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What's in a streak? Let's consult everything, from game tape, to Baseball Reference, to Greek philosophy to find out. Get ready to Remember Some Guys™. Image courtesy of Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports It's been a long time since the Twins won a playoff game. I don't have to belabor that point. However, allow me to belabor that point. In the last 19 seasons, the Twins have made the playoffs seven separate times. Seven separate teams have taken the field since the last time. When the 2023 playoffs start, five separate, distinct cores will have attempted to win just one playoff game. The first team in this string of futility featured not one but two players born during the John F. Kennedy presidency. One player for the Twins in 2023 was born a month before George W. Bush was elected. It's been a long time. I invite you to come along on this journey with me as we examine the anatomy of the team that has reached a level of playoff futility never seen before, a level that may even reach higher this year. We'll even consult philosophers dead for nearly 2000 years and ask: Have the Twins lost 18 consecutive playoff games? If you haven't already had the thought that Greggory Masterson is the most insufferable Twins Daily contributor you've ever read, you will today. I'm going to discuss one of Baby's First philosophical questions. If you've ever had the misfortune of sitting in an introduction to philosophy course (or worse, watching Marvel's WandaVision), you may have heard of the thought experiment called Theseus's Ship. It goes something like this. Imagine a great wooden ship. Years go by, and it makes many voyages. Occasionally, it needs repairs. Rotten or damaged wood is removed and replaced with new boards. Eventually, all of the original pieces of the ship have been removed and replaced. None of the original pieces of the ship are currently part of the ship. Is this still the same ship, or did it become a new ship? If it became a new ship, at what point did it cease being the old one? When every single original piece was finally removed? When it 50% old and new materials? Is it a new ship every time that a single piece is removed? If it is still the original ship, what if all of the old, original pieces were kept and reassembled back into a ship? Is this newly constructed ship a new one, distinct from the first, even though all of the original pieces are back in place, or do we have two of the same ships? I'm not here to answer those questions. I am here to document the absurdity of the number of boards that have been added and removed from the Twins ship. You can call it whatever you want—the Champion Ship or the Friend Ship are the names I like. Let's start at the beginning. 2004: The Maiden Voyage A bully good crew manned this ship captained by Ron Gardenhire. The Twins were coming off back-to-back-to-back AL Central championships, and they were led by a group who had been there from the first one in 2002, like Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, and Christian Guzman. Even Matthew LeCroy was still around, and Brad Radke was getting the last out of his shredded arm. This core was the first of five to lead the team unsuccessfully into the belly of the whale. In truth, many were already on the way out, as fellow members of the early 2000s core like Doug Mientiewicz, A.J. Pierzynski, and David Ortiz had already begun the phasing out process. Ironically, the three would each win a championship in 2004 or 2005. Supplementing the core affectionately known as the team that saved baseball in Minnesota or the Get to Know 'em Twins were veterans like 2003 trade deadline hero Shannon Stewart, journeyman catcher Henry Blanco—who was thrust into the starting role after an early injury to then-rookie 21-year-old Joe Mauer—and pinch-hitting extraordinaire Jose Offerman. A second core was beginning to emerge with players like Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer—who played second base down the stretch that year—and a pre-wrecked-knee Jason Kubel—who batted six times as a DH in Game 2. Also along for the ride were batters thought to be part of the following core like Luis Rivas and Lew Ford, neither of whom had terribly productive careers with Minnesota after 2004, though Ford received MVP votes that year and had a solid 2005. On the pitching side, supplementing Radke was a crew of Cy Young Johan Santana, Kyle Lohse, and Carlos Silva, who each took wildly different career paths following 2004. In the bullpen, Joe Nathan was beginning his reign as one of the top closers in the game behind Mariano Rivera. Other notable names in that pen were J.C. Romero, Juan Rincon, and Jesse Crain. Oh, there was also Terry Mulholland, a great name to know if you're into Immaculate Grid. The wily veteran served as the team's long reliever and spot starter. He predates the Kennedy assassination, and when paired with backup-backup-backup catcher Pat Borders—who was also born before the incident at the grassy knoll—he was the pitching side to a battery whose ages added up to the third-highest number of any pitcher-catcher combo in MLB history. Also, Borders was the MVP of the 1992 World Series. That's a lot of names, and with the Twins coming off three consecutive division crowns, the sky was the limit. Twins who played in the 2004 ALDS: Grant Balfour, Henry Blanco, Pat Borders, Jesse Crain, Michael Cuddyer, Lew Ford, Christian Guzman, Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, Jason Kubel, Matt LeCroy, Kyle Lohse, Justin Morneau, Terry Mulholland, Joe Nathan, Jose Offerman, Brad Radke Juan Rincon, Luis Rivas, J.C. Romero, Johan Santana, Shannon Stewart Italics indicate the player never appeared in the playoffs for Minnesota after this year 2006: Sunk in the Bay After something of a disaster in 2005, the Twins bounced back in 2006 to secure their fourth division championship in five years. However, the years were already showing on the construction of the ship. Of the 24 players who appeared in the 2004 ALDS, only nine returned to the field for the 2006 playoffs—Hunter, Morneau, Cuddyer, Ford, Santana, Radke, Nathan, Crain, and Rincon. Technically Ruben Sierra could have made the cut, as he was a member of the 2004 Yankees (as you may well remember), but he didn't make it to the end of the year with the Twins. In truth, Mauer and cult hero Nick Punto were members of the 2004 team but were injured before the 2004 playoffs. Likewise, Kubel did not play in the 2006 playoffs, but he would return in the following years. You can make your own judgments on whether those count as continuous pieces. Luis Castillo and Rondell White—the closest Terry Ryan got to acquiring hitmen—made their only appearances for the Twins in the playoffs this year. A bit more obscure were Phil Nevin's three plate appearances. This is your reminder that Phil Nevin was a Twin and that he played in a playoff game for them. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the man who played DH and hit 8th instead of Nevin in the final two games—Jason Tyner. On the pitching side, much looked similar regarding the most notable names from 2004. Still, Matt Guerrier and standard-issue bullpen goofballs (big LOOGY) Dennys Reyes and (submarine pitcher) Pat Neshek made appearances. While I have you here, look up Dennys Reyes's statistics as a Twin. He was way better than you remember. Folk hero and September Rookie of the Month Boo(ooooooooooo)f Bonser replaced Silva in the rotation, pitching Game 2 Radke's final MLB appearance came in the third game, pitching with half an arm and enough cortisone in his body to kill a horse. 