jjswol

He was not a lead-off hitter but he did hit lead off now and then. This native Californian called the Metrodome home for over 10 years.

Not Revere

Not Knoblauch or AM

Nope, not Hrbek or Hatcher.

In the Twins 53 year history, 27 different Twins players have gotten five or or more hits in a game but only nine players have done this more then once. Kirby Puckett did it six times and in two of those occurrences he had six hits in a game. Puckett remains the only Twins player to get more then 5 hits in a game. Joe Mauer and Rod Carew each have had five 5 hit games wearing a Twins uni. Tony Oliva accomplished the feat four times. Paul Molitor did it three times. Denard Span, Justin Morneau, and Jacques Jones each had 5 hits in a game twice. There is one other Twins player that had 5 hits in a game twice. Who was he?

I also think that Gardy will be resigned to a two year deal. As for the coaches? I think Brunansky and Vavra will be moving on.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2203-This-Day-in-Twins-History-August-8

Originally posted earlier at This Day In Twins History ? August 8 | Twinstrivia.com 8/8/1962 - With the score tied at 3 apiece at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, A's rookie third baseman Ed Charles steals home with two out in the ninth to score the winning run in a A's 4-3 win over the Twins. Ray Moore and Jerry Zimmerman were the Twins battery at the time. 8/8/1974 - The Royals - Twins game at Royals Stadium is briefly interrupted by President Nixon's resignation speech. The speech is broadcast after it begins and the next inning is delayed until the conclusion of the speech. The Twins prevail over the host Royals‚ 3 - 2 in 14 innings when Tony Oliva's sacrifice fly drives home Rod Carew. Bill Campbell pitches 7 innings of relief for the win. 8/8/1976 - This has nothing to do with the Minnesota Twins but still it deserves to be remembered for its "strangeness". Thirty-seven years ago, on Aug. 8, 1976, the Chicago White Sox made sartorial history by wearing shorts in a win over the Royals. The Bermudas were the idea of—who else?—owner Bill Veeck. Here is what Sports Illustrated wrote. If you want to see a picture, go to This Day In Twins History ? August 8 | Twinstrivia.com 8/8/1987 - The Twins beat the Oakland A's 9-2 at the Metrodome as Twins pitcher Steve Carlton wins the 329th and final game of his Hall of Fame career. Carlton pitches 8 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs while striking out two batters. 8/8/1988 - The Indians and the Twins were scoreless after 3 innings at the Metrodome with Allan Anderson on the mound for the local nine. In the top of the fourth inning with no one out, the Indians Ron Washington and Willie Upshaw singled to put runners on first and second and then Joe Carter smashed a long drive to the left field corner where Twins outfielder Dan Gladden snagged it for an out and wheeled and fired a strike to Steve Lombardozzi at 2B to nail Washington and then Lombo relayed the ball to Gene Larkin at first to get the runner there by at least 5 feet and completed the unusual 7-4-3 triple play. The Twins went on to win the game by a 7-2 score with Galdden going 3 for 5 with a run scored, a stolen base, and a RBI. Catcher Brian Harper was 4 for 4 but played second fiddle to Gladden on this day. 8/8/1998 - Paul Molitor stole his 500th base in Minnesota's 6-3 loss to Baltimore to become only the fifth player ever with 3,000 hits and 500 steals. Molitor joined Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins and Lou Brock. 8/8/2004 - The A's beat the Twins 6 - 5 in 18 innings. It is the second-longest game in the 23-year history of the Metrodome. With the score tied 3 to 3, the A's score 3 in the top of the 18th off Terry Mulholland to take a 6-3 lead. The Twins come back with 2 in the bottom of the 18th with a Morneau home run but leave Matthew LeCroy stranded on first when Koskie and Cuddyer flyout to end the rally and the Twins hope of a huge comeback victory. The game lasts 4 hours and 57 minutes. 8/8/2005 - One time Minnesota Twins manger (1976-1980) Gene Mauch passes away at the age of 79. Mauch was the seventh manager in Twins history. I think one of my favorite Gene Mauch quotes was "I'm not the manager because I am always right, but I am always right because I am the manager". 8/8/2009 - The Twins third manager, Cal Ermer passed away at the age of 85 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Ermer replaced the fired Sam Mele in June 1967 with the Twins in sixth place with a 25-25 record. The Twins went 66-46 the rest of the season but lost the American League pennant on the final day of the season. Ermer was fired after the Twins finished in seventh place in 1968 with a 79-83 record.

