Article: Twins Daily 2014 Traffic Report

[Seth Stohs]

As we celebrate the end of 2014 and anticipate the hope of another new year, we thought it would be fun to take a look at the busiest days here at Twins Daily. Which days created the most discussion and the highest traffic? Enjoy the following review of the Top 5 busiest days at Twins Daily.

 

Twins Daily hopes that you have had a prosperous 2014 and would like to wish you and your families all the best in 2015!#5 Busiest Traffic Day at Twins Daily – December 11, 2014

 

We knew it would be a busy day. In fact, I took a day off of work in anticipation of a busy day. Of course, there were other reasons for that decision as well, including putting the finishing touches on the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015 (which was completed at about midnight that night).

 

On the site, the day started with a very interesting look at payroll from Jon Marthaler. $200 Million Is The New $100 Million discussed the changes in baseball’s revenue streams and how teams, including the Twins, needed to adapt. As you would expect with any payroll discussion, there were plenty of opinions shared.

 

That morning was also the final day of the Winter Meetings which means it was time for the Rule 5 Draft. There was plenty of discussion on players that the Twins could potentially lose or add in the Major League portion. The Twins used the fifth pick of the Rule 5 to select right-handed pitcher J.R. Graham from the Atlanta Braves. Several picks later, the New York Mets drafted lefty Sean Gilmartin from the Twins.

 

In the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, the Twins picked up right-hander Greg Peavey from the Mets organization. Unfortunately, the team also lost lefty Matt Tomshaw to the Marlins.

 

However, that wasn’t the last news of the day. Less than two hours after the completion of the Rule 5 draft, it came out that the Twins had agreed to a four year contract with right-handed veteran Ervin Santana. Nick wrote about how the signing showed a shift in the Twins mindset. Parker wrote about what we should expect from Santana.

 

#4 Busiest Traffic Day at Twins Daily – September 29, 2014

 

It was a day that many Twins fans and Twins Daily commenters had been waiting a couple of years for. A day after the 2014 season concluded, the Twins announced that Manager Ron Gardenhire had been fired. The press conference was certainly interesting and unusual as both Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire.

 

Soon after, we started discussing the potential managerial candidates.

 

The perceived Twins loyalty could not overcome four straight losing seasons from the Twins. Both the Gleeman and the Geek podcast and the Twins Hangouts podcast had special shows to discuss this move.

 

It took a month, and a lot of interviews and rumors, before the Twins decided to hire Paul Molitor as the next Twins Manager.

 

#3 Busiest Traffic Day at Twins Daily – June 5, 2014

 

The draft is one of the busiest times of the year for the Twins. Jeremy Nygaard is the most knowledgeable draft expert of anyone not in the Twins organization. He wrote a series of articles leading up to the draft on several topics. Twins Daily writers also profiled ten potential players that the Twins could have drafted with the fifth overall pick. It all led to the first day of the draft. The last couple of days, the draft has been broken into three days. On the first day, it is just rounds one and two and it starts in the evening.

 

However, the Twins Daily MLB Draft Day 1 Thread got the conversation going throughout the day. Finally, with the fifth overall pick, the Twins took the player most assumed that they would select. The Twins drafted Nick Gordon, a shortstop from Orlando with great bloodlines and tool set. In the second round, the Twins drafted Nick Burdi, the flame-throwing closer from Louisville whose team was in the College World Series. The Twins had drafted Burdi three years earlier out of high school but were unable to sign him them.

 

#2 Busiest Traffic Day at Twins Daily – July 31, 2014

 

When your team loses 90 games four straight seasons, you know that the July trade deadline will be a busy time. There were several rumors throughout the day that were discussed.

 

In the morning, the Twins traded outfielder Sam Fuld to Oakland in exchange for left-hander Tommy Milone. Ironically, the Twins had claimed Fuld off of waivers earlier in the season when he had been DFAd by the A’s. He had played well in his time with the Twins. The A’s made several deals around the deadline, including trading outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to Boston. They needed an outfielder and Fuld made a lot of sense. In return, the Twins received Milone who had pitched well the last three seasons with the A’s and yet found himself in AAA due to a numbers crunch in the A’s rotation. As a side-note in the article, it was mentioned that there were rumblings that Kennys Vargas would be promoted from Double-A New Britain.

 

The other big topic of the day revolved around All Star catcher Kurt Suzuki. He had signed a one-year deal with the Twins before the season. At the deadline, the Twins had to decide if they were going to trade him while his value was high. Instead, the Twins extended Suzuki for two years and $12 million with an option for a third year.

 

#1 Busiest Traffic Day at Twins Daily – June 6, 2014

 

The Twins were about to start a series at Target Field against the Houston Astros. Sean Gilmartin also pitched well again for the Rochester Red Wings. However, those articles weren’t the big draw of the day.

 

The first day of the MLB draft is a busy day at Twins Daily, but since the draft is later in the day on Day 1, Day 2 is actually an even busier day. A more in-depth story on Nick Gordon called Beyond the Bloodlines was written. Sure, Gordon’s father Tom was a big league pitcher for two decades, and his brother Dee was an All Star in 2014, but Nick Gordon has an incredible tool set and is very talented and isn’t in the same mold as either of his family members.

 

The Twins also made their 3^rd round through 10^th round draft picks on Day 2. The discussion revolved around the fact that each of these picks was from college and also that they were drafting a lot of relief pitchers after selecting Burdi in the 2^nd round. Of course, since then, we learned more about Michael Cederoth and his high-90s fastball. The Twins had him starting games for Elizabethton. And, at this point, Jake Reed looks like an absolute steal in the 5^th round.