2006 also featured a third of an inning pitched by a rookie, 23-year-old Glen Perkins, who would never throw another pitch in the playoffs. Sadly, these were the last playoffs in Minnesota for Santana, Hunter, and Morneau. Morneau's case is unfortunate, as although he was a Twin in 2009 and 2010, injuries kept him out of the playoffs both years. 2006 was the last time Twins fans could watch him swing it in the postseason for their hometown team. By now, the only remaining leading cast members of the early 2000s teams were Radke and Hunter. Sure, some players like Santana and Cuddyer were around in those days, but they weren't the faces of the franchise. At this point, the focus had turned to the core built around the M&M Boys: Mauer and Morneau. But, for the first time in this streak, the Twins were swept. They couldn't muster even one win like they had in 2004. The count is at six. Returning pieces from 2004: Jesse Crain, Michael Cuddyer, Lew Ford, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan, Brad Radke, Juan Rincon, Johan Santana New pieces in 2006: Jason Bartlett, Boof Bonser, Luis Castillo, Matt Guerrier, Joe Mauer, Pat Neshek, Phil Nevin, Glen Perkins, Nick Punto, Dennys Reyes, Jason Tyner, Rondell White Italics indicate the player never appeared in the playoffs for Minnesota after this year Look out for part two, which will cover 2009-2017. View full article

A member of The Soul Patrol, Matt Lawton joined Devlin on The Show about The Show podcast. They talked about many topics that Twins fans will really enjoy including his development, his relationship with Kirby Puckett, his highlights, and more. He even discussed a couple of his mistakes including the extensive details regarding his PED suspension. Image courtesy of Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports Just months before the Twins won their most recent World Series championship, the Minnesota Twins drafted a second baseman out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College named Matt Lawton. While top picks from that draft came with high floors and ceilings, first-round picks David McCarty (Stanford), Scott Stahoviak (Creighton), and Mike Durant (Ohio State) did not live up to their expectations, the Twins had success later in the draft. In the 7th round, they drafted a high school pitcher from Gary, Indiana, who went on to have a 21-year MLB career. The first nine seasons of his big-league career were with the Twins. In the 8th round, the Twins drafted a high school pitcher from Tampa, Florida, who went on to win 148 games over 12 seasons with the Twins. Brad Radke became a Twins Hall of Famer. Their 6th-round pick in 1991 was a catcher from Florida State who spent five seasons in the Twins farm system. He has been a well-respected MLB coach for several years, and 2023 will be his first year as the manager of the Chicago White Sox. Matt Lawton began his professional career in 1992 and played second base. In 1993, he moved to the outfield, a move that proved to be beneficial. Following a strong 1995 season at Double-A, Lawton received a September call-up and hit .317 over 21 games. He split the 1996 season between Triple-A Salt Lake and the big leagues. He remained a starter in the Twins outfield until he was traded to the Mets for right-hander Rick Reed at the deadline in 2001. Lawton spent a decade in the Twins organization including parts of seven years in the big leagues. In 771 games, he hit .277/.379/.428 (.808) with 163 doubles, 72 homers, and 96 stolen bases. He was an All-Star in 2000 when he hit 44 doubles and posted a career-best .865 OPS. In 1998, he posted an .864 OPS when he hit a career-best 21 homers. One thing is for certain. If Matt Lawton played in today’s game and put up the numbers he is putting up, he would be making a ton of money. On-Base Percentage wasn’t as appreciated until Moneyball came out in 2002, and even then it took a while to become a factor in salaries in pro ball. On the new The Show about The Show, I chatted with the vastly underrated former Twins outfielder. Ideally, these conversations wouldn’t be quite this long, but this was Lawton’s first interview ever on Zoom, and it was so much fun that it is a Gleeman and the Geek-lengthed show. You will want to watch it all, but if you don’t have time, here are just some of the highlights. The big ‘talker’ of this interview will likely be Matt Lawton’s acknowledgment of his PED usage and 10-game suspension. (1:06:30 mark) He talks about where he got the steroids from, why he decided to try it, how it affected him, and how he got caught. Lawton is very candid about it. At 37:30, Lawton was involved in an on-field spitting incident in Toronto that nearly got him arrested. “My momma wasn’t happy about me that day.” Starting at about the 6:00 mark, Lawton talks about his development and how he decided to become a more well-rounded player. Paul Molitor played a role, but also playing in the Florida State League gave him tremendous confidence in his game. At 10:00, Lawton discussed why he took so many pitches. You may be surprised at the reason he walked so much early on, and how that carried forward. At 14:45, find out why he called his first MLB home run “bittersweet.” When you hear why, you’ll likely agree. There are several Kirby Puckett stories throughout the podcast including: why he kept calling Lawton “Wally Pipp,” Puckett showing off his check and motivating and providing wisdom to players, buying him his first suit, playing cards on the plane, protecting a bag for Puckett overnight and why it scared him to death. (1:37:45 mark) We played a lot of “Name Association” during the show. Find out what words or phrases Lawton used to describe teammates and coaches. Several Tom Kelly stories and descriptions. Harmon Killebrew. Rod Carew. Brad Radke. Terry Ryan, Todd Walker, the Metrodome’s roof (when was it toughest to see?), Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, David Ortiz (“I don’t think Papi would have been Papi if he wouldn’t have been with Manny Ramirez”), Paul Molitor, Ken Griffey Jr. Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Frank Thomas, and more. Around 24:15, Lawton talks about one reason he got hit by a lot of pitches… he believes he was one of the first big bat flippers. At 25:55, Lawton discusses going to arbitration with the Twins. “I wouldn’t wish that process on anyone.” At the 40:30 mark, Lawton talks about what it meant to him to play in his first (of two) All-Star game. At the 51:00 mark, he talks about his reaction following the news that he had been traded to the Mets. “It was devastating! It was one of those things I never got over.” The Mets were in Pittsburgh on 9/11. Find out how he and his wife learned the news of the terror attacks, and then returning to action in New York. At the 1:00:00 mark, he discusses how going to Atlantic City with Mike Piazza cost him over $117,000 in jewelry. At 1:09:30, Lawton talks about hearing about the death of Kirby Puckett. He was with the Mariners that spring, and along with Eddie Guardado, they left spring training to attend the funeral. At the 1:19:00 mark, Lawton talks about the umpires back then and why he wishes there would have been an electronic strike zone. Things were especially bad at Yankees Stadium, “I know the strike zone. That’s not even close.” And comparing the defense in center field of Torii Hunter and Byron Buxton… Check out the full podcast below. Be sure to subscribe to The Show about The Show YouTube page, and follow Devlin on Twitter (@Devlin_Clark84). I appreciate you taking time to read this and watch. Please leave your comments below. I have a couple more interviews set up with Twins players from that general era, so any feedback would be great. Thanks! FULL VIDEO View full article

