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I cannot claim original ownership of this, I merely stumbled across this the other day. However as we embark across another Spring with thousands of players readying themselves for the most humbling game I know of on this earth, I thought I would like to say a small prayer for our boys. Not just our beloved Twins, but ALL young men who's drive and passion for this game bring us such profound and indelible feeling, emotions, and memories. "God is in the details". A phrase that to this day holds a place preeminent in the baseball pantheon of lore. My son's favorite phrase is Philippians 4:13 (it's even stitched into his glove). I realize that not everyone feels the same way, and I immensely respect that. Faith is a truly personal journey and must be for each and everyone one of us to approach and accept in our own way. To me, this is why faith is such an immense part of the game. A person may choose to not be part of God, but God will never choose to NOT be part of us and the game. He is simply part of the fabric of the game and life that makes it what it is. "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me" Php 4:13 "Baseball means dealing with failure. “There is more Met than Yankee in all of us,” as Roger Angell has poignantly wrote in The Summer Game. Every person who has ever played the game of baseball has been a consistent failure. It has been more than 70 years since the Splendid Splinter, Ted Williams, finished the 1941 baseball season with a .406 batting average. Williams' failure rate of 60 percent means that he failed less often than any batter in the seven subsequent decades. In fact, only five other players in the live ball era (since 1920) have matched the success of his 60 percent failure rate. Babe Ruth, known for hitting 714 home runs, struck out 1,330 times in his Major League Baseball career. The Cy Young Award is baseball's most coveted honor for the game's best pitcher each season, yet the award's namesake lost 316 games as a major league pitcher. Even the unofficial anthem of baseball, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” is a celebration of hope in the midst of managed failure. Singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch is a communal baseball rite of passage. Timothy A. Johnson notes how the song celebrates failure both musically and lyrically, “Instead of celebrating a run or a victory, the song celebrates the act of striking out, the batter’s utter failure. He continues, “There is no spectacular hit to drive in runners—no heroic walk-off home run, no victory for the home team—and the structural melodic line . . . aptly reflects this failure. Striking out is represented musically in a deep structural way, by the failure of the melodic line to reach it’s rightful goal—it’s home, it’s origin—through a proper descent to the tonic” (“I Never Get Back: How ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ Succeeds in Celebrating Failure,” The National Pastime [2008], 143). The reality that baseball is a game of managed failure for every player, even the great ones, is one of the reasons the game imbedded so deeply in the fabric of American culture. Baseball became the national pastime because it reflected the national character—a collective team endeavor that called consistently for individual responsibility and personal sacrifice for the greater good. John Updike asserted that baseball is “an essentially lonely game.” Once the batting order is set, there is nowhere to hide; a turn at the plate is coming. The fact that the whole team is counting on the each batter produces the possibility of personal exultation or humiliation. Unlike other youth sports, baseball doesn't permit a game to be dominated by a star player whose teammates are simply along for the ride. I fear that one of the reasons for the waning popularity of baseball in American culture is not because the game has changed, but because we have changed. It takes time and patience to understand the game of baseball, and becoming a proficient player is difficult—very difficult. Natural physical gifting and innate athleticism are not predictors of baseball success. In fact, the baseball Hall of Fame extols the virtues of the game's greatest players, and the shocking reality is not the amazing size, strength, and speed of the game's heroes, but the almost comical diversity of body type and physical ability. The game's greatest players have been tall and short, skinny and fat, slow and fast, muscular and flabby, intelligent, and well, not so intelligent. But, they all have one thing in common; every one of them developed the emotional capacity to persevere in the face of frequent, chronic failure and occasional humiliation. If my suppositions are correct, what was once seen as a part of the glory of baseball, learning to persevere in the face of consistent failure, is now perceived to be a reason to avoid the game. Parents simply looking for ways to keep their children busy and happy will choose sports that do not include the pressure and individualized responsibility that baseball has always demanded. Baseball requires a kind of moral courage that keeps persisting in the face of inevitable repeated personal failures. That is the sober, unalterable reality for Miguel Cabrera and every little leaguer as well. Thus, baseball demands a huge time commitment for fathers, not simply in teaching and repetitively practicing the fundamentals of the game, but also calling sons to the kind of moral courage the game demands. Rarely ever will a boy persist in baseball if his dad has little interest in the game. As Diana Schaub avers in her essay “America at Bat,” “Without fathers, there is no baseball, only football and basketball.” Baseball does not fit well with the current trend of sports leagues that do not keep score and where the goal is for everyone to be successful and know that they are always a winner. Such a notion does violence to a game that is structurally committed to constant reminders of the participant's finitude and allows no room for such utopian fantasies. One of the reasons baseball has been so slow to embrace instant replay in the sport (and rightly so) is that a game marked by chronic managed failure propagates no delusions of human perfectionism in its players or its umpires. When a baseball purist asserts, “Bad calls are a part of the game,” he is saying something about the warp and woof of the game. Only genuine baseball fans understood the reaction of Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga during the 2010 baseball season when he was one out from throwing a perfect game (there have only been 23) and veteran umpire Jim Joyce made one of the worst big moment calls in baseball history. Joyce, inexplicably, called the batter safe at first base. When the next batter was retired, Galarraga was saddled with the most disappointing one hitter in the history of the game. How did Galarraga respond to the injustice? When it happened he offered a stunned grin and after the game he said, “He is human. Nobody's perfect…. I want to tell him not to worry about it.” That moment was a beautiful window into what makes baseball unique. No baseball player can survive and thrive without hope. When Henry Aaron was asked if he arrived at the ballpark every day knowing he would get two hits his reply was, “No. What I do know is that if I don't get 'em today, I'm sure going to get 'em tomorrow.” Babe Ruth was fond of saying, “Every strike gets me closer to the next home run.” Persistent, daily plodding in the face of chronic managed failure, driven by future hope sounds a lot like my daily Christian walk." The Apostle Paul wrote, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). But he went on to write, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! … There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 7:25a, 8:1). The reality of his persistent failure and limitations did not paralyze him because he knew his story fit into a larger picture of the story of Christ. In the Kingdom of Christ, “all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” and those who love God are being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29). As players prepare for Opening Day, every one of them knows perfection is impossible. No team will win 162 games; no one will bat 1.000, and no regular starting pitcher will go undefeated. Nevertheless, they practice with a sense of hope that this just might be their year. Despite their constant failure, if they keep stepping up to the plate and heading out to their position in the field, it all might work together for something special, and if not, there is always next year. The very existence of another baseball season, another 162-game, seven-month exercise in hopeful, managed failure is a faint echo of the glorious promise James offers to all who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3). Everyone has the tendency to compare the highlight reel of others' successes to our daily failures and lose heart. But baseball, for those of us who love it, provides a constant reminder that everyone (even the superstar) strikes out, but the game still goes on. Like most years, I think this just might be the year for my beloved Atlanta Braves to win it all. But whether they do or not, I am thankful that the chill of winter is giving way to spring and umpires will soon yell, “Play Ball!” Angell was right, “There is more Met than Yankee in all of us,” and there is a glimmer of a greater glory that the Mets keep taking the field.

For those who may be new to this game, I’ll give a detailed breakdown. So when a pitcher faces a batter, three dice are rolled. The white die determines which card will be used; 1 to 3 summons the hitter card, and 4 to 6 summons the pitcher card. The two red dice will determine the outcome of the play. In a standard game, one would switch out the hitter cards for each batter and the pitcher cards during any pitching change. However, for my setup, I will be using the Master Hitting and Master Pitching cards. This prevents the need for a card for each player, which is also great because I’m cheap and hate spending money to buy more stuff! Here’s part of my custom-made hitting card: But how random and how varied can each player be if they’re all using the same card? The answer to that would be in the player’s skill level. At the current moment, here are the skills that are recorded: Hitting 1 to 8 (higher number being the better value) Power 1 to 8 Speed E to AA Fielding 1 to 5 Drawing walks 1 to 5 Strikeout tendency 1 to 5 And for the pitchers: Preventing hits 1 to 8 Preventing HRs 1 to 5 Allowing walks 1 to 5 Getting strikeouts 1 to 5 Here is an example; the current Twins squad: This roster was created with stats from Baseball-Reference with specific cutoffs for each rank for each skill. Now here is a picture of some of the cuttoffs: It can take a little while to come up with the teams since I have to research every single player, but this process helps me becoming more informed about other teams’ players If you’re unfamiliar with Strat-O-Matic baseball, there are also a few supplemental charts. There’s the X-Chart, which either sees a groundball or flyball get hit at a certain position that will be difficult to play. Great defenders will almost always make the play, but the poorer the fielder, the higher chance of an error or a hit (lack of range, I guess). Here’s a screenshot of the X-Chart: And there’s also the Strategy Chart. This determines how groundballs and flyouts will be fielded, and allows for managers to try bunting, hit-and-run, bringing the infield in, and more. Since I’m playing alone (is that weird to you guys?), I get to decide what strategy for each team might be the best. This also applies to pitching changes and offensive substitutions. Here’s part of the chart: With all this put together, let’s test a plate appearance and see how things work: In this scenario, Jorge Polanco faces Ryan Yarbrough. He rolls a 4-5, which goes to the pitching card, with the number 5. With this roll, the batter will groundout (though all runners on base will advance); however, if the pitcher is a #4 or 5 in strikeouts, the batter will strike out. Also, if the pitcher is a #1 or #2 hitting-wise, the batter will hit a single. Since Ryan Yarbrough is a #3 strikeout-wise and #5 hitting-wise, Polanco grounds out. I hope you understand how the Strat-O-System works a little better now, and I’ll be bringing you another game this weekend. Post any questions or suggestions you may have!

Simple question. Given the self-interest of the team, should the Twins organization seek to partner with the city/state gov't to offer free vaccine shots to fans that have not yet had one? Probably this would limit the choice to the J&J single-shot vaccine, which also is easier to store than the other two. This would be a positive public relations move, plus it would of course help the state of Minnesota achieve a higher level of overall immunity from the Covid virus.

