Theodore Tollefson

A listener question prompted Jamie to pick some minor league breakout candidates for the 2024 season. View full video

Jose Abreu and Michael Brantley have done plenty of damage to the Twins over the years, but Wednesday night may have been their biggest moments of damage against them over the years. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson, USA Today Sports Every Twins fan has a list of players they begrudgingly think back on who’s done the most damage to the team over the years. Players such as Frank Thomas, Mike Sweeney, Miguel Cabrera, Cliff Lee, Mark Mulder, etc. have always shunned some terror in fans' memories. Jose Abreu and Michael Brantley have been on fan lists for several years from their times with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians. But the last two games of the ALDS against the Houston Astros to end the Twins' 2023 season, cemented them among the likes of Yankee players that have killed the Twins' postseason dreams over the last 20 years. Over their careers, both Brantley and Abreu have killed the Twins in almost a full season’s worth of games. Brantley has posted a .299/.356/.418 (.774) with nine home runs and 64 RBI across 134 career games against the Twins. Abreu has done much more damage, as many fans now. He has a .300/.363/.511 (.874) with 28 home runs and 109 RBI. But this season hasn’t been the same for either of them compared to earlier in their careers. Brantley only played in 15 games down the stretch after being out the whole season. Abreu had his worst season by bWAR at -0.1 in 2023. He never had a season with a bWAR below 2.0 before this year. Abreu showed signs of his old self as the Astros season winded down. He hit seven home runs, had 28 RBI, and posted a .835 OPS in 107 plate appearances across 26 games. That success didn’t trickle into his performance during the first two games of the Twins vs. Astros ALDS at Minute Maid Park. He went one for seven with a walk in those two games. The Twins' return to Target Field for Game 3 was Abreu’s moment to inflict more pain into Twins fandom, and he delivered. The Astros were mounting up a rally in the top of the first against Sonny Gray, runners were on the corners with one out. Gray tried to beat Abreu in his weak spot, down and inside. The second pitch was when Abreu made contact on a pitch and it didn’t come back. He put the Astros up 4-0. Abreu was kept quiet throughout the rest of the game, until the ninth inning. Kyle Tucker followed Yordan Alvarez’s solo home run with a walk. Abreu stepped up to face Bailey Ober. He only needed two pitches to pull the ball to left-center field and solidified the Astros win at 9-1. This was Abreu’s moment in an Astros uniform. All the trial and tribulation that showed signs of regression with age went away in Game 3 and he looked like the Jose Abreu of old in a White Sox uniform that won an MVP award. Before the start of Game 4, Astros outfielder and teammate of Abreu, Chas McCormick met with media members. He was asked about how he had seen Abreu handle his struggles from the season and what paid off in Game 3. “He handled it really well. It’s Jose Abreu. I’ve seen him playing against him, I’ve seen him hit 320 bombs. I think we’re getting that Jose Abreu right now, which is perfect. He can take us far and away if he hits like he did yesterday,” said McCormick. And if McCormick was looking into a crystal ball to see the future, Abreu did hit like he did in Game 3 during Game 4. Abreu had the game-winning hit, a two-run homer in the top of the fourth off Caleb Thielbar to put the Astros up 3-4. The Twins bats couldn’t come back from that moment outside of an Edouard Julien home run and it solidified the Twins elimination from the postseason Brantley sat out Game 3 while the Astros' young catcher Yainer Diaz took on the designated hitter duties in his place and Alvarez platooned left field. He would have his moment Brantley’s big moment for the Astros in this series came a couple of innings before. He tied the game off a Joe Ryan fastball and sent it into the right-center field bleachers. That tied the game up 1-1 in the second and showed the Astros were not going to let the Twins get a win here easily. And they didn’t on Wednesday night, those two homers were all the Astros needed as the Twins bats came up cold. Abreu and Brantley did what they have both done for 10 years now against this team and showed up when it mattered most for Houston. There are many other moments Twins fans will reflect on when it comes to Abreu and Brantley lighting up their bats against this team. But the moments from Tuesday and Wednesday night's games will be the ones fans remember as the worst moments of damage they’ve done to the Twins franchise. View full article

That broken bat going toward Correa had me spooked for a moment. Did not want to see him trip over that.

