The Minnesota Twins have lost 90 plus games the last 3 seasons and at the end of 2014 season said goodbye to long time manager Ron Gardenhire.
The attendance has been down and the Twins are attempting to find a way to try and fix the attendance.
I am a diehard Twins fan and was so excited and anxious to see who would be the next skipper of the Twins. It has been a frustrating few years in hopes the team could be competitive.
I love the hiring of Paul Molitor to be the next Twins manager. He was such a great ball player back in his day both with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Minnesota Twins. I feel his playing experience will be a huge asset. The man could hit, field and steal bases. I know a lot of fans that wanted the Twins to look outside the organization for Gardy’s replacement. I support the decision to stay within the organization.
Molitor has assembled his new coaching staff and my favorite of these is hitting coach, Tom Brunansky. I loved him as a player for the Twins and only hope he can teach these youngsters to be successful and would love to see more power out of the bats.
I really feel for now there are 4 players that have the potential to be the home run hitters and they are Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dozier, Kennys Vargas and Oswaldo Arcia. The 4 of them combined for 66 home runs last season. I love the bat of Joe Mauer but do not believe he will be the home run threat rather the doubles and singles hitter.
The news broke on Tuesday December 2nd that former Twin, Torii Hunter had agreed on a one year 10.5 million dollar contract. The press conference was on Wednesday making the signing official. I really believe this will help bring people to Target Field to see Hunter and his smiling face.
I know we need pitching but a move like this could really help the youngsters as Hunter has been known as a leader in the clubhouse.
The Twins signed Hunter in 1993 and his major league debut was in 1997. He played for the Twins to 2007 then left and went to the Angels signing a 5 year 90 million dollar contract. He then left the Angels and has played the last 2 years in Detroit.
His stats from last year: batting average .286 with 17 home runs and 83 rbis. He is 39 years old but I believe he still has the passion to be a top outfielder and a big time hitter.
The man is a 5 time All Star, is a 9 time Gold Glove winner and has 331 career home runs. He said when he left Minnesota in 2007 he would like to finish his career as a Twin.
I am so excited that Hunter is back and cannot wait for the season opener to see new manager, Molitor and Hunter in the outfield. These are just 2 of many reasons I feel like I can be excited to watch a more competitive team in 2015. I know he left Minnesota for more money and a chance to get a World Series Trophy but I fully expect Twins fans to welcome him back warmly.
Go Twins
Thanks for reading
Todd Walkingstick