Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

William Malone

Twins Daily Contributor
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    784

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Blog Entries posted by William Malone

  1. William Malone
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Regular season baseball starts next week. But this great news comes with a catch. The Minnesota Twins will not be playing regular season baseball next week. Instead, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will have an epic clash overseas.
    But we need not worry. Our beloved Twins will be playing regular season baseball soon enough. There will be 162 beautiful regular season games, and die hard fans will not miss a single pitch. But if you have to miss some games here or there, your ole pal William Malone IV has you covered. For I have seen the future! And by seeing the future, I already know the results of every single game from the 2025 Major League Baseball season. So here they are!
    Game 1 at St. Louis - W (1-0)
    Game 2 at St. Louis - W (2-0)
    Game 3 at St. Louis - W (3-0)
    Game 4 at Chicago AL - W (4-0)
    Game 5 at Chicago AL - L (4-1)
    Game 6 at Chicago AL - L (4-2)
    Game 7 vs Houston - L (4-3)
    Game 8 vs Houston - W (5-3)
    Game 9 vs Houston - W (6-3)
    Game 10 at Kansas City - L (6-4)
    Game 11 at Kansas City - L (6-5)
    Game 12 at Kansas City - W (7-5)
    Game 13 at Kansas City - L (7-6)
    Game 14 vs Detroit - W (8-6)
    Game 15 vs Detroit - W (9-6)
    Game 16 vs Detroit - W (10-6)
    Game 17 vs New York NL - W (11-6)
    Game 18 vs New York NL - L (11-7)
    Game 19 vs New York NL - L (11-8)
    Game 20 at Atlanta - L (11-9)
    Game 21 at Atlanta - L (11-10)
    Game 22 at Atlanta - W (12-10)
    Game 23 vs Chicago AL - L (12-11)
    Game 24 vs Chicago AL - W (13-11)
    Game 25 vs Chicago AL - L (13-12)
    Game 26 vs Los Angeles AL - W (14-12)
    Game 27 vs Los Angeles AL - L (14-13)
    Game 28 vs Los Angeles AL - W (15-13)
    Game 29 at Cleveland - W (16-13)
    Game 30 at Cleveland - W (17-13)
    Game 31 at Cleveland - L (17-14)
    Game 32 at Cleveland - L (17-15)
    Game 33 at Boston - W (18-15)
    Game 34 at Boston - L (18-16)
    Game 35 at Boston - W (19-16)
    Game 36 vs Baltimore - W (20-16)
    Game 37 vs Baltimore - W (21-16)
    Game 38 vs Baltimore - L (21-17)
    Game 39 vs San Francisco - W (22-17)
    Game 40 vs San Francisco - W (23-17)
    Game 41 vs San Francisco - L (23-18) 
    Game 42 at Baltimore - L (23-19)
    Game 43 at Baltimore - W (24-19)
    Game 44 at Baltimore - L (24-20)
    Game 45 at Milwaukee - W (25-20)
    Game 46 at Milwaukee - W (26-20)
    Game 47 at Milwaukee - W (27-20)
    Game 48 vs Cleveland - L (27-21)
    Game 49 vs Cleveland - L (27-22)
    Game 50 vs Cleveland - W (28-22)
    Game 51 vs Kansas City - W (29-22)
    Game 52 vs Kansas City - W (30-22)
    Game 53 vs Kansas City - L (30-23)
    Game 54 at Tampa Bay - W (31-23)
    Game 55 at Tampa Bay - L (31-24)
    Game 56 at Tampa Bay - W (32-24)
    Game 57 at Seattle - L (32-25)
    Game 58 at Seattle - W (33-25)
    Game 59 at Seattle - W (34-25)
    Game 60 at Sacramento - W (35-25)
    Game 61 at Sacramento - W (36-25)
    Game 62 at Sacramento - W (37-25)
    Game 63 at Sacramento - L (37-26)
    Game 64 vs Toronto - L (37-27)
    Game 65 vs Toronto - L (37-28)
    Game 66 vs Toronto - W (38-28)
    Game 67 vs Texas - L (38-29)
    Game 68 vs Texas - W (39-29)
    Game 69 vs Texas - L (39-30)
    Game 70 at Houston - W (40-30)
    Game 71 at Houston - W (41-30)
    Game 72 at Houston - L (41-31)
    Game 73 at Cincinnati - W (42-31)
    Game 74 at Cincinnati - W (43-31)
    Game 75 at Cincinnati - W (44-31) 
    Game 76 vs Milwaukee - L (44-32)
    Game 77 vs Milwaukee - L (44-33)
    Game 78 vs Milwaukee - W (45-33)
    Game 79 vs Seattle - W (46-33)
    Game 80 vs Seattle - W (47-33)
    Game 81 vs Seattle - L (47-34)
    Game 82 vs Seattle - L (47-35)
    Game 83 at Detroit - W (48-35)
    Game 84 at Detroit - W (49-35)
    Game 85 at Detroit - W (50-35)
    Game 86 at Miami - L (50-36)
    Game 87 at Mimai - L (50-37)
    Game 88 at Miami - L (50-38)
    Game 89 vs Tampa Bay - L (50-39)
    Game 90 vs Tampa Bay - L (50-40)
    Game 91 vs Tampa Bay - W (51-40)
    Game 92 vs Chicago NL - W (52-40)
    Game 93 vs Chicago NL - L (52-41)
    Game 94 vs Chicago NL - W (53-41)
    Game 95 vs Pittsburgh - L (53-42)
    Game 96 vs Pittsburgh - W (54-42)
    Game 97 vs Pittsburgh - W (55-42)
    Game 98 at Colorado - W (56-42)
    Game 99 at Colorado - W (57-42)
    Game 100 at Colorado - W (58-42)
    Game 101 at Los Angeles NL - W (59-42)
    Game 102 at Los Angeles NL - L (59-43)
    Game 103 at Los Angeles NL - L (59-44)
    Game 104 vs Washington - W (60-44)
    Game 105 vs Washington - W (61-44)
    Game 106 vs Washington - L (61-45)
    Game 107 vs Boston - W (62-45)
    Game 108 vs Boston - L (62-46)
    Game 109 vs Boston - W (63-46)
    Game 110 at Cleveland - L (63-47)
    Game 111 at Cleveland - W (64-47)
    Game 112 at Cleveland - L (64-48)
    Game 113 at Detroit - W (65-48)
    Game 114 at Detroit - L (65-49)
    Game 115 at Detroit - W (66-49)
    Game 116 vs Kansas City - W (67-49)
    Game 117 vs Kansas City - L (67-50)
    Game 118 vs Kansas City - W (68-50)
    Game 119 at New York AL - L (68-51)
    Game 120 at New York AL - L (68-52)
    Game 121 at New York AL - W (69-52)
    Game 122 vs Detroit - W (70-52)
    Game 123 vs Detroit - W (71-52)
    Game 124 vs Detroit - W (72-52)
    Game 125 vs Detroit - L (72-53)
    Game 126 vs Sacramento - W (73-53)
    Game 127 vs Sacramento - L (73-54)
    Game 128 vs Sacramento - W (74-54)
    Game 129 at Chicago AL - W (75-54)
    Game 130 at Chicago AL - W (76-54)
    Game 131 at Chicago AL - W (77-54)
    Game 132 at Toronto - L (77-55)
    Game 133 at Toronto - L (77-56)
    Game 134 at Toronto - W (78-56)
    Game 135 vs San Diego - W (79-56)
    Game 136 vs San Diego - W (80-56)
    Game 137 vs San Diego - L (80-57)
    Game 138 vs Chicago AL - W (81-57)
    Game 139 vs Chicago AL - W (82-57)
    Game 140 vs Chicago AL - L (82-58)
    Games 141 vs Chicago AL - W (83-58)
    Game 142 at Kansas City - L (83-59)
    Game 143 at Kansas City - L (83-60)
    Game 144 at Kansas City - W (84-60)
    Game 145 at Los Angeles AL - L (84-61)
    Game 146 at Los Angeles AL - W (85-61)
    Game 147 at Los Angeles AL - W (86-61)
    Game 148 vs Arizona - W (87-61)
    Game 149 vs Arizona - W (88-61)
    Game 150 vs Arizona - L (88-62)
    Game 151 vs New York AL - W (89-62)
    Game 152 vs New York AL - L (89-63)
    Game 153 vs New York AL - L (89-64)
    Game 154 vs Cleveland - W (90-64) 
    Game 155 vs Cleveland - W (91-64)
    Game 156 vs Cleveland - W (92-64)
    Game 157 at Texas - L (92-65)
    Game 158 at Texas - L (92-66)
    Game 159 at Texas - W (93-66)
    Game 160 at Philadelphia - W (94-66)
    Game 161 at Philadelphia - W (95-66)
    Game 162 at Philadelphia - L (95-67) 
    ALDS Game 1 vs Boston - W (1-0)
    ALDS Game 2 vs Boston - L (1-1)
    ALDS Game 3 at Boston - L (1-2)
    ALDS Game 4 at Boston - W (2-2)
    ALDS Game 5 at Boston - L (2-3)
  2. William Malone

