301 Twins (159 games)
299 Yankees (159 games)
******Official Twins 2019 thread*****
- Thread starter ChisHawk81
- Start date
299 Yankees (159 games)
Here are the Season Team HR totals through THE COMPLETION OF THURSDAY SEP 26'S GAMES:
301 Twins (159 games)
299 Yankees (159 games)
281 Astros (159 games)
274 Dodgers (159 games)
The old record of 267 belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
301 Twins (159 games)
299 Yankees (159 games)
281 Astros (159 games)
274 Dodgers (159 games)
The old record of 267 belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
How bad are the Tigers?
Detroit (46-112), already assured of the big leagues' worst record and next year's top draft pick, finished 22-59 at Comerica Park and tied the major league record for home losses set by the 1939 St. Louis Browns.
The Tigers' minus-221 run differential at home was the worst in major league history, breaking a mark set by the 1883 Philadelphia Phillies at minus-215, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"We didn't play well at home all summer long," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I always preach that you have to care of your home and play well for your fans. We were terrible. That's got to change."
ATTENDANCE (lowest in 16 years)
The crowd of 17,557 raised Detroit's home season total to 1,501,430 (18,536 per game average), down from 1,856,970 last season and the Tigers' lowest since they drew 1,368,245 fans during their 119-loss season in 2003.
Detroit (46-112), already assured of the big leagues' worst record and next year's top draft pick, finished 22-59 at Comerica Park and tied the major league record for home losses set by the 1939 St. Louis Browns.
The Tigers' minus-221 run differential at home was the worst in major league history, breaking a mark set by the 1883 Philadelphia Phillies at minus-215, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"We didn't play well at home all summer long," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I always preach that you have to care of your home and play well for your fans. We were terrible. That's got to change."
ATTENDANCE (lowest in 16 years)
The crowd of 17,557 raised Detroit's home season total to 1,501,430 (18,536 per game average), down from 1,856,970 last season and the Tigers' lowest since they drew 1,368,245 fans during their 119-loss season in 2003.
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Yikes. The Yankees hit 6 HRs Friday night; the Twins just 2.
Here are the Season Team HR totals through THE COMPLETION OF FRIDAY SEP 27'S GAMES:
305 Yankees (160 games)
303 Twins (160 games)
283 Astros (160 games)
277 Dodgers (160 games)
This season, these 4 teams surpassed the old record of 267, which belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
Here are the Season Team HR totals through THE COMPLETION OF FRIDAY SEP 27'S GAMES:
305 Yankees (160 games)
303 Twins (160 games)
283 Astros (160 games)
277 Dodgers (160 games)
This season, these 4 teams surpassed the old record of 267, which belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
Did Luis Arraez, the Twins' big surprise, come out of nowhere? (No, Iowa)
It's hard to overstate what rookie Luis Arraez has meant to the Twins' lineup during this playoffs-bound season.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — 12:45AM
PATRICK REUSSE
Luis Arraez had played his second summer with the Twins organization in 2015 in Fort Myers, Fla., with the Gulf Coast League rookie team. He played in 57 games and produced a .309 average with no power.
The Venezuelan was a month short of his 19th birthday when the Twins opened minor league spring training in March 2016. Annually, in early April, more than 100 players are assigned to the four full-season affiliates, with another 50-plus retained as participants in extended spring training.
That’s where the largest number of players with the Arraez background spend a couple of months, before heading off to the advanced rookie team in Elizabethton, Tenn.; staying with the GCL Twins; or getting released.
“We were having the final roster meetings and Ramon Borrego repeated what he had been saying,” Jake Mauer said this week. “Ramon was Luis’ manager with the Gulf Coast team and said, ‘There’s no sense in having Arraez stick around here for two more months. He’s a hitter. We have to get him out and start competing.’ ”
This required Arraez to be assigned to Class A Cedar Rapids. Mauer was the Kernels manager and spent the summer of 2016 enjoying the rewards of Borrego’s lobbying.
Once in a while, you see a teenager tear up the Midwest League. Mike Trout in 2009, also for Cedar Rapids (then an Angels farm club), comes to mind. Mostly, it’s a league of players 20-plus, so it was eye-opening when the 19-year-old Arraez won the Midwest batting title at .347.
“What you found out about Luis right away was how well he knows himself as a hitter,” said Mauer, the older brother of a three-time AL batting champion named Joe.