First judge the rankings. Then let us know where the 2023 rotation should slot in. Image courtesy of © Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports With this year’s rotation looking promising and, so far, healthy, let’s rank the past 25 years of Twins rotations. Fangraphs WAR will feature prominently in the rankings, but contextual factors are considered, as well. I also included AL rankings. As a point of comparison, the number one team in fWAR for their rotation in a given year is usually around nineteen to twenty. For instance, the 2001 Diamondbacks with Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson had 19.6 fWAR; the 2022 Astros had 19.4. The 2023 Twins staff … well, let’s talk about them at the end. Let’s get started! 1. 2004- 15.9 fWAR (2nd): The top four starters all threw in 33 or more starts, with Johan Santana winning the Cy Young, Brad Radke posting the lowest ERA of his career, and Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse contributing above-average seasons. In July, Radke, Santana, and Lohse pitched consecutive shutouts. This rotation had top-end talent, depth, and health. 2. 2020- 16.2 fWAR (2nd) (projected to 162 games): Kenta Maeda was a revelation, Rich Hill was decent, Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda were their usual selves and the team used openers and peak Randy Dobnak to post the third-best starting pitcher fWAR in baseball. Imagine if Jake Odorizzi had been available. I would rank them first but in a 60 game season, there isn’t much of a test of depth. 3. 2006- 12.5 fWAR (6th): Prior to Francisco Liriano getting hurt, this team had the best rotation of any listed here. But in addition to Liriano needing Tommy John, Radke famously couldn’t brush his teeth due to a total lack of rotator cuff and Boof Bonser ended up starting game two of the ALDS as a result. Johan Santana had perhaps his best year, it should be noted. 4. 2005- 15 fWAR (4th): Santana was electric again with 7.1 fWAR. Radke, Lohse and Silva were solid. Unfortunately, this team couldn’t hit and the team missed the playoffs despite ranking seventh in MLB in rotation fWAR. 5. 2019- 16.4 fWAR (4th): By fWAR, this is the best rotation on this list, led by excellent seasons from Berrios and Odorizzi. However, Martin Perez and Kyle Gibson fell apart down the stretch and Pineda was suspended, leading to Dobnak starting a playoff game. 6. 2010- 14.5 fWAR (5th): Liriano finally recaptured some of his old magic this year with 5.6 fWAR and Carl Pavano, Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey were pretty good wingmen. Another bat would have helped. 7. 2015- 13.5 fWAR (5th): Seven guys contributed over 1 fWAR in the team’s return to contention led by Gibson, while Mike Pelfrey had his best Twins year. Tyler Duffey almost pitched the team to the playoffs with a 3.10 ERA down the stretch. 8. 2002- 11.2 fWAR (9th): This staff had decent depth with five starters accumulating over 1.4 fWAR, but Radke only started 21 games due to injury. Johan Santana made his first contribution, ranking third among starters in fWAR despite only fourteen starts. 9. 2003- 12.2 fWAR (6th): Joe Mays fell off a cliff this year, but Kenny Rogers, Lohse and Radke were solid (combined 8.1 fWAR) and Johan Santana sealed his rotation status (finally), posting a strikeout percentage 9.8% better than any of his rotation-mates in 110.1 innings. 10. 2014- 11.7 fWAR (7th): This was the inexplicable and record-setting Phil Hughes year, as well as the first full Gibson year where he posted 2.7 fWAR. Ricky Nolasco was supposed to stabilize the rotation but instead started his decline phase in rapid fashion. 11. 2007- 11.7 fWAR (9th): Baker emerged for 2.7 fWAR in only 23 starts. Silva and Bonser were decent while prospects Matt Garza and Slowey showed promise. 12. 2001- 10.1 fWAR (8th): This was a wasted year of peak Radke and Milton (6.7 fWAR) along with Mays’ best year. Coming off a promising 2000 season, Mark Redman was traded while Rick Reed was acquired for twelve bad starts and Matt Lawton. 13. 2009- 10.7 fWAR (10th): Baker and Blackburn were solid, and Pavano was acquired for a playoff push and contributed 1.6 fWAR in twelve starts. Brian Duensing was the savior, throwing big games down the stretch with a 2.73 ERA. He was no match for the Yankees, however. 14. 2008- 11 fWAR (9th): Another good Baker year, Nick Blackburn was the best version of himself (1.9 fWAR) as was Slowey (2.6 fWAR). Livan Hernandez barely held it together. 15. 2011- 8.5 fWAR (13th): Baker and Pavano were decent but the rest of the staff was a mess. The offense was even worse with only 4.3 combined fWAR. 16. 2018- 8.8 fWAR (8th): Gibson reemerged with 2.6 fWAR and Berrios cemented his place at the top of the rotation. Odorizzi contributed 32 solid starts. If only the fully formed Texas/Chicago Lance Lynn were pitching and not the one with a thirteen percent walk rate. 17. 1998- 11.5 fWAR (8th): Radke followed up his twenty win season with 4.2 fWAR and Bob Tewksbury threw good enough slop to post a league-average year. Mike Morgan was excellent until he was flipped at the deadline. Eric Milton got his feet wet. 18. 2022- 8.2 fWAR (10th): The team addressed its issues from 2021 and acquired Sonny Gray, Chris Paddack, Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy and Tyler Mahle. Gray was pretty good. 19. 2000- 9.9 fWAR (10th): Redman gave the team 24 solid starts, Radke and Milton held serve, and Sean Bergman made his (impressively bad) mark. 20. 1999- 10 fWAR (11th): Radke and Milton were solid again (combined 7.3 fWAR), Joe Mays contributed twenty decent starts, and this was, mercifully, the last year of the LaTroy Hawkins starter experience. 21. 2017- 7.1 fWAR (11th): Berrios emerged as a solid number two starter and Ervin Santana was good again. This was the Bartolo Colon year, and that speaks to the lack of talent. The wild-card loss to the Yankees also was an indicator. 22. 2013- 5.5 fWAR (Last): Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Correia were newcomers and as advertised, combining for 3.8 fWAR in 338 innings. This was the era of peak Sam Deduno, as well as the horrifying Vance Worley experiment. 23. 2021- 5 fWAR (14th): This is the year the team realized Griffin Jax was best suited for the bullpen. Except they had no other options and threw him out there for fourteen brutal starts. Berrios was traded, while Maeda and Pineda broke down physically. At least there was Bailey Ober. 24. 2016- 7.6 fWAR (13th): The year everything went wrong. Nolasco, Gibson, Duffey, Hughes, Tommy Millone, newcomer Berrios and Hector Santiago were all nearly unplayable and all had ten or more starts. Ervin Santana was good. 25. 2012- 3.4 fWAR (Last): This was as low as a starting staff can go, and it could have been even worse if Scott Diamond hadn’t come out of nowhere to post 2.4 fWAR in 27 starts. Cole DeVries, P.J. Walters, and Jason Marquis featured prominently. The 2023 rotation is projected for 11.9 fWAR, if you were wondering. None of these staffs had the depth this year’s crew figures to have, but the Radke and Santana-led rotations were stronger at the top. Where would you rank the 2023 rotation? View full article

