Seth Stohs

Tonight when the podcast is posted, you'll definitely hear thoughts on Kralick and Klippstein, and especially Hall.

Last night, I posted my choices for the Twins Hitters of the Decade for the 1960s. Today, I am sharing my choices for the Twins Pitchers of the Decade for that 1960s. While not as impressive as the hitter list, this group does show the depth of solid pitchers that were on the Twins roster in the 1960s. Please leave your comments. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily In each decade, I will select five Starting Pitchers and five Bullpen pitchers. But the role of the bullpen in 1960s baseball is much, much different than it is today, and even much different than it became in the 1980s. So below you will see five starters and five "relievers" but frankly, at least three of the relievers made a significant number of starts. So in reality, you could call them "Long Relievers" and they are somewhat interchangeable with the back-end starters listed. But I am very curious your thoughts on my selections for a Twins pitching staff for the decade of the 1960s. And on a side note, later tonight (Thursday), I will be posting a podcast with someone who was/is very close to those Twins teams from the 1960s. It was a little over an hour conversation filled with many stories about the players selected (and many "snubs") from my list. You will definitely want to listen to that. THE PITCHERS SP - Jim Kaat (1961-1969) 340 games, 307 starts, 141-114 with a 3.22 ERA in 2,173 ⅔ innings. 1,410 K, 530 BB. Kaat debuted with the Senators as a 20-year-old in 1959 and pitched in 16 total games before the team moved to Minnesota in 1961. He was an All Star in 1962 and 1966. He led the league in starts in 1965 and 1966, and with 19 complete games in 1966 when he also led the league with 304 ⅔ innings. He finished fifth in MVP voting that season. It was before there were two Cy Young Awards, but he was The Sporting News’ AL Pitcher of the Year that season. He won the first eight Gold Gloves of the 16 he won in his career during the decades (1962-1969). SP - Jim Perry (1963-1969) 261 games, 135 starts, 74-45 with a 2.88 ERA in 1,117 innings. 646 K. 322 BB. Perry debuted with Cleveland in 1959. He came to the Twins early in the 1963 season and remained through the 1972 season. His two All Star appearances and his Cy Young Award came in 1970 and 1971, but he was pretty good in the ‘60s too. He split a lot of time between the rotation and the bullpen, but he provided innings, and kept his ERA low each year. His best season of the decade was the 1969 season when he went 20-6 with a 2.82 ERA. He finished third in Cy Young voting, setting up his great 1970 season. SP - Camilo Pascual (1961-1966) 184 games, 179 starts, 88-57 with 3.31 ERA in 1,284 ⅔ innings. 995 K. 431 BB. Pascual signed from Cuba and debuted at 20 in 1954. He was an All Star in 1959 and 1960. The Twins came to Minnesota and he was an All Star in 1961, 1962 and 1964. He won 20 games in 1962 and 21 games in 1963. Known for his great curveball, Pascual threw at least 248 ⅓ innings each season from 1961 through 1964, and he led the American League in strikeouts in three of those season. SP - Dean Chance (1967-1969) 104 games, 93 starts, 41-34 with a 2.67 ERA in 664 innings. 504 K. 166 BB. After six seasons with the Angels, Chance came to the Twins before the 1967 seasons. That season, he won 20 games and won the AL Comeback Player of the Year award. He then won 16 games the following season. In his three seasons with the Twins, he posted an ERA under three each season. SP - Dave Boswell (1964-1969) 169 games, 135 starts, 64-47 with a 3.28 ERA in 967 ⅔ innings. 820 K. 416 BB. Boswell debuted with the Twins as a 19-year-old in 1964. He remained with the Twins through the 1970 season. He was a reliable part of the Twins rotation throughout his time. His best season was 1969 when he won 20 games and posted a 3.23 ERA in 256 ⅓ innings. So while he’s mostly known for a fight, he was also a pretty good starting pitcher. RP - Al Worthington (1964-1969) 327 games, 0 starts, 37-31 with 88 saves and a 2.62 ERA in 473 ⅓ innings. 399 K. 186 BB. Worthington debuted as a 24-year-old in 1953 with the New York Giants. He came to the Twins early in the 1964 season, already 35. He became a reliable arm in the late innings for the next five seasons. He posted an ERA no higher than 2.84 from 1964 through 1968. RP - Dick Stigman (1962-1965) 138 games, 85 starts, 37-37 with 7 saves and a 3.69 ERA in 643 ⅔ innings. 538 K. 248 BB. The central Minnesota native was an All Star with Cleveland as a rookie in 1960. He came to the Twins in 1962 and went 12-5. The following season, he won 15 games in 241 innings. He split his time with the Twins between the rotation and the bullpen and ate a lot of innings in either role. RP - Ron Perranoski (1968-1969) 141 games, 0 starts, 17-17 with 37 saves and a 2.53 ERA in 206 ⅔ innings. 127 K. 90 BB. Perranoski came to the Twins from the Dodgers before the 1968 season and spent four years in the organization. In those two seasons, he was a late-inning fireman. In 1969, he went 9-10 despite a 2.11 ERA. He led the league with 31 saves and tossed 119 2/3 innings. He led the league in Saves the next season as well. LR - Mudcat Grant (1964-1967) 129 games, 111 starts, 50-35 with 7 saves and a 3.35 ERA in 780 ⅔ innings. 377 K. 163 BB. Grant came to the Twins from Cleveland during the 1964 season. In 1965, he went 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA. The next season, he went 13-13 despite posting a 3.25 ERA. He then went 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA in three World Series starts and added a huge home run as well. RP - Jim Merritt (1965-1968) 122 games, 89 starts, 37-41 with 6 saves and a 3.03 ERA in 686 ⅔ innings. 527 K. 135 BB. The southpaw debuted with the Twins in 1965 with 16 games. He entered the Twins starting rotation during the 1966 season. Despite the record, Merritt posted ERAs below 3.38 and WHIPs below 1.10 in his three seasons as a starter with the Twins. He was traded to Cincinnati after the 1968 season and became an All Star and 20-game winner in 1970. View full article