What’s the worst that could happen bringing back an iconic baseball classic back for more hijinks and fun 5 years later? When this movie came out back in 1994 and I was 11 years old and I remember this being the movie that got me most excited to watch anything baseball. I saw this in a 2-screen theater in Grand Forks, ND (where I’m from) with my friends with no parents and we enjoyed everything about this movie. But does it hold up today? ​Major League II brings back director David S. Ward along with most of the cast from the original movie. Most noticeably missing is Wesley Snipes who by that time had built up a string of box office hits and was in to high of demand to get in this sequel. Omar Epps steps in as Willie Mays Hayes and does a good job but Snipes would have helped draw a bigger audience at the time. The movie was made for 25 million dollars but only squandered a mere 30 million dollars at the box office. The biggest change the studio made was going from rated R in the original to PG in this sequel. The change clearly did not pay off and left this movie struggling to connect with the adults who loved the first movie. The humor was a little more dried up and the themes were a lot less adult driven. Charlie Sheen does become the movies star and at this time in his career, he was at his peak. ​ The plot brings the team back as World Series contenders who are coming off winning the division title and then were beat by the Chicago White Sox. All the success from last season has changed the players in different ways. Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) cares more about his public image over his pitching, Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) than becomes a Buddhist becoming more carefree which hurts in game play, Willie Mays Hayes (Omar Epps) gets into making Hollywood movies to which makes him want to be more of a power hitter, and Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger) returns dealing with knee injuries and is too old to play baseball. Every single player from the first movie is dealing with something and they all have their own hurtles to overcome. Some of these seem very realistic and then there are some that seem forced just to build some internal conflict. How each one over comes their strife’s has their own issues, but they all really seemed very rushed. This movie comes off very much like a sitcom and not as much of a theatrical movie. ​ ​To this movie’s credit, it does introduce some fun characters that help make this a better movie. The films highlight is the bad guy or the new player they bring in as an off-season signing in Jack Parkman (David Keith). Parkman is there to build conflict with the whole team and eventually a final confrontation with Rick Vaughn. He is a power hitting catcher who is arrogant and loves to be more about himself. He than eventually gets traded to the Cleveland’s rival the White Sox building up to a dramatic ALCS series between the two teams. David Keith does a really good job of selling that cocky and charisma that makes this character so unlikable. Another fun new character in this movie is also a catcher in Rube Baker (Eric Bruskotter) and he eventually becomes the heart of the movie. He start’s off the movie being talented and has one issue and that’s getting the ball to the pitcher. It’s played for laughs and is quickly fixed by new coach Jake Taylor who decides to give up his cleats to help the team in a new way. He has him recite articles from Playboy magazines to help him take his mind off the pressure of getting the ball back to the pitcher and it works. Rube also has a lot of good dialogue in this movie and you can tall that the screen writers wanted his character to come off a little dumb but with a big heart. Eric Bruskotter does a good job of pulling it off and deliver’s some of these lines with ease. The last new character they bring in is outfielder Isuro Tankaka (Takaaki Ishibashi) and he comes in with the trade for Jack Parkman. He absolutely is played for laughs and comes in with a temper and eventually helps break Pedro Cerrano of his hitting slump by getting under his skin and get him angry again. It is a fun pairing between the two and their chemistry plays out nicely. ​Although this movie was panned by critics and audiences in 1994. This movie isn’t all that bad. I had some issues with how they wrapped up Rick Vaughn’s love story and his character ark and how they wrapped it way too neat and unearned along with how the wrapped up a lot of other character’s arks and how they put Tom Berenger’s character on the backburner after being the lead character in the first movie. If you put aside all the PG humor this turns out to be an entertaining baseball movie. It has some cheesy dialogue, and it does a good job of building up the stakes. I had the excited feeling today as I did when I was 11 when Ricky Vaughn comes out at the end of the movie with his original hair cut and the stadium is blaring Wild Thing. The buildup for that moment in the movie paid off and watching the matchup between Ricky Vaughn and Jack Parkman is entertaining. This sequel is not a classic by any means, but it does a good job of entertaining baseball fans and having fun for an hour and 40 minutes. Rating: Triple! 3 out of 5 stars.

The Twins head to St. Louis for a doubleheader against the Cardinals. St Louis will be hungry after winning a series in Chicago against the Cubs, seeking revenge from earlier in the season against the Twins. It has become evident that the Cardinals are one of the tougher teams coming out of the NL Central. Having home-field advantage against the Twins is critical, Ballpark Village is no joke. The pitching match-ups are interesting, as Carlos Martinez squares off against Jose Berrios, and Daniel Ponce de Leon looks to prove himself against the once Uber driver, Randy Dobnak. Dobnak holds a 6-2 record this season, defying the odds as a pitcher in the MLB. In conclusion, this is another critical series for the Twins, it is unfortunate St. Louis is not throwing Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright, or Kwang-hyun Kim. However, with home field advantage, and a hot lineup led by veteran Yadier Molina, no one is safe against this St. Louis Cardinals team. The Cardinals should split this series, but I do not think that will happen. It is time to separate the boys from the men, the Bomba Squad comes alive tomorrow. Twins take both.

If you’re a Minnesota Twins fan, and especially if you’re a big enough fan to have found this site, you need to find a way to visit spring training in Fort Myers. If you’re not, I expect it is because you’re not sure what there is to do there. This story, which we’ll run annually on Twins Daily is to help you find the best stuff to do at spring training.I don’t remember which year I first attended spring training, but I remember the exact date when I decided I would never miss it again: February 28th, 2014. I remember that date because we all remember the winter of 2013-14, or as Minnesotan’s refer to it: “that really awful winter.” That doesn’t sound especially harsh, but when Minnesotans single out one winter as really awful, that’s high praise. They’re all really awful. But 2013-14 had the coldest average temperature of any winter since 1978, plus a ton of snow. It also saved the worst for last. February, which is when Minnesotans are desperately searching for a little hope, was an all-time crummy month. When I boarded the plane at MSP that day, I looked at my phone and it was -10 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 42 degrees below the average high for that day. And when I landed in Fort Myers it was 80 and sunny and I was thunderstruck by just how dumb I had been for the previous 47 years of my life. I’ve come to feel strongly that we’re all doing it wrong. We should all escape for at least a long weekend to Fort Myers. And since I also get dozens of people asking me for advice for spring training, I hope this story serves as both a guide and inspiration to plan your own escape. I’ve already covered the weather, but it’s worth pointing out that even if there wasn’t baseball, escaping to 80 and sunny isn’t just nice for the time you’re there, it also lessens the rage with which you shovel out the driveway after that DAMN SNOWPLOW guys comes by AGAIN. It’s the length of the Minnesota winter that is the real killer. Knowing your winter has a definitive break, even temporarily, is incredibly therapeutic. That is all true if there wasn’t baseball. But here’s the thing - there IS baseball. It is probably the most concentrated and accessible baseball you’ll ever experience. Visiting the CenturyLink Sports Complex Visiting the Twins complex to see players up close is a morning activity. The accessibility is highest in the morning when players walk to and from their practice fields. You can see the route below, but the best place to stake out is over in the concrete area by those columns on the right. That’s where you’ll see a lot of people hanging around by 10 AM or so. Download attachment: Player Fan Path.png The players go out and come back in shifts, usually starting 9:15 or so though sometimes later. They come back in around 11 or noon, and that’s the best time to shake their hands or get an autograph or picture. You have to be patient and you get what you get - the times vary, the players vary, it’s a loosely organized congenial activity. Sometimes they can’t or won’t stop, but often they do. Here are Stephen Gonsalves, Kyle Gibson and Jose Berrios in 2019 all giving autographs as they came back from their morning workouts Saturday morning. Download attachment: Pitchers signing autographs.png Scrumming up with other fans and rubbing elbows with the players is certainly a draw, but it’s also fun to watch the players practice their craft. Want to watch a practice session, including someone like Tom Kelly or Torii Hunter help instruct minor leaguers? You can do that. They even built stands: Download attachment: Practice Field and Stands.png Or want to watch players take batting practice? The batting cages are right here, and you can watch up close through that chain link fence upon which these banners hang. Download attachment: Batting Cages.png The same is true of throwing in the bullpen. Here we see La Tortuga waiting for some pitchers to report and work on some of their mechanics. Download attachment: Bullpen.png You don’t have to worry about parking on days where there aren’t games. The stadium doesn’t have any concessions, but most of the action is over by lunchtime, so you have your afternoons free to bake on a beach, if you like. Watching Prospects Any Twins prospect who is on the 40-man roster is with the big league team at the beginning of spring training. And may who are not are still invited as non-roster invitees, so check the spring training roster to see which of your favorite players are with the big league club. But if you are really into prospects, you’ll want to attend spring training starting the second week of March. That’s when the minor league camp starts up, so all of the fields are filled with top prospects and hopeful suspects doing drills and playing games. This includes many of the prospects that began spring training with the big club. When they are whittled off the roster, they move to the minor league complex. If you would like to know which prospects are working out at which level, stop by the minor league office. They have sheets that say which players are working out with which teams, (AA, AAA, etc.) and also the minor league game schedule. Watching Games And then the games start. Starting the last weekend of February, you will have real live baseball most days from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. There are games most every day, in more intimate minor league stadiums, with prices that are closer to the minors than the majors. Download attachment: Hammond Seats.png Plus, if the Twins aren’t home, Fort Myers is one of the few cities that hosts two minor league teams: the Red Sox park is just a handful of miles away. Or take a one-hour to three-hour road trip to follow the Twins. All the road games are no further than that. When To Visit Once per day at spring training, you’ll hear a player, Twins employees or media members ask out loud “What the hell day is it today?” The daily routine doesn’t vary much, meaning Tuesdays are the same as Thursdays are the same as Saturdays. That said, you may want to visit at different times during spring training depending on what you want to get out of it. If you want the best access to players, the time to come is before the games start. Pitchers and catchers start their workouts on a Wednesday. The following Monday the batters all need to be there for their workouts, but the truth is most are there several days earlier. Excitement is high, and the players are feeling fresh. The interaction is definitely higher early in spring training. If you want to see games, you have a choice. If you want to see the big names, visit at the end of March when most of the roster cuts have happened. The players who will be making the roster will be getting some extra innings, though they’ll still likely be pulled after two or three at-bats. If you want to see some top prospects, come early in the game schedule, when Twins coaches will go out of their way to make sure top players get a live-action look for their benefit. You can see some of these guys in later games, too, but it will be more hit-and-miss, and usually limited to late innings. Early in the schedule you might see them starting alongside Twins regulars. Quit Thinking About It and Do It For a baseball fan, it’s almost hard to believe a place like this exists. The bad news is that it probably won’t, not in exactly the same manner, even next year. The consensus opinion is that every year, all the amenities get a little nicer, but the access gets a little tighter. If that idea bothers you, I promise you - you won’t care. Find a way to get here. You’ll hear the pop of a mitt and feel the sun on your shoulders and you’ll wonder, like I did, why it took you so long. Download attachment: Gibson and Kid.png Click here to view the article

