Jim Hoey, the right-handed reliever recalled by the Twins from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday, might have the best fastball on the staff. Manager Ron Gardenhire said on his KSTP radio show Sunday that Hoey can throw the ball “96-97” miles per hour.
Although he’s 28, Hoey has only pitched 35.2 innings in the major leagues including his no hit, no runs 1.1 innings debut for the Twins on Monday night. In 2006 and 2007 he pitched for Baltimore, the club that traded him last December to the Twins. He has a 7.82 career ERA in the majors.
Hoey, who entered pro baseball in 2003, has been a reliever since 2005. He missed all of 2008 with an inflamed right shoulder.
The Twins are five games under .500 with their 6-11 record. The worst April in franchise history is 8-16 in 1978.
Orlando Hudson, the Twins 2010 second baseman, is hitting .294 in his last 10 games and .278 for the season in San Diego. Another former Twin, relief pitcher Pat Neshek, is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in six games for the Padres. The Twins chose to part with both players since the end of last season.
Local baseball fan Dave Wright emailed that former Twins’ third baseman Reno Bertoia passed away last Friday in Windsor, Ontario at age 75. Bertoia, one of the few natives of Italy to play in the majors, homered in the franchise’s first regular season game, the 1961 6-0 win in Yankee Stadium over New York. He was Wright’s high school history teacher and baseball coach at Assumption High School in Windsor. “A great man,” Wright said in his email.
St. Thomas second baseman Charles Bruchu, who hit .563 with a .668 slugging percentage in five games, is the MIAC Baseball Player of the Week for his play last week. Pitcher-of-the-Week is Hamline’s Brett Bugielski for his impressive bullpen work (1-0, three saves) in four Piper wins.
Radio talk show host and public relations executive Dave Mona, who also has been working as a special assistant to Gophers’ athletics director Joel Maturi, told Sports Headliners his agreement with the University will end in June.
Former Gophers’ football player Tommy Watson emailed that he has a new website promoting his motivational speaking, life coaching and business consulting. https://tawatson.com/
Former University of Connecticut standout and current ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo on Lynx No. 1 draft choice Maya Moore: “If Maya stays healthy, she will be the WNBA Rookie of the Year. She is WNBA-ready now and proved that when she played with the National Team at the World Championships last summer. She was the only college player on the team and held her own. She has a WNBA body and a WNBA game. I expect her to be an all-star and an All-WNBA performer her rookie year. … Again, she needs to stay healthy, but Maya could be the (league) MVP her rookie year.”
The Lynx are using a diverse marketing plan to sell tickets for the coming season including print, radio, cable TV, emails and automated phone calls, according to Conrad Smith, the club’s chief operating officer. Coinciding with last week’s selection of Moore and in preparation for the regular season home opener on June 5 at Target Center, the marketing campaign may take the franchise well beyond last year’s season ticket total of 2,400. Single game tickets start at $10 with other prices at $30, $45, $60, $110 and $175.