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

April 9, 2000 Twins & Royals Go Back-to-Back-to-Back Already up 6-0 entering the top of the sixth in Kansas City, Corey Koskie leads the inning off with a base hit. Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones and Matt LeCroy then proceed to hit three consecutive home runs on four total pitches. Coomer homers again in the seventh, again with Koskie on base. Eric Milton retires the first 20 batters in order and has a 2-hit shutout going into the 8th. After retiring the first two batters, including former Twin David McCarty, Milton allows two hits and is relieved by Eddie Guardado. Guardado gives up an RBI single and then back-to-back home runs to Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye. Eddie is relieved by Hector Carrasco who surrenders the Royals’ third consecutive home run to Mike Sweeney. It is the first game in major league history in which each team hits back-to-back-to-back home runs. The Twins are one of seven teams to have hit four consecutive home runs, doing so on May 2, 1964 in Kansas City versus the Athletics. With the score tied 3-3 entering the top of the 11th, Tony Oliva hit a leadoff home run followed by Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, and Harmon Killebrew, giving the Twins a 7-3 victory. The Twins set the American League record by hitting five home runs in a single inning on June 9, 1966, also against the KC Athletics, but this time in Bloomington at the Met. The Athletics erupted for four runs in the first off of Camilo Pascual, who only lasted ⅔ of an inning. Facing 1987 Hall of Fame inductee Catfish Hunter the Twins pulled within 4-3 on a Bob Allison RBI double in the fifth and a two-run Killebrew homer in the sixth. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Rich Rollins and Zoilo Versalles connected for back-to-back homers off of Hunter to take the lead. Reliever Paul Lindblad retired Sandy Valdespino before allowing back-to-back homers to Tony Oliva and Don Mincher. The Athletics then turned to John Wyatt who allowed the Twins’ third consecutive home run, and the fifth of the inning, to Harmon Killebrew, his second of the game. Four National League teams have hit five home runs in an inning. The first time was in 1939 and the most recent in 2006. All four were against the Cincinnati Reds. April 9, 2010 Drew Butera Makes Major League Debut Catcher Drew Butera makes his major league debut in Chicago, making he and his dad Sal (1980-’82 and ‘87) the first father-son duo in Twins history. Drew goes 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a sac bunt in a 4-3, 11-inning Twins win over the White Sox. April 10, 1982 Twins Deal Smalley, Acquire Gagne The Twins trade Roy Smalley and 1975 Alexandria High School graduate Gary Serum to the New York Yankees for Ron Davis, Paul Boris, and Greg Gagne. Ron Davis, who had been an All-Star in ‘81, was one of the game’s first setup men, combining for a potent 1-2 punch with Hall of Famer Goose Gossage. Davis still holds the Yankees record for consecutive strikeouts in a single game with eight on May 4, 1981. Doug Fister established a new American League record for consecutive strikeouts in a game with nine on September 27, 2012. The major league record belongs to Tom Seaver who K’ed 10 in a row on April 22, 1970. Ron Davis was never in All-Star form in Minnesota, however. He tied a single season record with 14 blown saves in 1984, a dubious feat which no pitcher has matched since. Four pitchers had blown 14 saves in a season prior to Davis, including Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers (1976) and Bruce Sutter (‘78). Incidentally, Goose Gossage (112), Rollie Fingers (109) and Jeff Reardon (106) have the most blown saves in major league history. Gossage’s six seasons with 10 or more blown saves are most all-time, followed by Fingers and Reardon, each with four seasons of 10 or more. The Twins sent Ron Davis to the Chicago Cubs in August of ‘86 as part of a trade that brought George Frazier to the Twins. Frazier pitched in 54 games for the ‘87 Twins. Davis never saved another game, pitching sparingly in relief for the Cubs, Dodgers and Giants through the end of the ‘88 season. Though Davis was the object of the Twins’ desire at the time, Greg Gagne would obviously emerge as the key figure in this transaction. He didn’t make his major league debut until 1983, and even then only played 12 games between the ‘83 and ‘84 seasons before becoming a fixture at shortstop for the Twins from 1985 to 1992. He was a key component of the Twins’ ‘87 and ‘91 World Series Championships. The Twins had originally acquired Roy Smalley in the 1976 trade that sent Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson to the Texas Rangers. In July of ‘84, the Yankees offloaded Smalley to the White Sox in exchange for players to be named later, one of whom wound up being Doug Drabek, who, after just one season, the Yankees in turn shipped off to Pittsburgh where he would win the 1990 Cy Young Award. The White Sox traded Smalley back to Minnesota in 1985. Smalley retired after the Twins’ 1987 World Series Championship season. Gary Serum was born in Fargo, and grew up in Alexandria, Minnesota. He played two and a half major league seasons with the Twins from 1977 to ‘79. Despite posting a 9-1 record between Double-A and Triple-A in the Yankees organization, 1982 was Serum’s final professional season. April 11 Birthdate of Bob Casey The inimitable Bob Casey was born in Minneapolis on this date in 1925. Casey was the Twins’ Public Address Announcer for 44 years, from 1961 until his death in 2005. He also worked for the Minneapolis Millers, the Lakers and the Vikings. The decorated World War II veteran is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, John Gordon, and Dave St. Peter served as pallbearers at his funeral. April 11, 1961 Twins First Regular Season Game The Twins played their first ever regular season game at Yankee Stadium. Harmon Killebrew collected the first hit in Twins history leading off the fourth with a single to center. Twins pitcher Pedro Ramos and Whitey Ford were locked in a scoreless duel until Bob Allison led off the seventh with a home run, the first in Twins history. The Twins went on to win their first game 6-0 as Ramos pitched a complete game, 3-hit shutout versus the eventual 1961 World Series Champs. Ramos held Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris to a combined 1-for-11, with Berra singling in the first. Ramos did not allow a baserunner after the fifth inning. Roger Maris would establish a new single season home run record with 61 that year. The Twins would go on to a 5-1 record before playing their first home game in front of a crowd already deep in the throes of pennant fever. They would lose their first game in Bloomington, however, 3-5 to the new Senators, and finish their inaugural season 70-90, 7th place in the America League. April 12, 1926 Cubs Hero Walt Moryn Born in St. Paul It’s the birthdate of 1944 St. Paul Harding High School graduate Walt Moryn, born 91 years ago. He played parts of eight major league seasons from 1954-’61 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, and Pirates. He played 11 regular season games for the 1955 World Series Champion Dodgers, and represented the Cubs in the 1958 All-Star Game (on the bench). Cubs fans’ endearing memory of Moryn is of him making a dramatic shoestring catch for the final out of Don Cardwell’s no-hitter on May 15, 1960. Moryn passed away on July 21, 1996 in Winfield, Illinois. He was 70 years old. April 12, 2005 Twins Win on Shannon Stewart Walk-Off The Twins beat the Tigers 5-4 on a Shannon Stewart walk-off ground rule double off of Troy Percival. Percival had not allowed an earned run versus the Twins in over 40 innings going back to 1995. Torii Hunter drove in Jason Bartlett to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. April 12, 2010 First Regular Season Game at Target Field The Twins beat the Red Sox 5-2 in the first regular season game played at Target Field. Carl Pavano earned the win for the Twins. Jon Lester, the losing pitcher, walked Denard Span to lead off the bottom of the first. Orlando Hudson then collected the Twins’ first hit at the new ballpark. After Mauer and Morneau made the first two outs, Michael Cuddyer collected the new stadium’s first RBI, driving in Span on a single to left. Jason Kubel then drove in Hudson, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead in the first. Mauer hit an RBI double in the second, and an RBI single in the fourth. Jason Kubel hit Target Field’s first regular season home run leading off the seventh. Jon Rauch retired Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre in order for the save. April 13, 1962 Home Opener Snowed Out In just the second year of major league baseball in Minnesota the Twins’ home opener vs. the Los Angeles Angels is cancelled due to six inches of snow. April 14, 1927 Winona’s Wera Makes MLB Debut 25-year-old Winona, Minnesota native Julie Wera makes his major league debut for New York at Yankee Stadium, pinch-hitting for Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt