Twins – Page 137 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Kepler Top Rookie of Year Candidate

Posted on August 3, 2016August 3, 2016 by David Shama

With a three home run game on Monday night, and another last evening, the Twins Max Kepler is now a favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

Despite joining the Twins after the season started and for awhile not being a regular, Kepler has hit 15 home runs this year, including seven in his last 15 games. His home run total leads all American League rookies, and a baseball authority predicted yesterday he could finish the season with 25 homers.

Kepler is averaging a home run every 13.6 at bats. When former Senators and Twins great Harmon Killebrew played his first full season in the majors in 1959 he homered every 13 at bats.

Kepler’s home run totals have probably surprised everyone. In six minor league seasons through 2015 he homered every 46.8 times at the plate. His minor league batting average was .281.

Max Kepler (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

“He’s got that kind of bat that he’s going to hit for average and show a little power,” former Twins executive Jim Rantz told Sports Headliners back in April.

Turns out Kepler is showing more than a “little power” with his line drives that are going over the fence and positioning him to possibly become the sixth Twins player to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award. The 6-4, 207-pound Twins right fielder is impressive at bat with a leveraged swing and exceptional plate discipline. He is hitting .259 with 46 RBI in 205 at bats with the Twins.

“We all thought that he was probably going to be a line drive type hitter that was going to put a lot of doubles up,” Rantz told Sports Headliners yesterday. “It’s a beautiful swing that he puts on the ball…(and) if he gets elevation, it’s going to go because when he hits a ball it carries.”

The German-born Kepler comes from an athletic family. His parents were ballet dancers. As a youngster Kepler played not only baseball but other sports including soccer, swimming, skiing and tennis. Mark Rozycki and Mary Kepler may also have raised the next AL Rookie of the Year.

“No telling how this is going to finish if he keeps going like he’s going,” Rantz said.“He’s liable to hit 25 before it’s over (the season).”

Worth Noting

Vikings owners and brothers Mark and Zygi Wilf didn’t attend yesterday’s groundbreaking event for a new privately funded practice facility and team headquarters in Eagan because their father is ill, a source told Sports Headliners. Leonard Wilf, Mark and Zygi’s cousin and another Vikings owner, represented the Wilf family.

General manager Rick Spielman, speaking at the event, predicted the new complex will be the most “unique and best” of its kind in the NFL. The 40-acre Vikings campus will have offices, a 100-yard indoor practice building and four outdoor fields including a 6,000 seat stadium that is likely to host premiere high school games.

While there’s been no announcement, it seems likely the Vikings eventually will move their preseason training camp from Mankato to Eagan. The new complex will be known as the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center and TCO Stadium. It is scheduled to open in March of 2018.

Steve Poppen, the Vikings chief financial officer, said Eagan was “clearly” the best of three sites considered. Eagan mayor Mike Maguire said before the Vikings’ headquarters was built in Eden Prairie, the Eagan site had been promoted by a St. Paul developer in the 1970s.

Twins’ right-hander Tommy Milone, who this week was assigned to the bullpen, pitched five-plus innings in four of his last five starts after not achieving that in any of his first six starts this season. Milone hasn’t walked a batter in his last two starts.

Rob Antony, the Twins assistant general manager who could be a finalist to succeed Terry Ryan as the franchise’s baseball boss, started out in the media relations department. So, too, did Twins president Dave St. Peter and director of travel Mike Herman. The organization has long been known for its loyalty to employees and for promoting from within.

The Gophers open preseason football practice Friday. Saturday’s 10 a.m. practice at the Gibson Nagurski Football Complex is open to the public.

Former Gophers coach Glen Mason compared Minnesota senior quarterback Mitch Leidner to a 10-handicap golfer last week while doing analysis on the Big Ten Network. Mason said a 10-handicapper is inconsistent and Leidner needs to more like a five-handicapper.

Gophers coach Tracy Claeys told reporters at last week’s Big Ten media days in Chicago it will be important for he and new offensive coordinator Jay Johnston to give Leidner assignments that he is comfortable with during August practices.