 

Though it ranked just outside the top 10 busiest days of the year, Day 3 of the draft also was quite busy. That day, the Twins drafted 30 players (Rounds 11 through 40) and announced that they were signing DH Kendrys Morales now that he would not cost a draft pick. Later in the day, one of our favorite Twins Daily contributors, AJ Pettersen, announced that he was Moving On from baseball as a player. As you now know, he has been hired to coach the varsity baseball team at Chanhassen high school starting in 2015. (By the way, if you have read the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015 already, I’m sure you enjoyed his article in it about finding joy in all things)

 

There you have it, the Twins Daily Top 5 Busiest Days of 2014. I’m sure this brings back some memories. What were your favorite memories and story lines of 2014?

 

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[Paul Pleiss]

Are there any days/posts from 2013 that compete with the big days from 2014? Or has site growth, in general, pushed big days in 2014 well ahead of big days from 2013?

 

Anything from even further back worth mentioning?

 

Do you guys also have numbers for which post(s) have been the most hit/read this year/since the site went live?

[benji21]

Thanks for the report, I think I saw someone ask for something like this in another thread. BTW, I asked if writers would start putting player names with their pics in articles and it happened soon after. Its really helpful and much appreciated, thank you! Good luck on continued growth!

***

How could you grow Vikings Journal? I have started commenting there because I'd like to support the great stable of writers over there. Theyve got really good content!

[Twins Fan From Afar]

I'm curious, too, about the most read or commented on stories from this past season.

[JB_Iowa]

Thanks for the article.  I'm don't think I'd have guessed that draft day was higher than Gardenhire but TD does seem to lose posters over the season.

 

It is always interesting to see how TD changes and grows,  I'm really looking forward to what happens when the Twins start winning more regularly and when more prospects are moving up.

Edited December 31, 2014 by JB_Iowa

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

Roster changes via trade, the draft, and offseason moves seem to create the most activity. I, for one, rarely log on to the site during the season unless a big story breaks. I get my Twins fix through watching/listening to games and reading box scores during the season, but rely on Twins Daily to make it through the offseason.

[JB_Iowa]

I get my Twins fix through watching/listening to games and reading box scores during the season, but rely on Twins Daily to make it through the offseason.

 

You should check in to read RiverBrian's intros to gane threads -- they'll bring chuckles to your days.

[nater79a]

I remember the trade deadline thread the most. Couldn't even keep up with the posts, they were coming in so fast and furious. Lots of trades around the league. Fun times!

[Seth Stohs]

 

It is always interesting to see how TD changes and grows,  I'm really looking forward to what happens when the Twins start winning more regularly and when more prospects are moving up.

 

I think we're all eagerly anticipating that and how it will effect the Twins Daily site... I'd like to think page views and discussion goes up, but I also know there are a lot of people who prefer to complain in comments than cheer... so it'll be very interesting. 

[sploorp]

Every one of them, dates that will live on in Twins infamy and, until the day I die, I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when each of them broke ...

 

... I was on my computer at work, blowing off my projects and ready to reduce at a second's notice if the boss walked by.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'm guessing that the team doing well will do wonders for traffic down the road... I'd imagine the same with VikingsJournal. Hopefully Minnesota sports picks up a bit in the next few years. Good teams will bring in fans.

[James]

You should check in to read RiverBrian's intros to game threads -- they'll bring chuckles to your days.

I can't agree more with this.  Game threads are really fun, but sometimes a little random.  It's a great way to goof around, talk a little baseball and crack some jokes.  It's definitely a great way to keep in touch with the TD community and make a long season more interesting.

 

All these dates make sense to me.  I'm pretty sure my productivity was at a low point on those days as I was posting, reading, refreshing TD all day.

 

This was cool to see.  It'll be interesting to see if some of the busiest dates are similar in 2015.

[Seth Stohs]

I'm guessing that the team doing well will do wonders for traffic down the road... I'd imagine the same with VikingsJournal. Hopefully Minnesota sports picks up a bit in the next few years. Good teams will bring in fans.

 

I'm excited to see how the Vikings Journal site does with new content every day throughout the offseason, following the combine and the draft and mini-camps and all that. It should do very well.

[nater79a]

Be interested to see what the traffic is like once rumors start of some of the top prospects being promoted to the big club. Sano, Meyer, Berrios, Burdi, Buxton. Twins Daily could be a hopping place this upcoming season as we pour over every minor league update that Seth provides.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Hopefully Minnesota sports picks up a bit in the next few years.

Please. Please. Please.

 

And I'm not saying that only as a site owner... I'm saying that as someone who is tired of watching MN teams lose.

[Paul Pleiss]

Are there any days/posts from 2013 that compete with the big days from 2014? Or has site growth, in general, pushed big days in 2014 well ahead of big days from 2013?

 

Anything from even further back worth mentioning?

 

Do you guys also have numbers for which post(s) have been the most hit/read this year/since the site went live?

Anyone able to share some of these numbers?

[glunn]

You should check in to read RiverBrian's intros to gane threads -- they'll bring chuckles to your days.

 

Anyone who is not reading RB's game thread introductions is missing one of the best parts of TD.  No matter how badly the Twins are playing and how miserable your day might be, RB always provides something to smile about, along with occasional pearls of wisdom.