nclahammer

Minnesota Twins- As many of you might know today is earth day and the twins just won a major award for earth day known as the green glove which means the most waste diversion in 2026! Target field is a great eco friendly environment with great features including Pentair which contains recycled water from underneath the grass in the outfield! The twins are one of the best eco friendly and community innovative teams within all of north American sports this is a really cool award and a good initiative for Major League Baseball! They were also named a Community Impact Finalist and a Environmental Stewardship Finalist. Great news for the twins and great imitative for sports to help take care of the place we call home! Down below our some stats for the MLB season about environmental factors.
Donated 180 tons of excess food, providing 300,575 meals to local communities.
Recycled 2,447 tons of cardboard, the same weight as almost 16 million baseballs.
Diverted 10,932 tons of recyclable materials from landfill, the same weight as almost 729,000 World Series trophies.
Composted over 9,200 tons of organic materials, the same weight as almost 14 million baseball gloves.

The majority of Twins fans are treating the ownership as the bogeyman for the team’s demise, I’m here to pass the blame to the person who is most deserving of that title.
The Twins signed Carlos Correa to a “pillow” contract in March 2022 for $105,300,00 over 3 years which paid him $35,100,000 for 2022. In the 4 years prior to free agency Correa had a 2.9 WAR in 110 games, 3.8 WAR for 75 games, 1.6 WAR for 58 games and 7.3 WAR for 148 games. No question that he had a career year at the perfect time for reaching free agency both for on-field performance and player health.
The Twins had never been a player in free agency, but when Correa became available for short-term money the Twins decided that here was their opportunity for relevance. As happened in 2021, Correa had another career year with a 5.3 WAR for 136 games. Because of opt outs Correa decided to re-enter the free agency market where he found 2 teams willing to give huge contracts for crazy years. The problem for Correa became his medicals. Both the Giants and Mets rescinded their offer when their team physicians had found issues with his feet that they felt would cause the contract not to age well. Re-enter the Twins with a shorter term contract for similar annual salary. Their medical people gave their blessing to the term of the guaranteed years and the Twins resigned him thinking that had pulled off a heist of epic proportion. Well I don’t have to remind you of the results after this signing; in 2023 he had a 1.3 WAR in 135 games, in 2024 a 3.7 WAR but in 87 games and in 2025 a 0.1 WAR in 93 games before being traded. It looks like he is a better player in his contract year.
Now onto the blame game. For the initial signing, Derek Falvey was able to convince Twins ownership that this was a deal that would give credibility to the franchise and was worth the 1 year investment. With the promise of a surge in attendance and playoff money, ownership agreed. The business had started accumulating debt and a successful season on the field was the most painless way of addressing their growing liabilities on the balance sheet.
After a 7.3 WAR Correa was certainly worth $35M per year and with the opt outs, he was obviously going to re-enter the free agent market if he had a decent year. Well he had a 5.3 WAR year and filed for free agency after the 2022 season. When the market dried up and the news of medical issues became public and with many big market teams already having an elite player at shortstop, the Twins had another opportunity to resign an elite player for about the same pay but with fewer years than others offered. Somehow ownership again agreed to take on the financial burden.
In 2023 the Twins had their greatest success in recent memory. They finished 1st in the Central Division with a 87–75 record and swept the Blue Jays in the Wild Card round, before finally losing 3-1 in the ALDS. At this time the farm system was ready to produce and there were some attractive players who had reached free agency. Instead of: 1) signing a player to fill-in gaps through free agency, or 2) trading prospects for established major leaguers, ownership on a $30M cut from the salary budget.
Apparently at this time the Pohlad’s re-examined their finances and, in spite of logic telling them they needed to further invest, they had to revert back to pre-Correa payroll.
I don’t think that it was a coincidence that the $30M of decrease in budget was just about Correa’s salary. While we may blame ownership for reducing the payroll, I’m placing the blame totally with Derek Falvey for making the signing in the first place. A team without Correa at shortstop could have fared very well, especially if they were able to invest $10M of that $30M on player acquisitions. Instead he bet on Correa being at his prime.
My feeling is that Derek Falvey should have faced the guillotine rather than Rocco (which even he admitted) or Joe Pohlad.
Falvey has a monopoly of control and whether it is controlling the business side of the organization, or through pre-game meetings with his manager to give his opinion on decisions that should be made by his manager, he has authority well beyond his capabilities. Until the business model is redefined where the ownership gives Falvey the money for groceries, he does the shopping and the manager decides what to cook, the franchise will continue resting near the bottom of the standings.
The best solution is to get rid of Falvey.

Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were brought on board to head the Twins front office in late 2016.  We have nearly a decade of drafts to look at now.  What might have happened under other leadership? 
I took a look at the first rounders picked by the Twins 2017-25 and then checked which player was taken next.  That's hardly an infallible way to look at it, but resembles a kind of "crowd sourcing" among the dozen or so other GMs in the majors during the same era as to how it might have gone had they been drafting in the Twins place.  And it attempts to avoid cherry-picking of one hypothetical outcome or another way, way down the draft list, where multiple other teams whiffed too. 
I've opted to omit the 2024-25 drafts since it's way too soon to evaluate them, but for the rest I show the bWAR career totals side by side:
2023    Walker Jenkins  0.0     As      Jacob Wilson    2.2
2023    Charlee Soto    0.0     Marlins Thomas White    0.0
2022    Brooks Lee      -0.8    Royals  Gavin Cross     0.0
2021    Chase Petty     -0.8    Padres  Jackson Merrill 6.1
2021    Noah Miller     0.0     Pirates Anthony Solometo        0.0
2020    Aaron Sabato    0.0     Yanks   Austin Wells    2.6
2019    Keoni Cavaco    0.0     Phils   Bryson Stott    9.4
2019    Matt Wallner    4.9     Rays    Seth Johnson    -0.4
2018    Trevor Larnach  3.6     Brewers Brice Turang    11.5
2017    Royce Lewis     4.0     Red     Hunter Greene   12.4
2017    Brent Rooker    8.9     Marlins Brian Miller    -0.1
Each one is worth discussing, which I'll do from the bottom up.  Rooker of course is a very interesting case, and he has turned himself into a quality major league hitter after two other organizations after the Twins gave up on him too.  He was a throw-in on the trade that brought us Paddack and Pagan, so even though we didn't reap his full potential by a long shot, at least we cashed him in for something and the next team who was drafting wound up with nothing to speak of.  Advantage: FalVine.
Royce Lewis is maybe even more interesting.  We coulda had Greene, and instead got a player whose potential seems to have been decimated by injury.  Advantage: not Falvine.
Larnach?  He's been okay.  The next guy in line has been a whole lot better so far. Advantage: not FalVine. 
Wallner.  He's been somewhat better than Larnach. The Rays didn't do nearly as well  Advantage: FalVine.
Cavaco. Oh boy.  Coulda had a major leaguer.  Advantage: not FalVine.
Sabato.  Oh boy.  Coulda had a major leaguer - could we use an additional catcher right now?  Advantage: not FalVine.
Miller.  He's knocking on the major league door with the Dodgers; we traded him for the unique athletic stylings of Manuel Margot. The next guy drafted hasn't panned out yet, although he still might.  I'll try not to hold Margot against Miller personally - whether foolishly or not, the Twins cashed Miller in for something.  Advantage (ever so slightly): FalVine.
Petty.  Another interesting case.  We cashed him in for two years of Sonny Gray.  But, but, but, the Padres have Merrill and will continue to have him for many years, per contract.  I don't think the Padres would make that same trade.  Advantage: not FalVine.
Lee.  The current WAR is ugly, but it's reasonable to think he'll continue to have a major league career - by my recollection, it was considered an 8-player draft and the Twins were choosing #8, but give them credit for not overthinking it.  The next guy drafted looks like he's not gonna make it.  Advantage: FalVine.
Soto.  This is a comparison of two high-school pitchers, so it's way premature.  The other guy has displayed more health/endurance so far, and with good ERAs - he's reached AA at age 20 and not yet missed a beat.  Advantage: I'm gonna call this a 'push' for the time being but the tea leaves are currently pointing in the wrong direction.
Jenkins.  The big kahuna, and the reason I drew the line at the 2023 draft when it's obviously premature.  It's interesting because the next guy drafted has reached the majors and is doing very well.  Do the Twins now regret choosing Jenkins?  I would doubt it - his ceiling is sky high.  Would the As have chosen differently than the Twins did, back in 2023?  I also doubt it - this was considered a 5-player draft and the Twins were choosing #5.  With all things considered, I'm going to maybe be controversial and not call it too soon to tell.  Advantage: a push - the Twins simply did what was expected and (arguably) did what any FO would have done.
So, count them up.  Of the 11 picks, I give FalVine the edge on 4, I call it a push on 2, and it's a worse outcome on 5.
But I think that a simple count understates it.  Which would you rather have right now?
Merrill, Wells, Stott, Turang, Greene? Lee, Gray (suppose we would have extended him), Wallner, Larnach, Lewis? Oof.  Going by WAR for 2025 all by itself (it's anyone's guess going forward), I'd have to say: Not An Impressive Body Of Work.
I want a 11 Do-Overs.  😀

Yesterday was a rough day for me. I have been fighting cancer for 5 years and this spring it had metastasized. I continue to fight every day. Up at 4:30 to do my stretch, strength and balance work followed by a 5 mile run. With that fight I feel pretty good and have a high energy level in spite of all the meds. Baseball helps keep me going. There are still many more games ahead of me and they matter so much more than a championship. That final Twins trade of Varland set off a trigger in me. We had Varland through 2030. While at a large family gathering as the news kept rolling that 2030 hit hard. The odds are against me that I will be around in 2030. Thinking of the Twins led me to thinking of my first grandchild due in January. I can handle missing the next championship but I got pretty choked at the thought of what I will miss with my granddaughter.
Byron, Ryan, Kody, Royce, Matt, Trevor, Brooks, Christian, DeShawn, Joe, Pablo, Bailey, Simeon, David, Zebby, Cole and Justin I appreciate your fight. No one can make it to the major leagues without fighting everyday. You have fought through slumps. You have fought through injury. We will need your fight more than ever now. To the rest putting on that Twins uniform. I appreciate you. You have fought hard for this opportunity. Use this opportunity to make your mark in the major leagues. Fight to get better every day.
Mr. Falvey and Mr. Baldelli I need you to put up a fight. Make every day matter. Make every game matter. I am counting on you. To the Pohlad’s, you have stopped fighting. This is a concept that I can’t grasp. Every day I wake up excited to take on the day and fight for the next. You wake up every day as owners of a Major League Baseball team. How can you not be driven to fight for their success? I don’t get it. I do appreciate what Carl did for this franchise and what your family did for the community but you have stopped fighting. Please step aside and let someone else lead this franchise.
We need a fighter because every day and every game matters. I will be watching.

