Twins – Page 125 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Mauer Future Looks Unsure Past 2018

Posted on July 30, 2017July 30, 2017 by David Shama

A Sunday notes column leading off with the Twins:

Joe Mauer’s $184 million, eight-year contract with the Twins ends after next season. What happens then?

“I think Joe has a big say in that in terms of what his interest is in playing beyond the 2018 season,” Twins president Dave St. Peter said. “I don’t think Joe is there yet (on a decision)—at least I haven’t seen that back from him yet.

“But we’ll sit down at the appropriate time. I would guess it would be at the end of the 2018 season. Joe will assess where he’s at, where his family is at. A dialogue with Joe and/or his representatives will take place at the appropriate time.”

Mauer will be 35 when next season ends. The Minnesota native and sports legend has fought through a lot of physical challenges including at least one concussion. How much more stress does he want to put on his body? The guess here is that Mauer, a dedicated family man with a wife and two young children, will end his career and retire as a Twin—the only pro baseball organization he’s ever played for.

Mauer is among the team’s leading hitters for average (.280) and has been clutch this season driving in runners in scoring position. But his production as a hitter is considerably less than earlier in his career when hitting over .300 was routine and his name was among the first to be considered for an American League batting title.

St. Peter referred to Mauer as a “huge asset” for the organization, including because of his high character. The Twins’ boss also praised Mauer’s timely hitting this season and for putting himself “in contention for a Gold Glove at first base.”

The Twins don’t work on contracts with players during the season so there’s no reason to expect discussion of a new deal with Mauer to receive attention until after the 2018 season. If Mauer were willing to accept a lesser role (part-time starter, for example) and drastic reduction in salary, it seems likely the Twins would invite him to compete for a roster spot in 2019.

The MLB trading deadline is tomorrow. Regarding a trade, St. Peter told Sports Headliners on Friday, “I expect on some level the Twins will participate.”

This morning the Twins announced they have acquired two minor league prospects from the Yankees, left-handed pitcher Dietrich Enns and right-handed pitcher Zack Littell, in exchange for veteran left-handed pitcher Jamie García and cash considerations.

Enns, 26, was 1-1 with a 2.29 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. Enns is on the Twins’ 40-man roster and will report to Triple-A Rochester.

Littell, 21, was 14-1 with a 1.87 ERA in 20 appearances (18 starts) between Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton this season. Littell will report to Double-A Chattanooga.

Garcia, 31, made one start for the Twins since being acquired from Atlanta July 24, earning a win a couple of days ago against the Athletics after pitching 6.2 innings. The trade of the established starter to the Yankees will be seen by many Twins fans as an indication the front office is unsure about staying in the race for the postseason and is taking a build-for-the-future approach. Minnesota has lost seven of its last 10 games, has a 50-52 record and is seven games out of first place in the AL Central Division.

Among reasons the Twins are playing under .500 baseball and fading in pursuit of winning at least half their games this season is their record against MLB’s better teams. The Twins were swept last week in a three-game interleague series against the National League West Division leading Dodgers. The Twins are 0-6 against the AL West leading Astros, 2-5 versus the AL East second place Red Sox and 5-8 against the first place Indians—Minnesota’s rival in the AL Central.

That’s a combined 7-22 against three of the better teams in baseball. In their losses to the Red Sox and Astros, the Twins were out-scored 47-13 and 22-7. Overall, the Twins have shown a lot of improvement after last season’s 59-102 record.

Eden Prairie’s football team starts practice August 14 and coach Mike Grant told Sports Headliners Gophers recruit Benny Sapp III is the best cornerback in the state. Sapp, a Florida transfer and son of former Viking defensive back Benny Sapp, has never played in a varsity game because of injuries but Grant has seen enough of the Eagles senior to rave about him.

“Most importantly, he’s just a great kid,” Grant said. “If he couldn’t play a lick, we would like to have him.”

Grant will also use Sapp, who has verbally committed to the Gophers, at receiver and as a return man. “He has tremendous speed and great hands,” Grant said.