I really think people will enjoy the podcast I have coming on Thursday night. It's over an hour or talk about the Twins of the '60s. But we talked a bit about Rollins. he was with the team most of the decade, but he was really good for about 3 years and then more of a platoon regular after that. Mincher was one that we talked about maybe being the next guy, though there were several considered.

I would probably put Aaron and Matthews over Killebrew and Carew. I think most would. But yes, I love this "lineup" depth. Some of the greats in the organization's history.

Then what? Put Don Mincher at first base? Vic Power? I'll stick with Rich Rollins based on what he did in 1962-64... But admittedly, I'd probably bat him ninth in this lineup. Which, by the way, what would this lineup look like?? I might try: Carew 2B Allison LF Oliva RF Killebrew 1B Hall CF Tovar "DH" Battey C Versalles SS Rollins 3B Something like that?

Over the coming weeks at Twins Daily, I will be digging into the history of the Minnesota Twins and presenting for you Twins teams of the decades. Tonight, we will start with my choices for the Hitters of the 1960s Twins. Tomorrow, I'll post the pitchers of that decade (five starters, five relievers).Finally, on Thursday night, I'll post a fun interview/podcast with someone who is very familiar with the Twins of the 1960s. Hopefully you are as interested in the Twins 60-year history and will discuss the players and the list. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily As you know, the Twins came to Minnesota from Washington DC where they were known as the Senators. In 1961, they won just 70 games. Then they won 91 games each of the next two seasons. 1964 was disappointing as the team finished just below .500. In 1965, the Twins made it all the way to the World Series where they lost in seven games to the Dodgers. They won at least 89 games the next two seasons but then fell below .500 again in 1968. In 1969, under Billy Martin, they won 97 games. The 1960s was the Twins first decade in Minnesota. As you look through the top hitters below, you might want to ask yourself if the 1960s Twins All-Decade team might just be the best of the six decades. Share your thoughts. Who did I miss? Who would you name the player of the decade? THE HITTERS C - Earl Battey (1961-1967) 853 games, .278/.356/.409 (.765) with 115 doubles, 76 homers, 350 RBI. Battey spent parts of five seasons with the White Sox but came to the Senators in 1960. That season, he won his first Gold Glove Award. In his seven seasons in a Twins uniform, he was an All-Star in four seasons. He won two more Gold Gloves. He finished in the top ten in MVP voting twice. 1B - Harmon Killebrew - 1961-1969 1,305 games, .266/.388/.547 (.935) with 164 doubles, 362 homers, 933 RBI. When the Twins came to Minnesota, he had already spent parts of seven seasons with the Senators.In the ‘60s, he was an All-Star all but one year. His 362 homers were best in the organization by over 150 homers. He hit 39 or more homers in seven of the seasons and led the American League five times. He won the 1969 MVP award and finished in the Top 5 in MVP voting five times. 2B - Rod Carew - 1967-1969 387 games, .299/.346/.408 (.754) with 79 doubles, 17 homers, 149 RBI. Carew didn’t debut until 1967, but he made an immediate impact. He played in all three All-Star games. He was the 1967 AL Rookie of the Year. He led the league with a .332 batting average in 1969. It was just the beginning for the future Hall of Famer whom the American League batting championship is now named after. 3B - Rich Rollins - 1961-1968 888 games, .272/.333/.398 (.727) with 117 doubles, 71 homers, 369 RBI. Rollins was an All-Star (twice). He finished eighth in MVP voting. He had at least 40 extra-base hits each year from 1962 through 1964. As the decade advanced, he became more of a part-time, platoon player. SS - Zoilo Versalles - 1961-1967 1,065 games, .252/.299/.387 (.686) with 188 doubles, 86 homers, 401 RBI. Versalles had played parts of two seasons with the Senators. He became a regular in 1961. He was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 1963. In 1965, he was an All-Star, a Gold Glove winner, and the American League MVP. That season, he led the league in doubles (45) and triples (12). It was the third straight year he led the league in triples. LF - Bob Allison - 1961-1969 1,189 games, .255/.361/.482 (.843) with 162 doubles, 210 homers, 635 RBI. Allison debuted with the Senators in 1958 and was an All-Star and the AL Rookie of the Year in 1959. He was a starter throughout the 1960s. He was an All-Star in 1963 and 1964, his two best seasons. He hit over 30 homers twice and over 20 homers seven seasons in the decade. His .911 OPS led the American League. He was a leader of the 1965 World Series team and his catch is still one of the great highlights in World Series history. CF - Jimmie Hall - 1963-1966 573 games, .269/.334/.481 (.815) with 73 doubles, 98 homers, 288 RBI. Hall debuted as a 25 year old in 1963 and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. He hit .260 with a career-high 33 homers. He was an All-Star in 1964 and 1965. A left-handed hitter, he started just two of the seven World Series games in 1965 because he didn’t play in the games started by Sandy Koufax or Claude Osteen. He hit 20 or more homers in all four of his Twins seasons before he was traded to California after the 1966 season. RF - Tony Oliva - 1962-1969 912 games, .308/.359/.500 (.859) with 213 doubles, 132 homers, 535 RBI. Oliva played in 16 games between 1962 and 1963. In 1964, he hit .323 and was the AL Rookie of the Year. He won batting titles his first two seasons. He was an All-Star in 1964 and for each season through the rest of the decade. He twice finished runner up in AL MVP voting, including to Versalles in 1965. He led the league in Hits four times during the decade and in Doubles four times. His 213 doubles was tops in the organization. DH - Cesar Tovar - 1965-1969 631 games, .271/.329/.371 (.700) with 108 doubles, 25 homers, 189 RBI. Obviously there wasn’t a designated hitter in the 1960s, but we are going to have one… because, well, why not? With the hitters in this lineup, Tovar likely wouldn’t be the regular DH in actual games. He would play all over the diamond with different guys DHing each game. Tovar debuted in 1965. In 1966, he became a regular. In 1967, he led the league with 164 games played (and plate appearances and at-bats). He received MVP votes each season from 1967 through 1971. What an impressive group of players, led by several Hall of Famers, Twins Hall of Famers and Baseball Hall of Famers. Check back tomorrow for the Twins Pitchers of the Decade of the 1960s. View full article

Correct.