Shohei Ohtani is the number one talent in MLB and will be as long as his body does not fall apart – Last year he had 59 SB and 54 HRs – and he batted 310.  He had 9.1 WAR.  In 7 years he has maintained a 282 BA, and in seven years he has accumulated 43.8 WAR.  Plus what gets him on this list is that he was a two way players – a Pitcher (not last year) and a Hitter.  And his pitching stats are 38 – 19 with a 3.01 era.  Not the greatest pitcher, but ready to be number one on 2/3rd of the teams.  So is he the best?
Well there is another guy that seems to have made a name for himself – even a candy bar.  Babe Ruth with 182.6 WAR – Shohei has a ways to go here.  714 HRs, and he had 123 SB – although that was not his forte’.  His career slugging was 690. Shohei had a monster year last year and had a 646 Slugging.  And that Ruth guy could pitch too – which he did in 10 years – he did not want to pitch more but he could have.  His record was 94 – 46 with a 2.28 era.  So beyond recency bias how does Shohei rank number one in this rare category?
And then there is a third entry into this list – a man who went 34 – 5 in one season, then had his arm go dead so he switched to the OF.  Smoky Joe Wood was not in the same category as Ruth and Ohtani, but he did gain 40.2 WAR.  117 – 57 2.03 are pretty dramatic numbers, and a 283/357/411 slash line is not a bad one.
That is the end of that list but as I tossed in bed with a brain that would not stop I then though there are other means to go two ways:
Bo Jackson – played 8 years of major league ball.  He only accumulated 8.3 WAR but for four years he was mister excitement, but the trouble was he was doubling up with professional football and those four seasons with the Raiders injured him too much for either sport.
Deion Sanders was another NFL/MLB cross over.   His 5.5 WAR over 9 years tells you he was not a star in MLB, but he was HOF in NFL and had one really exciting season in the majors.
Looking at cross overs I have to rate Jim Thorpe the best – Olympic Champion in multiple events, in six years in the majors his line was 252/286/362 – not exactly all-star.  But in the NFL he was named on the 1920s Hall of Fame team.  
One MLB/NBA cross over was Gene Conely who played for the Milwaukee Braves and the Boston Celtic.  91 – 96 career on the mound 3.82 era.  No one knew how to deal with such a tall pitcher in those days.  He played 6 years in the NBA, but took off six to concentrate on BB.  He averaged 5.9 points and 6.3 rebounds as a power forward. 
Danny Ainge played in Toronto three seasons and accumulated a -2.0 WAR – not a star.  But in over 1000 games in the NBA he averaged 11.6 points per game
But crossing over is not easy – ask Michael Jordan.
I tried looking at other sports and HOF John Smoltz also was a pro golfer and was in nine tournaments.
In Hockey Smoltz teammate Tom Glavine played Hockey before BB but not the NHL although he was drafted by the LA Kings.
Justin Morneau  only played in a single exhibition game, playing for the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL in 1997.  And luckily for the Twins turned to BB. 
But there was actually one player who was both professional baseball and hockey - James Riley is the first player to ever play both professional baseball and professional hockey. He played 17 games in the NHL, 90 games in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and won the Stanley Cup with the Seattle Metropolitans in 1917. In addition, Riley played professional baseball for small parts of twelve seasons, from 1921 to 1932, with the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators.
That is as far as I can go – football was always a two way sport up through Chuck Bednarik of the Eagles so now they are considering some two way players again, but it is not as dramatic as baseballs.  And naturally NFL has many kickers who have been pro soccer players. 
We know many of these athletes had skills that could have led to other sports, but it was always considered better to concentrate on one sport or one skill.  In baseball there might have been other pitcher/batters if the DH had existed.  Bullet Joe Bush hit .325 in 1921 and .326  - 1922 and 339 -1924. For his career a 253 average.   Wes Ferrell would have been a better example.  He was often a pinch hitter as well as batting in his own starts - His 38 career home runs are the all-time record for a pitcher (not named Ohtani). two seasons with an OPS better than .950, and two more above .800. He also won 193 games in a 15-year career.

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

By now I'd imagine all of you know who David Festa is, top pitching prospect last year who got called up mid-season to fill the void Chris Paddack left after having yet another season ending injury. His results were middling and some of his underlying metrics don't impress but I'm here to convince you to buy in on a breakout next year (hence the article's name) so let's get right into it! Starting off, Festa's whopping 31.7% chase rate, 28.2% whiff rate and 27.8 K% all are well above league average bordering on elite, now why is he getting this crazy kind of chase and whiff rates? Well dear viewer, it all comes down to the pitch mix and Festa's certainly is set to impress. Festa relies on a 3 pitch mix, Fastball-Slider-Changeup in order from most to least used, a deceivingly simple set of offerings that when you dive into it there's a lot to love.
Year Pitch Type # # RHB # LHB % MPH PA AB H 1B 2B 3B HR SO BBE BA XBA SLG XSLG WOBA XWOBA EV LA Spin Ext. Whiff% PutAway% 2024 Four Seamer 442 242 200 40.2 94.7 93 79 24 13 7 0 4 23 56 .304 .274 .544 .505 .410 .384 91.3 18 2349 7.0 18.9 21.3 2024 Slider 349 244 105 31.8 86.1 97 92 19 13 3 2 1 26 66 .207 .243 .315 .399 .246 .294 90.2 13 2564 6.8 29.1 20.2 2024 Changeup 308 116 192 28.0 88.4 87 80 19 10 4 1 4 28 53 .238 .211 .463 .332 .319 .263 85.9 13 1839 6.8 39.4 23.0 Displayed above is the pitch tracking data for Festa's 2024 season (praise be to Baseball Savant), if you look at pitch velocity or induced break (image attached) Festa's offerings look pretty average, but look to the Changeup and Slider's whiff rate. 39.4% and 29.1% is absolutely nuts and while the Changeup was hit hard on the very rare occasion someone put their bat to it those two pitches have been amazing at generating swing and miss leading to the really impressive strikeout numbers. The Fastball grades out well with above average ride but has been hit pretty hard and has by far been his least effective pitch so far, Festa's biggest issue though throughout his career has always been the control leading to too many walks and ballooning pitch counts, but I'm happy to report that this issue has gradually been decreasing across his time in the Twins organization to the point he was about league average in walks during his time with the Twins this season
Year Lg IP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W 2021 Rk,A 8.1 0.840 3.2 0.0 4.3 13.0 3.00 2022 A+,A 103.2 1.090 6.9 0.5 3.0 9.4 3.18 2023 AA,AAA 92.1 1.386 8.4 0.9 4.1 11.6 2.83 2024 AAA 60.1 1.359 8.4 1.3 3.9 13.3 3.42 2024 AL 64.1 1.321 8.7 1.3 3.2 10.8 3.35 Now looking Festa's rate stats since he was drafted we see that his BB/9 and WHIP have gradually decreased (with a low spike in his breakout 2022) while strikeouts have been steadily climbing, all this is a recipe for success and as long as he can continue to reign in the control of his pitches more and continue to generate the swing and miss he has year after year.
Season GB % FB % LD % PU % Pull % Straight % Oppo % Weak % Topped % Under % Flare/Burner % Solid % Barrel % Barrel/PA 2024 36.6 25.1 29.7 8.6 40.0 37.1 22.9 4.0 28.0 25.1 26.9 7.4 8.6 5.4 MLB 44.4 23.8 24.7 7.1 37.2 37.5 25.2 3.9 32.6 24.8 24.4 5.9 7.0 4.8 Now it would be unfair of me to not talk about the issues with the long ball Festa has had to contend with in 2024. As you can see in the table above Festa is most definitely a fly ball pitcher (as are many of the Twins rotation) and that means when he gets hit hard, it can do big damage. Festa gave up more solid contact and barrels than average and that's definitely been a problem with his HR/9 jumping from .9 in 2023 to 1.3 through 2024 (across both MLB and AAA). However with the ability to miss bats and generate chases as much as Festa has this problem can be minimized, especially with an even small jump in control to help prevent his Fastball from being either really hittable or too far out of the zone.
 
All in all while Festa has shown some signs for concern there's so many of the building blocks of a top end starter there that I'm 100% on the hype train, and I hope I was able to convince you to have a bit of hope that the mythical Falvey pitching pipeline is finally bearing the fruit we all dreamed of back in 2016

Saint Paul, Minnesota – A wet Fourth of July in the Twin Cities caused the start of the game to be delayed by 90 minutes. The fans that stuck around got to see an interesting pitching strategy executed by the Saints. However, it would not matter as the Gwinnett Stripers built of Wednesday night. For the second straight night the Saints were destroyed. This time by a score of 11-0 in front of 8,295. The Saints dropped to 42-41 on the season and 4-5 in the second half.
You never know what you might see when you show up at the ballpark on any given day. Nacho Alvarez Jr. singled to center to start the game. Next, Drake Baldwin singled. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. struggled to pick up the ball in the wet outfield. That allowed Alvarez to score all the way from first. Louie Varland continued to struggle as the inning went on. Saints’ manager Toby Gardenhire went to the mound to make a unique defensive substitution. After a brief discussion with the umpires Gardenhire signaled for left-fielder Chris Williams, who would come onto pitch while Louie made the run to the outfield. Varland had 42 pitches through 0.2 innings. After last night the Saints bullpen was tired and the team could not afford a short outing from their starter. Williams got the Saints out of the inning when Luis Liberato flew out to right field. In the second, the Saints wanted to reverse the substitution and bring Varland back into pitch. However, the umpire crew insisted that Williams face a minimum of three batters even though he got out of the first inning. Gardenhire would argue, but that would do no good. The umpire crew made the decision and Williams was forced to face two more hitters. Sandy Leon walked and Skye Bolt singled. That was the end of the night on the mound for Williams. With Williams back in left field and Louie Varland back on the mound Alvarez was back at the plate for the Stripers. Alvarez hit a three-run homer to give Gwinnett a 4-0 lead. In the end, this move allowed Varland an opportunity to reset and stay in the game. However, this move costed the Saints the designated-hitter spot, which meant pitchers got the opportunity to take swings at the plate. The Saints would not get much more out of Varland. He worked 2.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits and threw 73 pitches. Varland left the game with his team down 4-0, but the other two runs were charged to Chris Williams.
If things were not bad already it really fell apart for Nick Wittgren and the Saints in the fourth. Wittgren worked 0.2 innings and allowed 6 runs. Jeff Brigham would come in and got out of the fourth inning. Gwinnett had a 10-0 lead after four. Brigham finally stopped the bleeding. He worked 2.1 innings and did not allow any runs.
Zach Logue dominated the Saints on Thursday night. Logue worked five innings and allowed no runs on five hits. He struck out five Saints batters and walked nobody. Along with the offensive fireworks put up by the Stripers the Saints stood no chance. Brooks Wilson came on and continued the Stripers domination of the Saints. The Stripers pitching staff did not walk a single batter all night.
Chris Williams had quite the night. He pitched and made the defensive play of the game. Back in the first inning, Williams robbed Chadwick Tromp of a homer. Williams timed his jump above the wall perfectly to bring the ball back into the park.
Payton Eeles made his AAA debut on Thursday. He went 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch. He tried to steal a base but was caught.
The Saints had to cancel the monster food truck rally post-game due to wet grounds; however, CHS Field would be one of the few places in the Twin Cities to still have Fourth of July fireworks.
The Gwinnett Stripers and Saint Paul Saints meet in game four of a six-game series on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from CHS Field. The Saints are TBA while the Stripers will send LHP Dylan Dodd (2-7, 4.74) to the mound. The game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.

The Twins had not played a series in Pittsburgh that fans could attend since April of 2018, with the last series the team played at PNC Park being a fanless two game series during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. The scheduling of this series on a weekend in early June at one of the best ballparks in the country allowed the opportunity for many Twins fans, this one included, to watch their team get shutout in a new and exciting destination!
My wife Sophie joined me on this trip and she got a nice (for me) or terrifying (for her) glimpse into our future when we were surrounded by scores of older, presumably retired couples wearing Twins gear at the gate awaiting our early Thursday morning flight to Pittsburgh. Our plans got pushed back a bit when our Delta gate agent got on the loudspeaker and asked for volunteers to take $500 per person to take a later flight. We were the first ones to take the offer and didn’t actually fly out until 12:30, but did so $1000 richer. Always take the extra pierogi money, friends. 
Neither of us had been to Pittsburgh before and while the trip was largely influenced by wanting to see the Twins play at PNC Park, I had heard from numerous people that Pittsburgh was a wildly underrated city and actually had a lot of appeal outside of the ballpark, and that proved to be true. 
The main things I knew about the city entering the weekend were that the local "Yinzers" speak with ridiculous accent, which had initially come to my attention during this sketch. I also knew that they liked to eat pierogies and sandwiches with fries on them. While all of those things were on display throughout the course of the weekend, we came to find that the city is also very picturesque. It was once the sixth largest city in the country which explains why it has such an impressive skyline for a city that currently only has about 300,000 people. It’s split up by the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers which meet to form the Ohio River, so you are never far from water or bridges and get some really great views.

When it comes to getting around town, the public transit options aren’t great. I would guess that’s largely due to the aforementioned rivers and bridges splitting up parts of the city and a lack of necessary connectedness, but Uber and Lyft were both pretty reliable. We took the bus from Lawrenceville, the neighborhood where we stayed, down to the Strip neighborhood and downtown a few times which was a good option for simple trips. The funicular at the Duquesne Incline was pretty cool too and only took about five minutes to ride to the top. Once you’re up there there are some great views (pictured above), especially at night, but not a whole lot to do except head back down. 
Pittsburgh is also the only sports market smart enough to have all of their professional teams wear the same colors. The Pirates, Steelers, Penguins, and even the Riverhounds in the USL, all don the black and gold. This results in a lot of cross-sport wearing of merchandise; for example there were a lot of Steelers shirts and jerseys at the Pirates game that didn’t look out of place. It seems like a great deal for fans; they can buy one black and gold shirt in their lifetime and fit in at any game in the city, but it’s probably not as great for the teams’ bottom lines.   
Friday night game
Friday morning and afternoon before the first game of the series I decided to throw on my Roberto Clemente shirt and blend in amongst the Yinzers. While I think this won me some points, it also created some confusion from the multiple people who asked me for directions or where they could find a bathroom and were met with my blank, helpless stares. 
Later on before the game, I changed into my Joe Ryan Grateful Dead shirt and became just another Twins fan jagoff. 