Arraez (pronounced ah-RIZE) opened the 2016 Kernels’ season competing for playing time at second base. He played in three of the first seven games, with one hit. Then, in the eighth game, he went 3-for-4, with the first of three home runs for the season, and he was off and hitting.
“The question was where he was going to fit defensively,” Mauer said. “Was it going to be second base or multiple positions? As he’s showed now with the Twins, Luis can do both: Be your everyday second baseman and play where he’s needed, including left field.
“He’s a fun teammate, one of the most popular players in our clubhouse, but he’s also a very cerebral player. Luis is a step ahead. He anticipates situations in the field, and what pitchers are trying to do to get him out.”
Doug Mientkiewicz, after an outstanding two-year run as manager at the Twins’ Class AA Chattanooga affiliate, was back with the Fort Myers Miracle for the 2017 season. And he was excited to have Arraez at the top of his lineup.
“He was just a ball of energy, bouncing around everywhere, couldn’t wait for the season to start,” Mientkiewicz said. “And then in our third game, he was trying to beat out a hit, lunged and tore his ACL.”
Arraez missed the rest of that season, and the first two weeks of 2018.
“What I remember is two days later, Arraez found me in the clubhouse, and with that torn ACL, he apologized for letting down the team and me,” Mientkiewicz said.
“I couldn’t believe that. I remember saying to my coaches, ‘This kid is what you want in a Twin. All-out, team-first.’ ”
Mientkiewicz said this Friday, two years after being fired as a minor league manager by the current Twins administration, and after two seasons as the Class AAA Toledo manager for the woebegone Detroit Tigers.
After all that, he’s still a Luis Arraez man. “Who isn’t?” Mientkiewicz said.
Arraez showed up with the Twins on May 18, when Nelson Cruz went on the injured list, and batted .375 in 10 games. He went back to Class AAA Rochester for 2½ weeks, returned to stay on June 18, and carried a .339 average into this weekend’s closing series at Kansas City.
And this is what the stocky, lefthanded hitter has meant to the Twins:
A strength of this team has been its depth in position players — and needed with the run of injuries. Yet, if Luis Arraez had not showed up in late spring, come from the mist for most of us, the Twins would not be a deep team.
They would not have an excess of infielders, they would not have a hitting machine to move to left field when necessary, they would not have an extra-tough out in the midst of big-swinging home run/strikeout producers.
They would not have a rookie who, when he swung at a pitch over his head to strike out three weeks ago, everyone watching — “including the people in the dugout,” manager Rocco Baldelli admitted — was shocked.
Arraez has been both a shocking addition to the Twins lineup, and to a degree, its savior.
Write to Patrick Reusse by e-mailing sports@startribune.com and including his name in the subject line.
Patrick Reusse is a sports columnist who writes three columns per week. Write to Patrick by e-mailing sports@startribune.com and including his name in the subject line.
612-673-7129
http://www.startribune.com/did-luis...rprise-come-out-of-nowhere-no-iowa/561561052/
It's hard to overstate what rookie Luis Arraez has meant to the Twins' lineup during this playoffs-bound season.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — 12:45AM
PATRICK REUSSELuis Arraez had played his second summer with the Twins organization in 2015 in Fort Myers, Fla., with the Gulf Coast League rookie team. He played in 57 games and produced a .309 average with no power.
The Venezuelan was a month short of his 19th birthday when the Twins opened minor league spring training in March 2016. Annually, in early April, more than 100 players are assigned to the four full-season affiliates, with another 50-plus retained as participants in extended spring training.
That’s where the largest number of players with the Arraez background spend a couple of months, before heading off to the advanced rookie team in Elizabethton, Tenn.; staying with the GCL Twins; or getting released.
“We were having the final roster meetings and Ramon Borrego repeated what he had been saying,” Jake Mauer said this week. “Ramon was Luis’ manager with the Gulf Coast team and said, ‘There’s no sense in having Arraez stick around here for two more months. He’s a hitter. We have to get him out and start competing.’ ”
This required Arraez to be assigned to Class A Cedar Rapids. Mauer was the Kernels manager and spent the summer of 2016 enjoying the rewards of Borrego’s lobbying.
Once in a while, you see a teenager tear up the Midwest League. Mike Trout in 2009, also for Cedar Rapids (then an Angels farm club), comes to mind. Mostly, it’s a league of players 20-plus, so it was eye-opening when the 19-year-old Arraez won the Midwest batting title at .347.
