Twins – Page 155 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Trivia Therapy for Twins’ Slow Start

Posted on April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 by David Shama

The Twins are off to a slow start this season and might be on their way to another 90-plus loss season—but, hey, cheer up! Today is the club’s home opener at Target Field and the weather forecast encourages fans to leave their parkas at home. To perk you up even more, Sports Headliners is serving up a 20-questions Twins trivia column.

Answer 15 to 20 questions correctly and you can draft the next trivia column. Anyone answering only a couple of questions correctly needs to sign up for Twins Trivia School at my house (free tuition but lodging costs are exorbitant).

Here are the questions, with answers at the bottom of the column. No peeking or cheating of any kind. Fines are double for transgressions involving more difficult questions.

1. What was the first season the Twins played at Target Field?

2. The Twins haven’t won a regular season opener for awhile. How many consecutive opening season games have the Twins lost? Be sure to count last week’s opener in Detroit.

3. Who was the Twins designated hitter on opening day in 2014? (Hint: he was in the minors before summer officially began.)

4. The coldest temperature ever for a Twins opener was 33 degrees on April 14, 1962. Who was the opponent?

5. In Twins history the franchise has been owned by two families including the Pohlads. Name the other family. (No hints on this gimme.)

6. Before Joe Mauer earned a $184 million contract from the Twins he was the American League’s Most Valuable Player. What year did he win the award?

7. Much has been written about Torii Hunter rejoining the Twins—the franchise he played for regularly from 1999-2007. Who are the two teams Hunter played with before returning to the Twins?

8. Who was the Twins general manager before Terry Ryan took the job for a second time in 2011? (Note: this is a “lay-up” so don’t mess it up.)

9. The Twins coaching staff includes a former Minnesota high school basketball player who long ago won the state’s Mr. Basketball Award. What is his name?

10. This Twins regular is a Mississippi native just like Elvis Presley and Brett Favre. Who is he? (If you never heard of Elvis and Brett, proceed to the next question.)

11. The Twins track their franchise records back to 1901 when the club was in Washington, D.C. before moving to Minneapolis-St. Paul after the 1960 season. What was the nickname of the Senators Hall of Fame pitcher who won 36 games in a single season?

12. In 2014 the Twins hosted the MLB All-Star Game at Target Field. What other years have the Twins hosted the game?

13. This Twins great was on the cover of Time Magazine in the 1970s. Who was the cover boy?

14. Who was the Twins pitcher who started and won the final game of the 1991 World Series? (No, it wasn’t Bert Blyleven—or Pedro Ramos.)

15. Everybody (?) knows Harmon Killebrew hit the most career home runs for the Twins. Some trivia experts even know Kent Hrbek hit the second most. Who is No. 3 on the all-time list?

16. Name the Twins player who led the team in home runs and RBI during spring training this year. (Hint: he was acquired in a 2012 trade involving Francisco Liriano.)

17. What was the name of the Twins message board at the old Met Stadium? (No, it wasn’t the “Jumbotron.”)

18. Who is the Twins player that holds the franchise record for scoring the most runs in a single season? (Need help? He played in the 1990s.)

19. Name the only person to “play” for the Twins and Vikings? (Hint: this is a trick question. Honest.)

20. Who was the Twins losing pitcher in yesterday’s game against the White Sox? (How much easier can I make these questions?)

And the Answers to Today’s Trivia Questions Are…

1. Target Field opened to rave reviews locally and nationally in 2010, and has been a hit with fans and media ever since.

2. After losing last week’s season opener to the Tigers in Detroit, the Twins have now dropped seven consecutive openers. If you’re counting, that’s the longest streak in club history dating back to 1961.

3. Chris Colabello terrorized American League pitchers in the early days of the 2014 season but was playing in Triple A Rochester before Minnesota schools adjourned for summer.

4. It must have been a shock to the Los Angeles-based Angels to play baseball in 33 degree football weather at Met Stadium on April 14, 1962.

5. The Griffith family moved the Senators from Washington, D.C. to Minneapolis-St. Paul after the 1960 season and the club became known as the Minnesota Twins. Franchise president Calvin Griffith was a character and sometimes more entertaining than his team.

6. The stars aligned for Mauer in 2009 when he had career highs in batting average (.365), home runs (28) and RBI (96), and was voted American League MVP. The next year he received a new $184 million contract.

7. Hunter played five seasons for the Angels after leaving the Twins, and then joined the Tigers for two more seasons before coming back to Minnesota this year. Although he is 39 years old, Hunter has played in 140 or more games the last five seasons.

8. Bill Smith was the Twins general manager from 2008-2011. Ryan, who had been the GM from 1994-2007, agreed to a second round of duty in succeeding Smith.