John Bonnes and Nick Nelson focus on the 2004 Minnesota Twins' most valuable players; as the Twins pursued their third consecutive division title, a trio of pitchers led the charge, accumulating a combined Wins Above Replacement of nearly 15. View full video

John Bonnes and Nick Nelson discuss the MVP candidates from the Twins' breakout 2000 season, including long-term Twin Brad Radke, outfielder Matt Lawton, and the on-base machine, third baseman Corey Koskie. View full video

Last week, MLB.com tried its best to identify the best draft pick in each club’s history. There’s no question this can be debatable, so here are the top-5 draft picks in Twins history. When it comes to the rankings below, there are many factors to consider. Should the rankings be based on the team’s best players of all time? Should the rankings be associated with players found later in the draft that provided tremendous value? In the end, it’s likely a combination of multiple ranking methods. 5. Kent Hrbek, 1B Twins WAR: 38.6 There were 431 players taken ahead of Hrbek in the 1978 MLB Draft, but he made a life-long impact on the Twins franchise. His hometown team drafted him in the 17th round, and he went on to be a fixture on the team’s 1987 and 1991 World Series titles. His 293 home runs rank second in team history behind only Harmon Killebrew. At 34-years old, he retired earlier than some, so his career numbers may have looked even better if he continued playing. 4. Brad Radke, RHP Twins WAR: 45.3 Fans might not realize how good Radke was during his 12-year career because he was part of some terrible Twins teams. Only one pitcher in team history has accumulated a higher WAR (see below). The Twins selected Radke with their 8th round pick (206th overall) in 1991. He averaged over 200 innings pitched during his career with a 1.26 WHIP and a 113 ERA+. Some of his other numbers aren’t as impressive because he was one of the team’s original pitch-to-contact arms. He provided durability and consistency for the Twins rotation as the team came back to prominence in the early 2000s. 3. Bert Blyleven, RHP Twins WAR: 48.9 Blyleven was MLB.com’s pick for the best draft pick in team history, and he has an argument for the top spot. Both of the players listed below were taken in the first round of their drafts, which can come with high expectations. Blyleven was a third-round pick, and 54 other players were taken ahead of him in 1969. His 22-year career saw him play for five franchises, but he accumulated more WAR during his Twins tenure than any other pitcher in team history. He was a great pitcher and a steal in the third round, but the players below should be ranked higher than him. 2. Joe Mauer, C Twins WAR: 55.2 It’s hard to fathom the amount of pressure Joe Mauer had to feel when he was taken with the first overall pick by his hometown team. Not only did he live up to the hype, but he also went on to have a career that has him in the Hall of Fame conversation. According to Baseball-Reference, only two players in Twins history have accumulated more WAR in a Twins uniform, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. Both of these players are in Cooperstown, and Mauer hopes to join them in the years ahead. 1. Kirby Puckett, CF Twins WAR: 51.2 Puckett’s path to the Twins was a unique one as the team drafted him third overall in the 1982 MLB January Draft. This now-defunct draft is different from the regular draft used to select all the other players on this list. That being said, it’s hard to ignore what Puckett did in a Twins uniform. Minnesota’s assistant farm director Jim Rantz stumbled across Puckett while watching his son play, and the rest is history. Puckett was a critical piece to both of the franchise’s World Series titles, and he was a first-ballot Hall of Fame player. How would you rank these players? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

Derek Falvey was brought over from Cleveland to help the Twins build a pitching pipeline. Those dreams have yet to come to fruition as the 2021 Twins might be the worst pitching staff in team history. On Tuesday night, Twins fans that stayed up late to watch a West Coast game were treated with a real clunker. Minnesota faced off against a bad Seattle team and it escalated into an embarrassing loss. J.A. Happ allowed six earned runs in four innings to an anemic Mariners offense. Happ is only one issue with a pitching staff that might be the worst in franchise history. Out of the 15 American League teams, Minnesota ranks 13th or lower in ERA, hits, R, HR, and strikeouts, but it goes even further than that. While all those numbers show how bad the Twins have been this season, there are ways to compare the current team to former seasons. ERA- and FIP- are all statistics that allow fans to compare pitchers across different eras because it adjusts for the league and the park. For each area, 100 is league average and each point above or below 100 represents a percent above or below league average. If a team has a 90 ERA- that means they were 10 percentage points better than the league average. When it comes to ERA-, there is only one Minnesota team with a worse total than the 2021 Twins. The 1995 Twins finished the year with a 56-88 record and their starting staff was composed of a 22-year-old Brad Radke, Kevin Tapani, Mike Trombley, Frankie Rodriguez, Scott Erickson, and Jose Para. As a club, they had the ranked last or second to last in the American League when it came to ERA, HR, R, W, IP, and H. Entering play on Wednesday, the 2021 Twins (119 ERA-) were only one point behind the 1995 team (120 ERA-), so they certainly can end up in the bottom spot by season’s end. FIP is used to estimate a pitcher’s run prevention independent of the defensive performance behind the player. The 2021 Twins also have the second worse FIP- in team history, but this time the 1982 squad has the worst total. That squad finished 60-102, which was last place in the AL West. Starters on the team included Bobby Castillo, Brad Havens, Albert Williams, Frank Viola, and Jack O’Connor. Like the 1995 team, they ranked at or near the bottom of the AL in ERA, HR, ER, R, and BB. What makes it even more frustrating is how good last year’s staff was in comparison to the current team. Kenta Maeda was the runner-up for the Cy Young and he wasn’t the only one to find success. All four of Minnesota’s top four starters were above league average when it comes to ERA-. Minnesota’s bullpen also had many reliable arms whereas the 2021 team’s bullpen has been a train wreck. In the not-so-distant future, it seems likely for the 2021 Twins to cut ties to some of their veteran pitching options and start seeing what the team has for younger arms. Bailey Ober and Griffin Jax have been added to the staff and other prospects will be following closely behind. Minnesota’s top two pitching prospects, Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic, have both showcased dominant stuff in the upper levels of the minors this season and their big-league debuts made come sooner rather than later. Do you think this is the worst pitching staff in team history? Leave a COMMENT and join the discussion. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email View full article