While Jamie is a huge E-Rod fan, Jeremy has his doubts. View full video

Thursday brought about a bittersweet moment that Twins fans can celebrate for a fan favorite of the last five years. Image courtesy of Jim Rassol, USA Today Sports On November 18, 2022, then Twins first baseman Luis Arraez had a lot to smile about. He was coming off his first all-star season, won the American League Batting title, and was one of five players strutting down the stage in the Mall of America's rotunda in one of the Twins new uniforms. That day, Arraez was the first Twin to wear their new road gray uniforms. They gave him a spark of tenacity for what the Twins could do with them in the 2023 season. "This is amazing, I can't wait to wear this uniform," Arraez said on that Friday. "This one [the gray road uniform] is my favorite. I feel like we can score 10 runs each day with these." Arraez didn't get to wear these at all with the Twins in 2023 as he was traded on January 20, 2023, to the Miami Marlins for starting pitcher Pablo Lopez and two prospects. Tracking back to that frigid fall morning, Arraez talked about what he did to celebrate his recently won 2022 American League Batting Title, which he won with a .316 average. "I celebrated with my wife and two daughters and my friends down in Ft. Myers. But I got to go to Venezuela and celebrate with my mom, my dad, and my family there in Venezuela," he said. Soon after, Arraez was asked if his parents had ever seen him play in the Majors. He said no. "It's hard. It's hard for them to get a visa. I try hard for them to come and visit me in Minnesota and see me play." While his parents never got the chance to see him play as a member of the Minnesota Twins. The dream finally came true for Arraez on Thursday afternoon. The Miami Marlins, with the help of the U.S. State Department and MLB International, flew Ernesto and Mari Arraez to Miami so they could see their son play a game in Major League Baseball for the first time. Arraez has always been known as a family man. He's worked hard to get where he's at in the majors and become a hitter of a past era when all he does is hit for contact. Going into the Marlins final home series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, Arraez leads the Majors with a .354 average. He is fighting to be the first player in the Majors with a batting average above .350 in a full 162 game season since Josh Hamilton hit .359 in 2010. Finishing that pursuit of a second batting title, that could very well be his first in the National League in addition to posting the best average in MLB this season. It's been 10 months since Arraez shared how badly he wanted to visit them to celebrate winning his first batting title. Now his mom and dad will be front row to see his the final games of his purist to win another. Arraez Soundbite on his folks.mp3 View full article

Chris Williams is a part of the core players at Triple-A St. Paul who have spent their entire season with the Saints. In the midst of the team's playoff push, he's doing his part to focus on getting the Saints to Las Vegas for a championship rather than worrying about that call to the big leagues. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints ST. PAUL – The Saints are in the midst of a playoff hunt right now. With three weeks left to go in the Triple-A regular season, they sit two-and-a-half games back of first place in the International League. One team has already clinched a spot for the first round of the division, the Norfolk Tides, the second spot is still up for grabs. That spot will be clinched by the team with the best record in the second half of the International League. The Durham Bulls are currently the team leading the International League in the second half with a 35-22 record. The Saints sit at 32-25. With three weeks left in the International League season, that last playoff spot will come down to the wire. September baseball in Triple-A is anything but consistent. There are always many transactions for every team, shuffling players to and from the big leagues in the final full month of the season. This time last year, these players didn’t have anything else to look forward to. If they were at Triple-A their seasons just ended, but this year everyone is playing for something more. One player in the Saints clubhouse who is helping the team focus on that playoff spot is catcher, first baseman, and DH, Chris Williams. Williams is part of a core of players that have spent their entire season at Triple-A including Randy Dobnak, Patrick Murphy, Jair Camargo, and Elliot Soto among others. They’ve seen many players go