Author: David Shama

A torrid September by Joe Mauer could help the Twins catcher win his fourth American League batting title in five years.  To lead the league in hitting, Mauer will need a slumping September by Josh Hamilton, the Texas outfielder.

Mauer is hitting .327 while the league leading Hamilton is at .354.  Both players figure to play in 30-plus more games before the season ends in early October.  They could each have about 132 more at bats.

If Mauer has 52 hits in his last 132 plate appearances (.394 average) he will bat .343 for the season.  If Hamilton produced 38 hits in 132 at bats (.288 average) his final season number will be .340.

Mauer is hitting .388 in August so another jaw-dropping month could follow.  His season average has been climbing since July 24 when he was hitting .295.

Hamilton is batting .318 in August.  Mauer fans have to hope that Hamilton will finish the season like he began it.  In March-April Hamilton hit only .265.

The odds are against Mauer but his task of overtaking Hamilton is possible.  Twins pitchers can help Mauer out when the Rangers come to town September 3-6.  Both clubs face pretty much mediocre competition the rest of the season, although the Rangers do have a home series against the Yankees in September.  Hamilton must also keep his stamina in the Texas heat.

Jake Mauer told Sports Headliners he believes his grandson will overtake Hamilton.  Jake said: “I think he (Hamilton) will cool off in September.  The bat gets heavier.  He swings from his heels. …”

A fourth batting title in five years will place Mauer among the few players in major league history ever to accomplish that feat.  He would then be three batting titles behind Twins legend Rod Carew who won seven.

The Twins have the highest average ticket price in major league baseball on the “secondary market,” according to Patrick Klinger.  The club’s vice president of marketing told Sports Headliners the average price of almost $80 charged by secondary sources such as StubHub.com exceeds even high demand for Yankees and Red Sox home game tickets.

The popularity of both the Twins and the new Target Field ballpark, returning outdoor baseball to this region for the first time since 1981, has resulted in sellouts for all but one home game.  The Central Division leading Twins are playing in a venue that ESPN The Magazine rated earlier this year as the best stadium experience in professional sports.

A Sports Headliners reader emailed that he paid $89 per ticket for a game earlier this month via StubHub.  The two upper level seats he purchased near the Budweiser Roof Deck cost $27 each if available and purchased through the Twins.

Klinger said the club didn’t anticipate demand for tickets would be so intense.  He said the Twins’ intent is to keep tickets affordable and evidence of that is not only pricing but capping season ticket sales at about 25,000 so that single game buyers can attend games.

Klinger said ticket demand and ongoing costs drove the decision to raise ticket prices for next season.  However, 40 percent of seats will be increased by only $1 or less, according to a club news release.  Thirty-one percent of seats will increase by $2, and 39 percent of seats will remain priced at $22 or less.

The club’s popularity has also been showing up in TV ratings.  The Twins are consistently generating double digit Fox Sports North ratings in August (an increase over earlier in the season) and had a 15.3 rating for a White Sox game at Target Field on August 18.  A rating point is a percentage of households watching a particular program.

Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, 81, has announced he will return next year for another season.  Twins radio play-by-play man John Gordon, 70, hasn’t made an announcement about his plans.  “We would love to see him continue,” Klinger said.

Gordon has been broadcasting Twins games since 1987 while Scully has been with the Dodgers even before the franchise moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.

Former Twins pitcher Carlos Silva, now with the Cubs, has been on the disabled list for cardiac evaluation but was scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment soon.  Silva has a 10-5 record with a 3.92 ERA.

MLB.com includes Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano among American League candidates for comeback player of the year.  Liriano, 12-7 with a 3.41 ERA, is having his best season since 2006 when he was injured and unable to complete the season. This season Liriano has career highs for innings pitched and strikeouts.

Wild backup goalie Josh Harding has impressed with his off-season dedication this summer.  Harding has been a regular at Xcel Energy Center workouts focusing on weights, conditioning and spending time with goaltending coach Bob Mason.

Training camp opens for the Wild at Xcel Energy Center on September 17.  Players will be on the ice for the first time September 18.

Look for the Wild to be close to the NHL salary cap of $59 million this season.

The NHL is expected to announce the site for a 2012 outdoor game after January 1 of next year.  Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium remain possibilities.

The Wild will announce the top 10 games in team history as selected by fans beginning at noon on Sunday at the Minnesota State Fair’s FAN Central building.  Next season is the Wild’s 10^th in the NHL.  The top two games will be featured in a Year Ten DVD. Fans can purchase the DVD for $19 at the Wild’s State Fair booth and at Hockey Lodge locations immediately following the announcement of the Top Ten games.

Several prep football coaches are pushing for milestone wins going into this season. Richard Risbrudt of Fergus Falls needs nine more to total 200, according to information provided by Jim Dotseth, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association.   Rosemount’s Jeff Erdmann, with 99 wins, and Hutchinson’s Andy Rostberg, with 96, are among those nearing 100.  Hawley’s Peder Naatz, Fertile-Beltrami’s Brian Nelson and Litchfield’s Jon Johnson all have 95 wins.  Totino Grace’s Jeff Ferguson and Westbrook Walnut Grove’s Carter Ross have 93 each.

Gophers coach Tim Brewster, with an introduction by Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman, will be the speaker at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon on Thursday, September 9 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington.  C.O.R.E.S. organization members can make reservations by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.  (C.O.R.E.S. is an abbreviation for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans).

Vikings coach Brad Childress is not only efficient with his X’s and O’s but also adept at analogies.  Earlier this week while answering a question concerning medical tests for wide receiver Percy Harvin he said: “I know he’s got a couple more tests he’s got to accomplish in the medical area.  We would hope to get those done in relatively quick fashion.  It’s not like making a reservation at a hotel or a restaurant. There are people in front of him.”