Young, inexpensive Twins
making a killing in A.L. so far
by Sean Deveney
Ile Sporting News
Playing baseball in Minnesota is dif
ferent. The Twins have the lowest pay
roll in baseball - $24 million - and only
'i\ players make more than $1 million
per season. The home stadium, the
Nletrodome, was once the American
League's most intimidating, but now,
Garrison Keillor draws rowdier crowds
than the Twins.
Minnesota averaged 13,083 fans last
ear, drawing fewer than 10,000 for 38
games. The tans who did show up saw
the league's least exciting team, one
ith a record of 528-699 (.430) over
the last eight years. While other teams
have heen mashing home runs at record
rates, only one Twins player - Matt
Lawton in 1998 - has hit more than 20
home runs in a season during the last
five years. With the limited budget, lim
ited fan support and limited winning,
the Twins are always exhibit A in any
discussions of reducing the number of
major league teams.
"It's different," says pitcher Eric
Milton. "We did a lot of losing in the
last few years, so that's something that
definitely affects the way you think of
thinus."
'lhis season, things have gotten even
weirder in baseball's weirdest outpost.
As of Wednesday morning, the Twins
were 14-4 and in first place in the A.L.
Central. Baseball's black sheep are now
one of baseball's best bunches. They
swept the White Sox, the defending
A.L. Central champs, at Comiskey Park
over the weekend. They already had
swept them in Minnesota a week ear
lier. If it seems inexplicable that a team
could go from the worst in the Ameri
can League with a 69-93 record in 2000
to the best in 2001, that's because it is
inexplicable.
"I don't have a good answer," says
Manager "mom Kelly. "We are keeping
games close, giving ourselves the
chance to win. When you do that, some
times things will fall for you. But you
have to realize, they can fall the other
ay. And it's a long summer, so a lot
can happen."
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""We are keeping games close, giving ourselves the chance to
win. When you do that, sometimes things will fall foryou. But
you have to realize, they can fall the other way. And it's a long
summer, so a lot can happen."
Twins, one that Kelly repeats after each
improbable victory. Of all the teams off
to good starts, the Twins are the least
likely to maintain it. They have a good
young pitching staff behind ace Brad
Radke, who is followed in the rotation
by Milton, Joe Mays and Mark
Redman. And Minnesota is hitting .288
as a team, boosted by some early-sea
son overachievers.
But the Twins, who had five regulars
hitting .324 or higher through the first
17 games, have not hit higher than .270
as a team in five years. Only one Twin,
third baseman Corey Koskie, has hit
.300 over the course of a season before.
The best way to explain Minnesota's
success might be plain luck. The Twins
have developed a knack for getting
clutch hits in the late innings. Koskie,
for instance, had been pressing himself
to hit for power to suit his new role as
cleanup hitter.
Then he spoke to former Twins
catcher Terry Steinbach, who told
Koskie to forget about power and fo
cus on base hits. It was well-timed ad
vice. The next day, Koskie came to bat
with the bases loaded in the ninth and
the Twins down, 5-4. Remembering
Steinbach's tip, Koskie went the oppo
site way on a fastball from Royals re
liever Jason Grimsley for a game-win
ning, two-run single.
"That was funny," Koskie says.
"He tells me that one day, and the next
night, there I am in that situation in the
ninth inning. That's just how things have
been going."
As a follow-up, the Twins fell behind
the Royals, 3-1, in the eighth inning the
next day. They came back to tie the
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-Twins Manager Min Kelly
score, then got an RBI double down the
third-base line from rookie Bobby
Kielty. The 24-year-old center fielder's
hit gave the Twins the lead, and Minne
sota eventually won, 5-3. Replays
showed Kielty's hit was a few inches
foul, but umpire Eric Cooper blew the
call. That's the kind of break that has
been going Minnesota's way during this
improbable start, the kind of break that
has led to 10 come-from-behind wins.
"They have some talent over there,
some good pitching," says White Sox
pitcher Jim Parque. "But they also have
some luck. That's what we had last
year."
It hasn't been all blind luck, though.