through the revolving door of transactions to and from the majors this season. Even if someone has been here for a day or all season. Williams and his teammates have done their best to keep them included in the clubhouse culture. “It’s been a really fun year and fun summer,” Williams said. “All the guys here are awesome. We were just actually reflecting on it the other day, on the kind of year we’ve had. It’s been kind of weird and crazy with the revolving door Triple-A is, but for us core guys, it’s been good.” As many players have gone through that revolving door, there’s been one consistent focus for the guys who’ve been with St. Paul all year. “Something that I’ve really enjoyed this year is just how much we’ve just bought into going to Vegas. ‘It’ll be fun, let’s win a championship. That’s been the message all year,” said Williams. Saints manager Toby Gardenhire has been coaching Williams at every level of the minors since the Twins drafted him in 2018. “He’s a great team guy and a great guy to have in the clubhouse,” said Gardenhire. “Coming out of college he was a really good player, and he’s always been able to hit a lot of home runs. But the best part about Chris is he’s just such a good teammate.” Williams’s teammates can attest to that. He and Austin Martin quickly became friends following Martin’s trade to the Twins organization for Jose Berrios in 2021. “Everyone goes through their highs and lows, and I think everyone on this team has experienced both sides of it. Two people who inspire me by watching them play are Austin Martin and Michael Helman. They’ve both faced a lot of injuries and adversities, and they’re two people that always have a smile on their face and are always working hard,” said Williams. Martin has gone through many trials and tribulations himself in the minors over the last two years, but having a teammate like Williams has made getting through it all much easier. “For him to even say that, given he’s seen both sides of my it [career ups and downs] for me. It means a lot because it shows how consistent I am with my behaviors every day. I don’t try to ride the highs too much or dwell on the lows. I just try to be as consistent of a human being as I can,” Martin said. Williams has kept positive motivation and fun in the dugout and clubhouse all year. The Saints players pick their own player of the game prior to each start, hand-selected by the player who was the guy the day before. It doesn’t matter where they play on the field, but if that player isn’t getting recognition elsewhere, he’s at least receiving it in the Saints clubhouse. “It’s a team comradery thing to honor someone who showed up the best that night. We do a really good job here lifting people up and have a lot of fun out there. It helps to be in St. Paul with everything going on here [in the stands],” Williams said. Williams's name has come up often this season as a solution to the Twins' dearth of right-handed hitters on the roster. He still hasn’t had the chance to make his MLB debut at age 26 and next year he does plan to continue to play on for that chance. That call up to the big leagues hangs over every minor leaguer, but Williams knows he’s needed with the Saints here and now to help their chances to Vegas. It’s something Gardenhire admires in his players like Williams. “Everybody in the clubhouse is in the same boat there. Everybody would love to go to the big leagues but if it doesn’t happen, what you got to do is work to be better so you can go to the big leagues. But here and now we’re lucky because we are in a playoff race, and it makes it a lot of fun. It’s a lot more fun being in a playoff race than it is just ending the season,” said Gardenhire. Williams, whose defensive versatility will be vital for the Saints playoff push, is always focusing on how he can help the team wherever he is on the field. He doesn’t find himself lost in the nuances of shuffling from left field to first base and behind the plate at catcher. His focus is on the here and now to get St. Paul to Vegas. “The big leagues are always on your mind. But the playoffs for Triple-A this year, It definitely keeps us grounded that we’re at Triple-A, so we should win here,” Williams said. Everything will come down to the wire for the Saints playoff push, and even as the revolving door of players continues to see players come and go before their regular season ends on September 24. Williams will do his part to keep himself and his teammates focused on the playoff push and making sure every Saint is recognized for the accolades on the field. View full article

