New Kid on the Blauch

This weekend I caught the end of a debate on who would be the next former Twin to be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.  Currently there are 24 members, which include players like Killebrew, Carew, Puckett,  and Versalles.  It also includes 7 non-players - guys like Calvin Griffith and Bob Casey.  This week is the last week of voting on the Twins website for the 2013 Class, which you can vote for via Twitter.  Currently Dan Gladden is in the lead, followed by the kid you see in the picture below.

Chuck Knoblauch broke into the big leagues in 1991 after just 2 years in the minor leagues.  He was drafted as the 25th pick in the 1st Round of the 1989 draft out of Texas A&M University.  Knoblauch never even made it to AAA before becoming the starting second baseman at the beginning of the 1991 season.  He would go on to hit .281 with 25/30 steals, 24 doubles, and a 51/40 BB/SO ratio in 636 plate appearances.  Knoblauch would receive 26 out of 28 votes for Rookie of the Year (beating out Juan Guzman and Ivan Rodriguez), and help lead the Twins to their second World Series Title in 5 years.

I turned 8 years old the summer of Knoblauch's rookie season, and the scrappy second baseman quickly became my childhood hero.  In fact the poster you see above hung on my bedroom door for many years as a kid.  Chuck got on base, stole bases, hit for average, and - before being traded to the Yankees in 1998 -  was a much better than average defender (56 Fielding Runs Above Average in 7 seasons with the Twins).

From 1991-1997 in a Twins uniform, Chuck Knoblauch hit .304 with 210 doubles, 51 triples, 276 stolen bases, 1197 hits, and scored 713 runs.  Knoblauch was a 4-time All-Star, 2-time Silver Slugger award winner, and won a Gold Glove in 1997.  Oh, and he got hit by pitches 74 times as a Twin also.  His Twins career offensive WAR was an astonishing 31.1 (7.3 in 1996), and his defensive WAR was 8.2 in those 7 seasons.  From 1993-1997 he lead the Twins in WAR, and his 1996 WAR of 8.2 is 4th in Twins history (Carew - 9.5 - 1977, Blyleven - 9.4 - 1973, and Santana - 8.5 - 2004).

In the 1991 playoff run as a rookie, Knoblauch hit .326, stole 6 bases, and scored 8 runs in 12 games.

Obviously, not all is positive when we look at Knoblauch's career.  His time in New York and Kansas City was no better than awful.  His return to the Metrodome brought Tom Kelly out of the dugout one night to get the fans to stop throwing change and nachos at him.  More recently his name has come up in the steroid debate, and he has battled legal troubles involving assault on his wife.  Knoblauch even admitted to using HGH during his time with the Yankees, which, looking back definitely did not enhance his performance.

All of that said, if you are still upset that Knoblauch demanded a trade to a contender back in 1998, I think it's time to get over it.  Chuck did an awful lot for this organization in his 7 seasons as a Twin, and by the statistics is literally one of the best players to put on a Twins uniform - ever.  No matter what has happened in his life, how he disappeared from baseball so quickly, or how his baseball career came to a crashing halt; Knoblauch deserves to be included with the likes of Gagne, Puckett, Hrbek, Blyleven, and Battey in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

A Fresh Look for BP

There was some big news from ESPN's Uni Watch yesterday.  If you're like me, when you get a chance to go to any baseball game, when the gates open is the time you step foot in the park.  I love getting the opportunity to watch batting practice, get some food, and enjoy the sights and sounds of America's Pastime.  My wife, on the other hand, would rather get in the gates, grab some nachos, and sit down just in time to watch Kyle Gibson throw his first pitch.  If you're one that likes to watch batting practice, every team will have fresh new caps this year.  Here are the new Twins BP caps.  The home is white in the front, blue in the back; while the road cap (bottom) is red in the front.

As you can probably tell by now, this really isn't that big of news.  I thought this was a cool change to the existing caps though.  These caps will also be used in Spring Training this year, for those of you going down to Fort Myers in March.  Personally, I really like classic look of the white cap.  I almost wish we could see both of these caps in game action more often.  It has that same cool look of the old batting helmets guys like Rod Carew used to wear.

What do you think of the new look?  Which Twins cap/uni is most appealing to your eye?

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

25 Years Ago: The '87 World Series

25 years, 2 months, and 11 days ago; Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola through out the first pitch of the 1987 World Series, featuring the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals.  I've heard of people that have memories from when they were 3 years old or something crazy like that, but I'm pretty sure my memory starts at age 5 or 6.  I was 4 years old in October of 1987, and therefore don't remember much at all about this series.  In reality I remember nothing of this series.  This Christmas, my wife was kind enough to give me the complete DVD set of both the '87 and '91 World Series'.  Imagine my excitement when I opened up the box to see that I would finally have the chance, 25 years later, to sit down and watch the Twins' first championship play out - and actually be able to recall the events this time!