In this Get to Know 'Em podcast, I chatted with former Twins right-handed pitcher Anthony Slama. The reliever put up some of the most impressive numbers in the Twins system for years and finally got the big-league call in 2010. He pitched in seven games for the Twins. Find out what he's up to these days and all about his career.Anthony Slama grew up in southern California and attended Mater Dei High School. He went to UC-Riverside before spending his junior season at the University of San Diego. The Twins made Slama their 39th round draft pick in 2006. He didn't immediately sign. Instead, he signed before the 2007 draft, one of the final players to be a draft-and-follow. Upon signing, he started putting up remarkable statistics. 2007: Elizabethton/Beloit: 14 saves, 1.71 ERA, 31.2 IP, 49 strikeouts. 2008: Ft. Myers: 25 saves, 1.01 ERA, 71.0 IP, 110 strikeouts 2009: New Britain/Rochester: 29 saves, 2.67 ERA, 81.0 IP, 112 strikeouts. 2010: Rochester: 17 saves, 2.20 ERA, 65.1 IP, 74 strikeouts. In mid-July, he received The Call. His big league career lasted just seven games over two seasons. He fought some injuries.He spent some time in independent leagues, in Mexico and in the Dodgers organization. He hung up the cleats, but he has kept himself busy the last few years. He and his wife have welcomed two children into the world. He has worked in and owned a couple of businesses. His new venture is really exciting. He began 3 Week Beast, an online strength and conditioning training program. It is designed for boys and girls from ages 11 to 18, though if you're older, it is still a great workout program. Slama used his history and lessons learned from coaches and trainers from his past, along with his own research and learning, to develop the program. Website: Just $9.99 Instagram: 3weekbeast YouTube Channel: 3weekbeast It was a lot of fun catching up with Anthony Slama for this 40ish minute podcast interview, and I really think that you will enjoy it as well. If you haven't listened to a previous Get to Know 'Em podcast, this is the one to listen to. http://traffic.libsy...thony_Slama.mp3 You can subscribe to the Get to Know 'Em podcast on iTunes. or follow Libsyn for new episodes here as well. Please leave ratings or feedback. And did you know that you can listen to the Get To Know 'Em podcast by asking Alexa to "Listen to the Get To Know 'Em Podcast." PAST EPISODES Episode 1: Get to know Niko Guardado (Actor and son of Eddie Guardado) Episode 2: Get to know Pat Dean, Brent Rooker Episode 3: Get to know Royce Lewis, AJ Achter Episode 4: Get to know Devin Smeltzer Episode 5: Get to know Jaylin Davis, Tyler Wells Episode 6: Get to know: Travis Blankenhorn, LaMonte Wade Episode 7: Get to know: Matt Wallner (and Ten Minutes with Tyler Wells) Episode 8: Get to know: Caleb Hamilton, Austin Schulfer, Nick Anderson Episode 9: Get to know: Andy Young, Billy Boyer (and Ten Minutes with Tyler) Episode 10: Get to know: Wesley Wright (Twins Pro Scout) Episode 11: Get to know: John Manuel(Twins Pro Scout) Episode 12: Get to know: Marshall Kelner(Mighty Mussels broadcaster) Episode 13: Get to know: Dick Bremer (Twins broadcaster, author) Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Not registered? Click here to create an account. To stay up to date, follow Twins Daily on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to view the article