9. Twins third base coach Gene Glynn, the pride of Waseca, Minnesota, won the 1975 Mr. Basketball Award. He was the first person to win the award.

10. Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, who was second in the American League last season with 112 runs scored, grew up in Mississippi and was drafted by the Twins out of the University of Southern Mississippi.

11. Walter “Big Train” Johnson was one of the most dominating pitchers ever—hence his nickname. He won 417 games for the Senators from 1907-1927.

12. The Twins hosted All-Star Games in 1965, 1985 and 2014. The American League lost the first two games in Minnesota but won last year when Twins reliever Glen Perkins earned the save in the 5-3 win.

13. In 1977 Rod Carew was making a run at becoming baseball’s first .400 hitter since Ted Williams in 1941. Carew graced the cover of Time Magazine and went on to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award. His final batting average that season was .388.

14. Jack Morris pitched a 10-inning, seven-hit 1-0 shutout against the Braves in Game Seven of the 1991 World Series to give the Twins their second world championship in five years. The game is remembered as one of the most exciting in World Series history.

15. Bob Allison, the Twins left fielder in the franchise’s early years in Minnesota, hit 256 home runs in his career with Minnesota. That ranks third behind Killebrew with 559 and Hrbek at 293.

16. Eduardo Escobar, acquired by the Twins from the White Sox in 2012, hit four home runs and drove in 20 runs to lead the club in those categories during spring training.

17. The Twins-O-Gram seemed high tech back in the day at Met Stadium when it delivered brief messages to liven up the ballpark experience. (Sorry, no visuals on the Twins-O-Gram).

18. Chuck Knoblauch set a single season franchise record for runs scored in 1996 with 140. Knoblauch, who played seven seasons with the Twins from 1991-1997, was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2014.

19. Okay, I have used this question in the past and it’s a tricky one, but a few readers might recall the answer is the organist who “played” and pepped up the crowds at Twins and Vikings games at Met Stadium. Get it?

20. The Twins’ season record dived to 1-5 with a loss to the White Sox yesterday, and Minnesota’s Phil Hughes was the losing pitcher in the game.

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Coach to Watch: Twins Neil Allen

Posted on April 8, 2015April 8, 2015 by David Shama

The Twins opened their 162-game regular season Monday at Detroit and among the storylines to follow in 2015 will be the impact of new pitching coach Neil Allen from the Rays organization. If the Twins are going to improve on last season’s 70-92 record, the step forward has to start with pitching.

Last season opponents hit .280 against the Twins, the highest batting average yielded by any team in Major League Baseball. The club’s 4.57 ERA was second only to the Rockies’ 4.84. Allen, 56, has never been a major league pitching coach but he comes from an organization renowned for developing pitchers and having success. Despite a miniscule payroll, the Rays have consistently been among baseball’s best pitching teams. Last season the Rays held opposing batters to a .234 batting average, third best among the 30 teams in MLB.

Allen, who joined the Tampa Bay organization in November of 2006, was the Rays Triple A coach at Durham last season. He wasn’t going to be promoted to the top job with the Rays because Jim Hickey is so revered. An informal poll last year of baseball authorities by the Boston Globe ranked Hickey as the No. 1 pitching coach in the majors.

Allen knows the Rays’ curriculum for pitchers that includes emphasis on throwing changeups to keep batters off balance. The Rays are big too on the importance of getting ahead of batters in the strike count, according to a lengthy April 1, 2013 Sports Illustrated article titled “The Rays Way.” That story talked about the organization’s success, too, in addressing the mental approach to pitching. Twins fans will learn this season how much of the Rays’ success can come north to Minneapolis.

Twins president Dave St. Peter was aware of Allen and the Rays’ reputation before Minnesota hired its new pitching coach last fall. “We were very impressed with Neil’s work and have great admiration for the Tampa Bay organization’s development of pitching,” he told Sports Headliners. “Beyond his ability to teach, his enthusiasm and passion are impressive.”

St. Peter cautions, though, instruction can only contribute so much to success on the field. “I am a believer that managers and coaches can have some impact but at the end of the day it’s up to the players (and their talents),” he said.

Allen replaces longtime Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson. St. Peter pointed out that Phil Hughes, who was so impressive in his debut season with the Twins last year, gives credit to Anderson for helping him experience a turnaround year and win 16 games.

St. Peter said he isn’t aware of Anderson working in baseball at this time. The former coach under ex-Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is living in Florida.

Worth Noting

The Gophers spring football game at TCF Bank Stadium starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday and admission is free. After the game fans can meet players and coaches and receive autographs. Coach Jerry Kill is expected to run an offense versus defense scrimmage on Saturday. The spring game will be telecast live on the Big Ten Network.

