The Twins were swept by the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, officially turning a once promising season into a complete disaster. The team, which at one time was 17 games over .500, fell to 82-80 after a 6-2 loss to the Birds.
Despite the ugly finish, the president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli are set to return next season, according to MLB.com.
The MLB.com story did not mention general manager Thad Levine’s status with the club.
Owner representative (an interesting term, by the way) Joe Pohlad expressed his support for Falvey and Falvey did the same for Rocco, according to the MLB.com story.
“I don’t judge employees off of six crummy weeks,” Pohlad told MLB.com. “[Falvey has] got eight years of a résumé, and I talk with Derek daily, so I know what he’s doing. He’s got a player development résumé, he’s got a Major League résumé, and yeah, he’s busting his ass. He’s the right guy.”
“We broke down as the season went on, and that’s hard to say, but it happened,” said manager Rocco Baldelli to the Associated Press, who was assured he’ll return to the job next year. “So now even more work than probably any offseason I’ve ever had in front of me.”
Extra innings…
-Ex-Twin Luis Arraez, who won batting titles with the Twins and Marlins, is on the verge of winning another with the San Diego Padres after he doubled Sunday in an 11-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. Arraez hit .314. Are we still liking this trade, Minnesota?
-Given the collapse of the 2024 team, I decided to look up other unfortunate Septembers and I found one in 1979, the team ending the season with a six-game losing streak.
And one of those was a 4-2 loss in 10 innings to the Chicago White Sox. Twins pitcher Dave Goltz went the distance (!), allowing four runs on 12 hits across all 10 innings with a walk and five strikeouts. He served up two runs in the second inning and two more in the top of the 10th and was not happy about it.
The Minneapolis Star
“Dave Goltz is not an emotional pitcher. Whether he strikes out an opponent or gives up a home run, his facial expression doesn’t change. He keeps his feelings, his jubilation and frustration, inside. But Thursday at Metropolitan Stadium he walked off the mound and about three steps from the Twins’ first base dugout virtually erupted. He hurled his glove to the dugout floor, then ripped his cap off his head and flung it onto the warning track.
“Maybe the latest result caused that outburst. However, he might have wanted to do that since April. Goltz had just finished the 10th inning against Chicago, giving up a two-run homer to Jim Morrison that enabled the White Sox to win 4-2. That decision in his 35th and last 1979 start left him with a 14-13 record. More Important, it might have been the final appearance in a Twins uniform for the 30-year-old right-hander from Rothsay.”
Goltz was about to become a free agent. As for negotiations with the Twins (Calvin Griffith) on a new contract, the two sides were “miles apart,” the Star reported.
“I wish I had enough money to sign him,” Manager Gene Mauch sighed.
The 1979 team also ended the season at 82-80. The six-game losing streak was snapped by the Twins and pitcher Jerry Koosman, who shut out the Brewers 5-0 and won his 20th game on Sept. 30.
Kooz scattered nine hits across nine innings with one walk and three strikeouts.
Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com