Originally posted earlier at This Day In Twins History ? August 8 | Twinstrivia.com 8/8/1962 - With the score tied at 3 apiece at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, A's rookie third baseman Ed Charles steals home with two out in the ninth to score the winning run in a A's 4-3 win over the Twins. Ray Moore and Jerry Zimmerman were the Twins battery at the time. 8/8/1974 - The Royals - Twins game at Royals Stadium is briefly interrupted by President Nixon's resignation speech. The speech is broadcast after it begins and the next inning is delayed until the conclusion of the speech. The Twins prevail over the host Royals‚ 3 - 2 in 14 innings when Tony Oliva's sacrifice fly drives home Rod Carew. Bill Campbell pitches 7 innings of relief for the win. 8/8/1976 - This has nothing to do with the Minnesota Twins but still it deserves to be remembered for its "strangeness". Thirty-seven years ago, on Aug. 8, 1976, the Chicago White Sox made sartorial history by wearing shorts in a win over the Royals. The Bermudas were the idea of—who else?—owner Bill Veeck. Here is what Sports Illustrated wrote. If you want to see a picture, go to This Day In Twins History ? August 8 | Twinstrivia.com 8/8/1987 - The Twins beat the Oakland A's 9-2 at the Metrodome as Twins pitcher Steve Carlton wins the 329th and final game of his Hall of Fame career. Carlton pitches 8 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs while striking out two batters. 8/8/1988 - The Indians and the Twins were scoreless after 3 innings at the Metrodome with Allan Anderson on the mound for the local nine. In the top of the fourth inning with no one out, the Indians Ron Washington and Willie Upshaw singled to put runners on first and second and then Joe Carter smashed a long drive to the left field corner where Twins outfielder Dan Gladden snagged it for an out and wheeled and fired a strike to Steve Lombardozzi at 2B to nail Washington and then Lombo relayed the ball to Gene Larkin at first to get the runner there by at least 5 feet and completed the unusual 7-4-3 triple play. The Twins went on to win the game by a 7-2 score with Galdden going 3 for 5 with a run scored, a stolen base, and a RBI. Catcher Brian Harper was 4 for 4 but played second fiddle to Gladden on this day. 8/8/1998 - Paul Molitor stole his 500th base in Minnesota's 6-3 loss to Baltimore to become only the fifth player ever with 3,000 hits and 500 steals. Molitor joined Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins and Lou Brock. 8/8/2004 - The A's beat the Twins 6 - 5 in 18 innings. It is the second-longest game in the 23-year history of the Metrodome. With the score tied 3 to 3, the A's score 3 in the top of the 18th off Terry Mulholland to take a 6-3 lead. The Twins come back with 2 in the bottom of the 18th with a Morneau home run but leave Matthew LeCroy stranded on first when Koskie and Cuddyer flyout to end the rally and the Twins hope of a huge comeback victory. The game lasts 4 hours and 57 minutes. 8/8/2005 - One time Minnesota Twins manger (1976-1980) Gene Mauch passes away at the age of 79. Mauch was the seventh manager in Twins history. I think one of my favorite Gene Mauch quotes was "I'm not the manager because I am always right, but I am always right because I am the manager". 8/8/2009 - The Twins third manager, Cal Ermer passed away at the age of 85 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Ermer replaced the fired Sam Mele in June 1967 with the Twins in sixth place with a 25-25 record. The Twins went 66-46 the rest of the season but lost the American League pennant on the final day of the season. Ermer was fired after the Twins finished in seventh place in 1968 with a 79-83 record.