    Yes, other managers "punt" games too

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The two time World Series champion Minnesota Twins won a baseball game last night against the one time World Series champion Texas Rangers.
    How did they win it? Rangers manager Bruce Bochy likely "punted" the game. This is something Twins manager Rocco Baldelli often does, and there are some fans who get angry whenever it happens. But last night shows that other managers do it too. Even guys like Bochy, who have a reserved spot in Cooperstown.
    Minnesota was leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth last night. Former top prospect Jack Leiter surrendered a lead-off double to Byron Buxton, and was lifted at just 87 pitches. On paper, it's a very crucial moment of the game. The Twins have a (very fast) runner on second with nobody out. 2-3-4 in the order is coming up. Texas is trailing by a run, but the game can quickly slip away.
    So who does Bochy turn to out of the bullpen? Jacob Latz! Your classic Quad-A left handed reliever. The Rangers version of Kody Funerburk. He made his Major League debut in 2021, but has only accumulated 64 big league appearances in that time frame. In that same stretch of time, Latz has pitched in 102 minor league games. And that was while spending 2022 primarily as a starter in the minor leagues, which kind of caps the amount of appearances you can make.
    Putting Latz in that spot last night went exactly how the common Twins fan would expect Funderburk to do in a similar situation. The Twins very quickly expanded their lead to 6-2, and the game was pretty much over right there. Jhoan Duran and all the top relievers were rested after a day off on Monday and blowout loss on Tuesday. Bruce Bochy punted that game. He decided in the fifth inning that his better arms would be saved for a later date, and he just handed Minnesota an easy victory. 
    Yes, Baldelli will punt games going forward. But don't think too much of it. Every manager does it. Even Hall of Fame managers like Bochy. And he's managing a Rangers team that, honestly, really needs to win games. Every game is important to the Twins, but that might go double for Texas. They're 32-36 right now.
    And it's an old(ish) roster too. A window might be closing pretty soon for the 2023 World Series champions. If they can't be a playoff team now, maybe it'll be awhile before they're back. The pitching staff has Jack Leiter. But look at everyone else. Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi are 35. Jacob de Grom is 37. Their two best relievers are 33 and 34. Offensive centerpieces Corey Seager and Marcus Semien are not getting any younger either.
    They got their ring, so it's all worth it. Not hating. You'd trade the fall off in later years for a ring every single time. But that fall off might be here, and Bruce Bochy is out here punting some games, possibly helping close the window even quicker.
  3. William Malone

    Twins single season all-quarter century team

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! It is 2025! This means a lot of publications are having fun with quarter-century teams for various leagues and franchises. I have decided to join in on the action...but with a twist.
    Here is the Twins quarter-century team based on single seasons. Not careers. Make sure to sound off in the comments about what a big stupid dum dum I am when you disagree with the list.
    Catcher - 2009 Joe Mauer
    AL MVP, All-Star, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove
    .365/.444/.587 (1.031)
    28 home runs
    96 RBI
    Joe Mauer had a lot of great seasons. He's one of just two catchers in Major League history to double up on the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove in the same year at least three times (Iván Rodríguez). But this year still stands out above all the rest! Mauer led the American League in average, on-base percentage, and slugging. He won a Gold Glove. And he easily took home AL MVP honors.
    First Base - 2006 Justin Morneau
    AL MVP, Silver Slugger
    .321/.375/.559 (.934)
    34 home runs
    130 RBI
    Winning MVP without being an All-Star is not unheard of, but it's still somewhat rare. Justin Morneau got off to a very slow start in 2006. He was still carrying a sub-.700 OPS on May 8th. The Canadian slugger hit two home runs against the Texas Rangers on May 9th, and never looked back from there. His 130 RBI that season are the second most in Twins history, trailing only 1969 Harmon Killebrew (140).
    Second Base - 2017 Brian Dozier
    Gold Glove
    .271/.359/.498 (.857)
    34 home runs
    93 RBI
    This one might be controversial. A lot of metrics suggest that Brian Dozier was better in 2016. Maybe it's the fact that Minnesota was a much better team in 2017, but his 2017 season just felt better. There was a 19 point year-to-year jump in on-base percentage, which is never a bad thing for your lead-off hitter. Dozier didn't sacrifice that much power in the process, still finishing with 30 doubles and 34 home runs.
    Third Base - 2001 Corey Koskie
    25th in AL MVP voting
    .276/.362/.488 (.850)
    26 home runs
    103 RBI
    Shout out to 2019 Miguel Sanó. He was so good that summer, hitting 34 bombs with a .923 OPS. Bring up juiced balls all you want, but it was still a 139 OPS+ when adjusting to League averages. This Koskie season only came out to a 121 OPS+. But the best ability is still availability, which factored in here. Koskie played 153 games in 2001, while Sanó only played 105 in 2019. Can't forget about defense too.
    Shortstop - 2022 Carlos Correa
    Led all shortstops in OPS
    .291/.366/.467 (.833)
    22 home runs
    64 RBI
    Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts co-led all shortstops with an .833 OPS in 2022. They were both a healthy margin over third place Trea Turner (.809). A slow start probably kept Correa out of the All-Star game. His average and on-base percentage were fairly strong throughout the year, but Correa hit 19 of his 22 home runs after June 1st in 2022.
     
    Left Field - 2012 Josh Willingham
    Silver Slugger
    .260/.366/.524 (.890)
    35 home runs
    110 RBI
    Fans were very upset when the Twins signed Josh Willingham, but it really had nothing to do with Josh Willingham. It was the same off-season where Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel left in free agency. It's natural for the customers to prefer some fan favorites over a journeyman. Willingham helped smooth things over by launching 35 bombs in 2012. He won a Silver Slugger for his efforts.
    Center Field - 2002 Torii Hunter
    All-Star, Gold Glove
    .289/.334/.524 (.858)
    29 home runs
    94 RBI
    Torii Hunter wasn't a standout offensive star throughout his Twins tenure, and he only has a 103 OPS+ with the club. That's the same as Max Kepler. His offense truly came around later on with the Angels, and he was able to win two Silver Sluggers. But 2002 gave a glimpse into what his offensive ceiling was. It was his best offensive season with the Twins, complimented by his legendary defensive abilities.
    Right Field - 2019 Max Kepler
    20th in AL MVP voting
    .252/.326/.519 (.855)
    36 home runs
    90 RBI
    People questioned the usage of Max Kepler as a lead-off hitter entering 2019. They started to question it even more when he began the year in an 0-for-10 skid. These concerns began to die down as Kepler began to heat up at the plate. He finished the year with 36 home runs, 90 RBI and zero errors committed in the field. Kepler also had a higher OPS against lefties than righties, which goes against his career splits.
    Designated hitter - 2020 Nelson Cruz
    Silver Slugger
    .303/.397/.595 (.992)
    16 home runs
    33 RBI
    This one is probably going to be controversial. The rate stats were a bit lower in 2020, but they were better compared to league averages with an un-juiced baseball. Cruz had a higher OPS+ in 2020, compared to 2019. His full season pace was 43 home runs, two more than he hit in 2019. Granted, Cruz missed some time with a wrist injury in 2019. He was also not available to start National League games. The DH was universal in 2020. This allowed Cruz to play in a higher percentage of games.
    Starting Pitcher - 2004 Johan Santana
    AL Cy Young
    20-6, 2.61 ERA
    Earlier in this lovely blog post, you read about Justin Morneau and his slow start in 2006. The same thing happened to Johan Santana in 2004. He finished May with a 5.61 ERA through 11 starts, and still wound up having the best year of a career filled with several fantastic seasons. Santana had a 1.51 ERA over his final 23 starts, surrendering only two runs in six September starts.
    Relief Pitcher - 2006 Joe Nathan
    5th in AL Cy Young voting
    7-0, 1.58 ERA, 36-for-38 saves 
    The Twins were 58-6 when Joe Nathan pitched in 2006. And five of them were just appearances to get the guy some work. They were down by three or more runs by the time he entered those games. The sixth loss came when he pitched a shutout ninth inning in a tie game on July 28th, and they wound up losing in extras. Minnesota actually wound up winning the two games where Nathan was charged with a "blown save."
  4. William Malone

