pohlads announced they were exploring a sale of the club. Morale slightly improved, as the thought of a new owner looked promising. Someone that could maybe invest in the on-field product and try and give Minnesota a consistent winner.
Things appeared to be heading in the direction of the Twins being sold to Chicago billionaire and White Sox minority owner Justin Ishbia, whos brother Matt also owns the Phoenix Suns. But the White Sox offered to up Ishbia’s stake in the team, and his bid for the Twins was off.
Ishbia’s lost bid was leaked at the time spring training was getting underway, just as you started to feel the warm and fuzzies about the boys of summer taking the field. Royce Lewis didn’t even have a chance to get hurt again this news was leaked so quick in spring training.
Now here we are, days from the start of the season, and the news has leaked the Twins might not even get sold.
So what happens if there’s no sale and the Twins get pulled from the market (just like the Nationals did a few years ago)?
Fan morale will get further crushed into oblivion. This is fine dot gif.
Just look at where morale is right now. The team can barely give away tickets to their home opener on April 3, as prices to just get in the door go lower and lower as gameday approaches. Hell, a carton of eggs will be more expensive by next week.
The objective for the Pohlads should be crystal clear in this scenario of pulling the team off the selling market: They have to go out and earn back fan trust. No, it will not come easily or cheaply for them either.
The 2025 Twins could easily win the AL Central. It’s a weak division, and the Twins are projected to have one of the best top to bottom pitching staffs in baseball. But attendance will likely decline again, as no one is rushing to buy tickets as the season begins.
This is what has to be addressed from the owner’s box.
Here’s how you try and do this:
Start with an apology. A statement of knowing that you royally screwed the pooch in the last 18 months. Then you follow it up with a declaration of how you are going to right the wrong.
Giveaway more tickets. Offer way cheaper (or even in some cases free) concessions. Discount the merchandise (especially at a time when simple groceries are tough for families that you want coming to the ballpark). Show some free trials of your new TwinsTV network, which casual people aren’t exactly willing to fork out for right now.
Then you get an actual willingness to invest more in the ballclub’s on-field product. Let the front office make a trade or two which makes the ball club better (aka adding salary). Show you can be flexible when there is an opportunity to make a meaningful fall run. Don’t give the fans any more B.S. about payroll, revenue, et. Al. Put a few more bucks into the team, right-sizing the payroll be dammed.
Buying back that fan trust will not come cheap. But when you are $400M in the hole, what’s a few more million on top of that? Start buying that trust back, and eventually people will come back and spend their money on your product again.
This is what the Pohlads will have to do should they retain the club. Simply relying on the baseball team to bring the fans back won’t work this time. It wasn’t working last year when they were sitting nearly seven games clear of second place after 108 games.
Otherwise, they might be yearning for the days when their franchise was getting valued at $1.5 billion and they said, “no thanks.”
 
Header photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images

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This is a comparison I’ve been wanting to tackle for a long time. In part due to the legendary status of Johan Santana amongst Twins fans. Santana was the greatest pitcher in MLB for a very short time, and a lot of Twins fans look back with a fascination focused on a Twins starter who was a legitimate ace posting up historically impressive ERAs for years in a row. A pitcher who was nationally recognized as peerless. What about Frank Viola, though? While fans recognize the name and revere the World Series Championship Viola brought the team in 1987, often Viola is considered a far cry from the dominant rotation arm Santana was. How does Viola really stack up vs. the legend of Johan?

Peaks
It's not open for legitimate debate. Johan Santana was the greatest pitcher in baseball for the years 2004-2006. Santana led the AL all three years in WAR, ERA+, Strikeouts and WHIP. His dominance on the mound was rewarded with a 55-19 record over the span, never winning fewer than 16 games. In Santana’s most dominant season of 2004, Santana put up a colossal 8.7 bWAR across 228 innings with a record of 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA and an ERA+ 182. Surely Viola can’t compare, right? Probably a lot closer than you think. Viola’s 1987 and 1998 were also insane. 8.1 bWAR in 251 innings followed by 7.7 bWAR in 255 innings, a record of 17-10 followed by 24-7 with ERA’s of 2.90 and 2.64 adjusting to still gaudy ERA+ number of 159 and 154, respectively. Viola took home the 1988 Cy Young Award for his efforts, and though he was not the triple crown winner like Santana, Viola’s results were comparable to the best using today’s metrics.

Ultimately, Santana and Viola were comparable in terms of value during their peaks. Santana’s peak was higher and more obvious, but the two pitchers mirror each other pretty closely in terms of value as you stretch that peak out. Viola’s best years stretched 10 years starting with 1984’s 4.5 bWAR 3.21 ERA (ERA+ 131) season through his final great season at age 33 with the Red Sox where he pitched to a 3.14 ERA (ERA+ 148) and another 4.3 bWAR. Santana’s stretch into his transition years from 2003’s 4.1 bWAR, 3.07 ERA (ERA+ 148) start until his age 31 season where he put up 4.7 bWAR effort during the 2.98 ERA (ERA+ 131) with the Mets. In terms of value: Best single year? Santana. Best 2 years? Viola. Best 3 years? Santana. You get the picture. Isolating Santana’s 8yr peak gets you to 6.0 annual bWAR and an astonishing ERA+ 150. Isolating Viola’s 7yr that way gets him to 5.6 annual bWAR an ERA of 3.19 and an impressive ERA+ 128 dragged down by 2 mediocre seasons being clumped in there.


Career Performance
Johan Santana finished his career as a 2x Cy Young, and 4x All Star. He accumulated 51.1 bWAR and 2,025 innings pitched across 12 seasons with a stellar 3.20 ERA and a truly epic ERA+ 136. In fact, Santana’s career ERA+ 136 ties him for 26th in MLB history. The only mark against Santana is how short his career really was. That said, Santana benefitted greatly from starting off as a reliever while learning how to throw his signature changeup protecting him from pre-peak innings dragging his career results down while his shoulder injury put the kibosh on his career after his age 31 season. The truncation protected his career stats from imminent decline which was already being foreshadowed by the beginnings of up and down results and a declining K rate. Still, it’s undeniable that Santana was a rock never having a hiccup year from 2002-2010. Frank Viola’s career ended as a 1x Cy Young, 3x All Star, 1x World Series Championship, 1x World Series MVP. Viola’s 47.1 career bWAR across 2,836 innings and 15 years only slightly trails Santana. His 3.73 ERA and career ERA+ of 112 reflected his rough start, the futile attempted comebacks through age 36 totaling 4 years of negative WAR. Unlike Santana who was shielded and carefully developed, an immature Frank Viola was thrown into the fire by a desperate Twins organization in 1982, and the results reflected Viola’s fiery emotional immaturity and lack of polish. The career WAR makes it clear Viola was a true ace over a long span of years in his own right.

Post season performances
This one is all Viola. Viola pitched the Twins into the World Series and then took home the World Series MVP as the Twins won it all in 1987. Viola was 3-1 used only as a starter in the only year he saw postseason action. The Twins were 4-1 in games Viola pitched. Viola’s Game 1 vs. the Tigers was good with 7 innings and 3 ER before putting runners on in the 8th and being lifted for Reardon who made a mess. The Twins won anyway thanks to the hitters. Game 2 was a 5 inning 2 ER performance where one ER was once again the gift of the Twins’ bullpen. Viola earned the World Series MVP by pitching 3 of the 7 games, taking the mound for games 1 and game 7 allowing 1 run in 8.0 innings of work in both instances. Johan Santana got 4 separate years of chances to pitch in the post season with a consistently great Twins team and more teams making the playoffs. His record was 1-3, with the Twins often paying the price when Santana stepped onto the mound; directly being credited with losses from bullpen meltdowns. Santana’s lone win came out of the bullpen where he nearly gave up the only 2 runs the A’s scored before the Twins hitters saved the day to reverse fate. Later, in 2004 and again in 2006 as a starter, Santana pitched excellently. Unfortunately, he was out-dueled in 2 of 3 starts, and Santana was lifted from games earlier than Viola giving Gardy’s bullpen instincts too many opportunities.

Career Ends
When it comes to the end of their careers, the two pitchers are again, similar. Santana’s well documented career ending shoulder capsule tear at age 31 failed to heal properly, even after an additional surgery and attempted comeback with the Blue Jays following his disastrous 6 years with the Mets. Viola’s career was also ended by injury. In mid-September of 1993 while just 33 years old and sporting a sparkly 3.14 ERA, Viola was shut down with elbow issues leading to Tommy John surgery in an era where the surgery was much less successful. Perhaps some of the high failure rates were from what would be considered utter medical malpractice today. Viola was back on the mound to open 1994. Yes. You read that right. 6 months after TJ, Viola was starting games in MLB. I can only imagine the rehab process involved rubbing dirt on the elbow and ignoring the pain. Astonishingly, Viola’s body was unable to heal in 6 months what needs 18 months on average these days with far more advanced practices. The ligament replacement obviously failed, and on top of that, muscles had been torn as well. Viola never returned to form though he continued to attempt comebacks with an arm that had been MacGyver’d back together a couple times.

Parting Ways
Again, both players are extremely similar being ace pitchers traded from the Twins to the Mets. Viola was traded mid-season after contract negotiations broke down thanks in no part to the front office rescinding the offer they agreed to, but unlike Santana who was beloved and supported by fans railing against the “cheap Pohlads” most fans took the side of the owners in Viola’s case. Twins fans were furious Viola would push for top dollar or test free agency after coming off a WS MVP and Cy Young in back to back years. The difference in fan support is possibly a major factor in how well Viola is remembered as Viola was essentially given the “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” treatment. Undoubtedly the pain of the loss of Viola was buffered by the acquisition of core players for the 1991 Twins World Series Championship team. As part of the Viola trade, the Twins got back 1991 ace Kevin Tapani and elite closer Rick Aguilera. Conversely, Santana brought back Carlos Gomez, who was flipped for JJ Hardy who was flipped for what was AAAA relief pitching.

