Tom Froemming

Scott Boras has become the latest person to call for baseball's return. A growing number of people are starting to kick the back of the driver's seat, for better or worse.

As it pertains to baseball’s return, we seem to have more clouds than concrete timetables. With so many variables, is it even worth starting to speculate when the Twins may be back at Target Field?Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, top infectious disease expert of the federal government, told the New York Times “there are certain parts of the country — in the Mountain region and in the Midwest and in some of the places where there is very little infection and they’re developing the capability of responding — I think they’re getting back to some form of more normality.” Sounds to me like baseball could safely return sans fans and with teams isolated to a few tight-knit communities. The issue is Major League Baseball doesn’t seem too keen on that plan. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the “preferred plan” is to start play in late June or early July with as many teams as possible playing in home parks. He also wrote that the idea of isolating teams to hub sites is now “being downplayed or dismissed.” Perhaps the most intriguing information of all comes from our old friend Trevor Plouffe, who passed this along Monday evening on Twitter: It seems to me the fly in the ointment is if the MLB insists upon each team playing in its home stadium, they’re going to need approval from 30 different state and local government agencies. Is that realistic? It seems to be impossible to say at this time. No, we're not there yet, and don't ask again! HA! Baseball is secondary at the moment, of course. Safety and control of the spread of coronavirus comes first. Still, we have to at lease be getting closer to baseball's return, right? I don't know. Either way, despite the sunny forecast from Plouffe, more clouds remain. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

While Twins fans were getting swept up in pennant fever for the first time in nearly a decade, a development down on the farm flew somewhat under the radar. The 2019 Pensacola Blue Wahoos assembled what may have been the most talented minor league team in franchise history.Just take a look at this lineup the Blue Wahoos rolled out for a playoff game in early September. Could the marquee names on this roster represent the next nucleus of homegrown Twins talent? Download attachment: Pensacola.png Jhoan Duran was also with the Blue Wahoos at the time, meaning all six of Twins Daily’s current top prospects in the system were on the same roster. FanGraphs listed five members of this group inside their top 75 prospects. This team was stacked. If you’re interested in connecting the names to faces, check out this video I recently posted on the starting lineup being introduced at Blue Wahoos Stadium. As a side note, I just want to point out what great company Ryan Costello was keeping in what turned out to be his final season. Costello, who passed away in November, ranked second in the entire system with 63 walks, posted an .826 OPS in 40 games with Pensacola and slugged a home run in this playoff game. Anyway, as was also pointed out in that video, it wasn’t just the final roster in Pensacola that was impressive. Luis Arraez started his incredible 2019 season in Pensacola. Randy Dobnak made one of his many stops there. Several other players who made their MLB debuts in 2019 appeared for the Blue Wahoos, including Devin Smeltzer, Cody Stashak, Brusdar Graterol, Sean Poppen, Jorge Alcala and Jaylin Davis (who made his with the Giants). Pensacola was spoiled in its first year as a Twins affiliate. The big clubealso sent some familiar names there to rehab from injuries, including Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver. This got me thinking about another affiliate that was absolutely loaded with talent just four years earlier. Check out this Chattanooga Lookouts lineup from 2015: Download attachment: Chattanooga.png Wow. That’s five of the top eight players on the 2019 Twins (in terms of fWAR) who were all at the same place at the same time in their development. As Twins fans, we’ve been treated to some really rewarding experiences watching winning teams develop from within. Still, that ‘15 Lookouts roster is pretty incredible. Maybe the most talented group of prospects on any minor league team in franchise history. Both Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau played for the 2003 New Britain Rock Cats, but if I’m remembering correctly, not at the same time. Mauer started that season in Fort Myers and Morneau had moved up to Rochester by the time Joe arrived in Double A. Looking back a bit further to the team who saved baseball (in Minnesota, at least), the 1998 New Britain Rock Cats really stand out. That Double-A squad featured Doug Mientkiewicz, Cristian Guzman, Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter and A.J. Pierzynski, among others. What about the World Series teams? Many of the homegrown players of that era spent very little time developing down on the farm. Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Frank Viola, in particular, made very short work of the minor leagues, so it’s tough to point to one standout minor league team of that era. Looking at the second World Series team, both Chuck Knoblauch and Scott Erickson were teammates on the Double-A Orlando Sun Rays in 1990. That’s impressive. What about those great 1969 & ‘70 teams? Rod Carew started his minor league career the same season Tony Oliva was voted the American League’s Rookie of the Year, so no minor league overlap with those two. The 1965 American League champion team? Most of that club’s roots trace back to the Washington Senators days. With that being said, I think it’s possible the group of prospects we saw go through Pensacola in 2019 will go down as one of the deepest pools of talent to ever appear together in Twins history. The big question is, considering how much of a winning core is already in place, how many of those players will end up making their mark with the Twins? The three biggest trades the front office made in the past 12 months all included marquee members of the 2019 Blue Wahoos: Lewin Diaz, Jaylin Davis and Brusdar Graterol. With the Twins in a competitive window, how many more top prospects will be traded away? Don’t get me wrong, this is a great problem to have. Both a competitive major league team and a healthy farm system is obviously ideal, I’m just saying it may impact how many of these highlight players from the 2019 Blue Wahoos end up in other organizations. The potential that the 2020 season may be completely wiped out is a painful thing to reconcile with as a Twins fan. This was expected to be a great season, but try not to lose sight that the future also looks bright. Whenever baseball does return, a tremendously built Twins organization is coming back along with it. I'm sure there was a great Twins minor league team I missed. If you dig one up, please share it in the comments. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