Former Twins outfielder Micheal Cuddyer set a Colorado Rockies team record recently when he had a 27 game hitting streak from May 28 through June 30 for the Colorado Rockies. During his streak Cuddyer hit .372 with 6 home runs, 19 RBI and 17 runs scored. The longest Twins hitting streaks this season belong to Joe Mauer with 15 gamer and a 10 gamer, Trevor Plouffe with a 12 gamer and Justin Morneau with an 11 game hitting streak. The Twins have had some pretty good hitting streaks over the years but the longest streak of 31 games goes way back to 1980 and belongs to Ken Landreaux. If you want to check out what Twins players had the longest hitting streaks or if you want to know who had the longest hitting streak against the Twins, check out "Taking a look at hitting streaks" at Taking a look at hitting streaks | Twinstrivia.com

Originally posted at An interview with 1995 Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova | Twinstrivia.com [ATTACH=CONFIG]4844[/ATTACH] Recently I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to interview 1995 AL Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova. We talked about Marty's nine-year big league career from the time he was drafted by Minnesota in the tenth round of the 1989 draft until he retired from baseball in 2005. Cordova played for the Twins (1995-1999), Blue Jays (2000), Indians (2001), and the Orioles (2002-2003). Cordova was the American League Rookie of the Year winner in 1995 in a close vote (105 to 99) over Angels outfielder Garret Anderson. Other players receiving more than ten votes that year were pitchers Andy Pettitte and Troy Percival. Cordova was the fifth and most recent Minnesota Twin to win ROY honors. Other Twins to win the award were Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, John Castino, and Chuck Knoblauch. 1996 may have been Cordova's best season with Minnesota before a variety of injuries started taking their toll. After leaving Minnesota as a free agent after the 1999 season, Cordova signed with the Red Sox but never played there and then moved on to Toronto, Cleveland and Baltimore. Cordova signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005 but retired before just as spring training was about to begin. To learn more about Marty Cordova past and present, find out why his first baseball card at Elizabethton was unique, and to listen to the interview, just click here.

​ Originally published at The state of the Twins at mid-season | Twinstrivia.com The Twins left Minnesota and the country yesterday with their tails between their legs after losing their fifth straight game and four in a row to those hated New York Yankees. The Yankees were slumping when they limped in to town but that didn't stop this bunch of misfits and cast-offs from kicking some serious Twins butts here in Minnesota. I have seen better visiting Yankee teams at Ft. Myers in spring training then what they put on the field the past few days at Target Field and yet you just knew that some way and some how that the Twins would find a way to lose to this bunch of has been's that make up the 2013 New York Yankees. I have no idea how the Twins can keep losing to the Yankees year in and year out, it's like there is a Yankee curse on the Twins. Even the New York Times is getting in on the action with a headline that reads "Yankees Thrash Twins to Complete 4-Game Sweep." I know everyone is frustrated with the Twins play again this season as the team record stands at 36-46 so far this season. Before the season started I saw the Twins going 74-88 this season so that is not far off the mark at mid-season. The younger players are learning and you can see improvement here and there but this team has a long ways to go to be a serious contender. However; the team is playing like any young team normally plays, some days they surprise you with their ability and other days they frustrate you with their bone-head plays, but this is all part of learning to play in the big leagues. Having said all that, I think that Terry Ryan needs to make some changes. There are players on this team with no Twins future and should be moved but the problem is that you get nothing for them in return. I have really enjoyed watching Justin Morneau over the years, just like I did Michael Cuddyer but he needs to be moved to give him a chance to play for a contender and the Twins must find out if Chris Parmelee is the Twins first baseman of the future. The Twins should eat some of Morneau's salary and move him for the best prospect(s) they can get. If they don't move him they have to pay him anyway and they will get no prospect at all. The most talk about a Twins player being traded has been about closer Glen Perkins. I would hate to lose Perkins but I would trade him if an offer of a top-notch prospect was presented. I am not talking a prospect playing in low A ball, I am talking a serious prospect that can help this team this year or next year. The Twins have always found closers and they will find another to replace Perkins. The Oakland A's have done this for years and it has worked for them, it should work here too. That brings us to the manager, Ron Gardenhire. I have always liked Gardy as a manager and still do. Who doesn't like Gardy, he is an easy guy to like and he has been here forever and has won almost 1,000 games. Gardy isn't the one losing these games, the Twins players are, but still, things seemed to have gotten stale here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and sometimes changes are necessary. If Gardy gets fired he will be managing another team next year or the year after for sure, but who should replace him? There is no one on the current coaching staff that seems to fit the bill. A number of people have mentioned Paul Molitor as a possibility but I don't see that happening. The Twins said that Molitor was not a good fit to join the coaching staff and some said it was because he would put too much pressure on Gardy who is managing in the last year of his contract. I don't think that is the reason at all, I think there are several reasons. First of all Molitor has absolutely no managing experience and no coaching experience to speak of. Next, Molitor has some baggage in his personal life that he brings from his playing days that does not excite the Twins organization very much and does not fit their mold of someone they would like to see lead their young players. Finally Molitor's personality is not going to excite the Twins fan base, I know he is from St. Paul but his personality is more like TK's then it is Gardenhire's. Great players seldom make good managers. The Twins will probably let Gardenhire's contract expire after the season ends and that is not what I though would happen just a few months ago but things change. The Twins need to reinvigorate their fan base after three losing seasons in a row and the promise of prospects in the pipeline alone isn't going to put fans in the seats at Target Field, the fans need to see the Twins organization make some serious changes that are visible and at least show the fans that they are trying to make this team better. Just talking a good story doesn't do it any more, we Twins fans need to see some action. One more thing before I wrap up this blog today. Joe Vavra was the Twins hitting coach from 2006 through 2012 but was reassigned after last season. During Vavra's tenure in Minnesota, the Twins have consistently ranked among the best in the league for both individual and team hitting stats. Former Twins player Tom Brunansky was named the Twins hitting coach after last season. Over the last few years the fans have clamoured for Vavra to be let go and finally Terry Ryan made it a reality after the 2012 season. So what did that change do for the Twins? The team is hitting worse than ever and yet I have not heard a single utterance of getting rid of Brunansky. So why is no one complaining about the job that Bruno is doing as the hitting coach for a team that claims that they are only interested in results? I am not saying he should be fired, I am just wondering why Brunansky seems to have that Teflon armour surrounding him.

