Twins – Page 81 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

No Missing Carew-Arraez Link

Posted on July 9, 2020July 9, 2020 by David Shama

How effectively will 23-year-old Twins second baseman Luis Arraez hit in his second MLB season? That will be among the most intriguing storylines during the 60-game schedule the club starts soon, with its first game July 24.

No Twins rookie ever had a better batting average than Arraez’s .334 in 2019. That’s better than Tony Oliva’s .323 in 1964 and way beyond Rod Carew’s .292 in 1967. The .334 was the fifth highest average for a MLB rookie in the last 100 years, with Arraez challenging storied hitters like Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.

For career batting average no Twin was ever the equal of Carew who flirted with a .400 season in 1977 and made the cover of Time magazine. Carew, a left-handed hitter like Arraez, also played second base. Both are Latin American born and arrived in Minneapolis in their early 20’s with reputations as contact hitters. Differences between them are Carew had more foot speed and he thrived on chasing pitches other hitters wouldn’t, while Arraez is known for his strike zone discipline.

In 19 seasons Carew had a lifetime batting average of .328, won seven American League batting titles and earned a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. No one is predicting yet that Arraez will have a future like Carew but what fate awaits him in the shortened season ahead? Was his first season an aberration?

For what it is worth, Arraez hit only .103 in 29 at bats in spring training. But over longer stretches he has never faltered at the plate including a minor league career batting average of .331. If pitchers thought they were figuring him out toward the end of last season it didn’t show because his September batting average was .324.

“He is a very tough out,” Oliva told Sports Headliners last year. “He hits to the whole field. He doesn’t strike out too often. Ninety-nine percent of the time he swings (at) a strike.”

Arraez’s 29 strike outs were the fewest in the majors among players with at least 350 plate appearances last season. That’s part of what gave him the confidence to say last week his goals for the shortened season include hitting .400.

Carew, who like Arraez sprayed the ball all over the field, hit over .400 in 60-game stretches, according to MLB.com and the Elias Sports Bureau (July 6 story). In his new book, One Tough Out, Carew talks about being in a zone in 1977, including having 40 hits in 87 at bats. On July 1, 1977 his average was .415. He finished the season at .388 after trying to become the first major leaguer to hit over .400 since Williams batted .406 in 1941.

“To understand the difficulty of keeping an average above .400, consider what happened the day I reached .415,” Carew writes. “I went 2-for-5…and my average dropped.”

In Carew’s second season he hit .272 and wasn’t happy with his swing. In his book he credits manager Billy Martin with helping him make changes. Things clicked with Carew batting .332 in 1969 and setting off a streak of 15 seasons above .300.

Think Arraez will sign up for that?

Cosgriff Retiring & Other Notes

Hopkins girls’ basketball coach Brian Cosgriff is retiring and told players of his decision this morning. He has been the Royals’ head coach for 21 seasons, with seven state titles, 19 Lake Conference championships and 14 section titles. Wishing all the best to Brian who is one of the state’s great coaches ever, and a classy gentleman.

Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, writing a July 6 story for Si.com about how savvy the Tampa Bay Rays are, points out the organization found D.J. Snelten on the internet this past offseason. The former Gopher pitched for the independent ball Chicago Dogs last year but this winter rebuilt his delivery and posted a video impressing the low budget Rays.

Verducci reports Snelten is throwing the ball 96 miles per hour after previously not even being in the 90s. He also has an effective change up. During the offseason he lost 70 pounds.

Snelten, with a minor league contract, is trying to make the Rays roster after being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2013 and having many baseball stops since then.

In these trying economic times, colleges are cutting sports programs with tennis sometimes a popular target. Among justifications are the United States Tennis Association provides an alternative for players in developing their games, and scholarships at many colleges go to foreign players in large numbers.

Nobody is indicating the 25-sport Gophers program, including tennis, will see any cuts soon. Of note, though, is five of the eight players on the men’s tennis roster are from other countries, along with two Minnesotans and one South Dakotan. Six of the nine players on the Gopher women’s roster are foreigners, with one Minnesota native.

As of now, the Bloomington-based men’s WCHA has commitments from only three schools for the 2021-2022 season—Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks and Alabama Huntsville. Seven schools are leaving the WCHA to form their own league after next season.

Men’s WCHA Commissioner Billy Robertson is working hard to bring three or more new members into his league for 2021-2022. The candidates include schools located in or near major metropolitan areas: St. Thomas (Twin Cities), Simon Fraser (Vancouver), Lindenwood (St. Louis), Arizona State (Phoenix) and Long Island (New York City).

“All are in major markets that would help bring a higher profile to the league…and increase revenue streams and sponsorship opportunities,” Robertson wrote in an email.

Jay Weiner, the former Star Tribune sportswriter and Olympic specialist who more recently held positions at the University of Minnesota and at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, announced his retirement on Facebook Tuesday.

