Hangin' With Mr. Hunter: The Twins Birthday Party Promo

To paraphrase those great, American poets CSN&Y, it's been a long time gone from the blogoshpere for me. Settling in at the cockpit, testing the controls, with an easy subject...the effervescent Torii Hunter. He decided to leave via free agency over five years ago, we cheer on cue for him, while A.J. Pierzynski (traded for a cornucopia of talent) will poke his head out of the Rangers dugout at Target Field sometime this summer and STILL get the hell booed out of him. One smiles, the other smirks. Go figure.

This commercial is now six years old, but it still recalls the spontaneity we enjoy about the guy.

Were one an alien, intent on learning about the best of our culture (if not wanting to fry the brains out of our skulls), Torii Hunter and baseball would be a great place to start.

Joy or outright terror? You decide

There is also this Hunter Metrodome anecdote, regarding the pitfalls of playing on a rock-hard, artificial surface. It showcases the man's humor well, translating almost as well in print as it did when Torii held court for us at Twins Fests, or post-game interviews. It is from a fine, Oct. 3, 2009 piece by Jim Caple for SI.Com:

"In 2000, I dove for the ball to win the game against the Oakland A's and I started sliding across the turf, and when I stopped sliding, I smelled something ," Hunter said. "I smelled a melting smell. And it was my buttons. They were all melted. And I had a goatee and it was all kind of shaved off because my face hit the turf and the carpet burned it off. It was kind of melted and skin was missing and everything was bad because I started a fire diving for a ball on the old turf."

Now that Torii is now a member of our division rival Detroit Tigers, I look forward to the coming 2013 season, where he'll now be playing against the Twins for 19-some games. He has always been superb at saying something funny, and playing to his audience, dishing whatever it is they want to hear (i.e., "Yeah, sure, I'd love to come back to play for the Twins - they raised me from a baby"). Straight from the Reggie Jackson Institute of Public Speaking. Hopefully, a camera will be there to pick up the man's schtick. This is for certain: he's a universe away from the scared young guy who was flailing miserably at breaking pitches in his rookie season, circa 1998.

As our old friend at the broadcast mic used to say:
"So long, everybody!" - Herb Carneal

The Phenoms of Minnesota Twins Past: Part IV-Carlos Gomez

HE hope I dreamed of was a dream,   Was but a dream; 

and now I wake

Exceeding comfortless, and worn, and old,

For a dream's sake.

- Christina Rossetti, "Mirage," 1879

This past Friday night, Minnesota Twins centerfielder Joe Benson made a miraculous catch off the bat of David Ortiz at the Red Sox new spring training home, Jet Blue Park in Ft. Meyers, FL. The sprinting, over-the-shoulder grab was mindful of the famous play Willie Mays made in the 1954 World series. 

For this fan, it was notable in two other ways:

it was made in the deep, centerfield "triangle" area (see photo), which is a near duplicate of Boston's Fenway Park-famous for Twins fans as it was there that Torii Hunter broke his ankle in the same region (A. Gleeman photo) in a regular season game in 2005, thus ending the Twins post-season hopes.

Also, Benson's grab is similar to those made by another Twin player of recent vintage, possessing a comparable skillset: Carlos Gomez. Benson at times makes you believe he could cover the entire outfield by himself with his speed and arm strength. Like Gomez. The flip side: Benson is magnetically drawn to striking out like the murderous Jason was to girls in college sorority houses. Over his minor league career to date, he's whiffed an average of once every four trips to the plate (565 k's in 2,373 plate appearances (24%). Again, very like Gomez....and we hope against hope that his fate, at age 24, doesn't become another mirage, a la Mr. Carlos "Go-Go" Gomez.

2008 Upper Deck card: behold,
bunting technique perfection

The Twins famous trade of Johan Santana on Feb. 2, 2008 netted them Gomez, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra, and Phillip Humber. The Twins had been put in the unenviable position of paying a huge hunk of their payroll to Santana, who was destined for free agency after 2008-unless Minnesota unloaded him for the best possible offer. After multiple rumors of trade packages, smokescreens and bald-faced lies (probably) involving the Red Sox and Yankees, the only team left standing was the Mets. Brand, spankin' new Twins GM Billy Smith lost the staring match with the Mets. Now, five years on, it seems fair to judge that trade objectively.