The Twins had to fight to the finish to earn their first win of the 2009 season, overcoming a 5-3 deficit despite being down to their final out. Three-consecutive walks followed by singles from Denard Span and Alexi Casilla gave the Twins a walk-off win.Twins 6, Seattle 5 | Box Score Blackburn: 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Span (3-for-5), Cuddyer (2-for-4) Top 3 WPA: Casilla .529, Span .214, Guerrier .114 Chart via FanGraphs Download attachment: chart.png After retiring the first two batters of the bottom of the ninth inning, it appeared Brandon Morrow was going to close out a 5-3 Seattle victory. Instead, he lost his command. Morrow walked Carlos Gomez, Jason Kubel and Brian Buscher to load the bases before being removed from the game. Denard Span kept the rally rolling with a run-scoring infield single before Casilla finished it off with a two-run single to center field to clinch victory from the jaws of defeat. The Mariners bullpen had retired 11 batters in a row prior to Morrow issuing the ninth-inning walks. “It felt like we beat the White Sox,” Denard Span joked with reporters, alluding to Game 163 the prior season. “I was expecting champagne to be in the air when I got in the clubhouse, but it was only the first one of the season.” FLASHBACKS April 6: Oliva Becomes First DH to HR, Blyleven Goes the Distance on 22nd Birthday (1973) April 5: Stewart Hits Walk-Off Homer, Mauer Shines in MLB Debut (2004) MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

It's funny to look back at how sour some of the coverage surrounding the DH was. I saw an article that referred to the Twins outfielders from that game as "designated fielders," so salty.

The defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics and ace pitcher Catfish Hunter had their Opening Day spoiled by the Minnesota Twins. Bert Blyleven, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday, held the A’s offense to three runs, two earned, in a complete game effort.Download attachment: 0406chart.png Twins 8, Oakland 3 Box Score Blyleven: 9 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Home Runs: Oliva (1), Holt (1), Hisle (1) Multi-hit games: Hisle (4-for-5, HR, 2B), Oliva (2-for-4, HR), Carew (2-for-5, 2B) Top 3 WPA: Hisle .182, Oliva .170, Blyleven .135 Chart via Baseball-Reference There’s possibly no better poster boy for the American League’s new designated hitter position than Minnesota’s Tony Oliva, so it’s fitting he became the first player to hit a home run as a DH. Oliva, 34, played just 10 games last season and is still recovering from knee surgery and a twisted ankle. Had he been required to play the outfield, it’s unlikely Oliva would have been penciled into the lineup. Instead, Oliva cracked a homer to put the Twins up 3-0 in the top of the first inning. The Twins added a pair of runs in the second, and chased Hunter, who was credited with two victories in last year's Fall Classic, out of the game after just three innings. The rubber-armed Blyleven, who ranked seventh in the majors with 287 1/3 innings pitched last season, was the beneficiary of all that offense. He successfully negotiated the dangerous Oakland lineup, recording a clean inning in eight of his nine frames. “The change up saved me until I could get the curve over the plate,” Blyleven told Minneapolis Star staff writer Dan Stoneking. “Even then it wasn’t a good curve.” Blyleven capped a memorable 22nd birthday by striking out Joe Rudi and Reggie Jackson in succession to close out the game. LINKS Read more on Oliva’s historic home run from the man himself via the Pioneer Press’ Bob Sansevere.Choose Your MVP: Re-evaluating the 1965 MVP Race | Matthew Taylor91/19 World Series, Game 7: Metrodome Madness Goes Extra Innings | Steve LeinSnubbed: Revisiting: Johan Santana's One and Done Hall of Fame Case | Cody PirklTwins Flashback Recap: Stewart Hits Walk-Off Homer, Mauer Shines in MLB Debut (4/5/2004)MORE FROM TWINS DAILY— Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Just to piggyback on something you already touched on, Mauer doing what he did in '09 as a catcher is really remarkable. There's an argument that's the greatest season any catcher has ever had. Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza are the two guys who immediately come to mind as the top challengers to for that honor.

In case anybody is wondering, yes, the Mientkiewicz quote is real.

Shannon Stewart’s first Opening Day as a Minnesota Twin sure was a memorable one. Stewart sent Twins fans home happy after delivering a walk-off three-run homer in the 11th inning. Hometown phenom Joe Mauer made his major league debut, and reached base in four of his five plate appearances.Box Score Radke: 6 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Home Runs: Stewart (1) Multi-hit games: Stewart (2-for-5, HR, BB), Mauer (2-for-3, 2 BB), Mientkiewicz (2-for-5, 2B) Top 3 WPA: Mauer .314, Stewart .267, Koskie .187 *Chart via FanGraphs The Twins entered the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 4-0, but Mauer led off the inning with a walk. Base hits from Cristian Guzman, Michael Cuddyer, Doug Mientkiewicz, Corey Koskie and Torii Hunter resulted in the Twins knotting things up at 4-4. The Twins’ bullpen opened its season in sterling fashion, pitching in five shutout innings. Jacque Jones and Michael Cuddyer also provided relief with their arms, as they combined on a relay to throw out former Twin Matt Lawton at home plate to end the top of the 10th inning. Matt LeCroy got things started in the 11th inning with a one-out walk and Mauer followed with a single up the middle. Guzman struck out swinging to bring Stewart up with two outs. He did not disappoint. Stewart, who was acquired from Toronto last July, also had a single and a walk. "It's amazing when a 20-year-old kid like Mauer walks to the plate, and you expect big things," Mientkiewicz told Star Tribute reporter Jim Souhan after the game. "And with Shannon, honestly, I'm surprised when he doesn't come through." Mauer collected his first major league hit to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. Brad Radke made his team-record eighth Opening Day start, but unfortunately that experience didn’t work to his benefit tonight. The 31-year-old gave up 11 hits, three of them home runs, in his six innings of work. Due to a Guzman error, however, just two of his four runs surrendered were earned. LINKS For more on this game, check out Aaron’s Baseball Blog. Mauer’s Myths: The Hero Minnesota Didn’t Deserve | Cody Christie The Five Most Underrated Players in Twins History | Ted Schwerzler Reminiscing About the Shannon Stewart Trade | Tom Froemming MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Here's my breakdown of the winners and losers, based on my very scientific formula, as well as some other fun stuff I recorded during the draft:

