Brad Swanson

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I hope this gets your Sunday morning off to a good start. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3682[/ATTACH] Pro-tip! Click on the image to enlarge. Then, click the X on your browser when you are done rolling your eyes.

God save the Queen! TwinVike, I absolutely will address this question in my next mailbag. I already have some thoughts simmering...

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! What's more pathetic than a person writing questions to himself and then answering them, pretending all along that it is some hilarious endeavor or insightful method of talking about baseball? Not sure I can answer that question. Here's a (fake) mailbag instead. How do you feel about Joe Mauer batting zecond? Love the podcast. ~Brad S. (Twin Cities, MN) I don't have a podcast. Yet... Also, I assume you mean batting second. I am cool with it as long as Joe (I call him Joe, as we graduated in the same year so we're practically best friends) is cool with it. You see, Mauer getting more at bats = good. He's good at hitting and thus gets more opportunities to hit with more at bats. Joe Mauer is a better hitter than Brian Dozier. I like Dozier (mostly his eyes) but Mauer is still clearly better. In addition, Josh Willingham is a better hitter than Dozier. As is Justin Morneau, as is Ryan Doumit, as is Trevor Plouffe and so on and so forth. Once Aaron Hicks starts hitting, Mauer will get plenty of chances to drive in runs. It's all going to be just fine, at least until Morneau and Willingham are traded. Hi Brad, thanks for doing these mailbags, it's super cool of you. Recently, we found out that Johan Santana needs another shoulder surgery and might be forced to retire. This makes me sad. My questions to you: Are you sad and Is Johan Santana a Hall of Fame player? Thanks! ~Brad S. (Twin Cities, MN) Thanks for reading and writing! I am pro-literacy. First, yes, I am sad. Johan Santana was my favorite Twin of recent past. I will not soon forget his 17 strikeout game or his no-hitter that may have ruined his career (I don't believe that to be true). As to whether he is a Hall of Famer: Yes! To expand: Yes, of course! For the record, I would induct him in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Twins' Hall of Fame, I would retire his jersey, give him a job in the front office, trust him with my financial planning AND estate planning, water his plants and vote for him for President of the U.S.A. Now, I am severely biased and I will never be given any sort of Hall of Fame vote. So, this all amounts to a hill of beans. Beans aside, I feel that Johan Santana was the best pitcher of the most recent decade. While framing a career within an arbitrary set of years is lazy and borderline useless, I don't care. Santana was great and I love him. Yes, I love him! I'm sorry everyone had to learn that in a mailbag, but it's true. I can't be rational when talking of Santana and I won't be; not for you, not for society and not for some crummy institution that doesn't even include all of the best baseball players of all time. The Hall of Fame is a joke! Tim Raines? Ty Cobb, but not Roger Clemens? Kenny Lofton fell off the ballot after one year?!? Who decided on the location?!? Cooperstown, New York of all places! That's an East Coast bias! Nixon was a patsy! Now I'm fired up! I'm going to go take this anger and frustration to the streets! I'm back; my knee hurts. Next question. Hi. I'm not a fan, but you seem to write a lot of nonsense, so I thought I would try to get you to answer a serious question. Does Trevor Plouffe wear enough eye black? ~Everyone (Minnesota) I'm not sure what this nonsense is that you speak of, but yeah, I think he does. Thoughts on the bench? ~Brad S (Twin Cities, MN) Sentence fragment is a sentence fragment. I like the bench. Wilkin Ramirez is not a great hitter, but he has power. I'm enjoying the older brother thing he seems to have with some of the younger players too. Eduardo Escobar is pretty much Pedro Florimon but shorter, so that works out pretty well. Jamey Carroll is a cagey veteran who can get on base when needed. Darin Mastroianni is a great pinch runner and defensive replacement. All in all, the bench is solid. I think it is much better than benches of the recent past. B+ Hi Bret, I'm a big fan. Rank these extensions: Elvis Andrus, Justin Verlander, Buster Posey ~Brad S (Twin Cities, MN) Ok, but I will do so in a bullet list, to save time: Posey - young, excellent, bat is good enough to play if he moves out from behind the plate Andrus - young, excellent, getting better, excellent fielder, improving hitter Verlander - young, but older, excellent, a pitcher - so there's risk, still awesome Do you know anything about 1989 Donruss? ~Topps Fleerscore, (Cardville, USA) You know, it's so funny that you would ask that question. I literally just wrote something about 1989 Donruss on Monday. Such great timing, thank you. Click here! Ron Washington's card alone is well worth using your mouse to click on a hyperlink and then scrolling down. The words are somewhat amusing too. Salutations. Aaron Hicks got his first MLB hit on Thursday. Who else will record their first MLB milestone of choice during this season? ~O. Arcia, (Rochester, NY) Well well well, look who reads my blog. You probably found it from Kal Daniels' Baseball Reference page like everyone else. Well, "O", I believe that Oswaldo Arcia will certainly collect his first MLB hit this season. I'll guess around August, but it could end up being sooner. I feel that Kyle Gibson will collect his first MLB win around mid-season. I believe that Chris Colabello will hit his first home run around that same time and the crowd will lose their collective s. In former Twin news, I am calling a Ben Revere over-the-fence home run as well. I mean, why not? The Phillies will celebrate by giving Ryan Howard another 40 million dollars. Thanks for the questions everyone, I have to go write a mailbag now. Have a nice weekend! Brad Swanson does not have any plans to start a podcast. He doesn't know how to play Lego. He is willing to answer actual questions, but doesn't know how to receive them. Any help would be much appreciated. Not concise, this guy.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! What's more pathetic than a person writing questions to himself and then answering them, pretending all along that it is some hilarious endeavor or insightful method of talking about baseball? Not sure I can answer that question. Here's a (fake) mailbag instead. How do you feel about Joe Mauer batting zecond? Love the podcast. ~Brad S. (Twin Cities, MN) I don't have a podcast. Yet... Also, I assume you mean batting second. I am cool with it as long as Joe (I call him Joe, as we graduated in the same year so we're practically best friends) is cool with it. You see, Mauer getting more at bats = good. He's good at hitting and thus gets more opportunities to hit with more at bats. Joe Mauer is a better hitter than Brian Dozier. I like Dozier (mostly his eyes) but Mauer is still clearly better. In addition, Josh Willingham is a better hitter than Dozier. As is Justin Morneau, as is Ryan Doumit, as is Trevor Plouffe and so on and so forth. Once Aaron Hicks starts hitting, Mauer will get plenty of chances to drive in runs. It's all going to be just fine, at least until Morneau and Willingham are traded. Hi Brad, thanks for doing these mailbags, it's super cool of you. Recently, we found out that Johan Santana needs another shoulder surgery and might be forced to retire. This makes me sad. My questions to you: Are you sad and Is Johan Santana a Hall of Fame player? Thanks! ~Brad S. (Twin Cities, MN) Thanks for reading and writing! I am pro-literacy. First, yes, I am sad. Johan Santana was my favorite Twin of recent past. I will not soon forget his 17 strikeout game or his no-hitter that may have ruined his career (I don't believe that to be true). As to whether he is a Hall of Famer: Yes! To expand: Yes, of course! For the record, I would induct him in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Twins' Hall of Fame, I would retire his jersey, give him a job in the front office, trust him with my financial planning AND estate planning, water his plants and vote for him for President of the U.S.A. Now, I am severely biased and I will never be given any sort of Hall of Fame vote. So, this all amounts to a hill of beans. Beans aside, I feel that Johan Santana was the best pitcher of the most recent decade. While framing a career within an arbitrary set of years is lazy and borderline useless, I don't care. Santana was great and I love him. Yes, I love him! I'm sorry everyone had to learn that in a mailbag, but it's true. I can't be rational when talking of Santana and I won't be; not for you, not for society and not for some crummy institution that doesn't even include all of the best baseball players of all time. The Hall of Fame is a joke! Tim Raines? Ty Cobb, but not Roger Clemens? Kenny Lofton fell off the ballot after one year?!? Who decided on the location?!? Cooperstown, New York of all places! That's an East Coast bias! Nixon was a patsy! Now I'm fired up! I'm going to go take this anger and frustration to the streets! I'm back; my knee hurts. Next question. Hi. I'm not a fan, but you seem to write a lot of nonsense, so I thought I would try to get you to answer a serious question. Does Trevor Plouffe wear enough eye black? ~Everyone (Minnesota) I'm not sure what this nonsense is that you speak of, but yeah, I think he does. Thoughts on the bench? ~Brad S (Twin Cities, MN) Sentence fragment is a sentence fragment. I like the bench. Wilkin Ramirez is not a great hitter, but he has power. I'm enjoying the older brother thing he seems to have with some of the younger players too. Eduardo Escobar is pretty much Pedro Florimon but shorter, so that works out pretty well. Jamey Carroll is a cagey veteran who can get on base when needed. Darin Mastroianni is a great pinch runner and defensive replacement. All in all, the bench is solid. I think it is much better than benches of the recent past. B+ Hi Bret, I'm a big fan. Rank these extensions: Elvis Andrus, Justin Verlander, Buster Posey ~Brad S (Twin Cities, MN) Ok, but I will do so in a bullet list, to save time: Posey - young, excellent, bat is good enough to play if he moves out from behind the plate Andrus - young, excellent, getting better, excellent fielder, improving hitter Verlander - young, but older, excellent, a pitcher - so there's risk, still awesome Do you know anything about 1989 Donruss? ~Topps Fleerscore, (Cardville, USA) You know, it's so funny that you would ask that question. I literally just wrote something about 1989 Donruss on Monday. Such great timing, thank you. Click here! Ron Washington's card alone is well worth using your mouse to click on a hyperlink and then scrolling down. The words are somewhat amusing too. Salutations. Aaron Hicks got his first MLB hit on Thursday. Who else will record their first MLB milestone of choice during this season? ~O. Arcia, (Rochester, NY) Well well well, look who reads my blog. You probably found it from Kal Daniels' Baseball Reference page like everyone else. Well, "O", I believe that Oswaldo Arcia will certainly collect his first MLB hit this season. I'll guess around August, but it could end up being sooner. I feel that Kyle Gibson will collect his first MLB win around mid-season. I believe that Chris Colabello will hit his first home run around that same time and the crowd will lose their collective s. In former Twin news, I am calling a Ben Revere over-the-fence home run as well. I mean, why not? The Phillies will celebrate by giving Ryan Howard another 40 million dollars. Thanks for the questions everyone, I have to go write a mailbag now. Have a nice weekend! Brad Swanson does not have any plans to start a podcast. He doesn't know how to play Lego. He is willing to answer actual questions, but doesn't know how to receive them. Any help would be much appreciated. Not concise, this guy.

