Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners that Justin Morneau is “scheduled to start hitting” this week as he continues rehabilitation from the concussion that forced him to miss half of the 2010 season.
St. Peter said the Twins’ home run leader and first baseman has made “tremendous” progress in his rehabilitation. Morneau’s recovery has been slow so the likelihood of hitting baseballs this week is a major step, but decisions regarding what activities and how much time he spends doing them will be made with caution leading up to spring training next month and continuing during the weeks while the Twins are in camp. St. Peter said Morneau is a “critical part of our club” and the goal is to have him ready for the season opener on April 1.
Morneau is expected to wear a state-of-the-art protective helmet not only while batting, but also playing first base and as a base runner. Twins fans will hold their collective breaths the first few times he’s involved in impact plays.
“Yeah, I think those are going to be the key moments,” St. Peter said. “The first time he needs to dive back into a base. The first time he has a play at first base, or needs to dive for a baseball, or…let alone hitting. Those are things Justin hasn’t experienced yet.”
Morneau expressed concern last year about Target Field being a difficult ballpark to hit home runs. St. Peter said manager Ron Gardenhire and general manager Bill Smith had “lots of input” in determining the original dimensions of the playing field, and during the last offseason there was discussion about modifying the distances from home plate to the fences.
But the decision was to not change those distances and the Twins again hope to win more home games in their park than any other team in the American League. That total was 58 wins and St. Peter referenced the victories when asked about why there won’t be any changes to make the ballpark more home run friendly.
“It was one factor,” he said. “We certainly liked the way our ballpark played. We think it was advantageous for our pitching staff. Make no mistake, it’s a difficult park from a home run perspective, but it’s also a park we can use to our advantage in terms of doubles, triples.
“I think it was one of the reasons you saw Gardy really push for us (during the offseason) to be a little more athletic, and the two spots I think we’re particularly focused on right there are up the middle, shortstop and second base. It’s our hope that the Alexi Casillas and the Tsuyoshi Nishiokas (both middle infielders) and Denard Spans of the world are going to be on the base and running around when those big hitters come up.”