​ Originally published at The state of the Twins at mid-season | Twinstrivia.com The Twins left Minnesota and the country yesterday with their tails between their legs after losing their fifth straight game and four in a row to those hated New York Yankees. The Yankees were slumping when they limped in to town but that didn't stop this bunch of misfits and cast-offs from kicking some serious Twins butts here in Minnesota. I have seen better visiting Yankee teams at Ft. Myers in spring training then what they put on the field the past few days at Target Field and yet you just knew that some way and some how that the Twins would find a way to lose to this bunch of has been's that make up the 2013 New York Yankees. I have no idea how the Twins can keep losing to the Yankees year in and year out, it's like there is a Yankee curse on the Twins. Even the New York Times is getting in on the action with a headline that reads "Yankees Thrash Twins to Complete 4-Game Sweep." I know everyone is frustrated with the Twins play again this season as the team record stands at 36-46 so far this season. Before the season started I saw the Twins going 74-88 this season so that is not far off the mark at mid-season. The younger players are learning and you can see improvement here and there but this team has a long ways to go to be a serious contender. However; the team is playing like any young team normally plays, some days they surprise you with their ability and other days they frustrate you with their bone-head plays, but this is all part of learning to play in the big leagues. Having said all that, I think that Terry Ryan needs to make some changes. There are players on this team with no Twins future and should be moved but the problem is that you get nothing for them in return. I have really enjoyed watching Justin Morneau over the years, just like I did Michael Cuddyer but he needs to be moved to give him a chance to play for a contender and the Twins must find out if Chris Parmelee is the Twins first baseman of the future. The Twins should eat some of Morneau's salary and move him for the best prospect(s) they can get. If they don't move him they have to pay him anyway and they will get no prospect at all. The most talk about a Twins player being traded has been about closer Glen Perkins. I would hate to lose Perkins but I would trade him if an offer of a top-notch prospect was presented. I am not talking a prospect playing in low A ball, I am talking a serious prospect that can help this team this year or next year. The Twins have always found closers and they will find another to replace Perkins. The Oakland A's have done this for years and it has worked for them, it should work here too. That brings us to the manager, Ron Gardenhire. I have always liked Gardy as a manager and still do. Who doesn't like Gardy, he is an easy guy to like and he has been here forever and has won almost 1,000 games. Gardy isn't the one losing these games, the Twins players are, but still, things seemed to have gotten stale here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and sometimes changes are necessary. If Gardy gets fired he will be managing another team next year or the year after for sure, but who should replace him? There is no one on the current coaching staff that seems to fit the bill. A number of people have mentioned Paul Molitor as a possibility but I don't see that happening. The Twins said that Molitor was not a good fit to join the coaching staff and some said it was because he would put too much pressure on Gardy who is managing in the last year of his contract. I don't think that is the reason at all, I think there are several reasons. First of all Molitor has absolutely no managing experience and no coaching experience to speak of. Next, Molitor has some baggage in his personal life that he brings from his playing days that does not excite the Twins organization very much and does not fit their mold of someone they would like to see lead their young players. Finally Molitor's personality is not going to excite the Twins fan base, I know he is from St. Paul but his personality is more like TK's then it is Gardenhire's. Great players seldom make good managers. The Twins will probably let Gardenhire's contract expire after the season ends and that is not what I though would happen just a few months ago but things change. The Twins need to reinvigorate their fan base after three losing seasons in a row and the promise of prospects in the pipeline alone isn't going to put fans in the seats at Target Field, the fans need to see the Twins organization make some serious changes that are visible and at least show the fans that they are trying to make this team better. Just talking a good story doesn't do it any more, we Twins fans need to see some action. One more thing before I wrap up this blog today. Joe Vavra was the Twins hitting coach from 2006 through 2012 but was reassigned after last season. During Vavra's tenure in Minnesota, the Twins have consistently ranked among the best in the league for both individual and team hitting stats. Former Twins player Tom Brunansky was named the Twins hitting coach after last season. Over the last few years the fans have clamoured for Vavra to be let go and finally Terry Ryan made it a reality after the 2012 season. So what did that change do for the Twins? The team is hitting worse than ever and yet I have not heard a single utterance of getting rid of Brunansky. So why is no one complaining about the job that Bruno is doing as the hitting coach for a team that claims that they are only interested in results? I am not saying he should be fired, I am just wondering why Brunansky seems to have that Teflon armour surrounding him.