While Mauer doesn't hit a lot of fly balls to right, he does hit hard ground balls and line drives to right. Mauer isn't fast by any means, but those hits would pretty much all be triples, and anything pulled down the line could end in an inside-the-park home run. I'm all for wild shifts, but this one might be too extreme for me.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Again, I don't plan to write about every game. However, I'm on Spring Break, my pregnant wife has been sleeping since 7pm and my dog doesn't want to talk to me. So, here you are. Aaron Hicks Hicks didn't look great today. He added two more strikeouts to his season total and only put one ball in play. However, I thought his lead-off walk was impressive. He laid off some really close pitches and seems to have good command of the strike zone. He takes pitches and that is important from the lead-off spot. If the guys behind him can get a look at the starter's repertoire, it really helps the rest of the lineup get a gauge on the pitcher. Having Hicks and Mauer 1-2 is going to be a great way to drive up pitch counts, especially as Hicks adjusts to the new level of competition. Kevin Correia Well, if you are going to rip a player when they are bad, you have to give credit when they are good. Correia looked good today. He changed speeds and moved the ball around. He only let Detroit string together hits in one inning and that really helped to limit potential damage. He only walked one batter, and while he only struck out two, we all knew he wasn't going to rack up large strikeout totals. Correia will likely have some rough outings if he gets hit like he did today, but he'll also have some good outings. I'm sure that Gardenhire appreciated the seven innings he gave the team today. Jared Burton and Glen Perkins While the bullpen is not deep, with these two pitchers, there is plenty of talent. Using Burton and Perkins kept today's game close and kept pitchers with much less talent from being used. While neither pitcher gets a hold or a save for this game, they both contributed greatly to this win. I think Perkins is excellent. This isn't a very saber thing to say, but he just looks confident and collected on the mound and I like to see that in a reliever. The 9th Was fun. Walk-off hits are just awesome. In that inning, I was particularly happy with Plouffe's at bat. He was facing a really tough righty in Joaquin Benoit and he worked the count nicely. After Chris Parmelee failed to move the runner over, Brian Dozier had a nice at bat of his own, shooting a pitch to right-center and getting Carroll over to third. Eduardo Escobar's double should have been a sacrifice fly, but I'll take the outfield miscue and the win that came with it. Everyone looked so pumped, it's always fun to watch a team walk-off. Other MLB Thoughts Baltimore Speaking of walk-offs, I watched the end of the Tampa Bay/Baltimore game. Matt Joyce hit a walk-off home run after Baltimore tied the game off Fernando Rodney in the top of the 9th. However, it was Baltimore that stood out to me. I really like their lineup. Adding full seasons of Brian Roberts, Nolan Reimold, Nick Markakis and Manny Machado will make their offense even more impressive. Nate McLouth belongs nowhere near the lead-off spot, but they should figure that out eventually. Their offense was only average last season, but could become an above-average offense with healthy seasons from their regulars. Kevin Slowey and Denard Span Slowey is back in the Bigs! I know Slowey is a polarizing figure for Twins' fans, but I always liked him. I mean, I named my blog after him, right? He's not consistent and he can nibble a bit, but he has great command of his pitches. Tonight, he was moving them in and out and changing speeds nicely. He was working quickly and getting outs. He actually walked three batters, which might end up being the most he walks all year. He couldn't get Denard Span out, walking him twice and giving up a double. It was fun to watch Span play again; he'll be a really nice addition in Washington. Alexi Ogando Ogando was electric on Wednesday, striking out 10 batters while walking only one in 6.1 innings. Granted, it was the Astros, but it was still impressive to watch. Now that Ogando is seemingly a full-time starter, it will be very interesting to see what he can do in a full season. He has great stuff. He and Yu Darvish could form a really dynamic pair for the next few seasons. Braves Outfield Justin Upton and Jason Heyward both hit home runs today. I still can't believe that Arizona traded Upton. He's only 25! Arizona's loss is certainly Atlanta's gain. Having Heyward in right softens the blow of moving Upton to left. Heyward is such a dynamic player and so graceful for his size. I love to watch him play. It's rare for a team to have two potential perennial MVP candidates, but Atlanta might have that with Upton and Heyward. In center, B.J. Upton had a golden sombrero tonight, but that happens. Thanks for reading my thoughts. What are your impressions of Wednesday's games?