Summary
Viola and Santana are highly similar in many ways. Having similar slow starts to their careers, both being acquired from other teams, both turning into elite Cy Young winners for the Twins, both leaving the Twins for the Mets, and both having their careers ended many years early by injury. Johan Santana was better, but not nearly as much as many people seem to think, and Viola brought the Twins the 1987 World Series Championship where Santana often brought playoff hand wringing. Santana is especially appreciated by fans here possibly because of his Twins-heavy career with nearly 80% of his career WAR coming while in a Twins uniform, and Santana had the advantage of playing with the Twins during a period where they were consistently making the playoffs. Frank Viola was truly dominant on the mound for many years putting together Cy Young caliber 6+ WAR campaigns for the Twins, Mets and the Red Sox, but unlike Santana, Viola stacked just over 50% of his career WAR together in a Twins uniform while surprisingly appearing in more All Star games in a Mets uniform than with Minnesota. Both pitchers were true, legitimate aces who gave Twins fans the expectation a game would be won versus the hope a game would be won, and it's quite possible both could be in the Hall of Fame today if it weren't for the career ending injury bug.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins had a wonderful game this week featuring only prospects. Many of these prospects were acquired through a magical process wildly known as the MLB Draft.
The MLB Draft is only 20 round these days, but it used to have an infinite number of rounds. Teams would keep picking for as long as they wanted, and then drop out once they were happy with who they had. The Minnesota Twins have stuck around in this process for as many as 60 rounds, getting that deep in 1993. Their second longest draft was 59 rounds in 1989.
So who are the best players taken in each of these 60 rounds? Here is your answer! In years where none of the players reached the Majors, it is left blank.
1st round Joe Mauer
It's hard to beat a first ballot Hall of Fame player who you take with the first overall pick. Mauer won three batting titles, to go along with five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves at catcher.
2nd Round Frank Viola
The 1987 World Series MVP followed that up by winning AL Cy Young in 1988. He was a three time All-Star, who had nice tenures with both the Twins and New York Mets.
3rd Round Bert Blyleven
Minnesota also used a third round pick on 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, but you can't go wrong with the Hall of Fame pitcher. It took awhile for Blyleven to get induced, but the resume was always obvious. He ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts, and ninth in shutouts.
4th Round Graig Nettles
Sadly, almost all of his big league success came away from the Twin Cities. He was traded to Cleveland just 121 games into his big league career, and blossomed into a six time All-Star. Nettles won the World Series in 1977 and 1978 with the New York Yankees, also winning ALCS MVP in 1981.
5th Round Dave Goltz
Goltz was a solid starting pitcher in the league for a decade, and was a 20 game winner for the Twins in 1977. He won a World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.
6th Round Pat Neshek
The electric sidearm reliever had some great seasons with the Twins early in his career, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and struggled upon returning in 2010. It took him a few years, and a few stops with other clubs, to find his form again. But he eventually began to dominate again, making All-Star appearances in 2014 and 2017.
7th Round LaTroy Hawkins
He certainly had a long career, and it came with many great years too. Hawkins was a bullpen staple for the Twins in the early Ron Gardenhire years, often setting up closer Eddie Guardado. He played for 11 teams in his 21 Major League seasons.
8th Round Brad Radke
One of Tom Kelly or Ron Gardenhire handed the ball to Radke on Opening Day nine times, which is the most Opening Day starts in Twins history. He finished third in the 1997 AL Cy Young voting.
9th Round Mitch Garver
The Bomba Squad wouldn't have been complete without Garver, who hit 31 home runs in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger. His career has been filled with many ups and downs. Some good stretches, some bad stretches, and some stretches where he's the best hitting catcher in baseball.
10th Round Marty Cordova
Steve Braun and Jeff Reboulet were ten round picks of the Twins who had longer careers, but Marty Cordova had a solid peak. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1996, and followed that up with a 111 RBI season in 1997. There were a few other solid seasons sprinkled in after that.
11th Round Taylor Rogers
Rogers had a 3.15 ERA across six seasons as bullpen mainstay for the Twins. They traded him to San Diego for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, where he had a nightmare season. Things have gotten a little better for him since moving onto San Francisco.
12th Round Jason Kubel
Bailey Ober might have this spot soon. You could even argue he should have it now, as his career WAR has already surpassed Kubel. But we'll give respect to the man who hit a billion clutch grand slams for the Twins.
13th Round Matt Lawton
He was a very good right fielder for several bad Twins teams in the late 90's, but he was never able to enjoy their early 2000's success after getting traded to the New York Mets for Rick Reed at the 2001 deadline.
14th Round Mike Trombley
After struggling as a starter early in his career, Trombley became a reliable middle reliever who had a nice 11-year big league career.
15th Round Rick Dempsey
Remember Graig Nettles from earlier in this list? Dempsey is another guy who had a lot of success after getting traded away from Minnesota. He was World Series MVP with the Orioles in 1983.
16th Round Kolten Wong
Wong is the first of several players on this list who never played for the Twins. Minnesota drafted him out of high school, but he didn't sign and chose to play at the University of Hawaii. After a stellar college career, St. Louis drafted Wong in the first round.
17th Round Kent Hrbek
It's always cool to draft a franchise legend in round 17. It's even cooler when he's a Minnesota native.
18th Round Edouard Julien
The Twins are hoping that Julien can become a mainstay for the club. He got off to a great start in 2023, before undergoing a rough sophomore season in the bigs.
19th Round Danny Valencia
Fans might've been hoping for more after Valencia finished third in the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year voting, but he still had a respectable nine year career. Most of it was spent as a platoon bat.
20th Round Damian Miller
Arizona swiped Miller from the Twins in the 1998 expansion draft. He was their starting catcher when they won the World Series in 2001, and an All-Star in 2002.
21st Round Eddie Guardado
Round 21 helped the Twins build a huge chunk of their early 2000's bullpen, given them Eddie Guardado and J.C. Romero. Guardado did have the better overall career, and is in the Twins Hall of Fame.
22nd Round Trevor Hildenberger
The sidearm slinging righty had a great rookie season for the Twins in 2017, giving them big relief appearances during a tight playoff race. But he was never able to repeat that season.
23rd Round Willie Eyre
We're reaching a point where some of these rounds don't have much to choose from. Eyre made 42 relief appearances for the Twins in 2006, and 69 others for the Orioles and Rangers after that.
24th Round Juan Padilla
Padilla was the player to be named later sent to the New York Yankees for Jesse Orosco in an August wavier trade during the 2003 season. He made 42 career relief appearances for the Yankees, Mets and Reds.
25th Round Taylor Hearn
Hearn never signed with the Twins after getting drafted in the 25th round, and he was taken by the Nationals in the fifth round one year later. He's made 101 big league pitching appearances for the Rangers, Royals and Braves.
26th Round Corey Koskie
The newest Twins Hall of Fame member began his professional baseball career by getting taken in round 26.
27th Round Scott Stahoviak
Minnesota took Stahoviak out of Creighton with their first round choice in 1991. They had previously drafted him out of high school in round 25, but he obviously chose to play in college.
28th Round Bret Boone
He chose to attend USC instead of signing with the Twins as a 28th round pick. Boone wound up having an excellent career, winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. While he opted against starting his professional career with the Twins, he did end things in Minnesota with a 14 game stint in 2005,
29th Round Nick Blackburn
"Big Game Blackburn" often showed up for the Twins when they needed him most. He had a stellar performance in the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game, only to have his offense provide no run support. His final three starts of 2009 were all seven inning gems, allowing three total runs in those appearances. Each one of these was vital to the Twins forcing a second straight game 163.
30th Round Michael Tonkin
15 years later and he's still on the Twins. There have been a lot of stops in the middle though.
31st Round Mike Lamb
Lamb is another late round pick who the Twins didn't sign. He was a seventh round pick of the Rangers a few years later, and eventually made it back to the Twins for a brief stint as their third baseman in 2008. Lamb was the Astros starting first baseman in the 2005 World Series.
32nd Round Matt Wallner
Minnesota selected Matt Wallner in 2016 out of Forest Lake High School, and listed him as a pitcher on their draft card. While he continued to play two ways in college, they drafted him out of Southern Mississippi a few years later as an outfielder.
33rd Round Nick Punto
We've seen it a few times already, but these late round picks who don't sign have a funny way of making it back to the Twins. Punto was re-drafted by the Phillies a year after declining to sign in Minnesota, only to become a fan favorite at the Metrodome.
34th Round Tim Davis
Davis didn't sign with the Twins, and was later re-drafted by Seattle. He pitched 122.2 innings for the Mariners, posting 4.62 career ERA.
35th Round Josh Bard
For the first time, we have a "by default" winner. Josh Bard is the only 35th round pick in Twins history to reach the Majors. He never spent a day in the Twins organization though, getting re-drafted by the Rockies later on.
36th Round J.D. Martinez
When he was re-drafted by the Houston Astros three years later out of Division II Nova Southeastern, it was only in round 20. Martinez went onto become a six time All-Star and three time Silver Slugger winner, helping Boston win the World Series in 2018.
37th Round Aaron Sele
Do you want to know how awesome steroids were? Sele finished fifth in the 1999 AL Cy Young voting with a 4.79 ERA. Just think about how much offense there was back in the steroid era.
38th Round Gary Matthews Jr.
After not signing with the Twins and later getting re-drafted, Matthews Jr had a very nice career. He played 12 years for seven different teams, and was an All-Star in 2006.
39th Round Brain Lawrence
He pitched five years for the Padres in the early-2000's, owning a 4.19 ERA across 152 big league starts.
40th Round Chase Anderson
Chase Anderson was re-drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth round two years later, and has played 11 years in the big leagues for nine different teams.
41st Round Brian Raabe
The University of Minnesota product played 17 big league games for the Twins, Rockies and Mariners.
42nd Round Chase Anderson
Yes, he was drafted by the Twins twice. They also failed to sign him both times.
43rd Round Jason Vargas
Vargas was an All-Star in 2017, and pitched for six teams in a 14-year career. None of those teams were the Twins.
44th Round Bob Gebhard
He made 30 relief appearances for the Twins over parts of two seasons. His ERA was 6.00.
45th Round Steve Pearce
The 2018 World Series MVP did not sign after Minnesota used a 45th round pick on him. He was briefly in the Twins organization on a minor league contracts during spring training in 2012, but he was released after not breaking camp with the club.
46th Round A.J. Achter
Minnesota signed Achter as a 45th round pick in 2010, and he reached the Majors with them in 2014. His big league career was 45 relief appearances with the Twins and Angels, boasting a 3.92 ERA.
47th Round Chris Heston
His career didn't start with the Twins, because he didn't sign with them as a 47th round pick. But his career ended in 2017 with a single relief appearance for the Twins. In between all of this, he did throw a no-hitter for the Giants.
48th Round George Springer
Another late round future World Series MVP who was drafted by the Twins, but did not sign. The New Britain native often went to Rock Cats games growing up, watching many future Twins as prospects. Springer opted to play college ball at UConn, and became a first round pick. 
49th Round Brock Peterson
The Twins actually did sign Peterson, but he never reached the Majors with them. He stayed in their system from 2003 until 2010, reaching Triple-A. Peterson then played a few years of independent ball, finally reaching the Majors in 2013 with the St. Louis Cardinals. 
50th Round Tyler Anderson
A 50th round pick of the Twins out of high school, Anderson went to Oregon and became a first round pick Rockies three years later. He is a two time All-Star, and currently pitches for the Angels.
51st Round
52nd Round Denny Hocking
Hell of a career for a catcher drafted out of a JUCO school. He spent 13-years in the big leagues playing almost everything but catcher. 11 of those seasons came with the Twins. He is the lowest drafted Twins player, signed or unsigned by the club, to reach the Majors.
53rd Round
54th Round
55th Round
56th Round
57th Round
58th Round
59th Round
60th Round

The article of Harrison Bader in right field foreshadowed for me a line up against left handed pitching that will be entirely right handed. That might make sense if you look at the numbers in any individual pairing. It might make sense if games are simulated in a computer. I don’t think it makes sense in the play of the game.
I recently read some thoughts about line up construction in the San Diego Union Tribune from Padres’ manager Mike Schildt. He was asked about his line up that alternates 1 through 8.
I have wondered before if it helps pitchers stay in rhythm when they face batters from only one side. I haven’t seen data on this but I would like to see how a lefty does against a right handed batter after he has just faced a lefty. Are his numbers against right handed batting consistent with similar batters in an all right handed line up? I suspect that for many pitchers a manager makes the game too easy by sending up a one sided lineup.
I would like to see Wallner or Larnach or both in those lineups. They might be the only two lefties the Twins have on the opening day roster. Podcasters and bloggers have beat the drum for right handed batting over the years but it sure seems that have a shortage of left handed bats right now. Let’s hope Julien will return to 2023 form or Keirsey is a better hitter than his minor league wRC+ suggests or Rodriguez and/or Eeles dominate AAA early and join the Twins in the first half. Until then let’s at least see Larnach or Wallner in the lineup. While we’re at it let’s also keep them in the game when they face that lefty reliever before the 8th inning. 
Someone is probably going to argue that Wallner has a career OPS against lefties of .510 or Larnach has a career OPS against lefties of .570. Bader and Castro are well over 100 points better for their career. On paper I can’t win this argument. I can’t win it in a computer simulation.  The batter I wonder about is not Wallner or Bader. It is the next guy. Does Jeffers get a better pitch to hit from that lefty when he is following Wallner? Is that pitcher a little off balance and more prone to a mistake?
I will finish by adding one puzzling split about Jeffers. For his career Jeffers has an OPS against lefties that is 137 points better than his OPS against righties. How is it possible that his OPS in games started by a right handed pitcher is 90 points better than when a game is started by a lefty? 