“What you found out about Luis right away was how well he knows himself as a hitter,” said Mauer, the older brother of a three-time AL batting champion named Joe.
Arraez (pronounced ah-RIZE) opened the 2016 Kernels’ season competing for playing time at second base. He played in three of the first seven games, with one hit. Then, in the eighth game, he went 3-for-4, with the first of three home runs for the season, and he was off and hitting.
“The question was where he was going to fit defensively,” Mauer said. “Was it going to be second base or multiple positions? As he’s showed now with the Twins, Luis can do both: Be your everyday second baseman and play where he’s needed, including left field.
“He’s a fun teammate, one of the most popular players in our clubhouse, but he’s also a very cerebral player. Luis is a step ahead. He anticipates situations in the field, and what pitchers are trying to do to get him out.”
Doug Mientkiewicz, after an outstanding two-year run as manager at the Twins’ Class AA Chattanooga affiliate, was back with the Fort Myers Miracle for the 2017 season. And he was excited to have Arraez at the top of his lineup.
“He was just a ball of energy, bouncing around everywhere, couldn’t wait for the season to start,” Mientkiewicz said. “And then in our third game, he was trying to beat out a hit, lunged and tore his ACL.”
Arraez missed the rest of that season, and the first two weeks of 2018.
“What I remember is two days later, Arraez found me in the clubhouse, and with that torn ACL, he apologized for letting down the team and me,” Mientkiewicz said.
“I couldn’t believe that. I remember saying to my coaches, ‘This kid is what you want in a Twin. All-out, team-first.’ ”
Mientkiewicz said this Friday, two years after being fired as a minor league manager by the current Twins administration, and after two seasons as the Class AAA Toledo manager for the woebegone Detroit Tigers.
After all that, he’s still a Luis Arraez man. “Who isn’t?” Mientkiewicz said.
Arraez showed up with the Twins on May 18, when Nelson Cruz went on the injured list, and batted .375 in 10 games. He went back to Class AAA Rochester for 2½ weeks, returned to stay on June 18, and carried a .339 average into this weekend’s closing series at Kansas City.
And this is what the stocky, lefthanded hitter has meant to the Twins:
A strength of this team has been its depth in position players — and needed with the run of injuries. Yet, if Luis Arraez had not showed up in late spring, come from the mist for most of us, the Twins would not be a deep team.
They would not have an excess of infielders, they would not have a hitting machine to move to left field when necessary, they would not have an extra-tough out in the midst of big-swinging home run/strikeout producers.
They would not have a rookie who, when he swung at a pitch over his head to strike out three weeks ago, everyone watching — “including the people in the dugout,” manager Rocco Baldelli admitted — was shocked.
Arraez has been both a shocking addition to the Twins lineup, and to a degree, its savior.
Write to Patrick Reusse by e-mailing sports@startribune.com and including his name in the subject line.
Patrick Reusse is a sports columnist who writes three columns per week. Write to Patrick by e-mailing sports@startribune.com and including his name in the subject line.
612-673-7129
http://www.startribune.com/did-luis...rprise-come-out-of-nowhere-no-iowa/561561052/
The Twins open the postseason on Friday.
The Twins believe Max Kepler will be ready for playoffs
By Phil Miller Star Tribune
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — 12:47AM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rocco Baldelli is normally so cautious about predicting when his injured players might return, his optimism when discussing Max Kepler’s availability for the playoffs was conspicuous.
“I would anticipate [Kepler] being in the lineup” next Friday for the Twins’ postseason opener, Baldelli said. “I would anticipate him being out there on Friday.”
That doesn’t mean the Twins have abandoned their cautious approach, though. Kepler, who has been in the lineup only twice in three weeks, seems to have made steady progress in his recovery from the soreness near his left shoulder, but Baldelli said the Twins won’t take any chances this weekend.
Kepler, Baldelli said, is unlikely to play this weekend.
“As far as putting him out there for the sake of finding out [if he’s ready], I don’t think that’s the best way to approach it. I don’t think we’re going to do that,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to continue to monitor his workouts and make sure that he’s feeling better and better, as opposed to putting him in the game and saying, well, let’s see if he sinks or swims. I don’t think that’s constructive or productive way of going about it.”
Kepler might face live pitching, as opposed to 60-mile-per-hour batting practice pitches, next week as the Twins prepare for their first playoff series since 2010, as a low-impact way to test his shoulder.
