Seth Stohs

Joe Mauer is the Twins lone All Star representative tonight in Kansas City. In over 52 seasons in Minnesota, the Twins have had many All Stars, obviously at least one each year. There are the greats of the game, like Killebrew, Carew and Puckett who went to many All Star games. And there are the Coomer's and Engel's. Below, I'll post all of the Twins All Star representative by years, with some notes to follow. Feel free to discuss the best and the worst, and any other notes you find interesting: 1961 - Harmon Killebrew, Camilo Pascual 1962 - Earl Battey, Jim Kaat, Camilo Pascual, Rich Rollins 1963 - Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Harmon Killebrew, Zoilo Versailles[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 1964 - Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual 1965 - Earl Battey, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Jimmie Hall, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versailles 1966 - Earl Battey, Jim Kaat, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1967 - Rod Carew, Dean Chance, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1968 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1969 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, John Roseboro 1970 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry 1971 - Leo Cardenas, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry 1972 - Rod Carew 1973 - Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew 1974 - Rod Carew 1975 - Rod Carew 1976 - Rod Carew, Butch Wynegar 1977 - Rod Carew, Larry Hisle, Butch Wynegar 1978 - Rod Carew 1979 - Roy Smalley 1980 - Ken Landreaux 1981 - Doug Corbett 1982 - Kent Hrbek 1983 - Gary Ward 1984 - Dave Engle 1985 - Tom Brunansky 1986 - Kirby Puckett 1987 - Kirby Puckett 1988 - Gary Gaetti, Tim Laudner, Kirby Puckett, Jeff Reardon, Frank Viola 1989 - Gary Gaetti, Kirby Puckett 1990 - Kirby Puckett 1991 - Rick Aguilera, Jack Morris, Kirby Puckett 1992 - Rick Aguilera, Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett 1993 - Rick Aguilera, Kirby Puckett 1994 - Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett 1995 - Kirby Puckett 1996 - Chuck Knoblauch 1997 - Chuck Knoblauch 1998 - Brad Radke 1999 - Ron Coomer 2000 - Matt Lawton 2001 - Cristian Guzman, Joe Mays, Eric Milton 2002 - Eddie Guardado, Torii Hunter, AJ Pierzynski 2003 - Eddie Guardado 2004 - Joe Nathan 2005 - Joe Nathan, Johan Santana 2006 - Francisco Liriano, Joe Mauer, Johan Santana 2007 - Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Johan Santana 2008 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan 2009 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan 2010 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau 2011 - Michael Cuddyer 2012 - Joe Mauer It is a lot of fun for me to look back at the Twins All-Star history. Here are some more notes: Kirby Puckett was the All Star game MVP in 1993. In 1961 and 1962, there were two All Star games. In 1961, Harmon Killebrew was selected to play in both. In 1962, Earl Battey, Camilo Pascual and Rich Rollins played in both. Joe Mauer is representing the Twins for the 5th year in the All-Star game. That puts him in 5th place on the Twins list, moving ahead of Earl Battey, Joe Nathan and Chuck Knoblauch who each represented the Twins four times. Rod Carew is tops on that list with 12 consecutive All Star appearances with the Twins from 1967-1978. Harmon Killebrew represented the Twins ten years between 1961 and 1971 (only missing 1962). Kirby Puckett went to ten consecutive All Star games from 1986-1995 (and probably would have gone a few more times). Tony Oliva went to eight straight from 1964-1971. The 1987 World Series champion Twins only had one representative at the All Star game that season. The following year (when they actually had a better regular season record), they had five representatives. From 1967-1971, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva went to all five All Star games. Oliva and Killebrew teamed at the All Star game each season from 1964-1971. Following that duo on the list are Rick Aguilera and Kirby Puckett who were All Stars together from 1991 through 1993, and Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau who both went in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Twins hosted the All Star game in 1965 and 1985. What else do you enjoy about the All Star game? For me, it's about the player introductions and then to see how well the Twins players do in their opportunities. It should not be a game to determine Home Field Advantage in the World Series. It is an exhibition of MLBs players and teams and I wish that's what it was about. Fill free to share you All Star game memories or favorite moments below.