Originally posted at http://wp.me/p1YQUj-2id [ATTACH=CONFIG]4587[/ATTACH] The Twins drafted me in the first round (third overall) out of St. Anthony's High School in 1987. I made my major league debut with the Twins on July 31, 1991 at Yankee Stadium in relief and pitched 2 innings. I pitched for the Twins from 1991-1993 before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. During my time in Minnesota I had a 16-17 record with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. In 259.2 innings I struck out 191 batters and I issued a free pass to 127 hitters. I pitched in 52 games for the Twins and started 45 of them but I had no complete games. One game in particular stands out during my time in Minnesota. On August 14, 1993 in the first game of a double-header at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum I threw 151 pitches during my 8 innings on the mound and I left the game with the score knotted at 1-1. The Twins scored 4 runs in the top of the 12th inning and won the game 5-1. Larry Casian pitched the final 4 innings of relief throwing just 53 pitches and was credited with the win, it just doesn't seem fair does it? Since Baseball-Reference.com starting keeping track of pitch counts in 1988 no Twins pitcher has thrown more pitches in a game then I did on this day. Do you remember me?

Posted earlier at This Day in Twins History ? June 24 | Twinstrivia.com 6/24/1955 - Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league homer, off Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators 18-7. Here is what dcbaseballhistory.com wrote about this highlite - "The visiting Tigers pounce to a 13-0 lead in the top of the 5th, when 3B Harmon Killebrew boots a grounder. In the bottom of the frame, Killebrew would bat and work a 2-2 count against Detroit southpaw Billy Hoeft. Tigers catcher Frank House tells Killebrew that Hoeft’s next offering would be a fastball. Hoeft delivered that fastball and Killebrew rocketed the ball out of the park for his first major league home run. Killebrew would later say that, of all the home runs he hit at Griffith Stadium, the home run off Hoeft was the longest he ever hit in Griffith." 6/24/1968 - In a one game series, the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in County Stadium in Milwaukee in a game called after 5 innings due to rain. The reason the game was played in Milwaukee was that in 1968, Bud Selig, a former minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves who had been unable to stop the relocation of his team three years earlier, contracted with the Allyn brothers who owned the White Sox to host nine home games (one against each of the other American League clubs) at Milwaukee County Stadium as part of an attempt to attract an expansion franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Frank Jackson of The Hardball Times did a nice blog earlier this year on the Milwaukee White Sox that is well worth your read. 6/24/1977 - Ralph Garr of the White Sox homered off Minnesota’s Paul Thormodsgard in Minneapolis. It came in the third inning with two men on and no one out. Jim Essian, the runner on first, thought the ball might be caught by the Twins’ right fielder, Dan Ford, so he retreated towards first base. Garr was watching the flight of the ball and passed Essian after rounding the bag. He was credited with a single and two runs batted in. 6/24/1984 - 2B Tim Teufel gives the Twins a 3-2 win over the White Sox with a three-run inside-the-park walk off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth at the Metrodome. 6/24/1989 - Twins outfielder John Moses is asked to pitch at Fenway Park in an 11-2 loss to the Red Sox. John threw one scoreless inning giving up a walk but only faced 3 batters with the team turned a double play behind him. John is the fourth Twins position player to pitch and this is the fifth occurrence of a Twins position player pitching for the Twins.