The 2000s Twins were again quite successful, winning six AL Central division titles. As has been the case in other decades, it was largely due to the hitters. But there were some really strong pitching performances as well from some very recognizable names.While the player names from the 1960s have a certain lore about them, the pitchers from the decade of 2000 were really good too. The staff was led by Brad Radke, a Twins Hall of Famer who was part of the Twins 1990s staff. Johan Santana came to the organization and immediately was good. Very soon after, he became the best pitcher in baseball for a dozen years. In addition, the bullpen you will see is very strong, led by a couple of Twins Hall of Famers. What you will see if a lot of strike throwers... which won't surprise you at all. So today, enjoy looking back at the top Twins pitchers from the first decade of the 21st century. SP - Johan Santana (2000-2007) 251 games, 175 starts, 93-44 with 1 save and a 3.22 ERA in 1,308 2/3 innings. 1,381 K. 364 BB. Santana was the left unprotected by the Houston Astros in the December 1999 Rule 5 draft. The Twins had arranged a trade with the Marlins to acquire Santana. They kept him around, working primarily out of the bullpen in 2000. He posted a 2.99 ERA in 108 1/3 innings in 2002. He went 12-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 158 1/3 innings in 2003. He increased his workload and made 18 starts. Finally in 2004 he became a full-time starter. He responded by going 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA and won his first Cy Young Award. He finished third in 2005 despite going 16-7 with a 2.87 ERA. He won his second Cy Young Award in 2006 when he went 19-6 with a 2.77 ERA. He led the league in ERA in 2004 and 2006. He led the league in WHIP, FIP, strikeouts and K/9 each year between 2004 and 2006. He won another 15 games in 2007. He received Cy Young votes each season between 2003 and 2007. He was traded to the Mets before the 2008 season. SP - Brad Radke (2000-2006) 214 games, 214 starts, 82-71 with 0 saves and a 4.16 ERA in 1,366 innings. 803 K. 206 BB. The Twins eighth-round pick in 1991, he was the Twins top pitcher of the previous decade and still was a top starter in this century’s first decade. He fought some shoulder issues, but in five of his seven seasons this decade, he worked at least 200 innings. Even with his shoulder tendons barely hanging on in 2006, he pitched 162 innings. Blessed with impeccable control, Radke was consistent. In all but his injured seasons, he posted better-than-average ERA. SP - Scott Baker (2005-2009) 111 games, 109 starts, 43-33 with 0 saves and a 4.27 ERA in 653 innings. 499 K. 149 BB. Baker was the Twins second-round draft pick in 2003 out of Oklahoma State. He moved quickly and made his debut in May of 2005. He was a slightly better than average pitcher for the Twins through his seven seasons with the team. He went 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA in 172 1/3 innings in 2008. In 2009, he worked a career-high 200 innings and was 15-9 with a 4.37 ERA. After missing the 2012 season due to Tommy John surgery, he pitched for the Cubs, Rangers and Dodgers over the next three seasons. SP - Carlos Silva (2004-2007) 129 games, 124 starts, 47-45 with 0 saves and a 4.42 ERA in 773 2/3 innings. 306 K. 112 BB. In 2001 and 2002, Silva pitched in 130 games out of the bullpen for the Phillies. After that season, he was part of the trade that sent Eric Milton to Philadelphia. The Twins moved him into their starting rotation. He went 14-8 with a 4.21 ERA over 33 starts and a career-high 203 innings in 2004. In 2005, he went 9-8 in 27 starts, with a 3.44 ERA. As impressive, he had the same number of walks as Wins that season, over 188 1/3 innings. He struggled in 2006, but in 2007, he went 13-14 with a solid 4.19 ERA in 202 innings. Over his four seasons with the Twins, he struck out just 3.6 batters per nine innings. He survived by working fast, getting a lot of sink and throwing a ton of strikes. He left after the 2007 season for a four-year, $48 million deal with the Mariners. SP - Eric Milton (2000-2003) 100 games, 99 starts, 42-26 with 0 saves and a 4.60 ERA in 608 2/3 innings. 445 K. 136 BB. Milton came to the Twins from the Yankees before the 1998 season in the Chuck Knoblauch trade. He had been a first-round pick by the pinstripers. He debuted in 1998. In 2000, he won 13 games. In 2001, he made the All-Star team and won 15 games with a 4.32 ERA in 220 innings. He won 13 more games in 2002. He missed most of the 2003 season with injury but returned late in the season for three starts. It was enough to impress the Phillies who acquired him after that season. RP - Joe Nathan (2004-2009) 412 games, 0 starts, 22-12 with 246 saves and a 1.87 ERA in 418 2/3 innings. 518 K. 120 BB. Nathan came up with the Giants in 1999 and remained with them through the 2003 season. That final season, he was a very good set-up man. That offseason, the Twins acquired Nathan and two other pitchers in exchange for AJ Pierzynski. Nathan wasn’t handed the closer job, but he quickly earned it and he absolutely took off. That first year, he posted a 1.62 ERA and 44 saves. Over his first six seasons with the Twins, he posted an ERA over 2.10 just once (2.70). He had at least 36 saves each season and a career-high 47 saves in 2009. He never had a WHIP over 1.02. He pitched in four All-Star Games. The Twins all-time saves leader became a Twins Hall of Famer. RP - LaTroy Hawkins (2000-2003) 267 games, 0 starts, 18-13 with 44 saves and a 3.09 ERA in 296 2/3 innings. 233 K. 101 BB. Hawkins was the Twins seventh-round pick in 1991. He debuted with the Twins in 1995. He was tried as a starting pitcher through the 1999 season. He moved to the bullpen in 2000. He recorded 42 saves between 2000 and 2001 but he struggled in that role. When Eddie Guardado took over as the team’s closer, Hawk moved into the set up role and became a force. He went 6-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 80 1/3 innings in 2002. In 2003, he went 9-3 with a 1.86 ERA in 77 1/3 innings. He had struggled with control to that point, but he walked just 15 batters each season. He left after the season as a free agent… and then he kept pitching through the 2015 season. Pitching very well. RP - Eddie Guardado (2000-2003) 280 games, 0 starts, 19-14 with 107 saves and a 3.42 ERA in 268 1/3 innings. 254 K. 82 BB. Guardado was the Twins 21st-round pick in 1990 and was in the big leagues by 1993. By 1996, he earned the moniker “Everyday Eddie” because the southpaw was used so much. By the turn of the century, he had become very reliable. He saw his ERA drop from near-5, to mid-4s, to high-3s. Between 2000 and 2001, he won 14 games. By the end of the 2001 season, he took over the closer role. In 2002, he went 1-3 with a 2.93 ERA. He led the league with 45 saves and pitched in his first All-Star Game. He returned to the mid-summer classic in 2003. That season, he went 3-5 with a 2.89 ERA and 41 saves. After the season, he left for the Mariners via free agency. He returned to the Twins in September of 2008 and pitched in nine games. RP - Matt Guerrier (2004-2009) 319 games, 3 starts, 14-18 with 4 saves and a 3.41 ERA in 401 innings. 268 K. 125 BB. Following the 2003 season, the Twins claimed Guerrier after he had been DFAd by the White Sox. He pitched in nine games for the Twins in 2004, but he then became a mainstay in the Twins bullpen, eventually moving in to a high-leverage role. He led the AL in appearances in both 2008 and 2009. In 2009, he went 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA, which was 86% better than league average. He posted an ERA well above league average in four of his five full seasons with the Twins in the decade. He left via free agency after the 2010 season. Spent two years there, then one with the Cubs before returning to the Twins for about a half season in 2014. RP - Juan Rincon (2001-2008) 386 games, 3 starts, 30-26 with 3 saves and a 3.69 ERA in 441 innings. 