First let me preface this by saying that I realize that Spring Training results and stats are practically meaningless. But with this in mind here are some raw data from the spring along with a ranking of the 30 organizations.
 
OPS – Twins 20th with a .739 OBP
OBP – Twins 19th with a .336 OBP
SLG – Twins 18th with a .403 SLG
Batg. Avg. – Twins 20th with .250
HR’s – Twins 12th with 19
2B’s – Twins 24th with 20
3B’s – Twins 29th with 0
SB – Twins 9th with 15
CS – Twins 12th with 4
BB – Twins 24th with 55
 
All of these are not surprising. They are not showing a dominating offense at this time. A few of their players are struggling. But here is the eye opener.
K’s – Twins 30th (best) with 111 in 501 AB over 15 games
 
What great news for a team that at times has not been able to put the bat on the ball, especially when it was really needed.
 
I’m hoping that this continues into the regular season.

A team like the Twins needs to always be internally theorizing moves at every level in every situation. Twins cannot simply just buy talent on the open market. They must try and leverage situations when situations arise.  Could such a situation have just arrived in New York?
Gerrit Cole has a barking elbow. An elbow that more and more are believing to be potentially season ending. Of course we need to wait and see exactly what the tests reveal. That is a huge blow to a team that has a mandate of winning every year. year in and year out. There are other pitching concerns as well.  Luis Gil, the reigning AL ROY will be starting the season on the IL and will miss a few months. This leaves the Yankees with the following potential rotation.
* Max Fried. a legit starter, they are good here
* Carlos Rodon. Has the potential to flash ACE stuff, but inconsistent and has his own injury history. Can they rely on him? Rodon has not put back to back full seasons together since breaking into the league in 2015.
* Marcus Stroman. he of the "will anyone please take him off of our hands?!?!?!" ilk.  a 4.31 era last year is not HORRIBLE, he hasnt had an era above 4.00 before last year since 2018. He is still serviceable, but that is possibly his ceiling at this point? and the Yankees clearly are not sold on him.
* Clark Schmidt. He had a good bounce back season last year and a 2.85 ERA is great.  but averaging less than 5 innings per start isnt exactly an innings eater in the rotation. it makes him a good #4.
* Carlos Carrasco. I guess we have to include him here right? I mean he does have a pulse, and he is on the roster.  While I loves me some Carrasco, he is just not a season long starter
* Will Warren. a 25 year old top pitching prospect for the Yanks. while he had a bad debut last year he has some stuff and is turning heads this spring, but again unproven in New York is scary!!
With all of this in mind, just how desperate are/should the Yankees be to improve their rotation? And back to the Twins, how aggressive should they be to actually HELP the Evil Empire? And at what cost?
The Yankees would not give up major league talent, as they would be looking to contend if they are bringing pitching.  So we would be looking at the prospect market.
Next internal questions should be:
1) What is in the Yankees System we would want?
2) What would it cost to get them?
now back to the original question...
WOULD/SHOULD we move pitching to help NY?
We have perceived depth, but how much of the quality would we move for prospects?
Lombard is most likely untouchable, and Jones is intriguing.
But what if the Twins offered Pablo Lopez, a potential Ace or #2 starter in that rotation. and lets say we add a Trevor Larnach/Matt Wallner as a possible replacement for Stanton.
Lopez and Larnach/Wallner for George Lombard and/or Spencer Jones.
 
 

