David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

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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U Football Renewal Percent Increases

Posted on July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 by David Shama

Based on figures provided by the Gophers athletic department late last month, the renewal percentage for public football season ticket accounts was up from 2016, but the total number of tickets sold was down by about 1,000.

For the upcoming 2017 seven-game home schedule, 87.7 percent of public season ticket accounts had renewed as of June 22, compared with 79.3 percent on that date in 2016. The Gophers reported a total of 6,518 accounts and 22,462 season tickets, compared with 6,898 accounts and 23,494 tickets in 2016.

The Gophers didn’t provide student season ticket sales, with an athletic department spokesman noting via email that while those tickets are available now the campaign marketing doesn’t begin until next month.

Another sales number provided was that 1,310 new season tickets were sold as of June 22. No comparable figure for 2016 was offered but it seems fair to draw some conclusions about the 1,310 total and the other public season numbers.

The improved renewal percentage is almost certainly impacted by the applauded decision last year by new athletic director Mark Coyle to eliminate a scheduled 2017 price increase on tickets referred to as “scholarship seating.” Prior implementation of extra pricing on tickets had annoyed a lot of buyers.

While fans aren’t storming box offices for Gophers football tickets, the hiring of new coach P.J. Fleck probably slowed the apathy toward the product that was visible in 2016. The Gophers averaged 43,814 for seven home games. That was the lowest average since TCF Bank Stadium opened in 2009.

Also provoking attention were the large number of empty seats at all games. Many of the seats were located in prime locations at TCF Bank Stadium.

Fleck’s reputation and outgoing personality hasn’t resulted in a lot of new sales yet, but he may have pushed back some of the malaise about Gophers football while creating at least a potential group of ticket buyers who have been wearing “Wait and see hats” for awhile. The Gophers will be selling season tickets for a couple more months and they don’t play their first game until August 31. That means the athletic department will add additional season ticket buyers, but not a lot—perhaps, though, pushing past 2016 final numbers for total accounts and tickets (unavailable today).

If Fleck shows he can coach, he will be the second coming of college football Hall of Fame dynamo and Mr. Marketer Lou Holtz. When Holtz was at Minnesota in the mid-1980s he arrived as a proven winner and a big name in the coaching business. The state accepted Holtz and his hype from day one. Within two years he had season ticket sales at 56,000.

Holtz came here from Arkansas, and had a national following for various reasons including his appearances on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.” By contrast, the 36-year-old Fleck arrived in Minneapolis in January from Kalamazoo, Michigan—coming off a Mid-American championship but with a modest career resume at Western Michigan that included only four years as a head coach and 30-22 record.

But like Holtz, Fleck has big goals for the program. Holtz talked about turning Golden Gophers football into one of the better coaching jobs and programs in the country. Fleck—gulp—has spoken of eventually competing for national championships.

Fleck even got in front of an audience of state high school coaches last spring and shared his vision of expanding the seating capacity of TCF Bank Stadium—one of the smallest Big Ten football venues with its (embarrassing?) 50,805 seat capacity. He told the group that “three years down the road” he wants to expand the stadium to 85,000 seats.

Spend time around Fleck and may well be convinced he believes in his dreams of creating championship teams and large fan followings. But things aren’t going to magically happen within a few months. Can’t possibly, right?

The 2017 Gophers don’t represent a program rebuild but there are reasons to see this fall as a .500 season. Minnesota doesn’t have the talent at several positions to measure up with the Big Ten’s better teams. But Fleck, like Holtz, regards himself as a salesman, and there’s no target group, including fans, more important to him than high school recruits. Fleck knows success eventually will be realized if he can consistently bring superior talent to Dinkytown.

That’s not an easy task when your brand includes no championships since 1967 but Fleck has impressed recruiting analysts so far. His 2018 recruiting class ranks No. 27 in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Finalizing a top 30 recruiting class for 2018 won’t be easy, but Fleck knew what he was taking on when he accepted the Minnesota job. If he needed a recent reminder of the challenges, all he had to do was summon the ticket numbers referenced in this story.

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