412 K. 182 BB. Rincon signed with the Twins in 1996 out of Venezuela. He made his debut in 2001 and spent most of the next eight seasons in a Twins uniform. He became a regular in 2003, but 2004 was likely his best season. He went 11-6 with a 2.63 ERA. In 82 innings, he struck out 106 batters. The following year, he posted a 2.45 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning. In 2006, he was 3-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 74 games. He wasn’t the same pitcher after his PED suspension in 2007 and was let go midway through the 2008 season. He continued to pitch into the 2010 season. What are your thoughts? Agree with the choices? Previous Installments Twins All-Decade Team, the '60s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team, the '60s (The Pitchers) Episode 15: Get t o Know the 1960s Twins (with Dave Mona) Twins All-Decade Team, the '70s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team, the '70s (The Pitchers) Episode 16: Get to Know the 1970s Twins (with Patrick Reusse) Twins All-Decade Team: the '80s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team: the '80s (The Pitchers) Episode 17: Get to know the 1980s Twins (with Howard Sinker) Twins All-Decade Team: the '90s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team: the '90s (The Pitchers) Twins All-Decade Team: the '00s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team: the '00s (The Pitchers) Click here to view the article

Today we continue our stroll down Twins memory lane by looking at the pitchers in the All-Decade Team for the Twins. There are a couple of Twins Hall of Famers on this list. The decade began in last place, then jumped to a title, and after that, there were some lean years, but even those teams had some very nice players.The 1990 Twins finished in last place in the American League, but some young pitchers, both starters and in the bullpen, were working some valuable innings and then took off in that magical 1991 season. And even during the years that the Twins were really struggling, some pitchers were getting some quality innings that they carried into the new century. While a couple of one-season Twins could have made this list and given it more clout, the other names make for more conversation. So, enjoy this list and then discuss in the comments below. SP - Brad Radke (1995-1999) 164 games, 163 starts, 66-68 with 4.30 ERA in 1,085 innings. 664 K. 239 BB. Radke was the team’s eighth-round draft pick out of high school in 1991. He made his debut early in the 1995 season and pitched 181 innings. The next six seasons, he topped 213 innings each season. The first two years, he led the league in home runs allowed (“Real as Radke”). But in 1997, he broke out and went 20-10 for a Twins team that won just 68 games. In June, July and into August that year, he had a stretch in which he won 12 straight starts. He finished third in Cy Young voting that year. While his 4.30 ERA over this time frame doesn’t sound great, it was 14% better than average during that era. SP - Kevin Tapani (1990-1995) 176 games, 175 starts, 73-61 with 4.06 ERA in 1,138 2/3 innings. 703 K. 247 BB. Tapani came to the Twins late in the 1989 season in the Frank Viola trade and became a mainstay in the Twins rotation through the first half of the 1990s. In 1990, he went 12-8 and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. He went 16-9 with a 2.99 ERA in 244 innings in helping the Twins to their 1991 World Series championship. He won 16 more games in 1992 despite an ERA of 3.97. He was traded to the Dodgers late in the 1995 season and pitched in the big leagues through the 2001 season. SP - Scott Erickson (1990-1995) 155 games, 153 starts, 61-60 with 4.22 ERA in 979 1/3 innings. 527 K. 367 BB. Erickson was the Twins fourth-round pick in 1989 out of the University of Arizona. He made his MLB debut just a year later and went 8-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 113 innings for the 1990 Twins. He led the league with 20 wins and posted a 3.18 ERA in 204 innings for the 1991 Twins, finishing second in Cy Young voting. He was a solid 13-12 in 1992. But as the Twins went down hill, Erickson’s performance went downhill (or vice versa). He lost a league-leading 19 games with a 5.19 ERA in 1993, got worse in 1994 and was traded midway through the 1995 season. He fought injuries the rest of his career, but he certainly always showed the kind of stuff to keep getting opportunities. SP - Bob Tewksbury (1997-98) 52 games, 51 starts, 15-26 with 4.49 ERA in 317 innings. 152 K. 51 BB. When Tewksbury joined the Twins before the 1997 season, he already was a veteran of 11 MLB seasons. He had been an All-Star with the Cardinals in 1992. He provided the Twins with some consistency and veteran presence. Simply, he didn’t walk many, struck out very few and took the ball. His ERA over those two seasons was 5% better than average. SP - Eric Milton (1998-1999) 66 games, 66 starts, 15-25 with 5.01 ERA in 378 2/3 innings. 270 K. 133 BB. Milton came to the Twins from the Yankees before the 1998 season in the Chuck Knoblauch trade. He had been a first-round pick by the pinstripes. He surprised many when he made the Twins Opening Day roster right away in 1998. After going 8-14 with a 5.64 ERA as a rookie, Milton went 7-11 with a 4.49 ERA in 206 1/3 innings his sophomore season. That ERA was 13% better than league average. While he wasn’t great, Milton provided some glimpses at what he could be. In late July, he threw a complete game, three-hit shutout against the Angels. And, you may remember his September start against the Angels on a Saturday morning in which he no-hit the Angels with 13 strikeouts. In keeping consistent with previous decades, I did not include any players who were only with the team for one season in the decade. In the 1970s, that meant that Jerry Koosman didn’t make the list. In the 1990s, Jack Morris’s 1991 and John Smiley’s 1992 seasons certainly warrant mention. RP - Rick Aguilera (1990-1999) 479 games, 19 starts, 37-42 with 254 saves and a 3.54 ERA in 618 1/3 innings. 529 K. 162 BB. “Aggy” spent parts of five seasons with the New York Mets, even winning a World Series title in 1986. He was traded to the Twins in the 1989 Frank Viola deal. While he was very clear about wanting to be a starter, his work as a closer was terrific and led to being inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. He posted sub-3.00 ERAs each season from 1990 through 1992. He was an All-Star in 1991, 1992 and 1993 for the Twins. He was a huge part of the 1991 championship. Late in 1995, he was traded to the Red Sox, but he chose to come back to the Twins for the 1996 season, again as a starter. In 1997, he was back in the closer role which he kept until a trade to the Cubs late in the 1999 season. He had over 30 saves in six seasons for the Twins. His 254 Twins saves was a franchise high until it was surpassed by Joe Nathan. RP - Mike Trombley (1992-1999) 360 games, 36 starts, 30-33 with 34 saves and a 4.46 ERA in 641 2/3 innings. 