 
Ahead of game time we contemplated heading over to the Andy Warhol museum which is just blocks away from PNC Park, but decided we didn’t have enough time and that we’d tackle that the next day. Instead, we headed over to Southern Tier brewery down the street from the ballpark and had some beers with a large swath of Pirates fans listening to an acoustic guitar-playing singer banging out timeless hits like “Thong Song” and “No Diggity”. This was a pretty solid spot to have a few beers before the game, but it looked like there was no shortage of breweries around the park where you could do the same. 


 
About a half hour before game time, we strolled over to PNC Park and were able to get in pretty quickly. I had purchased seats up in Section 322 a few days before the game and the prices were pretty reasonable at around $25 a ticket. I like to get cheaper seats when I go to a ballpark for the first time as I expect to be walking around and exploring for a good portion of it. I feel most at home with the upper deck patrons at a ballpark anyways. These seats and really any section in the 300s near the third base line had a great view of the city and the bridge. 

 
Our seat neighbors for the most part were pretty engaged, but right in front of us, there was a group of girls likely in their late teens or early 20s that spent the entire game taking pictures of themselves and recording Tiktoks. This is not an exaggeration, it was the entire game. Just as I was losing hope in our youth, I noticed the group of girls to our left that were likely in their early 20s and were drinking beers and eating hot dogs and watching the game without a phone in sight. Let that be a lesson that there are not disappointing generations, just disappointing people. 
Some fun gimmicks at the game included the Warhol cam, which was a jumbotron filter honoring Pittsburgh’s famous purveyor of pop art, and the Pierogi race, honoring Pittsburgh’s famous Polish dumpling. Had we gotten a Michael Keaton-related activity, I think that would have covered the Pittsburgh Big Three.   

 
You’re likely not here to read about the game itself, and the Twins got shutout so there’s not a whole lot for me to write about on that front anyways. Joe Ryan pitched really well, the Twins hit a lot of singles but not in a row, and the home plate umpire was clearly doing a very bad job even from my seat in the 300 level. If you’re looking for a much more detailed writeup on the 3-0 loss, you can find a great one here.
The only thing worse than the result was that the Pirates' closer David Bednar, who is from Pittsburgh, walked out to “Renegade” by Styx for his intro music.  
One redeeming note: With legal sports betting in Pennsylvania I decided to place an “emotional hedge” bet on the Pirates moneyline so I would get to either see the Twins win or win some money. 15 bucks on the Pirates at +114 yielded a nice 17 dollar profit that paid for the jumbo 24 oz IC Light I had at the game.
After the game we were told there were fireworks, what we didn’t realize was that they would match the pyrotechnics budget of the helicopter Ride of the Valkyries scene in Apocalypse Now. To say these fireworks were a bit over the top would be like saying a Dinosaur Jr. show is a bit loud. We decided to watch them on the Roberto Clemente bridge since they were being fired off of a barge in the river right in front of the bridge. This seemed like a great idea until we started getting bombarded with smoke and actual fireworks shrapnel. Great view though!
Ballpark thoughts
PNC Park is as good as advertised. The sightlines are great from everywhere, the views are spectacular and it only has two seating decks which makes it really manageable to get around. The Clemente bridge is closed to traffic on game days which makes for an easy way to get there if you’re coming from downtown. The Pittsburgh fans are pretty dang good too. I was a little disappointed in the attendance for a beautiful Friday night in June but the ones there were very tuned in and loud. 
Going to a Major League ballpark for the first time always makes me consider where it ranks among the others I’ve been to so far. I have a hard time comparing Fenway and Wrigley to ballparks that were built in the last 30 years as it feels very apples to oranges. However, I would probably put those two in the top spots due to the joy and overwhelming sense of history one gets from attending a game there. That being said, I think my current top ten now including PNC, would be something like this:
1. Fenway Park (Boston)
2. Wrigley Field (Chicago, the good one)
3. Oracle Park (San Francisco)
4. PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
5. Target Field
6. Citi Field (Queens)
7. Coors Field (Colorado)
8. Kauffman Stadium (KC)
9. T-Mobile Park (Seattle)
10. Miller Park, it will always be Miller Park to me (Milwaukee)
Fenway and Wrigley are pretty interchangeable for me at 1A and 1B and so are Oracle and PNC at 3A and 3B, but it’s really all about personal preference. Wrigley is typically a more fun game experience with better sightlines than Fenway, but I like the architecture and quirkiness of the Green Monster at Fenway better. When comparing Oracle and PNC, they both have great views on the water but PNC gets the edge with the skyline and the Roberto Clemente bridge in the background and Oracle gets the edge on food and beer selection. 
The three I still haven’t visited that I’d really like to get to are Dodger Stadium in LA, Petco Park in San Diego (been to the park but in January during the offseason), and Camden Yards in Baltimore. 
Other Pittsburgh activities
My wife and I spend most of our vacations eating and drinking so while this section is titled “Other Pittsburgh activities” it’s mostly just going to be some of our favorite restaurants and bars to consider if you’re making the trip. 
As I mentioned earlier, we stayed in Lawrenceville. This was a really good hub if you want to be close to a lot of bars and restaurants that are walkable and cater to all ages. Of the neighborhoods we visited, we were definitely happy with our choice and it was validated by one of our Lyft drivers (shoutout David) who said we nailed it by choosing to stay there. Downtown had a lot of nice looking hotels if that’s more your scene and Squirrel Hill supposedly was nice if you’re looking for a more residential, quiet vibe. 
-Cork Harbour Pub was literally next door and was a solid home base/Lyft drop off spot for us. We ended up going all three days of the trip at some point in the day and even when we weren’t there at night, we got to pretend we were because we could hear it from our bedroom when we were trying to sleep. 
-Big Jim’s in the Run was a classic dive that naturally has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was tucked into an odd, hidden neighborhood called Four Mile Run and is the most authentic Pittsburgh place we went to. I will admit that the food didn’t blow me away, but I would still highly recommend it just for the experience. This was also where I watched the final four innings of the Saturday loss and thanked my lucky stars that we explored a few more areas of the city instead of paying to watch the Twins get shutout two days in a row. 
-Dish Osteria Bar on the South Side was the best meal we had on the trip. If you don’t mind shelling out a little more money and have the foresight to snag a reservation (we had to grab one for 10 pm on Thursday) this is about as good as it gets for Southern Italian food. The pasta was perfect, the seafood was delicious, the drinks were great, and it was in a very nice, intimate setting. 
-I hesitate to even admit it, but the only time we ate at a Primanti Brothers sandwich was at the ballgame. I’m confident that a limited menu and a ballpark kitchen was not the best way to experience Pittsburgh’s most legendary sandwich chain but the capicola and cheese we got (topped with fries, of course) was still very good. I wish we would have made it to one of the locations around town and gotten the true experience but alas, I only have one stomach. 
-La Gourmandine was a great French bakery just up the road from us where we had a wonderful almond croissant and an apricot pastry for breakfast one day. It was a tough place to order because everything there looked so good, including the sandwiches. 
-S&D Polish Deli in the Strip was a good stop for pierogies and had some interesting Polish deli items to browse. 
 -Colangelo's was a solid pizza joint right around the corner from the Polish deli. I had a really tough time figuring out what they’re doing with pizza in Pittsburgh. Most of the places we saw or ate were similar to a Detroit style pizza which is fine by me, but then you have the unmelted cheese abomination of the Ohio River Valley style that’s served famously at Beto’s in Pittsburgh. I actually wanted to try it out of morbid curiosity but didn’t find the time.
-I ducked into William Penn Tavern to catch the fifth set of the Alcaraz/Sinner French Open semifinal while Sophie was shopping one day and that was a great spot to grab a beer and watch a game in the middle of the day. It looked a little more rowdy at night when we walked by however, so beware of that potential bro-fest.
-After the fireworks on Friday night, we wandered over the bridge into downtown and eventually settled at Emerson’s which was a good, hidden cocktail bar on the second floor. They had some really interesting cocktails and the food looked promising too. 
-Bar Marco was another good spot for drinks in the Strip that looked to have some good Italian food as well. 
-Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. was a huge Italian market that was fun to walk around if you like spending time in a place that has 40 different kinds of canned tomatoes. Think Cossetta’s in St. Paul on steroids. 
-After that dinner at Dish on Thursday night, we went to a bar called Dee’s in South Side Flats that still allows smoking and employed some bartenders with great accents. From what I could tell, South Side Flats and all the bars on Carson Street are basically Pittsburgh’s version of the old Combat Zone in Boston. In other words, this was an area I was entirely too old for, so we didn’t last long there. 
-Schenley Park was a good place to go for a walk in the city. The northern half of the park felt like being at a park that was in a city. It had an arboretum that we decided not to pay $22 for and had a couple weddings going on. The southern half of the park was a bit more rustic and while we may have gotten slightly lost in there, we did get to see a couple deer which was an unexpected surprise. 
-The Andy Warhol museum is very conveniently located only a few blocks away from PNC Park and was a good place to spend a few hours. It has seven floors that are broken into the different stages of Warhol's life and career. We later found out it’s half price on Fridays so that’s probably the time to go. 
Overall, I'd highly recommend making the trip out to Pittsburgh next time the Twins are in town, or just to see the Pirates. It's a highly underrated city if you know where to look and features arguably the best ballpark in the country that's been built in this century. 
Jump into the comments if you made it to the games this past weekend or have been to a game at PNC previously and have some experiences to share. 
 

You bet your sweet bippy they do.  They do platoon.  A lot.  My apologies for the click-bait subject line.  (It's fun.  Almost went with "One Weird Trick Your 2024 Twins Use To Platoon")
How do the Twins rank versus the other 29 teams, in plate appearances by batters in same-arm matchups?
LHB-vs-LHP:   29th  (64 PA, OPS of .759 which is 5th in the majors)
RHB-vs-RHP: 23rd  (752 PA, OPS of .680 which is 15th in the majors)
They try their darndest not to let it happen, especially with their lefty bats.  And here is how they do in opposite arm matchups:
RHB-vs-LHP:  7th  (520 PA, OPS of .707 which is 16th in the majors)
LHB-vs-RHP:  6th  (920 PA, OPS of .693 which is 18th in the majors)
What is the point of these numbers?  One, in case you wondered whether they go to great lengths to set up favorable hitting matchups, yes, yes they do.  Two, they aren't notably effective at exploiting these matchups.  Three, an oddity is that their unfavorable lefty matchups rank better in OPS versus their competitors than their favorable ones do.
Maybe the modest level of success at bat this season (they rank 16th overall in OPS) would be worse if they weren't doing things as they are.  Plus in addition also too, because the manager chooses which batter hits when, there is bias to all these statistics that is outside my control to account for.  The better results for left-handed batters against lefty pitchers than righties, in absolute terms, suggests Rocco is careful which bats to play in that matchup.
But mostly what I see is that they go to extremes, and reap little to no overall reward for their efforts.  The lefty bats don't clobber righties, and the righty bats don't crush lefties.  Why, again, are we even doing this?
I can't help having flashbacks to the old quote from the dugout: "I managed good, but they sure played bad."  (ChatGPT 3.5 attributes this to Casey Stengel; therefore I feel 99% confident that it must have been someone else.  Rocco Baldelli may become the source of the quote, going forward.)  But at some point, that guy who "managed good" needs to stop and ask if it's worth the trouble, and what better thing might be tried.