against Hall of Famer Lefty Grove. He grounded out. Wera played 38 games at third base for the vaunted ‘27 Yankees. He hit his one and only big league homer during a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1927 in front of a then-record crowd of 74,000. Wera did not play in the 1927 World Series in which the Yankees swept the Pirates. He did, however, receive the same $5,782 portion of the winners’ purse as the rest of his teammates, which included Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. Nice bonus, considering that Wera’s ‘27 salary was reported to be $2,400. April 14, 1983 Snow Collapses the Dome The largest April snowstorm in Minneapolis’s history forces the postponement of a game versus the California Angels. The decision to postpone the game was made the night before out of concern that the Angels would not be able to arrive in Minnesota in time. Travel concerns were a moot point, however, as damage from the storm caused the Metrodome roof to collapse about twelve hours after the decision to postpone. The spring storm dumped over 13 inches of snow on the Twin Cities. April 14, 2016 Worst Start in Twins History The Twins are swept by the White Sox in their home-opening series, falling to 0-9 to start the season, the worst start in franchise’s 116-year history. It is the worst start by any major league team in 13 years, going back to the epicly awful ‘03 Tigers who finished 43-119. The Braves would also fall to 0-9 later that day, and finish the season 68-93. The Twins, meanwhile, would finish 59-103, the worst record in Minnesota Twins history. It was remarkably not the worst season in franchise history, however. The 1904 Washington Senators finished 38-113 (.252 winning %). April 15, 1998 Eisenreich’s Last Home Run Playing for the Florida Marlins, 1977 St. Cloud Tech graduate and St. Cloud State Hall of Famer Jim Eisenreich hits his final major league home run, a two-run game-winner off Curt Schilling driving in current Brewers manager Craig Counsell. April 15, 2000 Ripken Gets 3,000 at the Dome Cal Ripken Jr. becomes the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits in a 6-4 Orioles win at the Metrodome. Ripken entered the game sitting at 2,997, having collected one hit the night before in a wild 10-9 Twins win. Trailing 4-9, the Twins scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth before Eddie Guardado earned the save, retiring Ripken for the final out of the game. On this night, Ripken was 2-for-3 when he came up in the seventh in a tie game with two out and Albert Belle on third. Hector Carrasco was brought in from the bullpen to face the Iron Man. Catcher Matt LeCroy gave up a passed ball on Carrasco’s first pitch, allowing Belle to score the go-ahead run. Then, on the second pitch of the at-bat, Ripken stroked a line-drive single to center, becoming the seventh player in major league history to collect both 400 home runs and 3,000 hits. Former Twin Mike Trombley came on in the bottom of the 9th to earn the save for Baltimore. Noteworthy in retrospect is the fact that Midre Cummings pinch-hit for the number nine batter, Torii Hunter. Ripken was greeted at first after his 3,000th hit by base coach Eddie Murray, who had himself collected his 3,000th hit at the Metrodome in 1995 off of Mike Trombley as a member of the Cleveland ballclub. The following season, while playing for Baltimore, Murray became just the third person in major league history with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Rafael Palmeiro and Alex Rodriguez have since joined the club. St. Paul Central High School graduate and Golden Gophers legend Dave Winfield also collected his 3,000th hit at the Metrodome in 1993. 29 players have collected 3,000 hits in the 146 year history of Major League Baseball. Three of those reached the milestone at the Metrodome in a period of seven years. It is also noteworthy that of the 29 members of the 3,000 hit club, two (Winfield and Paul Molitor) were born in St. Paul just five years apart. April 15, 2001 Milton Ks 8 of First 10 Hosting the White Sox, Eric Milton gets off to a hot start, striking out the side including Frank Thomas. Milton goes on to strike out eight of the first 10 batters he faces. He allows only two runs over seven innings, those coming on a two-run Thomas homer in the sixth, one of 521 he hit in his career, tied with Ted Williams and Willie McCovey for 19th all-time. LaTroy Hawkins earned the save in the Twins 4-3 victory, their sixth straight, improving to 9-2 on the season. Keep in touch with @@TwinsAlmanac on Twitter, and on Facebook.