Royce Lewis made history, Pablo Lopez returned to form, and the Twins made many a loud noise with their bats to take the first of three games in Cleveland Monday night. Image courtesy of David Richard, USA Today Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez 6 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (89 pitches, 57 strikes (73% strikes)) Home Runs: Jorge Polanco (12), Royce Lewis (11), Carlos Correa (17), Joey Gallo (21), Kyle Farmer (9), Matt Wallner (11) Top 3 WPA: Royce Lewis .225, Jorge Polanco .202, Pablo Lopez .082 Win Probability Chart Something Out of a Video Game Royce Lewis already had back-to-back games a week ago with grand slams and found himself in a spot to make history Monday night. Aside from Alexei Ramirez in 2008, no other MLB rookie has hit four grand slams in a season. Unbeknownst to Lewis, he could become the second player in the history of the game to meet that moment, and he did. 57th career game, bases loaded, two out, and Lewis hammers a 92 mph fastball to the left field bleachers. 6-0 Twins. Then in the top of the sixth, he had the chance to become the first player ever with five career grand slams in 60 or fewer career games. Lewis did not hit a grand slam but still had a two-run single to put the Twins up 11-1. This marked the first six RBI game in Lewis’s career. His four grand slams came under half the time that it took the next fastest guy to the same number of slams in his career. Rudy York had played in 132 career games back in 1937 with the Detroit Tigers before he had his fourth grand slam. Lewis did it in 56 games. Lewis's six-RBI game was the first for any Twin in 2023 and the first rookie to do so in two seasons when Ryan Jeffers did it in 2021 in a 17-14 loss to the Tigers on July 28, 2021. Twins make Giolito look lackluster in his Guardians debut After doing all they could to ensure they had the best pitchers available from Thursday’s waiver wire madness, the Guardians sent their newly acquired start Lucas Giolito to the mound. Giolito has had hit-or-miss success against Minnesota in his career. The first inning showed some signs of that with Jorge Polanco hitting a solo home run to put the Twins up earl 1-0. Giolito regained his composure from there and held the Twins from scoring any more runs following a Royce Lewis single. The second inning was a different story entirely. Giolito struck out the first two batters, and he had an 0-2 count in Ryan Jeffers. The Twins catcher worked a walk. Then Giolito gave up a single, and walked two more batters giving Polanco an RBI walk. Lewis came up again with the bases loaded and made it 6-0. Surprising to all, Giolito stayed in for the third inning and the Twins didn’t stop their home runs raining on his parade there. Carlos Correa led the inning off with a solo home run, his first since August 25. The Twins added two more runs from a Ryan Jeffers RBI double and Willi Castro sacrifice fly. Giolito threw 75 pitches to get through the gauntlet and the Twins had a 9-0 cushion with his early departure. Lopez Gives Bullpen Much-Needed Rest Lopez didn’t pitch without a lead Monday night and with the game becoming more and more a blowout victory each inning, he didn’t need to be in full ace form. Lopez did not have a single inning in the game where he faced the minimum number of hitters as the Guardians rallied for eight hits and their sole run on a Jose Ramirez RBI triple in the bottom of the third. On top of the hits surrendered, Lopez was also lacking in strikeouts compared to previous starts. Lopez hadn’t had a start with fewer than five strikeouts since September 10, 2022, when he only recorded two in 3 2/3 innings. Monday night he had three over six innings falling one short of getting his 200th of the year. Position Players Give Twins Late Inning Batting Practice The Twins put this game out of reach from the Guardians in the first three innings. But like the Twins, their bullpen had also been taxed in their previous series, leaving bullpen options limited for them Monday night. Following a scoreless fifth, Guardians reliever Enyel De Los Santos gave up two walks and a single to give Lewis the bases loaded once more. Lewis tagged his two-run single to put the Twins up 11-1. Terry Francona took De Los Santos out of the game, but he didn’t bring in another arm from the bullpen. He waived the white flag by putting catcher David Fry on the mound. The Twins rallied for two more runs before Fry got three outs in the sixth. The seventh became a slugfest with the righty on the mound. Rocco Baldelli pulled his lefties off the bench and they delivered. Joey Gallo slugged a two-run homer to put the Twins up 15-1, then