Marwin Gonzalez hasn’t played since Sunday, as he is trying to avoid aggravating an oblique strain that he thought had mostly healed. Baldelli said Gonzalez’s status will largely be determined by Gonzalez. “He has a great feel for his body and what he needs to do to get ready,” Baldelli said. The manager said he plans to ask “if he want to play or thinks he needs to play this weekend.”
Infielder Ehire Adrianza, however, “is a little bit behind everyone else” as he battles his own oblique strain, Baldelli said. “He’s not 100 percent at this point. So we’re going to keep letting him heal, and we’ll see how he is by the middle of next week.”
First baseman C.J. Cron’s thumb remains an issue, too, Baldelli said, though he was able to start Friday. “He’s been kind of held back in his ability to swing the way he wants to because of the thumb,” the manager said. “We’ve been playing this day-to-day for a while, and that’s really our only option.”
Etc.
• Due to a storm expected to arrive Saturday evening, the Royals decided to move up the start time for the second game of the series. The game will begin at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, the Royals announced, rather than 6:15 p.m.
• The Royals honored Ned Yost, 64, their manager for a decade, before Friday’s game, and gave him a Polaris Ranger all-terrain vehicle for use on his Georgia farm. Yost, who led Kansas City to the 2015 World Series championship over the Mets, announced this week that he will retire at season’s end.
• Nelson Cruz said he grew a little emotional watching former Mariners teammate Felix Hernandez pitch a farewell game in Seattle on Thursday night. “It was really emotional. The fans who have been there supporting him for years were all over it,” said Cruz, who played for Seattle 2015-18. “I talked to the clubbies there and a few of the [players] — the atmosphere was great. He means so much for the organization.” Hernandez is only 33, and Cruz said he expects his fellow Venezuelan to sign somewhere else next year. The Mariners gave Cruz a similar salute last year in his last game. “I played the outfield, and they took me out, so could jog in,” he said. “It was really nice ovation.”
Phil Miller has covered the Twins for the Star Tribune since 2013. Previously, he covered the University of Minnesota football team, and from 2007-09, he covered the Twins for the St Paul Pioneer Press.
phil.miller@startribune.com
MillerStrib (Twitter)
http://www.startribune.com/twins-believe-max-kepler-will-be-ready-for-playoffs/561585492/
The Twins believe Max Kepler will be ready for playoffs
By Phil Miller Star Tribune
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — 12:47AM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rocco Baldelli is normally so cautious about predicting when his injured players might return, his optimism when discussing Max Kepler’s availability for the playoffs was conspicuous.
“I would anticipate [Kepler] being in the lineup” next Friday for the Twins’ postseason opener, Baldelli said. “I would anticipate him being out there on Friday.”
That doesn’t mean the Twins have abandoned their cautious approach, though. Kepler, who has been in the lineup only twice in three weeks, seems to have made steady progress in his recovery from the soreness near his left shoulder, but Baldelli said the Twins won’t take any chances this weekend.
Kepler, Baldelli said, is unlikely to play this weekend.
“As far as putting him out there for the sake of finding out [if he’s ready], I don’t think that’s the best way to approach it. I don’t think we’re going to do that,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to continue to monitor his workouts and make sure that he’s feeling better and better, as opposed to putting him in the game and saying, well, let’s see if he sinks or swims. I don’t think that’s constructive or productive way of going about it.”
Kepler might face live pitching, as opposed to 60-mile-per-hour batting practice pitches, next week as the Twins prepare for their first playoff series since 2010, as a low-impact way to test his shoulder.
Marwin Gonzalez hasn’t played since Sunday, as he is trying to avoid aggravating an oblique strain that he thought had mostly healed. Baldelli said Gonzalez’s status will largely be determined by Gonzalez. “He has a great feel for his body and what he needs to do to get ready,” Baldelli said. The manager said he plans to ask “if he want to play or thinks he needs to play this weekend.”
Infielder Ehire Adrianza, however, “is a little bit behind everyone else” as he battles his own oblique strain, Baldelli said. “He’s not 100 percent at this point. So we’re going to keep letting him heal, and we’ll see how he is by the middle of next week.”
First baseman C.J. Cron’s thumb remains an issue, too, Baldelli said, though he was able to start Friday. “He’s been kind of held back in his ability to swing the way he wants to because of the thumb,” the manager said. “We’ve been playing this day-to-day for a while, and that’s really our only option.”
Etc.
• Due to a storm expected to arrive Saturday evening, the Royals decided to move up the start time for the second game of the series. The game will begin at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, the Royals announced, rather than 6:15 p.m.