So far, I have watched Game 1 and a good portion of Game 2, so let me take a few moments to make note of some things I have noticed up to this point.  If you recall, the Twins won both games, 10-1 and 8-4, behind the arms of Frank Viola and Bert Blyleven.  Here are a few things that have jumped out at me so far:

• The Twins have been C-L-U-T-C-H these first two games.  With runners in scoring position, the Twins were 8-18 (.444 Avg.) in the first two games at the Metrodome.  Watching it through in real time, it seemed that every time we needed that one hit, someone came through.  It was Gladden, Laudner, Lombardozzi, everyone seemed to come through in the clutch.  4 of the 8 Game 2 runs were scored with two outs.
• Twins pitchers walked 1 batter in those first two games.  One.  Blyleven and Viola got ahead of hitters, they worked quickly, kept the defense on their toes, and didn't let anyone on base without working for it.  The two starters combined for 15 innings, and only gave up 3 runs to start the series.
• With the exception of the 2B and C positions, the lineup for the home team was filled with absolute studs - top 10 players at their position in the league in most cases.  Gladden, Puckett, Brunansky, Gaetti, Gagne, Hrbek, Baylor, Viola, Blyleven, and Reardon were some of the names on the roster.  Then you look at 2B and C, and Lombardozzi hit .412 for the entire series, and Laudner hit .318 for the series.
• The "Buck Ninety Fan Club" was in full force.  This was a group of fans whose name came from Laudner's season batting average - .191.
• Gary Gaetti apparently led the league in GIDP in '87, with 25.  To compare, Mauer hit into 23 in 2012.
• This team wasn't just full of stars, it was packed with what the experts would call "Gamers".  Just in these first two games, I saw Dan Gladden (who hit 8 HR's and drove in 38 runs) hit a grand slam to blow open Game 1; and then proceed to sprint around the bases looking like he was going to burst through my TV and beat me up.  Then, in Game 2, Randy Bush slid head-first around Tony Pena's tag scoring from 2nd on a Laudner single in the 4th inning to make it 4-0 with 2 outs.  He kept the inning alive and the Twins went on to score 3 more runs that inning to go up 7-0 and seal the deal.
• On both sides, it seemed like pitchers were throwing wicked curve after wicked curve.  We don't see as much of the big curve as we did 25 years ago.  Blyleven's, obviously, was especially nasty, and had Cardinal hitters on their heals for 7 innings.  I remember growing up that us kids always wanted to throw that big curve.  Looking back, I wish I had learned how to throw a good change-up, which I never really did master.  The problem with the big curve, was that a guy like Dan Gladden could take a hanging curve from a guy like Bob Forsch, and deposit it in the LF seats for a grand slam pretty easily.
• I know Kirby was a free swinger, and I didn't count, but I'm sure Puckett only saw about 15 pitches in his 9 at-bats those first two games.  He seemed to swing at the first pitch no matter where it was.  Fun to watch as a fan, but had to be frustrating at times for the rookie manager.
• Lastly, Twins hitters pulverized the Cardinals starting pitching, wearing them down to the tune of 10 walks and only 7 strike-outs in Games 1&2.  Cardinals starters were constantly pitching into deep counts, and lasted only a combined 6.2 innings.  Up and down the lineup - with the exception of Kirby - the at-bats kept going deeper and deeper.

Many of you probably have much more clear memories of where you were, what you did, and how great it was to see the Twins win their first World Series in Minnesota.  What do you remember?  What stands out to you when you think back?

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.

Thank You Denard Span

On November 29th, 2012 - nearly a full month ago - the Twins made a move that needed to be made.  One of my favorite Twins in my lifetime was sent to the Washington Nationals for a young pitcher named Alex Meyer.  This ended a five year man-crush I had on Denard Span, but it didn't necessarily crush my spirits like it would have years ago.

Back in about 2004, the Twins had resurged back into baseball existence and rejuvenated this fan base for the first time in about 10 years.  I remember my uncle telling me one day at the Metrodome about this kid named Span that was going to take over for Torii Hunter someday.  At the time I couldn't imagine what the outfield would even look like without #48 roaming the gaps and robbing home runs.

Little did I know that 4 years later, I would again walk into the Metrodome and ultimately leave that day with a baseball crush on #2 - Denard Span.  He was young, fast, fresh, and had a great glove.  As soon as I saw him I recalled the conversation with my uncle 4 years earlier, and immediately became fixated on the kid.

Over the next 5 years, that kid accumulated 669 hits, 90 stolen bases, 254 walks, 105 doubles, 36 triples, and 360 runs; all while hitting .284.  Span became the staple leadoff hitter, center fielder, leader, media charmer, and all-around good guy in the organization.  If not for concussion and other medical issues in 2011, he became an ever-present force in the Twins lineup day after day.

I'll never forget the leaping catches, 10+ pitch at-bats, and the doubles that Span stretched into triples.  He never was the next Kirby Puckett, or the next Torii Hunter, but he brought baseball joy to my life - ok that sounds a little weird.  I'm sure going to miss seeing Denard in the Twins uniform every day, but it helps to know that a kid like Aaron Hicks might be that next guy to make his way through the system and take over center field.

I'm also pretty excited about the type of pitching prospect the Twins received in return in Alex Meyer.  The 2012 pitching staff posted the 7th worst team ERA in Twins history, and the farm system wasn't about to change that trend around - outside of the arrival of Kyle Gibson.  So, when all is said and done, I'm thankful for the five years Span wore the TC on his cap; however, he has a real good chance to play in his prime for a contending team now.  It sure will be fun to see him play with the W on his cap from now on.

Follow Twins Rubes on Twitter @twinsrubes.