Blogger Parker Hageman put it well recently when he compared it to Jack trading the cash cow for the proverbial handful of beans. Put another way, the Twins traded their precious ace without getting the best prospect in the Mets system (at that time, OF Fernando Martinez) or a player from their 40-man roster (Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes or David Wright, though none from that group were included in the public discussion). The best that could be said of this collection of sprouts was that "they had potential," But in March of 2008, it appeared the Twins had acquired a budding stud in center fielder Gomez. His arrival in Minnesota couldn't have been more opportune, as he was viewed as an obvious replacement for the popular Hunter*, who had departed for Anaheim. His spring training that year showed flashes of brilliance, along with eccentric inconsistency.

*Along with Denard Span, who lost the centerfield battle in spring training...

Everything's relative. Since Leo Cardenas 

was known to lock his bats in a closet 

for not performing well, this isn't all

that odd to me... 

Spring Training-2008
Jim Souhan  (Minneapolis Star-Trib.) recorded this take on Carlos in a March 30, 2008 column.

"Ask a Twin about Gomez this spring, and the response would be a head shake and a giggle. When Justin Morneau stopped laughing, he said: "He is one of a kind. In so many ways. He can absolutely fly. He's the kind of athlete who comes along very rarely, with that speed and also having power.

"I don't think he quite knows how to use his power yet. He thinks he has to swing harder to hit it farther. Hopefully, he'll figure it out. His arm from the outfield is as good as I've ever seen, although he needs to be more accurate.

"He's a little out of control. He's 1,000 miles an hour. But when he comes to the plate, or gets on base, everybody watches."

Perhaps this passage from that same Souhan piece tells you everything you need to know about Carlos, both then and now:

"The other day in spring camp, Gomez was standing by the batting cage, waiting to hit, when someone lined a shot off the pitching screen. The ball shot back over the cage toward the backstop. Gomez took off on a dead sprint, executed a Willie Mays basket catch and held up the ball like a trophy. It was stunning and rather silly. No other player would think of doing that, and few could pull it off."

In 2008, at age 22, this is what the St. Bernard-like Gomez did in center field for the Twins:

Year	G	Inn	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%	Rtot	Rdrs	RF/9	RF/G	lgFld%	lgRF9	lgRFG
2008	151	1271.2	453	436	9	8	4	.982	8	17	3.15	2.95	.989	2.71	2.69

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original TableGenerated 3/18/2012.

In summary, here's how he stacked up to the other CF's in the American League:

• First in putouts  (54 more than Grady Sizemore, in same number of games)
• First in range factor (RF/9) 3.15, with next closest: Rajai Davis, 2.92 
• First in games played as a center fielder, 151 (tied with Sizemore) 
• AND...first in errors as a center fielder, 8, tying with Delmon Young among outfielders

We're it not for his strong, yet inaccurate arm, Gomez could have been a hands-down Gold Glove winner, an obvious star-in-the-making. He certainly didn't lack charm for the role:

A fine, 4 for 5 night at the plate made this a memorable evening during the 2008 season. So, you see, it wasn't just his eccentricities, and fear of ghosts (see June, '08 Patrick Reusse column) that drew people to him. In small doses, he made you believe. Sorry to dredge up Telly Hughes, the King of the Cliches, for you Twins fans! 

July 26, 2009: just another day at the office for Carlos!

WARNING: for some reason, MLB videos seem to run in a loop - will need to pause the two here!

July 27, 2009 outfield injury - watch Gomez' pinwheeling, dazed, fall at the :57 mark. Carlos had mishaps, i.e, running into the centerfield wall, which gave the impression he'd been shot by a sniper. To wit: there's a vaguely Michael Richards "Kramer" aspect about this...