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Again, I don't plan to write about every game. However, I'm on Spring Break, my pregnant wife has been sleeping since 7pm and my dog doesn't want to talk to me. So, here you are. Aaron Hicks Hicks didn't look great today. He added two more strikeouts to his season total and only put one ball in play. However, I thought his lead-off walk was impressive. He laid off some really close pitches and seems to have good command of the strike zone. He takes pitches and that is important from the lead-off spot. If the guys behind him can get a look at the starter's repertoire, it really helps the rest of the lineup get a gauge on the pitcher. Having Hicks and Mauer 1-2 is going to be a great way to drive up pitch counts, especially as Hicks adjusts to the new level of competition. Kevin Correia Well, if you are going to rip a player when they are bad, you have to give credit when they are good. Correia looked good today. He changed speeds and moved the ball around. He only let Detroit string together hits in one inning and that really helped to limit potential damage. He only walked one batter, and while he only struck out two, we all knew he wasn't going to rack up large strikeout totals. Correia will likely have some rough outings if he gets hit like he did today, but he'll also have some good outings. I'm sure that Gardenhire appreciated the seven innings he gave the team today. Jared Burton and Glen Perkins While the bullpen is not deep, with these two pitchers, there is plenty of talent. Using Burton and Perkins kept today's game close and kept pitchers with much less talent from being used. While neither pitcher gets a hold or a save for this game, they both contributed greatly to this win. I think Perkins is excellent. This isn't a very saber thing to say, but he just looks confident and collected on the mound and I like to see that in a reliever. The 9th Was fun. Walk-off hits are just awesome. In that inning, I was particularly happy with Plouffe's at bat. He was facing a really tough righty in Joaquin Benoit and he worked the count nicely. After Chris Parmelee failed to move the runner over, Brian Dozier had a nice at bat of his own, shooting a pitch to right-center and getting Carroll over to third. Eduardo Escobar's double should have been a sacrifice fly, but I'll take the outfield miscue and the win that came with it. Everyone looked so pumped, it's always fun to watch a team walk-off. Other MLB Thoughts Baltimore Speaking of walk-offs, I watched the end of the Tampa Bay/Baltimore game. Matt Joyce hit a walk-off home run after Baltimore tied the game off Fernando Rodney in the top of the 9th. However, it was Baltimore that stood out to me. I really like their lineup. Adding full seasons of Brian Roberts, Nolan Reimold, Nick Markakis and Manny Machado will make their offense even more impressive. Nate McLouth belongs nowhere near the lead-off spot, but they should figure that out eventually. Their offense was only average last season, but could become an above-average offense with healthy seasons from their regulars. Kevin Slowey and Denard Span Slowey is back in the Bigs! I know Slowey is a polarizing figure for Twins' fans, but I always liked him. I mean, I named my blog after him, right? He's not consistent and he can nibble a bit, but he has great command of his pitches. Tonight, he was moving them in and out and changing speeds nicely. He was working quickly and getting outs. He actually walked three batters, which might end up being the most he walks all year. He couldn't get Denard Span out, walking him twice and giving up a double. It was fun to watch Span play again; he'll be a really nice addition in Washington. Alexi Ogando Ogando was electric on Wednesday, striking out 10 batters while walking only one in 6.1 innings. Granted, it was the Astros, but it was still impressive to watch. Now that Ogando is seemingly a full-time starter, it will be very interesting to see what he can do in a full season. He has great stuff. He and Yu Darvish could form a really dynamic pair for the next few seasons. Braves Outfield Justin Upton and Jason Heyward both hit home runs today. I still can't believe that Arizona traded Upton. He's only 25! Arizona's loss is certainly Atlanta's gain. Having Heyward in right softens the blow of moving Upton to left. Heyward is such a dynamic player and so graceful for his size. I love to watch him play. It's rare for a team to have two potential perennial MVP candidates, but Atlanta might have that with Upton and Heyward. In center, B.J. Upton had a golden sombrero tonight, but that happens. Thanks for reading my thoughts. What are your impressions of Wednesday's games?