three batters later, Kyle Farmer hit a three-run homer to double the Twins lead from Giolito’s last pitch and make it 18-1. Even in the ninth inning the Twins weren't done. Matt Wallner took a swing straight out of batting practice to a meatball from Fry to extend the lead 20-3. Other Notes Brent Headrick had the seventh inning and started the eighth. Even with an extensive lead he still gave up two runs and struggled with his command of the strike zone. His one walk wasn’t the main issue. He hit two batters that led to warnings being given out by the umpires. While he gave his fellow relievers some rest, hitting two batters and throwing 46 pitches to get three outs wasn’t enough to keep him in to get any more outs. Dylan Floro came in out of the bullpen and retired the side from there. The ninth inning saw the strangest defensive alignment from the Twins all year. Up 20-3, newly-minted father Willi Castro was on the mound, Donovan Solano moved over to third and replacing him at second was Christian Vazquez. While 17 runs is a comfortable lead, Castro gave up hits and walks left and right that allowed the Guardians to score two runs before he got the first out. What’s Next? The Twins play the second of three games in their critical finale series of the year against Cleveland. Sonny Gray will make the start for the Twins against the Guardians Tanner Bibee. Postgame Interview Coming soon. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

It's been a whirlwind couple of months, going from college to rookie league to low-A and, now, to high-A. Hear more about the impressive draftee. View full video

Going from the worst start he's had in his professional 2023 season to taking a perfect game into the seventh inning. Dallas Keuchel has continued to live up to the oddity of his MLB career during his short time with the Twins. Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker, USA Today Sports Dallas Keuchel has made a living being an outlier in Major League Baseball. He came into Sunday afternoon’s Twins-Pirates game with many people seeing his third start with the Twins as a make-or-break moment for the continuation of his career. That’s because his previous start against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 11 was anything but glamorous. The defending National League champions made Keuchel live up to every doubt fans and baseball beat writers alike had when the Twins offered him a minor-league deal in late June. He threw 49 pitches and could only get five outs. Between those five outs, the Phillies tagged on six hits, and two walks, and six of those eight base runners scored. Not a single one of those 49 pitches against the Phillies topped 88 miles per hour. And in an age where the heat on pitches banks the success of many pitchers in MLB, people believed Keuchel's start against the Pirates could be his very last. But then a few things happened during Sunday’s game people weren’t expecting. Keuchel got his first strikeout of the season with Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez staring down an 84.9 MPH cutter on the outside corner to end the second inning. At that point, Keuchel faced the minimum number of hitters: six up, six down, a strong rebound from his previous two innings before Sunday’s game. But the real excitement of his performance was still to come. Chris Langin was at home in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Sunday with time set aside from his job as the Director of Pitching for Driveline. Langin worked with Keuchel from last December until June of this year to help get him opportunities in the majors like he had on Sunday; bringing a perfect game into the seventh inning. “It was one of the more enjoyable things I’ve watched in my almost four years here at Driveline,” said Langin. “You look at everything leading up to that moment and it’s encouraging. Especially when you account for the context of how the last game went for him.” Langin’s time with Keuchel over the six months he was at Driveline makes him more familiar than anybody with what the lefty can do on the mound. He’s kept up with Keuchel on a daily basis over the phone, and they continue to break down how his starts turn out. The start against the Phillies had left its mark on both of them from all that progress that had been made for Keuchel leading up to it. The results of that game weighed on Keuchel leading into Sunday’s game according to Langin. “You talk about a lot just hitting you at once after all that time. It’s pretty easy to think about those things a bit, feeling like you may have wasted time. Considering how he turned