The signing of Brian Duensing with the Kansas City Royals closes the book on a story that was started in 1989. In the first round of that year's draft, the Twins selected Texas A&M shortstop Chuck Knoblauch who would go on to spawn the trade that would put Twins GM Terry Ryan on the map and the fruits of that trade would be felt until 2015. After seven seasons of what looked to be the beginning of a HOF career, Chuck Knoblauch and his 37.9 WAR wanted out of Minnesota and to a contender. Well that's how the fans knew it anyway, back before internet media was a thing. While largely unpopular at the time, the Twins received Brian Buchanan (0.3 WAR), Christian Guzman (7.5), Eric Milton (14.7) and Danny Mota (-0.1) in what would be the branches of our Knoblauch trade tree.THE BRIAN BUCHANAN BRANCH Brian Buchanan had some nice power potential and looked the part of a middle-of- the-order bat. Unfortunately for him, he found himself in a roster crunch as he was competing for the RF/DH spot with Michael Cuddyer, Dustin Mohr, Bobby Keilty, David Ortiz and Matthew Lecroy. Buchanan found himself shipped off to San Diego and in return the Twins received shortstop prospect Jason Bartlett (8.9). Bartlett would go on to play four seasons (initially) with the Twins before getting traded to Tampa Bay with Matt Garza and Eddie Morlan for Delmon Young (1.0), Brendon Harris (-0.6) and Jason Pridie (-0.2). Pridie teased Twins fans with his potential but never put it all together and was soon DFA'd. Brendon Harris found himself a mostly every day super-utility role for the Twins before being traded for Jim Hoey (-0.6) and Brett Jacobson. Jacobson never made it to the majors, Jim Hoey and his disastrous 24.1 innings unfortunately did. Delmon Young played three and a half mercurial seasons with the Twins, seemingly breaking out in 2010 and being a large reason for the team's division title. Alas, it was not to last and the following year he was traded to Detroit for Cole Nelson who never appeared in a MLB game and Lester Oliveros (0.0). Oliveros would tease with his potential, but he never got much of an opportunity to make it at the MLB level and was recently picked up the Royals. THE ERIC MILTON BRANCH That wraps up the Buchanan wing of the Knoblauch trade tree, so let's head back to the top and check in on Eric Milton. Milton pitched six seasons for the Twins, six seasons that saw an All Star appearance, a no-hitter, and a questionable contract extension. Despite that contract extension, the Twins were able to move him to Philadelphia for a package that included Carlos Silva (9.0), Nick Punto (10.3) and Bobby Korecky (0.2). Silva pitched four solid seasons for the Twins before signing a nice free agent contract with Seattle, but most interesting for Silva was his 2005 season when he set a modern day record of 0.4 BB/9. Seriously, that is bizarre. Check out the single-season leader board and the next closest modern day player was Brett Saberhagen with a 0.65 BB/9 which is almost a 40% increase: http://www.baseball-...ne_season.shtml Nick Punto just announced his retirement but played seven super-utility seasons with the Twins before leaving and winning a World Series with St. Louis in 2011. Bobby Korecky, we hardly knew you, except for that time in 2008 when the Twins lost their DH and you had to come to bat in the 11th inning. Of course in that 11th inning you not only got a hit in your only career AB but also the win. That has to be worth more than 0.2 WAR, which surely proves WAR is worthless. THE DANNY MOTA BRANCH Back to the top and we get to Danny Mota, who would do next to nothing for the Twins, appearing in all of 5.1 innings at the MLB level. THE CRISTIAN GUZMAN BRANCH The last branch on the Knoblauch trade tree begins with Cristian Guzman. The speedy shortstop made one All-Star Game and led the league in triples three times. He left as a free agent to Washington, but in doing so, the Twins were rewarded with a compensation draft pick. Not a first-round pick because that was protected. Not a second-round pick because that was already lost, but a third-round pick in the 2005 draft which the Twins used to select Brian Duensing (6. 2WAR). Duensing was an unheralded prospect who made an immediate impact in 2009 and found himself pitching Game 1 of the ALDS against the Yankees. It did not go well. Duensing had another nice season in 2010 as a swing man before settling in as regular out of the pen. His seven years with the Twins matches Punto and Knoblauch himself in terms of number of seasons played for the Twins. SUMMARY In total, 19 players were acquired due to the first-round selection in the 1989 draft and a total of 94.6 WAR was gained. These trees can be found throughout baseball, and surely there are others as fruitful, but this one has interested me for a long time. All of the comical propositions of tossing Duensing into trade proposals the last couple of years were serious by me because I wanted this tree to keep growing. It, however, will not. EPILOGUE The Twins 1989 draft was fantastic. They drafted three players with career WARs over 20 in Knoblauch, Denny Neagle and Scott Erickson. They also drafted Marty Cordova, Mike Trombley and Denny Hocking. Some of these players produced unexpected fruit. The trade of Erickson for Scott Klingenbeck and Kimera Bartee is one of Ryan's best known failures. In 1992, Andy McPhail made a trade of Denny Neagle that would live on for years. In trading a top prospect in Neagle (something unbelievable for the Twins today), the Twins received John Smiley, a very good, but not great pitcher whom the Twins wanted/needed to replace the departed Jack Morris. Smiley pitched one fine year for the Twins before leaving, and in his place the Twins got a compensation pick in 1993 which they used to select Torii Hunter. When Hunter left, the Twins used his comp picks to select busts Carlos Gutierrez and Shooter Hunt. Also, while the Twins didn't get a comp pick for losing Marty Cordova (even though he had an .828 OPS the prior year), they did get one for losing Mike Trombley in 2000. They used that pick to select Aaron Heilman, who had a really nice MLB career, just not with the Twins because he refused to sign with them. Click here to view the article