Fun facts about players on the 2021 Minnesota Twins
Are you ready for baseball? A full 162-game scheduled season? Well, the 2021 season is almost upon us and with that will come the inundation of statistics — batting average, home runs, ERA, etc.
Since you’ll be getting enough baseball stats about the Minnesota Twins to fill any void you might have, we thought we’d take a look at the lighter side of things.
We scoured through the Twins media guide and came up with some different and interesting facts about a number of players (note: we have no repeat facts from our three previous editions of fun facts: 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017). While your friends are dishing out Kenta Maeda’s Cy Young worthy numbers from last year, you can enlighten them on which player was once an accounting clerk, whose dog named after Hall of Famer Yogi Berra and who is his high school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball.
Read on, enjoy and be prepared to dazzle your buddies with your inside knowledge of Twins players.
Andrew Albers: Pitched 6 2/3 innings for Team Canada in the gold-medal game at the 2011 Pan-Am Games, earning the win over the U.S.
Shaun Anderson: Items on his bucket list include skydiving, snowboarding down a black diamond slope and completing an Ironman Triathlon.
Luis Arraez: Holds Minnesota’s best batting average in a single month when he hit .571 in September 2020, breaking the mark set by Sal Butera in August 1980 (.524).
Jordan Balazovic: Grandfather Joe Balazovic played two seasons in the Cleveland system, including making his professional debut in 1957 with the Fargo-Moorhead Twins.
Charlie Barnes: Graduated from Clemson in three years.
Jose Berrios: Favorite player growing up was Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez.
Travis Blankenhorn: Married his longtime girlfriend, Maci, in December 2020.
Keon Broxton: Was a competitive skateboarder growing up in Lakeland, Fla., and was sponsored by a local skate shop that gave him discounted boards and gear.
Byron Buxton: Uses walk-up song “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison.
Jake Cave: Big fan of rapper Eminem, claiming to know the lyrics to every song.
Gilbert Celestino: Spent the past offseason vacationing and visiting Playa del Carmen, Chichen Itza on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Cozumel and Tulum.
Alex Colome: Nickname is “El Caballo,” meaning The Horse.
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Nelson Cruz: Selected by peers as the player they “most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.”
Randy Dobnak: Known for his time as an Uber/Lyft driver but also worked as a consultant for Jordan Tax & Accounting Services in Bethel Park, Pa. (2017), an accounting clerk at Accountant and Associates (in Pennsylvania, 2017), pizza delivery for Italian Village Pizza in South Park, Pa., (2012-13) and supermarket stocker at Foodland in Pittsburgh (2010-12).
Josh Donaldson: Is an avid basketball card collector.
Tyler Duffey: Enjoys playing video games in spare time, particularly Call of Duty and Battlefield.
Mitch Garver: Fan of local Minneapolis Hip-Hop artists Atmosphere.
Ian Gibaut: His father, Russel, is a British expat and the two have made trips to watch the national team in the Rugby World Cup in both Australia and Paris.
Ian Hamilton: In 2019, paired up with teammate Ryan Burr to recreate the infamous 1804 duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in full period costume.
J.A. Happ: Left St. Bede High School in Chicago’s as the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball.
Ryan Jeffers: Has a labradoodle named Yogi, after Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra.
Alex Kirilloff: Became first player in baseball history to record a postseason hit before a regular-season hit.
Derek Law: Loves baseball history with a particular interest in the Negro Leagues. He’s been collecting baseball figurines since he was a kid; his most prized are Hall of Famers Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige.
Kenta Maeda: Nickname is “Maeken,” a merger of his first and last names. When he first came up playing in Japan there were five Kentas on his team and he needed to distinguish himself. “Maeken” is also the name of a famous Japanese comedian.
Hansel Robles: Nickname is Caballo Blanco (white horse).
Brent Rooker: Named a 2013 Tennessee Mr. Football finalist after setting 18 school records.
Matt Shoemaker: A Detroit Lions fan.
Andrelton Simmons: Speaks five languages – English, Spanish, Dutch, Papiamento and is “conversational” in French.
Devin Smeltzer: Is an avid fisherman in his spare time, particularly during the offseason in Ft. Myers, Fla.
