The first two picks in this year’s amateur draft were Joshua Hamilton and Joshua Beckett and the sixth was Joshua Girdley. It was the second time in the draft’s 35-year history that the first two picks had the same given name. In 1985, William James (B.J.) Surhoff and William Nuschler (Will) Clark Jr., were chosen first and second, respectively.
LAND OF 10,000 PROMOTIONS
The Minnesota Twins are last in the A.L. Central but they may lead the majors in unusual promotions. The Twins already have instituted “Guaranteed Win Night” for every Tuesday home game. Now they will have a special ceremony June 7 honoring rookie first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz for tying the franchise record for longest surname. Also at the event will be the other 12-letter Twin, Paul Thormodsgard, who pitched for the team from 1977-79. Fans with last names of 12 or more letters who attend will receive a lower level general admission ticket to a future game for $1.00. The 10 longest surnames in Twins history are:
PLAYER YEARS POSITION
Doug Mientkiewicz 1998-present First base
Paul Thormodsgard 1977-79 Pitcher
John Christensen 1988 Outfielder
Scott Klingenbeck 1995-96 Pitcher
Steve Lombardozzi 1985-88 Second base
Stan Perzanowski 1978 Pitcher
Erik Schullstrom 1994-95 Pitcher
Jim Shellenbeck 1977 Pitcher
Jose Valdivielso 1961 Shortstop
Al Worthington 1964-69 Pitcher
%%
A MERRY MONTH
The Red Sox finished a month in May with 20 or more victories for the 38th time when they went 21-8. Boston’s best month was July, 1948, when they it 25-9. The merriest Red Sox months have been:
Month Year Record
July 1948 25-9
August 1950 24-6
August 1949 24-8
August 1995 23-7
May 1978 23-7
August 1942 23-9
July 1939 23-10
July 1910 23-10
August 1996 22-9
September 1977 22-8
%%
WAIT ‘TIL NEXT YEAR
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays are well into their second seasons as major-league expansion teams. The Diamondbacks, behind the pitching of Randy Johnson and the hitting of Matt Williams, Jay Bell and Luis Gonzalez, are 10 games better than .500 and lead the National League West. The Devil Rays are five games worse than .500 and fourth in American League East. Only one expansion team, the Los Angeles Angels, posted a winning record in its second year. And the Colorado Rockies came closest to first place in their second campaign, finishing 6 1/2 games back. Below are the second-year records of the 12 previous expansion teams and how many games back each finished:
TEAM YEAR RECORD GAMES BEHIND
Angels 1962 86-76 10
Rockies 1994 53-64 6 1/2
Expos 1970 73-89 16
Marlins 1994 51-64 23 1/2
Colt .45’s 1963 66-96 33
Royals 1970 65-97 33
Brewers 1970 65-97 33
Padres 1970 63-99 39
Senators 1962 60-101 35 1/2
Blue Jays 1978 59-102 40
Mariners 1978 56-104 35
Mets 1963 51-111 48
%%
PICK ME UP
Alex Rodriguez is batting .400 (28-for-70) with eight homers and 16 RBIs since returning to the Mariners’ lineup May 14. While he was on the disabled list from April 7 to May 13, the Mariners went 15-17; since his return, they have gone 12-6.
DOUBLE PUMP
Damian Miller of the Arizona Diamondbacks became only the eighth major-league catcher to participate in three double plays in a nine-inning game recently. The last catcher to accomplish this feat was Rick Dempsey of the Baltimore Orioles in 1977 and the last NL catcher was Ebba St. Claire of the Boston Braves in 1950.
AROUND THE HORN
Curt Schilling of the Phillies has thrown 278 pitches in his last two starts, both complete games. . . . Barry Larkin of the Reds needs just 86 stolen bases to pass Joe Morgan as the team’s career leader. . . . Since joining the Red Sox in 1998, Pedro Martinez has gone 29-8 with a 2.66 ERA and 368 strikeouts. %%
