Happy Birthday–April 16

Dutch Leonard (1892)
Paul Waner (1903)
Babe Phelps (1908)
Pete Hughes (1915)
Pete Suder (1916)
Joe Bauman (1922)
Rich Rollins (1938)
Bernie Allen (1939)
Garry Roggenburk (1940)
Jim Lonborg (1942)
Bob Montgomery (1944)
Bruce Bochy (1955)
Curt Young (1960)
Fernando Vina (1969)
Antonio Alfonseca (1972)
Kelly Dransfeldt (1975)
Nolan Arenado (1991)

Pete Hughes was a star in the low minors from 1937-1952. His incomplete career numbers are a .350 average and a .637 slugging percentage, but for some reason he never played above Class B.

Joe Bauman hit 72 home runs for Roswell in the Longhorn League in 1954.

Kelly Dransfeldt was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round in 1993, but did not sign.

Rich Rollins, Bernie Allen, and Garry Roggenburk all played for the Twins at the same time. I wonder how unusual it is for a team to have three players who share the same birthday. They also all were born or raised in the state of Ohio. Rollins and Allen were also business partners for a while.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 16

2025 Game Log 18 – Mets at Twins

I think we have come to the conclusion that the Twins have had an ugly start to the season. Winning percentage under .300, ass bats signed up for an extended stay, key players injured, bad defense and poor baserunning on top of it all. It's especially disappointing since it's pretty similar to how the Twins ended the last six weeks of the 2024 season. Fans are voting with their pocket book too by not showing up at games. Last night had an announced crowd of just over 10,000 but by all accounts, maybe 7,000 in the attendance (granted it was a cold, blustery, wet night). With Wild and T-wolves in the playoffs and NFL draft in 9 days, probably even less attention granted to the Twins at least through April.

Bailey Ober on the mound and he's pitched well after his opening "I'm actually kind sick" first start. Tyler Migell (brother of former Twin Taylor Migell) for the Mets. So no relief in sight for the ass bats. Also the weather should be a lot better, although still in low 50s by first pitch.

Game time at 6:40 and this game is on "over the air" TV - FOX 9 (KMSP-TV).

Happy Birthday–April 15

Jim Creighton (1841)
Ed Abbaticchio (1877)
Chaney White (1894)
Ed Bailey (1931)
Willie Davis (1940)
Ted Sizemore (1945)
Jeromy Burnitz (1969)
Milton Bradley (1978)
John Danks (1985)
Chris Tillman (1988)

Jim Creighton was a star pitcher from 1857-1862, before the National League was created.  He passed away from a ruptured hernia in 1862 at the age of twenty-one.

Until Henry Aaron came along, Ed Abbaticchio held the “first in the alphabet” record.  Now, of course, David Aardsma has them both beat.  Abbaticchio is now eighth in alphabetical order, behind, among others, ex-Twin Fernando Abad.

There do not appear to be any major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

2025 Game Log XVII: New York Metropolitans vs. Minnesota Twins

Truth be told, I haven't watched a lot of baseball this season. Very little, in fact. If the Wolves are on, even though they take some crushing loses here and there, they're at least fun, so I flip over there. Even the Wild are more fun, and it's been a frustrating year. Anyway, no Wolves or Wild tonight. No Loons either. Guess this is what I'll have on tonight. Go Team!

April 14, 2025: On Schedule

My company has always given out these pocket sized, company branded schedulers each New Years. They're pretty handy, actually. It's got monthly pages and daily by week schedules, plus a good chunk of blank sheets in the back for notes, and little plastic pockets on the inside of the covers that are great for stashing a few business cards.

Anyway, every year I would grab one in the hopes of using it, then every year would crash out around mid- to late-January. Last year was the first year I managed to utilize it the whole year. In fact, I had to grab a new one around November because my original one was falling apart. Now, I love these little guys.

Minor Details: Games of April 13

OMAHA STORM CHASERS 5, ST. PAUL SAINTS 3 IN ST. PAUL

Omaha scored one in the second, but Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a two-run double to put St. Paul ahead 2-1 in the third.  The lead held up until the eighth, when Omaha plated four on two walks, an error, a double, and a single.  St. Paul got one back in the ninth but did not get the tying run on base.