Twins players scattered all over the place to enjoy their All Star breaks. Joe Mauer is the team’s lone representative in tonight’s All-Star game. On Monday night, it was the Tigers’ Prince Fielder who out-slugged Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista to win his second Home Run Derby. The Rochester Red Wings also began their All-Star break with no game on Monday. New Britain played an early afternoon game and with its completion, they are now on their All-Star break. Each of the other Twins affiliates played on Monday. Only the GCL Twins will play on Tuesday as the minor leagues do not schedule games the day of the big league All Star game. With that, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Monday’s games in the system. For those with concerns about the Twins system, you will notice that each of the Twins three 2011 1st round picks had good days.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER RED WINGS It is Day 1 of the Red Wings All Star break. Pedro Florimon will represent the team in the game on Wednesday night. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 It was an early start time for the final game of the unofficial first half of the season, but the Rock Cats came ready to play. Logan Darnell started and gave up just one run on five hits over the first eight innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Dakota Watts pitched a scoreless ninth. The top of the lineup came to play as well. Leadoff hitter Aaron Hicks went 3-4 with a walk, his ninth home run and this 19th stolen base. Second hitter Chris Herrmann went 3-5. Number 3 hitter, Chris Colabello, went 3-4 with a walk and his 24th double. Cleanup hitter Evan Bigley went 2-5. Nate Hanson, batting 6th, was 2-4. FT. MYERS 4, JUPITER 10 Matt Capps started for the Miracle in this game and worked a perfect first inning. Matt Hauser came in and gave up eight runs (6 earned) on 10 hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out two. Miguel Munoz came in and worked two scoreless innings. Nelvin Fuentes gave up two runs on one hit and one walk in two innings. He struck out five. Kyle Knudson went 2-3 with a walk. Levi Michael went 2-5 with his eighth double. Joe Benson continued his rehab stint and went 1-4 with a walk and his first double. BELOIT 0, BURLINGTON 3 Ryan O’Rourke made his first start of the season for the Snappers. The lefty gave up one run on two hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out five. Tim Atherton gave up one run on three hits in two innings. He walked none and struck out three. Steven Gruver then gave up a run on five hits in two innings. He struck out two. Clinton Dempster pitched a scoreless inning. The Snappers managed just two hits in the game. Miguel Sano was 1-4 with a single… and three strikeouts. Matthew Koch hit his first triple. ELIZABETHTON 12, JOHNSON CITY 0 The E-Twins made up for the lack of Beloit offense by racking up 12 runs on 19 hits. Travis Harrison led the way by going 5-6 with his third home run (and 14th error). Jorge Polanco went 3-5 with a walk and his fifth double. Bo Altobelli went 3-6. Max Kepler was 2-4 with two walks and his second double. Candido Pimentel and Kelvin Mention were each 2-6 with their first double of the season. It was Mention’s first at bat since 2010. Adam Walker was 2-6 with his fourth double. The pitching staff was also terrific. Hudson Boyd reduced his ERA to 1.44 with six shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out five. Josh Burris dropped his ERA to 0.60 with two more scoreless innings. Kaleb Merck pitched a scoreless ninth frame. GCL TWINS 5, GCL RAYS 2 The Gulf Coast Twins used a lot of pitchers. Kuo Hua Lo started and gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in three innings. Melciades De La Cruz struck out five over the next two innings. Gerardo Ramirez gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Gonzalo Sanudo came in and gave up just one hits over 1.2 scoreless innings. Alexander Muren pitched a scoreless frame. Jorge Fernandez went 2-4 with his first double. John Murphy was 2-4 with his sixth steal. Bryan Haar was 2-4 with his second steal. Byron Buxton was 0-1 with a walk. He also stole a base but on the play, he hurt his leg and was removed from the game. It was pain in the hamstring, whether it was a pulled hamstring or just a cramp is still being determined. --- Players of the Day for Monday, July 9, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison (Photo by Thrylos) Pitcher of the Day – Hudson Boyd --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, July 10, 2012 Schedule Rochester – All Star Break New Britain – All Star Break Ft. Myers – No Game Scheduled Beloit – No Game Scheduled Elizabethton – No Game Scheduled GCL Twins vs GCL Red Sox – TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