Is Twins' sausage magical? Short answer, No. So why the Twins' turnaround? Let's look at what led up to the winning streak.
Shortly after the '23 season, Falvey credited the "all or nothing" approach for the team's success. BTW it has been the Twins' hitting approach since '19. During the off-season, Baldelli was questioned about their hitters' SO record. He responded with "SOs are not important and they weren't changing anything". Spring training, "all or nothing" was implemented again with poor results. Twins started '24 with 2 wins against a promising KC team, Lewis's injury, later followed by Correa's. Without Lewis & Correa (archetype to Twins hitting philosophy & best hitters) & the league adjusting; the losses & SOs started to pile up w/o the HRs. The turnaround started with the revelation that the "all or nothing" wasn't working. Baldelli stated that they had changed to a more balanced approach. Kiriloff, Martin & Miranda were hitting, Larnach & Kepler returned from the IL with a revamped swing, one by one they started to hit. In the middle of all that the winning streak started before the rally sausage appeared.
Does the rally sausage have anything to do with the streak? Yes, because even with the right approach the pressure to hit was still there. The sausage joke brought levity to the dugout, being more relaxed the hitter could execute. As heart-breaking it was to lose Lewis, it turned out to be a blessing disguised because the following slump opened the eyes of management. IMO we have a great lineup & see no need to try to go outside to change it. Our problem at the beginning of the season wasn't the lineup but the approach & we can't get distracted from that fact with the rally sausage. While I encourage to ride the rally sausage as long as we can, IMO using it as a HR trophy is in bad taste.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
• Happy Birthday, Bert Blyleven and Joe Barbeln
• Twins Trade Stigman
• Oliva Hits First HR by DH
• First Regular Season Game at Dome
• Puckett and Winfield Thrill the Home Fans
• Offerman's Memorable Twins Debut 
April 6
Happy Birthday, Bert Blyleven
It’s the birthday of two-time World Series Champion and noted flatulence enthusiast Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven, born in Zeist, Holland in 1951. He grew up in Garden Grove, CA, and was drafted by the Twins out of high school in the third round in 1969. 
Bert recorded 3,701 strikeouts during his 22-year Hall of Fame career, which ranked third-most in MLB history at the time he retired, and is still good for fifth all-time behind Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens*, and 1987 teammate Steve Carlton. 
A FEW FUN FACTS:
Bert earned both the 1,000th and 2,000th wins in Twins history—in 1972 and 1985, in between which he played for Texas, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, and won a World Series with the Pirates in 1979. 
In 1973, Bert set teams records that will likely never be broken with 25 complete games, nine shutouts, and 325 innings pitched. His 258 strikeouts that season stood as the team record for 31 years until Johan Santana K’ed 265 in 2004. (For a little perspective, Nolan Ryan led the majors with 383 strikeouts in 1973 . . . 125 more than Bert’s longtime team record.) 
He pitched a two-hit shutout at Met Stadium in his very first start against the Twins after being traded to the Rangers prior to the 1976 season. 
He was in spring training with the Twins in 1993, attempting to come back for a third stint with the team, but was beat out for a spot in the rotation by Willie Banks and Pat Mahomes. (Mike Trombley made the team out of the bullpen.)

April 6
Happy Birthday, Joe Barbeln
Happy birthday to 1988 St. Michael-Albertville graduate Joe Barbeln. He pitched 4.1 innings of pro ball with single-A Yakima in the Dodgers organization in 1992.
Nice 21-year townball career with the St. Michael Saints. Who can share some interesting stories or fun facts about the North Star League Hall of Famer? Tell me what you know in the comments below. 

April 6, 1966
Twins Trade Stigman
The Twins traded Nimrod, MN native Dick Stigman to the Red Sox for Russ Nixon and Chuck Schilling on this date in 1966. 
Fun Fact: Schilling (along with teammate Carl Yastrzemski) starred for the Minneapolis Millers in 1960—the Millers final season at Met Stadium before the Twins came to town and took over. On May 7 the following year, Schilling was back at Met Stadium with the Red Sox, and hit a grand slam off Camilo Pascual for his first major league home run.
Schilling never played at Met Stadium as a member of the Twins, though. After the trade, the Twins wanted to assign him to the minors, but he opted to retire and put his college degree to use instead.

April 6, 1973
Oliva Hits First HR by DH
With Rod Carew aboard in the top of the first on Opening Day in Oakland, Tony Oliva hit the first regular season home run by a designated hitter in major league history off Catfish Hunter. Coincidentally, it was Oakland owner Charlie Finley who spearheaded the movement for the AL to adopt the DH.
Bert Blyleven pitched the first of his team record 25 complete games of the season as the Twins beat the A’s 8-3.

 
April 6, 1982
First Regular Season Game at Dome
St. Cloud legend Jim Eisenreich was batting leadoff and playing center field when the Twins hosted the Mariners for the first regular season game in the Metrodome on Opening Day 1982. 
Right fielder Dave Engle hit the first home run that counted* in the new ballpark in the first inning.
*Kent Hrbek hit two homers in an exhibition game against the Phillies three days earlier.
Gary Gaetti was thrown out at home trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park home run in his first at-bat, but then homered the old-fashioned way in each of his next two at-bats, going 4-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in an 11-7 Twins win.
Gaetti’s performance in his first regular season game at the Dome reminds me of his first postseason game at the Dome, when he homered in his first two at-bats off Detroit’s Doyle Alexander.
April 6, 1993
Winfield and Puckett Thrill the Home Fans
After stressing everyone in Minnesota out by testing the free-agent market the previous winter, Kirby Puckett electrified the Metrodome fans by homering on his very first swing of the 1993 season off White Sox ace Jack McDowell, who went on to win 22 games and the AL Cy Young Award that season. 
Kirby homered in three of the first four games of the season. 
 
In addition to Kirby being back, Opening Day 1993 was also the Twins debut of St. Paul native Dave Winfield (age 41). Winny hit a go-ahead home run of McDowell in the third, driving in fellow Minnesota native Kent Hrbek. 
The Winfield signing was exciting for Twins fans. In addition to being a local legend destined for Cooperstown, he was coming off a very good season in Toronto in which he came in fifth in AL MVP balloting and had several highlight hits in the ALCS and World Series.
Kirby Puckett finished runner-up to Dennis Eckersley for the MVP in 1993, so between him and Winfield there was certainly cause for enthusiasm in Minnesota. 
April 6, 2004
Offerman’s Memorable Twins Debut
José Offerman made his Twins debut on this date in 2004, entering as a pinch runner for Matthew LeCroy in the bottom of the 12th inning. (He was stranded on third.) Then, in the bottom of the 14th, he came to the plate for his first Twins at-bat and doubled, moving Jacque Jones over to third with nobody out . . . but Cleveland again escaped the jam. Offerman came up again in the 15th inning with two out and the bases loaded and hit a ground-ball single to center, bringing home Doug Mientkiewicz with the walk-off run.
Offerman had an extra-base hit in each of his first five games to start the season, tying Mientkiewicz’s team record established in 1999. Byron Buxton broke their record with extra-base hits in his first six games of the 2021 season.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
• Birthdate of Ron Perranoski
• Meares Hits Game-Winning Homer
• Five Home Runs on Opening Day
• Carneal Passes Away
• Mauer Ready to Lead Twins to Title
• Berríos Pitches Three-Hit Shutout
April 1, 1936
Birthdate of Ron Perranoski
Ron Perranoski was born in Paterson, New Jersey on this date in 1936. He led the American League in saves in 1969 and ’70 when the Twins won back-to-back AL West Championships. He received MVP votes both seasons, and received Cy Young votes in 1970, the year teammate Jim Perry won the award. 
Perranoski won two World Series rings with the Dodgers, including in 1965 when they beat the Twins in seven games.
The Twins acquired him along with John Roseboro and Bob Miller in a November 1967 trade with the Dodgers in exchange for Jim “Mudcat” Grant and Zoilo Versalles. 
April 1, 1997
Meares Powers Twins to Opening Day Win
The Twins trailed the Tigers 5-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth on Opening Day before a four-run rally, capped off by a two-out, two-run homer by eight-hitter Pat Meares, driving in Terry Steinbach for the winning run in Steinbach's Twins debut. 
All nine batters in the starting lineup had at least one hit, with Molitor, Lawton, Steinbach, and Meares connecting for two each. The lineup that day:
Chuck Knoblauch, 2B Rich Becker, CF Paul Molitor, DH Marty Cordova, LF Matt Lawton, RF Terry Steinbach, C Scott Stahoviak, 1B Pat Meares, SS Todd Walker, 3B Brad Radke made the Opening Day start. Three of the four relievers TK used that day were at one time closers for the Twins: Rick Aguilera (who earned the save in this game), “Everyday” Eddie Guardado, and Mike Trombley. Dan Naulty also pitched in relief and was credited with the win. 
April 1, 2002
Twins Hit 5 HRs on Opening Day
After a winter during which team owner Carl Pohlad openly talked contraction, Jacque Jones homered on the second pitch of the game on Opening Day in Kansas City. Jones also hit a three-run go-ahead homer in the seventh, powering the Twins to an 8-6 win.
David Ortiz, Brian Buchanan, and Torii Hunter each hit solo homers for a total of five, tying the American League Opening Day record.
The Twins are the most recent of five AL teams to hit five homers on Opening Day. The Mets set the major league Opening Day record with six against the Expos in 1988. The MLB record for home runs in any game is 10, by the Blue Jays against the Orioles in 1987.
April 1, 2007
Carneal Passes Away
Legendary Twins radio broadcaster Herb Carneal passed away on this date in 2007, at age 83. He spent FORTY-FOUR years calling Twins games, originally joining Ray Scott and Halsey Hall in 1962—the Twins’ second season in Minnesota. He received the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 1996. He and Jim Kaat comprised the sophomore class of the Twins Hall of Fame, inducted on July 7, 2001.
On a personal note, when I was in elementary school, I won a drawing at Hardee’s (true story) and got to spend an inning in the booth with Herb Carneal and John Gordon.
April 1, 2010
Joe Mauer appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kids on this date in 2010. Take a close look at that cover: “Joe Mauer is ready to lead the Minnesota Twins to the World Series.” Uff da . . .
I mean, I guess it was April Fools’ Day 🙂

 
April 1, 2018
Berríos Gets Off to Hot Start
José Berríos got off to a heckuva start in 2018, pitching a complete-game three-hit shutout in his first start of the season for a 7-0 Twins win in Baltimore. 
The Twins had the lead from the very first pitch, as Brian Dozier hit his team record 28th and final leadoff home run. (Jacque Jones has the second-most leadoff home runs in team history with 20.)
In 2019, Berríos was the Twins Opening Day starter. He responded by pitching the first 7.2 innings of the Twins’ first Opening Day shutout in 49 years (Jim Perry, 1970). Taylor Rogers earned the four-out save, striking out three.  

With the 2024 season starting today, I thought I'd start up the old Almanac blog again. You think I can keep this up every day all season long? Stay tuned!
With no further ado, here it is—the Twins Almanac for March 28th:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Some Unsettling News About Kirby
• Berríos Historically Good on Opening Day
• Brainerd Grad Makes MLB Debut
March 28, 1996
Puckett Wakes Up with Vision Problem
36-year-old superstar Kirby Puckett appeared poised for a big year, hitting .344 in spring training, when on the last day of camp he woke up unable to see out of his right eye. He would be diagnosed with glaucoma and one day later placed on the 15-day disabled list (or injured list) for the first time in his career.
Quoting directly from a New York Times article from March 31, 1996:
“Kirby Puckett’s blurry vision is being caused by a partial blockage of a blood vessel in his right eye, and the Minnesota outfielder will miss the season opener, the Twins said Friday after placing him on the 15-day disabled list … retroactive to Thursday, making him eligible to return April 12. During that time, he will undergo treatment and will be able to work out with the club. Matt Lawton, who went 2 for 4 with a run batted in in Puckett’s place Friday, will start against the Tigers tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, four surgeries did nothing to improve Puckett’s vision, and he officially retired on July 12.
March 28, 2019
Berríos’s Historically Good Opening Day Start
José Berríos was historically good on Opening Day 2019, giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out 10 over 7.2 innings. He was the first pitcher in franchise history to pitch at least seven scoreless innings and strike out 10 on Opening Day since Walter Johnson did so in 1917. 
Worth noting that Brainerd native Bullet Joe Bush took the loss for the Philadelphia Athletics in that 1917 game. And since we’re talking about 1917, Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth beat the Yankees on Opening Day that year. 
Taylor Rogers retired the final four batters, striking out three, to secure the 2-0 Twins win over Cleveland at Target Field. The Twins’ only runs came on a Marwin Gonázlez double off Corey Kluber in the seventh, knocking in Nelson Cruz and C.J. Cron. (All three players were making their Twins debuts, providing plenty of optimism to start the season.) Chaska native Brad Hand came in to get the final out for Cleveland in the bottom of the eighth. 
 
Berríos’s 10 Opening Day strikeouts set a new Twins record, breaking Brad Radke’s previous record of eight K’s over six innings in 1996 (Radke’s second season). 
Berríos’s gem was the fourth Opening Day shutout in Twins history, and the first since Jim Perry’s complete-game shutout in Chicago in 1970.
The second Opening Day shutout in Twins history was by Dean Chance in Washington in 1968, with the Twins’ two runs coming on Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison home runs off Senators pitcher Camilo Pascual. 
And the first Opening Day shutout came in the very first regular season game in Twins history, with Pedro Ramos spinning a three-hitter opposing Whitey Ford at Yankee Stadium in 1961. After Bob Allison put the Twins on the board with the first home run in team history leading off the top of the seventh, Ramos himself knocked Ford out of the game with a two-run single to center, driving in Earl Battey and Reno Bertoia en route to a 6-0 Twins win. 
March 28, 2019
Nick Anderson Makes MLB Debut
Brainerd High School graduate Nick Anderson made his major league debut with the Marlins on this date in 2019, retiring the only batter he faced, stranding a runner on second to end the inning.
Two days later, he came in and struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning of a 7-3 Marlins win over the Rockies. 
Anderson was striking out batters at a pretty impressive rate right out of the gate, K’ing 27 of the first 51 batters he faced to begin his MLB career. (There were two home runs mixed in there.)