• The Royals honored Ned Yost, 64, their manager for a decade, before Friday’s game, and gave him a Polaris Ranger all-terrain vehicle for use on his Georgia farm. Yost, who led Kansas City to the 2015 World Series championship over the Mets, announced this week that he will retire at season’s end.
• Nelson Cruz said he grew a little emotional watching former Mariners teammate Felix Hernandez pitch a farewell game in Seattle on Thursday night. “It was really emotional. The fans who have been there supporting him for years were all over it,” said Cruz, who played for Seattle 2015-18. “I talked to the clubbies there and a few of the [players] — the atmosphere was great. He means so much for the organization.” Hernandez is only 33, and Cruz said he expects his fellow Venezuelan to sign somewhere else next year. The Mariners gave Cruz a similar salute last year in his last game. “I played the outfield, and they took me out, so could jog in,” he said. “It was really nice ovation.”
Phil Miller has covered the Twins for the Star Tribune since 2013. Previously, he covered the University of Minnesota football team, and from 2007-09, he covered the Twins for the St Paul Pioneer Press.
phil.miller@startribune.com
MillerStrib (Twitter)
http://www.startribune.com/twins-believe-max-kepler-will-be-ready-for-playoffs/561585492/
Here are the Season Team HR totals through THE COMPLETION OF SATURDAY SEP 28'S GAMES:
305 Yankees (161 games)
304 Twins (161 games)
285 Astros (161 games)
278 Dodgers (161 games)
This season, these 4 teams surpassed the old record of 267, which belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
305 Yankees (161 games)
304 Twins (161 games)
285 Astros (161 games)
278 Dodgers (161 games)
This season, these 4 teams surpassed the old record of 267, which belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
The Twins set yet ANOTHER MLB Home Run Record.
Here are the FINAL SEASON TEAM HR totals through THE COMPLETION OF SUNDAY SEP 29'S GAMES:
307 Twins (162 games)
306 Yankees (162 games)
288 Astros (162 games)
279 Dodgers (162 games)
This season, these 4 teams surpassed the old record of 267, which belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
Here are the FINAL SEASON TEAM HR totals through THE COMPLETION OF SUNDAY SEP 29'S GAMES:
307 Twins (162 games)
306 Yankees (162 games)
288 Astros (162 games)
279 Dodgers (162 games)
This season, these 4 teams surpassed the old record of 267, which belonged to the 2018 Yankees, who broke the 1997 Seattle Mariners record of 264.
Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/sort/homeRuns/order/true
Twins beat out Yankees for most homers in MLB this year
C.J. Cron and Jake Cave went back-to-back in the first and Jason Castro added a solo shot in the fifth.
"I don't think anybody will ever forget the 'Bomba Squad,'" manager Rocco Baldelli said.
The Twins last week became the first team in major league history to hit 300 home runs in a season, shattering the previous record of 267 set by the Yankees last year.
This year's Yankees team vaulted past its own record as well, but fell short of the Twins by one after Aaron Judge's solo shot proved to be New York's only homer in Sunday's loss to the Texas Rangers.
Homers have been up throughout the league this season, with 13 different teams setting franchise records for home runs hit in a season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- ESPN News Services
- Sep 29, 2019
C.J. Cron and Jake Cave went back-to-back in the first and Jason Castro added a solo shot in the fifth.
"I don't think anybody will ever forget the 'Bomba Squad,'" manager Rocco Baldelli said.
The Twins last week became the first team in major league history to hit 300 home runs in a season, shattering the previous record of 267 set by the Yankees last year.
This year's Yankees team vaulted past its own record as well, but fell short of the Twins by one after Aaron Judge's solo shot proved to be New York's only homer in Sunday's loss to the Texas Rangers.
Homers have been up throughout the league this season, with 13 different teams setting franchise records for home runs hit in a season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This Twins team proves how meaningless 100 wins is in an AL filled with teams trying to lose games.
Not really. You just have two super teams. The REAL WS will be the ALCS!
Yep there are two super teams this year, the Dodgers and Astros. The Yankees are like the Twins just a product of playing a lot of terrible teams
Uh............NO!. Actually, it's quite possible the LAD don't even get past Washington.
What the Yankees accomplished this season with that IL statistic is nothing short of amazing. But beating the Big 3 from Houston will be a challenge.
BTW>>>>> Thanks for giving away Gleyber! Guy is a superstar at age 22.