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins played two baseball games today. How cool is that? Baseball is such a wonderful sport, and Twins fans got double the action today.
While these were not regular season baseball games, that time of year is approaching. The beginning of the regular season is marked by Opening Day! It is a wonderful holiday, or at least should be seen as a holiday. Any president who makes Opening Day a national holiday would have all of our votes for life. Term limits be damned. Write-in it is! 
These games on Opening Day feature two starting pitchers. One for the Twins, and a second one for their opponent. Often times, teams will send their very best starting pitcher to the mound for this delightful contest of baseball. Because of this, Minnesota has faced many tremendous starting pitchers on Opening Day over the years. Today, we will rank them. Or at least rank the ones who have started against the Twins in game one this century (since 2000).
Please note that these rankings are based on the pitcher's entire career. But feel free to comment and say what a big stupid dum dum your ole pal William Malone IV is when you don't agree where someone is ranked. 
24. Mike Maroth (2003 - Detroit Tigers)
The Twins handed Maroth a loss on Opening Day in 2003, and that was the first of a league high 21 losses for him that season. For his career, he pitched six seasons in the big leagues. All but 38 of his 918 career innings came with the Tigers. Maroth actually spent 2010 in the Twins system on a minor league deal, but he was never called up from Rochester. This was the final year of his professional baseball career.
23. Dylan Bundy (2018 - Baltimore Orioles)
Once wildly regarded as the best pitching prospect in baseball, Bundy never really blossomed into what was expected of him. While his 4.74 ERA over eight seasons was a disappointment, his seven shutout innings against Minnesota on Opening Day was not.
22. Ricky Romero (2011 - Toronto Blue Jays)
Injuries ruined what could've been a great career for Romero. He was the sixth overall pick at one point, but was limited to just five seasons in the big leagues. This did include one All-Star appearance and a tenth place Cy Young finish in 2010, but Romero was out of the league just two year later. Unlike most pitchers, it wasn't arm issues that got to him. Multiple knee surgeries and torn quads in both legs were some of the injuries keeping him off the field.
21. Chris Tillman (2016 - Baltimore Orioles)
This was a weird game. Tillman and Ervin Santana both pitched two shutout innings, and then a lengthy rain delay occurred. Each team went to their bullpen when play resumed, only to have Tillman and Santana go at it again on "short rest" in the third game of their series. For his career, Tillman spent his entire ten year career in Baltimore. He had a 4.57 ERA, and was an All-Star in 2013.
20. Jeff Weaver (2001 - Detroit Tigers)
Jeff Weaver was good for the Tigers on Opening Day in 2001, but Brad Radke was just a bit better. He pitched a complete game, but the Twins snuck out with a 3-2 win. For his career, Weaver pitched 11 years with six clubs. Know to be a bit wild, he led the league in hit batters three different times. 
19. Erik Bedard (2007 - Baltimore Orioles)
2007 was a career year for Bedard, but you wouldn't know that by what he did on Opening Day. The Twins scored six runs in just 4.2 innings against him, and then Bedard went onto finish fifth in the AL Cy Young voting. He led the league in H/9 and K/9 that season. For his career, he owns a 4.99 ERA over 11 seasons with six clubs.
18 Brandon Woodruff (2021 - Milwaukee Brewers)
The Twins took care of Woodruff on Opening Day in 2021, but their bullpen couldn't hold on and the Brewers came back to win. His career has been very good when healthy, but staying on the field has been an issue. He missed all of 2024 while recovering from shoulder surgery.
17. Robbie Ray (2022 - Seattle Mariners)
The 2021 AL Cy Young winner made his Mariners debut on Opening Day in 2022 against the Twins. While he dominated on that particular day, the big free agency deal he signed with Seattle ultimately fizzled out. Through three seasons of his five year deal, Ray has only started 40-games and was used out of the bullpen when Seattle made the postseason in 2022. He has since been traded to the Giants.
16. Steve Trachsel (2000 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
Steve Trachsel tossed seven shutout innings for Tampa Bay on Opening Day in 2000. For his career, he was a one time All-Star who pitched 16 seasons in the big leagues. Most of this time was with the Cubs and Mets. 2000 was his only season with the Devil Rays, and he didn't even last the whole year. Toronto acquired him at the deadline that summer.
15. Jeff Suppan (2002 - Kansas City Royals)
Opening Day in 2002 was a high scoring affair. Suppan and Radke both got hit around pretty hard, with Minnesota hanging onto win 8-6. For his career, Suppan pitched 17 years with seven different clubs. He was named NLCS MVP in 2006, helping the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series later on that fall.
14. Danny Duffy (2017 - Kansas City Royals)
Danny Duffy was great on Opening Day in 2017, but it served as a good reminder that the elite 2014-15 Royals bullpen was a thing of the past. Minnesota teed off for six runs on the Kansas City bullpen after Duffy departed, winning the game. For his career, Duffy spent his entire 11-year career with the Royals. He had a 3.95 career ERA, and helped win a World Series in 2015.
13. Cole Ragans (2024 - Kansas City Royals)
It's rather hard to rank someone so young against guys who have had full careers. So this seems like a good spot for now.
12. Lucas Giolito (2020 - Chicago White Sox)
The Bomba Squad's encore was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they opened up their 2020 season by lighting up White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. For his career, he's a one time All-Star who had gotten Cy Young votes three times. Giolito is currently with the Boston Red Sox, and missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
11. Jamie Moyer (2005 - Seattle Mariners)
The 42-year old southpaw, who was still seven years away from retirement, pitched 5.2 innings of one run ball against Minnesota on Opening Day in 2005. The lone run was unearned, and the Twins lost 5-1. For his career, Moyer pitched 25 years and won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. The 522 home runs he allowed is a Major League record, but that is mostly due to insane longevity. Not poor performance.
10. Jake Arrieta (2012 - Baltimore Orioles)
Jake Arrieta didn't do much with the Baltimore Orioles, putting up a 5.46 ERA during his four seasons there. Maybe you even forgot those years happened. He broke out later on with the Chicago Cubs, winning NL Cy Young in 2015 and the World Series in 2016. His career took a downturn again after cashing in as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies.
9. Jared Weaver (2008 and 2010 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
You might remember Jeff Weaver from earlier in this list. Here is his younger brother! Weaver was a little unproven in 2008, but by 2010 he was seen as an elite starting pitcher. For his career, Weaver was a three time All-Star and finished top five in the AL Cy Young voting three times.
8. Corey Kluber (2019 - Cleveland Indians)
Jose Berrios vs. two time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber on Opening Day in 2019 was a great pitcher's duel. It was a 2-0 win for the Twins, with a two run single by Marwin Gonzalez in the seventh holding up as the difference. Injuries later on in his career will probably keep Kluber out of Cooperstown discussions, but he had a Hall of Fame peak.
7. David Price (2015 - Detroit Tigers)
8.2 shutout innings from David Price opened the door for Joe Nathan to get the final save of his career on Opening Day in 2015. For his career, Price was a five time All-Star who won the Cy Young in 2012.
6. Felix Hernandez (2009 - Seattle Mariners)
Hernandez had crazy hype when he debuted at a 19-year old kid in 2005, but it took a while for him to truly become King Felix. 2009 would turn into his breakout campaign, and that started with a dominant eight inning performance against the Twins on Opening Day. He made his first of six All-Star teams that season, and finished as the Cy Young runner-up. Hernandez won the Cy Young in 2010.
5. Chris Sale (2014 - Chicago White Sox)
Chris Sale didn't win a Cy Young until 2024, but he finished top five in Cy Young voting each year between 2012 and 2018. He was always a dominant force on these White Sox teams that couldn't build around him, but they were able to get a win on Opening Day in 2014 against the Twins and Ricky Nolasco.
4. Zack Greinke (2023 Kansas City Royals)
Greinke was a shell of himself when starting on Opening Day in 2023, but that doesn't take away from the amazing career he had. He was a six time All-Star who won the AL Cy Young in 2009.
3. Roy Halladay (2006 - Toronto Blue Jays)
Johan Santana vs. Roy Halladay in 2006 might be the best Opening Day pitching matchup in Twins history. Halladay won the AL Cy Young in 2003. Santana won it in 2004, and you can argue he should've won in 2005. And for as good as Santana was in 2005, Halladay was even better until injuries wound up limiting him to just 19 starts that year.
2. CC Sabathia (2004 - Cleveland Indians)
The Hall of Fame lefty was brilliant on Opening Day in 2004, only to have his seven shutout innings ruined by the Cleveland bullpen. Twins outfielder Shannon Stewart hit a walk-off homer in the 11th. For his career, Sabathia won 251 games and was elected to Cooperstown on the first ballot.
1. Justin Verlander (2013 - Detroit Tigers)
The three time Cy Young winner looked every bit like a three time Cy Young winner against the Twins on Opening Day in 2013. But he left after five innings due to a blister on his hand, which gave Minnesota a little hope. They scored a few against the Tigers bullpen, but lost 4-2.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Regular season baseball is getting closer and closer every day.
The Minnesota Twins played a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves today. The Braves were not able to get revenge from the 1991 World Series, as they failed to defeat the Twins. However, Minnesota failed to win as well. It was a 0-0 tie. The bats were not doing anything for either side.
Speaking of bats, there is a position in the wonderful sport of baseball known to many as the designated hitter. All this guy does is bat. He does not play defense. This position was invented in 1973, and the Twins have started 36 different men on Opening Day at this spot in the years since. Let's rank them all! Please note that we are ranking their entire careers. Not just their time as designated hitter for the Twins. Don't for get to call your ole pal William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum in the comments when you don't like where your favorite DH is ranked.
36. Mike Stenhouse (1985)
He hit .190 with a .598 OPS over 207 big league games with the Expos, Twins and Red Sox. But don't feel bad for the guy. He graduated from Harvard before getting drafted. Not too shabby!
35. ByungHo Park (2016)
Terry Ryan 1.0 was a great general manager who was rightfully inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. His second stint in that role didn't go as well, and the signing of ByungHo Park was one of the final nails in his coffin. Park batted .191 with a .684 OPS in what was his only Major League season.
34. Danny Goodwin (1980)
Goodwin never played more than 60 games in any of his seven big league seasons, and his career OPS+ is only 84. But despite his lackluster numbers, he was the Twins designed hitter on Opening Day in 1980.
33. Chris Colabello (2014)
This was a low point for Twins lineup construction. Colabello struggled to the tune of a .631 OPS as a 29-year old rookie in 2013, and that was good enough to start him on Opening Day the next season. To be fair, he raked for the first month or so. But it was a flash in the pan.
32. Glenn Adams (1978-79, 1981)
Adams might be one of the worst players in League history who can call himself a "career DH." 78.7% of his career appearances were either as a designated hitter or pinch hitter, as he only made 114 starts in the field during his eight year Major League career. Adams never hit double digit home runs in any of those seasons, and his career OPS+ was just 96.
31. Craig Kusick (1977)
This guy actually wound up having a pretty nice season in 1977 after starting as the designated hitter on Opening Day. Kusick played 115 games with a 120 OPS+, but that was about as good as it got during his seven years in the big leagues.
30. Kennys Vargas (2015)
Vargas crushed the ball for two months after the Twins called him up on August 1, 2014. This made him an easy choice to be the Opening Day designated hitter and five hole hitter in 2015. But perhaps those two months in 2014 were a flash in the pan. He was never flat out bad, but just not good enough to keep around as a hitting only player with little to no defensive value.
29. Pedro Munoz (1995)
Munoz spent most of his career as a backup outfielder, posting a 98 OPS+ across 517 big league games. Some years were better than others, but he was out of the Majors by age 28.
28. Matthew LeCroy (2003-04)
LeCroy was a pretty solid platoon option. He hit lefties really well during his time in the Majors. It's just a bit silly to be platooning your DH slot, and the Twins cut bait on the wrong guy from their early-2000's DH platoon of David Ortiz and LeCroy.
27. Butch Husky (2000)
Husky had a few decent seasons with the New York Mets in the mid-90's when his career was just beginning, but things fell off fast as he bounced around with several teams in the late-90's and early 2000's. This included 64 games with the Twins in 2000.
26. Craig Monroe (2008)
It would be more than fair to move some guys on this list up or down a few sports, because a lot of these careers were more or less the same. That goes Craig Monroe and Butch Husky. A solid few years early on, Monroe's coming with the Detroit Tigers, followed by a quick fall off later on. Monroe hit .202 over 58 games for the Twins in 2008.
25. Logan Morrison (2018)
Morrison was having himself a decent career as a first baseman and corner outfielder for the Marlins, Mariners and Rays. Then he really found it in 2017, launching 38 home runs for Tampa Bay. This turned out to be a flash in the pan, and Morrison had a disappointing season with Minnesota in 2018.
24. Gene Larkin (1989-90)
Larkin was a steady bench bat for the Twins between 1987 and 1993. He brought the ability to fill in at corner outfield and first base, helping them win the World Series in 1987 and 1991. Larkin appeared in 13 combined playoff games during those title runs, but none of them were starts.
23. Lew Ford (2005)
Fan favorite Lew Ford had quite the run for Minnesota during the early stages of his career. He even got MVP votes in 2004, but was out of the league after just five seasons...until making a brief 25 game cameo for the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. That was five years after his final game for the Twins.
22. Manuel Margot (2024)
Margot has had a solid nine year career as a platoon bat. This includes his 2023 season with the Twins, where he hit .331 with an .846 OPS across 165 plate appearances against left handed starting pitchers. Miserable numbers against righties and bench appearances sunk his overall statistics.
21. Randy Bush (1983-84, 1988)
The Twins had Bush in several roles during his 12-year run with the club. He had runs as the starting right fielder, left fielder and designated hitter. Bush also had runs as a bench bat, starting just 82 games from 1991-93 while appearing 228 times over those three seasons.
20. Steve Braun (1976)
A chunk of his 15-year career was spent as a pinch hitting specialist and a defensive replacement in the National League, winning the 1982 World Series as a member of the Cardinals. Braun did play for the Twins for six seasons in the early-to-mid 1970's though, sending a lot of time in left field and at third base. He was the Opening Day designated hitter in 1976.
19. Ryan Doumit (2013)
His versatile glove wasn't needed on Opening Day in 2013, but Doumit brought the ability to regularly play catcher and corner outfield. Doumit had a .756 OPS over a decade long career. His best offensive season might've come in 2012 with the Twins.
18. Jason Kubel (2009-11)
Kubel was a top 20 league wide prospect, and made the Twins playoff roster as a 22-year old rookie in 2004. They sent him to the Arizona Fall League to get some more at-bats after the team was eliminated, and he proceeded to tear his ACL. He still had a pretty good career, but you have to wonder if it could've been even better.
17. Robbie Grossman (2017)
For as dark as the Twins season was in 2016, one bright spot was Robbie Grossman. He was signed to a minor league contract in May 2016 after getting released by the Cleveland Indians, and was instantly able to give his struggling career a spark. Today, he's a career ten WAR player who has been to the playoffs with five different franchises. 
16. Marty Cordova (1999)
The 1995 AL Rookie of the Year hit .277 with a .799 OPS over his five seasons with the Twins. Cordova became a bit of a journeyman after leaving Minnesota, but still had a solid season or two.
15. Dan Gladden (1987)
1987 marked the Twins debut for Dan Gladden, who was expected to be a bench bat for the club after coming over from the San Francisco Giants. He started just eight of the team's first 25 games that season, before settling in as their starting left fielder. Gladden kept that role for several years, and he's now in the Twins Hall of Fame.
14. Rondell White (2006)
The former All-Star didn't fare too well with the Twins in his mid-30's, sporting a 62 OPS+ during his two seasons with the club. If there is a silver lining, he was 5-for-12 (.417) with a home run and a double during the 2006 ALDS. Minnesota got swept. But it wasn't because of Rondell White.
13. Gary Sanchez (2022)
It's easy to clown some of his issues with passed balls. There were a lot of really bad ones with the Yankees during some of their playoff runs. But Sanchez is still a two time All-Star who won a Silver Slugger in 2017. He also had a solid season with the San Diego Padres in 2023, and is currently with the Baltimore Orioles.
12. Gary Ward (1982)
Ward was named an All-Star twice during his 12 seasons in the big leagues, once with the Twins in 1983 and again with the Rangers in 1985. But despite this, 1982 might've been a career year for Ward. His 28 homers and 91 RBI that season were career highs.
11. Roy Smalley (1986)
Smalley was an All-Star who got MVP voters during a career year in 1979. He was a decent starting shortstop for the front part of his career, and a capable backup infielder in the back half. 1986 marked his second stint with the Twins, as his 13-year career was getting towards the end.
10. Jeff Cirillo (2007)
Before coming to Minnesota towards the end of his 14-year career, Cirillo was a two time All-Star third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit over .300 five times, including four consecutive seasons from 1998-01.
9. Byron Buxton (2023)
The all-world defensive center fielder had to play designated hitter in 2023 due to knee issues, but he was back out on defense in 2024. Buxton was an All-Star in 2022. He also received MVP votes in 2017 and 2020.
8. Chili Davis (1991-92)
This three time All-Star with 350 home runs to his name put up an .862 OPS over his two seasons in Minnesota, helping them win the 1991 World Series. Davis also closed his career by winning two more rings with the Yankees in 1998 and 1999.
7. Justin Morneau (2012)
He doesn't quite have the longevity that Chili Davis did, but Morneau can be just a head of him on this rankings list due to his MVP peak. The Canadian slugger was AL MVP in 2006, and was MVP runner-up in 2008. He also won the NL batting title in 2014 while playing for the Colorado Rockies.
6. Nelson Cruz (2019-20)
Cruz raked to the tune of 464 career home runs, winning a Silver Slugger four times. Two of those came as a member of the Twins. His decorated career didn't include any World Series rings, but he still sported a .979 postseason OPS and was named 2011 ALCS MVP.
5. Tony Oliva (1973, 1975)
The American League adopted the designated hitter rule at the perfect time for Tony Oliva. Knee injuries had taken away his ability to play defense, but the DH was added in 1973. This helped extend his Hall of Fame career for a few extra seasons.
4. David Ortiz (2001-02)
This one might hurt Twins fans a bit, but David Ortiz was their starting designated hitter on Opening Day in 2000 and 2001. He slugged 541 career home runs, and led the American League in RBI three times. Sadly, the Twins were not the team primarily benefiting from all this success.
3. Paul Molitor (1996-98)
The list of accolades here is very long! Molitor is a member of the 3,000 hit club and was an All-Star seven times. He also won World Series MVP for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993.
2. Dave Winfield (1993-94)
After winning a World Series with Toronto in 1992, the Minnesota native came home and got his 3,000th career hit in a Twins uniform. Winfield was a 12 time All-Star who won seven Gold Gloves and six Silver Sluggers.
1. Harmon Killebew (1974)
Killebrew led the league in home runs six times, and paced the league in RBI four times. While his career .256 batting average isn't much to write home about, his ability to draw walks gives him the same on-base percentage as career .305 hitter Henry Aaron.

