Special bonus rounds:
--Round 26: Draft someone who played for the Twins
--Round 27: Draft a skipper
--Round 28: Draft a stadium
--Mags drafts all 28 rounds at once
Order:
rowsdower
hungryjoe
cheaptoy
TheDreadPirate
Beau
CarterHayes
brianS
Nibbish
bhiggum
sean
Freealonzo
SoCalTwinsFan
Mike
Algonad
Philosofer
Koskos and Hrby went last round and you go with Dock Ellis? That's a trip, maaaaaan.
Hrbek is already up on another post today. When else do we get to love Dock Ellis around here?
I won't argue that!
When we win the championship. 😉
One of my favorite players when I first started following the Twins as a wee lad. He has the added bonus of being a super-utility guy, during his career he played at least 200 games at five different positions. He could hit a little also, Top 5 in hits, double & triples 4 times, and Top 10 in runs and stolen bases 6 times.
Also, this tidbit. Along with former Reds center fielder Eddie Milner, he is regarded as the major league's all-time leader in breaking up no-hit attempts with five.
brianS drafted him a long time ago, try again
No, I meant the other Cesar Tovar.
Well, crap.
Denny Hocking is calling your name!
Hocking probably also contributed to no-hitters
I'd rather have Al Newman. Heck, I'd rather have Alfred E. Newman.
I'll go with this guy. In 13 seasons, he finished in the top ten in home runs eight times (1959, 1961–65, 1967–68). Particularly memorable home run feats included combining with Harmon Killebrew to become the first pair to hit grand slams in the same inning on July 18, 1962, hitting home runs in three consecutive at-bats on May 17, 1963, and teaming with Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Jimmie Hall to hit four consecutive home runs on May 2, 1964.
Following his death, the Minnesota Twins created the Award named for him for the Twins player who exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership both on and off the field.
I don't really need another OF, but really, he's the main candidate I've had in my mind for awhile. He was always one of my favorites, and he had a sneaky great career.
nice, I miss him
I'll go with another guy that had a pretty good career and was part of some good Twin's memories.
Oooh, I always liked him.
Same, I was hoping he'd be there when it was announced this was a Twins round.
I won a bat from Costcutters? as a kid that is signed by Shane Mack, Brian Harper, and Kirby. Easily one of my favorite possessions.
He was my favorite Twin during the 1991 season. The eye black just looked SO cool on him, and he was just exciting.
He was taken several rounds ago.
Welcome to Minnesota!
I love that he had a .275 batting average after 0-2 counts and struck out less in his career than Mark Reynolds did regularly.
yup. he was on my mind.
Me, too. Gotta get that third catcher!
Lenny Webster's still available!
Don't even think about drafting Butch!
Man, I’d had my eyes on him with this pick the entire draft. Ouch.
My pick was a longtime Twin, spending all but one season of his career in the organization. He only got 147 PA in the majors, all in one seasons with a mediocre Twins team that finished fourth in the AL West. He didn't hit or walk much — he hit just one big-league homer — and had a little bit of versatility. Truth be told, I'm not drafting him for what he did with his bat or glove, but who he was in the clubhouse & dugout.
So, are we separating this choice as a player and a manager? Kind of like Ohtani in fantasy leagues?
Ohtani can pitch to Ohtani in fantasy leagues? That just seems wrong.
I’d definitely choose someone else here if we’re going to split careers.
You can have him as a player but he's still up to be drafted as a manager by you or someone else.
Same as Joe Torre, Frank Robinson, Dusty Baker, etc.
Fair enough.
In that case, I’ll take Pops’ favorite ‘87 Twin, Gary Gaetti.
it's weird, but then again we have Mike Trout facing off against Kid Nichols, so reality isn't our jam
I didn't figure he'd drop that far, but I was hoping he'd still be around when my turn comes up. When my brother and I were kids, pretending to be someone while playing baseball in the back yard, he was usually the second player we'd choose to be (after Kirby, of course).
Some leagues he can do both, but most have a hitter Ohtani and a pitcher Ohtani as two separate players. That's the way I was thinking of it.
(sorry to blow up your pick)
I gave serious/not serious consideration to a third catcher/relief pitcher of some reputation around these parts.
Instead, I will go with a lefty bullpen figure. With him and Iron Mike covering the back half of my bullpen, I don't have to call ties after 13 innings.
btw, can anyone make sense of how Butters got a three-year contract with the Royals that paid him almost $5 million?
Royals gonna Royals. *shrug*
Aww. I was really hoping...
Question. Does this include Washington Senators players?
I vote yes.
I vote no. It's extra guy...
I agree. Washington Senators are not sandwiches. (Am I doing this right?)
I vote present.
hj likes to watch.
Especially if the Senators player was kind of a hot dog.
If you guys stir up the debate again, SO HELP ME
JeffA applies the mustard....
Just trying to ketchup to the rest of you.
I am relishing this response.
Cheeses, guys, enough already.
I also vote no
I vote no unless we all consider Raines the best Nationals player.
Nibs is still up.
We do need a ruling from the judges on the availability of pre-Twins Senators.
Scot would be annoyed at me, but this judge says no.
It seems like the consensus of who responded was no. Beau says no. I think the answer is no.
I brought up the question only so that we were all on the same page. I didn't have a Washington Senator in mind that I wanted to pick.