Worth noting that the Twins had Anderson in their system, but they traded him for an infielder nobody has ever heard of prior to the 2019 season. 
Anderson will be pitching out of the Kansas City Royals bullpen this season. 
He is the third Brainerd alumnus to pitch in the majors, following three-time World Series Champion Bullet Joe Bush and Todd Revenig (0.00 MLB ERA). And of course Hall of Famer Charles Albert Bender was born near Brainerd in 1884. 
Please join the conservation in the comments section below.
Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Twitter and Facebook. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Happy Birthday, Mike Kingery and Billy Beane
• Twins Acquire Veteran Pinch Hitter
• Puckett Placed on DL
March 29
Happy Birthday, Mike Kingery
Happy 63rd birthday to 1979 Atwater High School graduate Mike Kingery, born in Saint James, MN in 1961. When he was six months old, the Kingerys moved to Atwater where Mike’s father was proprietor of the Atwater Bowling Center.
Kingery signed with the Royals as an amateur free agent on August 27, 1979. He made his major league debut in Kansas City on July 7, 1986 at age 25, going 2-for-4 in a 8-1 loss to the Orioles. He would go on to play 819 major league games over parts of 10 seasons with Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Colorado, and Pittsburgh.
A career .268 hitter, Kingery’s best season by far came at age 33 in Colorado during the strike-shortened 1994 season when he hit .349 over 105 games. Interesting to note that the Rockies GM at the time was Lamberton, MN native and former Twins pitcher and front office executive Bob Gebhard, and the manager was 1987 World Series hero Don Baylor. (Dan Gladden was a Rockies scout from 1996 to 1998.)
Curious how Kingery did against the Twins? He hit .290 in 24 career games versus the Minnesota, including a home run off Les Straker on July 29, 1987. That same season he hit two home runs off 1973 Highland Park High School graduate Jack Morris.
Kingery and Blix Donnelly headlined the seven-member 2014 inaugural class of the West Central Baseball Hall of Fame in Willmar.
A handful of years ago now, Mrs. Almanac and I swung into the Moose Lake Dairy Queen and noticed a poster for “The Kingery Family,” a travelling singing and ministry troupe. Turns out Mike and his wife Chris are parents of EIGHT children. In addition to his minstrel work, Mike Kingery operates the Solid Foundation Baseball School in Grove City, MN.
March 29
Happy Birthday, Billy Beane
Happy 62nd birthday to 1980 Mets first-round draft pick and longtime A’s general manager Billy Beane. He came to the Twins as part of a January 1986 trade that sent Tim Teufel to the Mets.
He had a heckuva game at Yankee Stadium on April 29, 1986. Entering the game with just three hits in 17 major league games dating back to 1984 (zero in his first four games with the Twins), Beane went 5-for-5 with a walk and his first career home run. (Twins lost 14-11.) Those five hits accounted for 7.6% of the just 66 hits Beane collected over parts of six major league seasons. He had fewer than five hits total in four of his six seasons.
He was a September call-up in 1987 and came up clutch in his first MLB plate appearance of the season. He entered as a defensive replacement in right field in the top of the 11th of a 1-1 game against the Brewers on September 4. He came to the plate with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th and connected for a walk-off single to center off Dan Plesac, driving in Gary Gaetti. (Plesac made his first of three-straight All-Star appearances that season.) The win gave the Twins a three-game lead over Oakland in the AL West.
March 29, 1978
Morales Acquired from Expos
The Twins purchased the contract of José Morales from the Expos on this date in 1978. He had set a major league record with 25 pinch hits in 1976 (since broken). In his first season with the Twins, he led all DH’s with a .323 average and set a team record with 14 pinch hits (since broken by Chip Hale). His 36 pinch hits in a Twins uniform are fourth-most in team history.
He tied Jerry Terrell‘s team record by grounding into three double plays on May 17, 1980.
March 29, 1996
Puckett Placed on DL 
After doctors determined his blurry vision was caused by a partial blockage of a blood vessel in his right eye, the Twins placed Kirby Puckett on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his career on this date in 1996.
Please join the conservation in the comments section below.
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Hey Twins fans! This is the fifth post in my series about Minnesota Twins baseball cards. This post is in a little different order than prior posts. Because I tend to dive most deeply into the most obscure player of the set (we all know about Tony, the Killer, and Carew not to mention Puckett, Hrbek, Mauer, and Morneau), this post will start with a write up of the player I deem to be most obscure in this set. Also “best” and “favorite” might be the same card, hence no different write up. If my favorite is different than the best, I will certainly say so. In previous posts, I struggled to differentiate between best and favorite. That’s not the case for the 1973 Topps, my favorite is definitely different from the best (which, I’m sorry tends to trend toward the most valuable).
Anyway, here we go…
1973 Topps
I love the look of the 1973 Topps baseball cards – the black border on the picture, the white border of the cards, and especially the silhouette of the player and his position in the lower right corner. The player’s name and team are listed at the bottom of the card. These cards are the standard 2.5” x 3.5” which started in 1957. The complete set has 660 cards. The Twins have 29 cards in this set including two variations of #49, the Frank Quilici manager card with his coaches. One of the variations has palm trees in the backgrounds for two of the coaches. www.PSAcard.com states the values of the two variations are the same and the number of each variation graded by PSA are similar.
               
MOST OBSCURE PLAYER
The 1973 Topps set has about half a dozen decent options for the most obscure Twins Player in the set, but one of these never played for the Twins. Meet Mr. Ken Reynolds.

Reynolds was originally drafted by Philadelphia in the fourth round of the 1966 draft. He was primarily a starting pitcher in their minor leagues. He started 25 games in 1971 and 23 games in 1972 for bad to awful Phillies teams. He had a crazy bad record of 2-15 in 1972. Reynolds came to the Twins in a November 1972 trade. The Twins traded fan favorite and future Twins Hall of Famer Cesar Tover for Joe Lis, Ken Sanders, and Reynolds. It seems like Philadelphia won that trade but it wasn’t robbery. Tovar played only one season for the Phillies and had a WAR of 0.9 WAR. The players the Twins received totaled -1.4 for the time they played for the Twins. That -1.4 WAR does not include Reynolds as he never played for the Twins and was traded to the Brewers in March 1973 for Mike Ferraro. Ferraro also never played for the Twins and the organization released him in May. Reynolds had a 7.36 ERA in two games for the Brewers. Reynolds later pitched for the Cardinals in 1975 and the Padres in 1976, finishing his MLB career with a 7-29 record. He stuck around the minor leagues until 1979.
An interesting tidbit I discovered while researching Ken Reynolds was that he played for the Hawaii Islanders in 1976 which was a AAA team and part of the Pacific Coast League. I went to Hawaii three weeks ago. It took me 4-5 after coming home to readjust to the time change. It seems like having Hawaii in a North American league would make travel exciting but brutal for those minor leaguers who experienced it. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_Islanders, the Hawaii Islanders were surprisingly part of the PCL from 1961 thought 1987. I found the entire Wikipedia entry to be fascinating and would encourage your perusal. Hall of Famers Barry Bonds and Tony Gwynn played for the Islanders. This is something this blog series has done for me, introduce me to interesting parts of the game I never knew.
THE BEST
The Rod Carew #330 is the most valuable Twins card in this set. I like the stance, the pose, the background, and just the general look of this card. And I just love the look of this set in general.

PERSONAL FAVORITE
There’s something about the Tony Oliva card (#80). I think it’s a great picture, great pose, and mine is autographed (with his phenomenal signature). In the 1960s, there are many players photographed standing in Yankee Stadium with an inauthentic stance or pose. Tony’s stance may not be overly competitive but the pose, to me, looks better than average. But it’s not my favorite card.

The Harmon Killebrew (#170) is one of my favorite autographed cards in my entire collection (again, an exceptional autograph). This action shot seems to show an aggressive stance like he’s ready to release his energy and hit a blast. Where is he? The catcher’s red and blue pant stripes and the stadium background suggests Cleveland to me. I’m not sure. What do you think? I love this picture. But it’s not my favorite card.

As an aside, seriously, whose autograph is better Oliva or Killebrew? I’ve heard many say Killebrew’s signature is the best, but Tony O’s is similarly clear, legible, and smooth. Please share your opinion below.
Even though I have those two autographed cards of Hall of Fame players, neither ranks as my favorite Twins card from 1973. That honor easily belongs to another Hall of Famer – the #530 card of Jim Kaat. I think it’s absolutely awesome that Topps chose a photograph of a pitcher, Mr. Jim Kaat, batting. I love that this 1973 Topps card was issued, ironically, during the first year of the Designated Hitter. American League pitchers simply did not bat in 1973. Kaat could probably be considered a very good hitting pitcher. He batted .185 in his 25-year career, .289 in 1972, and .375 in 1981 (but only 8 at bats). I love all of that, which makes this my favorite Twins card in the 1973 Topps set.

Please, I would love to see your opinions, criticisms, and suggestions in the comments below. I really want to know. Let’s have fun with this! And Go Twins.

Hi folks. This is my third post in my series about Minnesota Twins baseball cards. Please read my first post here for deeper detail on my series.
1968 TOPPS
The 1968 Topps set is one of my personal favorites which is interesting because I find the look rather ugly, but I really like some of the Twins cards. The set’s cards are standard size, with kind of a burlap looking border. The player’s name is at the bottom with a colored circle showing his team and position. The set has a couple of my favorite multi-player cards ever and Rod Carew’s first stand-alone Topps card (#80) as well as an all-star card (#363). There are a whopping 37 Twins cards in the set.
THE BEST
With this set, I might run into a problem for my personal choice of best and favorite. There are more than a few cards to choose from that fit both categories. As far as value, both the #490 Super Stars card with Harmon Killebrew, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, and the #480 Manager’s Dream card with Tony Oliva, Chico Cardenas, and Roberto Clemente rank high. I don’t always want to equate value with best, but in this case my choice for best card has to be the Super Stars card. The card has three Hall of Famers who as a group hit 1,769 home runs. Three of the top 18 HR hitters ever…on one card!! Quite a bit of firepower on one single card.
                        
PERSONAL FAVORITE
For my personal favorite I am going to select the Rod Carew (#80). You just got to love Rod Carew’s first solo card. I like the pose and the Topps rookie cup. Like I said in a previous post about Tony Oliva, Carew just looks so young here.

And like my statement above about firepower on a single card, the AL RBI Leaders card also has three Hall of Famers in Carl Yastrzemski, Harmon Killebrew, and Frank Robinson. I really like these types of leader cards with multiple Hall of Famers. This card represents 1,611 career home runs and 5,240 career RBI. A lot of history there.

I’m going to choose the Carew as my favorite Twins card in the set, but I really, really like that Super Stars card above as well.
MOST OBSCURE PLAYER
Cal Ermer did manage a major league baseball team, but only briefly. He previously had a very limited playing career. He went 0-3 in his lone MLB game for the Senators in 1947, was a long-time coach and manager in the Senators/Twins organization, who ended up managing the Twins for part of 1967 and all of 1968. I thought he was the right choice for most obscure player/coach in the 1968 Twins set, but then I read about right-handed pitcher Moe Ogier.

Maurice “Moe” Ogier appeared on a dual rookie card (#589) with Ron Clark. Mr. Ogier made the 1968 Twins opening day roster but was sent to the minor leagues shortly thereafter to make room for Jim Kaat after Kaat was activated from the disabled list for an elbow injury dating to the prior season. Ogier didn’t pitch that season – or ever – in the major leagues. Ogier played six years in the Twins minor league system. His record was 36-37. His minor league strikeout numbers were rather good especially for that era, but his WHIP was also high. He pitched later in the Angels and Padres systems. He never made the majors, but he did have this baseball card.
While researching this post, I learned a new phrase that I had not heard before – phantom ballplayer. According to Wikipedia, a phantom ballplayer is a player who spent time on an active roster but never appeared in a game. That sounds to me like a definition for obscure. Moe Ogier is the choice here.
If you disagree with my opinions, I would love to see your opinions, criticisms, and suggestions in the comments below. Don’t be too hard on me. Let’s have fun with this!