I just read this really fun article in True West Magazine https://truewestmagazine.com/article/six-guns-sluggers/?mc_cid=1c6674cead&mc_eid=b66323b9da "Two sesquicentennial anniversaries in 2019 will commemorate landmark events in the history of the American West. When gold and silver spikes were gently tapped into place in a ceremonial laurelwood rail tie at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory to symbolize the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869, it opened the West as never before. Earlier in the year, the Red Stockings of Cincinnati became the first all-salaried, professional team in the fledgling sport of baseball. Undefeated as the year progressed, the Red Stockings rode these rails in mid-September to introduce professional ball beyond the Mississippi. The West offered opportunity and adventure, attracting people from around the world who flocked to the California gold rush of ’49 and the Comstock silver lode in ’59. Now, in 1869, these professionals came west to demonstrate their wealth of baseball riches to overmatched but eager ball clubs with a hankering to be part of the Red Stockings’ historic season." This was a fun historic article - you might remember I had an earlier Blog that had Wild Bill Hickok in a baseball game and Tom Custer was a good pitcher. https://twinsdaily.com/blogs/entry/11497-wild-bill-umpires-the-game/ It took a long time before baseball moved west in the professional sense. For a long time the West Coast had a minor league team with players like Joe DiMaggio and his brothers making it almost as good as MLB. St Louis was the team of the West for a century. "In 1859, the first organized team on the Pacific Coast, the San Francisco Eagles, was established. The next February, in San Francisco they played to a 33-33 tie with the Red Rovers of Sacramento. In September, the Eagles traveled to Sacramento in a rematch for the state title, emerging victorious 31-17. In a few years, the Eagles organization had grown such that with the overflow they formed a new club, the Pacifics. Both became premier teams among more than a dozen that organized in the Bay Area. The sport was invigorating to watch and spectators might even shoot their six-guns when excited. With gamblers betting on their favorite team, it’s said it was not uncommon to have enthusiastic supporters fire into the air to shake the concentration of batters taking swings or to rattle fielders preparing to catch the ball." https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/local-nine-san-francisco-seals-baseball-1903-1957 The San Francisco Seals had a very long and successful life in the bay area. After the 1957 season - another pennant for the Seals, they moved to Phoenix and the Dodgers and the Giants began the westward expansion of baseball in MLB. Now you might think this has nothing to do with the Twins, but if you had been around then you would have seen our local cities trying to get these teams to come to us. But - "Millers were top-level affiliates of the Boston Red Sox (1936–38; 1958–60) and New York Giants (1946–57). The Red Sox actually swapped ownership of their top farm club, the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, for the Millers in 1957, enabling the Giants to move to San Francisco." The Original St Paul Saints - "The Saints finished first in the American Association nine times, and won the Little World Series in 1924. During this period, the Saints were a farm club of the Chicago White Sox (1936–1942), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944–1957), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958–1960). The Saints played streetcar home and away double headers with their local rivals, the Minneapolis Millers. When the Minnesota Twins came to town in 1961, the Saints became the Omaha Dodgers while the Millers ceased operations." Note both Dodgers and Giants had a connection to the Twin Cities. The Dodgers were going to LA, but the Giants were not sure about SF and played games with the Twin City Press. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/sports/baseball/the-giants-almost-headed-not-quite-so-far-west.html "MINNEAPOLIS, June 16 - If not for Walter O'Malley, Willie Mays might be remembered for making a leaping catch 100 yards from a grazing cow. If not for a few twists of fate, Mays could have an "M" on the cap in his Hall of Fame plaque, and the scrum for Barry Bonds's 73rd home run ball might have occurred in the upper deck of the Metrodome." "According to newspaper and historical accounts, Stoneham discussed moving here with Minneapolis officials as early as 1955, when concern over declining attendance and the decrepit condition of the Polo Grounds prompted him to consider his options. The Giants owned the Class AAA Minneapolis Millers, giving them territorial rights, and Metropolitan Stadium was under construction on 164 acres of farmland in suburban Bloomington in hopes of luring a big-league team." The west won out, but the conversations were strong enough to interest the Griffith family in moving the Original Senators to that Bloomington field and here we are the Twins! And the story of the DC franchise which has had at least three professional teams includes 108 years without winning a series.

The Minnesota Twins bullpen of 2019 was a roller coaster ride that would rival even the most thrilling attraction at Valley Fair. In this article, we’ll be taking a ride on the 2019 Twins "bullpen coaster" as I go through all the various peaks and valleys that the relief group experienced in 2019. Prior to the start of the season, expectations for the Twins bullpen were certainly a mixed bag following a disappointing 2018 which saw the Twins relievers finish 22nd in the majors with a 4.45 ERA. After Twins fans pleaded with Falvey and Levine all offseason to acquire relief arms, the 33-year old journeyman, Blake Parker, was the only reliever that the front office duo signed. While the Twins knew they had a budding star in Taylor Rogers, it appeared that the Twins would otherwise be leaning heavily on a bunch of unproven question marks the likes of Parker, Trevor Hildenberger, Trevor May, Adalberto Mejia and Fernando Romero. Names like Tyler Duffey and Zack Littell were starting the season in the minor leagues and Cody Stashak was a complete unknown. Fangraphs, however, was more bullish than most on the Twins bullpen, ranking the unit 11th in the majors in their pre-season power rankings. Peak #1: Hot start Just like the rest of the Twins ballclub, the bullpen exceeded any and all expectations to kick off the 2019 season. The bullpen coaster reached its first peak of the year, though, on May 26 when the Twins shut out the Chicago White Sox, 7-0. On this day, the Twins bullpen recorded 3.2 scoreless innings from Magill, May, Rogers and Duffey to push the Twins to 20 games over .500 with a 36-16 record. Through this point in the season the Twins were seventh in the American League in ERA at 4.07 and fifth in the American league in FIP at 3.89. This great performance was thanks in large part to the four relievers who pitched in the May 26 shut out who had to this point posted ERAs of 1.54 (Magill), 3.79/3.79 (May), 1.31 (Rogers) and 2.63 (Duffey). Valley #1: The Yankee Debacle The Bullpen stayed hot through the month of June, but as the calendar flipped from June to July our bullpen coaster began it’s steep decline. In a period of 17 games from July 1 - July 23 the Twins relievers posted an ERA/FIP of 5.32/4.31 with a -1.61 WPA during that time. During this same stretch, three Twins relievers were DFA’d due to poor performance - the previously mentioned Matt Magill, Adalberto Mejia, and Mike Morin. The culmination of poor bullpen performance, and the first valley on our bullpen coaster, was the 14-12 heartbreaking loss to the Yankees on July 23. In a game that featured 16 runs, 35 hits, and 6 bombas, the stats that will stick with Twins fans from this game are the two blown saves and nine earned runs from the bullpen. Blake Parker surrendered four runs to turn a 9-5 lead to a 10-9 deficit. Then, after a heroic Sano bomba, Taylor Rogers surrendered two runs to turn a 11-10 lead to a 12-11 deficit. Finally, after Polanco tied the game to force extra innings, Kohl Stewart surrendered two runs to turn a 12-12 tie game to a demoralizing 14-12 loss. Following the game, the Twins DFA’d their fourth reliever in 11 days by letting Blake Parker go and all of a sudden the Twins bullpen found themselves at rock bottom. Peak #2: The Trade Deadline The silver lining to the July decline and the Yankee debacle was that it forced the front office to realize that acquiring relief arms at the deadline was no longer a luxury, but a necessity. The voices clamoring for bullpen help were getting louder, and lo and behold the front office acted. First by acquiring the 36-year old, right handed reliever, Sergio Romo. In Romo the Twins acquired a proven winner with a nasty slider that killed right handed hitters. The general feeling, though, was that the Romo acquisition wasn’t enough and we needed more arms. Then, in the 11th hour of the trade deadline, news broke that the Twins acquired veteran reliever, Sam Dyson, and things were looking up for this bullpen. Dyson was arguably the best arm that was moved at the deadline and filled the missing setup man role for the Bomba Squad. Falvey and Levine got us the help we needed, we were primed for a resurgent second half of the season, and the bullpen coaster reached its final peak. Or so we thought... Valley #2: Damaged Goods While the Romo acquisition was looking like a slam dunk for the Twins, the Dyson experiment was not quite looking the same. In his first appearance with the Twins on August 3rd, Dyson didn’t record a single out, allowed 3 runs, and posted a -0.46 WPA. The following day, after a second straight shaky performance, Dyson was placed on the injured list with bicep tendonitis in what turned out to be a chronic issue that he had been experiencing since before coming to Minnesota (AND DIDN’T TELL ANYONE?!). At this point Twins fans across Minnesota feared that Dyson was damaged goods, and finally on September 26 their fears were realized when Dyson was shut down for good. What was the final piece to the Twins bullpen turned out to be a net-negative and Minnesota was once again stuck in a valley, needing guys from within the organization to hold on for dear life as they fought for the AL Central crown. Peak #3: Late Season Resurgence The Twins needed the current crop of arms in the organization to step up in Dyson’s absence, and step up they did. The group that got it done for the Twins in August and September was a mix of guys who contributed throughout the year (Duffey, Rogers and May) along with a group of kids who played far above their age and expectations (Littell, Stashak and Graterol). The bullpen coaster peaked, though, on September 14 when the Twins played a bullpen game to complete a double header sweep of the Indians and all but seal up the AL Central. After 3.2 mediocre innings from Lewis Thorpe, the Twins blanked the Indians for the final 5.1 innings thanks to scoreless outings from Stashak, Graterol and May. Overall, in August and September the Twins bullpen posted a 3.51 FIP, best in the American League. The unit that Twins fans thought would cost them the division ended up winning them the division in a bullpen game. Pretty cool. Valley #3: October Disappointment Heading into the Playoffs, the Twins had a plethora of question marks. They had just two viable starting pitchers, Arraez’s ankle was a question mark, Kepler hadn’t played in weeks, the list goes on and on. What Twins fans were confident in, though, was our group of bullpen arms. The same group that carried the team through August and September seemed primed to carry them through October. The narrative flipped quickly, though, when Baldelli brought in Zack Littell to start the fifth inning of game one. Littell clearly was not up to the moment as he faced three batters, while allowing two runs. The next inning, Baldelli brought in Cody Stashak who allowed home runs to LeMahieu and Gardner to seal a game one loss. Game two of the ALDS was even worse for the Twins bullpen thanks mostly in part to Tyler Duffey serving up a grand slam to Gregorius, all but ending the game (and series) before it even started. All in all, the Twins bullpen posted a 7.56 ERA in 25 innings and, unfortunately, the bullpen coaster ended the 2019 campaign in a valley. You can say a lot of different things about the 2019 season for the Minnesota Twins bullpen, but you can’t say that it was boring. As you can see, the season was truly a roller coaster ride unlike any that I can remember. Although we ended 2019 in a valley, I look forward to the 2020 group climbing up the chain and reaching new peaks.