There's a good chance you're familiar with Jackie Robinson's rise from the Negro Leagues to the Brooklyn Dodgers. You may have watched "42" or "The Jackie Robinson Story," which are both fine movies. But 1996's "Soul of the Game" walks you through the story from a different angle entirely. This underrated baseball film takes a look at Robinson's tale with less of focus on its effects on MLB and the white players around him as much as it casts a lens on his fellow Negro League players who thought maybe they deserved that shot. 
While Blair Underwood is great as Robinson and Mykelti Williamson plays a loveable yet gruff slugging catcher, Josh Gibson, it's Delroy Lindo's portrayal of aging pitcher Satchel Paige that steals the screen. Outside of talent, Satchel is everything that Jackie is not, he's cocky, brash, and tempermental. He's also a blast to watch. 
Each player has their own battles and reasons for wanting to be the first one to the Majors. Gibson, "the black Babe Ruth,"  is the acknowledged slugger in the Negro Leagues, but he's battling health issues in the form of headaches and mental issues. Despite those concerns, he is reported to have hit over 800 career homeruns. Satchel Paige is the biggest draw in the league as a dominant pitcher and spectacular showman. However, by the time this story is unfolding, he's entering into his 40s and feeling the effects of aging. For both, the clock is ticking on this opportuntity. Then, enters a young, straight-laced Robinson that pulls the rug out from in under them. 
In the end, this movie has characters that are eminently relatable and tells the story from a unique angle without a hint of getting preachy. While its not my favorite baseball film (that will show up on Opening Day!) it's my favorite hidden gem and a top 10 for me. 
Scorecard: Triple (standing up!)
Best line: (Jackie talking to Satchel Paige's wife-to-be Lahoma)
                 Jackie: "How old is he?"
                 Lahoma: "Not a day older than he has to be."
Run time: 1 hr 34 min
Where can you see it? Free on Youtube
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115631/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins will be back to playing baseball games tomorrow after having today off. It might not be a regular season game, but at least we're getting closer.
And when that regular season does begin, the Twins will embark on yet another quest to win the American League Central. To date, they have won the AL Central nine times. The first occurrence was in 2002, and the most recent was in 2023. Many of these division races have been epic! Who could forget the elation of winning Game 163 in 2009? Or the crushing agony of losing Game 163 just a year earlier? Another epic divisional chase came in 2006, when Minnesota edged out the Detroit Tigers on the final day of the regular season.
There was never any threat of a 163rd game, so that took a little juice out of it. Regardless of who won the division, both clubs were going to the playoffs with the lone AL Wild Card spot secure for the Central's runner-up. Back then, tiebreaker games only occurred when it was a matter of making or missing the postseason. But regardless, winning your division is still quite fun. And this race with Detroit came down to the very end.
Game 159 vs Kansas City
Minnesota woke up that morning a full game behind the Tigers. Detroit was hosting a very good Toronto Blue Jays club. They had the American League's sixth best record, but this was a postseason format where only four teams from each league would advance to October. There was no way Toronto could catch the Twins or Tigers, so they were just playing for pride at that point. Playing for pride worked, and the Blue Jays won their getaway day game 8-6. This meant Minnesota was only half a game back by first pitch.
Ron Gardenhire turned to ole reliable for one final time. This was the final regular season start Brad Radke ever made, and he tossed a gem; five innings, three hits, and only one (unearned) run. Despite his best efforts, Radke came away with a no decision because the bats were going down quietly. Minnesota was still down 1-0 heading into the ninth inning.
Nick Punto made the first out. Jason Kubel made the second out while pinch hitting for Alexi Casilla. Just when you think all is lost, up strolls Joe Mauer. I mean, who else would you rather have up? Mauer was a career .330 hitter in his career when the Twins were down to their final out. This includes three game tying or go-ahead homers in those situations. This was one of those three homers. Tie game! Extra innings! Jason Bartlett walks it off in the tenth, and the AL Central race is all tied up.
Game 160 vs Chicago (AL)
Once again, the Twins bats were going down without much of a fight. Minnesota found themselves down 3-0 through six innings, before Michael Cuddyer finally got things going with an RBI single. Past pal A.J. Pierzynski got the run right back with an RBI single of his own, and the Twins were down 4-1 heading into the ninth. Rally time!
Nick Punto led off the ninth with a single against Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks, and then stole second base. Luis Rodriguez scratched out a nine pitch walk, and Joe Mauer came up as the tying run. Sadly, he could not match his heroics from the night before. The soon-to-be batting champion struck out on three pitches, but Cuddyer picked him up with a two run double. Justin Morneau struck out, Torii Hunter beat out an infield single, and then Lew Ford drew a walk. It was all up to veteran Phil Nevin, who struck out on three pitches.
Sad, for sure. But the Royals made sure the AL Central stayed all even. They came back from 5-0 down to stun the Tigers. A 22-year old Zack Greinke tossed three shutout innings out of the bullpen, earning his only win of the 2006 season.
Game 161 vs Chicago (AL)
It's kind of like Groundhog Day with this Twins offense down the stretch. They were once again incapable of doing anything early on. Matt Garza getting hit around pretty hard didn't help matters that much. They were down 6-0 heading into the ninth, but the bats woke up late once again.
Bobby Jenks was unavailable after needing 32 pitches to close out the last game. It was also a day game after a night game, so he didn't even have a full 24 hours to recover from it. With Ozzie Guillien looking elsewhere for those final three outs, Nick Punto reaches on an error and Mike Redmond gets himself a single. Michael Cuddyer launched a three run homer, and suddenly it's 6-3. That rally would eventually fall short. Six runs was too big a mountain to climb.
Shout-out to the 100 loss Royals though. After mounting an epic five run comeback the night before, they scored seven in the first inning against stud Tigers prospect Andrew Miller. Yes, that Andrew Miller. He never really got things going for Detroit. Or for the Marlins after he was a key piece of the Miguel Cabrera trade. But watch out for him ten years later when he's winning ALCS MVP for the Cleveland Indians.
Game 162 vs Chicago (AL)
So it's all tied up heading into the regular season finale. Detroit has the tiebreaker, so Minnesota needs a win and a Tigers loss. No way the 100 loss Royals will sweep them? Right? Regardless, they still need to take care of their own business.
Down 1-0, Joe Mauer led off the fourth inning with a double. Soon-to-be MVP Justin Morneau tied the game with a double of his own, and then Torii Hunter hit a two run homer. That was all the scoring they'd need, but Michael Cuddyer and Jason Bartlett added RBI singles of their own for good measure. It was a fairly easy 5-1 victory for the good guys.
In another part of the world, the evil Detroit Tigers were up 6-0 on the last place Kansas City Royals. Detroit had already blown a 5-0 lead in this series. Seems unlikely that they'd find a way to blow an even bigger lead. You might be thinking that the Tigers don't really care. They're going to the playoffs either way. But no, they really wanted to win the AL Central. Kenny Rogers, a starting pitcher who finished fifth place in the AL Cy Young voting that season, was used out of the bullpen in an attempt to nail this down. They burned their projected game one playoff starter in an effort to secure home field advantage in the ALDS. And he blew it! Kansas City won, giving Minnesota the division.
Aftermath
The Twins got swept by Oakland in the ALDS and the Tigers went to the World Series, where they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games. Detriot's playoff run didn't come without some controversy though. Kenny Rogers, who had his next start pushed back to game three of the ALDS after his game 162 usage, dominated the Yankees in that game three start. He was also masterful in the ALCS, and threw a two hitter in the Tigers lone World Series win. But there was a thick brown sludge all over that guy's pitching hand throughout the postseason. It was clear as day. Opponents were publicly complaining about it, but the league just kind of sat around and let it happen. To this day, Yankee fans will insist they had that World Series in the bag had Rogers not cheated.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! We are in the month of March. It is quite the magical time for sports fans. March Madness is coming up fast, the NBA and NHL have their playoff races heading up, and NFL free agency is set to begin. But there is one more treat for the avid sports fan. Baseball! Sometimes, the regular season begins in April. Sometimes it's July if COVID is happening. But this year, it is March!
And once the regular season begins, fans can once again sweat out the tense moments that come with a baseball game. Many of these tense moments occur with the bases loaded. And despite the fact that none of you William Malone IV superfans asked for this, here are a bunch of random bases loaded stats!
Jorge Polanco refuses to hit grand slams
Former Twins infielder Jorge Polanco is one of the best RISP performers in franchise history. This extends to situations where the bases are loaded, despite the fact that he has never hit a grand slam. Polanco was 24-for-70 (.343) with the bases loaded during his time in Minnesota, including a stellar 5-for-7 (.714) bases loaded showing during his final season with the club. But none of those 24 hits found their way over the fence. There were five doubles and three triples though.
Dudes pitched around Bob Allison and Michael Cuddyer
All runs count the same. It doesn't matter if you hit a home run or draw a bases loaded walk. Twins Hall of Fame members Bob Allison and Michael Cuddyer did a lot of both. It's common knowledge that these two had power, but they also co-lead the Twins with 15 bases loaded walks. Allison actually jumps up to 18 if you include his early years with the Washington Senators.
Anyone remember Lenny Green?
Speaking of bases loaded walks, Lenny Green is the Twins single season record holder with five bases loaded walks in 1962. Six of his 12 big league seasons were spent with the Senators/Twins, and he was their Opening Day center fielder when the franchise came to Minnesota in 1961. His record shattering five bases loaded walks came in 1962, and nobody in a Twins uniform has caught him since. Six players have reached four. That was most recently done by Michael A. Taylor in 2023.
Joe Mauer got better with age
Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer was 45-for-119 (.378) with the bases loaded. This sample includes ten doubles and five grand slams. While these numbers are great, they got better with age. A younger Mauer was just 4-for-30 (.133) with the bases loaded over his first three big league seasons. It slowly got better over the next few years, then he eventually became a bases loaded monster. Mauer would go 27-for-60 (.450) with the bases loaded from 2012 until the end of his career.
Jason Kubel hit like 572 memorable grand slams
Perhaps 572 was an exaggeration, but it was a little weird how Jason Kubel hit so many grand slams. Let's be honest. Not all grand slams are the same. A lot of them might come against some struggling Quad-A reliever when your team is already up five or six runs. That's not what Kubel did. He hit five grand slams for the Twins that gave Minnesota the lead. Four of those were in the eighth inning or later. One of those came against Mariano Rivera. Another helped him complete the cycle. There was also a walk-off grand slam against the Red Sox in 2006. The fourth late, go-ahead grand slam helped break a 1-1 tie against the Tigers in 2008.
Carlos Correa saved his bases loaded knocks for Minnesota
Carlos Correa is 8-for-23 (.348) with the bases loaded since joining the Twins. He also had a memorable go-ahead RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in game two of the 2023 Wild Card Series. This is a huge step up from the .274 bases loaded batting average Correa put up with the Houston Astros. That's still a respectable number. The league as a whole hit just .259 with the bases loaded last season. But it's clear that Correa stepped up his clutch game after leaving Houston.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins played a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox today. Sure, they lost. But all it means is that we are one day closer to regular season contests.
But while we wait for the Opening Day game against the St. Louis Cardinals, it's time to take a walk down memory lane and look at some old Opening Day lineup cards. There are a lot of household names! You'll see a lot of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. But you'll also see a lot of very random names as well. And that's what this blog post is all about. Here is a lineup of the most random Opening Day starters for the Minnesota Twins at every position this century (since 2000).
C - Matt LeCroy (2000 vs. Tampa Bay)
This was the Major League debut for LeCroy, who was seen as one of baseball's best catching prospects. Baseball America ranked LeCroy as the league's 44th best prospect ahead of 2000, and there was only one catcher among the 43 players placed ahead of LeCroy; Rockies prospect Ben Petrick. LeCroy went 1-for-3 while batting eighth in an 7-0 loss against Tampa Bay. He was sandwiched between Jacque Jones and Torii Hunter in the lineup. It was the only Opening Day start for LeCroy at catcher, who was the Twins designed hitter in game one of the 2003 and 2004 campaigns.
1B - Chris Parmelee (2012 at Baltimore)
Parmelee was coming off an epic run as a September call-up in 2011. He slashed .355/.443/.592 across 21 games for the Twins the year prior, and the club immediately penciled him into their 2012 plans. He was starting at first base over incumbent Justin Morneau, who had begun the transition to a DH role. Parmelee went 1-for-4 in a 4-2 loss against the Baltimore Orioles on Opening Day, and he ultimately wasn't able to recapture that September call-up magic. Morneau had his first base job back a few weeks later, and Parmelee was playing in Triple-A.
2B - Nick Gordon (2023 at Kansas City)
This was only two years ago, but some fans might have forgotten that Nick Gordon was an Opening Day starter for the Twins in 2023. Nobody really knew what their exact plans were at second base after trading Luis Arraez in the off-season. Gordon went 0-for-2 before getting lifted for Kyle Farmer as part of a clutch pinch hitting barrage. Farmer drew a walk while pinch hitting for Gordon in the sixth. Donovan Solano delivered an RBI single later in the inning while pinch hitting for Joey Gallo, and the Twins won 2-0.
3B - Tony Batista (2006 at Toronto)
After spending 2005 in Japan, former All-Star Tony Batista made a return to the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins in 2006. His season got off to a great start when he homered off Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, but that's about as good as it got for Batista. He was DFA'd in June, making way for Nick Punto to become the everyday third baseman. Batista did play for the Washington Nationals in 2007, retiring after the season.
SS - Andrelton Simmons (2022 at Milwaukee)
Opening Day in 2022 was a weird introduction to the Andrelton Simmons experience. He had two hits and drew a walk at the plate, also committing an error in the field. This was the exact opposite of what anyone would expect. Simmons is regarded as one of the best defensive shortstops of all-time, but his offense was always lacking. The two hit performance was not a sign of things to come for Simmons, who wound up struggling at the plate during his lone season with the club.
LF - Luis Arraez (2022 at Milwaukee)
Yes, Luis Arraez was the Twins left fielder on Opening Day in 2022. But only on a technicality. Josh Donaldson strained his hamstring while legging out a double in the top of the first. This moved Arraez to third base and slid Jake Cave off the bench into left field before the Twins ever played defense. This was his final career appearance as an outfielder. Arraez became the regular third baseman while Donaldson was on the injured list, and then wound up playing a ton of first base later on that season.
CF - Jordan Schafer (2015 at Detroit)
Hardcore fans who don't quit on lost seasons will always remember how great Schafer was down the stretch in 2014. After getting claimed on waivers in August, he posted a .345 OBP and stole 15 bags over 41 games with the club. This gave the 28-year old journeyman a role heading into 2015, but the leash was short. Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler were three minor league center fielders who were all banging on the big league door. Aaron Hicks was still with the Twins as well. Schafer struggled out of the gate, and was gone by the second week of May.
RF - Miguel Sano (2016 at Baltimore)
Max Kepler has started in right field for the Twins on Opening Day in eight consecutive seasons. While it looks like Matt Wallner will be taking his place in 2025, it was Miguel Sano patrolling right field back in 2016. Sano went 0-for-4 with two strikeout and three putouts during an Opening Day loss to the Orioles in 2016. His defense out there was awful as the season went along, but Sano did post a solid .864 OPS in 159 plate appearances as a right fielder.
DH - Take your pick
The full list is awesome! Butch Husky (2000), David Ortiz (2001-02), Matt LeCroy (2003-04), Lew Ford (2005), Rondell White (2006), Jeff Cirillo (2007), Craig Monroe (2008), Jason Kubel (2009-11), Justin Morneau (2012), Ryan Doumit (2013), Chris Colabello (2014), Kennys Vargas (2015), ByungHo Park (2016), Robbie Grossman (2017), Logan Morrison (2018), Nelson Cruz (2019-20), no DH used in NL park (2021), Gary Sanchez (2022), Bryon Buxton (2023) and Manuel Margot (2024). Honestly, a lot of teams will have a DH list that looks exactly like this. There aren't as many full time or career designated hitters as fans might think. 
P - Vance Worley (2013 vs. Detroit)
You can make some sort of argument that Minnesota "won" the Ben Revere trade based on what Trevor May did. Revere had a sub-.700 OPS with -10 defensive runs saved during his three seasons with the Phillies. But plugging in Vance Worley as an Opening Day starter was just a bad look. Worley got hit hard on Opening Day, and things did not get better after that.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins have some spring training baseball games under their belt. This means we are getting closer and closer to regular season baseball.
With spring training games comes spring training home runs. Several Twins players have gone yard so far, including off-season pickups Harrison Bader and Ty France. But what does this all mean? Some of you might say "...but it's only spring training" and choose to not get excited over these glorious dingers. Others might choose to get excited. So who is right? Perhaps history can give us the answer. Here in the Twins spring training home run leader for every season of the Target Field-era (since 2010).
2024 - Ryan Jeffers (4)
Ryan Jeffers led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2024 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .346 average and a 1.178 spring training OPS. During the regular season, Jeffers wound up hitting a career high 21 homers. But a lot of these came early in the season. The Twins catcher had 12 homers and an .892 OPS through the end of May. He began June on an 0-for-17 skid, putting up a .615 OPS from June 1st until the end of the regular season.
2023 - Jose Miranda (5)
Jose Miranda led the Minnesota Twins with five home runs in 2023 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .325 average and 1.225 spring training OPS. The regular season was not kind to Miranda, who struggled mightily. He slashed .211/.263/.303 over 40 big league games, and was eventually shut down by a shoulder injury. A healthier Miranda had a better season in 2024.
2022 - Byron Buxton (5)
Byron Buxton led the Minnesota Twins with five home runs in 2022 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .469 average and 1.094 spring training OPS. In the regular season, Buxton hit a career high 28 dingers and was an All-Star for the first time. He ever homered in the All-Star Game, and many claimed he was robbed of the game's MVP award. Unfortunately, injuries caused Buxton to miss most of the second half that year.
2021 - Kyle Garlick (5)
Kyle Garlick led the Minnesota Twins with five home runs in 2021 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .293 average and .978 spring training OPS. The man had one job in the big leagues; mash lefties. Garlick did that to the tune of an .878 OPS against left handed pitchers in 2021. Injuries to some of his teammates forced Garlick to hit against right handed pitching more than Rocco Baldelli would've liked, and those at-bats dragged Garlick's raw numbers down a bit. The injury bug eventually caught him as well, as Garlick's season was ended in July by a sports hernia.
2020 - Nelson Cruz and Trevor Larnach (3, tied)
Nelson Cruz and Trevor Larnach co-led the Minnesota Twins with three home runs in 2020 Grapefruit League action. The COVID-19 pandemic caused these games to end prematurely. Trevor Larnach, still a prospect at that time, didn't make his Major League debut until 2021. COVID-19 canceled his minor league season, so he hit a grand total of zero regular season home runs that year. Cruz won the Silver Slugger at designated hitter and finished sixth in American League MVP voting.
2019 - Byron Buxton, Adam Rosales and Eddie Rosario (3, tied)
Byron Buxton, Adam Rosales and Eddie Rosario co-led the Minnesota Twins with three home runs in 2019 Grapefruit League action. Rosales was a 36-year old journeyman infielder. He had played 11 big league seasons for six different clubs, and was trying to make the Twins his seventh. But his home runs barrage couldn't help him make the roster, and Rosales played 20 games for the Rochester Red Wings before getting released. Buxton and Rosario were both key pieces of the record breaking Bomba Squad offense.
2018 - Ehire Adrianza and Miguel Sano (3, tied)
Ehire Adrianza and Miguel Sano co-led the Minnesota Twins with three home runs in 2018 Grapefruit League action. Adrianza, a two time World Series champion who has played in 12 big league seasons, wound up playing in a career high 114 games in 2018. This included a lot of time at shortstop early in the season when Jorge Polanco was suspended. Sano, who had been an All-Star in 2017, had a terrible campaign. He got demoted due Single-A due to conditioning concerns at one point, but did eventually bounce back with 34 homers and .923 OPS in 2019.
2017 - ByungHo Park (6)
ByungHo Park led the Minnesota Twins with six home runs in 2017 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .353 average and a 1.159 spring training OPS. After a lackluster 2016 season, Park had been taken off the 40-man roster during the off-season. He remained in the Twins organization after clearing waivers. His strong spring wasn't enough to help him earn a spot back with the big club, and he would spend the entire 2017 season in Rochester. After slashing .258/.308/.415 for the Red Wings, Park would be released outright and return to Korea.
2016 - Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki (4, tied)
Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki co-led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2016 Grapefruit League action. This sparked a career year out of Brian Dozier, who hit 42 home runs and drove in 99 for a miserable 103 loss Twins team. It was the second of three straight years in which he received MVP votes. Suzuki and Plouffe both struggled, ending their respective tenures with the club.
2015 - Eduardo Escobar and Kennys Vargas (4, tied)
Eduardo Escobar and Kennys Vargas co-led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2015 Grapefruit League action. Escobar, who had debuted back in 2011 with the Chicago White Sox, wound up hitting double digit homers for the first time that season. He also added 31 doubles, and established himself as a legit big league player. Vargas, who had finished 2014 on a hot run, wound up struggling out of the gate once the regular season began. He wound up spending most of 2015 in Triple-A.
2014 - Oswaldo Arcia and Brandon Waring (2, tied)
Oswaldo Arcia and Brandon Waring co-led the Minnesota Twins with two runs in 2014 Grapefruit League action. Arcia had peaked as the 41st ranked prospect on the Baseball America league wide top 100, and had some solid numbers in 2013. He then hit 20 home runs with a 109 OPS+ in 2014, still showing much potential for what was to come. But that was as good as it ever got for Arica, and then the Buxton/Kepler/Rosario wave took all the outfield spots a year later. Waring was a 28-year old career minor leaguer who spent all of 2014 with Doulbe-A New Britain.
2013 - Aaron Hicks (4)
Aaron Hicks led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2013 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .370 average and a 1.051 spring training OPS. His strong spring helped Hicks win the opening day center field job, despite never playing above Double-A beforehand. But Hicks wasn't just starting on opening day. He was the Twins leadoff hitter. It didn't really go all that well, which led to a rocky three year tenure for Hicks in Minnesota.
2012 - Luke Hughes (6)
Luke Hughes led the Minnesota Twins with six home runs in 2012 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .303 average and .983 spring training OPS. The Australian infielder was DFA'd after playing just eight games for Minnesota in 2012. Oakland claimed him on waivers, but he played just four games for the Athletics before they DFA'd him as well. This ended the big league career for Luke Hughes.
2011 - Luke Hughes (6)
Luke Hughes led the Minnesota Twins with six home runs in 2011 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .246 average and an .834 spring training OPS. What more can you say? The man mashed in spring training. He was Mr. Grapefruit League! He played 96 regular season games for the Twins in 2011, slashing .223/.298/.338 while playing everywhere in the infield.
2010 - Jason Kubel (4)
Jason Kubel led the Minnesota Twins with four home runs in 2010 Grapefruit League action. This went along with a .281 average and an .865 spring training OPS. This carried over to a solid 2010 regular season showing, where he hit 21 homers with a .750 OPS. The most memorable of those 21 home runs was the first long ball in Target Field history. But enough about Kubel. How did Luke Hughes do? That's what the people want to know! He only had 21 at-bats that spring, but had seven hits (.333 average) and one homer. He would make his Major League debut on April 28th, homering off Max Scherzer in his first career big league at-bat.

