Hello, SBG fans, and welcome to the top 10 Twins moments of the year. This list is a compilation of the most memorable moments of 2005. Not all of the moments are good, in fact, a lot of the moments are not so good. After all, this was a season of disappointment.
I compiled this list from memory, and without research (except to fill in particulars). 2005 wasn't a year of memorable moments on the diamond. Instead of a thrilling run to a fourth division title, the Twins fell behind early and faded. The year will likely be remembered for the bad things that happened much more so than the good. The list may be incomplete, but it's what I remembered when I thought back on the year. Thus it is, in that sense, truly the most memorable moments. And so, without further ado, I bring you the list.
10. Twins send Luis Rivas to the minors. Before the season, Manager Ron Gardenhire said that Luis Rivas would prove him right. Meaning, I assume, that he thought Rivas would have a breakout year. Instead, Rivas regressed further and on July 16th, the Twins all but officially ended the Oh-for-Threevas era, sending him to the minors until September. Aaron Gleeman didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Like so many other things, Gardy, you were wrong.
9. Hunter calls out Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in the paper for not playing through injuries. During spring training, Torii Hunter proclaimed that if people weren't happy in the clubhouse, he would fight them. That prompted me to write one of my most well-read posts of the year regarding team chemistry. Then, Hunter calls out the two brightest young stars publicly for not playing through injuries (along with Gardenhire and Rick Stelmazek), starting a series of verbal outbursts by the one-time all star.
8. Torii Hunter punches Nick Punto. Hunter, out for the season with an ankle injury, comes back to visit the team late in the year. An altercation between Hunter and Morneau ensues and Hunter attempts to hit Morneau but misses and lands a punch on Nick Punto. Considering that he swung low enough to hit Punto, it's quite likely that Hunter wasn't aiming for Morneau's head.
7. Francisco Liriano makes his major league debut. Hailed as the greatest prospect in baseball, the hard throwing left hander makes his major league debut. His results were not as impressive as fellow rookie Scott Baker, but it was abundantly clear that Liriano has tremendous stuff and a bright future.
6. Kyle Lohse takes bat to Gardenhire's office door. Irritated that he was taken out of a game after only a couple of innings (of bad pitching), Lohse does what a lot of us dreamed of doing -- he smashes in the manager's door. The incident is reported in the paper and leads to an exchange of comments by the two principals that lead everyone to wonder what either of them was thinking. The amazing thing is that Lohse is still Twins property.
5. Justin Morneau beaned. In the third game of the season, Justin Morneau was beaned in the head by Ron Villone. Morneau went on the DL and missed 13 games. He came back on April 22 and starting to pound the ball like nobody's business. On May 8th, he was hitting .429/.448/.841/1.289. Morneau's post beaning performance showed that he had a hard head, a characteristic that likely prompted Hunter's attempted punch and might also explain why Hunter may have aimed lower. Morneau cooled slightly after May 8th, in case you forgot.
4. Johan Santana signs 4 year, $40 million contract. The best player on the team signed the longest contract with the Twins since Hunter's 4 year, $32 million contract. Unlike Hunter, Santana was a bargain, as he was robbed of his second consecutive Cy Young Award.
3. Freddy Gardia allows one hit against the Twins. In a masterful performance, the White Sox' Garcia held the Twins hitless until the bottom of the eighth. Then Jacque Jones made the play of the year. Jones, now with the Cubs, broke up the no-hitter with a home run and the Twins won 1-0. Who was pitching for the Twins? The $40 million man, of course. It was the second time in three starts that the Twins supplied him with one run and he won. Easily the game of the year.
2. Hennepin County approves ball park plan for the Twins. The plan called for an outdoor park in downtown Minneapolis and a .25% sales tax county wide. No state money was needed for the plan. But, the legislature needed to approve the plan. No vote was taken. Shane Nackerud was apoplectic. In other news, the governor was playing hockey last night.
1. Torii Hunter breaks his ankle and is lost for the season.
For all my complaining about Hunter, I believe that he still is a very good player and a joy to watch play centerfield. On July 29, the Twins centerfielder broke his ankle chasing a fly ball off the bat of David Ortiz. And Twins Nation came to the full realization that 2005 was a lost season.
There you have it. The top ten most memorable moments (in my opinion) for the Twins in 2005.
Have we already forgotten about Boo-oone?
Was that memorable? The answer: I did forget about him.
Against the KC Royals: 45 Hits, 0 Runs (27 LOB). Denny Hocking gets the 9th-inning walk-off hit for the KCR.
Silva's 79 pitch effort was mentioned to me as well. Yeah, that KC game was disgusting.
Obviously for something to be memorable requires that you have a memory of it. For me, I watched the Freddy v. Johan game and holy cow. That was some good baseball. Definitely tops for me. Let's hope the 2006 memories are a little better though.