Posted earlier at This Day in Twins History ? June 24 | Twinstrivia.com 6/24/1955 - Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league homer, off Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators 18-7. Here is what dcbaseballhistory.com wrote about this highlite - "The visiting Tigers pounce to a 13-0 lead in the top of the 5th, when 3B Harmon Killebrew boots a grounder. In the bottom of the frame, Killebrew would bat and work a 2-2 count against Detroit southpaw Billy Hoeft. Tigers catcher Frank House tells Killebrew that Hoeft’s next offering would be a fastball. Hoeft delivered that fastball and Killebrew rocketed the ball out of the park for his first major league home run. Killebrew would later say that, of all the home runs he hit at Griffith Stadium, the home run off Hoeft was the longest he ever hit in Griffith." 6/24/1968 - In a one game series, the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in County Stadium in Milwaukee in a game called after 5 innings due to rain. The reason the game was played in Milwaukee was that in 1968, Bud Selig, a former minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves who had been unable to stop the relocation of his team three years earlier, contracted with the Allyn brothers who owned the White Sox to host nine home games (one against each of the other American League clubs) at Milwaukee County Stadium as part of an attempt to attract an expansion franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Frank Jackson of The Hardball Times did a nice blog earlier this year on the Milwaukee White Sox that is well worth your read. 6/24/1977 - Ralph Garr of the White Sox homered off Minnesota’s Paul Thormodsgard in Minneapolis. It came in the third inning with two men on and no one out. Jim Essian, the runner on first, thought the ball might be caught by the Twins’ right fielder, Dan Ford, so he retreated towards first base. Garr was watching the flight of the ball and passed Essian after rounding the bag. He was credited with a single and two runs batted in. 6/24/1984 - 2B Tim Teufel gives the Twins a 3-2 win over the White Sox with a three-run inside-the-park walk off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth at the Metrodome. 6/24/1989 - Twins outfielder John Moses is asked to pitch at Fenway Park in an 11-2 loss to the Red Sox. John threw one scoreless inning giving up a walk but only faced 3 batters with the team turned a double play behind him. John is the fourth Twins position player to pitch and this is the fifth occurrence of a Twins position player pitching for the Twins.

Who was the first Twins player to pinch-hit a home run? How about the first walk-off home run? It happened on this day in 1961 and you can read all about it at This Day in Twins History ? June 20, 1961 | Twinstrivia.com .

Great, can't wait to see what Max can accomplish in Cedar Rapids.

