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Welcome, Shane Kennedy
The Twins have signed Southern Illinois Miners' infielder, Shane Kennedy. Shane is the Frontier League's Rookie of the Year and Batting Champion hitting .363 this year. "He also led the team with 24 doubles while amassing 68 runs scored and 99 hits with 47 RBIs and 34 stolen bases in 39 attempts in only 76 games played. He finished second in the circuit in steals as well, becoming just the third Miner ever to steal 30 or more bases in a single campaign," according to the Miners' Media Services. Shane spent Spring Training with the Cubs in 2015 before being released.
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Byung Ho Park in the WBC?
Park is back in Korea and talks about his MLB experiences and the differences between KBO and MLB pitching. He also talks about playing in the WBC but says it will be up to the Twins (so no, I'm guessing). He expects to start some light batting practice in November. I always heard he had "wrist surgery" but Yonhap News Agency reports it's his bird flipping finger, necessary for driving on 35W and I-94 in the Twin Cities.
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Was Releasing Big Papi Terry Ryan's Biggest Mistake?
Jesse Spector of the Sporting News picks at the scab by bringing up the specter of the Twins releasing David Ortiz. Spector points out that the Twins were "a team trying to contend on a shoestring," and it made sense to prioritize to players with better track records. Yeah sure, but, Big Papi!
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The History of the Met
A nice article by Linda A. Cameron in Minnpost about the rise and fall of Metropolitan Stadium. The Met was actually built for the Millers and was completed in 1956 for $8.5M at no cost to taxpayers. If you've recently driven near the Mall of America (former location of the Met in case some of you aren't familiar with the Twin Cities), it's hard to imagine that was ever farmland.
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Is There a Finnish Nick Punto?
An article in the New York Times about pesäpallo, the "national sport of Finland." There's a batter, nine defensive players including a pitcher and four bases, after that it's a lot different than baseball. The pitcher stands next to the batter and throws the ball straight up in the air. A ball hit for what would be a home run in baseball is a foul ball in pesäpallo. The bases are laid out in a zig-zag pattern. But from watching the included video, there is lots and lots of head-first diving. Get on it, Twins international scouts! Niklas Puunto is waiting to be signed!