A lot of college football programs, including the Gophers, are discounting tickets to boost sales. Big Ten rival Purdue has single game tickets starting at $5.

The U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, with four Lynx players and Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve on the staff, has its first game in Rio de Janeiro Sunday. The U.S. team, favored to win gold, plays its opening game against Senegal starting at 10 a.m. CDT.

Vashti Cunningham, the 18-year-old daughter of former Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham, isn’t expected to win the high jump in Rio but could surprise, and the Nevada native has already put Olympic coaches on notice she is a special talent.

Hamline has hired ex-Gophers women’s tennis star Julia Courter as its new head men’s and women’s tennis coach. The Pipers now have four former Gophers as head coaches with the others being Becky Bauer Egan (volleyball), Natalie Darwitz (women’s hockey) and Cory Laylin (men’s hockey).

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Twins Prez Not Settling for .500%

Posted on July 18, 2016July 18, 2016 by David Shama

Before baseball’s All-Star break last week the Twins’ record was 32-56, a winning percentage of .363. Since their schedule resumed last Friday the Twins earned one victory in a three-game series at home against the Central Division leading Indians.

But even though the club has an awful record, Twins president Dave St. Peter has ambitious expectations for wins and losses before the season ends on October 2. Asked about a hypothetical guarantee by the baseball gods that the Twins will win half their remaining games, St. Peter didn’t buy in. “No, I would never take .500,” he told Sports Headliners last week. “I think we’re capable of being better than that. I am not ready to settle for .500 baseball.”

At least .500 was what the Twins were expected to do with their 2016 schedule after last season’s 83-79 record. What happened? St. Peter listed multiple reasons including lack of offense at the beginning of the season, injuries to key players like All-Star closer Glen Perkins, and also inconsistent bullpen and starting pitching.

St. Peter said the club “dug ourselves a mighty hole” but he is encouraged by the “high quality young players in our system.” Although he didn’t list names, those players surely include the likes of outfield prospects Byron Buxton and Max Kepler, both already with the Twins, and pitcher Jose Berrios at AAA Rochester.

For the Twins to perform a lot better the rest of this season—and beyond—the organization will need to focus on improving the pitching. Not only is the roster of pitchers and position players being scrutinized, but St. Peter also said the organization’s decision makers will soon be reviewed.

The baseball department is led by Terry Ryan, a longtime favorite of management and ownership. He has been working for the Twins identifying and developing personnel since 1986. He is in his second assignment as general manager after coming back as personnel boss in 2011.

Ryan has fought off cancer in the past and baseball insiders may wonder how much longer he wants the demanding job of rebuilding the Twins who had four consecutive years of 90-plus loss seasons from 2011-2014. St. Peter said a mutual evaluation of Ryan’s future will be made near season’s end.

In talking to St. Peter the message is that everything and everyone will be analyzed. “It’s an ongoing evaluation. I can assure you that,” he said.

No final decision for 2017 has been made about manager Paul Molitor. The Minnesota native and Hall of Fame player managed for the first time last season. His efforts were applauded but with such an awful record this season Molitor and his coaches are on the spot like others in the organization.

St. Peter said he’s “very pleased” with Molitor’s overall work as Twins manager but that’s “not to say he and his coaches don’t accept some responsibility” for the club’s record this season. “There is no doubt in our minds we continue to be big believers in Paul Molitor,” St. Peter said.

The manager and coaches have helped lead the team through a difficult start but the club has won eight of its last 12 games. The Twins also made some progress in June, going 5-5 in the last 10 games.

Molitor didn’t panic when the season nosedived. Molitor is known for his high baseball I.Q. and St. Peter said his manager is also a leader with “tremendous poise every single day.”

One change that for sure won’t happen in the organization in 2017, according to St. Peter, is the return of Joe Mauer to catching. Because of concussion symptoms, the former All-Star catcher moved to first base starting with the 2014 season. Mauer admitted last winter to at times having difficulty seeing the baseball while batting and the results at the plate of the last few seasons substantiate that.