Baseball rosters are big. They are also constantly shuffling, and sometimes players can find themselves lost in this shuffle. At times this can be chalked up to their role as a journeyman, placeholder kind of player. They’re a warm body for two weeks until the guy they replaced comes back, then they slip into the void. Still sad, but unavoidable in this business. Other times though, players who were once thought to be building blocks with bright futures ahead of them can lose their footing and slip into the roster shuffle malaise.
In 2023, three promising young Twins players experienced that slip. Jorge Alcala, once firmly in the late-inning mix of the bullpen, continued his multi-year battle with injuries. Nick Gordon tried to follow up an encouraging season, only to fracture his right shin in May and miss the rest of the year. Finally, perhaps most surprising was Jose Miranda, who turned from a shooting star in 2023 into a falling meteorite in 2024.
With the Twins being a contending team on the upswing, competition for roster spots is bound to be fierce this season. Which of these three players will make the strongest argument for playing time and muster a role to impact the team in 2024? To find out, let’s delve a bit further into each of their cases.
Jorge Alcala

The potential is clear to see when watching Jorge Alcala. The 28-year-old righty mixes a mid-to-high 90s fastball with a power slider to produce a fiery pitcher’s cocktail. Unfortunately, Twins fans haven’t had much opportunity to see him in recent years. Injuries to his right elbow and forearm have conspired to limit him to 19 ⅔ innings the past two seasons.
When healthy, Alcala has been effective, though perhaps a step away from a dominant force on the mound. Combining the shortened 2020 season with 2021, his only healthy full season in the majors, Alcala produced a 3.55 ERA in 83 ⅔ innings. His FIP, which tries to eliminate the influence of defensive quality from ERA, sits closer to 4.00 in that stretch. This is largely thanks to a penchant for strikeouts that is respectable, but a step below the standard that today’s late-inning relievers have set (88 Ks in that time). Additionally, Alcala’s pitch mix leaves him few answers for left-handed batters, who have managed an .803 OPS against him in his career.
Entering 2024, the first question Alcala will have to answer is health. Should he finally be able to hold down a firm spot in the Twins bullpen again, the next question will be where that spot lies, especially with the recent major league additions of Josh Staumont and Jay Jackson. If he returns to his career norms, he will likely find himself behind the late-inning trio of Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Brock Stewart. Alcala would be an asset in middle relief, however, and could keep the Twins in close games through the middle innings when starters are unable to pitch deep. All of this feels especially speculative until Alcala shakes his arm free of ailments.
Nick Gordon

Nick Gordon will have been racing to forget his 2023 season. The utilityman carried a putrid .185 OBP and .503 OPS into mid-May, before fracturing his shin and being shut down for the year. While last season was painful from beginning to end, he doesn’t need to look too far in the past for his bright spot. As the Twins floundered through 2022, Gordon found a spark of power in his bat that many in the game never saw coming. Through mechanical tweaks, he maximized the strength in his 6’0”, 160-pound frame and used it to produce a .427 slugging percentage and a .743 OPS, 11 percent better than the league average hitter.
The makeover of his bat combined with his ability to play 2nd base and all over the outfield made Gordon a revelation in 2022. His willingness to take on those different positions revealed another of his strengths, one that has been consistent throughout Gordon’s career: his attitude. The former 5th overall pick did not follow a prodigy’s path to the major leagues. Through up-and-down seasons in the minors, Gordon battled gastrointestinal issues for years that made it hard to put on weight or even eat a sustainable diet. He also contracted Covid-19 during the 2020 season. Through it all he carried a smile and an infectiousness that his teammates adored, just as he did through last year’s trials. Just look back at the Twins highlights from 2023 and count the times you spot Gordon on the top step of the dugout, beaming his signature smile and waving his limbs around in unbridled joy. 
It seems the energy he brings to the clubhouse will never be absent, and will always keep Twins players, staff, and fans firmly on his side. This year, it will be up to Gordon to rediscover his 2022 form that took him from clubhouse MVP to on-field contributor. If he can, he should find a utility role on the Twins bench at minimum, with some sustained starting time likely in the event of injuries. After he spent 2023 being his teammates’ biggest fan, Twins Territory is hoping they can once again celebrate Nick Gordon in 2024.
Jose Miranda

The tales of Nick Gordon and Jose Miranda share many similarities. Miranda grinded his way through the minors to earn his shot with the big league club, and when he got his first full-season look at the majors he exceeded expectations, finishing 2022 with a .268/.325/.426 line. He entered 2023 primed to build on his encouraging debut, but battled a shoulder injury as his numbers plummeted to the tune of a .566 OPS. A crucial difference: Miranda regained health in time to play in 39 games with the AAA St. Paul Saints, though this stretch did little to assuage concerns. Miranda was only able to muster a .686 OPS with just 3 HRs, a worrying reminder of his pre-2021 breakout profile, a slap hitter with little over-the-fence impact.
Still, injuries can wreak all kinds of havoc, especially on young players. Optimism persists among Twins officials and fans that Miranda can be a middle-of-the-order bat for the Twins, even as their lineup becomes crowded with young talent. Even this year, a role seemed to exist for Miranda as the right-sided half of a 1B platoon with Alex Kiriloff, who carries injury concerns of his own.
Then, it was announced that the Twins had signed veteran 1B Carlos Santana to a 1-year, $5.25 million dollar contract. Santana is a switch-hitter, but as he’s aged he has become a much better hitter from the right side. He is also a clear step-up from Miranda defensively, as last time Miranda was playing 1B in the majors he looked the part of someone still learning the intricacies (and some of the basics) of the position. Santana’s addition leaves Miranda firmly in St. Paul at the start of this year, and he will have to prove himself there while he waits for injuries or ineffectiveness to pave a path for his MLB redemption.
Though the struggles of these three players may seem a bad omen, it actually stands as a good sign that all three must fight for their spots on the Twins roster. These are the kinds of battles that tend to take place at the edges of contending rosters, and they provide the level of accountability that pushes players to strive for continued improvement. It may not be entirely coincidence that all three of these players stumbled during the Twins’ transition from underachievers to contenders. Sometimes, losing seasons and lackluster rosters can breed complacency, even if the players don’t feel it setting in.
As far as their likelihood of etching a role for themselves in the 2024 Twins roster, Nick Gordon feels like a smart bet due to his positional flexibility and clubhouse presence. Injuries to any one of Max Kepler, Matt Wallner, Byron Buxton, Edouard Julien, Willi Castro or Kyle Farmer could hand Gordon a significant role. A healthy Jorge Alcala also has a good chance of finding a role considering the team’s approach to bullpen construction that prioritizes depth and rotation. Finally, while it wouldn’t be crazy to see Jose Miranda in a Twins uniform this year, the presence of young stars (Royce Lewis, Kiriloff) and a supremely durable veteran (Santana) in front of him leaves him most likely to get comfortable at CHS Field this season.

Dereck Falvey and the Twins finally woke up from a two-month offseason slumber and made the first significant move of the offseason, trading long time Twin Jorge Polanco to the Seattle Mariners for 4 players. I have a lot of emotional thoughts on what Polanco meant not just as a player, but how he represents the organization so well in the 15+ years he's been with the Twins. Here's some quick hitters on three of the guys in the deal. 
Justin Topa
Topa was one of the more consistent relievers in what was an honestly insane Mariners bullpen. Topa pitched to a 2.61 ERA in 69 innings(nice) with a 3.15 FIP, a team high 155 ERA+ and an 8.0 K/9. Before last season, Topa had only pitched in 17 total games across 3 MLB seasons with Milwaukee. Topa's K rate is a bit low(21%), but he also doesn't walk many batters(6%). His Stuff+ is insane.

From @pitchprofiler on Twitter
Topa fills a need in the Twins bullpen hierarchy already with Duran, Jax, Stewart, Thielbar and Funderburk among others. Basically fills the Pagan role. 
 
Anthony DeSclafani
DeSclafani was already moved earlier this offseason from the Giants to the Mariners in the Robbie Ray/Mitch Haniger deal. DeSclafani was one of many breakouts on an insane 2021 Giants team, but he's battled injuries the last few seasons. He's going to provide at least some starting pitching depth, but I don't think the Twins are done adding to their rotation. DeSclafani has generally been a pretty solid back end of the rotation guy, with a career 4.20 ERA in 169 GS. He's on the last year of a 3 yr/36 million deal, but the Twins just owe him around 4 million. It gives the Twins some cap flexibility and probably gives them a shot at more starting pitching options in FA. 
Darren Bowen 
Bowen seems like just a throw in prospect to the deal, but he's got some intriguing tools. A 2022 13th round pick out of UNC-Pembroke, Bowen wasn't on the most recent top 30 Mariners prospects according to MLB Pipeline, but now slots in at number 27 in the Twins system. Only 22 years old, he had a 3.88 ERA in 19 games and 55 IP. His fastball sits around 92 MPH, and he throws a pretty nasty slider and changeup as well, though he still needs work on command with that pitch. 
Bowen's addition only intrigues the potential rotation we might get at Cedar Rapids this year, with the likes of Zebby Matthews, Cory Lewis, Andrew Morris, and C.J Culpepper. 
 
Gabriel Gonzalez
This is what really got me excited about the deal. As much as it would if the Twins got one of Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo back. Gonzalez was a top five prospect in a really underrated Mariners system, and he'll slot in as a top 5 prospect in the Twins system as well. Gonzalez is ranked inside the top 100 according to MLB pipeline at 79, giving the Twins 4 top 100 prospects. Gonzalez slashed .348/.403/.530 with a .933 OPS at single A, but only slashed .215/.290/.387 with a .677 OPS at high A. But Gonzalez is my personal favorite kind of outfield prospect. A corner outfielder with good enough defense but shows a ton of good power with potential for contact to be better as well. 
According to @SamDykstraMiLB on Twitter, Gonzalez was one of 61 teenagers to get 300+ PA at single A. He had the highest average amongst the group, and his K rate was at 13.7%, the third lowest amongst these players. The defensive profile is also promising for a 20-year-old corner outfielder. In my eyes, I think Gabriel will only continue to get better and the thoughts of a Jenkins-Gonzalez-Rodriguez MLB outfield in 4-5 years is cool to think about. 
 
@TFTwins did a great job in short time with this shorter video breaking down Gonzalez and Bowen. 
Overall, I think it's a very solid trade for the Twins and Mariners. I'd give both teams a B+ with a chance for both teams grades to be better, especially if Gonzalez and Bowen work out for the Twins. 
What do you all think of the trade? This is the longest blog I've written, so thank you for reading all the way through! Be sure to follow me on my twitter @JuhnTroy. 

