Thursday, May 29, 2014

RENE TOSONI

A 36th round draft pick in 2005, Rene Tosoni put himself on the Twins prospect map with three straight +.800 OPS seasons from 2007-2009.  In 2009, while playing for the New Britain Rock Cats, the Canadian outfielder was selected for the World Team in the Futures Game.  He would walk away with game MVP honors.  He finally made his Twins debut in 2011. Although he struggled to a .203/.275/.343 slash line, he did have some big moments, including a walk-off double against Seattle and a grand slam against Kansas City.  Tosoni struggled through the 2012 season in the minors and was outrighted off the Twins' 40-man roster at the end of the season.  He spent all of 2013 in the Brewers system and is now playing for the independent Sioux City Explorers.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

BILL CAMPBELL

Bill Campbell spent his first four big league seasons with the Twins, culminating with a season for the ages in 1976.  His stat line for that season is clearly from a bygone era: 17 relief wins and 20 saves in the same year.  He also posted a cool 3.01 ERA while leading the league with 78 appearances.  He was then one of the first free agency casualties of penny-pinching owner Calvin Griffith.  Campbell signed a big contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1977 and picked up right where he left off the year before, going 13-9 with a league-leading 31 saves and his only All-Star berth.  Injuries cut short his next few years in Boston and, while he was an effective relief pitcher for another decade, he never again displayed the form that won back-to-back Rolaids Relief Man Awards in those '76 and '77 seasons.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

JOSH ROENICKE

The Twins picked up Josh Roenicke off waivers from the Colorado Rockies immediately following the 2012 season.  He made the club out of spring training in 2013 and spent the entire year in the Twins bullpen.  Though he was far from spectacular, he gave the Twins decent pitching depth.  He tied a career high with 63 appearances while picking up three wins, a save, and a career high 12 holds.  Roenicke was removed from the 40-man roster at the end of 2013 and is currently pitching for the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate Syracuse Chiefs.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

TOM HALL

"The Blade" made his big league debut with the Twins in 1968 and became a fixture of the pitching staff the following season.  He split his fine 1969 rookie season between the rotation and the bullpen, and was a key arm on the staff of the Twins' AL Western Division championship club that year.  The Twins repeated as division champs in 1970 and Hall arguably had his finest season that year (11-6 with a 2.55 ERA, four saves, and an impressive 184 strikeouts in only 155 innings).  Hall pitched one more season for the Twins before he was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds.  He had an immediate impact on the Big Red Machine, going 10-1 with eight saves for the 1972 National League champs.