Looking for something to watch? Let’s take a look back at the 1999 Twins, revisit a creative live feature Fox Sports North rolled out a couple years ago and listen in on a great conversation a young baseball fan and collector has with Twins prospect Ben Rortvedt.Here are a few things I stumbled upon over at YouTube and enjoyed: "Twins '99": Minnesota Twins Magazine Show I started to follow the Twins closely back in 1999, so this video really speaks to me. The Twins were in the midst of a terrible stretch, and the ‘99 season wound up being another doozy, but they were starting to do a great job of marketing the team. There were no superstars on this club, even the guys we know well now were anonymous rookies to most Minnesota sports fans at that time. This was a couple years prior to the Get To Know ‘Em campaign, but you can see the beginnings of that philosophy of trying to put the players front and center in this video. The channel this is on, Classic Twins, boasts 169 videos. Hours upon hours of great Twins content, so dig in! Twins Live: Batting Practice This is one of the most creative things I think FSN has done the past few years. This is a live broadcast of the Twins taking pregame batting practice in September of 2018. If you’ve ever wondered what the players are up to during BP, or just would like to hear Justin Morneau talk about hitting for awhile, check this out. Later on in this video is a clip of Jason Castro talking about nutrition and how that’s changed over the years of his playing career to that point. I think that evolution has gone largely underappreciated. , which has more than 1,800 videos. Young Fan Interviews Ben Rortvedt Rortvedt was an honorable mention on Twins Daily’s 2020 Top Prospects list, but with Brusdar Graterol’s departure he would have slid into the No. 20 spot. In this video he talks with a young fan about his earliest baseball memories, day-to-day life in the minor leagues and more. The young man who runs this channel, Max’s Corner, has been publishing a ton of videos of late. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Kirby Puckett became a free agent after the 1992 season, and a Minnesota reunion wasn’t a foregone conclusion. So when his five-year, $30 million contract with the Twins was announced, Minnesota baseball fans had (yet another) reason to celebrate.Below is a half-hour segment from KSTP, hosted by Joe Schmidt, titled Keeping Kirby Puckett. The Puckett feature picks up at around the 50-second mark. Commercials were not edited out of this video, but that may be more of a feature than a flaw in this case. This YouTube channel, tcmedianow, has loads of old TV news segments like this. Included in the video are reactions from Kent Hrbek, Twins fans at Joe Senser’s and a nice look back at his career up to that point that includes all of his “greatest hits.” Sidenote: Looking back at this really hammers home how much consistency there's been with the sports media in the Twin Cities. Along with Schmidt, there’s also an appearance from Patrick Ruesse. Speaking of which, here’s wishing Sid Hartman a very happy 100th birthday. Wow. Anyway, I guess we’ll stick with the theme of “Keeping Kirby Puckett” because there are so many things as Twins fans we want to keep and hold dearly in regard to Kirby, but plenty others we’d rather not. Watching any coverage of Puckett now, with the benefit of hindsight, always results in a few cringes. The revelations regarding his conduct off the field, particularly his relationships and conduct toward women, were utterly shocking. That was all well-documented in George Dohrmann’s The Rise and Fall of Kirby Puckett for Sports Illustrated back in 2003. I don’t want to dive too deeply into that topic, maybe another time, but it’s interesting to note that in this video there’s both a mention of Kirby being voted the classiest player in all of baseball and an interview where he rejects the idea that he should be looked up to as a hero. It’s difficult for me to touch on Puckett without things getting a little heavy, but let’s finish with something to lighten up the mood. Here’s a fun video of some of his teammates and coaches questioning the authenticity of his Starting Lineup figure: MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Maybe the classic baseball show Home Run Derby was before its time. It pitted two sluggers head-to-head in an empty stadium and put big money (for the time) up for grabs. Here’s a look back at an episode that featured Harmon Killebrew and Willie Mays.These episodes were recorded at a minor league stadium in Los Angeles during December of 1959 and aired in 1960. Killebrew was just 23-years-old at the time of this taping, and was coming off his first full season with the Senators. Killer clubbed 42 home runs that season, which was tied for the most in the American League and third-most in all of baseball. I first encountered Home Run Derby show on ESPN Classic, but a YouTube channel named simply “Baseball” has preserved it for us to enjoy anytime we please. from that channel that features nearly every episode of the series. Not only does Harmon make several appearances, but so too do his Senator teammates (and future Twins) Bob Allison and Jim Lemon. Here's Killebrew vs. Mays on Home Run Derby: The action essentially equates to watching batting practice, but there is some great, intimate footage of these Hall of Fame players. We get to see them close up and hear them answer a few questions while they watch their opponent hit. The editing is also really enjoyable. Here’s an example: MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Bans on large gatherings, aimed to limit the potential spread of the coronavirus, have resulted in the Twins’ first road trip of the season being up in the air. MLB has a league-wide conference call scheduled for Friday, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.The Twins were expecting to open their season Thursday, March 26 in Oakland. The City of Oakland and Alameda County announced today they would prohibit gatherings of 1,000 people or more through the end of March. The Twins’ second series of the season was scheduled to start Monday, March 30 in Seattle. Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a similar ban on large group events through March. Both the Athletics and Mariners announced in press releases that they were working with the Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner on alternative plans for their games impacted by the bans. Greg Johns of MLB.com reported some alternatives being considered are playing those games at Seattle’s spring training complex in Arizona or keeping the games in Seattle, but playing them in an empty stadium. The Twins’ home opener is currently slated for Thursday, April 2. At this time (the evening of Wednesday, March 11) there have been no large group restrictions or any reports regarding the future of that game being up in the air, but it’s certainly a situation to monitor. The NBA suspended its season Wednesday evening after a player on the Utah Jazz preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The NCAA announced it plans on holding both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, among many other events, without fans in attendance. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I included a bit of video of Garry Jr. in this video, starting around the 3:20 mark.