It has long been expressed that Gomez, if he were to concentrate on better plate coverage, he could emerge as a middle of the order hitter ("Lay off those outside pitches, ya big dummy!"). Again, it has never been a question of physical talent with him, blessed by The Baseball Gods with insane gobs of natural ability. The tantalizing thought of what he could be if he were to reign in his undisciplined nature, and make the necessary physical adjustments has vexed 3 organizations by now. Like the aforementioned Mr. Benson, he's a wind turbine, striking out 377 times in 1,678 lifetime Major League PA's - or, 22% of the time. The Twins, exasperated by Gomez' flailing, traded him to Milwaukee on Nov. 6, 2009 for shortstop J.J. Hardy (a subject I will tackle once I can gain the courage to do so).

Carlos Gomez scores winning run, Game 163, Oct. 6, 2009.
The win propelled the Twins to the ALDS against New York.
(AP Photo)

Jack Moore in his article "Should Carlos Gomez Stand Closer To The Plate?" at the Disciples of Uecker" blog addresses a fine tuning for 2012 that could be of help. Jack's opinion as a Brewers fan and baseball mind should be given credence.  At this point in his career, however, I would be hard pressed to see Carlos changing his approach with any kind of diligence.

He has the same problem Bobby Bonds (Sr.) had, and far worse: loads of offensive potential that is offset by poor pitch selection, and striking out way too much - thus negating his otherwise stellar contributions. He is a liability, therefore, to his team. Jonathan Ede piece in Media Milwaukee on March 18, 2012, concludes it is time for the Brewers to cut the cord with Carlos. I must say, he's persuasive, especially in light of the fact his comments mirror precisely the things said about the same player four springs ago. Like a lot of fans, I was a fan of his then, and I still am, with my ardent wish being he will one day turn the corner. How could you not root for a guy who left winter ball to be at the bedside of his son, afflicted with meningitis?

But then, most of us know what Burgess Meredith had to say about wishing...but I can still dream.

As our old broadcasting friend Herb Carneal closed his postgame shows:
"So long, everybody!" - TT

1976: The Twins Bill Campbell As Baseball's Original Free Agent Signee Part Two

[Updated, April 14, 2013 - updated with pdf doc, 12/2/13 - 
Part One of this Bill Campbell saga can be found at THIS LINK]

Thirty-five years ago today, November 4, 1976, was a momentous day in baseball history. It was the day that Major League team owners bid on the first group of free agents in the "Reentry Draft."This draft was distinguished from free agency statuses granted to Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally cases, as these players were stand-alone "test cases" used by MLBPA head Marvin Miller to create the environment that could be used to justify a structured draft that the Major League teams would have to abide.  I view the list (below), and have to marvel at the top flight pool of future Hall of Famers (Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers) and All-Stars (Bobby Grich, et. al.). Minnesota's Bill "Soupy" Campbell (Classic Twins post on Soupy) and Eric Soderholm* were in that group.

The Sporting News called it a "gold rush," but it was more a wild n' wooly cattle drive of the game's top stars to market, to continue the Wild West motif that was the 1970's. And our very own Bill was numero uno - the FIRST official signing under the new agreement between Marvin Miller, the Players Association, and Major League Baseball. It was a formal end to the system known as "The Reserve Clause." Campbell was the only Twin to have served actively in the Viet Nam war, as a radio operator.


*Great interview with Soderholm at Baseball Alamanac. Sheds light on difficulty of squaring off against Calvin Griffith in contract negotiations. Recalls comment Griffith made to Pedro Ramos during contract squabble: "If you don't like the offer, you can go back to Cuba and cut sugar cane" (Google Books link).

Calvin Griffith

The next clip is  from the Minneapolis Tribune Sports section of the previous day (11/3/76) . Tom Briere's piece allows an insight into the mindset of then-Twins President Calvin Griffith* on the eve of that momentous draft. Cal comes across today as curiously detached, and stand-offish; you have to wonder if he truly understood the weakness of his bargaining power in this new format:

 
 *Link to my "Meeting Calvin" post. The modern psychology of players, media relations, economics...it was getting apparent to the Twins hierarchy that the game was passing Griffith by. They would appoint a 4-man management team that year, ease him out of the team presidency.

...And who would have guessed, with that laissez-faire attitude, this would result?

