Minnesota Twins Daily Morning Dip: A White Christmas
Minnesota Twins Daily Dip, December 23rd, 2017
Welcome to the December 23rd edition of the Daily Dip, your daily piece of news and notes here on Puckett’s Pond, offseason edition. You’ll find the most recent news of the Minnesota Twins organization, stories from around the game, and links to any information you may want to know about the Minnesota Twins or baseball as we work our way through the hot stove season!
Minnesota Twins Organizational Scores
Australian Baseball League Update
The ABL had their All-Star game Thursday and takes this weekend off for the holiday.
Dominican Winter League Update
The DWL took time off for the holidays, starting Friday night.
Venezuelan Winter League Update
None of the Twins prospects in Venezuela played on Friday.
Minnesota Twins news and notes
Twins give back during holidays
The Twins and their players are focusing on charity this holiday season from the front office to the minor leagues.
Whitefield named ABL MVP
While he was oddly snubbed from the All-Star game, Aaron Whitefield was recognized during the Australian Baseball League’s festivities as he received the Helms Award, recognizing the MVP from the previous season. The Twins prospect is originally from Australia, and played last season with Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League.
More from Puckett's Pond
- Minnesota Twins: Does the MLB or the Twins have a Spending Problem?
- Minnesota Twins: 2 Possible Free Agent Reunions for 2023
- Minnesota Twins: Holiday Wish List for the rest of the Offseason
- Minnesota Twins: After signing with the Mets, Correa spurns Twins again
- Minnesota Twins: You Spin Me Right Round, Right Round
Notes from around baseball
- McCullers helped unite owner with dog
- Bryants dominated Harpers on game night in Vegas
- Bird and his cat sport matching holiday sweaters
- Looking ahead to next year’s FA class
- Animated book tells the story of 2017 season
- Costas pays tribute to Enberg
- Travis reflects on Little League
- Phillies manager lauds Santana
- Yankees 3B coach Nevin excited to work with new manager Boone
- Chacin excited for time in Milwaukee
- “Bradley Claus picks out Dbacks gifts
- How to add baseball into the holiday
- Volquez’s no-hitter time for remembrance
One Last Thing
The headlines were exactly what I’ve put for this article. The Minnesota Twins made a signing for what they hoped would add power to the middle of the lineup on this day in 2005, signing outfielder and designated hitter Rondell White.
White was a former first-round draft pick who had enjoyed a very productive career, albeit oft injured, with six previous teams. In 2005 with Detroit Tigers, he had put up a .313/.348/.489 line with a dozen home runs in just 97 games, so the Twins were hoping that even in limited time, he could be a boost offensively.
Instead, the team got .229/.266/.354 line over 2 seasons, just 137 games, and only 11 home runs while White’s lack of patience became infamous (a 3.6% walk rate).
This is probably a good warning to consider with some of the aging veterans the Twins consider along the lines of a Mike Napoli or Jose Bautista as while those two have never had major personality stuff, White had been known for his over the years, and when the struggles came, he became a rough teammate to have in the locker room on a team with a young core, something the Twins have going on currently.