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Anyone who has studied the mathematical or sabermetric side of baseball has certainly heard of the concept of the Three True Outcomes. Basically, when looking at the battle between a pitcher and a batter, there are three true outcomes: a walk, a strikeout and a home run. By true outcomes, we take away things like defense, park, weather, speed, etc. It was introduced by Rany Jazayerli of Baseball Prospectus back in 2000 and you can read a lot more about the idea from him, as he is a far more talented writer than I. While we may think that Ken Griffey Jr. can notice Sammy Sosa about to drink his Pepsi and then fire a line drive into the dugout to thwart him, that actually does not seem to be . While some batters are better at putting balls in play than others, controlling a "hit" is nearly impossible. If it were, some crazy, but brilliant hitter would have posted a 1.000 batting average in a season. The concept of the Three True Outcomes hitter is not new and not even all that rare. It is easy to find a big powerful dude with a good batting eye who also takes monstrous hacks. Rob Deer, Mark McGwire, Russell Branyan, Bo Jackson and Adam Dunn fit this baseball archetype. However, I want to know how rare a Three True Outcomes Game is. By that, I refer to a game where a batter gets only three plate appearances and uses them to walk, strikeout, and hit a home run, once each. Using Baseball Reference's incomparable game finder tool, I found that such a feat has happened 411 times since 1916. This equals roughly four occurrences per season. Pretty rare indeed. Frank Howard and Lance Parrish each accomplished this feat four times, which is the most of any individual player. Ok, query completed. Ok, thanks for reading! Have a nice day. Wait! Did you leave? I have decided that I need to narrow my search significantly. I realize that many of these players didn't play the full game. Dastardly! Just looking at Lance Parrish, I see that he was pinch hit for in one of those games and replaced by another catcher in two others. That snake! Those aren't Three True Outcome games. I'm pretty sure "getting pinch hit for" and "being a mediocre catcher" aren't true outcomes. Luckily for society, we can narrow the search to only include games both started and finished by players and get rid of these fakers. Upon doing so, we are left with only 165 instances, which is about 2 per season. Rarer than we thought! And with that, I have righted the wrong that Lance Parrish tried to perpetuate against all of us and I can move on with my life. Thanks for reading. Have a nice day. Wait! Sorry, one more thing. Mike Schmidt was walked intentionally in his Three True Outcomes game. That doesn't sit well with me. While it is a True Outcome to be walked intentionally, it's not a true product of the batter v. pitcher match up There were likely other factors that lead to that intentional walk. This cannot stand. Other than Mike Schmidt, there were 10 more jokers who reached their 3rd outcome in this devious fashion. Upon removing them (including personal favorite Chili Davis), we are left with just 154 true Three True Outcomes games. Handshakes and salutations all around! We have our number. Thanks again for reading. Have a nice day. Wait! Last time. I just noticed that George Harper's team won his Three True Outcomes game by a score of 11-1. How in the darn? Even with 11 solo home runs, Harper would have had to have hit 4 times. Wha happen? Well, I opened his box score and found that they only played 6 innings in that game! George Harper, you tramp! This cannot stand. I need to go in and remove these shortened games, for the good of a pure society. Ok, that took forever. But, for you, I now present the 144 instances of the Three True Outcomes Game: Link to Table I couldn't embed the table. But, the link is more fun anyway, because you can mess around with the table and do some fun sorting and stuff. Right? If you don't feel like doing fun sorting and stuff, here is some "analysis" from me: Fun Factz! (the z is a typo that I refuse to fix): Damion Easley, Frank Howard, Harold Baines, Jay Bruce, Rich Aurilia, and Ryan Langerhans each have two Three True Outcomes Games. Sean Casey, Jim Edmonds and Frank Howard are the only players with a Three True Outcomes game from the 3-hole. 12 players hit three-run home runs in their Three True Outcomes game, and 39 hit two-run home runs. Bret Boone, Rich Becker, Faye Throneberry and Alfonso Soriano added stolen bases in their Three True Outcome Game Todd Hollandsworth, Kosuke Fukudome, Jim Anderson and Ken Harrelson were caught stealing in their Three True Outcome Game. Mercy! Early Wilson, Tony Kaufmann, Urban Shocker, Dave McNally and Luis Tiant were the only pitchers to accomplish this feat. Players were 91 and 53 in these games. Clearly, a Three True Outcomes Game means your team is likely to win. (not true) Sean Casey, Billy Bryan, Harold Baines and Ron Swoboda had their Three True Outcomes Game in 1-0 wins. On September 18, 1993, Shane Spencer had the only Three True Outcomes Game that went extra innings. He was standing on deck when the winning run was scored in the 10th, saving his place in history. Local Angle! Only two Twins have had Three True Outcomes Games: Rich Becker in 1997 and Danny Goodwin in 1981. Eight players have had a Three True Outcomes Game against the Twins: Toby Harrah, Ty Wigginton, Jim Anderson, Jorge Posada, Brad Ausmus, Jim Essian, Tim Hulett and Brian Downing. Conclusion None of this nonsense means a thing, but it sure is fun. These games are exceedingly rare, with about three occurring every two seasons. Useless information? Perhaps. But really, what were you doing when you opened this page? Thanks for reading, for real this time.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Anyone who has studied the mathematical or sabermetric side of baseball has certainly heard of the concept of the Three True Outcomes. Basically, when looking at the battle between a pitcher and a batter, there are three true outcomes: a walk, a strikeout and a home run. By true outcomes, we take away things like defense, park, weather, speed, etc. It was introduced by Rany Jazayerli of Baseball Prospectus back in 2000 and you can read a lot more about the idea from him, as he is a far more talented writer than I. While we may think that Ken Griffey Jr. can notice Sammy Sosa about to drink his Pepsi and then fire a line drive into the dugout to thwart him, that actually does not seem to be . While some batters are better at putting balls in play than others, controlling a "hit" is nearly impossible. If it were, some crazy, but brilliant hitter would have posted a 1.000 batting average in a season. The concept of the Three True Outcomes hitter is not new and not even all that rare. It is easy to find a big powerful dude with a good batting eye who also takes monstrous hacks. Rob Deer, Mark McGwire, Russell Branyan, Bo Jackson and Adam Dunn fit this baseball archetype. However, I want to know how rare a Three True Outcomes Game is. By that, I refer to a game where a batter gets only three plate appearances and uses them to walk, strikeout, and hit a home run, once each. Using Baseball Reference's incomparable game finder tool, I found that such a feat has happened 411 times since 1916. This equals roughly four occurrences per season. Pretty rare indeed. Frank Howard and Lance Parrish each accomplished this feat four times, which is the most of any individual player. Ok, query completed. Ok, thanks for reading! Have a nice day. Wait! Did you leave? I have decided that I need to narrow my search significantly. I realize that many of these players didn't play the full game. Dastardly! Just looking at Lance Parrish, I see that he was pinch hit for in one of those games and replaced by another catcher in two others. That snake! Those aren't Three True Outcome games. I'm pretty sure "getting pinch hit for" and "being a mediocre catcher" aren't true outcomes. Luckily for society, we can narrow the search to only include games both started and finished by players and get rid of these fakers. Upon doing so, we are left with only 165 instances, which is about 2 per season. Rarer than we thought! And with that, I have righted the wrong that Lance Parrish tried to perpetuate against all of us and I can move on with my life. Thanks for reading. Have a nice day. Wait! Sorry, one more thing. Mike Schmidt was walked intentionally in his Three True Outcomes game. That doesn't sit well with me. While it is a True Outcome to be walked intentionally, it's not a true product of the batter v. pitcher match up There were likely other factors that lead to that intentional walk. This cannot stand. Other than Mike Schmidt, there were 10 more jokers who reached their 3rd outcome in this devious fashion. Upon removing them (including personal favorite Chili Davis), we are left with just 154 true Three True Outcomes games. Handshakes and salutations all around! We have our number. Thanks again for reading. Have a nice day. Wait! Last time. I just noticed that George Harper's team won his Three True Outcomes game by a score of 11-1. How in the darn? Even with 11 solo home runs, Harper would have had to have hit 4 times. Wha happen? Well, I opened his box score and found that they only played 6 innings in that game! George Harper, you tramp! This cannot stand. I need to go in and remove these shortened games, for the good of a pure society. Ok, that took forever. But, for you, I now present the 144 instances of the Three True Outcomes Game: Link to Table I couldn't embed the table. But, the link is more fun anyway, because you can mess around with the table and do some fun sorting and stuff. Right? If you don't feel like doing fun sorting and stuff, here is some "analysis" from me: Fun Factz! (the z is a typo that I refuse to fix): Damion Easley, Frank Howard, Harold Baines, Jay Bruce, Rich Aurilia, and Ryan Langerhans each have two Three True Outcomes Games. Sean Casey, Jim Edmonds and Frank Howard are the only players with a Three True Outcomes game from the 3-hole. 12 players hit three-run home runs in their Three True Outcomes game, and 39 hit two-run home runs. Bret Boone, Rich Becker, Faye Throneberry and Alfonso Soriano added stolen bases in their Three True Outcome Game Todd Hollandsworth, Kosuke Fukudome, Jim Anderson and Ken Harrelson were caught stealing in their Three True Outcome Game. Mercy! Early Wilson, Tony Kaufmann, Urban Shocker, Dave McNally and Luis Tiant were the only pitchers to accomplish this feat. Players were 91 and 53 in these games. Clearly, a Three True Outcomes Game means your team is likely to win. (not true) Sean Casey, Billy Bryan, Harold Baines and Ron Swoboda had their Three True Outcomes Game in 1-0 wins. On September 18, 1993, Shane Spencer had the only Three True Outcomes Game that went extra innings. He was standing on deck when the winning run was scored in the 10th, saving his place in history. Local Angle! Only two Twins have had Three True Outcomes Games: Rich Becker in 1997 and Danny Goodwin in 1981. Eight players have had a Three True Outcomes Game against the Twins: Toby Harrah, Ty Wigginton, Jim Anderson, Jorge Posada, Brad Ausmus, Jim Essian, Tim Hulett and Brian Downing. Conclusion None of this nonsense means a thing, but it sure is fun. These games are exceedingly rare, with about three occurring every two seasons. Useless information? Perhaps. But really, what were you doing when you opened this page? Thanks for reading, for real this time.

Henry Blanco is still around? He's got to be 60 years old by now. He was 60 when he was 30. Nice list, always fun to see where old names pop up.

Yeah, if the Twins wanted a patient at bat, they could have used Carroll. I think Gardy wanted a big fly. Good point, he probably didn't want to strike out at all!

Thanks for posting, I always enjoy your analysis. One of my favorite qualities of research is that the results speak for themselves. You can massage the results to fit a narrative, or you can present results as they are. In this case, the batting order doesn't mean a whole lot, but the it also doesn't mean nothing. I think that moving Mauer to 2 and Dozier to 8 will have more impact on a game-by-game basis, rather than a season-long basis. This means that sample sizes will always be too small to use for predictive value, but the results of the individual games can still be impacted. Of course, you are right about the ZIPS projections. If Dozier performs better than these projections, then the move will result in even fewer runs.

