Twins – Page 153 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Joe Mauer Push to .300 Will Be Telling

Posted on July 27, 2015July 27, 2015 by David Shama

The Twins pursuit of their first year in the playoffs since 2010 will be a major storyline between now and the season’s end October 4, but controversial Joe Mauer’s final batting numbers will be news, too.

Mauer hit .277 last season, the lowest average of his big league career. After yesterday’s game against the Yankees, he is batting .277 with six home runs and 43 RBI. What’s encouraging for the Twins’ top paid player is that during his last 30 games the batting average is .327. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games.

“When the smoke clears I think he’ll be close to that .300 and get his 80, 90 runs driven in,” said Jim Rantz who years ago scouted Mauer for the Twins. “I don’t know where he’ll be with the power numbers. He’ll get his doubles (and singles). Obviously we’re all looking for some extra power, the home runs and so forth.”

With 64 games remaining on the schedule, Mauer will have to hit about .333 the rest of the season to pull the final average up to .300. A reason for optimism is although Mauer’s career has frequently been impacted by injuries—including his famous concussion in 2013—he is healthy this season, according to various sources. “I think that concussion stuff is in the past,” said Rantz, who retired in 2012 after several decades as an executive in the Twins farm system.

Mauer came into this season with a lifetime batting average of .319. That was the seventh highest among players in major league baseball since 1950. Before switching over to first base last season, Mauer could be mentioned in the same breath with baseball’s greatest catchers ever. He is the only catcher to win three batting titles and the only one ever among American Leaguers. He won the 2009 American League MVP Award and also received three consecutive Gold Glove awards for his work behind the plate.

But at 32 and coming off his struggles in 2014 and this year, doubts persist about Mauer’s best days being over. His slugging percentage used to routinely better .400 and even .500, but it’s now under .400 for a second consecutive season. His onbase percentages are way down from the glory days, too. Rantz referred to Mauer’s lack of power, and for sure his six home runs aren’t what is expected from the No. 3 hitter in a major league lineup, and from someone who commands one of baseball’s highest salaries at $23 million per year.

Maybe Mauer is just an old 32 with diminishing reflexes. His 63 strikeouts already this season are trending way higher than his three batting championship seasons.

Could Mauer have more high level production left than skeptics believe? Rantz has admired the Minnesota native’s “sweet swing” since Mauer was in high school. “He’s got the potential to be that hitter like he was,” Rantz said.

Perhaps there is a year or two coming where Mauer can duplicate what his buddy and ex-teammate Justin Morneau did last season with the Rockies. Morneau, too, has a concussion history and after three consecutive disappointing seasons with the Twins won the National League batting title playing for the Rockies in 2014.

Whatever happens with Mauer in the near future, the results will be newsworthy.

Worth Noting

Rantz will participate in this weekend’s reunion of the 1965 Twins World Series team. In 1965 the St. Paul native and former Gopher had just finished managing the Twins’ St. Cloud minor league club when he was asked prior to the World Series to help the Twins public relations department.

“That was (a) pretty good time to join them,” he laughed. Rantz was the club’s assistant public relations director for a few years before moving to the Twins farm department as an executive.

Reunion activities will be attended by many players who were part of the 1965 club that won the American League pennant before losing to the Dodgers in the World Series. Activities will include a ceremony on the field prior to the Twins-Mariners game Saturday. Maria Versalles, granddaughter of 1965 Twins shortstop Zoilo Versalles, and Rick Oliva, son of Twins outfielder Tony Oliva, will sing the National Anthem at Target Field prior to the game.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Twins make a deal soon for 38-year-old catcher A.J. Pierzynski from the Braves. The club needs catching and hitting help. Pierzynski, a former Twin who is hitting .286 with six home runs and 30 RBI, is affordable with a reported one year contract paying him $2 million in 2015.

Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks is a quiet success story, hitting safely in 13 of his last 17 games for a .339 average. He is hitting .271 after batting .192 and .215 in his first two seasons with the Twins.

Bob McNamara, an All-American halfback for the Gophers in 1954, died last July and his legacy in Minnesota included fundraising. Among his endeavors for many years was an annual luncheon in Minneapolis where sports legends helped him raise money for the St. Anthony Athletic Club. Tonight the Bob McNamara Memorial Legends Dinner will be held at TCF Bank Stadium with proceeds benefitting the Gophers football scholarship in his name. Former Wayzata player Brandon Lingen, now a tight end with the Gophers, is this year’s scholarship recipient. Jerry Kill will receive the Bob McNamara Memorial Legends Award because the Gophers head coach exemplifies qualities that characterized McNamara including work ethic, loyalty and generosity.