THE SPORTING NEWS, NOV. 20, 1976

Of course, the '76 draft proved to be highly damaging to the Twin's chances to seriously contend for the pennant in 1977, when the club fielded an offensive juggernaut (batting stats) that was bereft of quality starting pitching. The 1977 draft would deal another more serious blow to the team's depth of talent , with the defections of Lyman Bostock and Larry Hisle. Sans them, the Twins would not factor in a pennant race until another turnover of youth, the Puckett-Hrbek-Gaetti-Viola Twins of the 1980's, would surface and win it all ten years later.

For those of you interested, here are the results of that draft day as described in the Jan. 1, 1977 edition of The Sporting News (again,  Jack Lang's article):

Only two day's earlier, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter had defeated imcumbent President Gerald R. Ford in the general elections. The country was moving on after Watergate, Vietnam, the '60s, and the heartbreak that came with them. Undoubtedly, the old order of power was "gone with the wind," as Ronnie Van Zant* sang - and now, so too was The Reserve Clause in baseball that had bound players to their teams.  The freed bird flew, and the Twins had lost their uber-closer. He would go on to win the Rolaids Relief Pitcher of The Year (again) with Boston in /77, as well as the The Sporting News AL Fireman of The Year, and be selected to the AL All-Star Team.

*link: Van Zant was a big-time baseball fan, an 

enthusiastic ballplayer as a boy in Jacksonville, FLA.

Overall, this episode in team history set an organizational operating template that has lasted into the present day. More often than not, the Twins are still one of the clubs that draft, develop and then lose top-flight players long before their talents have regressed. Exits by Johan Santana, Torii Hunter, and now (possibly) Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Joe Nathan in 2011 are bitter reminders that teams in markets like Minneapolis-St. Paul have a fairly small window of time for contending. 

It's paradoxical that while baseball has changed so much in the last 35 years, one thing is still very much the same - the very democratic and rewarding institution of free agency has also made it very heartbreaking for loyal fans like ours in Minnesota to see the Twin's best and brightest move on to the Bostons and Californias of the world.

As our buddy at the mic, Herbie Carneal,

would say: "So long, everybody." - TT

P.S. - check out this newspaper pdf re: Campbell's 1977 pitching workload

1977 Topps Baseball Card.
Undoubtedly, the airbrushing
over the Twins logo was just
another way Twins fans had 
salt rubbed into their wounds..

Remembering Lyman Bostock

[Notes: make sure you check out the Lyman video posted at the end of this post!] LAST REVISION, TUES., SEPT. 23, 2014

Before anyone ever heard of Kirby Puckett and Torii Hunter, a fellow named Lyman Bostock patrolled centerfield for the Minnesota Twins. He had hitting skills that were compared to Hall Of Famer Stan Musial, and was an excellent defensive player.

He was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1950, eventually relocating to California with his mother a short time later. He never got to know his dad, Lyman Sr., who basically abandoned his family a short time after Lyman was born.

I just loved watching this guy play; to me, he played with a playground passion and abandon. It all looked so easy! Check the videos I linked, and you'll see! His swing was highlighted by his balance, and an ability to wait until the last moment on a breaking ball, and bring his bat around to hit a rope. Amazingly fast hands helped him to get quite a number of hits after he'd made his weight transfer, while hitting off his front foot. Today, only Ichiro Suzuki reminds me of Lyman, in the way he keeps his hands back, adjusting in mid-stride as the pitch is arriving, and hitting the ball where it's pitched.

To this day, I enjoy watching guys who seem to embody the classic spirit of the game: playing it with great skill, but yet with a joy and warmth that only a few people have, just like Kirby and Torii. Lyman's teammates loved him, nicknaming him "Jibberjabber" (see animated b & w photo below) as he was always engaging someone in the clubhouse and on the field.

I still remember watching his first major league game, and at bat, on local Minneapolis station WCCO. Legendary broadcaster Ray Scott was calling the play-by-play. He walked against future Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins. He would come around to score on a groundout by Tony Oliva, and made his first hit in the next inning against Jenkins. The Twins won 11-4, with Bostock scoring three of those runs.