Some thoughts from me--a contrarian old guy who has followed the Twins since they moved from Washington:
Did you know? Playing the Immaculate Cube has educated and entertained me to a significant degree. I have tried to use as many Twins and ex-Twins as I can find in filling out the cube. Was there ever a guy who played for the Twins and hit 40 homers for the Reds? Yes, and if you knew this you are a trivia maven or cheat by using a baseball reference source. The answer is Wally Post. How about a Gold Glove winner from the Tigers--yeah we all knew it was Kenny Rogers. Silver Slugger on the Giants (Donny Barrels!). I've found some interesting fun facts in trying to fill in Twins on the grid.
Lefty advantage: The Twins lean right with their pitching staff. Last year, left handed pitchers started exactly six games in the entire season, all by Dallas Keuchel. Left handers accounted for only 106 of 1451 innings pitched by the staff. I have seen several articles recently demonstrating the "lefty advantage" for both pitchers and hitters. The Twins seem to subscribe to the advantage for hitting, but not for their mound staff. I continue to believe that adding a left handed starter would be beneficial, perhaps beyond the numbers put up by the starter. Defensively, the edge for left handed throwing first baseman is something the Twins have traditionally not done despite obvious advantages. I don't think those advantages are adequately covered by defensive metrics, more on that later.
Speaking of left handers and looking up former Twins, I believe people don't remember or didn't know what a good pitcher former Twin and native Minnesotan Jerry Koosman was. In comparing Kooz with another former Twin Hall of Famer, he had a far better career ERA and ERA+ than Jack Morris. He struck out more batters in basically the same amount of innings. Koosman won 222 games in his long career (Morris won 254). Koosman's career WAR was 53.7, better than Morris, Kirby Puckett or Tony Oliva.
A left handed hitter in Twins history who was far better than I remembered was Don Mincher (I remembered Halsey Hall calling him "Minch in a pinch" because of his pinch hitting abilities).  Mincher had an OPS+ of over 100 in every full season and managed a lifetime OPS+ of 127, better than Kirby Puckett or Joe Mauer. 
Misconceptions: I seen several posts saying that Kyle Farmer could platoon with Alex Kirilloff at first base. Farmer has played first base about as much as Christian Vázquez and obviously we don't want to see that much if at all. Farmer is a natural to get at-bats against left handed pitching in place of Edouard Julien. Further, I think Farmer's overall value has dropped to the Twins due to the personnel on the team. They have a replacement for Carlos Correa (Brooks Lee) in St. Paul and he's a top prospect. As a fill-in for a day or two, I think Willi Castro can play shortstop every bit as well as the 34-year-old Farmer. Farmer never has been regarded as fast, but is the epitome of the reliable guy who turns outs into outs, but he's range limited with only an okay arm. His fielding metrics last year were neutral at second and third, but substandard at shortstop. This really limits Farmer's value. I don't think there is another team that would consider him to be an everyday starter at shortstop, and that really hurts his trade value. He might be most valuable to the Twins in part due to his clubhouse presence.
Nick Gordon has improved his chances to make the Twins out of Spring Training with the trade of Jorge Polanco. I'm skeptical of him helping the team this year because what he does comparatively well (hit right handed pitching) is already covered by Julien, Wallner and Willi Castro. Nick's brother was a really fast runner (won a stolen base crown) and people seem to think Gordon is also really fast. He's not, his sprint speed before his broken shinbone was 50th percentile. He's slower than Matt Wallner and the equal of Alex Kirilloff. Burners like Bubba Thompson and (a healthy) Byron Buxton are two-three feet per second faster. I credit Nick with making himself a viable major leaguer by becoming a capable outfielder while already on the Twins. Unfortunately, he is a utility guy who is really stretched playing shortstop and he's barely played the infield corners. 
Defensive metrics: I remain suspicious of defensive metrics. First of all, I think rating defense in assigning WAR often misses the mark. Secondly, I think it is tough to measure. I don't think outfielder's throwing arms are properly credited, for example. A Matt Wallner or Michael Cuddyer can make up for not catching an occasional drive to the gap due to denying extra bases because of their strong throwing arms. Too often Defensive Runs saved doesn't justify with other measures such as range factor. Some measures reward lack of errors and "turning outs into outs" while others seem to reward making plays not expected. No system is foolproof and it seems to me that a reputation is rewarded long after the actual performance has slipped. There also isn't enough credit for versatile players that might play where they are stretched or unfamiliar like Nick Gordon or Willi Castro playing center field.
Several more thoughts in this cluttered mind. Maybe I'll make another entry before Spring Training starts.
 
 

The last weekend of January can be brutal for Twins fans and Minnesotans alike. Brutally cold weather, losing sports teams, general malaise and seasonal depression just to name a few. But it also means Twinsfest Live, Diamond Awards and the granddaddy of them all: Twinsfest. 
Reduced down to just a single day for autographs, Twins fans nevertheless came out in droves after a successful 2023 season that saw the end of The Streak (no, not a repeat of Brock beating Taker, and that still wasn't the right choice imo, but I digress). Yes, the Twins have now officially won a playoff GAME (two in fact) the last 2 decades. 
Twins fans came out in droves, in fact it was announced Friday night that Twinsfest Saturday was sold out! 
I attended Twinsfest Autograph Saturday and here are some of my personal takeaways, as always, feel free to comment below!
1. Twins fans are just as excited as ever: Winning playoff games will do that to a fanbase. But it wasn't just that, it was the team they put on the field. I spoke to many people who were just as excited to meet Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan as they were Rod Carew or Kent Hrbek. Winning is contagious and this fan base has been waiting so long for post season success. The fans showed up on Saturday, now its up to the team to show up again in October. 
2. Royce Lewis is by far the MOST popular player on the roster. His line for Autographs was insanely long. He started signing at 3:15 and fans were lined up at 11:30 to get his autograph. He was a busy man and never took the smile off his face. Every fan I talked to said he was the player they were most looking forward to saying hi to or seeing play next year. When I yell you he's as exciting as Kirby was in his heyday, it's true. Now, with some success (and Twins history) under his belt, it's time for him to take the reigns and become the undisputed fave of the franchise. 
3. Byron Buxton is healthy and ready, that should excite fans. Buxton is the most divisive Twins player since Joe Mauer(not including Miguel Sano). Fans either love him or hate him, there's no in between. He's either an All Star caliber player that makes tough plays look easy, or he's an often injured soft bum whose collecting a paycheck. Wherever you lie on that scope, know this: Byron is ready. He hasn't been this ready for a while. I asked him on Saturday while going through his autograph line when we might see him back in the field and how he's feeling, and he said "I feel great, hopefully in the field on Opening day". That is music to this fans ears. Buxton makes the lineup better. You can't teach his speed and given the Twins haven't (and likely wont) re sign Michael A Taylor, who was his backup last year, a healthy Buxton is required for a deep playoff run. 
4. Players are excited about this year's team. Almost to a man, every player I spoke to briefly and asked how they were feeling about the 2024 season said something similar: "Excited" "Can't wait" "Build on last year". This team has, in my opinion, a perfect mix of veterans (Buxton, Correa, and Pablo Lopez) combined with younger players still looking for sustainable success/consistency or looking to take a step forward and build from 2023 (Ober, Wallner, Julien, Lewis). This is a mix the Twins haven't had in years, it showed last October and hopefully will again this year.
5. Joe Mauer is still a beloved figure, and a first ballot Hall of Famer. That's right, whether it's old school Twins fans who dont understand concussions and what exactly "bi lateral leg weakness" is, young fans to whom he's just a name in team history, to fans in their 30s and 40s like myself who saw his entire career, Mauer is as popular as ever. You can debate the first ballot thing, but you can't say that he isn't popular. He was signing at 9:15 on Saturday morning and my wife was in line at 9:02 (just after the doors opened) and she said there was already 150 people in his line. Hometown player, entire career with the Twins, Twins Hall of Fame and now the MLB HOF, he is without a doubt, the most popular Twins player, since Kirby Puckett. He helped the Twins stay relevant and was often the face of the franchise as a Catcher. I've always been a fan and always will be. Congrats on your incredibly well deserved induction, Joe! 
(Side note: I talked to people who said the Mauer line stretched out the room, down the hall and around the corner, roughly 400+ people)
Final Takeaways: Twins fans and players alike are excited for 2024. The players I spoke to (albeit briefly) all mentioned how much fun last year was and how they want more of that success in October, and the players feel like the team is built for it. In my opinion, it's going to come down to two big keys (health, as always; and growth). If they stay healthy and Lewis, Julien and Wallner continue to improve, they will make a deep October run, and then maybe next year, Twinsfest will go back to Two days for autographs. 

I didn't wanna see him go in 2018.
While I sat at home watching the Twins play on a perfect Minnesota night in September, Mauer came to the plate in the bottom of the 5th inning against the nemesis New York Yankees, and the ingredients were in place for this at-bat to be something special. The Twins were up 6-1 and the bases were loaded, and everyone watching knew Joe Mauer had exactly one thing on his mind: taking the first pitch, which he did, for a ball.
Because that was Joe's process. A quiet, understated patience that drove pitchers to frustration and subtly nudged umpires to up their game. Without saying a word, he communicated to his opponent that he was going to force him to deliver a pitch he could hit.
This was also evident in the broadcast booth, as Mauer's old teammate, Justin Morneau, commented on what we were about to see with just a tinge of excitement in his voice.
"I'll be surprised if Joe swings early, and I'll be surprised if he swings at anything out of the zone."
Joe took another pitch, a 96 mph fastball which caught the corner for a strike. Joe barely reacted while he kicked the dirt and began setting up for the next pitch. It was then that Morneau said something which made me catch my breath.
Upon Dick Bremer remarking that Mauer's average with RISP was still 5th in the league despite having dipped a bit, Morneau offered more than just platitudes: he offered an opinion.
"And that's the part that tells me he still has something left in the tank - he still should continue to play baseball when he can come through in those situations."
With Mauer's future uncertain and his contract coming to a close, this felt like a papal decree. For Justin Morneau, one of Mauer's closest friends, to make a statement like that during a broadcast?! Surely he would know what Mauer was planning for the future and wouldn't comment otherwise, right? 
Mauer took his third consecutive pitch for another strike on the outside edge, making it 1-2.
"Come on, Joe! Swing at 'em!" someone shouted from the stands.
Joe stepped out of the box and calmly looked around, resetting his focus and taking a big breath before watching the 4th pitch hit the dirt, and the 5th pitch follow right behind for a full count.
5 pitches, and the crowd was beginning to buzz without Joe ever taking the bat off his shoulder. 
"This is what Joe Mauer does, he makes you throw him something that he wants to hit."
And so it was, on this crisp autumn night, as Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle grooved a fastball directly down the center of the strike zone. and Joe Mauer let loose all the energy that he'd been holding in reserve up until that point.
Dick Bremer was immediately on the mic. "A high blast to center field! Going back is Hicks!"
"Go ahead, ball!" implored Roy Smalley.
"That ball is GONE, a grand slam!"
The only swing that Joe Mauer made was a no-doubter, and Target Field let their appreciation for their hometown kid be known. Sitting in my office with my dog asleep on my lap, it was all I could do to raise my arms in silent appreciation. He's still got it. He's still my guy.
"Like I said, there's plenty left in the tank right there. That's fun to watch," Morneau repeated. From his mouth to the front office's ears, I thought.
I didn't wanna see him go.
But baseball isn't a scripted narrative, and life doesn't revolve around sports, despite how much we believe it to be true. Mauer would take his final curtain call at catcher a few weeks later, while I tried to convince myself that this was simply him hedging his bets - this was just in case things didn't work out when he'd come back to the team to talk about a short extension. The lies we knowingly tell ourselves when the truth would be too painful.
Joe Mauer's legacy is one that is almost amusing in its stubborn adherence to form: an understated stature that loomed large when it needed to, never flashy, and knowing what was needed at the right time. In 2018, Mauer knew that it was time to be a dad, looking back on his career and deeming it a fine enough journey to be proud of. 
Later today, Joe Mauer will get the delicious icing of finding out that the baseball world wholeheartedly agrees with that assessment with his election to the Hall of Fame. A perfect ending to the career of an unassuming kid who, throughout it all, let his patience do the talking.
Here's to you, Joe.

I have speculated that if the Twins acquire a starting pitcher, he won’t clearly be seen as a top 50 or 60 starter. I would think the guy will be either unproven, an injury risk or coming off a disappointing or unproductive season. Further, I think most teams are placing a high price on pitching, particularly guys under team control.
Teams that have no real hope of contending should be a little more willing to part with starters under team control because by the time they expect to contend, guys in the majors will have moved on. In addition, bad teams might have pitchers whose stats look worse because they are playing for a bad team. Maybe a bad bullpen allowing lots of inherited runners to score, perhaps bad defense behind him or instances where the manager had no choice but to let a team put up crooked numbers because there was nobody available in the bullpen.
There were four 100-loss teams in 2023. Two of them were in the AL Central and thus would be unlikely to deal with the Twins. The other two teams are Oakland and Colorado. In exploring the pitching staffs for those two teams, my first thought was ugh!, there just isn't anything there. However, in looking a little deeper, I found one guy from each staff to consider. From Colorado, Austin Gomber was 29 last year and pitched 139 innings, he is a lefty, something I think the Twins would like to have in their rotation. In looking at Gomber's home-road splits, he compiled a 3.68 ERA on the road, away from Coors Field. I don't know anything about his injury history, but acquiring the road Austin Gomber for prospects might be something to consider. It appears that Coors messes with a lot of pitchers' heads and adjustments made in the high altitude diminish effectiveness when the pitcher is at a normal altitude. 
From Oakland, I nominate JP Sears. Similar to Gomber, he is a lefty in his late 20s. He worked over 170 innings last year and while his numbers weren't good overall, he seems to have worn down over the course of the year and perhaps the wearing down was exacerbated by being on a terrible team. His first half ERA was 3.97 with a 1.044 WHIP. and over 8 Ks per nine innings pitched. The walks and hits soared in the second half, so I will speculate he did wear out. He's not a big guy--5'11"180 lbs.--and this was his first full year of the major leagues. Also, I have to suspect that his manager was forced to work him longer in games because of the rest of the pitching staff being pretty awful. The coming season might allow Sears to handle additional work better and the Twins probably would be better suited to conserve his innings pitched. 
I know very little about either pitcher mentioned other than a quick look at BBRef. For all I know, either or both could already be scheduled for major surgery, but I do think looking for an undervalued asset on a bad team is one way to get value. 