Part of what makes baseball such a special sport is that it, more than any other sport, is almost completely driven by numbers. Numbers will teach us who are the superstars of our sport and will expose players who are not. Because of this, it only seems fitting for my second blog post on Twins Daily to take a look back on the 2019 season and choose one number for each Minnesota Twins hitter that I think best encapsulates the season for that player. The players discussed in this post were the top 10 team leaders in plate appearances this season. 1. Jorge Polanco Number: 153 GAMES PLAYED. In a Minnesota Twins season ravaged with injuries where the Twins saw 5 of their top 6 batters in fWAR spend time on the injured list, Polanco was the one constant in the Twins lineup. Polanco played in 94% of Twins games this season which actually undersells his availability as 2 of his 9 games on the bench came in the final week of the season when the Central had already been wrapped up. In a season where Polanco was an AL All-Star starter and a team leader in many batting statistics (R, H, 2B, 3B) it was difficult to not assign a hitting statistic as Polanco’s number, but as the old adage goes, “the best ability is availability” and Polanco’s availability was the most significant contribution to the Twins this season. 2. Max Kepler Number: .880 OPS VS. LEFT HANDED PITCHING. Prior to this season, Max Kepler struggled mightily against left-handed pitchers. From his MLB debut through the end of last season, Max had posted a career .605 OPS versus left handed pitchers, well below league average. He performed so poorly versus southpaws that there was much talk through his early development that he might be limited to a platoon-type role with the Twins. This year, though, Kepler turned it all around and posted a well-above average .880 OPS versus lefties, even better than his excellent .845 OPS versus righties. Last offseason, Kepler signed an extremely team-friendly 5-year, $35M contract. If he continues to mash lefties the way he did in 2019 that contract will only continue to look better and better. 3. Eddie Rosario Number: 3.51 PITCHES PER PLATE APPEARANCE. This is the first number on this list that should be taken negatively. While Eddie Rosario posted a career high in R, HR and RBI this season, what I will remember most from Rosario’s 2019 season is his impatience at the plate. A huge gripe among Twins’ faithful this season was Baldelli’s stubbornness with keeping Rosario in the cleanup spot all season. It was maddening to have Kepler, Polanco and Cruz work the opposing pitcher into 7 or 8 pitch ABs and mount a rally only to have Rosie bail the pitcher out with a pop out on the first pitch of the at bat. The 3.51 P/PA illustrates this feeling perfectly as he finished dead last on the club in this statistic. 4. Nelson Cruz Number: 1.031 OPS. This was by far the easiest number for me to choose in this exercise. Anytime a player finishes with an OPS greater than 1, you know they had a special season. Not only did Cruz finish with the 2nd highest OPS in the American league this season, he finished with the 4th highest OPS EVER for a 38-year-old baseball player (behind Barry Bonds, Ted Williams and Ty Cobb). Cruz was an unbelievable addition to this Minnesota Twins ball club. Most times when a team signs a 38 year old, they bring him in to be a veteran presence and a mentor in a young clubhouse. While Cruz was a great mentor and a fan-favorite, he was brought in to mash and he indeed mashed in 2019. 5. C.J. Cron Number: .700 OPS AFTER JULY 6 THUMB INJURY. C.J. Cron, more than any other Twins player this season, had a Jekyll and Hyde season. Unfortunately for Cron, the Hyde to his Jekyll was completely injury related. Prior to July 6, C.J. was having a very solid season for the Twins as evidenced by his .821 OPS in 331 plate appearances. After management’s bungling of his thumb injury, though, Cron’s play suffered significantly as he saw his OPS dip 121 points and his K% increase from 19.3% to 25.6%. Hindsight is always 20/20, as they say, but I would love to see how Cron’s 2019 season would have played out if Baldelli & Crew would have allowed Cron’s thumb to heal completely instead of rushing him back into the lineup as they did. 6. Jonathan Schoop Number: .000/.000/.000 BATTING WITH BASES LOADED. There was a lot of talk this season about how poorly the Twins performed in bases loaded situations, and rightly so. While the Twins were second in baseball this season with a .832 overall OPS, they managed to wind up 28th in baseball with a .568 OPS with the bases loaded. Nobody embodied this struggle with bases loaded better than Jonathan Schoop who ended the season with a goose egg in AVG, OBP and SLG% this season with the bases loaded in 8 trips to the plate. Of all the wild things that happened this Twins season, their complete ineptitude with the bases loaded tops the list for me, and Jonathan Schoop is the poster boy for it. 7. Marwin Gonzalez Number: 6 NUMBER OF FIELDING POSITIONS PLAYED. When Marwin Gonzalez signed with the Twins on February 22, Twins fans were excited to bring in a good player who has played in pressure games on the biggest stage. What excited Twins fans most, though, was the versatility that Gonzalez would bring to the club, and we saw that play out all season. With so many injuries popping up throughout the year, Gonzalez’ ability to play anywhere on the diamond allowed the team to continue to fill in a potent lineup even without its biggest stars for much of the year. Gonzalez was able to fill in for Sano at third base for a month to start the season, fill in for Cron when he was hampered with his thumb injury, and ended the season playing in the corner outfield when Buxton’s shoulder injury forced Kepler into CF. Marwin certainly didn’t have his strongest hitting season and suffered his fair share of injuries throughout the year, but his ability to fill in across the diamond and in the outfield covered up a lot of holes and made Rocco Baldelli’s job a heck of a lot easier filling out his lineup card. 8. Miguel Sano Number: .994 OPS AFTER JUNE 27. On June 26, the Twins suffered a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays in 18 innings. The bigger story that day, though, was Miguel Sano going 0-for-7 with 3 strikeouts. It was his second 0-for-7 performance in the last 10 days and brought his season batting totals down to .195/.278/.761. At this point, much of Twins twitter was clamoring for the Twins to send Sano down or even outright cut him. What Twins fans didn’t know, though, was that Sano was going through a complete swing transformation with hitting coach, James Rowson, and literally learning a completely new swing on the fly. Well, Rowson’s coaching and Sano’s hard work paid off in a big, big way as Sano posted a .271/.376/.618 line with a .994 OPS beginning the day after his 0-for-7 Tampa Bay performance through the end of the season. Needless to say, there’s not much clamoring from Twins Twitter for Sano to be cut anymore. 9. Luis Arraez Number: 22 AGE. There are so many numbers that you could come up with for Arraez’s 2019 season and I wouldn’t blame for you picking any of them. The .334 average, the .399 OBP, the 29 (!!!) strikeouts, Arraez had a truly special season. The number that I settled on for “La Regadera”, though, was his age of 22. The Twins were able to generate an everyday second baseman and leadoff hitter from a rookie and with the way he has put up excellent numbers at every level of baseball in which he has played, there is no reason to believe that his 2019 season was any sort of mirage. Arraez’s 2019 season would have been considered incredible from a 32 year old, the fact that he put up the numbers he did at 22 years old should excite Twins everywhere. 10. Mitch Garver Number: .995 OPS. It’s nice when you get to end an article like this with a player who had one of the greatest seasons of all time by a catcher and posted numbers that will blow away even the casual baseball fan. The number that encapsulates Garver’s 2019 season the most for me is his .995 OPS. This not only led all catchers this season (min. 350 PAs), but placed him 17th all-time in OPS for a catcher in a season (min. 350 PAs). Health certainly slowed down the end of Garver’s 2019 season, and unfortunately Garver wasn’t able to showcase his skills in front of a national audience in the postseason, but if Garver continues to hit the way he did this season he will become a household name in no time. Not bad for a guy who just finished his second full season in the majors. What makes this list fun is that there are many different numbers that could be chosen for each hitter. I would love to hear in the comments what numbers you would have selected for the players I highlighted.

This is a short Blog - kind of a reaction blog set off by the St Louis Cardinals (my favorite NL team). Did you see the headline - 10 runs in the first inning. The Braves were in never never land! What happened. A really good team beat another really good team and did it with fire! The articles say that the pre-game talk by the Cardinal Manager (who the hell is Schildts?) was angry, it pushed the limits and for a while was available on video. ESPN had this article - "In a video that surfaced online Wednesday night, St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt can be seen giving a fiery, expletive-filled speech to his team in the locker room following a win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. "The [braves] started some s---. We finished the s---," Shildt says in the video, which outfielder Randy Arozarena later acknowledged he streamed live on Instagram. "And that's how we roll. No one f---s with us ever. Now, I don't give a f--- who we play. We're gonna f--- them up. We're gonna take it right to them the whole f---ing way. We're gonna kick their f---ing ass."" https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27809815/locker-room-video-shows-cardinals-manager-expletive-filled-speech In contrast our manager felt fine just like Dave Roberts after his Dodgers bombed again. The bombs are not as fun as Bombas, by the way. It reminds me of the Vikings Superbowl bombs. I was so keyed up for them, but as I watched the players they were not. Just going through business as usual. There unflappable coach was stoic and the players were run over by the emotion, if not the talent, of Kansas City, Oakland, Miami, and Pittsburgh. Emotions count. Next year Rocco, I hope the players love you, I hope that they enjoy playing for the Twins, but when you get to the place where the season hinges on the game - get mad, get emotional, play like it is more than a game.