Eddie Rosario went from looking like an All-Star to being below average as the 2019 season progressed. What happened? Well, there's no denying Eddie wasn't the same guy after returning from a left ankle sprain last year.Here's a look back at the ankle injury and some highlights that display how Rosario's athleticism and aggressiveness eluded him in the second half. If it's not a convenient time for you to watch that video, here are some of the big takeaways: ◆ Rosario's performance prior to going on the injured list and his numbers from his return forward are like night and day. Download attachment: Rosie19.png ◆ Defensively, his Outs Above Average dropped from +2 to -13 year over year and his jump vs. average went from +0.7 feet to -2.4 feet, per Baseball Savant. Both of those drops seem to be unusually large. ◆ Rosario's sprint speed went from being in the top 75.9% in 2018 to just the top 55.3% last year. Again, this feels like an abnormally large dip for one season under normal circumstances. ◆ Outside of anything related to the injury, the information below (via FanGraphs) suggests he's due to have better batted-ball luck in 2020. His BABIP has continued to decline despite his hard hit rate increasing every season Download attachment: RosieGraph.png Seth is currently down in Fort Myers (check out his latest report), and passed along this Rocco Baldelli quote from Friday regarding Rosario's health: "I think he's running in a more stable manner. I think he's more confident in the way he's moving around, cutting, accelerating. He'd have to answer if — there's 95 percent, there's 98 percent, and then there's no thought in his head at all. I can't answer that for him. We're happy with the way he's moving around and he's been motivated and I think he's moving well. Really, that's all I can really tell you about it, but that was a fairly significant injury that he was playing with last year. I can't say that at any point during the regular season last year that he was 100 percent running around out there. I think the offseason was good to him. He seems good out there now." This isn't the first time I've done a deep dive into these types of metrics for Rosario. Back in January of 2018, I wondered if Rosie was already losing a step, as the metrics were suggesting at the time. Here was my conclusion: So what do we make of all of this? Well, the pessimistic approach would be to conclude that Rosario’s athleticism is already eroding. But he’s still only 26-years-old, so I find that a little hard to believe. Is it possible that Rosario has played big parts of the past two seasons with undisclosed minor leg injuries that have sapped him of some of that speed? The only time Rosario has been on the DL was when he fractured his thumb in late 2016, but he’s surely played through a few scratches and strains. Sure enough, Rosario had a bounce-back 2018 season in terms of sprint speed and UZR/150. Now that Eddie's 28-years-old, however, it is more realistic to think his athleticism has peaked. It'd be unrealistic to expect him to be as dynamic as he was when he first emerged with the Twins, but I won't be surprised to see significant gains in his running and fielding metrics once again in 2020. Before we wrap up, I want to make sure to point out this is NOT my attempt to dunk on anyone who put out opinions or analysis that shed a negative light upon Rosario this winter. The plate discipline and on-base percentage concerns are both completely legit and far from new. I'm just trying to point out there should be some attempt to account for his health when trying to analyze especially his fielding, running and general second half performance. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article