Mauer, a three-time batting champion, hit .277 and .265 during the 2014 and 2015 season. A career .313 hitter going into this season, Mauer is batting .268 this year.

With a contract that pays him $23 million per season, Mauer is giving the Twins a poor return on the club’s investment. First basemen are expected to offer better numbers than seven home runs and 28 RBI if their batting average is .268—particularly if they are among the best paid players in baseball.

Mauer, now 33, would be more valuable to the Twins if he could play part-time behind the plate. The team needs catching help this season and beyond. With Mauer’s present offensive limitations, an ideal assignment might have him catching 50 games, playing 50 at first base, and being the designated hitter at other times.

“Joe Mauer will not catch,” St. Peter said.

Why? “His health and his ability to continue at a high level as a dad, as a husband, trumps everything else in our minds. I think we’ve covered this ground many, many times. Joe Mauer is not going to return to the position of catcher based on his history there with his concussions.”

St. Peter said he isn’t aware of Mauer having vision problems now. Mauer is hitting .333 in his last seven games and that provides encouragement that the St. Paul native can continue to raise his average.

Can he become a .300 hitter again? “I am not putting numbers on things, you are, but we just think he can be a more effective hitter than what his average shows at this point,” St. Peter said.

Twins Notes

After yesterday’s loss to the Indians, the Twins are 7-27 against Central Division rivals. The Twins start a three-game series in Detroit against the Tigers tonight.

In yesterday’s game Kepler hit his ninth home run. The rookie right fielder has hit nine homers and driven in 32 runs since June 12.

First baseman and designated hitter Kennys Vargas has hit safely in seven of nine games since being recalled from Rochester on July 4. He is batting .379 with the Twins.

Announced attendance at yesterday’s game was 25,692. If the Twins were contending for a division title the game could have been a sellout. When football is dominating local sports interest in August and September, attendance will be a challenge for the Twins who are headed toward their lowest customer total in Target Field history.

St. Peter said former Twins great Rod Carew has been cleared to be on a list for a heart transplant. Carew almost lost his life last year after a heart attack.

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Vikes Group Aims for Winner’s Circle

Posted on July 11, 2016July 12, 2016 by David Shama

A horse named Tiger D is on a deadline at Canterbury Park this month. The five-year-old thoroughbred will make its six-man ownership group happy if he can earn a win before the Vikings head to training camp by the end of July.

Track announcer and Vikings radio play-by-play man Paul Allen heads an ownership group that also includes Vikings coaches Norv and Scott Turner, offensive lineman Brandon Fusco, trainer Eric Sugarman and Wild goalie Alex Stalock. They purchased Tiger D in Florida last spring and have yet to see the horse win a race at Canterbury Park.

Because of illness Tiger D won’t run in races at the Shakopee race track this week. The horse has been unable to run for awhile, and Allen told Sports Headliners Tiger D’s owners are very much anticipating his return to health.

Tiger D has third, fourth and fifth place finishes but no firsts. “(But) we haven’t been despondent,” Allen said.

Allen put up the largest share of the $16,000 purchase price for the horse, while the five others invested equal amounts. There are also other costs involved with owning a race horse but Allen said return on investment isn’t the No. 1 motivator for him and his partners.

“The most important thing to us is a winner’s circle,” Allen said.

The Vikings report to training camp in Mankato on July 28. Tiger D’s owners want to be present for the first win and stand in the winner’s circle to celebrate. That means Canterbury Park’s live racing dates of July 21, 22, 23 and 24 are final opportunities for Tiger D’s owners—at least for awhile.

If Tiger D gets that initial triumph later in the summer, even Allen might not be around to cheer on his favorite horse. Allen will be out of town for two Vikings preseason games in August and the thought has crossed his mind he won’t be available to pose for a photo in the winner’s circle with Tiger D.

Allen has called nearly 25,000 races as a track announcer, working a few years in California and 22 at Canterbury Park. A sports talk show host at KFAN for 18 years, Allen starts his 15th year as the Vikings radio play-by-play man this summer. He will call his 300th Vikings game during 2016.