The Twins home opener next Monday against the Royals is sold out but tickets remain for the franchise’s other 80 dates at Target Field. “I always say I worry less about the home opener and more about the other 80,” Dave St. Peter said.

The Twins president also said 2015 season tickets will total between 13,000 and 14,000 after being at about 17,000 last year.

Joe Nathan, now 40, didn’t get much of an endorsement from an anonymous scout in Sports Illustrated’s March 30 preview of MLB teams including the Tigers. “Nathan is real hittable right now,” the scout said about the former Twins’ closer. “You lose your fastball when you get older, there’s not anything you can do about it. Now he can’t get away with the same pitches in the same area because he doesn’t have the velocity he used to.”

The Twins, who lost their opening regular season game on Monday to the Tigers, are winless in their last seven openers. The Tigers stole three bases and hit two home runs in the 4-0 win. Nathan, who was booed by Tigers fans in spring training, earned a ninth inning save.

Joe Mauer, who struck out a career high 96 times last season while batting .277, fanned once on Monday. The Twins first baseman, who turns 32 on April 19, had one hit—a ground ball up the middle—in four at bats.

Former Twins pitcher and now team TV analyst Bert Blyleven turned 64 on Monday.

The Gophers are recruiting Menomonie High School shortstop Terrin Vavra, the son of Twins bench coach Joe Vavra. Terrin’s brothers Tanner and Trey were drafted by the Twins in 2013 and 2014 and are in the organization’s minor league system.

How much do the struggling Gophers miss not having the Metrodome available for baseball? Well, eight of the first nine weekends the Gophers have been on the road. That doesn’t change this weekend with Minnesota playing at Nebraska Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Gophers, 10-17 in nonconference games and 2-7 in the Big Ten, have postponed today’s home nonleague game against St. Thomas.

Steve and Dorothy Erban’s Stillwater-based Creative Charters has openings for its annual Kentucky Derby Experience. The seven day, six night trip package to Kentucky includes farm tours, a visit to the Churchill Downs backside and box seats to the May 2 Kentucky Derby in Louisville. The Erbans are thoroughbred horse breeders. Steve is a former thoroughbred trainer. More about the Derby trip at Creativecharter.com.

The schedule for Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is expected to be announced on Sunday. Last night the Wild clinched a playoff spot for a franchise record third consecutive season.

St. Thomas senior goalie Drew Fielding was named the Sid Watson Memorial winner as Division III men’s hockey National Player of the Year. Fielding’s 52 career wins are the most in the MIAC during the last 12 years, and his 19 career shutouts are third most in Division III history.

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Tyus Jones Supporters in Indy Tonight

Posted on April 6, 2015April 6, 2015 by David Shama

Tyus Jones will have plenty of Minnesota support tonight when he and his Duke teammates play Wisconsin for the NCCA championship in Indianapolis.

The Blue Devils freshman point guard can look into the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium and see his mom, dad, brothers and other family and friends he has known while growing up in the Minneapolis area. Family is important to Jones and he earned many admirers while becoming a high school All-American at Apple Valley High School. Tonight he will be hoping the Blue Devils can defeat the Badgers just like they did in early December in Madison when folks from his Minnesota constituency were also in the stands cheering for him.

Jones enjoyed a Midwestern homecoming in Madison on December 3, leading then No. 4 ranked Duke to an 80-70 win over No. 2 Wisconsin. Jones scored 22 points, driving to the basket with success and making outside shots (2 of 3 three point attempts). The 6-foot-1 Jones also had a team-tying high of six rebounds and the most Duke assists with 4 during 37 minutes on the floor.

In the past the Badgers have shown vulnerability to guards like Jones who can penetrate the lane and score, or pass to teammates for easy shots. But teams make adjustments and tonight will show what answers the Badgers have for Jones.

There’s no doubt both the Blue Devils and Badgers are better than when they played in December. Duke starts Jones and two other freshmen, center Jahlil Okafor and forward Justise Winslow. Those players are not only exceptionally talented but have progressed since early December as they gained more experience. That’s a plus for Duke but Badgers fans remember that when the two teams played in Madison star forward Sam Dekker was recovering from an injured ankle.

Dekker is a junior and often shares scoring honors with Associated Press Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky, the 7-foot center. Kaminsky is a senior, as is starting guard Josh Gasser. Those three are joined in the starting lineup by two sophomores, guard Bronson Koenig and forward Nigel Hayes. All five played last year when the Badgers lost to Kentucky in a semifinals Final Four game.

All that past playing time might give the Badgers an edge tonight, just like it did in the closing minutes of last Saturday evening’s game when Wisconsin defeated a more inexperienced Kentucky team (71-64) by playing with better precision and poise. But the Blue Devils also looked like a potential national champion on Saturday night, easily defeating Michigan State 81-61.