For the past six or seven years, I have gone down to Minnesota Twins spring training in Ft. Myers. I most enjoy spending time down on the minor league fields, head on a swivel, watching prospects do their work, practice and play games. It’s fun to see the top prospects in action, but for me it’s always fun to find a few players who aren’t talked about as much, or I haven’t seen in action, that stand out. Here are my three players from 2020 Twins minor league spring training (and a bonus minor league signing).I feel the need to say a few things before getting to the three players that most jumped out at me when watching them. First, every single player in Twins minor league spring training is really, really good at baseball .They are all impressive. There are top prospects that usually jump out even from just watching them practice, field, run or take batting practice. There is often a presence about them. I don’t include the top prospects in these just because I already know a lot about them. They get a lot of words written about them. Watching guys like Balazovic, Enlow, Canterino and Ober throw bullpens is impressive, but I knew that they probably would be. Seeing Keoni Cavaco and watching him take a couple of rounds of batting practice, it’s easy to see why he was drafted in the first half of the first round last June. Same with Matt Wallner, the Twins pick in the Competitive Balance A round, who showed good all-around hitting skill and the ability to hit the ball a long way. Those players will continue to have a ton of words written about them. But be honest, you like coming back to Twins Daily because we talk about all prospects, not just the top guys. That makes this article a fun one for me every year. I do have to point out one other thing. We talk a lot about Small Sample Size. Hey, I could go to Cedar Rapids for a full week of games, and even then what I saw would be considered a Small Sample. So, seeing players for parts of five days of pre-official workouts has to fall into the VERY small sample size category. Of course, another part of that is that I didn’t see players in game situations. I didn’t see more than maybe 30 to 40 pitchers throw bullpens, when there are likely 80 to 100 pitchers in minor league spring training. The players below are guys that were outside of my Top 50 prospects who, after watching them in an admittedly very, very small sample size that this year didn’t even include spring training games, had me intrigued. April 9th was supposed to be Opening Day in the minor leagues, but whenever the minor league season starts, these are players that I will be watching. Who knows? Maybe it’s just a way for me to try to show off some amateur scouting skills. In previous years, I’ve been right a few times. In one case, I wrote about a player impressing me a lot during spring training, and he was released by June. Last year, one of the players that stood out to me was Willie Joe Garry, Jr., and he had a nice season of development. And I got to interview him for a story this spring. OK, let’s get to it. He is my list of players who stood out in spring training this year. 3B Wander Valdez When I landed in Florida, I quickly grabbed my bags, got my rental car and went straight to Hammond Stadium to see if there were any minor leaguers still practicing.The first field I walked up to had a group of seven or eight guys taking batting practice. The first hitter I saw was Wander Valdez, and he stood out. He is barely over 20, but he is big and strong. I know he ended the 2019 season at about 225-230 pounds. He looks like he may have gained even more strength this offseason. He is big and strong and quite impressive. Throughout the week I was there, I saw him take some batting practice hacks at least three or four times. From that, he just looks like a solid all-around hitter, and he has a ton of power potential. He also looked fairly solid in fielding ground balls at third base. He had a real strong State-side debut in 2019 in the GCL. He hit .323/.382/.516 (898) with six doubles and four home runs which was good for #2 in the Twins Daily Short-Season Hitter of the Year voting. OF Carlos Aguiar Aguiar was signed to a seven-figure bonus in September 2017, less than a month after he turned 16. It made him one of the youngest players in that international class. After a year in the DSL, Aguiar spent the 2019 season as a 17-year-old in the GCL. It came with struggles and injuries. He had just one hit in 18 