It’s a common prediction among publications that the Gophers’ football record in the Big Ten this fall will be 4-4 but Collegefootballnews.com projects 5-3. In its Big Ten predictions last Thursday the website forecast an overall record of 8-4 with a nonconference loss to TCU and league losses to Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Jessica Plant

Gopher swimmer Jessica Plant has been selected as the Big Ten Conference co-honoree for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year. The award recognizes graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. Plant, who is the Big Ten’s honoree along with Kimberly Dinh from Wisconsin, completed her undergraduate career at Minnesota with a 4.0 GPA and earned degrees in both art history and classical civilizations. She plans to pursue graduate work at Cornell University in art history and archaeology in the fall. She was a three-time All-American for the Gophers. The NCAA Woman of the Year national finalists will be announced in late September with the winner to be recognized on October 18 in Indianapolis.

City Council President Barb Johnson said Minneapolis hopes to have a deal in place for a soccer stadium in the Farmers Market area by sometime in August. The deal would be with the Bill McGuire ownership group and involve privately financing the stadium. The plan might include a commitment by the city to ask the state Legislature next year for property tax and sales tax exemptions involving the stadium.

Johnson also told Sports Headliners she and other leaders from the city have been talking with Hennepin County representatives about helping with a stadium deal. The county, like the city, has a vested interest in tax revenue growth and is a big supporter of the rail system in the area.

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Twins Rookie Sano Talks Besting Cabrera

Posted on July 9, 2015July 9, 2015 by David Shama

The Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera, 32, is probably the greatest hitter of his generation with a .321 lifetime average and 405 home runs but Twins rookie Miguel Sano said yesterday he expects a lot of success, too. “I can be better than Cabrera, I think,” Sano said.

Sano spoke unemotionally when he said those words. He wasn’t trying to be cocky as he talked about the Tigers star who is 10 years older. “He’s one of my favorite players, and I follow Cabrera a lot,” Sano said. “He’s the best hitter I’ve seen in my life.”

Sano has only 22 at bats since the Twins called him up from Double-A Chattanooga but he’s been impressive with a .455 batting average, one home run and five RBI. He has shown not only raw power but plate discipline that helps explain why he hasn’t been troubled with breaking ball pitchers like many young players who struggle. He has hits in all seven games with the Twins.

Used mostly as a designated hitter so far, Sano made his big league debut at third base yesterday and didn’t have an error. Cabrera has also been a third baseman, although as of late he’s been assigned to first base, a position the Twins have also had Sano practice.

The comparisons between the two Hispanic players don’t stop there, of course. Both are right-handed hitters and large men, with Sano listed at 6-4, 260 and Cabrera at 6-4, 240.

Wolves Owner Expects Garnett to Start

Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves 39-year-old power forward, has played reduced minutes in recent seasons but team owner Glen Taylor still expects him to be a starter next fall. “Our thoughts today are that he will start every game, and then limit his minutes during the game, depending on how he feels,” Taylor told Sports Headliners. “I think we want to see him as a starter to set the tone on defense for the player that comes in behind him.”

Garnett is accepting a new contract with the Timberwolves after joining the team last winter via a trade with the Nets. Taylor and the Wolves had traded Garnett to the Celtics in 2007 where he later helped Boston win the NBA title. But with the Nets and then the Wolves last season it’s not been uncommon for Garnett to play less than half of a game.

Next season his role will include mentoring a roster dominated by young players. Garnett has enjoyed a storied pro career since the Wolves drafted him out of high school in 1995. He has strong opinions about how to play and doesn’t hesitate to voice them.

Players who will be on the receiving end of advice will include 2015 No. 1 draft choice Karl-Anthony Towns who might sub for Garnett off the bench. Does Taylor worry that the opinionated Garnett can be too hard on young players including rookies?

“I don’t worry about it, but I think that’s just one of the things that Flip will be close enough, and around enough, that he can communicate with K.G. if he felt that way,” Taylor said. “K.G. is a good person and he would understand that too. But I think you gotta give him a little flexibility, and K.G. really believes in what he believes. It’s going to be a little bit hard to hold him back some of the times.”

Are Taylor and basketball president/coach Flip Saunders trying to trade often-injured center Nikola Pekovic and the reported $60 million contract he signed in 2013? “Nope, we need to get Pek to get injury free and see how well he does,” Taylor answered.

Pekovic is among the league’s best low-post scorers and the skill is unique on the Wolves roster. Taylor values that attribute and said Pekovic is feeling healthy. He added that Pekovic is “ahead of schedule” following Achilles tendon surgery earlier this year.

Taylor’s franchise has had its ups and downs over the years, including losing millions of dollars and not making the playoffs since 2004. But now there is a buzz about the Wolves with both attendance and wins almost certain to jump in 2015-2016 because of a promising and athletic roster that includes Towns and last season’s NBA Rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins.

Taylor is pleased. “I am happy. I am enjoying it,” he said.