The Minnesota Twins signed Jonathan Schoop to a one year $7.5 million contract this offseason in a bridge deal to prepare for Royce Lewis among others. It seems like fans and people around the game have already written off seeing Schoop anywhere with the Twins past 2019, but the question has to be asked, what if Jonathan Schoop returns to his 2017 form? 
In 2017 Jonathan Schoop was one of the best second basemen in baseball. He ranked like this among them (min of 120 PA):
 2nd in home runs (32)
 1st in RBI (105)
 10th in AVG (.293)
 6th in SLG (.503)
 8th in wOBA (.355)
 8th in wRC+ (122)
 5th in WAR (3.6)
 Fielding wasn't as good but it was good enough to pass as long as you are hitting like he was.
 14th in UZR (-3.2)
 8th in DRS (0)
 12th In FLD% (.981)
 5th in 10-40% chance to make play (27.3)
 Overall the hitting alone puts him in the top 5-10 second basemen in baseball. He is on the Twins and is a great player to have a potential bounce back campaign.

The Twins were able to grab him as an under the radar pick up because he struggled so much in 2018. Obviously there is something with his swing that the front office was confident can be fixed. He was also dealing with a leg injury throughout all of 2018 that limited his abilities.
So hypothetically if Schoop were to repeat 2017 or even be better, what would his outlook be for remaining on the Twins in 2020 and beyond? I think there are three options.
 1.) Jonathan Schoop resigns on a multi-year contract and a middle infield prospect is traded.
 2.)The Twins let him walk in order to make room for Lewis, Javier, Gordon etc.
 3.)The Twins have a bad year and trade him at the deadline. 4.) 
Schoop resigns and moves to third, Polanco to 2B, Lewis/Gordon/Javier to SS and Sano to 1B 
I think al of these options except number three could really work in the Twins favor. Recent contracts for second basemen have been looking like this:
 D.J. LeMahieu 2 years $24 million
 Jed Lowrie 2 years $20 million 
Brian Dozier 1 year $9 million
 Jean Segura 5 years $70 million 
Dee Gordon 5 year $50 million 
Andrelton Simmons 7 years $58 million
 I would imagine that if Schoop can repeat 2017 or get even better that he would get somewhere around the Jean Segura deal of 5 years $70 million. Schoop will only be 26 or 27 so signing an impact second basemen into his early 30's couldn't hurt. I would imagine if he is resigned he will have to eventually have to move over to third base in order to make room for Royce Lewis and Jorge Polanco.
The second option the Twins have will be to let him just go to free agency so the Twins keep their money and can spend it elsewhere. This wouldn't be a crazy move even if Schoop has a great year, just based on the fact that Royce Lewis, Wander Javier, Nick Gordon and others are in the minors.
 Another possibility is one that would hurt the most but is still possible. The Twins could have another down year and swap Schoop for a few prospects. I would much rather see the Twins trading prospects for impact players at the deadline but we will just have to wait and see. 
If Schoop is resigned it's likely he would play one more year at second base while waiting for someone like Royce Lewis to emerge. The infield would eventually be shifted all around and look something like Schoop at third, Lewis at shortstop, Polanco at second and Sano at first. . Four offensive weapons with slight defensive liability at 3 positions, but with great outfielders it balances out, right? 
Overall I've never been so hyped or just excited about a one year contract for a player coming off a really bad year but Schoop could just be really good. If the Twins are right and they are able to pinpoint something he was messing up with his swing and get him back to his strengths, this $7.5 million contract could be a great deal.
 Thank you for reading my Jonathan Schoop post. Go check out my seperate blog @EverydayTwinsTalk.com I would love to do more interactive articles with fans, so go visit my Twitter. (@EverydayTwins). If you enjoyed please leave a like and share with your friends.


The team that would become the Twins – the Washington Senators set the pace that the Twins would follow, with lots of mediocrity and last place teams with occasional flourishes of quality. “First in War, Last in the American League.” Since it is a new year, I thought it would be fun to look back at our legacy and see what happened in 1919 and each decade after: 1919 The team was 56 – 84 and seventh place out of eight teams. Walter Johnson had a 10.8 WAR for this collection and a record of 20 – 14. Clark Griffith was the manager. They had three outstanding players on their roster – Bucky Harris (his rookie year, only a few appearances), Sam Rice (10th in batting average – 321) and Joe Judge (288/386/406). It was not enough. They were last in Batting and last in Pitching, but still managed to finish ahead of the Philadelphia As. 1929 The year that the Great Depression hit the nation the team was 71 -81 and up to fifth place! Firpo Marberry (19 – 12 and 9 saves) had 7.1 WAR and Walter Johnson was the manager. They were 34 games behind and there were no playoffs or other options to hope for in those years. Marberry was one of the first really great relief pitchers with four years of double figure saves when that was not a stat nor did anyone care much about it. Yet he was by far the most valuable player on the team. Sam Rice was now 39 but had a line that read 323/382/424. Goose Goslin was .288/366/.461, Joe Judge was .315/.397/.442, Buddy Myers at 2B was .300/.373/.403 and Joe Cronin was .281/.388/.421 which proves again that pitching is what wins games! 1939 World War II begins, but not much changes for the Senators. There record is 65 – 87 and they are in 6th place 41 ½ games out. Bucky Harris is now the manager and will be for 8 seasons. Buddy Lewis is their WAR leader with 5.7. A third baseman and outfielder his line was 319/.402/.478. The attendance for the year was just over 329,000. Amazingly Dutch Leonard was 20 – 8 – winning 31% of the team total! Their only other star was right fielder Taffy Wright .309/.359/.435. Of note was September call up Early Wynn who was 0 – 2 in his debut but would go on to win 300 games. In 1949 when I was 3 ½ the Senators really stunk. 50 – 104 and 47 games out of contention. Of course they were in 8th place. J Kuhel was in second and last year as manager and Eddie Robinson lead the team with 2.5 WAR as a first baseman with .294/.381/.459. and the attendance for the year was up to 774,000! A familiar name for Twins history was on this roster – Sam Mele 242/.288/.337. He started out the year in RF for the Red Sox and then came to the Senators in the season and played RF/CF/1B. Another familiar name is Eddie Yost who became famous for fouling off pitches, his line was .253/.383/.391. Member of the Twins front office Sherry Robertson was on the team and played 2B/3B/RF/LF. 1959. Two years from coming to Minnesota the team was 63 – 91 and in 8th place again. Cookie Lavagetto was manager and would be for the Twins in 1961 before giving way to Sam Mele. Camilo Pascual had 8.6 WAR. Always my favorite pitcher in the early Twins years Pascual was 17 – 10 that year giving him 27% of the team wins. In September Jim Kaat came to the team – 21 years old, 0 – 2 record! Jack Kralick and Pedro Ramos were also in the rotation and would becomes Twins staples! Both underrated in Twins history. At 23 Harmon Killebrew was finally given a full time position after rotting on the bench due to the bonus baby rule (another stupid rule from baseball’s hierarchy). With 42 HRs the Killer had a line of 242/.354/.516. Familiar names on the roster included Bob Allison, Jim Lemon, Lenny Green, Zoilo Versalles, Roy Seivers, and Reno Bertoia. Bad team with some great players. 1969 In the playoff era, one of our greatest teams finished first – 97 – 65 and then lost 3 – 0 in the ALCS. What a shame. Jim Perry with 6.5 was tops in WAR and 20 – 6! He was amazing that year. Dave Boswell was 20 – 12, Jim Kaat was 14 – 13, Tom Hall (who physically resembles Jose Berrios) was 8 – 7 and Dean Chance was 5 – 4. What a rotation! Ron Perranoski and Al Worthington were the top relief tandem. Then there were the bats – 36 year old John Roseboro at Catcher, Reese at 1B, Carew 2B - .332/.386/.467, Cardenas SS, Killebrew (49 HRs) at 3B, Allison (24 HR), Uhlander, and Oliva (.309/.355/.496) in the OF. The manager was a story in himself – Billy Martin! 1979 82 – 80 and fourth in the West. Gene Mauch was the manager (Roy Smalley’s uncle) and Jerry Koosman led in WAR (7.2). The Twins drew just over one million fans. In 1974 when Blyleven led the way they drew only 660,000. Koosman was 20 – 13, Dave Goltz was 14 – 13, and Geoff Zahn, Roger Erickson and Paul Hartzell rounded out a ½ good rotation. Mike Marshall was the pen – 90 appearances, 32 saves, 142 innings pitched. The Batting order did not match the sixties. Roy Smalley was probably the best, Kenny Landreaux was good and Butch Wynegar was Calvin Griffith favorite. We also had the great name – Bombo Rivera! 1989 80 – 82. Two years from our world series in – we only won five more regular season games that year and the year before we were 91 – 71 and better than any of the other teams in this time frame, but we finished second. This year had a similar record to ten years earlier, but we were below 500 and finished 5th. Kirby Puckett led in WAR (4.9) 339/.379/.465 and it was Tom Kelly’s third season as manager. We drew 2,200,000 fans! The rotation was led by Allen Anderson 17 – 10, Frank Viola 8 – 12, and Roy Smith 10 – 6 and Jeff Reardon was in the pen with Juan Berenguer. The big bats were Puckett, Harper, Hrbek, Gagne, Gaetti, and Gladden. It was also the year of Wally Backman at second base and that was some mistake. 1999 63 – 97 and in fifth place out of 5. Kelly was still the manager and Brad Radtke led in WAR – 6.5 and was 12 – 14. Terry Steinbeck was the catcher – nice to have the Minnesotan come home. He had a line of .242/.310/.410. A guy by the name of David Ortiz played 1B .277/.371/.446, but of course we did not like the way he swung the bat! Ron Coomer and Matt Lawton were regulars and a guy named Molitor was DH .281/.335/.382 – we liked that, we didn’t like Ortiz. In the rotation Radtke was joined by LaTroy Hawkins 7 – 14, Eric Milton 8 – 14 and Bob Tewksbury 7 – 13. Rick Aguilera and Eddie Guardado held the pen. 2009 – Current history. 87 – 67 and first place in the Central, then a 3 – 0 loss in the LDS. Joe Mauer led in WAR with 7.8 (28 HRs, .365/.444/.587 and Ron Gardenhire managed. Blackburn and Baker each won 12, Slowey and Perkins each won 11, and Livan Hernandez won 10. Joe Nathan was joined by Boof Bonser – another of the best names in Twins history – Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, and Dennys Reyes. Mauer, Morneau, Span and Kubel led the lineup with Carlos Gomez in CF and Nick Punto all over the field. 3B Buscher, 2b Casilla, and the famous Delmon Young in LF! 2019????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? That’s the decade review. When we were senators we finished 7/5/6/8/8 – very consistent. The Twins in the years that ended with 9 were 1/4/5/5/1 – somewhat erratic but some fun teams. What can we expect this year? There are so many questions – Happy New Year.