The Twins are a team built with shrewd
moves, including the trade of star sec
ond baseman Chuck Knoblauch to the
Yankees in 1998, which brought Milton
and shortstop Cristian Guzman to Min
nesota. There also has been hard work
on the part of the players and a willing
ness to extend themselves for the sake
of their struggling organization.
Take Koskie, who spent much of last
winter trudging through layers of snow
to the University of Minnesota's foot
ball practice facility in order to work
on fielding grounders. When Koskie
was brought up to the big leagues in
1998, he was considered a good hitter
with a shaky glove. Koskie did not like
that "shaky" label, so he began winter
fielding sessions, and his defense im
proved dramatically. Last year, he was
one of the American League's most re
liable fielders, ranking fourth in the
league among third basemen in field
ing percentage (.966).
Considering all the work he already
was putting in, Koskie could have po
litely said no when the Twins' market
ing folks approached him about record
ing a series of ads. Weren't hours of
ground balls enough dedication for one
winter? But Koskie agreed, and soon
he was the subject of a radio spot that
lightheartedly exaggerates his burly
physique and Canadian ancestry. When
he was growing up in British Colum
bia, Koskie once had a job as a lum
berjack. The ad points that out, then
claims Koskie carves his own bats and
eats hundreds of flapjacks for break
fasts.
"I don't really," he says. "But it's a
fun thing, so I don't mind it. We all have
to do what we can here."
As an organization, the Twins need
all the help they can get. The team has
been trying for four years to get the Min
nesota legislature to agree to a plan for
a new stadium, putting on a lobbying
blitz in the last few months that cost
$347,000 - more than the salary the
Twins are paying any of their infield
ers. The plan was generous on the
team's part. The Twins would pay $l5O
million, and the state would kick in $l4O
million as a loan.
But while the Twins were beginning
their winning weekend in Chicago, the
stadium bill died in the Minnesota
House. There's still hope fora privately
financed stadium, but the chances are
dwindling.
Without a new stadium, the chances
also are dwindling that the Twins can
survive. That adds to the oddity of their
fast start. The best team in baseball
might go away sometime in the next few
years.
"Well, you don't think about any of
that stuff," Milton says. "All we can do
is go out and play, and you hope that if
we play and we win, people start com
ing to see us and supporting us. It's
much nicer to win than to lose, trust me.
If people are coming and supporting us
because we are winning, then you have
to figure the other stuff works out for
the best."
With the Twins, you sometimes have
to do more, whether it's getting in extra
practice, pretending to be Paul Bunyan
or saving the franchise from oblivion.
Bucs look super coming out of draft
by Charean Williams
Knight-Ridder Tribune
April 24, 2001
Today is the first day of the rest
of the 2001 season.
Today, every team had a good
draft. Today, every team is a Super
Bowl contender.
For the truth, come back in Janu
ary. For now, it is the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers who look Super.
The Bucs have addressed every
hole, filled every need, answered
every question. Brad Johnson has
replaced Shaun King at quarter
back. Simeon Rice has
replaced Chidi Ahanotu at defen
sive end. Ronde Barber has re
signed at cornerback. Kenyatta
Walker, the No. 14 pick in the draft,
has replaced Jerry Wunsch at right
tackle. Richmond Webb is expected
to replace Pete Pierson at left tackle.
Don't you believe?
The Seattle Seahawks have im
proved themselves leaps and
hounds, too, by trading for quarter
FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2001
back Matt Hasselbeck and adding
free agents John Randle, Chad
Eaton, Levon Kirkland and Marcus
Robertson. They drafted North
Carolina State receiver Koren
Robinson at No. 9 and Michigan
guard Steve Hutchinson at No. 17.
Robinson and Hutchinson were safe
picks, a fact that some other teams
should take to heart.
"I'm not a big gambler when it
comes to the draft," Seattle coach
Mike Holmgren said. "I hope to
have solid drafts. They don't have
to be spectacular for me. I want
solid guys who can come in and
play, and contribute as young play
ers. That's how you build. I'm not
going to jump out there. Is it a dead
bang sure thing? The draft is not
that way. It's not. Are there certain
ties in this business? No. We can
all point to "can't-miss" guys that
didn't make it for whatever rea-
So how about a Super Bowl fea
turing 1976 expansion teams Se
attle and Tampa Bay?