at-bats, and he struck out 11 times. I got to spring training a week before minor league spring training officially opened. About 98% of the minor leaguers were already there. However, they were practicing in Twins workout gear, shorts and t-shirts. They weren’t wearing uniforms, so it wasn’t easy to identify players. Aguiar was a player who stood out instantly. He’s tall (about 6-3) and really strong. After he stood out to me for a couple of days, I finally asked a coach who he was. It was Aguiar… and now I fully understand why scouts would have been excited about him. He’s big. He’s strong. He has a ton of power potential. One of the days, I watched batting practice in which two pitching machines were used. One threw fastballs. The other threw breaking balls. The BP pitcher raised both arms and then dropped a ball into one of the two machines. The hitter had to quickly determine what pitch was coming and then try to hit it. It isn’t easy. The 17-year-old had some ups and downs, but I saw him hit some of the longest batting practice homers I’ve seen. He’s very young, and he’s very raw. He will likely go back to the GCL in 2020. And he may not even get to Cedar Rapids until 2022, but he is definitely one to watch. RHP Jon Olsen I fully admit that I didn’t watch a lot of bullpens. I saw a bunch of pitchers throw, but generally just saw one bullpen. As I mentioned above, I saw Balazovic and Enlow a couple of times. Canterino working in the bullpen is really impressive. Sawyer Gipson-Long was impressive working in the bullpen as well. I saw Jon Olsen work a bullpen, and he looked really good. He will turn 23 in mid-May, and he is yet to throw his first pitching in a professional baseball game. After three seasons at UCLA, the Twins made him their 12th round pick in 2018. He had undergone Tommy John surgery earlier that year. He signed and immediately jumped into the Twins rehab program. He hoped to be ready sometime in 2019, but he had a setback. With that, he threw pretty hard. He seemed to have good control and a good breaking ball. Obviously you can’t tell everything from a bullpen, but he looks healthy.k And, just from observing, he seems like the kind of pitcher and has the kind of stuff that could make him a guy who pitches at three levels in 2020, if healthy. Innings will certainly be kept monitored in 2020 after not pitching for two years, but he could move quickly. Honorable Mention: SS Calten Daal I normally don’t include minor league free agents in this category, but there was one that stood out to me. The Twins signed 26-year-old Calten Daal to a minor league deal. He didn’t get an invite to big league spring training, though he has played in four big league games. The Curacao native signed with the Reds in 2012 and remained in that organization through the end of 2019. He played 122 games at AA between 2016 and 2019. He hurt his shoulder in June 2016. After rehabbing, he tore a shoulder and missed all of 2017 and all but four games in 2018. Way back in 2011, I went to see Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and AJ Petterson play for the Beloit Snappers. In one of the series, I watched them play against West Michigan, a team led by Nick Castellanos. He played third base. Dixon Machado played shortstop. To this date, I hadn’t seen another shortstop that I enjoyed watching play defense as much as I enjoyed watching Machado field the position in batting practice, infield practice and games. At least not until I saw Calten Daal take ground balls and infield practice. He looked smooth. He showed good range, soft hands. Again, it stood out enough that I had to ask who it was. Compared to others at the position, Daal is taller, and he’s got the long, lanky build that screams big league shortstop. I didn’t see him hit, and based on his track record, he probably won’t hit. Because of that, he may never get to the big leagues, but he can play shortstop any day, and that can help the Twins minor league pitchers and their development. So there you have it, four Twins minor leaguers who stood out to me while watching minor league spring training for a week this spring. Take it for what it is. Maybe parts of five workouts. No game action. Another observation… even with Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Brent Rooker, Gilberto Celestino and Ryan Jeffers working in big-league spring training, it was still clear that the minor league fields were filled with talent too. Click here to view the article