    Be careful what you wish for with owners

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins just swept the Baltimore Orioles in a three game series.
    This is good news because it's never a bad thing to sweep an opponent. It doesn't matter what their record is. Sweeps are good!
    Even though all sweeps are good, the Baltimore Orioles have been struggling a bit. Granted, they've been better in recent seasons. Baltimore won 83 games in 2022, 101 games in 2023, and 91 games in 2024. Three straight winning seasons with a young core has made their 2025 struggles a shock to some.
    This run of success was built through outstanding development. Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson are young stars who already have Silver Sluggers and top ten MVP finishes on their resume. They're supplemented by several other highly touted prospects, including Jackson Holiday and Heston Kjerstad.
    But it's not working! The Orioles are 13-23. So what went wrong? People can't blame Peter Angelos anymore. If you're not familiar with him, he was the Orioles owner from 1993 until his death in 2024. Fans here in Minnesota love crying about their current owners. A lot of that criticism is deserved too. But everything you have ever said about a Pohlad was said by an Orioles fan about Peter Angelos. Word for word. Bar for bar. Line for line.
    The Orioles have been even cheaper than the Twins over the years. Baltimore has only outspent the Twins four times (2015-18) since Target Field opened in 2010. With the health of Peter Angelos beginning to fail, the family decided to sell the team to David Rubenstein on January 20, 2024. Peter Angelos passed away on March 23, 2024. This was just three days before the sale became official.
    Nobody was really celebrating a man's death. That's not cool. But fans were celebrating a change in ownership. David Rubenstein is Baltimore born and raised. A lifelong Orioles fan who is also worth $3.7 billion. Surely, the days of being cheap are about to end!
    Well, that's not how it all worked out. Baltimore had traded for the expiring contract of Corbin Burnes ahead of the 2024 season, and he was brilliant for them! Burnes had a 2.92 ERA and finished fifth in the AL Cy Young voting. But the big bank account of Rubenstein wasn't able to re-sign the ace. He went out west to the Arizona Diamondbacks. There were several great free agents on the market who could replace Burnes, including Blake Snell and Max Fried. But the Orioles came away with...Charlie Morton and Kyle Gibson.
    Let's go over to the offensive side of things, because the Orioles also lost a key bat in free agency. Switch hitting outfielder Anthony Santander hit 44 home runs for the Orioles in 2024, winning a Silver Slugger and finishing 14th in the AL MVP voting. The Toronto Blue Jays signed Santander to a five year, $93 million contract. Baltimore went out and replaced him with Tyler O'Neill. That's probably a little better than replacing Corbin Burnes with Kyle Gibson, but it's still not great. Especially in the first off-season after your "cheap owner who doesn't care about winning" sold the team to someone new.
    The moral of the story is to be careful what you wish for with new ownership. The Orioles have been cheaper than the Twins in recent memory, and selling the team doesn't seem to be fixing the problem. Steve Cohen-types don't grow on trees. Most owners don't dip into their own pockets to fund payroll. Most teams just spent somewhere between 45% and 55% of their club revenue on payroll, and call it a day. Even the mighty Yankees fall into that wheelhouse, allocating 49.7% of their revenue towards payroll. This is against 47.4% for the Twins. The gap in actual payroll is created by the Yankees simply having a much larger revenue stream.
    I'm not making excuses for these billionaires. I believe they should be able to spend more. But I also understand reality. Trade the Pohald's for the Steinbrenner's and nothing probably changes. Same for any potential buyer of the Twins. This franchise will probably get sold at some point in the next year. Just don't set you expectations too high. Things might get better. But odds are, they stay the same.
  5. William Malone
    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 if the Minnesota Twins never trade Johan Santana?
    This is a trade that clearly didn't work out for the Twins. It also didn't really work out for the New York Mets. They signed Santana to a six year extension, on top of the one year he initially had left in Minnesota. This locked him up for seven full seasons. Santana threw a pitch in just four of those seasons, and New York never reached the postseason while he was on their payroll.
    Trading Santana didn't benefit the Twins that much. Signing him to a long term deal wouldn't have moved many needles as well. So what happens if the Twins just keep him for the 2008 season, then allow Santana to walk in free agency.
    Fans always hate the idea of letting a player leave "for nothing." But an extra season of baseball's best pitcher is not nothing. Santana was still brilliant in 2008, leading the National League in ERA and innings pitched. He pitched a complete game shutout on three days rest in the Mets 161st regular season game. This temporarily kept New York in the playoff race, although they would get eliminated the next day. His infamous injuries would start coming into play a year later, as 2008 was the last time Santana made at least 30 starts in a season.
    What if his 2008 season was in a Twins uniform? Minnesota was still pretty good that year. They lost an AL Central tiebreaker game to the Chicago White Sox, but you'd have to imagine it wouldn't be necessary if Johan Santana was toeing the rubber 34 times. It's safe to assume that Santana is worth at least one win.
    Despite missing the playoffs in 2008 and making the playoffs in 2009, the 2008 squad was probably a bit better. Minnesota scored more runs in 2008. They also allowed less runs in 2008. This is why the 2008 Twins actually wound up winning more baseball games. The AL Central was just weaker in 2009. Even without the game's best pitcher, that was still a really good ball club.
    As far as their playoff chances go, Francisco Liriano is a big key in all of this. There are many fans across Twins Territory who claim they had a real shot at winning a World Series in 2006 had Liriano not gone down with an elbow injury late in the year. Now you finally have the Santana-Liriano rotation duo.
    Liriano did have a 3.91 ERA in 2008, which doesn't seem that impressive. But that's ballooned by an 11.32 ERA in three April starts upon returning from Tommy John surgery. The Twins optioned him down to Triple-A, and called him up back in early August. He made 11 starts from August 3rd until the end of that season, looking like he did in 2006. Maybe not quite as good, but it was ace level pitching down the stretch. He had a 2.74 ERA in those 11 starts, registering six wins and only one loss. That guy and Santana both healthy in a playoff rotation? Now we're talking!
    It's hard to project what would've happened in the playoffs, but the American League playoff field that year lacked high end aces. Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay finished first and second in the AL Cy Young voting, but they were both on clubs that finished far out of postseason contention. Relievers Francisco Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera finished third and fourth. Of the eight pitchers who got votes, only two were starters on playoff teams; Daisuke Matsuzaka and Ervin Santana. The Tampa Bay Rays wound up winning the American League that year with a very good rotation of James Shields, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir and Andy Sonnanstine. Very good pitchers, but nobody like Johan Santana. The way Liriano had pitched over the final two months, maybe nobody like him either.
    Winning the American League came down one thing; could you mash? Tampa Bay averaged 5.2 runs per game against the Chicago White Sox, beating them in four games. The ALCS between Boston and Tampa Bay was quite the high scoring affair. The Rays scored 9, 9, 13 and 3 runs in the four games they won. Tight squeeze in that 3-1 game seven, but they mashed their way to three other wins.
    And while the American League was short on ace pitching in their postseason field, so was the National League. The Phillies came out of the NL, and this was before they added guys like Lee and Halladay. It's already been mentioned that they finished first and second in the AL Cy Young voting that year. Those guys showed up in the City of Brotherly Love a little bit later on. In 2008, it was Cole Hamels and a lot of Nick Blackburn level guys behind him. But they mashed! Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, Jason Worth! Those guys could hit! And it was hitting year.
    Could the Twins have mashed to this level, only with Santana backing them up as a safety net? Joe Mauer won his second batting title that year. Justin Morneau was the MVP runner-up, falling shy of Dustin Pedroia. Maybe! Maybe not. What do y'all think. Tell your ole pal William Malone IV in the comments!
  6. William Malone

    Every trade between the Twins and Mets

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins won a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers today.
    With the conclusion of this game, the series is over. But fear not! A new series against the New York Mets will begin tomorrow. To celebrate this highly anticipated interleague series, let us now take a look at every trade ever between these two amazing baseball clubs.
    December 8, 1978
    Received: LHP Jerry Koosman
    Departed: RHP Greg Field, LHP Jesse Orosco
    Jerry Koosman is one of the greatest pitchers in Mets history, and even has his number retired by the club. But at age 36, his time in Queens came to an end. The Minnesota native came back home, and he was a 20 game winner for the Twins in 1979. Age seemed to catch up to Koosman shortly after that, and he even led the American League with 13 losses at age 38 in 1981. Orosco became an All-Star closer for the Mets, finishing off the 1986 World Series. He is most known for his incredible career longevity, which allowed him to finally pitch for the Twins in 2003.
    January 16, 1986
    Received: OF Billy Beane, LHP Joe Klink, LHP Bill Latham
    Departed: OF Pat Crosby, 2B Tim Teufel
    Fans of "Moneyball" starring Brad Pitt might already know the vibe of this deal. Billy Beane was one a top prospect in baseball, but his career never really planned out. A change of scenery didn't help him that much, and he wound up retiring in 1990 at the age of 28. Teufel won a World Series in 1986 with the Mets. He started five of their 13 playoff games that fall, forming a platoon at second base with Wally Backman.
    December 7, 1988
    Received: 2B Wally Backman, LHP Mike Santiago
    Departed: RHP Jeff Bumgarner, RHP Steve Gasser, RHP Toby Nivens
    Speaking of Wally Backman, the Twins wound up stealing Teufel's platoon mate a few years later. Bumgarner and Nivens had been first round picks in 1985 and 1986 respectively, but neither ever reached the Majors. Neither did Gasser or Santiago. The only past, present or future big leaguer in this deal was Backman. He hit .231 during his lone season in Minnesota.
    July 31, 1989
    Received: RHP Rick Aguilera, RHP Tim Drummond, RHP Jack Savage, RHP Kevin Tapani, LHP David West
    Departed: LHP Frank Viola
    This is the second time one of these two teams traded a franchise legend "home." First, it was Mets legend and Minnesota native Jerry Koosman getting sent to the Twins in 1979. Now, Minnesota was sending 1987 World Series MVP and 1988 AL Cy Young winner Frank Viola back "home" to New York. Viola grew up on Long Island, and pitched at St. John's University in Queens. A lot of the return pieces helped Minnesota win the World Series in 1991.
    November 18, 1992
    Received: OF Pat Howell
    Departed: OF Darren Reed
    The Twins had actually taken Howell in the 1990 Rule-5 Draft, but returned him to the Mets after he wasn't able to hold a spot on the 25-man roster. A couple of years later, Howell is coming back for 27-year old outfielder Darren Reed. This trade really isn't a needle mover for anyone. Howell and Reed collectively played 113 games at the big league level.
    December 12, 1997
    Received: OF Alex Ochoa
    Departed: OF Rick Becker
    Ochoa and Becker were two outfields in their mid-20's with a few years of Major League experience, but none of them lasted too long with their new teams. Ochoa played just one season for the Twins, batting .257 with 25 RBI during the 1998 campaign. Becker didn't even last a full year with the Mets, getting waived in June with a .190 batting average. They both played several more seasons as journeyman outfielders.
    July 30, 2001
    Received: RHP Rick Reed
    Departed: OF Matt Lawton
    You don't see too many trades like this. The Mets and Twins were both in tight playoff races during the 2001 season. New York wanted another bat, Minnesota wanted another arm, and a one-for-one swap occurred. Reed had been an All-Star earlier that month, and Lawton was having a very good season for the Twins. But both players regressed with their new clubs, and neither made the playoffs. Reed did have a very solid 2002 campaign with the Twins, helping them reach the ALCS.
    July 30, 2007
    Received: C Drew Butera, OF Dustin Martin
    Departed: 2B Luis Castillo
    Castillo was a very good contact hitter and a great defensive second baseman, but he's often remembered for a very bad defensive play that cost the Mets a Subway Series game against the New York Yankees in 2009. He hit .302 that year, but nobody really remembers that. Castillo also played well in 2007 and 2008, but the Mets had late season collapses in each of those years. So he's remembered for a bad drop, and being part of two September collapses by fans in Queens. On the other side of this, Butera had a very lengthy career as a journeyman backup catcher.
    February 2, 2008
    Received: OF Carlos Gomez, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Philip Humber, RHP Kevin Mulvey
    Departed: LHP Johan Santana
    This was not the best trade for Minnesota, but maybe it wasn't the best trade for New York either. The Mets signed Santana to a then-record breaking six year, $137.5 million contract extension. It would only kick in after the one year he originally had left, locking the ace up for seven full seasons. He only threw a pitch in four of those seasons, and never got the Mets to October.
    April 9, 2024
    Received: RHP Michael Tonkin
    Departed: Cash
    2024 was a wild year for Michael Tonkin. He pitched two games for the Mets, and was then designated for assignment. The Twins paid cash in a trade to jump the waiver line and get Tonkin, who was DFA'd by Minnesota after just one appearance. The Mets claimed him off of waivers, bringing the veteran reliever right back to Queens. This lasted just two games, and he was DFA'd for a third time...all in the month of April. The crosstown Yankees claimed him, and Tonkin stuck there for a few months before getting DFA'd once again. Minnesota put in a claim, and that's where he finished his well traveled 2024 season.
  7. William Malone
    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!
     
