Vanimal46

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. The fun in this for me is learning more about baseball history as well as Twins history. For example, I had to re-start the game because I did not realize that the amateur draft did not begin until 1965!

In my fantasy world, Pedro Ramos is still with the Twins in 1962 and Vic Power was selected by the Mets in the expansion draft. What was the real story of Pedro Ramos at the time?

All I'm doing is historical rosters and up to date minor league teams up to 1961. Then letting the game do its thing after that. As a modern day fan since 1998, I've got to say the most difficult part of playing in the 60's era is not making a lot of trades. I'm trying to stay true to the era and not turn over the roster that way.

I also found a good way to hide some Easter eggs in this series. Meet the newest owner of the Houston Colt .45's! @ashbury @USAFChief I think I did a decent job matching his personality to the real deal Though the Chief I know won't be demanding a top 4 farm system!

Introduction of the series here The 1961 season was a bit of a rollercoaster for the team, finishing with a record of 79-83 and landing in 8th place in the AL. The World Series saw the Los Angeles Dodgers triumph over the Chicago White Sox in a thrilling 4-3 series victory. In terms of transactions over the course of the 1961 season, there were none worth noting. Despite the temptation to sign young free agents like 17-year-old Sandy Alomar, the decision was made to stick with the existing roster, following a mandate from owner Clark Griffith to give the group another shot before making major changes. The All-Star lineup featured 1B/3B Harmon Killebrew and C Earl Battey, but SP Camilo Pascual had a somewhat disappointing season compared to his previous All-Star performances. The bullpen struggled, and down in the minors, LF/RF Tony Oliva showcased impressive stats, potentially earning a spot in Minnesota next season. Moving into the 1961-1962 offseason, notable changes were on the horizon with NL expansion and both leagues adopting the 162-game schedule. The Houston Colt .45s and New York Mets joined the league, and an expansion draft in November resulted in the loss of RP Bob Porterfield to the Mets and LF Joe Altoberry to Houston. The managerial reins were handed over to Sam Mele, who brought in an entirely new coaching staff to mesh with the team. The offseason also saw the team acquiring RP Bill Fischer from Detroit and C Hobie Landrith from San Francisco in the free agency market. In the Rule 5 draft, the team selected 22-year-old knuckleballer Phil Niekro and 23-year-old CF Mack Jones, while losing pitchers Gerry Arrigo and Joe Bonikowski to other teams. The Hall of Fame welcomed starting pitchers Hal Newhouser and Bob Feller in 1962. The offseason proved to be a mix of changes and additions, setting the stage for what will hopefully be a more promising season ahead. Will this be the year that Tony Oliva makes himself a household name in MLB? I will check in next time in 1965, when MLB implements the amateur draft! In the meantime, here is a quick glance at the team heading into the 1962 season. We have tough competition to win the AL, Hopefully with a revamped bullpen, a bounce back season from Pascual, and 3 solid prospects ready to contribute at Metropolitan Stadium, we surprise some people.

You're still a young pup compared to @USAFChief . The furthest you can go back for a player's birthday is 1901 so I couldn't put him in there as an Easter egg for the series!

Per Seth Stohs on Twitter, here are the minor leaguers who elected FA: Batters: Catchers Jeferson Morales, Tony Wolters, Mark Kolozsvary, David Banuelos. IF Elliot Soto, Hernan Perez. Pitchers: LHP Gabriel Yanez, Sam Perez, Michael Boyle RHP Blayne Enlow, Patrick Murphy, Austin Brice, Carlos Luna, Curtis Taylor, Christopher Dishmey, Zaquiel Puentes, Francis Peguero, Alex Scherff, Isaac Mattson

The Twins need a GM who can hang around for the long haul. Our team trainer said he has impeccable genetics to make it to 100 years old! My plan is to make a new blog post once I sim through each decade. Is there anyone from the 1960s that you’re curious about?

Entering spring training of 1961, and Minnesotans are getting excited to see their new team! It looks like the Twins might be a good team right away according to the projections.