Grant wants to get Sapp as “many touches” in games as possible. That was the mission two years ago with explosive running back and return man J.D. Spielman, a breakaway threat now on scholarship at Nebraska. “He (Sapp) is probably as fast as Spielman, or faster,” Grant said.

Another Eagle with Gopher ties is junior quarterback Cole Kramer, the grandson of former U football player and athletic director Tom Moe. Grant refers to Kramer as a “top five quarterback” in the state. A starter last season, Kramer has added weight and muscle.

“He could go on a college team right now and throw with them (other quarterbacks),” Grant said. “His arm is that strong.”

Grant, who has been coaching at Eden Prairie since 1992, isn’t willing to call Kramer his best ever quarterback because he hasn’t won a state title. That might change this fall, though, because Grant likes the talent and work ethic of his team, despite having only five returnees on offense and three on defense.

Grant’s father, legendary former Vikings coach Bud Grant, has been hosting annual garage sales. Mike said three years ago was supposed to be the final one but they keep coming including last spring’s which ended a day before Bud’s 90th birthday. Mike predicted “still going strong at 91” could be the theme of next year’s sale.

The lines were long this year, partially because Grant was selling a bobblehead depicting him wearing a Vikings cap and jacket, holding a duck, and accompanied by his hunting dog Boom. Mike is suggesting a double-bobblehead for next year with Grant and his longtime friend Sid Hartman. Grant could be dressed in a red check hunting shirt, with Hartman in a suit and holding a microphone. “That would be perfect,” Mike said.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talking about where he expects to play 38-year-old Terence Newman: “Terence is a corner. That is where he is going to play, and if we need him at nickel or safety or some other spot then we will do that, but he’s a corner.”

Zimmer on free-agent acquisition Riley Reiff who is expected to start at left tackle on offense: “…I really like his demeanor. He’s going to try and hurt you, if he can hurt you. I think that’s going to bode well for us as we move forward.”

John Kundla, who died earlier this month at age 101, received a lot of praise for coaching the Minneapolis Lakers to five pro championships, but he didn’t receive enough credit for providing playing opportunities for African-Americans at the University of Minnesota. When Kundla coached the Gophers in the mid-1960s he started three African-Americans, Archie Clark, Lou Hudson and Don Yates. That was a first at Minnesota and unusual in major college basketball where prejudice was part of sports and American society.

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New Book Revisits Ortiz Twins Career

Posted on July 14, 2017July 14, 2017 by David Shama

A recently released local book about the era of the Twins in the Metrodome includes new insights regarding David Ortiz’s departure from Minnesota after the 2002 season. Ortiz created the impression over the years that leaving the Twins was something he welcomed, but quotes from former Minnesota teammates alter that perspective.

Ortiz, who played parts of six seasons with the Twins, became one of baseball’s most feared hitters after joining the Red Sox. The Twins gave up on the DH-first baseman after too many injuries and mixed results in his performance. Ortiz flourished, though, with the Red Sox where one season he hit 54 home runs, and closed his career as a 40-year-old in 2016 with a .315 batting average while hitting 38 home runs and driving in 127 runs.

Tom Kelly (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins)

Last spring the Hall of Fame-bound Ortiz was critical of his Twins experience in his new hardcover book, Papi: My Story. Among his digs at the Twins was Tom Kelly’s fondness for slap hitters, accusing the manager of trying to make the 6-3, 230-pound slugger into a lightweight at the plate to take advantage of the Metrodome’s bouncy artificial surface.

In an online review of the book last May, Sports Illustrated’s Jack Dickey offered this quote from Ortiz regarding Kelly: “So I kissed his ass for a couple of years and became the biggest slap hitter you’ll ever see.”

Dickey also wrote that Ortiz was critical of Kelly for once ordering the team back on the field after a game because of a poor performance. As a manager, Kelly was all in regarding fundamentals. Ortiz considered such post-game instruction inappropriate for professional players.

