Metrodome Memories

I recently penned column taking a look at Harmon Killebrew’s 1967 season over at the 1967 AL Pennant Race site.  Man this guy was good.

Wow.  When I read this, I was stunned.  Justin Morneau walked away with the American League MVP and like Ryan Howard in the National League, Morneau probabaly wasn’t even the most valuable player on his own team.  Morneau drew 15 first place votes to Derek Jeter’s 12 and the only player to get a first place vote was Johan Santana.  Jermaine Dye, who I thought would fair better, only received one second place vote.  Joe Mauer came in sixth place and Santana came in seventh.

I love checking out the bottom of the voting.  Some of the tenth place votes can be pretty funny.  A.J. Pierzynski?

No surprise here.  Johan Santana won his second Cy Young in the past three years and he did it in dominating fashion.  He walked away with all 28 first place votes.  Johan led the league in wins (19) and strikeouts (245).  I’m also expecting Johan to finish somewhere in the top five for the MVP.

No big surprise here.  Joe Mauer was the first American League catcher to win the batting title and Justin Morneau broke out in a big way with 34 homeruns and 130 RBIs.  The last Twin to win a silver slugger was Chuck Knoblauch in 1997.

When Johan Santana didn’t win the Cy Young award last year, it was a shame.  This year he should be a unanimous choice but a week ahead of the voting, Santana was awarded the Players Choice award as the American League’s best pitcher.  Santana also won the award in 2004, the year he won his first Cy Young.

Talk about a blow, and we’re only one week away from the end of the 2006 World Series.  Francisco Liriano will be pretty much done for 2007 because of that elbow of his.  The surgery should go down on Monday and the standard recovery time is one year.

With Brad Radke’s retirement, this leaves a huge hole in the Twins rotation.  Yeah, Garza and Bonser could fill in, but you’re talking about a guy who people were mentioning Cy Young with in the same breath.  Hopefully he’ll be back and better then over for 2008.