Worth Noting

The Vikings and the Minnesota Football Coaches Association will sponsor the annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game next year in U.S. Bank Stadium on a date in December yet to be determined, according to game manager Dave Fritze. For years the game has been in late June but Fritze said by moving the date it’s expected players going on to major college football careers will participate. The June date conflicts with early enrollment in college for many potential All-Star Game players who are recently graduated high school seniors. Not a single major college-bound player played in the 2015 All-Star Game, Fritze said.

The 2016 game, like past contests, will be played with a North versus South format. Fritze, who has been the game director for 16 years, said the first-year stadium will be an attraction to fans, and the MFCA is appreciative of the Vikings and U.S. Bank for allowing the facility to be the All-Star Game site. The 2016 game will be one week after the Prep Bowl and no agreement is yet in place to stage the game at U.S. Bank Stadium beyond next year.

This year’s 42nd annual game was played at Husky Stadium on the St. Cloud State campus. Players and coaches representing 77 schools and 27 conferences participated. It has long been speculated the game might some day have Minnesota all-stars playing against a neighboring state.

Fritze is the defensive coordinator at East Ridge High School where his players include JoJo Garcia, the 6-4, 285-pound senior tackle who has verbally committed to the Gophers for 2016. Fritze praised Garcia’s upper body strength, agility and toughness. “He has a real great nose of how to play defensive tackle,” Fritze said.

As of July 1, the Gophers had sold 27,523 football season tickets—down a couple hundred from that same date in 2014 and 2013 when totals were 27,786 and 27,741. Those totals don’t include student ticket sales. During the offseason season ticket holders had to either increase—or for the first time—pay scholarship donations for their seats. Because of that factor the Athletic Department is likely pleased with the number of season tickets sold to date.

Single game tickets were still available last week for the Gophers’ much anticipated September 3 game at TCF Bank Stadium against national power TCU. The Horned Frogs will likely be a consensus top-five team in preseason polls.

Former Gophers football player Jim Brunzell has self-published a book with colorful stories about his career in pro wrestling. “Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell” wrestled from 1972-1999 and was a favorite of American Wrestling Association fans. His book MatLands is loaded with photos of wrestling characters ranging from Andre the Giant to Chief Peter Maivia. www.blurb.com/b/6298514-matlands.

Condolences to the family of former Gophers tight end Charlie Sanders who died several days ago. Sanders, 68, became a pro football hall of famer after his career with the Lions. He was a celebrity but also known for his friendly personality.

Although there is a lengthy list of ex-Twins playing in the majors, none of them has been selected so far for next week’s All-Star Game in Cincinnati. Relief pitcher Glen Perkins is the Twins’ only representative to date but the club is pushing fan voting for second baseman Brian Dozier. This will be Perkins’ third consecutive All-Star Game. He has a club record 28 consecutive saves this season.

It will be interesting to watch the continued career development of Minnesota State men’s hockey coach Mike Hastings who the Mavericks recently awarded a new eight-year contract. In three years of coaching in Mankato his record is 79-36-7. No hockey school in the nation can match the Mavericks’ win total in that time period.

Forty-six players are scheduled to attend the Wild’s Development Camp that starts July 9 and continues through July 14 at Xcel Energy Center. Players expected include Brady Brassart, Brody Hoffman, Mario Lucia, Zack Mitchell, Zach Palmquist, Avery Peterson, Mike Reilly and Alex Tuch, plus six selected in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Free scrimmages open to the public will be on July 11 starting at 2:30 p.m. and July 14 at 6:30 p.m. Gates open on those dates at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Canterbury Park hosts Extreme Race Day presented by the Minnesota State Lottery on July 18. The afternoon’s lineup of entertainment will include exhibition racing with camels and zebras, plus The Battle of the Surfaces—a pari-mutuel race with thoroughbreds competing against each other simultaneously at one mile and 70 yards on the turf, and one mile on the dirt. A lineup of traditional horse races will also be part of the entertainment at the Shakopee race track.

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Twins & Other Fourth of July Memories

Posted on July 1, 2015July 1, 2015 by David Shama

I suppose if you’re British—and loyal to the Queen, and also a sour grapes type— Independence Day in the United States isn’t your cup of tea.

But the Fourth of July holiday is special for many of us who experience family gatherings, parades, music and fireworks while remembering this country’s struggles for freedom, and the men and women who sacrificed so we could enjoy our lives.

Independence Day means multiple things to me including baseball. I can’t think of the July 4 date and the Twins, without memories of pitcher Eddie Bane. Some readers might say, “Who?,” but Bane earned a place in Twins history on July 4, 1973 when he made his major league debut right out of college after receiving a reported $55,000 signing bonus from our local franchise.