Today was supposed to be Opening Day… In a “normal” year, that is such a meaningful term. People have suggested that MLB’s Opening Day should be deemed a national holiday (maybe jokingly, maybe not). Unfortunately, Opening Day 2020 has been postponed, and we still have no idea when baseball will return. We do know that Minnesota will be sheltering in place for at least the next two weeks.What does Opening Day mean to you? For me, it can be a source of energy. It is one morning that I typically have had no problem waking up, excited for the day. In years past, I would take the afternoon off, set up two TVs side-by-side and watch anywhere from two to four games at a time throughout the afternoon. Spring Training is done. A long offseason is over. All our thoughts and opinions on what our favorite team will now become a reality. Hope reigns eternal. As Twins fans, it is especially difficult. The team won 101 games in 2019, and made some big moves in the offseason. It is entirely possible that the 2020 Twins roster is even better. The 2020 Twins season was to start in Oakland later this afternoon. While we all fully understand the gravity of the situation of the global pandemic, it is OK to still be disappointed that we don’t get Opening Day games today. The teams. The players. The fans. We all would much prefer to have baseball games today and know that there would be baseball for the next seven months. There are many things that Opening Day means to people. Living in northern Minnesota, there is - of course - still snow on the ground. But Opening Day means that there soon will not be snow on the ground, that the long winter is coming to an end shortly. There is a normalcy. As Nick wrote recently, baseball provides a sense of routine to a fan’s life. It is just something that you know will be there 162 times over six months, and hopefully seven months for your favorite team. There are the emerging story lines that we would now have answers to. Today, we would know who won the fifth starter job? Would the Twins go with 13 pitchers, or just 12 pitchers to start the season? We would all much rather be wondering right now if we would see Byron Buxton’s name in the lineup today. Who was named the 26th man? Most of even the most die hard baseball fans can certainly put those questions into proper perspective. Social Distancing has become a term we all have learned and now use in daily conversation. Shelter from home. Schools closing and parents, teachers and students trying to figure out what that means for them. Nearly 3.3 million jobless claims filed in the last week. Baseball feels so unimportant right now. And obviously, right now, it isn’t important. But at some point in the future - maybe in a month, maybe in July - there will be baseball again. We will get Opening Day. We don’t have any real idea of what that will look like yet. Frankly, I might argue that it is great to read news that MLB is having conversations about trying to still play a large number of games, though probably not 162, even if that means baseball in December. There may be a time when games are played with no fans in the stands. Baseball has a lot of very difficult discussions going on and coming in the near future. But the fact that there are planning meetings for a 2020 MLB season does provide hope. Hope that we will again see baseball this year, and hope that means that this global pandemic has been somewhat restrained. So we all do our parts. We wash our hands often. We cough and sneeze into our sleeves. We stay at home. We do those things to protect ourselves, and our family and loved ones, for our community, our state, our country and our world. And on the periphery of all that, we do it so that we will be able to see baseball on our TVs, hear baseball on our radios, and eventually congregate at stadiums like Target Field, or even our local community ball fields. And in the meantime, stop by Twins Daily. We are a community, here for each other. We can provide a place to keep talking baseball, and talking about our favorite team, even debate with other fans, in large part because we need it. We need the distraction. We need baseball. We need hope. And we need patience. There will be an Opening Day. We just need to wait a little bit. But, patience is a virtue, they say. Click here to view the article