Well, it sure has been a while hasn't it? 2024 into 25 has been super hectic for me planning a move and the like but spring training starting finally got me the motivation to get writing again. But that's enough about me, you're here to read about Trevor Larnach, not some bozo living in a cheap apartment in Uptown.
So by now we all know Trevor Larnach's story, first round pick with tons of talent but had lingering injury issues holding him back, as is normal for 90% of the top prospects in the Twins system over the years. Now in the majors and turning 28 in two days (Happy early birthday Larchad!) and with elite talent below him in the minors, he's at a career crossroads and I believe this is the year he really puts it all together. So why am I gassing him up to such a huge degree? Well it comes down to three major things you can see in his hitting profile.
Statcast Batting Statistics
  Season Age Pitches Batted
Balls Barrels Barrel % Barrel/PA Exit
Velocity Max EV Launch
Angle LA Sweet-
Spot % XBA XSLG WOBA XWOBA XWOBACON HardHit% K% BB% 2021 24 1211 158 15 9.5 5.0 90.0 116.0 13.1 34.8 .212 .376 .300 .306 .411 41.1 34.6 10.3 2022 25 724 105 12 11.4 6.7 90.1 112.4 13.1 36.2 .227 .442 .309 .322 .437 43.8 31.7 10.0 2023 26 915 113 15 13.3 7.1 90.1 112.0 17.5 41.6 .215 .431 .313 .323 .443 49.6 34.0 12.7 2024 27 1576 268 27 10.1 6.8 92.0 113.2 12.4 36.2 .259 .458 .336 .345 .405 45.1 22.3 10.0 Player   4426 644 69 10.7 6.3 90.9 116.0 13.6 36.8 .233 .428 .317 .326 .419 44.7 29.5 10.6 MLB       82372 7.0 4.8 88.5 122.4 12.3 33.2 .245 .405 .316 .315 .368 36.5 22.2 8.4  
First off, Larnach hits the absolute **** out of the ball. looking at his batted ball data (shown above) you can see his average exit velocity in 2024 was 92 MPH compared to the league average of 88.5, which was good for top 10% of the league(!!!!), this along with an impressive max exit velo of 113.2 shows off the insane power Larnach has in his bat, but if you need an example here's a video of him hitting a no-doubt nuke into the Delta Sky 360 Club, something only 7 Twins hitters have accomplished (including Twins legends like Jake Cave, Tyler Austin and Byung-Ho Park): 
Twins - 1398716900658630662.mp4   Next up, Larnach has massively improved his strikeout and whiff rates. Referring back to the table (yeah I know I'm leaning on Statcast data to a pretty sad degree, but it is by far the best source imo) we can see Larnach brought his K rate down from a pretty sketchy 34% in 2023 to an almost exactly league average 22.3%. It's not elite or anything, but that mixed with his well above average walk rate combines for a player with the tools to be selective with his pitches and punish the ones he gets with the wrath of god.
Batted Ball Profile
  Season GB % FB % LD % PU % Pull % Straight % Oppo % Weak % Topped % Under % Flare/Burner % Solid % Barrel % Barrel/PA 2021 45.6 24.7 25.9 3.8 39.9 33.5 26.6 4.4 32.9 23.4 23.4 6.3 9.5 5.0 2022 41.9 36.2 18.1 3.8 38.1 36.2 25.7 1.9 32.4 23.8 20.0 10.5 11.4 6.7 2023 34.5 38.1 23.0 4.4 38.9 42.5 18.6 4.4 20.4 28.3 21.2 12.4 13.3 7.1 2024 44.0 26.9 25.4 3.7 42.5 33.6 23.9 1.9 30.2 25.0 23.9 8.6 10.1 6.8 Player 42.4 29.8 23.9 3.9 40.5 35.6 23.9 3.0 29.5 25.0 22.7 9.0 10.7 6.3 MLB 44.4 23.8 24.7 7.1 37.2 37.5 25.2 3.9 32.6 24.8 24.4 5.9 7.0 4.8  
Now let's hop to the batted ball profile. So, to put it simply as my caveman brain loves to, what you want in a player with pop like Larnach does is two things, putting the ball into the air and pulling it, and shockingly Larnach does both well above league average. Looking at his spray chart from last year you can pretty clearly see it, literally all of his Home Runs are pulled at least a little bit

