Article: 20 Twins Trades: Welcome to Punto Country!

[Brad Swanson]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2160-20-Twins-Trades-Welcome-to-Punto-Country!

[bird]

This was a joy to read, Brad. Thank you.

[ThePuck]

Loved the article, as usual. One thing I'd like to mention though. You wrote, ' Punto was a mythical figure in Minnesota. Some loved him, others hated him.'

 

I think there were some who liked him just fine, but hated the way he was utilized by Gardy. Through no fault of his own, Punto took a lot of carp simply by going out there and trying his best every time he was asked. Problem was, based on his talent, there were too many of those days. That, along with Gardy constantly gushing over him and defending him got irritating along with saying things like 'signing Punto is our #1 priority and if we do he's my starting shortstop.'

 

So, unfortunately, Punto got a lot of carp he really didn't deserve based on things Gardy did.

[DaveW]

My only real issue with Gardy/Punto was when they made Punto the every day third baseman.

 

First off, his bat would never play at 3rd base, and at the time he was still a ++ defender at both 2nd/SS

[Halsey Hall]

I agree with Puck here. Punto was by far the best athlete on the team, and always gave 100%. I always thought his defense was great, and I know he was very well liked by his team mates. It was nice to see him finally get a payday. He told me he made $800 a month when he first started. But he hung in there and worked and worked to get better. I really hated to see him leave. And never understood the hatred toward him, but like Puck pointed out, didn't care for the way Gardy used him. In my opinion the hatred was mis-directed. Nice was a great example of how hard work and perseverance can pay rewards. I wonder if there's any player in the minors for us now that have that drive that Nick had.

[Twins Daily Admin]

My only real issue with Gardy/Punto was when they made Punto the every day third baseman.

 

First off, his bat would never play at 3rd base, and at the time he was still a ++ defender at both 2nd/SS

 

Yeah, my gawd but 3B was a wasteland after losing Koskie.

[ThePuck]

I agree with Puck here. Punto was by far the best athlete on the team, and always gave 100%. I always thought his defense was great, and I know he was very well liked by his team mates. It was nice to see him finally get a payday. He told me he made $800 a month when he first started. But he hung in there and worked and worked to get better. I really hated to see him leave. And never understood the hatred toward him, but like Puck pointed out, didn't care for the way Gardy used him. In my opinion the hatred was mis-directed. Nice was a great example of how hard work and perseverance can pay rewards. I wonder if there's any player in the minors for us now that have that drive that Nick had.

 

I'm not sure he was the best athlete on the team...I think that's a pretty big stretch, but I would say I don't think anyone got more out of what athletic ability they did have than Punto. No one worked harder. I guess if I had a negative about the way he played, it that sometimes he'd try and make plays look flashier than they needed to be. Sometimes this caused balls to get past him that he should have had. They wouldn't be called errors because of the way he tried to play it. For example, sometimes at shortstop when a ball was hit to his right, he'd squat, rotate his body and try and shortstop backhand a ball. If he didn't get it, it wasn't an error, but he could have just gotten in front of it to begin with. Flashy, for the sake of flashy, is bad...like diving for a ball you have no chance at, just to say you hustled...or sliding headfirst at 1B. Overall though, I liked his play.

[Brad Swanson]

Loved the article, as usual. One thing I'd like to mention though. You wrote, ' Punto was a mythical figure in Minnesota. Some loved him, others hated him.'

 

I think there were some who liked him just fine, but hated the way he was utilized by Gardy. Through no fault of his own, Punto took a lot of carp simply by going out there and trying his best every time he was asked. Problem was, based on his talent, there were too many of those days. That, along with Gardy constantly gushing over him and defending him got irritating along with saying things like 'signing Punto is our #1 priority and if we do he's my starting shortstop.'

 

So, unfortunately, Punto got a lot of carp he really didn't deserve based on things Gardy did.

 

I completely agree. If the manager tells the player "you're my starting 3B or SS," the player would be crazy to respond with "well Skip, I might not be your best choice." So it wasn't that fans necessarily disliked Punto, it was how he was utilized. That's a great point.

 

Interestingly enough, I did that very same thing when I played baseball in high school. My coach needed a pinch runner and asked me if I was fast. I said "yeah, but Mark's faster." I thought my honesty would be lauded but instead I spent the next three games on the bench. Although, I was a terrible player, so maybe that was why.