The Twins had two, touch, extra inning losses on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday night, it was Nelson Cruz that provided the game-winning hit. On Sunday night, it was Ian Kinsler. Sam Deduno had a very wild, but effective, Twins debut on Friday night. Cole De Vries was terrific, throwing seven scoreless innings against the potent Rangers’ offense. Casey Fien made his Twins debut, showing off a mid-90s fastball in a scoreless inning. It was also a busy weekend in the Twins minor leagues this weekend with a few doubleheaders. By the way, be sure to check out the Adopt-a-Prospect forums. If there are any players that have not yet been adopted, feel free to start a thread for that player and brag him up. Find stories on them, show off their big games, and in general, just encourage discussion on those players. With that, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday and Sunday’s games in the system:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] SATURDAY - ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 Liam Hendriks officially dominates the International League. In his return to the Red Wings, he threw seven shutout innings to improve to 6-0. (He increased his streak to 22.2 consecutive scoreless innings) He gave up just five hits, walked one and struck out one. Esmerling Vasquez struck out two in two scoreless innings. Clete Thomas was 2-3 with his 14th double. Wilkin Ramirez hit his seventh home run. SUNDAY- GAME 1 - ROCHESTER 1, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 (8 innings) Nick Blackburn was terrific in his first start in his return to the Red Wings. The righty went all eight innings. He gave up nine hits but no runs. He walked none and struck out two. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Pedro Florimon reached on a walk and got to second. Danny Valencia came up with two outs and drilled a single to left field that scored a sliding Florimon and gave the Red Wings the Game 1 win. Chris Parmelee and Rene Rivera each had a hit and a walk. Florimon was 2-3 with a walk. SUNDAY – GAME 2 - ROCHESTER 1, LEHIGH VALLEY 7 In the second game, Steve Hirschfeld was on the mound. He gave up seven runs (6 earned) on six hits and a walk in four innings. Unfortunately, he gave up six runs in the second inning (3-run homers to Michael Martinez and Pete Orr) and that was more than enough for the IronPigs. Dan Sattler threw two perfect innings, and Luke French pitched one scoreless frame. Danny Valencia went 2-4 with the lone RBI in this game too. Wilkin Ramirez was 2-2 and was hit by a pitch. Matt Carson was 2-3 with a walk. This puts the Red Wings at their All Star break. Pedro Florimon will represent the Red Wings in the International League All Star game. SATURDAY - NEW BRITAIN 6, NEW HAMPSHIRE 5 (10 innings) Down by three heading into the ninth, the Rock Cats got singles from Nate Hanson, Estarlin De Los Santos and James Beresford to load the bases. Chris Herrmann hit a single that got by the left fielder and cleared the bases to tie the game and send it to extra innings. In the 10th, Evan Bigley and Deibinson Romero singled to lead off the inning. Hanson sacrificed them to 2nd and 3rd. Dan Rohlfing was intentionally walked to load the bases, and De Los Santos was hit by a pitch to give the Rock Cats the lead and the eventual win. Bigley went 3-4 with a walk. Deibinson Romero was 2-5 with his 12th home run. De Los Santos was 2-4 and James Beresford was 2-5. Shairon Martis made his second start with the Rock Cats. He gave up four runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out three. Edgar Ibarra was charged with an unearned run on one hit in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Bruce Pugh continues his AA domination. He improved to 2-0 with two more shutout innings. He has now thrown 17.1 innings without allowing a run. He has given up eight hits, walked eight and struck out 22 with the team. SUNDAY – GAME 1 - NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 The Rock Cats got plenty of offensive support in this game, but that is primarily because of the left arm of Blake Martin. The southpaw went all seven innings and gave up just three hits, walked none and struck out six. As you would expect, he kept his pitch count down, throwing just 75 pitches. His mound opponent, former Twins farmhand Yohan Pino, also worked a complete game. Chris Colabello went 3-4 with his 23rd double. Chris Herrmann hit his sixth home run and Evan Bigley hit his 11th homer. Estarlin De Los Santos was 2-3, and Aaron Hicks went 2-4. SUNDAY – GAME 2 - NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 5 David Bromberg made his first start with the Rock Cats since going on the Rochester disabled list last month. He gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out four. Marty Popham made his New Britain debut and gave up just one run on one hit (a solo homer) in his three innings. He struck out two. Chris Herrmann was 2-4 and homered for the second straight game. Aaron Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Also on Sunday, outfielder Oswaldo Arcia represented the Twins and his native Venezuela in the Futures Game in Kansas City. Arcia came in for the second half of the game. In his first at bat, he hit an RBI double off of Jameson Taillon. He got out in his second at bat. The Rock Cats play on Monday, but on Wednesday, BJ Hermsen, Chris Herrmann and Daniel Turpen will play in the Eastern League All Star game. Andrew Albers was also named to the team, but due to injury, he will