Now, as someone who has some ooga booga brain from time to time (I blame the brain damage from concussions back in High School Football), I have definitely fell into the eye test trap crying about how Larnach always hits the ball 5 million MPH into the ground for outs but this just isn't true. His GB rate is literally league average, I suppose it's bias seeing the ball smoked all the time leading you to think it happens more often than it does.
So with all this in mind we just need to touch the final but also most important thing, that he's gonna finally be a full-time starter on opening day! 2024 was a solid year that bought him a starting role that will finally give him the chance to put destiny in his own hands.
To conclude this rambling mess of stats and word vomit, Larnach has the tools to be a solidly above average corner OF.  I'm buying all the stock possible in him and even if you're jaded now I hope this might've fooled you into having some hope for our in-house players again. I leave you with perhaps the single greatest HR of Larnach's career, I honestly think this absolute monster could not be matched by even the likes of Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani, heck even Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds aren't hitting this kind of peak performance

Twins - 1660284314574106625.mp4    
 

It's easy to have hope when all is in front of you, and there's nothing left to lose.
The 2025 Twins stand at an intoxicating crossroads. And no, I do not include the Pohlads in this equation - I'm referring to whichever 26 players end up being asked to bear the burden of taking this team to the postseason over the next few months, payroll and franchise financials be damned.
Given the status of things, this should logically be a rebuilding year. In fact, let's take stock of recent events- after putting to bed the cruelest streak in sports, and finding themselves with the greatest opportunity in 30 years(!) to seize the fanbase's imagination, the decision was made to not only *refuse* to do so, but to instead lower the current team's payroll, and ensure a regression in their fortunes. It was, without argument, the greatest subversion of anticipation that I can recall in my lifetime as a sports fan. It is the franchise equivalent of self-harm - to actively shrink away from the responsibility of healing the trauma of the Twins fanbase. To reject this call was to deny the very reason one should have for bothering to own a team in the first place. To take the promise we had all collectively tasted for the first time since 2004 and instead poison it, cementing the acid in our veins we had generated through our fandom, rather than exorcise it once and for all. 
These decisions helped to sow the seeds for what we saw transpire in 2024. A promising squad who knew the quality of their craft. Flashes of brilliance that refused to stay buried, even if they could sometimes be lost in the quagmire that was the unyielding streakiness plaguing the roster. Royce Lewis naively proclaiming that he "didn't do slumps", only to be patiently reminded by the fates that he, too, wasn't immune to misfortune. The constant roll of the dice that was the health of the team's core. And once again, a roster that only needed the support of the Pohlads to ensure the cavalry would arrive when needed - only to find, come the trade deadline, that reinforcements were not coming through the clubhouse door. The burden would be fully placed on the shoulders of an already depleted staff to carry our hopes across the finish line, and it didn't matter how obvious it was that it wouldn't be enough - that was the end of it, in more ways than one. The collapse that followed was gargantuan. In many ways, it was undeserved. None of this should have even been on the table. And yet, it transpired in the open for all of us to experience. And then, weeks later, those responsible announced it was time for them to wash their hands of it all by placing the team on the auction block.
Where does that leave the Twins in 2025? The fanbase? The players? It's an impossible question when there's no telling who the absentee landlords will be replaced with or when that substitution will happen. Can you be excited about a squad when you know, deep inside, that there is every reason that its construction should be better than it is, if not for a refusal from the owners to do the bare minimum? How do you cheer for a team when to do so is to accept the cynicism and banality that is the cravenness of professional sports in the 21st century?
But if I could ask one thing of you, it would be to attempt to shut out the noise that capitalism screams at us in this day and age, and think about what's possible with the players and coaches already here. To read FanGraphs and understand the numbers suggest is possible - if not probable - for the Twins in 2025 is to be provoked to get one's hopes up again. To foresee a year where the pitching is dominant, the lineup rises to the heights that we already know is within reach, and where October baseball isn't just a thin layer of icing on an already flimsy layer cake. 
It feels strange to try and aggregate how the world feels about this team in this moment. The fanbase is (rightly) agitated over the limbo the organization currently finds itself in, preventing it from moving forward. The pitching staff (and especially the bullpen) are projected to be one of the best in baseball, while power rankings still plunge the Twins to as far down as the bottom third of the league. It's enough to send one hurtling deep into a bleak emotional spiral, but only if you haven't already been down this road many times before. Because, honestly, this location is the address where Twins Territory has lived for more years than I can remember. A team everyone seems to understand is capable of wonderful things, but refuses to come to the consensus that those things are likely to ever happen.
It is a battle I find myself in as spring training starts its trudge towards the regular season. As a former poker player, I am reminded of a thought exercise I was taught to help combat the frustrations of losing a big hand - 
Look at your chip stack. Look at your cards. Forget what just happened and how well you were doing before this moment. Imagine in the previous hand that instead of losing, you just doubled up, and that you are in twice as good of a position as you were before. How would you feel in that moment? Because the numbers match exactly the situation you're saddled with in real life. Think and play as if you've just doubled up, and if you truly have the skills to do so, you'll do just fine.
The Twins have the pieces to astound a lot of observers. It'll require some luck and unexpected consistency, but there is no reason to believe such an outcome isn't in its grasp. I might be guilty of rose-colored glasses, but I would forever prefer that to any other perspective.
Here's to 2025, and this roster of neglected misfits running roughshod over the expectations of all who dare to believe that they aren't capable of great things. They have at least one believer in their cheering section, and I hope that number is far greater than myself.
If one cannot believe that this is the year, then I don't understand the point of baseball.