In Bob Showers’ book The Twins in the Dome, the local author quotes former Minnesota teammates Corey Koskie and Torii Hunter about Ortiz’s feelings toward the Twins after the 2002 season. Koskie was at Ortiz’s wedding in November of 2002 when Ortiz was suspicious he would soon be departing the Twins.

“He started to cry,” Koskie said in the book. “He saw the writing on the wall regarding his future with the Twins. He was sobbing and saying, ‘I am going to miss you guys so much.’ “

Ortiz was released soon thereafter and the move not only bothered him, but also Hunter who said in the book his friend called him expressing surprise and said, “I can’t believe it. I don’t know what I did. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Hunter told Showers he felt “blindsided” about the release of someone he thought was a valuable talent (Ortiz had his best Minnesota season in 2002, hitting .272 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI). “I made a phone call to the front office and we had some words,” Hunter said. “I fought for him but I had no voice. I was only four years (experience) in the big leagues, so I had no voice. I told them he was the best hitter on the team but they didn’t believe me.”

Showers also interviewed Kelly about his years of managing the Twins from 1986-2001. Regarding Ortiz, Kelly talked about injuries, mentioning a broken bone in Ortiz’s hand and also a bad knee. “We just couldn’t keep him on the field,” Kelly said.

Kelly managed the Twins to World Series championships in 1987 and 1991, with Minnesota winning game seven both years in the Metrodome. The 1987 win was a shock to all of baseball and uplifted the local sports environment that hadn’t experienced a world championship since the 1954 Minneapolis Lakers won the NBA title.

Following the first World Series, Kelly received a surprise visit by police officials from Minneapolis and other local communities. “We want to thank you,” they said in Showers’ book. “You don’t understand how much life has improved in our cities this past month during the playoffs and World Series.”

The law enforcement officers cited declines in crime rates and gained Kelly’s attention. “These are things that don’t go through your head, things that don’t register while you’re playing,” Kelly said in the book.

Kelly was touched, too, by the boxes of letters he received from the public. “There had to be at least six or seven letters, mostly from women, describing how better their lives became during the playoffs and World Series,” he said. “They were having troubles in the household or facing possible divorce and the games brought them back together with their spouse. …Those letters absolutely knocked me over.”

The Twins played in the Metrodome from 1982-2009. Those years come alive in Showers’ book that includes interesting quotes from the players and others who were part of that era. Showers not only interviewed a lengthy list of sources, but filled his 275- page book with great photos. There are even pictures of every Twin from the Dome years—starting with Paul Abbott and ending with Delmon Young. The book will stir nostalgia in Twins fans.

Showers will be signing copies of the book from 5:30 to 7 p.m. July 21 in the Delta SKY360° Club at Target Field as part of the Twins’ 30-year celebration of the 1987 World Series. He will be at the stadium’s Majestic Clubhouse Store the next day at a time to be determined. Signed copies of the book are also available at www.itascabooks.com.

Showers is a Bloomington resident who while growing up in Iowa attended his first Twins game in 1971 at Met Stadium. He has also authored The Twins at the Met; and Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne.

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Sano, Puckett All-Stars in Third Years

Posted on July 12, 2017July 12, 2017 by David Shama

Miguel Sano was one of three Twins on the American League’s roster for last night’s All-Star Game in Miami. Being an All-Star could have prompted longtime Twins fans to make a few comparisons with the late Kirby Puckett.

Sano is 24 years old, the same age Puckett was when he played his first big league season with the Twins in 1984. Sano has already participated in parts of two seasons with the Twins but last night’s All-Star Game was his first.

Puckett initially played in MLB’s summer showcase at age 26. As with Sano, Puckett made the All-Star roster for the first time when he was in his third season with Minnesota. The year was 1986 and Puckett was on his way to a final batting average of .328, with 31 home runs and 96 RBI.

Sano and Puckett, both right-handed hitters with hefty physiques, drew comparisons earlier this season when Sano got to 10 home runs in 32 games, the fastest of any Twins hitter since Puckett pulled that off in 23 games. Those are numbers that can be indicative of a team’s best hitter—its biggest weapon in the batting order.