it around Sunday from the last game was pretty cool,” said Langin. Breaking down Sunday’s start, Langin said there was a noticeable difference from Keuchel’s previous two starts. He was throwing fewer strikes that attacked hitters in the strike zone to start out at-bats and increasing the number of pitches he wanted to get the Pirates hitters to chase. “He sometimes over-relies on his command too earlier in the count. For Dallas, I think, he sometimes doesn’t have to be as assertive as he thinks on the first pitch. It’s a lot more difficult to get two strikes in a count than one these days and that ability to hit a corner is just more important when it’s required to get more with strike two than one with guys' swing rates these days.” As Keuchel set a new Twins record for the most amount of hitters faced before recording a single strikeout at 42. Langin saw it as another fun thing that adds to the outlier narrative Keuchel has constructed for himself. “I was sending him funny texts before the game Sunday on the strikeout thing, giving him **** about it. I basically told him ‘The only thing you can optimize for is striking out one batter.’ That was the game plan.” Keuchel achieved that one strikeout, then two more, before his day came to an end after Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds hit a double off the right-center field wall. 19 up and 19 down to that point. He walked off the mound with no runs surrendered going into the seventh for the first time since June 15, 2021. As the Twins continue their push to clinch the American League Central for the 2023 postseason. Langin isn’t hyper focused as Twins fans are when it comes to the lineups his friend will be facing down the stretch. Or if he’ll hold out to be a part of a six-man rotation once Joe Ryan returns from his rehab assignment. He’s proud of what Keuchel has accomplished in his comeback to this point and just wants to enjoy the ride he’ll be on, even if it is Keuchel’s last trip in the majors. “I don’t think he’s got anything really think too deeply on. He’s done a lot in this game. He’s made a hell of an effort to continue playing when he doesn’t necessarily have to. He’s such a unique pitcher in how he approaches the game, I think he’s earned the right to say ‘Who really gives a ****’ in terms of who he’s facing.” Keuchel’s next start is likely to come on Saturday against the Texas Rangers, the team with the second-highest OPS in the majors at .797. A team all but set for the postseason, whether it’s the AL West title or a Wild Card spot, they’ll prove to be another test to Keuchel’s remaining longevity in the big leagues. Until then, he can finally give Langin smack talk back about the strikeouts he’s recorded and work on his best approach against an all-star lineup. View full article

The St. Paul Saints honored the owners who made the franchise and independent baseball what it is today. Plus, a former Major League all star and short-term Saints legend now has his number retired. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints ST. PAUL – The St. Paul Saints honored five men this weekend that left a monumental impact on the franchise and the franchise has done the same for them in return. Whether it was 29 years of the owner's share of the St. Paul Saints or a 29-game stint with them on the field in 1996. Mike Veeck, Marv Goldklang, Bill Murray, Van Schley, and Darryl Strawberry all have had a sense of pride and flourishment from their time with the St. Paul Saints. On Friday, Goldklang, Veeck, and Strawberry were available to the media to talk about their time and memories with the franchise. On the franchise’s beginning, or revitalization as the Saints had previously existed as a minor league affiliate from 1901 to 1960, Veeck said the mission of the Saints to the local sports market was always about fun. “Secretly, I had always wanted to operate a club in a territory of a Major League team because I knew we could market fun,” said Veeck. “You know the Twins won in 1987, 91, we weren’t going to go, ‘Come see great baseball’. So we said come out and have fun. You can afford it.” From Day 1 of ticket sales, the people of St. Paul and greater Minnesota were drawn in with what Goldklang, Veeck, and Murray had to offer. “There were 900 people the morning we put tickets on sale in 1992. It’s unbelievable. 