  8. William Malone

    White Sox get burned by the long leash

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was under fire just a few days ago for pulling Joe Ryan after five innings and just 81 pitches. It was low hanging fruit, because their bullpen immediately gave up a few runs, and the Twins wound up losing.
    Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable found himself in a similar situation tonight. Rookie right hander Shane Smith was dominating his Major League debut, pitching even better than Joe Ryan was just a few days earlier. Through five innings, he hadn't allowed a run and was sitting at just 59 pitches. This led to Venable making the opposite decision, sending his starter out for the sixth inning.
    Making the opposite decision never guarantees a different result. By the end of the sixth inning, Minnesota had completely flipped the game. They were down 3-0 after five, staring down the barrel of an 0-5 start. But suddenly, they had a 5-3 lead. That third trip through the order against an unproven starter helped get two runners on base. Chicago finally went to their bullpen, but then the floodgates opened. Four straight hits with two outs helped produce five runs, and the Twins never looked back.
    It's possible that pulling Smith after five still winds up with the Twins going off on their five run rally. As I've already said, making the opposite decision never guarantees a different result. And we all saw that pulling Joe Ryan the other day helped spark a St. Louis Cardinals rally. But there's still an alternate reality in which a reliever enters with a clean slate, and tosses a 1-2-3 inning.
    The main point is that these managerial decisions don't really matter. The players still have to play. Smith was sent out for the sixth after dominating the first five innings, and then he issued two walks. This forced the White Sox bullpen into a tricky spot that could've been avoided if they simply pulled Smith before the inning. But even if they did pull Smith after five, the relievers still need to do their jobs. It's the players who decide the outcome. Not the manager.
  9. William Malone

    Fun facts straight from the 2025 Twins media guide

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! We are finally deep enough into the season where the stupid off-day after a team's first home game is no more. Less off days means more baseball! And more baseball makes fans of this wonder games so happy.
    Superfans of this wonderful sport are always dying for some bits of information on their favorite players. A good place to look for this is a team's media guide. Well, guess what? Your ole pal William Malone IV has gotten his hands on the 2025 Minnesota Twins Media Guide. It's 533 pages of beautiful baseball related information. So many stats, record, and of course...random information on every Twins player! Here are some things you might not have known about a few Twins players.
    And remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, the damn thing was 533 pages.
    Byron Buxton
    The Minnesota Twins media guide talks glowingly about the great high school football career of Byron Buxton. He was an All-State wide receiver and defensive back as a senior. The media guide also notes that Buxton was an All-Region quarterback as a junior. It claims he still keeps in touch with Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who played for a rival high school of his in Georgia. They were in the same class, and had many battles against each other as wide receivers and defensive backs.
    Willi Castro
    The Minnesota Twins media guide tells you a lot about his father, Lilliano, who is a baseball lifer. Lilliano Castro signed with the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1987, but suffered a career ending arm injury before ever reaching the big leagues. He stayed close to the game though, working as a coach in the Tigers minor league system for almost a decade. Lilliano eventually started coaching in the New York Mets farm system. The media guide claims Willi and Lilliano text each other after every game.
    Carlos Correa
    The Minnesota Twins media guide talks about the podcast that Carlos Correa used to co-host with former Houston Astros teammate. This wasn't a baseball podcast though. It was two teammates bonding over their shared love for combat sports. It was called "The Walkout," and was picked up by SiriusXM for their mixed martial arts channel at one point. It has a 4.5 out of five star rating on Apple Podcasts, but there has not been a new episode since June of 2021.
    David Festa
    The Minnesota Twins media guide talks about the odd combination of sports teams that David Festa is a fan of. It claims he is a fan of the New York Rangers, New York Knicks, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Volunteers football. Perhaps those first two make sense. Maybe the Colts/Tennessee combination works too if he was just a big Peyton Manning guy. That's speculation though, as Manning was not named in the media guide. He is also a fan of professional tennis and golf, citing Brooks Koepka as his favorite golfer.
    Ryan Jeffers
    The Minnesota Twins media guide informs readers that Ryan Jeffers spends his off-seasons working out at Hudson Rose Athletics in Wilmington, North Carolina. Walker Jenkins, who was drafted fifth overall by the Twins in 2023, also works out there in the off-season. They have both been working out there since 2019, but only began working out together in the 2023-24 off-season after Minnesota drafted Jenkins.
    Trevor Larnach
    The Minnesota Twins media guide tells you that Trevor Larnach has a strong interest in real estate, even claiming that Larnach would be a real estate agent if he was not a professional baseball player. When the Twins are on the road, he will often spend time on Zillow checking out houses in the local area of whatever city the team is in.
    Royce Lewis
    The Minnesota Twins media guide goes into the love Royce Lewis has for football, even if he can't pick a favorite team. He was a Chargers fan while growing up in the San Diego area, but has since switched allegiance to the Dallas Cowboys after making his off-season home in the Dallas area. Despite being a Cowboys fan, the media guide does say that Lewis still follows the Vikings very closely. It also claims he is an avid fantasy football player.
    Pablo Lopez
    The Minnesota Twins media guide talks about how Pablo Lopez aspires to be a nutritionist when his playing career is over. As a teenager, he had been prepping to attend medical school had baseball not worked out for him. As his playing career has gone on, Lopez has developed a great interest in taking care of his body. He would like to go back to school when his career is over, and get a degree in nutritional science.
    Austin Martin
    The Minnesota Twins media guide claims that Austin Martin is a "go with the flow" kind of guy who enjoys fishing, video games, and hanging out with friends at the beach. He learned how to play the ukulele during the COVID-19 pandemic, and likes to watch "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Dora the Explorer."
    Bailey Ober
    The Minnesota Twins media guide discusses multiple trips Bailey Ober took to Charleston, South Carolina during this past off-season. Ober, who attended College of Charleston, began their off-season by going on vacation there. He went back a few months later to celebrate a college teammate for getting into their school's Hall of Fame.
    Justin Topa
    The Minnesota Twins media guide tells readers that Justin Topa enjoys collecting sports memorabilia, which is a hobby he shares with his father. They enjoy opening packs of baseball cards together. This love of collecting applies to memorabilia from several different sports. The Topas are huge hockey fans, which is a sport Justin played at Chenango Valley High School in New York.
    Louis Varland
    The Minnesota Twins media guide lists off several "favorites" of relief pitcher Louis Varland. Here they are...
    Movie: Rocky I
    Musical act: Red Hot Chili Peppers
    Sports team: Minnesota Vikings
    Opposing ballpark: Fenway Park
    Pregame meal: Chipotle
    Christian Vazquez
    The Minnesota Twins media guide explains why Christian Vazquez picked the number eight. His first choice was seven, which he wore for several seasons with the Boston Red Sox. But that is retired for legendary Twins catcher Joe Mauer. His second choice was nine, which he wore during his brief time with the Houston Astros. That was taken by Trevor Larnach. So he picked eight by settling in the middle of those two numbers.
  10. William Malone
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season is in full swing and the Minnesota Twins are back in action.
    I know some of the frontrunners are angry at their record, but the real fans are just happy to watch their favorite team play baseball. It's such a wonderful sport, and many of us have missed the greatness of the Twins for the winter months. These negative fans have some reason to be negative. Minnesota has not played well so far. But some of the complaints are just hollow and fake. So if you're going to complain, find something that's actually worth complaining about.
    Crying about Rocco Baldelli pulling Joe Ryan at 81 pitches is the latest example of fans complaining for the sake of complaining. So, it didn't work out. But did you watch any of the other 14 games across Major League baseball that day? It's a fairly normal occurrence. And yes, sometimes managers go against this practice. And many times, it doesn't work.
    On Saturday night, just hours after Joe Ryan was pulled against St. Louis, Griffin Canning of the New York Mets having an even better start. He was through five innings on 72 pitches, allowing only one run. Canning came out for the sixth inning, allowed the go-ahead run, and New York wound up falling to the Houston Astros.
    There is no right or wrong decision for these managers to make. No matter what they do, the players have to show up and do their jobs. They decide the outcomes. For every "losing" decision fans complain about, there's another manager who makes the opposite decision and still winds up losing. But most fans only watch their favorite team, and ignore the other 29. So they're missing out on all these "losing" decisions that other managers make. How many angry Twins fans turned around to watch the Mets blow that game against Houston with Carlos Mendoza making opposite decisions? Probably a pretty small number.
    The same thing goes for third base coaches. All 30 fan bases will insist that they have the worst third base coach. You see it all over social media every single time someone gets thrown out at home. "(insert name) is the WORST third base coach in the league!!!" But none of these fans watch the other 29 third base coaches to get a fair grasp on how their own coach actually stacks up. And whenever their opponent has a player thrown out at home, these same fans will never blame the opponent's third base coach. They'll just praise their outfielder for a great throw or their catcher for a great tag. It's only on the third base coach if it's their own team getting hosed at home.
    Nobody is saying you can't complain. Just complain about real issues. Not these made up issues when you have no real frame of reference to stack up your team against the other 29. You know what has been a problem for the Twins? Offense! Even if Baldelli had stuck with Ryan, and there's no guarantee that Ryan keeps putting up zeros, Minnesota would still have to score another run at some point. They never had the lead. It was a tie game. You can't win a 1-1 game without eventually scoring again, which the Twins never did. It's not illegal to score eight runs. Just do that! And all the managerial decisions get so much easier.
    And I know the pitching hasn't been great either, but hitting is probably more important. It's often easier to out slug your opponent than to try and win 3-2 or 2-1 games every night. The Seattle Mariners allowed the least runs in 2024. They also missed the playoffs. And you still need to slug your way through the playoffs against "playoff pitching." Remember that 2019 World Series with loaded rotations on paper? Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin against Verlander, Cole and Greinke? The winning run totals in those seven games were 5, 12, 4, 8, 7, 7 and 6. And then the takeaway from fans across baseball was "you need a three headed rotation monster to win the World Series!"
  11. William Malone