I'm not going to write about every game or every day of the season. However, I watched a lot of baseball yesterday and I have some thoughts to share. I thought the Twins game went about as would have been expected, and I was happy that they made it close near the end. I don't like to get too caught up in one game, but it's just too much fun to write about baseball, so here are some thoughts. Aaron Hicks Aaron Hicks had a tough debut. Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball, so it wasn't going to be easy. Hicks struck out in all three of his at bats against Verlander. I went back and watched those at bats again and I didn't see anything that worries me long-term. He fouled off some decent fastballs that he probably should have put in play, but he also seemed to get good looks at Verlander's changeup. He got fooled on a curve in the first and a fastball in the third, but most of his swings were good and he didn't seem to be seeing the ball poorly. I called his first pitch swing against Smyly in the 7th. You had to figure he wanted no part of striking out four times in his debut. He was a little out in front of the pitch, but at least he put it in play. His last at bat was encouraging, as he took a couple close pitches to work a five pitch walk. He saw a first pitch changeup in all four of his left handed at bats, and didn't swing at one. If that is the scouting report on him, hopefully he jumps on an early off-speed pitch against Anibal Sanchez on Wednesday. Vance Worley I thought Vance Worley looked great yesterday. The first inning was a bit rough, but he had some bad luck as well. That Torii Hunter single could have just as easily been a double play. Prince Fielder's double wasn't hit well either. After Hunter's lead-off double in the 3rd, Worley was pretty much lights out. He did let the lead-off batter reach in the first four innings, which is something he should not get into the habit of doing, but he was basically effective through six innings. I liked what I saw. Joe Mauer I don't have much to say here except Mauer did not seem to have an issue adjusting to his new spot in the batting order. He had two hits, and probably should have had three. He nearly tied the game in the bottom of the 8th. His approach at the plate is really something to watch. I'm a fan, that's all. Casey Fien Fien looked great. He mowed down the top of the Tigers' order and made it look pretty easy. I'm not sure this means anything long-term, but if Fien can become a reliable late-inning reliever, the Twins' bullpen could be surprisingly good. Wilkin Ramirez Ramirez made the 5,000,000th appearance in MLB history, according to Baseball Reference. You can read about it here. This was exactly the time to use Ramirez. The bases were loaded, Pedro Florimon was up, and the Twins needed runs. Ramirez worked the count enough to allow a run to score on a wild pitch. While Ramirez is not a special hitter, he does have power. He is certainly a better bet to drive in runs than Florimon. Some prefer Jamey Carroll in that spot, but I am guessing Ron Gardenhire wanted a power bat, to try to tie the game up. Here's the controversy. He swung at the first pitch, which many did not like because Smyly had walked the previous two hitters. I don't have a problem with it. The bases were loaded and Smyly is command/control pitcher. Smyly could have easily grooved a get-me-over fastball to get ahead in the count. If he had, Ramirez could have done damage. Instead, Smyly threw a good slider and Ramirez swung over it. Ramirez was early on the next pitch too, but ultimately had a good at bat. Other MLB Notes Bryce Harper hit two home runs. I predicted that he would win the NL MVP. This amazing first game doesn't make him any more or less likely to win, but it was fun to watch him blast those home runs. His power is crazy. His swing is so violent. Oh, he also threw a runner out at home. My favorite baseball archetype is the power-hitting right fielder with a cannon arm. I'm going to enjoy Harper's career. Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale and Felix Hernandez were all outstanding yesterday. No surprises here, but it's always fun to watch aces dominate. Kershaw took matters into his own hands, hitting a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 8th. He ended with this line: 9 innings, no walks, 4 hits, 7 Ks, 94 pitches. Outstanding. Chase Utley had a great game yesterday. He was 3-5 with a triple, home run and 3 RBI. As with every example above, it is just one game. However, it would be fantastic to see Utley return to his superstar days of old. He's 34 now, and I think he has had a Hall of Fame career. If he can tack on a couple more great seasons, I am betting that others will agree with me (if they don't already). I really enjoyed Opening Day. Although, I spent the evening at the X, watching the Wild play one of their worst games of the season. Other than that, it was a really fun day and I look forward to sharing my unwanted thoughts with all of you this season. What stood out to you on Opening Day? If you aren't interested in single game notes, I did write about 1989 Donruss baseball cards, if that's up your alley. You can read it here.

I'm not going to write about every game or every day of the season. However, I watched a lot of baseball yesterday and I have some thoughts to share. I thought the Twins game went about as would have been expected, and I was happy that they made it close near the end. I don't like to get too caught up in one game, but it's just too much fun to write about baseball, so here are some thoughts. Aaron Hicks Aaron Hicks had a tough debut. Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball, so it wasn't going to be easy. Hicks struck out in all three of his at bats against Verlander. I went back and watched those at bats again and I didn't see anything that worries me long-term. He fouled off some decent fastballs that he probably should have put in play, but he also seemed to get good looks at Verlander's changeup. He got fooled on a curve in the first and a fastball in the third, but most of his swings were good and he didn't seem to be seeing the ball poorly. I called his first pitch swing against Smyly in the 7th. You had to figure he wanted no part of striking out four times in his debut. He was a little out in front of the pitch, but at least he put it in play. His last at bat was encouraging, as he took a couple close pitches to work a five pitch walk. He saw a first pitch changeup in all four of his left handed at bats, and didn't swing at one. If that is the scouting report on him, hopefully he jumps on an early off-speed pitch against Anibal Sanchez on Wednesday. Vance Worley I thought Vance Worley looked great yesterday. The first inning was a bit rough, but he had some bad luck as well. That Torii Hunter single could have just as easily been a double play. Prince Fielder's double wasn't hit well either. After Hunter's lead-off double in the 3rd, Worley was pretty much lights out. He did let the lead-off batter reach in the first four innings, which is something he should not get into the habit of doing, but he was basically effective through six innings. I liked what I saw. Joe Mauer I don't have much to say here except Mauer did not seem to have an issue adjusting to his new spot in the batting order. He had two hits, and probably should have had three. He nearly tied the game in the bottom of the 8th. His approach at the plate is really something to watch. I'm a fan, that's all. Casey Fien Fien looked great. He mowed down the top of the Tigers' order and made it look pretty easy. I'm not sure this means anything long-term, but if Fien can become a reliable late-inning reliever, the Twins' bullpen could be surprisingly good. Wilkin Ramirez Ramirez made the 5,000,000th appearance in MLB history, according to Baseball Reference. You can read about it here. This was exactly the time to use Ramirez. The bases were loaded, Pedro Florimon was up, and the Twins needed runs. Ramirez worked the count enough to allow a run to score on a wild pitch. While Ramirez is not a special hitter, he does have power. He is certainly a better bet to drive in runs than Florimon. Some prefer Jamey Carroll in that spot, but I am guessing Ron Gardenhire wanted a power bat, to try to tie the game up. Here's the controversy. He swung at the first pitch, which many did not like because Smyly had walked the previous two hitters. I don't have a problem with it. The bases were loaded and Smyly is command/control pitcher. Smyly could have easily grooved a get-me-over fastball to get ahead in the count. If he had, Ramirez could have done damage. Instead, Smyly threw a good slider and Ramirez swung over it. Ramirez was early on the next pitch too, but ultimately had a good at bat. Other MLB Notes Bryce Harper hit two home runs. I predicted that he would win the NL MVP. This amazing first game doesn't make him any more or less likely to win, but it was fun to watch him blast those home runs. His power is crazy. His swing is so violent. Oh, he also threw a runner out at home. My favorite baseball archetype is the power-hitting right fielder with a cannon arm. I'm going to enjoy Harper's career. Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale and Felix Hernandez were all outstanding yesterday. No surprises here, but it's always fun to watch aces dominate. Kershaw took matters into his own hands, hitting a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the 8th. He ended with this line: 9 innings, no walks, 4 hits, 7 Ks, 94 pitches. Outstanding. Chase Utley had a great game yesterday. He was 3-5 with a triple, home run and 3 RBI. As with every example above, it is just one game. However, it would be fantastic to see Utley return to his superstar days of old. He's 34 now, and I think he has had a Hall of Fame career. If he can tack on a couple more great seasons, I am betting that others will agree with me (if they don't already). I really enjoyed Opening Day. Although, I spent the evening at the X, watching the Wild play one of their worst games of the season. Other than that, it was a really fun day and I look forward to sharing my unwanted thoughts with all of you this season. What stood out to you on Opening Day? If you aren't interested in single game notes, I did write about 1989 Donruss baseball cards, if that's up your alley. You can read it here.

Oh man, I would have guessed Mastro. That's a crazy percentage, I knew I liked Casilla for a reason.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. It's really fun to talk about just how important the Twins are to all of us. I know it's just a game, but it really becomes more than a game to many of us.