900 people! I know that because my wife made coffee for every one of them with a six or eight-cup burner. And we finished selling those tickets, hard tickets back in those days, at 11 o’clock at night, got there at 5:30 a.m. So they supported us,” said Veeck. Darryl Strawberry started his 1996 season with the Saints following no contract offers from MLB teams. While unexpected, “I really had no idea I wanted to play baseball again,” said Strawberry on when the Saints offered him a contract. “My life was in shambles. I knew that life is a journey, and you look at the importance of what other people play a role in your life. They [Saints ownership and fans] were a big part of my journey, and I think that’s why I am standing here today and where I am today.” Strawberry's numbers in his 29 career games with the Saints were off the charts. A .435 batting average, .538 on-base percentage, 1.000 slugging percentage, an OPS of 1.538. He hit 18 home runs and had 38 runs batted in. But to Strawberry, those numbers are just numbers. What mattered more were the people like Veeck, Goldklang, Murray, the fans, and the teammates, that he spent his time around with the Saints. “You can’t replace people. St. Paul, Minnesota is full of real people. I played baseball for a very long time and played in front of a lot of crowds. But I never played in front of crowds like I did in St. Paul at the old ballpark and the way people were, and you respect that,” Strawberry said. As Saints crowds at Midway Stadium drew Strawberry’s respect, they also drew his attention with the zany and things he’d never seen fans do before at a ballpark. “Getting haircuts in the stands. Mike Veeck did a phenomenal job of getting people in and having them enjoy the game but also the fun off the field. Everybody’s so tight with what’s on the field, but they weren’t. They had a pig running around. So it was a great atmosphere. It made it easier to play baseball,” Strawberry chuckled. Two of the men who gave Strawberry that second chance, Goldklang and Veeck, know that what they did was not just about bringing alive a counter-culture franchise to independent baseball. But giving opportunities to countless people both on and off the field. “You get to a certain age, and you start looking back a little more frequently than looking forward,” said Goldklang. “I’ve been a lot of different things, but in terms of my heart, it’s been about baseball. It’s not just about baseball or sports. Anytime you can have a lasting and positive impact on someone’s life, you’ve done something good.” “The fact that we survived [as a franchise], and that we became a part of the developmental chain in Major League Baseball,” Veeck said. “Thirty-some players went on or went back to the Major Leagues, and countless numbers of careers were saved to give it one more shot. Those are the things you think about, I know people think it’s the fun and games department, but that’s not really what you think about. You think about the people and how they have affected your life.” Veeck is a man who comes from a long baseball lineage. His grandfather was a Chicago baseball writer and the Cubs president from 1919 to 1933. His father, Bill Veeck, the man who brought the second black player into MLB in Larry Doby is known for so many other goofs and gags in baseball’s golden age. When Mike Veeck looks back on his family’s legacy on the game, it’s his son who comes to his mind first. “I think about my son, Night Train, and the great opportunity that he has. I had 10 years in the big leagues. I worked for four-and-a-half Major League teams, and I never got it right. Because you can take everything that’s happened here in Saintsville and take it to the Major Leagues. And you know how I know that? Because my dad did it, and my grandfather did that before him,” said Veeck. William ‘Night Train’ Veeck is carrying on his family’s legacy in sports, but it’s not baseball, Night Train Veeck spent two of the last three years as the COO of the Chicago NISA Soccer Club and Chairman of the board for TSL Holdings Inc., a sports sweepstakes app, per Night Train Veeck's LinkedIn page. As this chapter in their lives comes to a close. Goldklang, Strawberry, and Veeck will always have nothing but warm feelings toward the Saints and the city of St. Paul. They know there are many lives that they have touched directly and indirectly with the fun they’ve provided for the game. For them, the fame and glory of an independent baseball franchise, and now Triple-A franchise are nice accolades. The impact the Saints ownership had on people from the ticket booth salesperson to a 22-year-old getting his shot and ending up on the Red Sox’s curse-breaking team. They’re proud of every person they’ve helped to make the St. Paul Saints who they are today. View full article

Thank you for correcting for me. I believe the honest mistake, but I never go by Ted or Teddy.