Puckett was the Twins’ leader for parts of the 1980s and 1990s during a 12-year career when he hit over .300 eight times. He finished his career with a .319 lifetime batting average and 207 home runs. Even more lasting to his legacy are the two World Series titles he helped bring to the Twins.

Sano has emerged as the Twins’ most important offensive player at the age Puckett was just arriving at the Metrodome. His home runs, RBI and slugging percentage are tops on the team. Those totals of 21 and 62, and the .538 percentage, rank sixth, third and ninth in the American League. His batting average is .276.

The Twins, who had a 59-102 record last season, are among baseball’s surprise teams at the All-Star break. The club is 45-43, only 2.5 games behind the first place Indians in the American League’s Central Division. Part of that success is attributable to Sano whose 62 RBI are 21 more than his nearest teammate (Brian Dozier).

Miguel Sano (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

Sano is starting to make his name more prominent nationally, and who knows if the path might lead to Cooperstown where Puckett is enshrined in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Monday night on national TV Sano reached the finals of the All-Star weekend’s Home Run Derby where he lost to Yankee slugger Aaron Judge.

In last night’s All-Star game Sano drove in the American League’s first run in a 2-1 win over the National League. Minnesota’s other representatives in the game were 34-year-old starter Ervin Santana and bullpen closer Brandon Kintzler, 32.

Santana, with a 10-6 record and 2.99 ERA, might be headed to the best season of his career but at his age he doesn’t have the potential to headline the Twins like Sano. As a reliever, Kintzler won’t assume that role either.

Joe Mauer, 34, has a resume of three AL batting titles and that 2009 league MVP Award, but he has been fading for years. He has missed the .300 batting mark for the past three seasons.

Byron Buxton’s fielding in center field could make even Puckett smile but he’s been hitting around .200 much of the season and the long-term prospect for becoming a threat at bat is up for debate, even though Buxton is only 23 years old. Sano is the team’s alpha dog already and perhaps will be for another 10 years or more.

Even at third base Sano has been a contributor. He has committed an acceptable 12 errors and his fielding percentage of .970 is 60 points better than his career MLB number entering this season.

The 6-4, 262-pound Sano has shown a nimbleness and strong arm in the field while contributing to a surprisingly strong defense that hasn’t received enough credit when discussion occurs about the team’s collective success.

Puckett was extraordinary in the field and seven times in his career reached double digits in stolen bases. Sano will never be the all-around player Puckett was, not even close. Puckett hit for average and power, and seven times he was a Gold Glove winner for his work in center field. He even reached double figures seven times in stolen bases.

Sano seems on track to become one of baseball’s best sluggers, easily surpassing Puckett’s career home run total. Puckett’s best home run years were when he hit 31, 28 and 24. Sano, who already has 64 career homers, is a free swinger who struck out 178 times last season in 431 plate appearances and probably will top that this year. Puckett never struck out more than 99 times in a season.

Sano, like Puckett, not only has the potential to be the club’s offensive leader for years to come but could emerge as a vocal leader like Kirby. What’s that Puckett once said to teammates? “Jump on my back, boys.” Sano, a native of the Dominican Republic, perhaps could say something like that in both Spanish and English to teammates in the future if the Twins have contending teams.

A sad note in any language, though, is that Puckett, who died in 2006, won’t be able to join his former teammates from the 1987 club for a reunion weekend in Minneapolis July 20-22 celebrating 30 years since the Twins were baseball’s world champions. Among those expected are ex-players Keith Atherton, Juan Berenguer, Bert Blyleven, Randy Bush, Sal Butera, Mark Davidson, George Frazier, Gary Gaetti, Dan Gladden, Kent Hrbek, Gene Larkin, Tim Laudner, Steve Lombardozzi, Al Newman, Jeff Reardon, Roy Smalley, Mike Smithson, Les Straker, and Frank Viola. Expected also are manager Tom Kelly, and coaches Tony Oliva, Rick Stelmaszek and Dick Such.

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