Of all the professional sports, no sport seems to have as many and as many colorful nicknames as Major League Baseball. This was especially true in the early years of the sports. Some nicknames were so attached to the player that when they were inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, their nicknames were included on their plaque.
Most nicknames have a known beginning, “Dizzy” Dean’s resulted from an incident in his military career when a sergeant found Dean throwing potatoes against a garbage can and yelled at him, “you dizzy son-of-a-bitch!”. Satchel Paige received his nickname when he had a job of carrying passengers’ bags (satchels) at the train station in Mobile. Lawrence Berra received the nickname “Yogi” from his friend who, after seeing a newsreel about India, said that he resembled a yogi from India whenever he sat around with arms and legs crossed waiting to bat or while looking sad after losing a game.
Here are a few Hall of Famer nicknames: James “Cool Papa” Bell, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Grover Cleveland “Old Pete” Alexander, Adrian “Cap” Anson, Luke “Old Aches and Pain” Appling, Frank “Home Run” Baker, Albert “Happy” Chandler, Ty “The Georgia Peach” Cobb, “Wahoo” Sam Crawford, Joe “The Yankee Clipper” Di Maggio, and Bob “Rapid Robert” Feller. 
I have nicknames of other Hall of Famers listed below: If you are interested in trying to see how accurate your guesses are leave your answers in the comment section:
1) The Human Rain Delay, 2) Sandman, 3) The Wizard, 4) The Man of Steal, 5) Captain Hook, 6) Double X, 7) Hoot, 8) Big Six, 9) Ducky, and 10) Old Hoss.  Try without using the internet.
In addition to researching nicknames on plaques I discovered a few facts that I was completely unaware of. These are the real first names of some of the inductees: George “Ken” “The Kid” “Junior” Griffey, Harry “Doc” “Roy” Halladay, Umpire Harold “Doug” Harvey, Dorrel “Whitey” Herzog, Monford “Monte” Irvin, Larry “Chipper” Jones, Santurino Orestes “Minnie” Minoso, John “Buck” O’Neil, Alan “Bud” Selig, and Lynn “Nolan” Ryan.
Some nicknames had relevance to physical descriptions of the player, such as: Don "Ears" Mossi, Walt “No Neck” Williams, and Ernie “The Schnozz” Lombardi.  Do a search on each of these player's images to quickly see how they "earned" their nicknames.
You can add to that list Robert “Lefty” Grove and Vernon “Lefty” Gomez who were left-handed pitchers and Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown who lost most of his index finger in a farm accident when he was a kid.
Baseball also has nicknames that are interesting or unique:
Ron Cey – The Penguin
Marc Rzepczynski – Scrabble
Ted Williams – The Splendid Splinter, The Kid, Teddy Ballgame, The Thumper
Frank Thomas – The Big Hurt
Randy Johnson – The Big Unit
Jimmy Wynn – Toy Cannon
Pete Rose – Charlie Hustle
Bill Lee – Spaceman
Mark Fydrich – The Bird
Will Clark – Will the Thrill
Don Mattingly – Donny Baseball
Rusty Staub – Le Grand Orange
Steve Balboni – Bye Bye
Shane Victorino – The Flyin’ Hawaiian
Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
Vince Coleman – Vince Van Go
Hideki Matsui – Godzilla
Phil Rizzuto – Scooter
Carlton Fisk / Ivan Rodriguez - Pudge
Don Zimmer – The Gerbil (given to him by Bill “Spaceman” Lee)
During the discovery part of this article, I started questioning how some nicknames came into existence. Some of these are very interesting.
Willie Mays – Say Hey Kid – He used to greet everyone with “Hey” when he saw them
Jim Hunter – Catfish – Given to him by Charlie Finley because he thought he needed a flashy nickname
Leo Durocher – Leo the Lip – Based on his constant baiting of umpire from his position in the dugout
Harold Traynor – Pie – As a child he would often frequent the grocery store and ask for pie. The store owner would eventually call him Pie Face which was shortened to Pie.
Frankie Frisch – The Fordham Flash – Attended Fordham Prep and Fordham University where he was a track star as well as playing baseball, basketball and football.
Walter Johnson – The Big Train – Given by sportswriter Grantland Rice because of his size and because the express train was the fastest vehicle known at the time.
Denton Young – Cy – Shortened from Cyclone because of the speed of his fastball.
James Gavin – Pud – Writers said he made hitters look like pudding.
Edward Ford – Whitey – named for his light blond hair.
Leo Hartnett – Gabby – named because of his shy, quiet manner.
Richard Marquard – Rube – His sweeping delivery reminded a sportswriter of Rube Waddell.
Walter Maranville – Rabbitt – He said it was because his penchant for bounding and jumping, others said it was because of his protruding ears.
Lewis Wilson – Hack – He was 5’ 6” and weighted 195 lbs. with an 18 inch neck, and feet that fit into a 5 ½ size shoe. A teammate said his build resembled Hack Lewis, an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs.
Enos Slaughter – Country – Grew up in Roxboro, North Carolina
Joe DiMaggio – Yankee play-by-play announcer compared DiMaggio’s speed and agility to that of the new Pan American airliner “The Yankee Clipper’. Another story equates DiMaggio to the beauty and grace of a clipper ship. He also had the nickname, Joltin’ Joe.
Domenic DiMaggio – “The Little Professor” - He looked like a college professor because of his size (5’9”), wire-rimmed glasses.
John Odom – Blue Moon – As “Blue Moon” explained, he had a classmate in the 5th grade who started calling him “Moon Head”. A few days later he changed it to “Blue Moon”. He hated that nickname, but later really liked it.
Pedro Sandoval – Kung Foo Panda – Given to him by Barry Zito after a play at the plate where Sandoval jumped over the tag of the catcher.
Dennis Boyd – Oil Can – According to Boyd, “growing up in Mississippi there was a woman who supplied the town with moonshine. When I was 7 I started drinking it myself. One day someone caught us in a tin shed drinking Big Momma’s whiskey out of oil cans, so my friend Pap started calling me Oil Can.”
Sal Maglie – The Barber – Named because he pitcher inside to batters, giving them close shaves.
The Society for American Baseball Research penned an article “An Analysis of Baseball Nicknames” . From 1871 to 1968 these were the most popular baseball nicknames: 1) Lefty, 2) Red, 3) Doc, 4) Bud/Buddy, 5) Dutch, 6) Big, 7) Mickey, 8) Whitey, 9) Chick and 10) Kid. There is a lot of interesting information contained in their article.
While nicknames are not as common now as in the past and there is no question they are more PC, but here are a few current players who have nicknames:
Pete Alonso – Polar Bear
Noah Syndergaard – Thor
Shohei Otani – Sho Time
Blake Snell – Snellzilla
Todd Frazier – The Toddfather
Brandon Belt – Baby Giraffe
Jeff McNeil – The Squirrel
Carlos Carrasco – Cookie
Sean Manaea – The Throwin’ Samoan
Finally, a number of Minnesota Twins have had nicknames. Here are players that had nicknames given to them:
Rocco Baldelli – The Woonsocket Rocket
Doug Mientkiewicz – Eye Chart
Josh Donaldson – The Bringer of Rain
Harmon Killebrew – Killer
Kirby Puckett – Puck
Jim Grant – Mudcat
Tom Brunansky – Bruno
Rod Carew – Sir Rodney
Gary Gaetti – The Rat
Kent Hrbek – Herbie
Torii Hunter - Spiderman
Frank Viola – Sweet Music
Willians Astudillo – LaTortuga (The Tortoise)
Nelson Cruz – Broomstick
Luis Arraez – La Ragadera (The Sprinkler)
Chris Paddock – Sheriff
Feel free to comment and include some unique nicknames that I failed to mention.

From the "zig when other people zag " department.  Here are a few trades/moves I would love to see.. With most of my posts of course would never happen, and in fact would probably be HORRIBLE moves in general.  haha!!!
1) Yes I am still chasing Miami Stanton vs Yankee Stanton, but I would love to see Giancarlo on this roster. He fits perfectly with our "strike out all you want as long as you hit 35 HR" philosophy.  he strikes out 1/3 of the time and has a batting average of .200 over the last 2 years.  Is it too much of a stretch to say "just 3 years ago..."?  Well, Just three years ago in in the 2012 season, he hit .273 slugged at an .870 OPS clip equating to a 3+ WAR. Yes he has a full no trade, Yes he makes WAY more than his current output warrants, but he is getting "in the best shape of his career" this offseason, that is exciting!!!   hehe.   the ZIGZAO quotient is off the charts here, as we are looking to slash payroll, not add to it. and we have some decent young players who would otherwise fill the OF/DH role. The Yankees don't care about payroll, or luxury tax concerns, but I am sure they wouldn't mid too much moving his contract all the same.  Lets take a short term hit for a long term gain!!  The Yankees just moved a ton of their top pitching prospects for Soto, but there is still some quality to be had.  We say we will send them Trevor Larnach or Max Kepler in exchange for Stanton, and in exchange for us taking on 100% of his contract for 2023 & 2024, giving Yankees some space to dip below the tax and reset penalty (and have them on the hook for 2025 & 2026). This Allows the Twins some long term payroll flexibility.. and increases his "re-trade value" as now he will only cost the newly acquiring team at most $64M over 4 years or an AAV of $16M. in exchange for this we get back Luis Gil (former Twin prospect with big arm coming back from injury) and young prospect Brando Mayea who has INSANE speed!! 
Twins won't take on $, Stanton wont waive no trade, but would be fun to get Stanton's RH bat in the lineup as LF/DH.
2) Luis Arraez 2.0:   How about giving the ol' Miami Marlins a call.  there was a great trade for both clubs last year. Twins got an Ace while Miami got a batting champ. Lets start with our desire for pitching. There were rumors Miami may listen on Alcantara due to impending big money coming his way. Now he is out for 2024 for TJ surgery. while trying to make a move for Alcantara could be good long term wouldn't do anything for 2024, Id still trade for him, and the Twins have a history of paying pitchers to rehab TJ. There have been rumbling so Edward Cabrera being available, and being another near break out pitching star. There is Jesus Luzardo, who was once a top pitching prospect in Dodgers system, and depending on who you talk to was either coveted, or hated by Twins FO during potential trade with Dodgers, either way he is a mid 3 ERA strike out pitcher just coming into his own at 26. finally a youngster like Minnesota's own Max Meyer could be an intriguing get. super high potential but injury history. ANY of the above would be great gets for the Twins, and each of them in their own rights has the potential to turn into an ace just like Lopez did.  SO who is the Arraez we give up in exchange?  well one of Miami's biggest needs is a SS. and well, just like moving Arraez hurt, getting a top shelf pitcher again will sting a bit. Shortstop we seem pretty stacked. Middle infield overall. No I do not believe Polanco comes into play here, But if Correa is here for the long haul, and we still have Lewis at 3B, and Juline at 2B, Where exactly will Brooks Lee get his ABs? We already traded our #1 pick from 2021 (Chase Petty) why not go ahead and move our #1 pick from 2022? Brooks Lee could be a star, and we are 1 injury away from him being called up, BUT it takes quality to get quality..
3) Speaking of that Chase Petty and revisiting past trade partners, How about revisiting the "Twincinatti" connection. after sending off Petty to Cinci for Gray, and then Steer and Encarnacion Strand for Mahle (HORRIBLE trade) why not reach back out see what we can bring back from Cinci? Their biggest need is pitching, and we aren't in great shape to send any out, but they do have potential areas to upgrade in the 1B/DH/LF where their depth chart currently has Steer as starter at 1B & LF, and E-Strand as DH and backup 1B,  Could we entice Cinci with Kepler and Kirilloff, and even throwing in low A prospect to get Chase Petty back? Petty doesn't seem to have the same high projection as when drafted, but should still be a solid #2 in the future. This wouldn't improve us right away this year, but would position us nicely in the future getting Petty back. and having Wallner replace Kepler and potential of Miranda back at 1B to replace Kirilloff, we would not be losing a whole lot.  PLUS, in order to replace Kirilloff we could also...
4) Go get the OTHER player I have been pining for for years.  Dom Smith could be had relatively cheaply via trade.  Gold Glove type defense. He may not strike out as much as we would liek our hitters to, as he only strikes out at a 17% clip, but he can still be a great presence on this team. He has the natural leadership of a Boomstick. and good for the Twins he is cheap.
No these will not happen, and yes they may range from "dang you are dumb!!  to "that is just pointless"  or somewhere in between coming in as "redumbdant".   BUT dang that would be Frankenstein Funhouse to see all four happen!!
REAL trade scenarios come out next week!!