    Remembering the ultra brilliance of Max Kepler

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    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.
  12. William Malone
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! March Madness is here. While March Madness isn't as wonderful as watching the Minnesota Twins compete in baseball games, the rituals of a college basketball tournament signal that baseball is near.
    Countless players on the Minnesota Twins, past and present, played college baseball. Many of those schools also have a basketball team, and some of those basketball teams are competing in the March Madness ritual. Here is a random list featuring some of those players. It isn't close to all of the players though. Just a random list featuring a few.
    Kyle Gibson University of Missouri
    Tough loss for the Tigers in the first round, but that doesn't change the fact that Kyle Gibson is a Mizzou legend. His 131 strikeouts in 2009 is a single season school record. Well, actually it's tied for the record. He shares it with a guy named Max Scherzer. Maybe you've heard of him. Gibson had 11 wins in that 2009 season, making him one of seven Mizzou pitchers to have double digit wins in a single season.
    Mitch Garver University of New Mexico
    The New Mexico basketball is coached by former Golden Gophers head coach Richard Pitino. On the diamond, Mitch Garver went from walk-on to Mountain West Player of the Year. He actually won that award twice.
    Jason Bartlett University of Oklahoma
    Tough task for the Sooners, drawing the two time defending national champions for a first round matchup. But it's been awhile since we've seen a team try to three peat in the big dance. When the Florida Gatros won back-to-back in 2006 and 2007, they failed to even make the tournament in 2008. And 2009 for that matter. Can't defend your title if you don't show up to the party. As for Bartlett, he played for Oklahoma after attending a JUCO school for two years.
    Chris Colabello Assumption University
    Yeah, that's right. We're going to the Division II tournament, baby. The Greyhounds are on quite the run. They've reached the Elite Eight as a six seed, which is a lot more impressive than it sounds. The 64 team D2 bracket has eight regions instead of four, meaning there are eight #1 seeds. This also means the lowest seed is eight, instead of 16. This year's Elite Eight consists of four #1 seeds, three #2 seeds...and sixth seeded Assumption out of Worcester, Massachusetts. That's where Chris Colabello played college baseball.
    Joe Niekro West Liberty University
    Can't dive into the Division II tournament for just one stop. West Liberty is also in the Elite Eight. Although, they were one of the eight teams who earned a #1 seed. So it's not some sort of Cinderella Story. Joe Niekro ended his 22-year career with the Twins, pitching two relief innings during the 1987 World Series. He came back in 1988, posting a 10.03 ERA through five appearances (two starts). That ended his lengthy career.
    Kyle Garlick University of Oregon
    Back to Division I we go! Kyle Garlick was second on the Ducks all-time RBI list when he left the program, which was inactive between 1981 and 2009. He currently sits seventh on their all-time RBI list. Okay, now back to Division II. With an extra year of eligibility remaining after graduating from Oregon, Garlick actually transferred to a D2 school and played there for a year. He hit nukes at Cal Poly-Pomona.
  13. William Malone