Okay it is August and the Twins have kept us around and speculating since Spring Training. Who will be cut, what FA will be brought in, will the minor leaguers get a chance, will Dozier's 1/2 year of brilliance begin soon? Are we buyers or sellers, who will be our all-star, will anyone take our deadwood at Trade Deadline. Now what? The Twins are 9 games back in the Central and perhaps even more telling they are 13.5 back in the wild card. At 49 - 57 the Twins now have 56 games left. Being just an 8 fame winning streak from 500 what are the chances of strong finish? Yawn - does it matter. The new acquisitions are ready to contribute to the big club in about 5 years, the best players in the minors in 2 years. The Twins still have Belisle taking innings. Why? They still have slugger Morrison and his 193 BA taking regular ABs - Why? I believe DFA was created for these two. Any reason that Romero and Gonsalves are not in the rotation for the rest of this waste year? Is there some logic that it is better to go with Belisle, Rodney, and Reed than some of our minor league arms? Is there any reason Rooker should not get a preview rather than Morrison? Is there no one in the minors who could benefit from removing Wilson at Catcher? Other than seeing new talent and getting a preview of better times what does the rest of the season mean? I know the Vikings are about to start playing exhibitions that are even more pathetic than our chances to catch Cleveland, but at least there are individual goals for the players on the Twins. Or we can watch Thibodeau in daily debates with his best player as we wait the highly anticipated (cough-cough) Timberwolves, or switch over to the 8th place United. Maybe a trip to the lake, a walk in the woods (my choices) are the best choices. Meditation about what it means to be a Twins fan. Our all-time record puts us 101 games below 500 - maybe that is our destiny. The state parks await. Or the state fair with everything on a stick can take away our baseball blues. A concert or two, or a trip to the minor leagues to see what the young Twins look like (and please do not repeat that we have built up our minors so we can use them for trades). Look for hope before the leaves turn, the wind shifts and the flakes fall. We know that there are a lot of fans with the same doldrums. Most of them entered the season without hope and that is the hardest part. Baseball is such a tease. And, of course, there are the teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, Yankees that should be put in one division so that they can beat each other up and give the rest of us a real chance. Enjoy the sunshine, harvest your garden, check Twins Daily for new stories and let the radio put the Twins in the background while you sit on the deck and remember what a gorgeous place we live in.

In the comments there were some discussions that I replied to with the statement that baseball is an individual game played as a team sport. I thought it might be worth exploring. Start with the Pitcher and Batter. It is true that the catcher is a third wheel in this conversation. While the batter is concentrating and the Pitcher is dealing the other players must wait, watch and react. They are not part of the play until the ball is hit. If it is a homerun, they are no factor, if the result is a walk there is no team involvement, if it is a strikeout, only the catcher participates. This Washington Post story indicates that batters strike out 22.6 percent of the time this year https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2018/05/04/mlb-batters-are-recording-more-strikeouts-than-hits-thats-a-big-problem-thats-unlikely-to-soon-change/?utm_term=.217f7a6331e3 That means that the team gets involved 78% of the time. In one 2013 study they said that 68% of pitches are hit (I think that has changed a lot) but even is it is true, that means 32% of the time no one has anything to do except for the catcher to toss the ball back to the pitcher. http://www.highheatstats.com/2013/05/fraction-of-balls-put-in-play-is-at-an-all-time-low/ If it is a fly out - one non pitcher is involved, if it is a Home Run we cannot credit team work to those who watch it go over the fence. With increased launch angle and increased use of infield shifts the flyball has been increasing. Typically it is just one outfielder, unless there is a lack of communications. A ground ball out is high on teamwork - usually two or more players are involved and with runners on base the intensity increases. Ground ball pitchers definitely require a higher teamwork percent. And double and triple plays ratchet up the teamwork. Fangraphs says that balls hit are on average 21% line drive (one fielder) 44% ground balls, multiple players, 35% Fly balls (one fielder) and 11% infield flies (one player). https://www.fangraphs.com/library/pitching/batted-ball/ If I assume that 22% are strikeouts and 78% are put in play and 44% of them are ground balls (34% of the total) the remainder are individual flyball experiences. My team work formula would put the majority of the plays into 2 player situations (taking strikeouts as a catcher/pitcher combo). So flip the player to offense. Batting is about as individual as you can get unless the previous player set you up for an intentional walk. Sure we can have those smart at bats that take a lot of pitches and wear down the opposition and bring in the heat throwing relievers, we can have a sacrifice to put the runner in scoring position or a stolen base, but most of the time it is just throw and hit. I give offensive baseball an even lower team work quotient. This reflects on the overall importance of the manager too. Put the right players in at the right position and quess who will be the most effective batters and relief pitchers and the job is done. This quote captures some of the essence of the individual experience of the game - Baseball is a team game but, at the same time, it's a very lonely game: unlike in soccer or basketball, where players roam around, in baseball everyone has their little plot of the field to tend. When the action comes to you, the spotlight is on you but no one can help you. Chad Harbach Read more at: The Author of Group Genius - Dr R. Keith Sawyer says - "A baseball team doesn’t look like an improvising group, and frankly, doesn’t look much like a business team either. The reason is that in baseball, each team member’s contributions are relatively independent. As Pete Rose once said, “Baseball is a team game, but nine men who reach their individual goals make a nice team.” It’s rare that more than one player is involved in a play. More than just about any other team sport, the overall performance of the team is additive." https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-r-keith-sawyer/is-baseball-really-a-team_b_50071.html Peter Gammons in an excellent essay says "Unfortunately, the sad reality is that once a player starts his Minor League career, the game really changes. Minor league rosters change daily, with players being called up, sent down, as well as released. It is highly unlikely to play with a teammate for 3-4 years like in college, which only adds to the lack of the team game. "Players become far more interested in their personal performance, than the performance of the team. While it is always more fun when the team wins, winning takes a back door to personal statistics as players are working towards individual promotions and making their way up the Minor League ranks, with the hopes of one day cracking a Major League roster. "Front Office and Player Development personnel also take valuing personal performance over team performance in Minor League Baseball. They are far more concerned with the development of a young prospect who could one day make a big impact with the Major League Club, than whether their Single-A or Double-A affiliate is going to compete for the playoffs." http://www.gammonsdaily.com/baseball-is-it-a-team-game/ In 2017 Mookie Betts had the most put outs by a right fielder - 366. For a 162 game season if all games go 9 innings each team records 4374 outs. He recorded .08% of the teams outs. For most of the other 92 he was backing up or watching. And CFs on average handle 15 - 30 more outs per year. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2017-fielding-leaders.shtml A final thought - how many players negotiate on the basis of their teamwork?

In honor of the royal wedding, I thought I would provide baseball fans with their own version of royalty and like all royal families some are not so great. But they are interesting. I welcome other suggestions! I do not have owners or umps. Do you know any that would fit here? I did consider Chief Bender for the rotation, but decided that the American Indian would still not make the official royalty list – I am sorry to say. There are some Hall of Famers and some that are hanging on by name only. Team – Kansas City Royals Starters Pitcher – King Felix Hernandez – Seattle, 165 – 117, 52.1 WAR Pitcher – Clyde King, Brooklyn – 32 – 25, 1.6 WAR Pitcher – Eric King, Det, WS, Cleve 52 – 40, 9.5 WAR Pitcher – Duke Maas, Yankees, 45 – 44, -0.7 WAR Pitcher – Duke Esper, 7 teams, 101 - 100, 18 WAR Bullpen Pitcher – Curtis King, St Louis – 6-2, 0.8 WAR Pitcher - Mel Queen, Cincinnati Reds 20 – 17, 6 WAR Catcher – Duke Farrell, 9 teams, .277 BA, 23.1 WAR 1B Prince Fielder Mil, Det, Tex – 319 HR, 23.6 WAR 2B Duke Kenworthy, 3 teams, 304 BA, 6.7 WAR SS – The Wizard of Oz – Ozzie Smith (sounds royal) 3B Jeff King, Pitt, KC, 425 Slg, 16.8 WAR CF Duke Snider, Dodgers. 407 HR, 66.3 WAR OF – Duke Reilly, .210 BA, 0.1 WAR OF King Kelly, 8 teams, 307 AV, 43.2 WAR DH Dave Kingman, 10 teams, 442HR, 17.2 WAR Manager – Clyde King, SF, NY, Atlanta 464 – 234 Radio/play by play announcer – Bob Prince 3 decades with the Pirates

https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-18-036/?loclr=eanotw The library of Congress has given us a historical gift - the scouting reports of Branch Rickey. He was a vital part of baseball history, even beyond signing Jackie Robinson and this is where you can check it out. Here are some notes from the introduction and entries that struck me: Rickey’s 1963 scouting report on Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing home run record of 714 in 1974. Rickey wrote "Surely one of the greatest hitters in baseball today. Can hit late with power, - good wrists. But in spite of his hitting record and admitted power ability, one cannot help think that Aaron is frequently a guess hitter." A 1955 scouting report on Roberto Clemente, who amassed 3,000 hits in his Hall of Fame career for the Pittsburgh Pirates A report dated March 30-31, 1964, on future National Basketball Association great Dave DeBusschere, where Rickey predicted that DeBusschere “should become a corking good major league pitcher.” For Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, Rickey noted on March 14, 1964, “when trying out young players… scouts and coaches would keep in mind Bob Gibson as a model for comparison and rate the prospect’s stuff accordingly.” About Richie Allen - “Rollie Hemsley at Indianapolis, Bill Adair at Toronto, Larry Shepard at Columbus, Kerby Farrell at Buffalo and Harry Walker at Atlanta all believe that outfielder Allen is the best major league prospect in the International League. A colored boy, very young, and belongs to Philadelphia. He has extraordinary power to all fields. Arm not great, but adequate. Highly desirable in any deal with Philadelphia. I am sorry not to have been able to see this boy in action, but rating give to the player by baseball men generally put him immediately as a regular in any major league outfield. I would risk a heavy deal to have the Cardinals Get this player.” Minnesotan Twins 2B Bernie Allen – “Tall boy from Purdue. Left hand hitter, has power and I believe he can outrun Rollins. I doubt if he is a .300 hitter. Hit .269 in 1962, Not hitting a lick this year…” Bob Allison – “A 275 hitter with exceptional power. Looks the part of a great athlete. Right hander all the way. He has everything it takes to be a long time major league regular.” Earl Battey – “A big colored catcher. Looks overweight, but has a remarkable action. Quick and has power at the plate, plenty of it. Looks like he likes to play. I can imagine him in a World Series.” Minnesota born, Yankee – John Blanchard – “If Blanchard’s habits were good and his team relationship satisfactory, St Louis could use him. I would not take him unless I were permitted to have a conversation with the player with results satisfactory to myself.” Harmon Killebrew – “A big right hand hitter with as much distance power as any man in the game. Strikes out a great deal. I would not be interested in obtaining his contract in any kind of possible trade. I don’t want him at the price.” It will take a lot of time to sort out everything, but this is a very personal glimpse into the game in the early 60's.