Originally posted at your new homepage: Kevin Slowey was Framed! Baseball Reference made their play index free for about a month. I have intended to play around with it for a couple weeks, but I have been busy with work. However, I'm on SPRING BREAK!!!! now, so I have some free time. Let's see if we can find some cool stuff. At the end, I'll decide whether or not to pay for this feature going forward. I know you are on the edge of your seats. Of course, I then immediately got distracted within the split finder and this was the result: QUESTION NUMBER 1 - Who holds the Twins' record for most home runs in a single inning, over the course of a full season? Answer: Harmon Killebrewin 1962 and Jacque Jones 40 seasons later in 2002, with 11 each. Both achieved this feat in the 1st inning. Jones was the leadoff hitter that year, so each of those ding dongs was a leadoff shot. Killebrew hit 48 home runs that season, mostly batting clean-up. He only hit one of those home runs in the 5th inning. Odd. In case you were wondering, the highest total for each individual inning in Twins' history is listed below: [TABLE=class: grid] Inning Player HR Season 1st Harmon Killebrew 11 1962 1st Jacque Jones 11 2002 2nd Tom Brunansky 7 1983 2nd Michael Cuddyer 7 2009 2nd Delmon Young 7 2010 3rd Kent Hrbek 7 1987 4th Harmon Killebrew 9 1967 5th Harmon Killebrew 8 1963 6th Harmon Killebrew 9 1966 7th Harmon Killebrew 7 1963 7th Harmon Killebrew 7 1966 8th Harmon Killebrew 7 1962 8th Justin Morneau 7 2006 9th Harmon Killebrew 7 1961 [/TABLE] One guy appears on this chart quite a few times. The conclusion: Harmon Killebrew was awesome. QUESTION NUMBER 2 - Who was caught stealing the most in a season, as a substitute, in Twins' history? Answer: Denny Hocking in 1997 with 3. Hocking was caught stealing 5 times that season, and only stole 3 bases. He ended his career with 36 stolen bases and 27 caught stealing. That's an elite 57% success rate. But hey, at least he bleached his hair. He also hit a robust .184 as a sub that season. I'm guessing Hocking owns many of the Twins lol-est records. QUESTION NUMBER 3 - Who had the most plate appearances as a leadoff hitter in a season, in Twins history? Answer: Kirby Puckett with 160 in 1985. Kirby Puckett lead off all but one game he played in 1985. In that season, he hit .288/.330/.385. As the leadoff hitter, he hit .243/.300/.297. Puckett was the leadoff hitter for one more season, before settling into the 3-hole. If Aaron Hicks can post OBP and SLG as high as Puckett's figures in 1985, we should all be quite pleased. QUESTION NUMBER 4 - Who was hit by pitch the most at home, in a single season, in Twins' history? Answer: Chuck Knoblauch (1997) and Cesar Tovar (1968), each with 11. I'm guessing that in hindsight, many Twins fans would have been psyched to see those Knoblauch HBPs. Not me. I enjoyed Knoblauch. A.J. Pierzynski (2003), Cesar Tovar (1972) and Shane Mack (2003) were each hit 10 times on the road. That's their record to share. Pierzynski was hit a league-leading 27 times in his one season in San Francisco. Wow, hurts donut indeed. Knoblauch was hit by 139 pitches in his career. Tovar was only hit 88 times. QUESTION NUMBER 5 - Who hit the most home runs on a 3-0 count, in a season, in Twins' history? Answer: Pat Meares (1997) and Bobby Kielty (2002), each with 2. Odds are, both guys were benched shortly after the second jack. QUESTION NUMBER 6 - Who had the most RBI in Twins' history, with 2 outs and runners in scoring position, in a single season? Answer: Gary Gaetti with 43 in 1987 In that season, Gaetti came to the plate 93 times in that situation. He hit .326/.376/.581 in those plate appearances. Most strikeouts in the same situation, in a season? Gary Gaetti, with 25 back in 1983. He hit .190/.281/.316 in those situations back in '83, in 89 plate appearances. Looks like someone learned how to be clutch! QUESTION NUMBER 7 - Who hit the most home runs at home in their final season with the Twins? Answer: Kirby Puckett with 13 Puckett hit his final two home runs at the Metrodome on September 4, 1995. I know this because I was there. It was Labor Day, so it was the last day of summer. I got to go to the game, not knowing that it would be the final time I would get to see Kirby Puckett play. He was my favorite player and I just adored him. In the third inning, he hit an opposite-field solo home run. Then, in the 4th inning, he hit a another one, this time with Rich Becker on base. These were the final two home runs that Twins fans got to witness in Puckett's Hall of Fame career. No one would have ever guessed that at that time though. I feel very lucky that I was there. I think it may have been the only game I attended that season. Of course, we all know that Puckett was forced to retire due to glaucoma at the end of that season. He should have hit many more Metrodome home runs. Very sad. Wow, things just got more serious than planned. One more question. QUESTION NUMBER 8 - Who has the highest OBP against same-handed pitchers, in a season, in Twins' history (min 200 PA)? Answer: Right-handed - Kirby Puckett (1995) - .371 OBP and Left-Handed - Joe Mauer (2012) - .392 OBP Here is your daily reminder that Joe Mauer is swell. This was also in Puckett's final season as an active player. He was clearly still a great player and had at least a few more good seasons left in him. Anyone arguing that Kirby Puckett isn't a Hall of Fame player did not watch him play (or did not watch him closely enough) and probably will have to fight me at some point. Not really, I'm pretty nice. Verdict: I will be spending some money in a couple weeks. If the split finder is this addictive, the play index must be even better. Plus, this tool is only 36 bucks for the whole year, and I will probably play with it about 20 hours per week. Doing the math: 20 hours x 52 weeks is 1040 hours 36 bucks / 1040 hours = .03 bucks/hour Conversion to cents: 3600 cents / 1040 hours = 3.46 cents/hour Yeah, it's worth it. And I didn't even use the right tool. I'll do this same exercise with some pitching records in the near future. If you enjoyed this, check out Baseball Reference's split tool. Be careful, it's very addictive. Brad Swanson has a computer and access to the internet. He started his own blog solely to show off his byline skills. You can reach him via telephone, if you know his phone number.