Roy Smalley... Matt Lawton... Fun list to think about...

Cool of the Evening is a really good book on the 1965 Twins for anyone looking for some reading material. https://www.amazon.com/Cool-Evening-1965-Minnesota-Twins/dp/1886513716/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=cool+of+the+evening&qid=1585062960&sr=8-1

I love this series... so much!! How much fun is this to think about?

I saw the title saying "legendary defensive first baseman." Expected to see Vic Power and his two Gold Gloves in two years... Doug Mientkiewecz was really good. Mauer and Hrbek were both good defensively, and so was Morneau... But then I see that the Legendary part was that they have their numbers retired... And yes, hopefully Sano puts himself in that position... Also, I think he'll be fine defensively too.

That Ben Rortvedt interview is fantastic!!

Wait... Max Kepler went on the DL for a long period of time and they called up Jimmy Kerrigan instead of Rooker or Kirilloff of Larnach? And Zack Littell and Cody Stashak weren't up??

These are definitely the Top 5. I would say Hrbek 6 and Morneau 7... I think Killebrew and Carew are the top two, and then there is a space... Then there could be arguments for how to rank Puckett, Mauer and Oliva (that's the order I would go) depending on how much you value certain aspects of hitting.

How good would his numbers have been if he hadn't basically missed most of September?