And the three decks I purchased, which I found at a thrift store, included a few memorable and not so memorable Twins:
I was surprised to see Willie Banks (Scott Stahoviak and Mike Trombley, too) and it brought back memories of when the Twins thought the world of Banks. He was drafted 3rd overall by the Twins in the 1987 amateur draft and finally wound up with the club in 1991. As so often happens with top prospects, Banks didn’t amount to much with the Twins. He had a 16-17 record with the team over three seasons and finally was traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Dave Stevens and catcher Matt Walbeck in 1993.
From there, Banks bounced around with several teams until 2002. His career numbers: 33-39 with a 4.75 ERA.
Extra innings…
-The Twins lost badly to the Kansas City Royals on Friday and it’s beginning to feel as though the wheels of the bus are getting a little wobbly. Ervin Santana was not sharp, and he didn’t help his own cause with a throwing error that contributed to a five-run fourth inning. To make matters worse, though, the Twins could muster only three hits and lost 8-1.
-The good news is that Jose Berrios gets the ball for Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, followed by newcomer Felix Jorge for the Game 2 start. Jorge has been called up from Double-A Chattanooga where he was 8-1 with a 3.26 ERA, according to MLB.com.