Batters:  Emmanuel Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Pitchers:  Darren McCaughan pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Anthony Misiewicz pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Richard Lovelady pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Ryan Jensen pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one.

Opponents:  Cam Devanney was 3-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Nelson Velazquez was 2-for-4.  Harold Castro was 2-for-5.  Noah Cameron struck out seven in 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.

Record:  St. Paul is 5-7, tied for eighth with Indianapolis, 5.5 games behind Columbus.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 5, MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS 2 IN WICHITA

Brennan Milone homered in the top of the third, but Allan Cerda tripled and scored in the bottom of the third to tie it 1-1. Again a four-run inning decided things, as Wichita then scored four in the fifth to take control of the game.  Cerda doubled to lead off the inning, but he was still on second with two out.  Then came an infield single, a walk, and a wild pitch to give Wichita the lead.  Jake Rucker followed with a two-run single and Andrew Cossetti delivered an RBI double.  Midland scored one in the eighth but did not threaten to get back into the game.

Batters:  Jake Rucker was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.  Allan Cerda was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two runs.  Kyler Fedco was 2-for-4.

Pitchers:   Darren Bowen struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk.  Mike Paredes struck out three and walked two in three shutout innings, giving up no hits.

Opponents:  Colby Halter was 2-for-4.  Brennan Milone was 1-for-5 with a home run.  Junior Perez was 1-for-3 with a homer and a walk.  Wander Guante pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Record:  Wichita is 6-3, tied for second with Northwest Arkansas, one game behind Springfield.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 10, BELOIT SKY CARP 7 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Cedar Rapids scored seven runs in the first inning.  Two singles and a walk loaded the bases, Gabriel Gonzalez hit a two-run single, a balk moved the runners up, Khadim Diaw singled home a run, an error brought another run home, Danny De Andrade had an RBI double and scored on a Misael Urbina single, a hit batsman and a Kyle DeBarge RBI single rounded out the inning.  It was 9-3 after four and stayed there through seven.  Beloit closed to 9-6 in the eighth, and each team scored one more run after that.  Beloit stranded fifteen runners and went 2-for-15 with men in scoring position.  Cedar Rapids stranded fourteen and went 5-for-19 with men in scoring position.

Batters:  Brandon Winokur was 2-for-4 with two walks, a run, and an RBI.  Danny De Andrade was 2-for-5 with two doubles, a run, and an RBI.  Kyle DeBarge was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitchers:  Starter Tanner Hall pitched three innings, allowing three runs on five hits and five walks and striking out one.  Samuel Perez pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.

Opponents:  Colby Shade was 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.  Fenwick Trimble was 2-for-4 with two walks, a run, and an RBI.  Michael Snyder was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run.  Jesse Bergin struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 6-3, tied for first place with Quad Cities.

TAMPA TARPONS 4, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 2 IN FORT MYERS

Again a big first inning decided things, but this time it went the wrong way.  Tampa scored all four of their runs in the first and made them hold up.  Parks Harber parked one, hitting a three-run homer, and Dillon Lewis followed with a solo shot.  Fort Myers scored one in the sixth and one in the ninth.  They brought the tying run up to bat with one out in the ninth, but a pair of strikeouts ended the game.

Batters:  Peyton Carr was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitchers:  Starter Xavier Kolhasser struck out six in three innings, but allowed four runs on three hits and three walks.  Devin Kirby struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Zander Sechrist struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.  Hunter Hoopes struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Parks Harber was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his second) and a triple.  Dillon Lewis was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Brian Sanchez was 2-for-5 with a double.  Gage Ziehl pitched 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out two.

Record:  Fort Myers is 4-5, tied for third with Dunedin and Lakeland, two games behind Clearwater.

TUESDAY'S TILTS

6:00  Wichita (Ricky Castro, 0-1, 20.25) at Tulsa (TBD)
6:05  Bradenton (TBD) at Fort Myers (TBD)
6:35  Cedar Rapids (TBD) at Peoria (TBD)
6:38  St. Paul (Zebby Matthews, 1-1, 1.80) at Iowa (TBD)

Old TBD is going to get quite a workout Tuesday.

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.