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U Needs AD Mark Coyle Long Term

Posted on July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 by David Shama

An online authority ranks Mark Coyle the No. 11 athletic director among 130 FBS schools. This is the latest endorsement of the University of Minnesota AD who was hired in 2016.

It was rumored last fall University of Southern California officials were in town to test Coyle’s interest in their AD opening. There was speculation USC might even be intrigued about not only hiring Coyle, but doing a package deal that delivered Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck.

Minnesota president Joan Gabel and the Board of Regents approved a new contract in February for Coyle that extends through June 2026. The deal now pays Coyle $975,000 and brings him nearer the best paid athletic directors in the nation who make more than $1 million annually.

Watchstadium.com’s Jeff Goodman and Brett McMurphy ranked the top 20 athletic directors nationally after grading 130 of them on their football and men’s basketball head coaching hires. The Tuesday article said “grades were based on the success of coaches hired, difficulty of opponents in their respective conferences, bowl appearances, NCAA tournament trips, conference titles and national championships won.”

As athletics director at three schools, Coyle’s ranking is based on his hires of head football coaches Bryan Harsin, Dino Babers and P.J. Fleck. As AD at Boise State he hired Harsin, who in six years has a 64-17 record. Coyle’s hiring of Babers at Syracuse resulted in a program rebuilding, with the four-season highlight so far 10 wins in 2018.

Fleck was one of the nation’s hottest coaching names when Coyle hired him away from Western Michigan in January of 2017. Fleck had a breakout season in 2019 with the Gophers winning 11 games for the first time since 1904. The Gophers won two games against top-10 teams and ranked No. 10 in the final Associated Press poll.

Basketball didn’t figure into Coyle’s No. 11 evaluation by Goodman and McMurphy because he inherited coach Richard Pitino, who in eight Big Ten seasons has one winning year in conference games. Still, Coyle received an A- grade, and among Big Ten Conference peers ranks only behind Ohio State’s Gene Smith and Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez. They rank No. 2 and 3 respectively in the country, behind No. 1 Joe Castiglione of Oklahoma.

If Fleck can continue his success and basketball becomes a winning program, Coyle might one day earn the reputation of Minnesota’s best athletics director ever. There will be inquiries from other schools about Coyle’s interest in moving on but the Upper Midwest native seems comfortable in the Twin Cities and with his job. During Coyle’s time at Minnesota the 25-sport program has compared very favorably with other FBS schools in academics, community involvement and winning.

Retaining Coyle could well be a key in hanging on to Fleck who at 39 remains one of the hot names in college coaching. When schools start bidding for Fleck, and they will if he continues to win, the coach may or may not show interest. If he does, bet your Goldy cap Fleck’s relationship with Coyle will count for a lot on whether he stays or goes.

Hiring the right coach is an inexact process, with a long list of athletic directors failing at the assignment including in the Big Ten. Coyle’s knack for impressive hires makes him a valued commodity at Minnesota where football and men’s basketball must pay much of the budget for the 25-sport program. There is no guarantee, of course, Coyle will always make the right hire but his presence at Minnesota should give Gopher fans more confidence about the future than at most other places across the country.

Worth Noting

With COVID-19 remaining a threat, a small number of Division III colleges nationally have cancelled fall sports. What about the 13-member Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference that includes several Twin Cities schools? “At this point I am focused on having a full season,” MIAC commissioner Dan McKane told Sports Headliners yesterday.

MIAC presidents meet July 15 and may have an announcement about football and other fall sports. At that meeting McKane will have feedback from the Minnesota Department of Health. He has been in weekly contact with state health officials for awhile and last Thursday submitted a plan specific to the fall sports season.

The state’s reaction will dictate what happens next with the MIAC, and McKane said the plan could provide a template for all college sports in Minnesota. While the state could approve the proposal as is, or even reject it entirely, the more likely scenario might be recommended changes given that youth sports have already been okayed.

Things change fast with the pandemic but currently all MIAC institutions are planning to have students on their campuses this fall. If some reverse course, but not all, McKane said the MIAC would still allow competition among the schools with students on campuses. If all 13 schools moved to online learning only, the MIAC would not start or continue the fall sports schedule.

As part of the recognition for the 100th season of Gopher men’s hockey this fall, the athletic department is promoting fan voting for the greatest players. John Mayasich, who last played for the Gophers in 1955, is still revered by program historians and is perhaps the greatest player ever at Minnesota.

Mayasich still holds school records including most career points with 298, even though he played in fewer games than many others in the record book. John Mariucci, the so-called “Godfather” of hockey in the state, once said this about Mayasich: “The words to describe the boy haven’t been invented. When I say the best, that’s totally inadequate.”

Happy birthday to retired Gophers trainer Jim Marshall who turns 90 tomorrow (July 3). Marshall worked 42 years for the Gophers and has been retired for 17.

The late Harmon Killebrew, the Twins homerun king, would have been 84 June 29. A great player and person, Harmon died in 2011.