***

In January, 1977, my Minnesota Vikings lost the Super Bowl XI to the Oakland Raiders, 32-14. The bad boy Raiders pushed the aging Vikes defensive line all over the field, all day it seemed!

It was Bowl defeat number four for the Purple. Not only was there a gaping hole left in my sports calendar, but there was that humiliating defeat left to deal with! But, I wouldn't have to wait long for Redemption. My Twins were just around the corner!

I was just into my heyday of being interested in girls, and/or trying to get them interested in me. I remember hanging out with buddies after school at a place called "The Toy Pony," a forerunner to the modern video arcade. It was located next to Gehlen's Jewelry store.We pumped our quarters away into oblivion, waiting for girls to come in, a vain hope. That probably just gave us more time to brag about our skills with the fairer gender - deviant, misguided, horny little creeps that we were - and insult one another. Eventually, my parents forbade my going in there, worried about my turning into a bum.

It was also the last year in my boyhood that I actually would go into stores to purchase baseball cards. The 25-cent, 10 card packs represented a sort of Mason-Dixon line, marking the dividing line in my childhood to adolescence.

****

The spring of 1977 was signaled by the arrival of Twins pitchers and catchers to Tinker Field in Orlando, Florida. It had been that way for the Twins and their forerunners from Washington, D.C. since the second Roosevelt Administration. It would be cool to see if Rod Carew would regain the batting title, and if the Twins could beat out the Royals for the West Division title. I had a hard time keeping my mind on my studies and practicing piano. I think I secretly hoped I'd be a great player, and none of that other stuff would matter in the future. I was a skinny kid, but wiry, and fast and with a decent right handed swing. I loved playing so much, fire came out of my ass. I had even copied Rod Carew's left-handed stance, hitting well that way in Little League. I thought then: "It's a sign!"

The Twins were then an interesting mix of veterans like Carew and Larry Hisle, and young guys like Lyman, Roy Smalley, and Mike Cubbage. That year, they became one of the greatest offensive teams in Twins history. Lyman became an even better player, and was 2nd in the league to Rod Carew in batting, at .336. The famous June 26th game at the Met (which I attended with my cousins Bill, Bob and Uncle Jake) when Rod went over .400 in average while the Twins won 19-12 over Chicago, is one I'll never forget! Glenn Adams had 8 RBI's!

I was crushed when he elected to leave the Twins that fall, and sign with the California Angels (see Jacksonville Courier "Bostock No. 1" and The Sporting News "Bostock Values Angel's Halo Over Big Bucks"). That was compounded when Larry Hisle also left via free agency, to the Milwaukee Brewers. My guys! The batting order was gutted! It would take into the next decade, when the Hrbek, Gaetti & Puckett Twins came along, for the Twins to again rise to prominence.

But that became a small matter a year later, when Lyman Bostock was fatally shot while riding with childhood friends in the streets of Gary, Indiana. It was the first time I felt truly touched by death, even more so than when my only remaining grandparent died a few years previous. Incredible, poignant quotes can be read in this Sept. 26, 1978 edition the European Stars And Stripes. When I read these things, now consigned to the back pages of history, it makes me sad. Knowing no Twins fans born in the 80's and later would ever know how good this man was, personally and professionally. I know for me, the Twins, and baseball in general died that day. I would never be as serious a fan again until well into my adulthood.

The photo Topps was set to use
for Lyman's 1979 card

 The Vikings lost horribly again last week. But I guess that episode with Lyman really taught me at a young age that there's a lot worse things than failing at sports. Like subsequently losing my great friend Scott to suicide. And again when my wonderful niece Emily died in a car accident at age 19.

Life snuffed out in the flower of youth...good people aren't replaced. There's only the effort of getting along, remembering them fondly, and trying to do your best when your heart is broken.

Lyman Bostock Part 2  video recounts the eulogy and aftermath of Lyman and his legacy. I think ESPN did a fantastic job recalling his life and who he was as a human being!

As the sublime broadcaster would sign off:
"So long, everybody!" - Herb Carneal

[Note: I used details from the incredible on-line Lyman story from which the You Tube video orignated at ESPN eticket feature by Jeff Pearlman]