    Ranking every Joe Mauer season

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! While the Minnesota Twins do not have a baseball game today, they will play one against the Boston Red Sox tomorrow. Off days stink, but it only means we are one day closer to more baseball. And that's pretty cool.
    You know what else is pretty cool? Reminiscing about the greatness of Joe Mauer. He was awesome. You don't win five Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves by accident! These are just some of the accolades that got him into Cooperstown on the very first try! Need more of his sweet, sweet resume? Your ole pal William Malone IV is about to give you a healthy dose of it!
    Mauer played 15 season for the Twins. Some were better than others, so maybe we should rank them. Starting with the worst and shooting right on up to the very best of his amazing and wonderful career. And as always, don't forget to light up the comments calling William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum when you disagree on where your favorite Joe Mauer season is ranked!
    15. 2011
    Stats: 82 G, .729 OPS, 18 XBH, 30 RBI
    Accolades:
    The infamous bi-lateral leg weakness injury limited Mauer to just 82 games in 2011, and his stats were not Mauer-esque when he was on the field. While he would eventually return to All-Star form as a catcher in 2012 and 2013, his 14 starts at first base late in 2011 foreshadowed his future at the position.
    14. 2005
    Stats: 131 G, .783 OPS, 37 XBH, 55 RBI
    Accolades:
    After knee injuries cut his rookie campaign short, 2005 marked the first fully healthy season of Mauer's career. A lot of his rate stats dropped off from what he had shown during a 35 game sample in 2004, but his .294 average was still second among primary catchers.
    13. 2004
    Stats: 35 G, .939 OPS, 15 XBH, 17 RBI
    Accolades:
    2004 proved that Mauer was talented enough to be a big league star. He was the Opening Day catcher, and was immediately one of the best players on a talented team that had won back-to-back division titles. Unfortunately, the Twins would have to wait in order to see this production in bulk. Knee issues limited Mauer to just 35 games during that rookie season.
    12. 2014
    Stats: 120 G, .732 OPS, 33 XBH, 55 RBI
    Accolades:
    Mauer struggled in his first season as a full time first baseman. He spent most of the first half trying to play through an oblique injury, but the Twins finally placed him on the disabled list at the end of June. Mauer had a .695 OPS through 76 games at the time he was shut down. He returned in mid-August, and actually played pretty well down the stretch. He hit .295 with an .805 OPS in 44 games after returning from injury.
    11. 2016
    Stats: 134 G, .718 OPS, 37 XBH, 49 RBI
    Accolades:
    Joe Mauer looked like Joe Mauer at the plate in April, slashing .337/.459/.461 (.920). Unfortunately, the Twins were sitting at 7-17 on May 1st. Even an MVP level Mauer couldn't save this team, and his performance eventually caught up with all of his teammates...in a bad way.   
    10. 2018
    Stats: 127 G, .729 OPS, 34 XBH, 48 RBI
    Accolades:
    The .282 batting average wasn't that bad, but his walk rated dropped below 10% for the first time in his career. This gave Mauer the second worst on-base percentage of his career, only beating out the 2015 campaign where he hit almost 20 points lower. He also suffered another concussion in mid-May, which began the rumors that his retirement might be near.
    9. 2015
    Stats: 158 G, .718 OPS, 46 XBH, 66 RBI
    Accolades:
    From a purely statistical standpoint, you can justify putting this season dead last. 2015 was the only time Mauer had an OPS+ that sat below the standard league average of 100, and his .338 OBP was the worst of his career. But the guy was still 44-for-125 (.352) with runners in scoring position, and there were countless big hits throughout the summer that kept a very mediocre Twins roster mathematically alive through the final week of the regular season. 
    8. 2007
    Stats: 109 G, .808 OPS, 37 XBH, 60 RBI
    Accolades:
    It looked like Mauer was going to win a second consecutive batting title. He was batting .353 in early May, but a strained quad put him on the disabled list. Mauer missed a little over a month, and was never quite the same once back on the field. He returned on June 8th, and hit just .273 in 81 games after the Twins re-activated him.
    7. 2017
    Stats: 141 G, .801 OPS, 44 XBH, 71 RBI
    Accolades:
    After hitting just .267 between 2014 and 2016, Joe Mauer was finally a .300 hitter again. He hit .305 for the whole season, and led the charge after Minnesota sold off pieces at the deadline and seemingly waved the white flag. The veteran hit .340 in 55 games after August 1st, helping push the Twins into the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
    6. 2013
    Stats: 113 G, .880 OPS, 46 XBH, 47 RBI
    Accolades: Silver Slugger, All-Star
    The infamous concussion in August ended Mauer's 2013 season a bit early, and it also ended his time behind the plate. It's a shame, because he was probably still the best catcher in baseball at that point. His .880 OPS led everyone at the position, a strong 44 points ahead of Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina that season.
    5. 2012
    Stats: 147 G, .861 OPS, 45 XBH, 85 RBI
    Accolades: AL OBP leader, All-Star
    Joe Mauer won five Silver Sluggers in his career, and he might've been robbed of a sixth in 2012. The award went to A.J. Pierzynski, who hit .278 with an .827 OPS and just 77 RBI. Mauer hit .319 with an AL best .416 on-base percentage in 2012, leading all AL catchers with an .861 OPS.
    4. 2008
    Stats: 146 G, .864 OPS, 44 XBH, 85 RBI
    Accolades: AL batting champion, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
    This marked the second Silver Slugger and first Gold Glove won by Joe Mauer. He also won his second of three career batting titles in 2008, thanks to a late surge that helped him pass Dustin Pedroia in the final weeks of the season. Mauer hit .373 over his final 30 games of the season, raising his average from .317 to .328 in the process.
    3. 2010
    Stats: 137 G, .871 OPS, 53 XBH, 75 RBI
    Accolades: Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
    2010 was the third consecutive season in which Mauer won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. Only Ivan Rodriguez has swept these two awards at the catcher position more often (seven times). His 43 doubles in 2010 was a career high.
    2. 2006
    Stats: 140 G, .936 OPS, 53 XBH, 84 RBI
    Accolades: AL batting champion, Silver Slugger, All-Star
    Mauer became the first American League catcher to win the batting title in 2006. He finished sixth in the AL MVP voting, but he might win the award if you re-voted today. His 5.8 bWAR was higher than four of the five people ahead of him, and tied with the fifth (third place finisher David Ortiz). This was obviously before WAR was a huge talking point in MVP discussions.
    1. 2009
    Stats: 138 G, 1.031 OPS, 59 XBH, 96 RBI
    Accolades: MVP, AL batting champion, AL OBP leader, AL slugging leader, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, All-Star
    Leading the league in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage is very rare. Mauer was the first American League player to do this since George Brett in 1980. His .365 average was boosted by a .373 clip after August 1st, and his team needed every single hit down to the very end. This is the year where Minnesota snuck into the playoffs with a tiebreaker win over the Detroit Tigers. Mauer reached base four times in that tiebreaker game.
  14. William Malone
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Opening Day is almost here. It will be here within the month.
    Opening Day will come with an Opening Day lineup! Throughout the brilliant history of the Minnesota Twins, they have started 24 men at first base on Opening Day. It appears the wonderful Ty France will be the 25th such player when the season commences later in March.
    But who are these other 24 amazing baseball players who have taken the field for Minnesota at first base to open various seasons? That is exactly what this post will tell you! And for fun, we will rank their careers. Keep in mind, we are ranking entire careers. Not just their time as first baseman for the Twins. But don't forget to flood the comments calling your ole pal William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum when you disagree with where your favorite player is ranked!
    24. Chris Parmelee (2012)
    Parmelee was penciled in as an Opening Day starter for 2012 following an epic September call-up performance the year before. His arrival displaced Justin Morneau, moving the Twins longtime first baseman to a DH role. But Parmelee never build on that September 2011 showing, and Morneau had his old job back by the end of April.
    23. Kevin Maas (1995)
    The post Kent Hrbek-era saw Minnesota start career Quad-A first baseman Kevin Maas on Opening Day. He was runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year in 1990 while filling in for an injured Don Mattingly on the New York Yankees, but things never really got going after that one short burst. His time with the Twins was just a 22 game stint in 1995.
    22. Scott Stahoviak (1996-97)
    Another career Quad-A player, Stahoviak played 344 big league games for the Twins between 1993 and 1998. He also played 251 games at the Triple-A level in that same time frame. His 1996 season was pretty nice, hitting 13 home runs with a 112 OPS+. This season accounted for 1.4 of his career 1.0 WAR. So you can do the math on what the rest of his career looked like.
    21. Mickey Hatcher (1981)
    Opening Day in 1981 was one of just seven games Hatcher played at first base that season. Most of his 12-year career was spent as a backup outfielder, which included six seasons in Minnesota. He just missed out on the 1987 World Series by getting traded to the Dodgers following the 1986 campaign, but he did get a ring the following year when Los Angeles won it all in 1988.
    20. Mike Cubbage (1980)
    Cubbage was the Twins regular third baseman for most of the late 70's, but he moved across the diamond for the 1980 season. Regardless of what position he played, the offense was never there. He hit 34 home runs with a .699 OPS during his eight years in the big leagues.
    19. Ron Jackson (1979)
    1979 probably was a career year for Jackson, who spent seven of his ten big league seasons with the California Angels. Given the impossible task of replacing Rod Career, he hit a career high 14 homers that season for Minnesota. His 68 RBI that year was also a career best.
    18. Gene Larkin (1992)
    With Kent Hrbek unenviable for Opening Day in 1992, the Twins trusty utility man filled in as the starter to open that year. His entire seven year career was spent with the Twins, posting a 98 OPS+ while playing a lot of first base and corner outfield.
    17. Joe Lis (1973-74)
    Lis was a career utility man who just happened to get back-to-back Opening Day nods at first base for the Twins. He played a lot of third base and left field as well in his career, with some rare catching appearances randomly scattered throughout his eight year Major League career.
    16. Steve Braun (1975)
    Left field and third base were more common positions for Braun during his six seasons in Minnesota. He was more notably a pinch hitting specialist and double switch aficionado later in his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, helping them win a World Series in 1982.
    15. Rich Reese (1969-71)
    The Twins got a career year out of Reese in 1969. He hit .322 with 16 home runs and 69 RBI. Nothing else in his ten year career came remotely close to what he did that season. Minnesota reached the ALCS in 1969 and 1970 with Reese as their starting first baseman, but he hit just .158 with no extra base hits during those two postseasons.
    14. Orlando Merced (1998)
    Merced was the Pittsburgh Pirates starting right fielder for much of the early and mid 90's. Minnesota signed him as a free agent ahead of the 1998 season, and moved him to first base. He hit .289 for the Twins, and was traded to a contending Red Sox club at the deadline. For his career, Merced hit .277 with a 107 OPS+ over 13 big league seasons.
    13. Miguel Sano (2020-22)
    Sano had some extreme pros and cons to his game. He had two 30 home run seasons, and a 28 home run campaign in 2017 when he was named an All-Star. And his on-base percentage was usually above the league average due to a solid walk rate. But the batting average was low, the strikeouts were high, the defense was bad, and the injuries were often.
    12. Don Mincher (1966)
    He was a two time All-Star, but neither of those came with the Twins. Most of his time with the Twins/Senators was spent as a backup first baseman and pinch hitting specialist. Mincher became an All-Star later on his career after he was traded to the California Angels in a deal for ace starter Dean Chance. 
    11. Doug Mientkiewicz (1999, 2001-04)
    Mientkiewicz had an impressive 12-year career, spending seven seasons in Minnesota. He won a Gold Glove in 2001, also hitting a career best .306 that season. The biggest piece of his legacy might be catching the final out of the 2004 World Series for the Boston Red Sox, breaking the Curse of the Bambino. Mientkiewicz famously did not give that ball back to the organization without a fight though.
    10. Joey Gallo (2023)
    It's easy to compare him to Miguel Sano. For the most part it's also a fair comparison. High power, high walk rate, high strikeout rate, low batting average. But a huge difference is the fact that Joey Gallo is a two time Gold Glove winner in the outfield. He also found himself on the injured list a lot less frequently.
    9. C.J. Cron (2019)
    Cron snuck into an All-Star Game late in his career with the Colorado Rockies. Maybe he was riding the Coors Field effect a little bit, but you can't take the All-Star selection away from the guy. Even before playing at altitude, Cron was still a very solid player. He provided some very solid defense at first base, along with 25-30 homers per year.
    8. Carlos Santana (2024)
    We've probably reached the best version of Miguel Sano and Joey Gallo. Santana has never hit for a high batting average, but it was usually better than Sano or Gallo. Like the others, he makes up for his average with a very good walk rate. Santana has even led the league in walks twice. He's also been more durable than both of them throughout his career.
    7. Vic Power (1962-63)
    Power was a six time All-Star and seven time Gold Glove winner. Most of these accolades were accomplished as a member of the Kansas City Athletics or Cleveland Indians, but he did win two Gold Gloves after coming to Minnesota in his mid-30's.
    6. Bob Allison (1964)
    Most of his career was spent as a corner outfielder for the Senators or Twins, but Allison had a short stint at first base and started there on Opening Day in 1964. He was a three time All-Star and 1959 Rookie of the Year, leading the American League with a .911 OPS in 1963. His 256 home runs are third in Twins/Senators history, but he drops to sixth if you take away his time with the Senators and only do Twins history.
    5. Kent Hrbek (1982-91, 1993-94)
    The accolades Hrbek probably deserved aren't there. He's only a one time All-Star who never won a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger, but two World Series rings is a nice consolation prize. His playoff stats aren't that impressive, sporting a .516 OPS in 24 postseason games. But Hrbek always made sure the Twins got off to good starts in a playoff series. He had an .856 OPS in game ones, helping Minnesota go 4-0 in such games.
    4. Justin Morneau (2005-11, 2013)
    Morneau won AL MVP in 2006, and he was runner-up for the award in 2008. The Canadian slugger was also crowned NL batting champion in 2014 when he was with the Colorado Rockies.
    3. Joe Mauer (2014-18)
    The peak of Joe Mauer was obviously when he was playing behind home plate, and that's why he ranks so highly on this list. It's a Hall of Fame peak. You can't dispute that. He's right there in Cooperstown with all the other legends of the sport. The resume includes three batting titles, three Gold Gloves, and five Silver Sluggers.
    2. Harmon Killebrew (1961, 1965, 1967-68, 1972)
    Killebrew was way ahead of his time in terms of being a three true outcome guy. A low batting average and a high strikeout total were the reasons it took him four ballots of voting to reach Cooperstown. But he still hit 573 home runs, and his incredible walk rate gave him a higher on-base percentage than career .305 hitter Henry Aaron.
    1. Rod Carew (1976-78)
    This is one of the most impressive resumes in baseball history. Carew was an 18 time All-Star who won seven American League batting titles. He was American League MVP in 1977, and won Rookie of the Year a decade earlier in 1967.
  15. William Malone
    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
  16. William Malone
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The Minnesota Twins play a spring training baseball game against the Boston Red Sox today.
    How awesome is baseball? Man, it's the coolest. Right? Even the stressful times are cool.
    Some of these stressful times come in tightly contested one run games. Under the managerial tenure of Rocco Baldelli, the Twins are 118-111 in these one run games, including a 22-20 record last season. While it hurts to lose these games, it's so thrilling to pull them out. Here is one random one run memory for each season under Baldelli.
    2019
    The 2019 Minnesota Twins were 23-12 (.657) in one run games. This was the 12th most one run wins in the Majors, but the second best winning percentage in one run games. A great offense led by Nelson Cruz and the Bomba Squad helped Minnesota pull away late in many games, helping them often avoid one run finishes.
    Perhaps their most notable one run game was a 1-0 win against the Houston Astros on April 29th. As expected, Astros ace Justin Verlander was unbelievable. Six innings, two hits, seven strikeouts. But one of those two hits was a solo shot that gave Minnesota their only run. There are lots of people who could've hit that homer. Afterall, this was the famous "Bomba Squad." Nelson Cruz? No. Miguel Sano? No. Eddie Rosario? No. It was Ehire Adrianza! The hero of the day!
    Going against Verlander was Jake Odorizzi. He certainly answered the bell. Seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and only five base runners allowed. Nobody reached second base against him until the sixth inning, but Odorizzi struck out Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel to stand the runners. Taylor Rogers had to escape a bit of a jam in the eighth inning, and then Blake Parker faced the minimum in the ninth. He allowed a leadoff single to Correa, but immediately cleaned it up by getting Gurriel to ground into a double play on the next pitch. Josh Reddick grounded out to end the game.
    2020
    The 2020 Minnesota Twins went 9-5 (.643) in one run games. This was the eighth most one run wins in the Majors, but the fourth best winning percentage in one run games. Once again, a great offense helped Minnesota pull away late in many games.
    One of their most important victories of the season was a 3-2 comeback win over the then-first place Chicago White Sox on September 1st. The Twins had lost six games in a row. In a 60-game season, that's the equivalent of 16.2 game skid for a 162 game sample. Trailing 2-0 after the first inning, they seemed destined to lose a seventh consecutive game. But Michael Pineda shook off a rough first inning, and got the Twins through six. A bullpen trio of Caleb Thielbar, Sergio Romo and Matt Wisler allowed just one base runner over three innings.
    The Twins offense chipped away with runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Marwin Gonzalez got the fifth inning RBI, driving in Jorge Polanco with an RBI groundout. Jake Cave led off the sixth inning with a triple, and Luis Arraez drove him home with an RBI single. They pulled ahead in the seventh when Byron Buxton drove in Nelson Cruz with an RBI single.
    This comeback gave Thielbar his first big league win since 2014. Wisler got his first save since 2016.
    2021
    The 2021 Minnesota Twins were 25-19 (.568) in one run games. This was the seventh most one run wins in the Majors, and the eighth best winning percentage in one run games. An impressive aspect of this record is that Minnesota went 1-6 in one run games during the month of April, having to go 24-13 in such games from May 1st on.
    That lone one run win in April was quite the thriller. It came on April 15th against the Boston Red Sox. Minnesota has been swept in a doubleheader the day before, and the team was desperate for a victory. Luis Arraez drove in two runs early with a multi-run single against Garrett Richards in the second inning. Miguel Sano added a solo homer in the sixth to make it 3-0. On top of that, Michael Pineda tossed seven shutout innings. It seemed like the Twins were well on their way to a much needed win.
    However, things didn't come so easily. The eighth inning didn't go so well. Hansel Robles loaded the bases without giving up a hit, then Taylor Rogers allowed a bases clearing double while facing Alex Verdugo. Just like that, the game was tied. The Twins went down quietly in the bottom half of the eighth, Alex Colome pitched a dominant ninth, and that gave Minnesota a chance at a walk-off.
    Max Kepler was the hero that day! This shouldn't come as a surprise. His 11 career walk-off plate appearances are tied for a franchise record. This game featured one of those 11. Luis Arraez led off the inning with a single, and Jorge Polanco was hit by a pitch. With the winning run now in scoring position, Kepler came up and delivered the game winning single.
    2022
    The 2022 Minnesota Twins went 20-28 (.417) in one run games. This was the 25th best winning percentage in one run games, or sixth worst if you want to be a glass half empty person. Stinks to lose these games, but it was only a matter of time. After going 57-36 during the first three years under Rocco Baldelli, they were a little due to start losing a few more coin toss games.
    Minnesota did have a memorable one run win in their House of Horrors; Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. While their struggling and injury riddled team had been losing ground in a tight playoff race over the last few weeks, they temporarily delayed this slide with a thrilling win on September 8th. Sonny Gray tossed six innings of two run ball against his former club, and only one of the runs was earned. Gary Sanchez and Nick Gordon proved RBI hits in the fifth inning against Nestor Cortes, and it all came down to the bullpens.
    Carlos Correa took Greg Weissert deep in the eighth inning, and there was a runner on base! Minnesota had a two run lead. Disappointing deadline accusation Jorge Lopez allowed a run in the eighth, and still couldn't finish it. He turned it over to Caleb Thielbar with two outs and runners at the corners. His opponent was the mighty Giancarlo Stanton. But perhaps not so mighty on that night. The crafty lefty got Stanton to strikeout as part of a nine pitch battle, silencing the faithful Yankee fans. Things didn't get easier in the ninth, as Michael Fulmer was out there with the bases loaded and just one out. But he struck out Gleyber Torres, then got Twin for a day Isiah Kiner-Falefa to ground out.
    2023
    The 2023 Minnesota Twins went 19-27 (.413) in one run games. This was the 26th best winning percentage in one run games, or the fifth worst if you want to be a glass half empty person. Okay, another bad year in one run games. This one even worse. But sometimes, winning one run games isn't actually the "X-factor" fans think it is. The 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers went 14-22 (.389) in one run games.
    Speaking of the Rangers, that's where we'll go to find a memorable one run win from the 2023 season. The Twins were down 5-0 on August 28th, but then Royce Lewis got them back into the game with a fifth inning grand slam. Donovan Solano tied up the game with a ninth inning RBI knock against Aroldis Chapman.
    Extra innings gave us some gross baseball. There were four double plays, two for each team. The teams did trade 12th inning runs, both coming on "productive outs." Nobody wanted to get that big hit. So it's only natural that the game didn't end on a hit. In fact, the Twins didn't even put the ball in play during the 13th inning when they walked things off. Royce Lewis and Ryan Jeffers both struck out with the ghost runner on second base, Joey Gallo and Matt Wallner drew walks, and then Michael A. Taylor also drew a walk. This allowed the ghost runner, we'll call him Carlos Correa, to come in and score the winning run.
    2024
    The 2024 Minnesota Twins went 22-20 (.524) in one run games. This was the 15th best winning percentage in one run games. Finally, a winning record in one run games again. This brings the six year total for Rocco Baldelli to 118-111 (.515) in one run games.
    For the random one run win in 2014, we'll look at July 7th against the Houston Astros. Houston took a 2-0 lead in the second, but then started to get mowed down. Simeon Woods Richardson retired the final 13 hitters he faced. Josh Staumont pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, then Griffin Jax worked around a leadoff double to complete a scoreless eighth. Jhoan Duran had a rough go at it in the ninth, but got himself out of a self created jam.
    On the offensive side of things, it was a great day for Christian Vazquez. He drove in all three runs as the Twins won 3-2. An RBI single in the bottom of the second helped get one of those early runs back, and an RBI groundout tied things up in the fourth. Facing all-world closer Josh Hader in the ninth, Vazquez launched a walk-off homer and sent the Target Field faithful home happy.
  17. William Malone

