Article: Sunday Spring Game Notes

[Seth Stohs]

The Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles are about to begin a spring training game at Hammond Stadium. It is 82 degrees and sunny.

 

I talked to a few players in the clubhouse this morning before heading over to the minor league facilities for a couple of hours. After taking about 180 photos yesterday (see our Twitterand Facebookpages), I took about 205 more this morning.Here are some notes from the day:

 

Chatted with infielder Austrailian James Beresford who has played around the infield this spring. I asked him if he was going to start using that first basemen's mitt around the infield. He laughed.

 

We spent some time talking about playing in the WBC-Qualifier last month. He said it was really important for his country's baseball. There was a lot of anxiety when South Africa took a 4-3 lead in the 6th inning of the final in that series, but Australia came back to win and get a spot in next spring's WBC.

 

Beresford smiled when talking about playing in the national team tournaments as far back as 2009 when he was just 19 or 20. He was the young guy and players like Trent Oeltjen were the "old" guys on the team. He said Oeltjen being part of that team was really great for the team but he now feels like he is the old guy on that roster.

 

After an excessively long 30+ hours of travel to get to Ft. Myers, it took him a little time to adjust. Also, he is now the "old guy" among Australians, and he thinks it's an important role. He talked about taking guys like Logan Wade, Lewis Thorpe and Lachlan Wells out to eat and just talking with them.

 

I also spent a couple of minutes with Joe Benson. As you know, he lives in Chicago, but he has spent most of his time since January in Ft. Myers, often working out at the Twins' facilities. He said it is very familiar being with the organization. A Bears season ticket holder, he said last year was a difficult season for him.

 

I talked to Randy Rosario for a little while too. I thanked him for doing a Q&A for Twins Daily during the offseason. In it, he mentioned that he would often hear from people who had seen him pitch that he reminded them of Francisco LIriano.

 

He said, "I signed with the Twins when I was 16 years old from the Dominican. Fred Guerrero signed me. He said, 'Do you know why I signed you? You look like (Francisco) Liriano at that age."

 

Obviously that is a pretty high standard, but at the same time, Liriano is thin, left-handed, throws real hard and has a sharp slider. The comparison is apt. Let's hope he has a similar career.

 

It was good chatting with righty Alex Meyer before the game as well. With his wedding in November and some other things going on, he did not teach again this offseason. He said he has been taking some online classes the last year or so and will continue to do so. He does hope to do more teaching in future offseasons.

 

Mason Melotakis said he's really enjoyed working in big league camp, working with the veterans and learning from them. He talked a bit about LaTroy Hawkins and said he listened to everything that came from him. When I asked him which veterans he had learned from the most, I was expecting to hear the name of a pitcher. He said that Joe Mauer was the guy he had learned most from, just the way he went about his business.

 

It's also fun to ask him about his parents. At Twins Fest, it looked like his mom and dad were really enjoying the moment. On Twins Fest Friday, they took pictures with Torii Hunter and truly enjoyed every minute.

 

So, I asked Melotakis if his parents had been in Ft. Myers at all. He said they are here now and enjoying every moment. Proud parents.

 

It was assumed that the Twins would be making their first round of cuts on Sunday. The last two years, they have made those moves and informed the players right away in the morning.

 

So, as I got to the ballpark early and was making my way into the clubhouse, Engelb Vielma and Jose Berrios walked by, heading to the minor league complex. As always, Berrios smiled and said, "Good morning, Seth." I responded in kind. I took about three more steps, turned and watched them walk away with my head tilted. Had Berrios been sent down with the first round of cuts?

 

It wasn't long before I found out that the two were heading over to the minor league complex where they were handing out their awards for the 2015 season. The Arizona Fall League championship players were given their rings. Here are the other awards handed out:

 

Jose Berrios - Pitcher of the Year

Max Kepler - Hitter of the Year

 

Awards for Defense:

Pitcher - Felix Jorge

Catcher - Brian Navarreto

Infielder - Engelb Vielma

Outfielder - Tanner English

 

English also got an award for leading the system in stolen bases.

 

After their normal workout this morning (9:30-11:45), the Twins minor leaguers are playing their first intrasquad games of the season today. They will do the same tomorrow (Monday).

 

On Tuesday, the Twins will start their spring training schedule. What will typically happen is that the AAA and AA teams will travel to play a game against the Orioles' (as an example) AAA and AA teams, while the High-A and Low-A teams will stay in Ft. Myers and play the Orioles' High-A and Low-A teams.

 

Minor Leaguers are currently split into four work groups. As players come down from big league camp, those rosters will change such that they're continuing to work with players they will presumably be teammates with for much of the year.

 

Like I said earlier, I took a lot of pictures and later in the day I'll get those posted to the Twins Daily Twitter accountand/or the Twins Daily Facebookpage.

 

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[Squirrel]

This is great, Seth! If Joe Benson is ever looking for a taker on his Bears tickets, I know a devoted Twins fan who would be happy for them!

[Seth Stohs]

 

This is great, Seth! If Joe Benson is ever looking for a taker on his Bears tickets, I know a devoted Twins fan who would be happy for them!

 

Ha! He's a die-hard!

[Squirrel]

Ha! He's a die-hard!

I live in walking distance to Soldier Field. I'm not a huge football person, but my motto is: If the Packers lose, that's a good day.

[D. Hocking]

 

 If the Packers lose, that's a good day.

 

I believe this is something that even Bernie, Trump and Hilary supporters all agree upon.

[Squirrel]

Ha! He's a die-hard!

Question for Joe Benson: If you weren't a Twin, Cubs or White Sox?