Originally posted at 2013 Twins draft summary | Twinstrivia.com [ATTACH=CONFIG]4464[/ATTACH] Each year after the June amateur draft is completed I try to put together a draft summary that shows at a quick glance how the Twins drafted. The Twins first pick (fourth over-all) this year is RHP Kohl Stewart from Houston, Texas St. Pius High School. Stewart is a consensus four-star prospect as a quarterback and has a football scholarship waiting for him at Texas A&M. But according to numerous reports Stewart feels that his future is with baseball and he is expected to sign with the Twins in the next few days. Several reports have Stewart as "the highest ceiling pitcher" in this years draft. Keith Law, ESPN states that: "He hit 96 mph and sat 92-94 consistently, showing a plus slider at 85-88, a hard curveball at 79-82, and even a few change-ups at 83-84 with decent arm speed." With their second pick the Twins continued taking pitching and selected RHP Ryan Eades from LSU. When the smoke cleared after three days of drafting the Twins had selected 40 players and will probably sign about 30 of them. Between 1998 and 2009 the Twins signed an average of 23.41 drafted players per year but between 2010 and 2012 they signed an average of 30.33 drafted players per year so it looks like the team realized they need to bring new blood into the organization the last few years. Although the Twins history in drafting pitching is atrocious, that does not stop them from trying and this year they used 24 of their 40 picks on pitchers. Seven are lefties and 17 throw from the right side. Based on the Twins drafting history, I think I might have a better chance of winning the Powerball then the Twins do of drafting an "ace" pitcher but you have to give them credit for trying. It will only cost me $2 to try to win the Powerball but the Twins will have to shell out about $4.5 million this year to see if they hit the jackpot with Kohl Stewart. The Twins drafted zero first baseman this year. If you are a first baseman and looking to be drafted, you don't want the Twins to select you because since 1990 the Twins have drafted and signed only three first baseman that have worked their way up the minor league ladder to wear a Twins uniform. In 1999 the Twins selected Terry Tiffee in round 26 and he played in just 17 games at 1B for Minnesota. In 1995 the Twins picked Doug Mientkiewicz in the fifth round and he played first base in 628 games as a Twin. In 1991 the Twins used their first pick to select Dave McCarty and he played a total of 86 games at first base for Tom Kelly before he was sent packing. Previous to that you had first baseman like Dan Masteller and Steve Dunn. You have to go all the way back to 1978 when the Twins took Minnesota native Kent Hrbek in round 17 to find a top-notch first baseman that the Twins drafted. For those of you wondering about Justin Morneau, he was drafted in round 3 in 1999 but he was drafted as a catcher. It seems a lot easier for the Twins just to "create" first baseman from players that fail to meet expectations at other positions or when size or age catches up with them rather then waste a draft choice trying to find one. Twins 2013 draft [TABLE=class: easy-table-creator tablesorter mceItemTable, width: 100%] [TH=align: center]Position[/TH] [TH=align: center]College[/TH] [TH=align: center]High School[/TH] [TH=align: center]Bats Right[/TH] [TH=align: center]Bats Left[/TH] [TH=align: center]Switch Hitter[/TH] [TH=align: center]LHP[/TH] [TH=align: center]RHP[/TH] [TD=align: center]C[/TD] [TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]1B[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]2B[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]SS[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]3B[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]OF[/TD] [TD=align: center]6[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]5[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]P[/TD] [TD=align: center]17[/TD] [TD=align: center]7[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]n/a[/TD] [TD=align: center]7[/TD] [TD=align: center]17[/TD] [TD=align: center]Totals[/TD] [TD=align: center]30 (75%)[/TD] [TD=align: center]10 (25%)[/TD] [TD=align: center]10[/TD] [TD=align: center]6[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]7[/TD] [TD=align: center]17[/TD] [/TABLE] [ATTACH=CONFIG]4463[/ATTACH] According to Baseball America, the Minnesota Twins 1989 draft is rated in the top ten drafts that any team has ever had. That year the Twins drafted two AL Rookies of the Year in Chuck Knoblauch (first round) and Marty Cordova (tenth) as well as two 20-game winners in Denny Neagle (third) and Scott Erickson (fourth). And 52nd-rounder Denny Hocking—drafted as a catcher— became one of the lowest-drafted players to reach the majors. What team had the best draft ever? To find out, you need to check out a great piece called "The History and Future of the Amateur Draft" by John Manuel on the SABR site that I know you will enjoy if you have any interest in the draft process at all.

Many of us that watch the Twins day in and day out complain about the number of hits that the Twins pitchers allow and bemoan the Twins so-called pitching philosophy of "pitch to contact". The baseball glossary defines "pitch to contact" as "a pitcher who doesn't try to strike out batters but instead tries to get them to hit the ball weakly, especially on the ground". Pitch to contact is probably not the preferred Twins method but you have to work with what you have and the Twins just don't have the strikeout type pitchers right now but they have had some over the years and here are some of the best. You can check out the entire blog at Pitch to contact was not in their vocabulary | Twinstrivia.com