As we carefully analyze each game of the new season and try to read the tea leaves on each swing of the bat I thought I would provide just a little change of pace and look at another story from baseball history. While Civil War general Abner Doubleday is mythologically given the title of the founder of the game of baseball, a myth that has been refuted by nearly every scholar, we should look at baseball and an even more famous General – William Tecumseh Sherman. In his biography by James Lee McDonough we learn the following: “…a number of friends with whom Cump (Sherman) played a primitive form of baseball, using yarn balls. From time to time the balls were hit into a garden adjoining the playing field, whose owner became irate at his garden being trampled by young me retrieving valls. When the man began confiscating the balls and throwing them into his stove, Sherman and his buddies sought revenge. They filled a ball with gunpowder. Soon the unsuspecting garden owner seized the devilishly prepared thing and cast it into his stove; a fiery explosion rocked the house, leaving the man suffering with burns and damage o his home. The boys, naturally, had waited close by to observe the result of their scheme. Suddenly the angry man burst forth from his house, intent upon chasing down the culprits. He managed to catch the slowest of the boys as they ran.” Sherman being fleet of foot escaped unscathed! The Smithsonian takes the relationship to baseball and the Civil War another step forward with this statement, “The evolving Knickerbocker Code or rules had its origins in metropolitan New York in 1845. Union soldiers, more familiar with the game, introduced others, including Southerners and Westerners to baseball throughout the Civil War, resulting in thousands of soldiers learning the game. Upon returning home, the game spread to friends and neighbors and soon the sport was played in every region of the country, solidifying its title as “The National Pastime." http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2012/08/civil-war-baseball.html

Decades ago I worked as a tax accountant for Honeywell and National Car Rental Corporation. Taxes are complicated and state and federal laws impacted the businesses and decisions. Baseball is an interstate commerce and has had many laws passed to protect the teams. Now the new tax law creates another obstacle with unexpected consequences that could play into the teams ability to trade and move players. As we look at the Twins and their prospects we often think of assets that can be acquired. Read the following quote from the New York Times and you will see that things have gotten more complicated for everyone. "WASHINGTON — As President Trump congratulated the World Series champion Houston Astros at a White House ceremony last week, he also heaped praise on himself and congressional Republicans for passing a sweeping tax cut last year. He hailed Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the House’s chief tax writer and an Astros superfan, as “the king of those tax cuts.” What he did not mention is that the new tax law Mr. Brady helped draft, and which Mr. Trump signed, levies a large new tax on the Astros, and similar franchises across professional sports. The law changed a corner of the tax code that mostly applies to farmers, manufacturers and other businesses that until recently could swap certain assets like trucks and machinery tax-free. But by adding a single word to the newly written tax code — “real” — the law now allows only real estate swaps to qualify for that special treatment. That change is meant to capture more federal revenue, in order to partly offset reductions in business and personal income tax rates. It forces manufacturers, farmers and others to pay more in capital gains taxes, if they trade an asset for something more valuable. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the change will raise $31 billion over the next decade. It also means that the Astros and other sports franchises could now face capital gains taxes every time they exchange or trade their highly paid players." There is more to this, but this gives you an idea of what could happen and how confused GMS must be at this time. http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/03/19/new-tax-law-could-affect-mlb-trades/ http://www.businessinsider.com/gop-tax-law-make-mlb-nba-trades-harder-2018-3

They Played for the Love of the Game Untold stories of black baseball in Minnesota By Frank White This is the third book written about black baseball in Minnesota which might be an indication of how important this was to the history of Minnesota and the history of Baseball. Frank White, a St Paul native, is a perfect writer for this topic. His father, Louis Pud White, was an outstanding, if little remembered catcher in the baseball leagues as evidenced by Buck O’Neil, and he was a friend of Dave and Steve Winfield. This is a thoroughly researched and well written book that really uncovers some special experiences and beyond black baseball, shows how important baseball was in all the towns of the Midwest, if not the entire country with semi-pro teams gathering both press and audiences all over. These teams were lucky in one season because Major League baseball created one of the great injustices of all time by excluding blacks from all their leagues which meant that not only are the records suspect before Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers but gave the local semi-pros and eventually the Negro Leagues some real stars. And if you want a villain in this it would be Cap Anson, who deserves to be taken out of the Hall of Fame. If we question the veracity of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Shoeless Joe, Pete Rose, than this is the individual who committed the most grievous offense when he refused to let his White Stocking team play against the Newark Giants of the International League if their two black players played in the game – he set the town for the exclusion of black players in the majors. In the first decade the St Paul Colored Gophers were dominate, even winning the fictitious, but still accepted championship of Black Baseball in 1909 when they defeated the Giants of Chicago. Minneapolis had a top team too with the Keystones and great players who would not be recognized without this book entertained the ticket holders. In the 1920’s the Negro National League formed and even though the St Paul Colored Gophers were an established power Minnesota was deemed too far and too expensive and thus was left out. A second injustice, this one much more serious and reflective of the racism that still exists was The Association of Minnesota Amateur Baseball Leagues decision to ban colored players. African Americans had been part of many teams, but from 1927 – 1947 no African American was allowed to play. The idiocy of racism was such that catcher Lee Davis was a Ho-Chunk Indian and Indians were playing MLB, but his skin was too dark, so he had to play in the black leagues. While Billy Williams, who was black, was invited by the Baltimore Orioles to play on their Montreal team as an Indian. The more I read, the madder I become with the stupidity of racism. It is fun for me to look at players who came from my Alma Mater – Minneapolis Central, but it is also crazy to see teams in places like Pipestone, Des Moines, Bertha fielding excellent teams because racism forced these players to the outposts of baseball. After all the struggles of Jim Crow and blatant racism it is sad to see the switch to track, basketball, and football by many top black athletes, but it makes sense. Those sports offered scholarships and new opportunities. Baseball did not exactly open the major league floodgates after signing a few top players. The book captures that demise and baseball would to well to reflect on its missed opportunities. The story of black baseball in the 1950s shifted to three minor league teams – St Paul Saints, Minneapolis Millers, and the St Cloud Rox. With players like Willie Mays, Roy Campanella, Orlando Cepeda, Ozzie Virgil, and Lou Brock among the many great stars that graced the Minnesota diamonds. But since Dave Winfield we have seen very few African Americans from Minnesota get a chance. Thanks to the author who works for the Twins in the RBI program – reviving baseball in the Inner City – maybe the future will take us a step towards the years of great African American baseball players. In the end, we find this most American sport is also a window into our own history and mores. This book is truly a history of African American people in Minnesota through the lens of Baseball just as baseball reflects our racial tensions, our addictions to drugs, temptations to gambling, the challenging aspects of war, and now our need for speed and quickness because of diminished attention spans.

In the past baseball was a path out of the ghettos for Irish, Italians, Jewish, Germans...Today immigrants still need to learn baseball. In an era when we are wasting money on walls and deportations, one of the best ways to get into our nation is to be able to hit a baseball over the wall. In 2013 Fox News ran this story http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/04/03/over-28-percent-players-were-foreign-born-in-mlb-opening-day.html that 28% of the players in MLB were immigrants. The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, Columbia and Panama were the suppliers of those players – in that order. Forbes tells us about 2016 – “During the 2016 season, Americans have watched a real World Series, with players born in at least 13 different countries. According to data made public by major league baseball, the leading country of origin for players on 2016 Opening Day rosters (and disabled lists) was the Dominican Republic (82 players), followed by Venezuela (63) Cuba (28), Mexico (12), Japan (8), South Korea (8), Canada (6), Panama (4), Colombia (3), Curacao (3), Brazil (2) and Taiwan (2). (Note: Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth.) Today, approximately 26% of major league baseball players are foreign-born, a more than five-fold increase from the 1940s.” In that year the most popular immigrants were Jose Altuve (Venezuela) and David Ortiz (Dominican Republic). The year that Blyleven went in to the HOF he was joined by Robbie Alomar Alomar was from Puerto Rico – Blyleven, as we know, was born in the Netherlands. In the HOF, Clemente, Marichal, Aparicio, Jenkins, Cepeda, Perez, and our Rod Carew were all foreign born. http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/throwback/201102/foreign-born-players-baseballs-hall-fame I love this list – the first foreign born player from each country – not the only one and not necessarily the best one. and Bleacher report tries to name the 50 best foreign born - http://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/1006505-50-greatest-foreign-born-players-in-baseball-history But this is not new. I remember stories from my Grandfather’s and father’s generations when immigrants were told that if they wanted to fit in they needed to learn baseball. Baseball was the American Sport and if you knew baseball you would fit in. The following article captures the Italian efforts in the early 1900’s to learn baseball – some like the DiMaggio’s learned quite well - “Lawrence Baldassaro explores the role Italian-Americans have played in America’s pastime. He offers a straightforward “chronological history of the evolution of Italian Americans in professional baseball” from Ed Abbaticchio, who made his debut in 1897, to such recent players as Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio.” From the start the Minnesota Twins had an international connection. In the 1960’s before the recent surge in Foreign born players, the Twins had a Cuban connection that brought us Camilo Pascual, Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versalles, Sandy Valdespino, and Luis Tiant. And from Venezuela – Cesar Tovar who took us to the 1965 World Series. In their first years, when I was an usher, I always tried to get near the first base bag as the game moved on and the seats were full so I could watch my favorite player – Vic Power from Puerto Rico. I loved Pedro Ramos who complimented Pascual on the mound and does anyone remember Elmer Valo from Slovakia? Or Reno Bertoia from Italy who lived in Canada and is in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame? There were 9 foreign born players on our first Minnesota Twins team. So what about the current team? 1. Ehire Adrianza – Venezuela 2. Miguel Sano – Dominican Republic 3. Jose Berrios – Puerto Rico 4. Adalberto Mejia – Dominican Republic 5. Fernando Rodney – Dominican Republic 6. Ervin Santana – Dominican Republic 7. Michael Pineda – Dominican Republic 8. Gabriel Moya – Venezuela 9. Lewis Thorpe – Australia 10. Eduardo Escobar – Venezuela 11. Jorge Polanco – Dominican Republic 12. Max Kepler – Germany 13. Eddie Rosario – Puerto Rico 14. Kennys Vargas – Puerto Rico Maybe this is what make’s baseball the real American Game. It goes back to our roots and our roots spread around the world. Earlier I wrote a blog about American Indians that starred in baseball, beyond them everyone is an immigrant and our game is better because they are here.