Win or lose, Jones has proven he can play with college basketball’s best point guards. Al Nuness, the former Gopher guard and cousin to Tyus, has been impressed. “Early in the season no one knew how a freshman point guard would play,” he told Sports Headliners. “But he hasn’t played like a freshman point guard. He’s so cool, calm and collected. He sees the court as good as anybody I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t get anxious. He doesn’t try to take over the game.

“No one expects him to score a lot but he can. Everybody says he passes. He (also) penetrates. He shoots the three as good as anyone. His whole thing is getting everyone else in the game. …”

Nuness predicted it will be a “great game” tonight. As a long time Gophers booster, he has loyalties to the Big Ten but when he sorts out his emotions it’s clear he wants Duke to win. “Family always comes first,” he said.

Tonight Jones will see family and friends from Minnesota make him a priority by being in Indianapolis.

Worth Noting

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino, whose name has been linked in the last couple weeks with openings at St. John’s and Alabama, must pay the University of Minnesota $1.5 million if he decides to leave prior to April 30, 2016, according to his contract. Anthony Grant, the Alabama coach who was fired last month, was once head coach at VCU where Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague hired Grant when he was AD there. Grant’s name was mentioned with the Minnesota job before Pitino was hired by Teague two years ago.

Internet reports now are that former NBA coach Avery Johnson will take the Alabama job.

Two players the Gophers reportedly are recruiting, Chris Boucher and Mychal Mulder, were included on the All-American National Junior College Athletic Association first team announced recently. Ten players were named first team All-Americans. Boucher is a 6-10 sophomore center at Northwest Florida State College and Mulder is a 6-4 sophomore forward from Vincennes University.

Eric Musselman, the son of former Gophers and Timberwolves head coach Bill Musselman, was an assistant coach at LSU last season before recently being hired as head coach at Nevada. Eric is friends with Wolves coach Flip Saunders and it wouldn’t have been surprising if Musselman had been added to the NBA team’s coaching staff last year.

Bolder Options, the youth mentoring nonprofit headed by former Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, celebrates its 21st anniversary with a gala on Thursday evening May 28 at TCF Bank Stadium. NBC Sunday Night Football reporter and long time Minneapolis area resident Michelle Tafoya will be the keynote speaker.

The Twins open the regular season today with an afternoon game in Detroit against the Tigers, and Minnesota’s 25-man roster has changed a lot from one year ago. Twelve players weren’t with the Twins when they opened the 2014 season. Here is a listing by position of the 12: pitchers – Blaine Boyer, J.R. Graham, Tommy Milone, Tim Stauffer and Aaron Thompson; catcher Chris Herrmann; infielders – Eduardo Nunez, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas; outfielders – Torii Hunter, Shane Robinson and Jordan Schafer. Graham is the only player without previous major league experience.

The Wild plays its final regular season home game tonight against the Jets and with a win in regulation can clinch a playoff spot for the third straight year. The club has sold out its previous 40 home games this season and is working on a stretch of 71 consecutive sellouts at Xcel Energy Center dating back to 2013-14.

Goalie Devan Dubnyk started his 37th consecutive game for the Wild in last Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Red Wings. That’s the most in the NHL since Evgeni Nabokov made 43 straight starts for the Sharks (in 2007-2008), according to Elias Sports Bureau. Dubnyk has given up only 62 total goals for a 26-7-2 record in 36 straight starts since joining the Wild January 15. He has allowed two goals or less in 27 of those 36 games.

The 2015 Gophers women’s hockey national championship team has 17 of 21 players returning for next season. A year from now 12 of those 17 are expected back for the 2016-2017 season, so the likelihood for continued success is considerable.

UMD is the only women’s program that has won three consecutive NCAA hockey titles. Can the Gophers win two or three in a row?

“That would certainly be the goal,” coach Brad Frost told Sports Headliners. “In 2012 and 2013 we went back to back (titles) and then lost last year in the championship game, and then won it this year. So to be in the national championship game three of the last four years and win three of those I think is remarkable. People probably think it’s pretty easy but I can promise you it’s not.”

The Gophers begin their off-ice spring conditioning work this week. Part of their endurance building in the weeks ahead will include running the steps at Mariucci Arena. Frost said players laugh about the challenge but also cry because the task is so demanding. “They love it and hate it at the same time,” he said.

Frost, who earns $170,000 from the athletic department in salary and other compensation, left town to recruit after the Gophers won the national title on March 22. He knows prospective players and their parents look at the Gophers with more interest coming off a national title. “I think we’re building something pretty special here at the University,” he said.

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