Comments Welcome

Potential Twins Rosario Trade Logical

Posted on June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 by David Shama

With the Minnesota Twins training this week for their 60-game schedule that begins in late July, it would be surprising if the front office isn’t thinking about trading left fielder Eddie Rosario for pitching help. “The wheels” are likely turning, a veteran baseball observer told Sports Headliners.

He said Rosario’s age, productive past and minimal contract, combined with high potential replacement candidates from Minnesota’s farm system, point toward the five-year veteran clearly being the most likely Twin who could be traded this summer. Rosario, who turns 29 in September, had a career season in 2019 in home runs (32) and RBI (109, sixth best in the American League).

While Rosario is in his peak years and has impressive traditional stats like a .279 lifetime batting average in the majors, other metrics are less desirable such as chasing pitches outside of the strike zone. At times observers have also questioned his hustle and fielding.

Rosario is in the final season of his contract and in 2020 is paid $7,750,000 per Spotrac.com. That’s not a lot by MLB standards for a hitter of his quality. A new deal might pay him a not so costly $13 million in 2021. That’s attractive to teams who could be looking for one more solid bat in the race for the 2020 playoffs and success in the postseason.

Minnesota’s minor league system has two hyped left field candidates to replace Rosario, if not this season, then perhaps next. Alex Kirilloff, a former first round draft choice in 2016, was ranked the 32nd best prospect in baseball by MLB.com earlier this year. Trevor Larnach, a first round selection in 2018, is also one of the most valued prospects in the Twins’ system. Both are left-handed hitters like Rosario.

In the short term, the Twins have other options in replacing Rosario. In parts of two seasons Jake Cave has impressed in the outfield and been okay with his hitting. Multi-positional veteran Marwin Gonzalez, who in 425 bats last year for the Twins drove in 55 runs, plays in the infield and outfield.

Minnesota’s 40-man roster announced earlier this week has just four left-handed pitchers. Devin Smeltzer and Rich Hill have MLB resumes both starting and relieving, while Taylor Rogers and Lewis Thorpe are bullpen specialists. The imbalance between left-handed and right-handed pitchers (four versus 18) could certainly figure into analysis for a Rosario trade.

Twins front office executives Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have multiple options in offering the attractive Rosario as trade bait. They might acquire an established pitcher of value in return for Rosario, with possibly a minor league prospect included, too. The Minnesota farm system isn’t deep in quality pitching prospects and another option could be asking for two of the better minor league pitchers from a rival franchise.

The organization certainly has incentive to further strengthen the roster of a team that won 101 games last season and added one of baseball’s best sluggers this winter in Josh Donaldson. Twins president Dave St. Peter has stated the 2020 World Series is the club’s goal.

Worth Noting

Hope the University of Minnesota takes the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the 60th anniversary of the school’s last national championship football team, the 1960 Golden Gophers.

It was welcome news for Bloomington, Minnesota native Lane Kiffin yesterday when he heard about Mississippi’s decision to remove the Confederate battle symbol from the state flag. Kiffin is the first-year head coach of the SEC’s Mississippi Rebels.

Minnehaha’s Chet Holmgren, per some authorities the No. 1 prep basketball player in the national class of 2021, lists his top seven college possibilities as Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State. If things follow the norm, Minnesota and Big Ten rivals Michigan and Ohio State won’t land the athletic 7-foot Holmgren whose father, David, was a Gopher reserve from 1984-1988.

Minnesota’s elite preps usually haven’t chosen the Gophers for several years now, with Amir Coffey and Daniel Oturu being exceptions. Dawson Garcia, Matthew Hurt, Tyus and Tre Jones, Gary Trent Jr. and Kerwin Walton are among star players who decided to play elsewhere, but not for Big Ten programs. (Wisconsin is the outlier here attracting both quality and role players from Minnesota for decades, but with the Holmgren family background it’s difficult to see Chet becoming a Badger).

With Minnesota coach Richard Pitino on the hot seat, it’s probable rival recruiters will suggest it should be an easy choice to play at their programs where the future leadership is more certain.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph will for a second straight year be the ambassador for the 3M Open. The second-year PGA tournament will be July 23-26 at TPC Twin Cities and played without spectators. Today Rudolph will be at 3M headquarters in Maplewood helping with a tourney associated food drive.

When the Minnesota Wild play in the rescheduled Stanley Cup playoffs this summer, it will be interesting to see the development of forward Kevin Fiala who was dazzling opponents when the COVID-19 pandemic closed the NHL regular season in March. Fiala looks like a breakout star playing for interim head coach Dean Evason, whose experiences together date back to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.

Fiala was inconsistent in production and attitude with the Admirals. Evason, who coached the minor league Admirals for six seasons, saw a player with potential needing to mature. Fiala tied his NHL career high of 23 goals last season. In the last five games he had seven points including four goals.

Wally Langfellow, publisher of Minnesota Score magazine and also heard on Score Radio, is running for mayor of Robbinsdale. Langfellow has been covering sports in the Twin Cities since 1982.

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