Originally posted at your new homepage: Kevin Slowey was Framed! Baseball Reference made their play index free for about a month. I have intended to play around with it for a couple weeks, but I have been busy with work. However, I'm on SPRING BREAK!!!! now, so I have some free time. Let's see if we can find some cool stuff. At the end, I'll decide whether or not to pay for this feature going forward. I know you are on the edge of your seats. Of course, I then immediately got distracted within the split finder and this was the result: QUESTION NUMBER 1 - Who holds the Twins' record for most home runs in a single inning, over the course of a full season? Answer: Harmon Killebrewin 1962 and Jacque Jones 40 seasons later in 2002, with 11 each. Both achieved this feat in the 1st inning. Jones was the leadoff hitter that year, so each of those ding dongs was a leadoff shot. Killebrew hit 48 home runs that season, mostly batting clean-up. He only hit one of those home runs in the 5th inning. Odd. In case you were wondering, the highest total for each individual inning in Twins' history is listed below: [TABLE=class: grid] Inning Player HR Season 1st Harmon Killebrew 11 1962 1st Jacque Jones 11 2002 2nd Tom Brunansky 7 1983 2nd Michael Cuddyer 7 2009 2nd Delmon Young 7 2010 3rd Kent Hrbek 7 1987 4th Harmon Killebrew 9 1967 5th Harmon Killebrew 8 1963 6th Harmon Killebrew 9 1966 7th Harmon Killebrew 7 1963 7th Harmon Killebrew 7 1966 8th Harmon Killebrew 7 1962 8th Justin Morneau 7 2006 9th Harmon Killebrew 7 1961 [/TABLE] One guy appears on this chart quite a few times. The conclusion: Harmon Killebrew was awesome. QUESTION NUMBER 2 - Who was caught stealing the most in a season, as a substitute, in Twins' history? Answer: Denny Hocking in 1997 with 3. Hocking was caught stealing 5 times that season, and only stole 3 bases. He ended his career with 36 stolen bases and 27 caught stealing. That's an elite 57% success rate. But hey, at least he bleached his hair. He also hit a robust .184 as a sub that season. I'm guessing Hocking owns many of the Twins lol-est records. QUESTION NUMBER 3 - Who had the most plate appearances as a leadoff hitter in a season, in Twins history? Answer: Kirby Puckett with 160 in 1985. Kirby Puckett lead off all but one game he played in 1985. In that season, he hit .288/.330/.385. As the leadoff hitter, he hit .243/.300/.297. Puckett was the leadoff hitter for one more season, before settling into the 3-hole. If Aaron Hicks can post OBP and SLG as high as Puckett's figures in 1985, we should all be quite pleased. QUESTION NUMBER 4 - Who was hit by pitch the most at home, in a single season, in Twins' history? Answer: Chuck Knoblauch (1997) and Cesar Tovar (1968), each with 11. I'm guessing that in hindsight, many Twins fans would have been psyched to see those Knoblauch HBPs. Not me. I enjoyed Knoblauch. A.J. Pierzynski (2003), Cesar Tovar (1972) and Shane Mack (2003) were each hit 10 times on the road. That's their record to share. Pierzynski was hit a league-leading 27 times in his one season in San Francisco. Wow, hurts donut indeed. Knoblauch was hit by 139 pitches in his career. Tovar was only hit 88 times. QUESTION NUMBER 5 - Who hit the most home runs on a 3-0 count, in a season, in Twins' history? Answer: Pat Meares (1997) and Bobby Kielty (2002), each with 2. Odds are, both guys were benched shortly after the second jack. QUESTION NUMBER 6 - Who had the most RBI in Twins' history, with 2 outs and runners in scoring position, in a single season? Answer: Gary Gaetti with 43 in 1987 In that season, Gaetti came to the plate 93 times in that situation. He hit .326/.376/.581 in those plate appearances. Most strikeouts in the same situation, in a season? Gary Gaetti, with 25 back in 1983. He hit .190/.281/.316 in those situations back in '83, in 89 plate appearances. Looks like someone learned how to be clutch! QUESTION NUMBER 7 - Who hit the most home runs at home in their final season with the Twins? Answer: Kirby Puckett with 13 Puckett hit his final two home runs at the Metrodome on September 4, 1995. I know this because I was there. It was Labor Day, so it was the last day of summer. I got to go to the game, not knowing that it would be the final time I would get to see Kirby Puckett play. He was my favorite player and I just adored him. In the third inning, he hit an opposite-field solo home run. Then, in the 4th inning, he hit a another one, this time with Rich Becker on base. These were the final two home runs that Twins fans got to witness in Puckett's Hall of Fame career. No one would have ever guessed that at that time though. I feel very lucky that I was there. I think it may have been the only game I attended that season. Of course, we all know that Puckett was forced to retire due to glaucoma at the end of that season. He should have hit many more Metrodome home runs. Very sad. Wow, things just got more serious than planned. One more question. QUESTION NUMBER 8 - Who has the highest OBP against same-handed pitchers, in a season, in Twins' history (min 200 PA)? Answer: Right-handed - Kirby Puckett (1995) - .371 OBP and Left-Handed - Joe Mauer (2012) - .392 OBP Here is your daily reminder that Joe Mauer is swell. This was also in Puckett's final season as an active player. He was clearly still a great player and had at least a few more good seasons left in him. Anyone arguing that Kirby Puckett isn't a Hall of Fame player did not watch him play (or did not watch him closely enough) and probably will have to fight me at some point. Not really, I'm pretty nice. Verdict: I will be spending some money in a couple weeks. If the split finder is this addictive, the play index must be even better. Plus, this tool is only 36 bucks for the whole year, and I will probably play with it about 20 hours per week. Doing the math: 20 hours x 52 weeks is 1040 hours 36 bucks / 1040 hours = .03 bucks/hour Conversion to cents: 3600 cents / 1040 hours = 3.46 cents/hour Yeah, it's worth it. And I didn't even use the right tool. I'll do this same exercise with some pitching records in the near future. If you enjoyed this, check out Baseball Reference's split tool. Be careful, it's very addictive. Brad Swanson has a computer and access to the internet. He started his own blog solely to show off his byline skills. You can reach him via telephone, if you know his phone number.

I remember Sunday, April 5, 1992 very well. I was more than somewhat aware that the Twins' Opener was the next day. I had been a huge Twins fan since I was like four-years-old. By 1991, I was nine and I had started collecting baseball cards, going to the occasional game and I was about to start a tradition of skipping school on Opening Day. Well, not really skipping school. You can't really skip school in 3rd grade. However, my devious plan was to fake being sick, in order to stay home and watch the game on television. It was a brilliant plan, but not exactly a unique plan for children of various ages. I mean, it's basically the plot to Ferris Bueller's Day Off. But, I hadn't seen that movie yet, so no help there. Now, I had never stayed home sick before. I missed a week with chicken pox, but never missed school for a cold, the flu or anything like that. I certainly never faked sick, as I was way too ingrained as a teacher's pet/golden child to do that. As a result, I had no idea how to even approach the idea of staying home from school sick. Luckily, my brain had developed enough where I had that deception center firing and I started to develop a plan. I knew this would take all of my cunning, and I knew that I had to lay the foundation early. That Sunday morning, I woke up and immediately started with some subtle, fake coughing. Not a lot of coughing, and nothing too horrible sounding; you can't overdo it after all. I just wanted that cough on my Mom's radar. I was a pretty boisterous kid, and usually very active. So, I just kind of laid around all day. I didn't want to do anything outwardly notable, as I wanted my malaise to be what got me noticed. Sure enough, my Mom came to see if I was feeling ok. I said, "yes, I just have a little headache and I'm tired" and we all went on with the day. The plan carried into the evening. Normally, I was all about staying up late. Not on this evening. I announced to anyone listening that I was off to bed, at a surprisingly early time. My Mom came to check on me, and I admitted that I wasn't feeling great. She felt my head, proclaimed that I "wasn't warm" and let me be. I had planted the seed, and now I needed to plan the events that would transpire the following morning. I laid in bed and calculated my every move. It had to be done just right, so that I would be able to stay home, but still watch the game. It was intense. However, part 1 of my plan was completed. When I woke up, I purposely stayed in bed longer than usual. I have always been a person that wakes up immediately to my alarm. I don't mess around with snooze and I don't screw around in the morning. I'm all business, and everyone around me knows that. When I didn't head downstairs at my usual time, my Mom came to look for me. I confessed that I was ill and might need to stay home. I braced myself for a negotiation, but to my surprise, my Mom simply said "of course, go back to sleep and I'll call school." Success! Part 2 of my plan had been carried out. Not only was I one step closer to watching the Twins' Opening Day game, I was also able to get some freaking sleep. We really make kids get up early for school! I woke up a few hours later, and I started the third and final (and most challenging) portion of my plan. My Mom wasn't just going to let me watch TV all day. I needed to wait for the exact right moment to declare that I was feeling "better." About an hour before game time, I went and ate some food. I figured, if I could always pretend that the food had magical healing powers. After lunch, I went back to bed for a few minutes. I then wandered into the living room and sat next to my Mom. She was taking a break from cleaning up after me and my brother and sister, with a little television of her own. This was not in the plan. I am very non-confrontational. I didn't want to take the step of asking my Mom to stop watching her show. It was bad enough that I was being so deceptive. THIS WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN! I sat there, just hoping that things would work out. Right as the game was about to start, my Mom said "wait, isn't the Twins' game on today?" I meekly responded with a "yes" assuming my evil plan had been figured out. I readied myself to head back to bed, to get rest and "recover" from my illness. However, my Mom, being consistently awesome, put the game on, told me I should lay down, and then watched the game with me. When Kirby Puckett hit s a 3rd inning home run, we both cheered and I think I forgot all about my "illness." The Twins beat the Brewers 4-2 and I was pumped. When the game ended, I went back to bed, figuring I should at least pretend to rest up. My Mom checked on me a little later and I admitted that I was feeling much better and would probably go back to school the next day. She smiled and told me that she was glad I felt better and then went off to do any number of things that she did for us when we were little. I couldn't help but feel bad, but I enjoyed that time, watching the game with my Mom. And so a tradition was born. Each year that school interfered with the Opener, I would fake an illness and stay home. Sadly, I don't think any game was as enjoyable as that first one. My Mom went back to work shortly after the 1992 Opener, as she had been laid off a couple years prior. Luckily for my brother, sister and I, my Grandmother would come to watch us after school, until I was old enough to keep an eye on the house for everyone. Regardless of who was in charge, you can bet that I was home to watch that first Twins game of the season. Traditions change over time. Once I reached high school, I didn't put as much thought into my plan. I'd just say I had a stomachache and go back to sleep for a few hours. In college, I would just skip class. Oddly enough, I became a teacher. However, my school seems to like to accommodate my Twins schedule, as our Spring Break has coincided with each Opener since I started teaching. What a perk! For the past 21 years, I have not missed a live Twins opener. Sure, I could tape or DVR the game, but it's just not the same. I need to experience the first game live. This Monday will be my 22nd straight season. My school is on Spring Break again and I will be home in front of my TV, watching when Vance Worley throws the first pitch of the season. It's a Ripken-like streak, no doubt, but this will also be my final time sharing this tradition alone. My first child is due in June. She will be 10 months old next April. You can guarantee that she will be sitting right next to me when the 2014 season opens. Once she gets old enough to make her own decisions, I'll just have to hope that she chooses to watch those games with me. As important as I know school is, I'll gladly call her school on those future April mornings, to let her stay home and watch the game with me. Even if she isn't interested in baseball, I hope that she will sit and watch the game with me anyway, much like my Mom did when I was nine-years-old. Going back to my Mom, I used to feel bad for lying and deceiving just to watch baseball. The reality is, my Mom was smart and she likely knew what I was doing all along. It was no coincidence that she knew exactly when that 1992 Opener was starting. I mean, where do you think a nine-year-old gets the kind of smarts it takes to pull off a brilliant plan like mine? Ultimately, it is one of my fondest memories and a tradition that I look forward to each year. It was completely worth the make-up work that came with the second day of the season! What are your Opening Day Traditions? If you enjoyed this piece, please check me out at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Not everything I write is sentimental. In fact, I drew a ridiculous picture of Kevin Slowey and Mike Redmond that you can enjoy.