Growing up in southern California in the 1980s, Allen listened to radio play-by-play legends Chick Hearn of the Lakers and Vin Scully of the Dodgers. The two men left lasting impressions on Allen. The now deceased Hearn was known for his enthusiasm and creative expressions—e.g.“Elgin Baylor yo-yoing the ball near the top of the circle.” Scully, with his soothing voice, is still calling games for the Dodgers and describing baseball like a Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Allen is known for his passion and flair behind the microphone. “I am not afraid to describe things in an unconventional way,” Allen said.

Watch Allen call a race at Canterbury Park and you will see him following the horses with powerful binoculars. He also uses that tool while describing Vikings games. “I may be the only announcer in the NFL using binoculars,” he said.

The transplanted Californian has made a lot of friends here including at Winter Park where the Vikings train most of the year. A regular visitor there, including during the offseason, Allen was in the complex last winter when a conversation with Norv Turner quickly led to a six-man partnership to buy a racehorse.

Now all that’s left is a trip to the winner’s circle. At least once—and preferably before July 28.

Worth Noting

A local basketball source told Sports Headliners that highly recruited shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. “definitely” will not play his senior season at Apple Valley High School. Trent could name his college destination, and apparently he and his family believe an out of state high school can better prepare him for NCAA and NBA competition.

The decline of Gophers basketball in the 21st century means Minnesota apparently has the most minimal of chances to recruit Trent who is the son of former Timberwolves forward Gary Trent Sr. Junior seems likely to end up at a legendary college basketball school like Duke. That possibility is discouraging to Gophers fans who have watched Minneapolis area legends Khalid El-Amin, Cole Aldrich and Tyus Jones win national titles at Connecticut, Kansas and Duke.

Sports Headliners is told Jones has added about 10 pounds and lost approximately two percent of his body fat during offseason training. Jones, 20, was a first round draft choice of the Timberwolves in 2015 and his status for making the roster next season could be uncertain since the team used its No. 1 pick in June to select point guard Kris Dunn and also has five-seasons veteran Ricky Rubio. It’s not unusual, though, for NBA teams to carry three point guards on the roster.

Marcus Fuller, the Gophers basketball beat writer for the Pioneer Press, is moving from that newspaper to the same assignment at the Star Tribune. He replaces Amelia Rayno who will leave the sports department but remain with the Star Tribune and write about food.

Clyde Turner, a star on the Gophers 1972 Big Ten championship, is in his 30th year of running local basketball camps. Over 10,700 campers have participated including El-Amin, Jones, Devean George and Rashad Vaughn.

Schedule makers for the Iowa Hawkeyes found a “pastry shop” to their liking this summer while lining up the team’s upcoming nonconference basketball schedule that includes “cream puffs” Delaware State, Kennesaw State, Regis, Stetson, Savannah State and Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The Twins’ front office has often stumbled making player acquisitions but Eduardo Nunez can make club officials smile this week, although it wouldn’t be shocking if his name comes up in trade talks. The 29-year-old infielder plays in his first MLB All-Star Game tomorrow night after a spectacular first half of the season including a .321 batting average—10th highest in baseball.

Nunez entered this season as a nonstarter and a career .267 major league hitter. The Twins acquired him in a 2014 trade with the Yankees, giving up left-handed pitcher Miguel Sulbaran who is with Trenton in the Double A Eastern League and on the disabled list. With all-star status and a reported $1,475,000 salary, Nunez could be attractive to a contending team that wants to make a trade with the Twins this month, perhaps offering a super prospect or two.

The Twins might have another success story developing with 24-year-old first baseman-outfielder Daniel Palka who they acquired from the Diamondbacks last November, giving up catcher Chris Herrmann. Palka, recently promoted to Triple A Rochester, hit 21 home runs and drove in 65 runs at Double A Chattanooga. In four games with the Red Wings, Palka has two home runs and is hitting .400. Herrmann, now in his fifth major league season, looks like a journeyman catcher but he is having a career best average at the plate with the Diamondbacks hitting .291.

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