525 K. 243 BB. Trombley was the Twins 14th-round pick in 1989 out of Duke. He made his debut in August of 1992. He had some opportunities to start, but his best work came out of the Twins bullpen. His best season came in 1996 when he went 5-1 with a 3.01 ERA and six saves in 68 2/3 innings. He also recorded 24 of his Twins saves during the 1999 season. Once he shifted full-time to the bullpen in 1996, he became very good, very consistent. Over those four seasons, his 3.87 ERA was 26% better than the league average ERA. RP - Greg Swindell (1997-1998) 117 games, 1 start, 10-7 with 3 saves and a 3.61 ERA in 182 innings. 120 K. 43 BB. Like Tewksbury, Swindell had a lot of big-league service time when the Twins signed him before the 1997 season. He had been an All-Star as a starter in Cleveland, and pitched for several teams. He had recently shifted to the bullpen. In 1997, he worked 115 2/3 innings over 65 games for the Twins, all but one out of the bullpen. He went 7-5 with a 3.58 ERA. He then pitched another 52 games (and 66 1/3 innings) for the Twins before being traded to the Red Sox late in the 1998 season. While it was only about 1.7 seasons with the Twins, his 3.61 ERA was 30% better than league average at that time. RP - Mark Guthrie (1990-1995) 227 games, 35 starts, 27-23 with 8 saves and a 4.14 ERA in 432 1/3 innings. 350 K. 153 BB. Guthrie had been the Twins seventh-ound pick in 1987 out of LSU. He made his debut with the Twins in 1989. In 1990, he was still used primarily as a starter. But it wasn’t too long into the 1991 season that Guthrie was moved to the Twins bullpen and he did a really nice job the rest of the season and he was important for the 1991 World Series championship team. 1992 was his best season. In 54 games and 75 innings, he went 2-3 with five saves and a 2.88 ERA. He missed time in 1993 and struggled in 1994 and 1995 when he was traded to the Dodgers where he became very good again. Fun Fact: The Twins used their 40th-round pick in the 2014 draft on high school shortstop Dalton Guthrie. He went unsigned, went to Florida and became the Phillies sixth-round pick in 2017. He spent 2019 with High-A Clearwater. RP - Carl Willis (1991-1995) 204 games, 0 starts, 20-10 with 11 saves and a 3.65 ERA in 286 1/3 innings. 179 K. 64 BB. Carl Willis, aka The Big Train, had quite the circuitous route to the Twins, but once he got there, he played a large role in some terrific Twins teams. He made his MLB debut in 1984 with the Tigers and then spent parts of 1984 through 1986 with the Reds. He pitched six games and 12 innings for the White Sox in 1988. Then he didn’t see the big leagues until 1991. The Twins signed him as a 30-year-old before the 1991 season. By late April, the Twins called him up for long relief. By May 8th, he was back in the big leagues for good. Maybe it was his ticks, touching his cap a bunch and other idiosyncrasies, but whatever, it worked. He gained Tom Kelly’s confidence and was used a lot. He went 8-3 with a 2.64 ERA for the 1991 Twins and then pitched in seven games during the postseason, helping the team to the World Series championship. In 1992, he went 7-3 with a 2.72 ERA. He was 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA and five saves in 1993. He struggled after that for a couple of seasons, but his work in the early-90s was quite impressive. He’s also become a well-respected pitching coach since then. So there you have it, some memorable names, some great moments, many ups and downs, but a fun decade to sift through and remember. What are your thoughts? Previous Installments Twins All-Decade Team, the '60s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team, the '60s (The Pitchers) Episode 15: Get t o Know the 1960s Twins (with Dave Mona) Twins All-Decade Team, the '70s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team, the '70s (The Pitchers) Episode 16: Get to Know the 1970s Twins (with Patrick Reusse) Twins All-Decade Team: the '80s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team: the '80s (The Pitchers) Episode 17: Get to know the 1980s Twins (with Howard Sinker) Twins All-Decade Team: the '90s (The Hitters) Twins All-Decade Team: the '90s (The Pitchers) Click here to view the article

It is hard to believe that it has been fifteen years since the most tragic day in American history. The events of that day and the recovery following it have been well documented over the last decade and a half. The anniversary will always be a time of remembrance but it will also be a time to reflect on how far America has come since the events of September 11th. It seemed that all of America came to a standstill as the events unfolded in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. The professional sports world took a time-out as people realized that there were more important things in life than the sports that can consume people's lives. MLB stopped all of their games for over a week in the middle of the pennant races. At the time, it was the right thing to do as the nation tried to piece itself back together. The Twins were in Detroit on September 10th and they found themselves in second place and only six games out of first place. It would be the last year Tom Kelly would manage the team. It was also the first year the team would finish higher than fourth in the division since 1992. For eight days, the Twins waited to get on the field again and all of America waited for relief that might not appear. "The only two things that got my mind off of [9/11] were baseball and my son's football games"- New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani The nation needed to get back to some semblance of a normal life and for many that meant the return of America's Pastime. The Twins took the field on September 18th for the first time since the tragic events of September 11th. There was a pre-game ceremony in the Metrodome where two hot air balloons were inflated. One bore the image of the American Flag and the other was black and white to honor prisoners of war and others still missing in action. Donnele Burlingame, the cousin of the pilot of the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon, held an eagle at home plate during the pre-game ceremony. Brad Radke was masterful for the Twins after the long layoff. In front of a small crowd of 10,878 fans, Radke took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and he had a perfect game through six innings. At the end of the night, he would finish with a 7.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER. The Twins offense pounded out 18 hits including three hits from Corey Koskie and Luis Rivas. The team also got home runs from Koskie and Christian Guzman and three RBI from Torii Hunter. The final score was 8-3 and many of the players expressed their emotions after returning to the field: "I don't know how I did it. I don't think anybody's mind was on baseball."- Brad Radke "I was hoping he'd get [the no hitter]. It would've meant a lot with all that's been going on."- A.J. Pierzynski Radke was not perfect during this game but in a way that was a fitting tribute to the heroes of September 11th. There was much that still needed to be accomplished at Ground Zero and a perfect game from Radke might have taken some of the light off of the things that were left to accomplish. The focus of the nation was on recovery from the events of that day and rebuilding the crumbling parts of our lives. Baseball offered fans a glimmer of hope at the end of a dark tunnel. After being the team to watch in the first half of the season, the Twins struggled through some rough patches in the second half to finish in second place in the AL Central. On this night, it was not about playoff races, multi-million dollar contracts, or winning and losing. Baseball's return brought hope back to nation struggling to find it's identity. It brought groups of people together to celebrate something that is truly American and it allowed players and fans to pay homage to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. View full article