As the crack of the bat fades away and the echo of cheering crowds subsides, the hallowed fields of baseball fall silent, marking the end of another thrilling season. As the final out is recorded and the last pitch is thrown, a hush descends over the diamond, signaling the inevitable transition from the sun-soaked days of summer to the crisp embrace of winter.* Since winter is upon us, and I still have the itch for baseball, I decided to try something new... Out of the Park Baseball has a mode in their game to play historical seasons, and over the course of the winter I will be simulating the game starting from 1961 to see if I can win more than 2 World Series titles. Let's begin this series by introducing the team! *Wow, ChatGPT is such a romantic. The 1961 Twins are led by a young core of Killebrew, Battey, and Allison. With a couple of young guns waiting for their chance in AAA like Tony Oliva, Rich Rollins, and Don Mincher. Working with team owner Calvin Griffith is not going to be an easy task. So we hired a spry 40 year old with a lot of close, personal friends to overcome this challenge. The season is about to get under way. Can Hartman lead this newly relocated team to the promised land? Who should we keep an eye out for in the coming years?

$17 million is what Bellinger got from arbitration in 2022 and the Cubs matched it. If Hoskins is getting $15-18 million the mid market teams are in big trouble this winter.

If you don't hold me to my first draft of the blueprint, I will do the same for you

Ron Washington hired to coach the Angels. Old friends Chili Davis and Torii Hunter join his staff.

$17 million feels like an aggressive increase for someone who sat out all of the 2023 season with a torn ACL. His 2023 arbitration salary was $12 million.

What is the over/under wins on that team in your opinion? I'd put it at 82.5

That's a nice timeline. Yes, I'm sure the budget was a consideration during the season. However... 9. August 28, 2023 - The Twins submit waiver claims for Matt Moore, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez. Waiver claim was denied due to a team with a worse record submitting a claim. 10. August 31, 2023 - The Guardians claim 3 pitchers. They were still willing to take on $4-5 million more last year to push for the playoffs.

The guaranteed contract number you mentioned does not include arbitration contracts or pre-arbitration contracts. If we tender everyone in arbitration, plus the league minimum contracts, we are sitting at $119 million and change. If the payroll range is $125-140, that's $20 to work with to find a Sonny Gray replacement and find a CF who can play more often than not.

This should happen regardless of what happens to the payroll. It's easier to find someone who can play 3B well vs. someone who can play CF well. Both Lewis and Austin Martin should be training in the OF this offseason.

Whelp, the payroll reduction news certainly put a damper on this topic. If Giolito is projected to get $12 million, then we might as well sit out free agency and just try to make a trade or two. Some of the guys in the "just right" category will now put the team at the very high end of their budget or above.

This is not surprising news, but still disappointing to hear. The successful playoff run should easily cover the losses from the previous TV contract and the new one. I get it though... The Pohlads have always ran the Twins as a year over year business, so the playoff money means nothing to them when planning for 2024. As far as your 6 points John, I mentally said good bye to Sonny Gray the second the season ended. It felt like a 1% chance he was coming back before the payroll reduction was announced. I still think they need to keep one of Polanco and Farmer. Farmer has more versatility in the IF at this point in their careers... I think we may need to prepare to say goodbye to Polanco, not Farmer. Your final paragraph in point #6 can't be emphasized enough.

Not surprising, but still disappointing nonetheless.

I imagine it's all systems go to do a re-tool on the fly. Just going off of the top prospects on Brewer Fanatic I don't know what they want in a trade... 3 out of their top 7 prospects are SP in the upper minors. Would they be interested in someone from our lower levels like CJ Culpepper or Cory Lewis?

Nice work! A common theme I'm seeing as people make their plans, is the Twins can go with quality over quantity this year with the budget. We don't need to stretch the $40 million to sign 8-9 players this year.

Agreed. There are more impact SP available than impact bats in this FA class. If the bidding for Bellinger gets out of hand, then we should pivot to the SP free agents. I think the Twins' best chance at landing Bellinger is if they make an aggressive offer right away in the offseason. The big players will be busy making their bids for Ohtani. Bellinger may choose to wait for Ohtani to set the market, and the other teams who lost on Ohtani to bid on him.

Tough call there. If $200 million is the number he’s seeking, the Twins would have to stretch the term length in that contract to at least 9 or 10 years.