not be participating. SATURDAY - FT. MYERS 6, JUPITER 11 Pat Dean started for the Miracle and gave up six runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Jose Gonzalez then gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits in two innings. AJ Achter came on and got the final five outs, three of them by strikeout. Anderson Hidalgo had three hits in five at bats. Kyle Knudson was 1-3 with two walks and his sixth double. Joe Benson was 0-3 in his first game with the Miracle. He walked twice. Miracle batters walked 11 times in this game. SUNDAY - FT. MYERS 5, JUPITER 7 The Miracle held a 4-3 lead going into the ninth, but were unable to hold it. Cole Nelson started for the Miracle and gave up one run on seven hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out three. Michael Tonkin then gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out two. AJ Achter came in and got one out in the ninth. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs (just one earned thanks to two errors, on himself) on three hits. Ricky Bowen came in and got the final two outs but not before an RBI hit. Danny Santana, Levi Michael and Josmil Pinto were all 2-4. Danny Ortiz went 1-3 with his sixth home run. Joe Benson batted fourth. He was 0-4 in the game with an RBI. SATURDAY - BELOIT 2, BURLINGTON 1 Matt Summers was terrific again for the Snappers. The right-hander went the first seven innings and gave up just one run on eight hits. He walked two and struck out three. Dallas Gallant made his Midwest League debut and got four outs despite two walks. Corey Williams recorded the final two outs for his 13th save. Nate Roberts was 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Steve Liddle went 2-3 with his ninth double. Wang-Wei Lin tripled for the third time this year. Important to note, Miguel Sano returned to the Snappers lineup. He went 1-3 with two RBI. Yes, he also committed his 32nd error. SUNDAY - BELOIT 3, BURLINGTON 5 David Hurlbut has been pitching quite well for the Snappers since the beginning of June, but on this night, he gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two. Steve Evans came in and struck out three in three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit. AJ Pettersen went 2-4 with a walk and his second home run of the season. Matthew Koch was 2-4 with his 14th double. Jhon Goncalves was 2-3 with a walk. Drew Leachman hit his seventh double. Nate Roberts was 1-3 with two walks. He also stole his ninth base. SATURDAY - ELIZABETHTON 8, JOHNSON CITY 4 The Twins and Johnson City have long been competitors in their division. That rivalry continued this weekend. Angel Mata started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Brett Lee came in and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in three innings. The left-hander struck out five. Zach Jones struck out three in his inning, although he also walked three. DJ Hicks led the offense by going 3-5. Jhonathan Arias was 2-4 with three RBI. Jorge Polanco went 2-4 with his fourth double and third stolen base. Rory Rhodes hit his fourth home run. Niko Goodrum left the game after being hit by a pitch in the elbow in his first plate appearance. SUNDAY - ELIZABETHTON 2, JOHNSON CITY 6 The story was different on Sunday. Taylor Rogers started for the E-Twins and gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in five innings. He walked five and struck out three. Christian Powell struck out two in a perfect professional debut. Powell was the Twins 8th round pick this year out of the College of Charleston. Luis Nunez came in and gave up three runs on five hits without recording an out. Tyler Herr came in and got the final three outs. Max Kepler went 2-5 and stole his third base. Romy Jimenez and Josh Hendricks each were 1-3 with a walk. Candido Pimentel was 1-3 and walked twice. SATURDAY - GCL TWINS 3, GCL RED SOX 0 The Gulf Coast League rarely plays games on Sunday. On Saturday morning, the Twins had a nice, tidy win. Austin Malinowski set the tone with a terrific start. The lefty from Minnesota started and gave up three hits in five shutout innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Chris Mazza came in and gave up one hit over two scoreless innings. J.O. Berrios came in, and for the first time, he worked two innings. He also recorded the first save of his young, professional career. He struck out two in two perfect innings. Byron Buxton was the story on the offensive side of things. The Twins top pick went 2-4 with his first pro home run and his first pro stolen base. Jose Ramirez went 2-3. Kelvin Ortiz hit his second home run of the season. --- Players of the Day for Friday & Saturday, July 7-8, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Saturday – Liam Hendriks Pitcher of the Day- Sunday – Blake Martin (honorable mention, Nick Blackburn) Hitter of the Day – Saturday – Evan Bigley Hitter of the Day – Sunday – Chris Herrmann --- A Look Ahead – Monday, July 9, 2012 Schedule Rochester – All Star Break New Britain @ New Hampshire – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – RHP Matt Hauser Beloit vs Burlington – TBD Elizabethton @ Johnson City – RHP Hudson Boyd GCL Twins vs GCL Rays – TBD