Category Archives: Keeping Track

Keeping Track

Appalachian League Preview

The Appalachian League season gets underway today.

There are ten teams in the league.  They are split into two divisions, the East and the West.  Teams play a sixty-eight game schedule, which ends August 28.  Four teams then go to the playoffs.

The Twins entry in the league is, of course, in Elizabethton.  Their long-time manager is Ray Smith.  Jeff Reed is the batting coach and Ivan Arteaga is the pitching coach.

Because the league is filled with players that few people know, and because your reporter is pressed for time, we will not go into great detail about the teams.  Some names you might recognize on the Twins’ pitching staff are Ricardo Arevalo, J. T. Chargois, Tyler Herr, Angel Mata, Mason Melotakis, Luis Nunez, and Hein Robb.  Some names you might recognize among the position players are Bo Altobelli, Jhonatan Arias, Niko Goodrum, Joshua Hendricks, Kennys Vargas, Max Kepler, Candido Pimentel, and Rory Rhodes.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 19

Eddie Cicotte (1884)
Lou Gehrig (1903)
Bill Swift (1908)
Don Gutteridge (1912)
Archie Ware (1918)
Chet Boak (1935)
Bob Aspromonte (1938)
Isao Harimoto (1940)
Jerry Reuss (1949)
Duane Kuiper (1950)
Jim Slaton (1950)
Johnnie LeMaster (1954)
Doug Mientkiewicz (1974)
Alex Prieto (1976)
Dustan Mohr (1976)
Bruce Chen (1977)

Infielder Chet Boak played for the Twins’ AAA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, in 1961, but does not appear to have actually been a part of the Twins’ organization, as records show him belonging to the expansion Washington Senators.  One assumes he was loaned to the Twins’ for part of that season.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 19 →

Keeping Track

Gulf Coast League Preview

The Gulf Coast League is a fourteen-team league based in Florida.  There are three divisions, the North, the East, and the South.  There are six teams in the North and four teams in each of the other two divisions.

Teams take the names of their parent clubs, e.g. the GCL Twins, the GCL Astros, etc.  The teams play at the spring training complexes of their major league clubs.  They play a sixty-game schedule.  Four teams make the playoffs.  Rosters are capped at thirty-five, with only thirty eligible for any given game.  At least ten of these must be pitchers.  Players must have less than three years of minor league service.

The Twins’ entry is managed by Ramon Borrego.  The batting coach is Milt Cuyler, with pitching coaches Henry Bonilla and Luis Ramirez.

Looking at the roster, pitcher whose names you might recognize include Jose Barrios, Sam Gibbons, Yorman Landa, Gonzalo Sanudo, and Markus Solbach.  Batters you might recognize include Aderlin Mejia, Javier Pimentel, Jacob Younis, Byron Buxton, Kelvin Ortiz, and Dereck Rodriguez.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 18

Charlie Ganzel (1862)
Russ Hodges (1910)
Ron Necciai (1932)
Lou Brock (1939)
Bill James (1949)
Andres Galarraga (1961)
Sandy Alomar (1966)
Felix Heredia (1975)
Tommy Watkins (1980)

Ron Necciai struck out 27 batters in a nine inning game while playing for Bristol in the Appalachian League in 1952.

It may never happen, but Bill James belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 18 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 17

Pete Browning (1861)
Joe Bowman (1910)
Ray Scott (1919)
Dave Concepcion (1948)
Joe Charboneau (1955)
Mike Magnante (1965)
Manny Lee (1965)

Ray Scott broadcast Minnesota Twins games from 1961-1966 and 1973-1975.

Outfielder Joe Charboneau was drafted by Minnesota in the sixth round of the January draft in 1976, but did not sign.

There appear to be no other players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.