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Spring training games are currently ongoing. This means we are getting closer to regular season baseball with every passing second.
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 last year. They became the tenth team in American League history to finish with an exact record of 82-80. Let's take a look at what the next season had in store for the first nine American League clubs to finish 82-80.
1965 California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels went 82-80 in 1964. They changed their name to the California Angels in the off-season, but this did not make them play much better in 1965. California achieved a 75-87 record to follow up their 82-80 campaign. This was accomplished with insane home/road splits, going 46-34 at home and 29-53 on the road. Their middle infield duo of Bobby Knoop and Jim Fregosi both got MVP votes in 1965.
1969 Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics went 82-80 in 1968. Unlike the Angels, they did not go through a name change after posting that record, but they did change managers. Hank Bauer replaced Bill Kennedy, making him the A's third manager in three years. It turned into four managers in three years when Bauer got fired with eight games remaining. He went 80-69. John McNamara went 8-5, for a total record of 88-74.
1972 New York Yankees
The New York Yankees went 82-80 in 1971. They did not change their team name. They also did not change their manager. One interesting thing they did in in 1972 was retire the number eight...twice! It was retired for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra. Dickey wore the number from 1930-46. Berra had worn the number from 1948-63. And then in 1972, they decided to retire the number for both of them. On the field, New York went 79-76 in a season that was shortened due to a player's strike.
1975 Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 in 1974. They did not change their name. They did not change their manager. They also did not retire any numbers that next season. But one thing they did do was release a franchise legend. Harmon Killebrew was cut by the Twins on January 16, 1975. He had hit .222 with a .672 OPS in 1975. Killebrew caught on with the Royals in 1975, but didn't do much better. Neither did the Twins, who finished 76-83.
1980 Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins went 82-80 in 1979. They did not make a managerial change during the off-season, but they did make one during the 1980 season. Gene Mauch resigned with the team sitting at 54-71, and was replaced by Johnny Goryl. Minnesota finished strong under Goryl, going 23-13 under him. But it was too little, too late. The Twins final record was 77-84. Goryl was brought back in 1981, but was quickly fired after an 11-25 start.
1992 Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals went 82-80 in 1991. They had gone through three different managers during that 1991 season. Hal McRae, who was manager number three, kept the job heading into 1992 after going 66-58 down the stretch the year before. Kansas City took a step back in 1992, going 72-90. Big off-season addition Kevin McReynolds was listed to just 109 games due to injury.
1994 Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners went 82-80 in 1993. But hopes were high in 1994. They had generational megastars Ken Griffey Jr and Randy Johnson. Seattle also had Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner in their lineup, and an 18-year old Alex Rodriguez was set to debut later in the year. But it takes more than five or six All-Stars, because the Mariners were sitting at 49-63 before the player's strike cut 1994 short.
2001 Anaheim Angels
The Anaheim Angels went 82-80 in 2000. They did not change their name this time, although they had changed their name since the last time we read about them. And they'll change their name again soon. But not right now. The 2001 Angles went 75-87. They were missing slugger Mo Vaughn, who had hit 36 home runs with 117 RBI in 2000. He missed the entire 2001 season with a torn bicep.
2024 New York Yankees
The New York Yankees went 82-80 in 2023. It was the first time they had missed the playoff since 2016, so they loaded up in the off-season by trading for star outfielder Juan Soto. He was awesome! Finishing third in the MVP voting and leading the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009. Practically carried them on his back too. Aaron Judge was nowhere to be seen in October, batting .184 in the postseason. Meanwhile, Soto hit .327 with a 1.101 OPS in the playoffs. Sadly, this wasn't enough and the Dodgers were crowned World Series champions.

In this March to October series I will Cover every game (Most if time allows) starting opening day so I hope everyone has a good season and stay tuned for game recaps.
Thanks 
C-Gangster

Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Spring training baseball is finally here. That means regular season baseball is right around the corner.
The Minnesota Twins enter this year with an over/under of 84.5, according to DraftKings. This is the 12th highest over/under total in the league, and the highest among AL Central teams. But we all know these games are not played by Las Vegas projections. They are played by human beings on a baseball field. With that in mind, let's see how the Twins have done against their over/under projections during the Target Field-era.
2024 - 85.5 (Under, 82)
The Twins seemed destined to blow right past their over/under total of 85.5 in 2024. They were sitting at 70-53 on August 18th, which is a 92 win pace. But then Jorge Alcala had arguably the worst outing of his career, blowing a four run lead and costing his team a chance to sweep the defending champion Texas Rangers. Things spiraled from there, and the Twins only finished with 82 wins.
2023 - 83.5 (Over, 87)
While it seemed like the 2024 Twins were destined to go over their total, the 2023 Twins were the opposite. They were below .500 at the All-Star break, and things didn't get much better after play resumed. Minnesota rode a five game losing streak into the month of August, which included a sweep at the hands of last place Kansas City. But the Twins went 33-22 from August 1st onward, comfortably winning the AL Central by nine games and clearing their 83.5 total.
2022 - 80.5 (Under, 78)
There's starting to be a pattern of the over/under race flipping due to a late season surge or collapse. A late season surge saved the Twins in 2023. It sank them in 2024. 2022 was the sinking variety.  Minnesota played at an 87 win pace in the first half, and they held a 3.5 game lead in the AL Central. They were still playing at an 84 win pace when August ended, but they had fallen out of first place by then. September was their worst month yet, and the club finished 78-84.
2021 - 89.5 (Under, 73)
2021 is probably the Twins most disappointing season, based on preseason expectations. They had won 101 games in 2019, and played at a 97 win pace during the COVID shortened 2020 season. But things were ugly from the start for Minnesota in 2021. They were 9-15 in April, and never fully recovered. This led to Jose Berrios and Nelson Cruz being shown the door at the deadline. Oddly, they played a little better after the deadline to help avoid a 90 loss season. The Twins went 30-28 after the deadline. But it was too little, too late.
2020 - 34.5 (Over, 36)
The shortened COVID year was weird. There's probably not much you remember from it, unless you're a Dodgers fan. For reference, 34 wins over 60 games is a 92 win pace. The Twins 36-24 record means they played at a 97 win pace. Minnesota played jump rope with their over/under line all season, pushing themselves over by winning five of their final seven. Before that seven game stretch, they had lost four of five. They were as hot and cold as a team can be over a shortened 60 game sprint. This also included a six game losing streak in late August.
2019 - 84.5 (Over, 101)
Slugging a Major League record 307 home runs is a good way to blow 17 wins by your preseason over/under projection. Minnesota hit this mark on September 2nd with a thrilling come from behind win over Detroit. Max Kepler decided home runs were boring, and delivered a two run single in the eighth inning to help his club pull a head that night. Over bettors were able to finally cash their tickets, but it was a result that had felt safe for a few months at that point.
2018 - 82.5 (Under, 78)
Minnesota went to the playoffs in 2017, but a lot of their off-season moves blew up in their face. Logan Morrison wasn't the DH upgrade they expected, and Lance Lynn wasn't able to strengthen the rotation. Ervin Santana going down with a finger injury in spring training didn't help matters, and Jorge Polanco missed 80 games due to a failed drug test.
2017 - 70.5 (Over, 85)
Fans had no reason to be optomisct heading into 2017. The Twins had lost 103 games in 2016, and followed it up with a quiet off-season. Jason Castro and Matt Belisle were the only players they added on Major League deals. Many saw Castro as a downgrade to the departing Kurt Suzuki. 70.5 was the third lowest total in the league, only ahead of the Padres and Athletics. And then look what happened? They won 85 games and wound up in the Wild Card Game. Baseball is funny sometimes!
2016 - 78.5 (Under, 59)
No surprise that the worst season in Minnesota Twins history saw the club fall short of their over/under total. It's the eighth worst season if you include the Senators. They had some really lean years while in Washington. Those guys once had a 114 loss season...and they didn't even start playing 162 games until the 60's when the franchise had already moved to the Midwest.
2015 - 72.5 (Over, 83)
After four straight 90+ loss seasons, the Twins didn't deserve to have a high over/under total. And maybe the 2015 Twins weren't much better than the 2011-14 teams, but they rode a crazy hot month of May to a winning record. That was actually their only winning month in 2015, but they went 20-7. This gave the Twins a nice cushion to coast to an 83-79 record. Minnesota was mathematically alive for a wild card spot as last as the 161st game, but it wasn't meant to be.
2014 - 70.5 (Under, 70)
Bettors were certainly stressing out the 2014 Twins down to the very end. They were sitting at 69-91 with a series against the first place Detroit Tigers heading into the final weekend of the season. Minnesota needed a sweep to finish over 70.5 wins. They won the first two, setting up a season finale for all the marbles. And then the Tigers put their foot down, winning 3-0. These games actually mattered for Detroit too. The AL Central race between Detroit and Kansas City came down to the final day, mostly because the Twins had played spoiler in those first two games.
2013 - 70.5 (Under, 66)
Much like 2024 or 2022, this is another year where a late season collapse caused the Twins to fall short of their over/under total. Except this time, it didn't cost them a playoff spot in the process. They went 3-17 in their final 20 games. All they needed to go was go 8-12 to hit 71 wins. There was also a 1-12 stretch in late June/early July, and a ten game losing streak in May. Those three stretches add up to a 4-39 record, which is a 15-147 pace. So there were obviously some good stretches too if they were flirting with 70 wins.
2012 - 74.5 (Under, 66)
There was some hope that the 99 loss season in 2011 was a fluke. After all, Minnesota had won the AL Central in 2009 and 2010. They also lost a tiebreaker game for the division crown in 2008. Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer bounced back strong from the infamous bilateral leg weakness, leading the American League with a .416 on-base percentage. But they needed more than one person to have a bounce back year, which didn't happen.
2011 - 87.5 (Under, 63)
As you just read in the 2012 section, the 2011 Twins were a giant disappointment. Ron Gardenhire had won six division titles and suffered just one losing season in his first nine years as Twins manager, but that era was over. There's a lot of blame to go around. "Piranha ball" wasn't working as well in a league that was becoming more and more analytical. Big boppers such as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were non-factors. While Mauer bounced back to his All-Star form in future seasons, Morneau never did.
2010 - 83.5 (Over 94)
Everyone knew the 2010 Twins were going to hit, but pitching was a huge question. Carl Pavano and Francisco Lirano delivered in a big way. Liriano actually got Cy Young votes and won AL Comeback Player of the Year. It was the season Twins fans had been waiting for since his 2006 injury. Pavano went 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA, which was a huge upgrade over his 5.10 ERA for a year earlier (4.64 in 12 post-deadline starts with Twins). You could've made a Comeback Player of the Year case for him as well.