First Chuck: 3:07 PM (new anthem each week!)
The Tube: Twins.TV
The Dial: Treasure Island Baseball Network
Spies ‘R Us: Crashing The Pearly Gates
A few weeks ago, the Twins TV broadcast commented on how manager Derek Shelton trotted the same lineup out to the umpires for five consecutive contests. In today’s matchup/platoon-heavy baseball environment, similar batting orders day after day is exceedingly rare (and—let’s be honest—Shelty’s stubbornness was likely generated at very least by a run of right-handed starters).
This got me thinking of how many unique lineups the Twins have used over the years. Though too much work at this point in a long
season to go year-by-year, I looked at 10-year increments going back to the 1960s to see how many different batting orders were utilized (as well as some data on how many players were used out of the first four lineup slots).
The results…
1966
- 101 unique lineups
- Three leadoff batters—9 two-holes—5 three-spots—6 cleanups
1976
- 106 unique lineups
- Eleven leadoff batters—8 two-holes—5 three-spots—7 cleanups
1986
- 133 unique lineups
- Six leadoff batters—13 two-holes—6 three-spots—3 cleanups
1996
- 120 unique lineups
- Three leadoff batters—10 two-holes—4 three-spots—7 cleanups
2006
- 97 unique lineups
- Seven leadoff batters—8 two-holes—4 three-spots—6 cleanups
2016
- 148 unique lineups
- Eight leadoff batters—9 two-holes—8 three-spots—6 cleanups
2026
- 135 unique lineups
- Six leadoff batters—8 two-holes—9 three-spots—9 cleanups
Honestly, I thought I would find a more linear upward progression of unique lineups as the years went on—but that wasn’t necessarily true. Starting in about the 1980s, it seems, lineup modulation has been as much about player talent as matchups. In 1996 and 2006 (especially), the Twins had a solid starting nine—so not much reason to hit puree on the daily lineup blender. Whereas in rougher years like ‘86 & ‘16, it makes sense that more combinations were attempted to unlock production.
Hey—we may have found an area of baseball that hasn’t been completely taken over by analytics (shhh…don’t tell Jeremy Zoll!). Let’s hope whatever nine visitors take the field at the Big A this late-afternoon are the right ones to nab a victory.
Click here for Lineups!
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