If Phil Hughes had managed to throw 6 2/3 more innings than he did in 2015, he would almost certainly have joined Bartolo Colon as just the 15th and 16th pitchers in baseball history on a strange -- not necessarily good or bad, but certainly strange -- list: pitchers who pitched enough innings to qualify for the ERA title while allowing more home runs than they did walks. For Hughes, that's more or less the kind of pitcher he's become since joining the Twins--world-class control, possibly the best in the league, coupled with a bit of a problem with the gopher ball. Hughes nearly did it in his excellent 2014--his historically low 16 walks matched exactly his homers-allowed total, in 209 2/3 innings--before leading the league in homers allowed with 29 despite throwing just 155 1/3 innings in 2015 (again with just 16 walks), and it's not at all hard to see his homers allowed topping the walks again this year. Colon was a bit more of a surprise; he's had great control for years, but his 25 homers allowed (against 24 walks) was his highest total since stealing a Cy Young Award from Johan in 2005.As you might expect, this is largely a modern phenomenon, made much more doable by the explosion of home runs in the mid-1990s. Indeed, a qualifying starting pitcher had allowed more home runs than walks just three times in all of history prior to 1998 (Tommy Bond in 1874, Robin Roberts in 1956, Gary Nolan in 1976), then happened three times in 1998, and it's happened 13 more times since. A bit like a hitter's 50-homer season, it's still very rare, just a lot less rare than it once was. It's also, though, largely a Twins thing, and specifically a last-decade Twins thing. In the decade running from 2000 through 2009, pitchers accomplished the feat (if that's what it is) 10 times. The Twins had three different pitchers do it, a total of five times, all between 2002 and 2006. No other team has seen more than two pitcher seasons like this in its entire history; the Twins had five in five seasons. I don't know if that's a point of pride, necessarily, but it's a reminder that "pitch to contact" really used to be a thing, and a thing that worked. Former pitching coach Rick Anderson's whole philosophy was to pound the strike zone and limit walks. It was an against-the-grain tactic that required exactly the right kind of pitcher to work, and in the mid-00s, the Twins were able to develop or acquire a large number of exactly the right kind of pitcher. "Pitch to contact" got to be kind of a joke a few years ago, as it appeared to many of us that Anderson was trying to force a number of square pegs through that round hole -- particularly Francisco Liriano, whose many talents did not include pounding the strike zone or regularly inducing soft contact. It's also possible that strikeouts have become such a vital part of every pitcher's game in just the past few years that this would no longer be a viable strategy with any sort of pitching staff. In the middle of last decade, though, with the three guys below, and to a lesser degree the likes of Joe Mays, Kyle Lohse and Kenny Rogers, they had just the sorts of talents they needed to make it work, and that was a big part of their success--behind Johan Santana, of course, for whom I imagine the coaching strategy exclusively involved saying "you go do your thing, Johan" once every five days or so. Here's the full list of the 14 pitchers who have allowed more homers than walks, in a total of 19 seasons (along with each of the three guys below, David Wells and Jon Lieber also did it twice). Here are the three Twins pitchers who've done it, in order of their first time doing it: Rick Reed: we probably can't give Anderson too much credit (or blame) for this one, as Reed did it in 2002, Anderson's first year as pitching coach for the big club, and had also done it in 1998, with the Mets. Reed always had great control, but posted a league-best 1.2 BB/9 in 2002, walking 26 while allowing a career-high 32 homers. He managed a solid 3.78 ERA (118 ERA+) in 188 innings, thanks to that control and, probably, more than a bit of good luck. Brad Radke: probably my all-time favorite Twin (I wrote a chapter on him in this e-book), and deservedly the poster boy for the Twins' pitch-to-contact reputation. One of the several things that made Radke (nearly) great was that after his nightmarish first two seasons, in both of which he led the league in homers allowed (and was a great sport about it, appearing in poking fun at his issues with the long ball) he actually got to be pretty good at keeping the ball in the ballpark, so while he never walked many (finishing in the top 10 in fewest BB/9 all 11 times he pitched enough innings to qualify), he allowed homers to even fewer. He had upward ticks in 2003 (33 HR, to 28 BB), however, and 2005 (32 HR, 23 BB), and was probably consequently just a bit better than average in those seasons, in contrast to 2004, when he gave up just 23 homers against 26 walks and his 5.8 WAR made him, by that measure, the third-best pitcher and sixth-best player in the AL. Carlos Silva: you might remember Silva's 2005, in which he walked a ridiculous 9 batters in 188 innings, for an MLB record 0.43 walks per nine innings. Not giving up more home runs than walks under those circumstances would've been pretty astounding, but he gave up an average-ish 25, and posted a nice 3.44 ERA (130 ERA+) in 188 1/3 innings. He did it again in 2006, perfectly illustrating how this particular achievement is neither a good nor a bad thing: everything got worse from 2005 to 2006, and Silva gave up a league-high 38 home runs (interestingly, five of the 19 seasons on the list led the league in home runs allowed, but Silva is the only Twin to have done so) against a far more human 32 walks, and put up a 5.94 ERA (75 ERA+) in 180 1/3 innings. He'd have a nice bounceback-to-the-middle season in 2007, which convinced the Bill Bavasi-led Mariners to sign him to a bafflingly huge contract, under which he'd throw a total of 183 2/3 innings in two years, with a 6.81 ERA (62 ERA+). I don't know what any of this means, or that it means anything, but the fact that the Twins did something five times in five years that's only been done 19 times by anyone ever is really interesting to me. I don't think Anderson's pitch-to-contact approach is workable these days, with the league strikeouts per 9 innings hovering near 8 and only two pitchers in the MLB top 10 in WAR posting K/9s under 8 (and most of them well over a strikeout an inning). Strikeouts are to a large extent driving the league (and especially pitching) right now, they're a thing you just have to have to be successful (as a pitcher or as a team), which is something the team's current administration appears to understand at least a bit better than the last one did. But 2002-06 was a different time, where league-wide strikeouts were down about 1.5 from today, and the Twins appear to have found an undervalued set of skills in pitchers--a set that helped make them division champions four times in those five years. Mostly, though, I think handing out more homers than walks over the course of a full season is just a fun, quirky thing, and it'll be fun to see if Hughes finally joins their ranks this season. Click here to view the article