    Ranking the post-2019 careers of Bomba Squad members

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! Opening Day for Major League Baseball is only a week away.
    Granted, the Minnesota Twins will not be playing a week from today. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will be opening the season in Japan. Even without the mighty Twins, it is still a most exciting time for baseball fans everywhere.
    A new season comes with hope! Many of the 30 teams will be awesome! Many of the 30 teams will stink. And many of them will be in some middle ground between awesome and stink. Does anyone remember the 2019 Twins? That team was awesome, even if the playoffs brought much sadness to the Land of Many Lakes. They set the world record for big dingers hit over the fence that season. The whole thing was quite exciting to watch.
    This team became known as the "Bomba Squad." But what happened to the wonderful humans who made up this record breaking offense? Let's take a look, while also ranking them by their bWAR following the 2019 campaign. Remember my friends, if you disagree with these rankings then you must take it up with Baseball Reference and their judgement of bWAR. Don't be calling your ole pal William Malone IV a big stupid dum dum in the comments because you don't like where your favorite Bomba Squad player is ranked.
    1. Byron Buxton (15.0 bWAR after 2019)
    Injuries continue to be the story for Buxton, who wasn't healthy enough to play alongside the Bomba Squad in the 2019 postseason. He did get some down ballot MVP votes in 2020, and was an All-Star in 2022. But there's still another level that Twins fans would love to see him reach.
    2. Luis Arraez (14.4 bWAR after 2019)
    There are some holes in his game. This is why Arraez seems to bounce around the league a bit. But you still can't argue with three batting titles. That's why Luis Arraez is towards the top of these rankings.
    3. Jorge Polanco (11.1 bWAR after 2019)
    The Twins got a lot of good baseball out of Polanco for the first few years after 2019, but injuries and a rising core of infield prospects eventually saw him traded following their 2023 division title. Polanco hit a career best 33 home runs in 2021.
    4. Max Kepler (9.1 bWAR after 2019)
    There have been some bad stretches for Kepler since 2019, but this has come with good runs as well. His OPS+ of 124 in 2023 actually matched his 2019 clip, although the juiced baseball beefing up everyone's number league wide in 2019 mean Kepler's raw stats were better in the Bomba Squad season. As always, Kepler has provided solid defense.
    5. LaMonte Wade (6.0 bWAR after 2019)
    The Twins lost Wade in a very forgettable trade. He's turned himself into a respectable player with the Giants, although maybe a bit limited. Wade has a .564 career OPS against left handed pitching, and is one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball. He's a bit better when playing first base, but not much better. None the less, he's still a hell of a lot better than Shaun Anderson even with these limitations.
    6. C.J. Cron (5.3 bWAR after 2019)
    Cron was an All-Star for the Colorado Rockies in 2023, and his 2022 season was statically better. But you might be able to chalk this success up to the Coors Field effect. After a poor 2023, he didn't play professional baseball at any level last year.
    7. Mitch Garver (4.4 bWAR after 2019)
    There has been a lot of good and bad for Garver since 2019. His 2020 season was about as bad it could get for a player, as he became almost unplayable. But weird circumstances for the COVID season can make you look past that. Injuries have limited him to just 80 games per season since the start of 2021, and he now plays more DH than catcher.
    8. Nelson Cruz (4.1 bWAR after 2019)
    Cruz continued to be awesome after 2019, winning a Silver Slugger in 2020 and making the All-Star team in 2021. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline in 2021, and it would appear Minnesota moved on at the exact right moment. Cruz was bad in the second half of 2021, and never found his form again after that. Father Time is undefeated.
    9. Jonathan Schoop (2.7 bWAR after 2019)
    He played pretty well for the Detroit Tigers in 2020 and 2021, owning a 110 OPS+ across those two seasons. This was a slight improvement over the 102 he posted during the 2019 season in Minnesota. But then he began to decline a bit in 2022 and 2023. Schoop is currently playing professionally in Mexico.
    t10. Marwin Gonzalez (0.2 bWAR after 2019)
    Gonzalez played three seasons after 2019, helping three different teams make the playoffs while playing his familiar utility role. The first came with the Twins in 2020. He then played for the Astros in 2021 and the Yankees in 2022. The stats don't jump off the page, but you also can't put a price on veteran leadership off the bench.
    t10. Jason Castro (0.2 bWAR after 2019)
    An underlying story of the Bomba Squad was that Minnesota set the record for home runs by catchers that season. While a lot of that was Silver Slugger winning Mitch Garver doing his thing, Castro still hit 13 of his own. After leaving the Twins, he bounced around a bit as a backup catcher. Castro got a World Series ring with the Astros in 2022.
    t10. Ronald Torreyes (0.2 bWAR after 2019)
    One memorable moment for the Twins in 2019 was Ronald Torreyes winning a game for them by drawing a walk-off hit by pitch. He was a career Quad-A guy who played 115 games for parts of two seasons with the Phillies after 2019.
    t13. Miguel Sano (0.0 bWAR after 2019)
    Getting Sano back to an even 0.0 bWAR since 2019 is carried by a solid 2021 season in which he hit 30 home runs with a decent walk rate. Everything around that was a display of very bad baseball for the inconsistent slugger.
    t13. Ryan LaMarre (0.0 bWAR after 2019)
    This was only a nine game sample with the Yankees in 2021, so it was really hard to move the WAR needle in either direction. LaMarre did hit two home runs in that short nine game stint, but those two homers were part of a 4-for-24 (.190) showing at the plate.
    t13. Ian Miller (0.0 bWAR after 2019)
    His sample size was even smaller than LaMarre. Miller only appeared in one game after 2019. It was a pinch running appearance for the Cubs in 2020. He did not come to bat, he did not play the field.
    16. Ehire Adrianza (-0.2 bWAR after 2019)
    The post-Twins highlight for Adrianza was winning the 2021 World Series as a member of the Braves. He went 1-for-10 (.100) in that postseason, and never played the field. Those were ten pinch hitting appearances. Keep in mind, this was back when the NL still had pitchers batting. That's how he got so many pinch hitting attempts over such a small sample.
    17. Jake Cave (-0.9 bWAR after 2019)
    For all the complaints that Jake Cave played too much, he found even more playing time after leaving the Twins. He was on the Phillies Opening Day and playoff rosters in 2023, and then played a career high 123 games for the Colorado Rockies in 2024. But his numbers still weren't any better from his time in Minnesota, and he's now playing in Korea.
    18. Eddie Rosario (-1.1 bWAR after 2019)
    Winning NLCS MVP in 2021 is a great accomplishment, but that was really just a flash in the pan for what has been a rapid drop off. Rosario has an 87 OPS+ and -5 defensive runs saved since 2019 concluded. He didn't even play that well in the 2021 World Series after his NLCS MVP performance, going 5-for-22 (.227) with no RBI.
    19. Willians Astuillo (-1.4 bWAR after 2019)
    It's honestly incredible to accumulate -1.4 bWAR over such a small sample. He only played 101 big league games after the 2019 season. The guy just wasn't good at playing baseball. At least Eddie Rosario got his negative bWAR number over a 481 game run.
    DNQ. Tyler Austin (DNP in MLB after 2019)
    2019 was the end of the road for Tyler Austin, in terms of his Major League career. He still plays professionally in Japan, and won a silver medal with Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.
  18. William Malone
    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.
  19. William Malone
    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.
  20. William Malone