I need one last pitcher. My current rotation stacks up as Perry/Verlander/deGrom/Reuschel. That's a pretty solid four man, and I figure I can slot in a whole bunch of guys into the fifth slot. I might as well get a guy who's got a lot of experience both in the rotation and in the pen. My choice pitched pretty well no matter where he was.
I'm surprised he lasted this long. He was overshadowed by Gaylord, but he was an excellent pitcher.
I was pretty surprised, too. I did two searches of the people who were picked, just to make sure.
I considered him, but I figured I was good on pitching so I just took the guy I saw play
Sometimes I look at my roster and think about how all these players and personalities would actually fit together... I'm going to need a really good manager 😉
I would recommend against Tommy Lasorda. Denied his own dead son was gay
Oof. I mean, I've never been a Lasorda fan anyhow, but yikes.
And thanks for the picture, hj. Gonna go inject some bleach in my eyeballs now.
My favorite player growing up was already selected. Fortunately my second choice is still available.
Danggit! Eddie and Aguilera both!
I was thinking of adding Alex Kirloff and just have him sit on the bench and learn from the big boys. Maybe get a few swings in the numerous blowouts we’d be involved in. But I couldn’t pass on one of my faves as a kid and a unfortunate tragic figure. Even though I really don’t need another outfielder.
one of my favorites as well. And one of the points of argument against Cal Griffith, not because he was a racist per se (which he may have been), but because he was a cheap a-hole.
from his SABR bio:
also, TIL from that bio that Bostock's father was a Negro Leaguer.
I think for this round, SoCal should have to pick a non-Twin. 😉
Who's that? I only know one from Texas.
Not yet he's not!
I'll take him for one game alone, plus to keep him out of the broadcast booth.
Definitely thought he might crawl through to me. Lots of those happening...
How'd a hall of famer fall this far in the draft, for cripes' sakes?
(Also, for that reason, assumed this would be Gladden.)
I think Mags is going to end up with quite a few hall of famers.
We're drafting 375 players (plus a round of Twins). There are 235 HOF players. Obviously we've drafted a good number of players who would have been HOF players if they'd been in MLB, and plenty of players who are still playing and/or haven't yet qualified for the Hall. I haven't looked at exactly how many HOFers we haven't drafted, but it does seem pretty remarkable that there are a good number available.
well, some hall-of-famers probably aren't that impressive. Nobody is dying to draft Rabbit Maranville or Kiki Cuyler or Harold Baines.
still, seeing the math laid out like that...it is kind of surprising that we haven't exhausted the supply of HOFers already.
I think Mags is going to end up with quite a few hall of famers.
And Lew.
The Twins round isn't over yet!
I wasn't all that surprised. I think most of us are in the camp that he didn't deserve to be in the Hall, he's a terrible announcer and he's pretty unlikeable as a person. At a certain point in this kind of draft, you lose track of who's been taken, and I think a lot of people had assumed he'd been taken in the later rounds. I just happened to search for him.
I considered him when I took Steve Rogers, but I really don't like him and this is all about fun.
I considered a few pitchers here, including the highest WAR player in 1991, and especially Mr. "No one wants to be in my pants tonight". But, I decided to go with a hitter instead. I may have missed someone, but I think he's the second-highest WAR among Twins that have not been taken, following only someone who it appears no one wants on their team (reasonably so, I might add, considering his post-career issues...).
I figure this guy will be a good addition to a team, since he can (at least somewhat) play a number of positions, and be a good bat off the bench. Plus, I just always liked him. He seemed to always come up and hit a well-timed double when needed. And, his career coincides with the time I paid the most attention to the Twins, so I've got some extra affection for him for that reason as well. And, he can even be an emergency pitcher if needed!
And, he can even be an emergency pitcher if needed!
Don’t forget clubhouse magic tricks.
I had forgotten clubhouse magic tricks. Bonus!
This was one of my favorite players as a kid. It was based on the fact that he was an All Star as I started to watch baseball. Looking at his career stats, he was good but not great. On the plus side, he played shortstop and ended his career as a DH. World Champion in 1987. Switch hitter. And I dressed as him for Halloween one year.
Sorry, no. You gotta draft a Twin.
You can have
however. 😉
This was my mom's favorite player when I was growing up. After he was done playing he was at a game we were at once, and I remember my Dad running over to him, vaulting over a few empty seats, to reach him, to ask for an autograph for my mom. I think we had nothing else available at the time, so he ended up signing my glove. I then I think I actually still played with that glove for a while, and the signature eventually wore away.
But I was like 9, so who knows if I'm remembering any of this correctly.
Every so often I'd see him and his quite fetching wife at the Southdale Target. They definitely stood out as beautiful Edina people. Perfect hair, teeth, smile, etc.
I can most use another pitcher, so I'm limiting myself to that (apologies to Carlos Gomez, who, if I were going for another outfielder, would have been my pick).
I had every intention of drafting a player I watched play here. But y'all picked over all of my favorites (many several rounds earlier), so I went digging a little deeper. I'm glad I did. The player I'm picking was essential to one of the Twins' World Series runs. He spent his career as both a starter and a reliever, so he gives my team some flexibility. And he's done some pretty cool work to highlight African American players (especially pitchers). Throw in 2 complete WS games, including a must-win Game 6... I'm sold.
On to the management draft!