Last night I was doing research for a lecture I am going to give when I guide a trip to Nashville next fall. Nashville is most famous for the Grand Ole Opry and performers like Bill Monroe so I was looking at the history of Blue Grass – Monroe is the acknowledged creator of this form of music – and all of a sudden I was into baseball. Hard to imagine, but when a lecturer and college instructor begins researching the path can lead a number of directions. The passage from the book, Bluegrass, by Neil Rosenberg caught my attention was: “ At about this time Monroe added a new dimension to his show, taking advantage of his love of baseball to reconstitute the band as a baseball team. While the crew setting up the tent show finished their job (they traveled in advance of the band), Monroe or one of his band members would issue a challenge to the local ball club. Fiddler Jim Shumate, with Monroe in 1944-1945, recalls that “we had good crowds just for a ball game. We had a lot of fun. We played for keeps and had a good team. We had uniforms and everything. I played shortstop.” Former pro-ball player Clyde Moody pitched and Monroe, who would, but for his poor sight, “have liked to be a baseball player”…” They would often have their tent show music right at the ball field and after the concert the musicians would change clothes and the ball game would commence. One of the band members said that “having the ball team was good for our spirit; it helped build morale in the band.” These road trips could be up to six months long and that wears on any performer so diversion was very important. The concerts were very popular and the games probably drew more fans than most minor league games did. Monroe liked it so much that he formed two ball teams, one permanently in Nashville called the Bluegrass Ballclub, and one that toured – the Bluegrass All-Stars. This was the age of barnstorming teams – image Ruth and Gehrig coming to your town to play against a local team! It was also an age when every town had a team. America was truly the National Past time and Monroe’s teams fit right in with the era. They would drive 3000 miles a week making their tent shows and ball games, always getting back to Nashville for Saturday night on Grand Ole Opry. With 5 or 6 games a week the team would play over 110 games a year. Monroe loved to reminisce about the club, “When we would come to bat, we had two men that could, mind you, get on base. They was hard to get out. The third man, you couldn’t strike him out hardly at all – he could hit that ball. The cleanup man and the fifth man was mighty at drivin’ in runs. It was hard to get by them first five men up there. And we also had two men who could steal home.” Monroe was not the first nor the only one to have a ball team. Louis Armstrong had a team called the Secret Nine and Cab Calloway Band’s team included both Cab and his bass player. These two black owned teams were before Monroe, but what set Monroe apart was the fact that he was White and no other white bands did this at that time. Later Tom Dorsey would sponsor a team as well as Lionel Hampton and Harry James. Monroe’s biggest regret was that his team was scheduled to play The House of David Team and they cancelled the game. He really wanted that one, it would have felt like the majors to him. Monroe had arranged to have Dizzy Dean play for them if that game had taken place. By the 1950s television changed things. Fewer fans went to see minor league teams play and there were fewer town ball teams. Monroe said, “It seemed like baseball kinda played out. I don’t really know what happened to it right there, but a in a lot of cities it just stopped.” Television would create new issues for the nation and for the sport. New revenue streams, more rich and poor teams, access to MLB in minor league cities. Monroe looked back at this change and said, “They’re a lot alike-it seems like the people that loves baseball are the people that loves bluegrass music.” It is hard to imagine any sport being so ingrained into a national psyche the way baseball was. Maybe soccer in most countries has this status now, but in the first half of the twentieth century baseball was everywhere and the ultimate trip to the majors came through townball, school sports, semi-pro, minor league, independent leagues and finally the limited sixteen major league teams. The best of competitive athletes were baseball players. http://research.sabr.org/journals/bluegrass-baseball-barnstorming-band-and-ball-club https://muse.jhu.edu/article/266309/pdf

With Panda out of commission, Stubby J and #FacebooklessDan put together an amazing show filled with just about everything but baseball (it's the Stubbs effect, just trust me). Get your fill of pop culture, food, and a teensy bit of sprotsball on this week's episode of the Twins And Losses Supershow on Spreaker, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and Pocket Casts; only on the The 4D Podcast Network! http://www.spreaker.com/user/the4dpodcastnetwork/twins-and-losses-supershow-episode-45-wh

This is not a “story” as much as it just a rant. It is about the baseball draft. I have to mostly refrain myself from viewing comments on Twitter and Facebook and then also responding to the people who actually do make the comments. First of all, the MLB draft is about the future......as in three or four years from now. The number of people who complained about the first round pick of the Twins because their major league pitching staff is not any good makes my head spin. I don’t think any of them realize that most of the best prospects in the Twins organization are pitchers. Minnesota has Jose Berrios, Kohl Stewart, Tyler Jay and Stephen Gonsalves, just to name a few. The number of hitters toward the top of the prospects list is few and far between now that Byron Buxton and Max Kepler are up in the majors. Nick Gordon is near the top of the list, as is Jorge Polanco. But other than that......not much. In Seth’s midseason prospect rankings, there were only three non-pitchers in the top 10, and one of those (Kepler) was recently called up. When drafting in the MLB draft, teams have a number of factors to consider. For instance, if a player who drops quite a bit in the first round or maybe even into the second round and beyond, signability becomes a major concern. Unlike other drafts, there is a certain amount you can’t go over without sacrificing cash and drafting a lesser player in the next few rounds. So most often, you can’t just draft the best player available, especially if that player is a top-tier player and a high schooler, in the second or third round because that player will probably not sign. This goes along with what agent the player has. A Scott Boras player may be tougher to sign than another player who has a different agent. Teams will look at their board and see who they think is the best player available is. One of my biggest pet peeves, and this is about any draft and not just the MLB Draft, is when people complain when General Managers talk about how they drafted the player they feel is the best one available and they disagree. Those people see that a certain player is ranked higher by one of the draft experts than the player drafted by the team and they throw a fit. People seem to think they know more than people who, ya know, are paid to scout for a living and don’t just look at two clips and go off what the MLB Draft “experts” think. I, honestly, have never seen any of these players play either live or on television, and I am sure 99 percent of Twins fans are the same way, so I leave it to the people who are paid to make these decisions and so should the fans who are complaining. Okay, that should do it for my rant post. I feel a lot better now that I was able to get this off my chest.

Before there was Jackie Robinson, there was Hank Greenberg. Although Jackie Robinson was African American, Hank Greenberg was Jewish,but still encountered racism during his Detroit Tiger playing days before Robinson debuted in 1947. Many Jews in Detroit and around the country refused to buy Ford Cars because of the founder’s philosophy. They also comforted themselves with humor, telling Henry Ford jokes like the one where a fortune-teller informs Ford that he will die on a Jewish Holiday. “ Which one? Ford asked nervously. “ Their New Year? The day of atonement? Their Passover? Which one?” “Mr. Ford,” the fortune-teller responds, “whatever day you die will be a Jewish holiday.” John Rosengren’s exhaustive research in Hero of Heroes is more accurate and detailed than Greenberg’s autobiography. If you love baseball and biographies then read this book. Plus John Rosengren is a local author that lives in Minneapolis. I happened to meet the author at a Society of American Baseball Research Meeting where he shared the opening joke from this passage. By the way, He told everyone that for the record,he is not Jewish. Greenberg grew up from little Hyman Greenberg in New York, to the “Hammerin’ Hank’ in Detroit. He lead his Detroit Tigers to Four American League Pennants, two World Series Titles, and gave the city something to cheer for and escape during the Great Depression in the United States and while the world started to conflict towards World War Two. He slugged 58 home runs in the 1938 season and nearly broke Babe Ruth’s then record of 60 Home Runs. In 13 big league seasons Greenberg had this slash line .313/.412/.605. (http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/greenha01.shtml. But what Greenberg believed were the most important statistic and his greatest responsibility in the batters box was Runs Batted in. He won 4 RBI titles. “Given the chance to play the four seasons he missed due to military service, Green berg would have boosted his career statistics by rough 50 percent, according to projections by the Society for American Baseball Research, ranking him 26th all time for home runs (502) 11th for RBI (1,869) and tied for 54th for runs scored (1,554) Baseball Historian Bill James thinks Greenberg could have reached 600 home runs, especially if he had batted against replacement pitchers during the war years.” After his playing days ended Greenberg became a baseball executive and architected Two pennent winning teams in 1948 and 1951, and sponsored a high number of African American players. His 1948 Cleveland Indian team won a World Series. That is Cleveland’s last professional sport championship. After leaving in the Indians, Greenberg Joined his good friend and business partner, Bill Veeck with the Chicago White Sox. There he won another pennant in 1959 with the Go-Go Sox. Working in the front office Greenberg was a deal maker, savvy with the team’s investments and had several innovating ideas. “In retrospect, people like Ralph Kiner, former AL president Bobby Brown and current commissioner Bud Selig think Hank would have been a terrific commissioner. Selig said Greenberg influenced him on interleague play and realignment; changes Hank had suggested and to implemented forty years later. ‘He was right on a lot of issues’ Selig Said “He was very progressive in a sport that was very cautious-I’m trying to be kind in how I say that-He would have been a marvelous commissioner” By reading this book discover the Hank Greenberg on the field of baseball, in the front office of baseball and outside of the ballpark. Greenberg was extremely competitive on the baseball field, off it the field with his children and into his day’s of tennis and retirement. He would never let his children win and he was a demanding doubles partner. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1329573507