I remember Sunday, April 5, 1992 very well. I was more than somewhat aware that the Twins' Opener was the next day. I had been a huge Twins fan since I was like four-years-old. By 1991, I was nine and I had started collecting baseball cards, going to the occasional game and I was about to start a tradition of skipping school on Opening Day. Well, not really skipping school. You can't really skip school in 3rd grade. However, my devious plan was to fake being sick, in order to stay home and watch the game on television. It was a brilliant plan, but not exactly a unique plan for children of various ages. I mean, it's basically the plot to Ferris Bueller's Day Off. But, I hadn't seen that movie yet, so no help there. Now, I had never stayed home sick before. I missed a week with chicken pox, but never missed school for a cold, the flu or anything like that. I certainly never faked sick, as I was way too ingrained as a teacher's pet/golden child to do that. As a result, I had no idea how to even approach the idea of staying home from school sick. Luckily, my brain had developed enough where I had that deception center firing and I started to develop a plan. I knew this would take all of my cunning, and I knew that I had to lay the foundation early. That Sunday morning, I woke up and immediately started with some subtle, fake coughing. Not a lot of coughing, and nothing too horrible sounding; you can't overdo it after all. I just wanted that cough on my Mom's radar. I was a pretty boisterous kid, and usually very active. So, I just kind of laid around all day. I didn't want to do anything outwardly notable, as I wanted my malaise to be what got me noticed. Sure enough, my Mom came to see if I was feeling ok. I said, "yes, I just have a little headache and I'm tired" and we all went on with the day. The plan carried into the evening. Normally, I was all about staying up late. Not on this evening. I announced to anyone listening that I was off to bed, at a surprisingly early time. My Mom came to check on me, and I admitted that I wasn't feeling great. She felt my head, proclaimed that I "wasn't warm" and let me be. I had planted the seed, and now I needed to plan the events that would transpire the following morning. I laid in bed and calculated my every move. It had to be done just right, so that I would be able to stay home, but still watch the game. It was intense. However, part 1 of my plan was completed. When I woke up, I purposely stayed in bed longer than usual. I have always been a person that wakes up immediately to my alarm. I don't mess around with snooze and I don't screw around in the morning. I'm all business, and everyone around me knows that. When I didn't head downstairs at my usual time, my Mom came to look for me. I confessed that I was ill and might need to stay home. I braced myself for a negotiation, but to my surprise, my Mom simply said "of course, go back to sleep and I'll call school." Success! Part 2 of my plan had been carried out. Not only was I one step closer to watching the Twins' Opening Day game, I was also able to get some freaking sleep. We really make kids get up early for school! I woke up a few hours later, and I started the third and final (and most challenging) portion of my plan. My Mom wasn't just going to let me watch TV all day. I needed to wait for the exact right moment to declare that I was feeling "better." About an hour before game time, I went and ate some food. I figured, if I could always pretend that the food had magical healing powers. After lunch, I went back to bed for a few minutes. I then wandered into the living room and sat next to my Mom. She was taking a break from cleaning up after me and my brother and sister, with a little television of her own. This was not in the plan. I am very non-confrontational. I didn't want to take the step of asking my Mom to stop watching her show. It was bad enough that I was being so deceptive. THIS WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN! I sat there, just hoping that things would work out. Right as the game was about to start, my Mom said "wait, isn't the Twins' game on today?" I meekly responded with a "yes" assuming my evil plan had been figured out. I readied myself to head back to bed, to get rest and "recover" from my illness. However, my Mom, being consistently awesome, put the game on, told me I should lay down, and then watched the game with me. When Kirby Puckett hit s a 3rd inning home run, we both cheered and I think I forgot all about my "illness." The Twins beat the Brewers 4-2 and I was pumped. When the game ended, I went back to bed, figuring I should at least pretend to rest up. My Mom checked on me a little later and I admitted that I was feeling much better and would probably go back to school the next day. She smiled and told me that she was glad I felt better and then went off to do any number of things that she did for us when we were little. I couldn't help but feel bad, but I enjoyed that time, watching the game with my Mom. And so a tradition was born. Each year that school interfered with the Opener, I would fake an illness and stay home. Sadly, I don't think any game was as enjoyable as that first one. My Mom went back to work shortly after the 1992 Opener, as she had been laid off a couple years prior. Luckily for my brother, sister and I, my Grandmother would come to watch us after school, until I was old enough to keep an eye on the house for everyone. Regardless of who was in charge, you can bet that I was home to watch that first Twins game of the season. Traditions change over time. Once I reached high school, I didn't put as much thought into my plan. I'd just say I had a stomachache and go back to sleep for a few hours. In college, I would just skip class. Oddly enough, I became a teacher. However, my school seems to like to accommodate my Twins schedule, as our Spring Break has coincided with each Opener since I started teaching. What a perk! For the past 21 years, I have not missed a live Twins opener. Sure, I could tape or DVR the game, but it's just not the same. I need to experience the first game live. This Monday will be my 22nd straight season. My school is on Spring Break again and I will be home in front of my TV, watching when Vance Worley throws the first pitch of the season. It's a Ripken-like streak, no doubt, but this will also be my final time sharing this tradition alone. My first child is due in June. She will be 10 months old next April. You can guarantee that she will be sitting right next to me when the 2014 season opens. Once she gets old enough to make her own decisions, I'll just have to hope that she chooses to watch those games with me. As important as I know school is, I'll gladly call her school on those future April mornings, to let her stay home and watch the game with me. Even if she isn't interested in baseball, I hope that she will sit and watch the game with me anyway, much like my Mom did when I was nine-years-old. Going back to my Mom, I used to feel bad for lying and deceiving just to watch baseball. The reality is, my Mom was smart and she likely knew what I was doing all along. It was no coincidence that she knew exactly when that 1992 Opener was starting. I mean, where do you think a nine-year-old gets the kind of smarts it takes to pull off a brilliant plan like mine? Ultimately, it is one of my fondest memories and a tradition that I look forward to each year. It was completely worth the make-up work that came with the second day of the season! What are your Opening Day Traditions? If you enjoyed this piece, please check me out at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Not everything I write is sentimental. In fact, I drew a ridiculous picture of Kevin Slowey and Mike Redmond that you can enjoy.

I like Escobar too. If Florimon doesn't hit in the first half, I'd like to see Escobar get the 2nd half at bats.

It's fun to learn about history!