THROWING YOU A CURVE
April 22, 2004

WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

As the Twins are off to a good start, heading to Kansas City for a 3-game series, they find themselves in first place in the American League Central Division with a record of 10-5. With three of their everyday starters, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer and Matthew LeCroy out with injuries, the club has needed some other individuals to step forward and produce until they are able to come back off the disabled list. And man have they produced!

Lew Ford, taking over centerfield for Torii Hunter, is on fire. He is hitting .450 since he got called up from Triple-A Rochester, on April 9th. Not only is he hitting the ball consistently, he is also playing Torii Hunter type defense.

Lew is from Texas and in high school scored about 1,400 on his SAT test. Way too smart for baseball! He was not drafted out of high school, so he attended Dallas Baptist College. He was a computer science and electrical engineering major in college. After his senior year, in 1999, he was drafted and signed with the Boston Red Sox organization. In September of 2000, the Twins traded right-handed pitcher Hector Carrasco to Boston for Ford.

He has hit over .300 in every level in the Twins organization and finally got called up to the join the major league club last season. He joined the Twins on May 29 and on that same night made his debut against the Seattle Mariners. He singled off Shigetoshi Hasegawa, my favorite name to say, for his first major hit. Three nights later, again off Hasagawa, he hit his first major league homerun. Lew was disabled from July 14 – September 1 with a hairline fracture in his right forearm. He finished the season hitting .329 in 73 at bats, with 3 homeruns and 15 RBIs.

So, it's not really a surprise that when he got the call up again that he would be a perfect replacement. But no one, I believe, has expected this much from this fiery outfielder. As of today Lew is hitting .450 in 40 at bats, with 3 homeruns and a team high 15 RBIs.

When Henry Blanco signed with the Twins over the winter, the organization was looking for someone with major league experience to help out rookie catcher Joe Mauer. Henry, who is from Venezuela, originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1990. At 32 years old, he has caught at the major league level now for seven seasons. He first came to the majors in 1997 with the Dodgers and has also caught for the Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Atlanta Braves. The last two seasons with the Braves he was Greg Maddux’s personal catcher.

Little did anybody know that Mauer would get injured on the second night of the season and Henry would now be the everyday catcher. He came into the season as a .219 career hitter but has been hitting like Johnny Bench. His play behind the plate and timely hits have helped the Twins get off to a consistent start. Blanco is currently hitting an even .300 with 3 homeruns and 10 RBIs.

The third member of this group is switch-hitting veteran Jose Offerman. Matthew LeCroy was the Twins designated hitter coming out of Spring Training but pulled a right rib cage muscle swinging the bat the same night that Torii Hunter got hurt. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire inserted Offerman into the lineup the next night and he has been hitting ever since. Offerman, like Blanco, originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988. He was born in the Dominican Republic and now makes his home in California. He first joined the Dodgers at the major league level in 1990. He was the everyday shortstop for the Dodgers for about four seasons before being traded to the Kansas City Royals after the 1995 season. He has also played for the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners.

After the 2002 season Jose was invited to spring training with the Montreal Expos. They released him on March 28, at the end of spring training, so it was hard for him to find another club to play for. He decided he didn’t want to give up on his baseball career and played in the Independent Atlantic League for Bridgeport. He hit .295 last summer.

The Twins were notified by one of their scouts during winter ball in the Dominican that Jose was swinging the bat well and he was signed by the Twins in February. He was invited to Spring Training as a non-roster player. His ability to play all four infield positions and the outfield helped him make the major league roster once the season started. His role was to relieve players that needed some time off but he is in the line-up almost every day now. His contribution has been his ability to get on base and drive in some big runs already early in the season. Offerman is currently hitting .283 with 2 homeruns, 7 doubles and 5 RBIs.

Until Hunter, LeCroy and Mauer return to the lineup, it’s nice to know that these above players are doing their jobs to hopefully allow the Twins to again win the Central Division.

Thank you for reading my column. Remember to follow the Twins throughout the season and please come back to visit my site.

Life is sometimes full of surprises. Enjoy each day as if it were your last.

You are hereby "Circled."
Your baseball friend,
Bert Blyleven