The Twins looked the best they have all season against a left-handed starter to begin the four game series in Detroit. Joey Wentz started for Detroit and the Twins knocked him off early, scoring eight runs on him in the first three innings. Image courtesy of David Reginek, USA Today Sports Box Score SP: Pablo Lopez 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (96 pitches, 70 strikes (73% strikes)) Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (9), Carlos Correa (13) Top 3 WPA: Ryan Jeffers .190, Carlos Correa .150, Pablo Lopez .080 Win Probability Chart Early Innings Fireworks Wentz didn't have control of the strike zone from the first pitch he threw as Donovan Solano snapped the ball to center field for a lead-off double. Following a Jorge Polanco strikeout, one hit followed another. Carlos Correa's RBI double to put the Twins up 1-0, then a Max Kepler single, and finally a Ryan Jeffers three-run home run to make it an early 4-0 lead for Minnesota. The offense cooled off from there in the first but still had every Twins hitter get to the plate. From there, the Twins continued to do damage. The second time through the lineup in the second inning saw back-to-back singles from Solano and Polanco, then, for the first time since July 17, Carlos Correa hit a home run. The three-run shot made it 7-0, and for once this season, the Twins figured out how to solve a left-handed starter. Any further rally threats died, with Wentz retiring the next three batters, one-two-three in the second. In the third, Willi Castro scored on an RBI ground out from Michael A. Taylor, putting the Twins up 8-0. Lopez Cruises Through Motor City Kitties Pablo Lopez was as sharp as ever on the pitcher's mound Monday night. Starting his night already up 4-0, Lopez got a groundout and a couple of strikeouts but did give up a two-out single to Matt Vierling. Lopez faced the minimum in the fourth inning. Otherwise, the Tigers' hitters found ways to reach base in every inning he threw. Fortunately, Lopez's pitch mix still worked to his advantage, getting 17 swings and misses in the game and adding eight strikeouts to his 165 on the season coming into Monday. Lopez's curveball resulted in the most swings and misses, with his breaking balls on Monday having five, while his four-seam fastball got him an additional six. Even with five hits surrendered and one batter reaching on an error, Lopez allowed no walks making this his fourth start of the season with zero walks allowed. It's also the first time since September 20 and 27 of 2022 that he had back-to-back starts with no walks surrendered. Late Inning Runs for Both Teams The Twins had insurance runs added on in the late innings unexpectedly. Alex Lange walked three hitters in the top of the eighth and gave up a run without giving up a single hit as he threw a pitch to Kepler that hit him in the foot and gave the Twins a 9-0 lead. With such a massive lead, the Twins removed Kepler from the game and put Matt Wallner in as a pinch runner. Ryan Jeffers, however, struck out looking to end the inning. The insurance run helped the Twins a bit. Reliever Brent Headrick was given a second inning of work in the ninth, and he hit Kerry Carpenter in the hand (which looked like it could have been a lot worse). Zack Short followed with a single and Nick Maton launched a 3-run shot to kill the shutout and make it 9-3. Headrick got the final out after throwing 41 pitches. Other Notes Taylor's walk in the top of the eighth made him the last Twins batter to get on base in Monday night's game. The last game the Twins had every hitter getting on base at least once was on Saturday, July 29, a 7-10 loss against Kansas City on the road. What's Next? The Twins play the second of a four-game series against the Tigers beginning at 5:40 p.m. CT tomorrow. Sonny Gray will make the start for the Twins against Eduardo Rodriguez for the Tigers. Postgame Interview Coming soon. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Hello fellow Twins fans, I am putting a call out to any interested fans from Southeast Minnesota that will be at Target Field this weekend for Joe Mauer's Twins Hall of Fame induction. I will be doing a news package for ABC 6 News on the induction tomorrow afternoon and I would love to include one to two fans from the area in the story who have stories of their own to share from Mauer's playing days. I am looking for anyone that lives east of I-35 to the Mississippi River and from Cannon Falls to the Iowa border. Even if you're from Mason City, Clear Lake, or Decorah, Iowa, you're welcome to reach out with interest. Leave a reply if you'll be at the ballpark tomorrow and have interest in being included in this story. I will message those interested on further details! Thanks!