Twins owner Calvin Griffith didn’t like to spend money. Someone summarized his thrifty ways like this: “Calvin throws nickels around like manhole covers.” So because of Bane’s big check, Griffith might have been feeling sorry for himself when he left home for the ballpark on July 4 that year, but when he saw the huge crowd at Met Stadium he must have been grinning like a kid camped out near the Christmas tree.

The Twins had a dwindling fan base in the 1970s as the club faltered on the field. The franchise drew only 11,941 fans per game at home during the 1973 season, but the public was curious and hyped to see the debut of Bane, the 21-year-old left-handed pitcher from Arizona State. As I recall, a capacity crowd of more than 45,000 at Met Stadium hoped to celebrate the Fourth of July with the rookie.

Bane lost his debut game, although he only gave up a couple of hits and one run in seven innings against the Royals. Almost unbeatable in college, he didn’t win a game all season with the Twins. His major league career ended a few years later and he never established himself as a big time pitcher.

The legend of Eddie Bane is such that probably four times as many people claim to have seen him pitch his first game than were actually at Met Stadium. What is fact about Bane is he was the scouting boss for the Angels several years ago when they drafted Mike Trout—perhaps now baseball’s best player.

In early July fifty years ago the Twins moved into first place in the American League. About a week after Independence Day Harmon Killebrew hit a late inning home run at Met Stadium to defeat the defending American League champion Yankees. It was a milestone moment in a year that saw the Twins win the pennant and play in Minnesota’s first World Series.

As a kid, everything kind of stopped at our house when the Twins were playing—especially for my dad and me. The games were that important, whether we were at Met Stadium or watching on television. That focus could even be a major part of our July 4ths but that didn’t mean we forgot about patriotism, including my mom who joked that she was a nurse in the Revolutionary War (as a five-year-old I was pretty sure this wasn’t true).

My mother had documented her ancestors all the way back to the 1700s and I think had at least one relative who fought in the Revolutionary War. Mom belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution, a service organization of women directly descended from folks who helped secure this country’s independence from England. Mom couldn’t have been prouder of her American heritage—even if she had George and Martha Washington for next door neighbors.

I grew up with feelings of reverence for America and its symbols. In grade school we saluted the flag each day and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Chills went up and down my spine when we sang America the Beautiful at school. Same thing when I sat in the stands prior to Gopher football games and the loudspeaker blared out John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever while the players warmed up.

Fireworks? The ones I recall best were at a public park in Crosby, Minnesota. The mosquitoes on those summer nights were big as grasshoppers. Sitting in the car, waiting for dusk, seemed to take a lifetime. It was like waiting for darkness at the drive-in movies—maybe worse since fireworks came just once a year.

As a kid, we were often in the Brainerd Lakes area during the summer. A family we knew had a lake home just a few miles back from the highway. The dirt road leading to the house sometimes could be a driving challenge because of muddy roads and “creatures “lurking in the woods.

Those “creatures” included skunks, and one night a little rascal—using its contemptible spray—targeted a Ford station wagon en route to the house. The odor from the station wagon was so bad the vehicle had to be parked in the woods, at a suitable distance from the house. And guess what? That vehicle was sold and replaced by another station wagon within a week.

As a pre-teen that lake place is where I learned to drive the family car. With no indoor toilets, everyone had to use the outhouse located a short distance from the house. Although the walking distance was minimal, I convinced the adults to let me drive them to the outhouse. The routine was this: pick up people at the house, drive them to the outhouse, turn the car around, wait for “customers” to finish up, and return them to the house.

Best job I ever had. (Well, not really).

A few years ago my Uncle John passed away at age 92. John had many admirable qualities such as volunteering for various organizations. He was also a patriot. Every morning at his south Minneapolis home he put up the American flag near the front steps. Later in the day he followed protocol by taking the flag down before dark.

John loved the USA and expressed his conviction mostly with actions, not words. Honoring America by displaying the flag was one way. He also made numerous charitable donations to veterans groups, and visited grave sites at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. For many years, while travelling to the North Shore, he stopped in Duluth to visit the widow of his friend Jim who died in World War II. The deceased soldier was survived by a wife and infant daughter.

Like many veterans, John never said much about his experiences in World War II. Soldiers from that era often don’t. But later generations appreciate those who have sacrificed in America’s wars throughout this country’s history of conflicts and defending freedom. A few years prior to John’s death he and another elderly friend were at a restaurant. As I recall the story, a stranger was somehow aware my uncle had served in the war. The stranger paid for my uncle’s meal and for his friend.

I am certain that story has been repeated countless times across the nation but it seems appropriate to share it as we approach the holiday weekend. Enjoy baseball, parades, family and other pleasures, but remember our nation’s founders and all those both living and deceased who helped make our lives what they are today.

Happy Independence Day!

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