    Remembering the epic 2006 AL Central race

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    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.
  21. William Malone
    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 playing a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves tomorrow.
    What an exciting time of year this is. And the best way to celebrate these exciting times are with some bold(ish) predictions for the 2025 season.
    1. Griffin Jax strikes out triple digits
    The Twins haven't had a primary relief pitcher strike out 100 or more batters in a single season since Juan Rincón fanned 106 in 2004. In the years since, nobody has come closer than Jax did in 2024. The Air Force product struck out 95 opponents over 71.0 innings pitched last season, and it's possible that the Twins position in the standings cost him the opportunity to reach the 100 strikeout milestone. With the playoffs out of reach, Rocco Baldelli opted out not use Jax in their final three game series of the regular season. It was well earned rest for Jax, who has logged the fifth most relief innings in the Majors since the start of 2022.
    2. The Twins steal 100 bases for the first time since 2012
    100 is a nice round number, so we'll make it a bit of a theme. This sounds like a big leap coming off a year where the Twins only stole 65 bases, but they have the pieces to pull this off. Minnesota didn't lose much speed over the off-season. Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Manuel Margot collectively stole nine bases in 548 games last year. Players like Austin Martin (7 SB in 93 G), Brooks Lee (3 SB in 50 G) and Edouard Julien (6 SB in 94 G) can help add to the total simply by taking away extra at-bats from some of those departed players. Harrison Bader also stole 17 bases for the New York Mets last year. For this to be even possible, Willi Castro would need to get back to his 2023 form where he stole 33 bases. The utility man swiped just 14 bags in 2024.
    3. Joe Ryan is an All-Star
    Joe Ryan was pitching so well before a shoulder strain in August ended his season seven weeks early. He had the fourth best strikeout-to-walk ratio and eight lowest WHIP among pitchers who started at least 20 games last season. The tools are very clearly in place. As is the case with several players on the Twins, he just needs to be healthy and on the field to earn the accolades. 
    4. Carlos Correa wins the Silver Slugger
    Maybe this goes under the radar a bit, but Carlos Correa has the fifth highest OPS among shortstops since joining the Twins in 2022. And that's with a lackluster 2023 season dragging his numbers down a bit. The man produces at the plate. He just needs to be healthy enough to get the necessary at-bats. 2024 seemed like it was poised to be a career year. Correa had a .900 OPS for the first time since the ultra juiced ball year of 2019, but his foot injuries resurfaced and he didn't play at all between July 12th and September 14th. He wasn't putting up empty stats either. Correa hit .314 in high leverage situations, according to Baseball Reference.
    5. Max Kepler has a solid year in his new home
    The bar for "solid year" will be different for everyone, but the prediction here is that Kepler adjusts to post-Twins life better than several other Bomba Squad-era teammates who have since been castoff. Kepler is going to a really good hitters park where he'll have a lot of protection up and down the lineup, and he's also been better than some of these other pieces in recent years. What Eddie Rosario did in the 2021 NLCS was fun to watch, but he still has an 83 OPS+ with -8 defensive runs saved since leaving Minnesota. Kepler's career low for OPS+ in a single season is only 91. Mitch Garver is another Bomba Squad player who went off and won a World Series with a new team, but there's only so much value you bring as a DH and occasional fill-in piece at catcher. The other players to look at from that core are Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, who have done even less than the previously mentioned players.
    6. Ty France does not make Twins opening day roster, Jose Miranda starts at first base
    Ty France has a non-guaranteed contract, so the Twins would be able to release him at the end of camp for no money lost. The only thing it would've cost them is a 40-man placeholder for six or seven weeks. Minnesota had a similar arrangement with Anibal Sanchez in 2018. He signed a Major League contract in the off-season, but the money was only guaranteed if he made the opening day roster. Anyway, it's time for Jose Miranda to assume a full time role. He's moved around between first base, third base and designated hitter during his time with the Twins. After bouncing back from a poor showing in 2023, a strong showing in the Grapefruit League might be all Twins management needs to give him his first full time role.
    7. Jorge Alcalá continues his hot and cold career
    There is no denying that Jorge Alcalá has talent. Every Twins fan who has watched him knows he can be special when pitching at his best. But his whole career has been filled with these ups and downs. It's an on again, off again relationship that rivals Ross and Rachel. Last season was no different. Alcalá owned a 1.63 ERA through 35 appearances at the end of July. His ERA was 6.41 across 19 outings in August and September. His worst outing was in an August 18th loss to Texas that many point to as the beginning of the Twins late season slide. Alcalá is turning 30 in July. He's been a big leaguer since 2019. At this point, there's no reason to expect anything different. He's going to give the Twins some good stretches, and some bad ones.
    8. Twins trade for Framber Valdez at the deadline
    Houston doesn't bend over backwards to keep their own guys. Just look at the laundry list of core pieces they've let go; Correa, Springer, Keuchel, Morton, Tucker, Bregman, Pressly. There was even a point where they let Justin Verlander sign with the Mets, only to get him back via trade three months later. If you're not Jose Altuve, they are willing to let you walk out the door and call up their next prospect in line. For that reason, a 31-year old Framber Valdez might be available as a rental. Especially if the Astros can't withstand losing Tucker, Bregman and Pressly all in one off-season. This just might be a re-set year for the organization as they wait for their next wave of prospects.
    9. Chris Paddack gives Twins 20-25 solid starts
    It's impossible to bank on Chris Paddack for a full 30+ start season with his injury history, but he can still be a solid fifth starter option. Think about the role Kenta Maeda played for the Twins in 2023; 20 starts with a 4.23 ERA. Maybe Paddack won't be quite that good, but Minnesota would sign up for anything close to that. And the 2023 Twins probably didn't have as much starter depth behind Maeda to supplement the time he was down. That was a team who was running Dallas Keuchel out there at points. Fans probably feel better about the Woods-Richardson, Festa, Matthews trio of depth than the shell of Dallas Keuchel. 
    10. The Twins win 95 games and take the AL Central
    Minnesota was on a 92 win pace as late as August 17th last year, and then the season went off the rails. It's always easy to blame pitching for a collapse like that, and the Twins certainly had problems with their staff. Joe Ryan was hurt, their trio of rookie starters all seemed to hit a wall, and the bullpen was falling apart. But despite all that, the bats were still a bigger issue down the stretch. From August 18th onward, the Twins scored just 137 runs. Only the White Sox and Nationals scored less over that span. In short, everything went wrong over those final 38 games. But sometimes, you need to trust bigger samples. Believe in what you saw for 124 games. Not 38. Even without doing much this off-season, Minnesota is still a very good ball club.
  22. William Malone
    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.
  23. William Malone
    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.
  24. William Malone

    The history of spring training taters

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    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.
  25. William Malone

    The history of 82-80

    By William Malone,


    Weird Baseball with Willy
    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.
×
×
  • Create New...