So I just heard that the Twins retired Brad Radke's number before the game on Saturday. Isn't this a bit of a stretch? Don't get me wrong, Radke was a solid pitcher, but isn't retiring numbers supposed to be reserved for the best player in your franchise? Thoughts?

If a guy spends his whole career with one team, is successful, means a lot to the community, and is a quality person, I don't see why not. It's their franchise.

 

 

I don't know if they retired it, but they put him in the Twins HOF. Gary Gaetti is in it but doesn't have his number retired.

I don't know if they retired it, but they put him in the Twins HOF. Gary Gaetti is in it but doesn't have his number retired.

As a pitcher, Brad Radke was a whole lotta average. His season average was 13-13, 4.22 ERA, 221 IP, 132 SO, 40 BB.

Gary Gaetti is in it but doesn't have his number retired.

I would argue Gaetti is more deserving than Radke.

So, Carlos Gomez had to change numbers then?

If a guy spends his whole career with one team, is successful, means a lot to the community, and is a quality person, I don't see why not. It's their franchise.

He was an average pitcher, but I believe he was a fan favorite in Minnesota. He was like their Buehrle, but obviously with less results on the mound.

Edited July 12, 200916 yr by BearSox

That "average" ERA of 4.22 in his career was also good an ERA+ of 112. That's above average.

 

Just saying.

 

 

This is all subjective and it's entirely up to the fanbase. There is probably a pretty good chance we'll retire Buehrle and Konerko's numbers when they're done. Are those guys Hall of Famers? No. They mean a whole lot to us fans though. Fans of other teams don't appreciate them nearly as much as we do.

That "average" ERA of 4.22 in his career was also good an ERA+ of 112. That's above average.

 

Just saying.

 

An ERA+ of 112 is not that great...

 

You're 12% better than league average. Woohoo!

 

Not hall of fame worthy.

This is all subjective and it's entirely up to the fanbase. There is probably a pretty good chance we'll retire Buehrle and Konerko's numbers when they're done. Are those guys Hall of Famers? No. They mean a whole lot to us fans though. Fans of other teams don't appreciate them nearly as much as we do.

 

Buehrle and Konerko have been a lot more valuable than Brad Radke though...

 

Much more valuable.

 

Konerko may end up hitting 350 homers in a Sox uniform. That would put him at #2 all-time on our home run list behind Frank. Why shouldn't his number be retired if we're going to retire Harold Baines' number?

 

Besides, the man's been a White Sox for 95% of this ML career and he was one of the main reasons why the 05 team got where it did. There's a lot of good reasons to put Konerko in a White Sox hall of fame.

 

Same goes for Mark. He could end up with 175-200 wins as a White Sox by the end of his stint here all while putting up a ERA+ that's better than 112. That's impressive.

An ERA+ of 112 is not that great...

 

You're 12% better than league average. Woohoo!

 

Not hall of fame worthy.

You don't need to be Hall of Fame-worthy to have your number tired. Just a good player that was important to the franchise and a fan favorite. I don't really understand why fans of other teams make a big deal out of this all the time.

You don't need to be Hall of Fame-worthy to have your number tired. Just a good player that was important to the franchise and a fan favorite. I don't really understand why fans of other teams make a big deal out of this all the time.

 

I just got the lowdown from a Twins fan.

 

He's not getting his number retired.

 

They induct some crappy Twins player into their Hall of Fame every year.

 

And I did not mean Cooperstown worthy, I meant Twins Hall of Fame worthy, lol.

I just got the lowdown from a Twins fan.

 

He's not getting his number retired.

 

They induct some crappy Twins player into their Hall of Fame every year.

 

And I did not mean Cooperstown worthy, I meant Twins Hall of Fame worthy, lol.

Yeah that would be different then.

Well, Radke (148) is 4th on the all time Franchise Wins list (Walter Johnson 417, Jim Kaat 190 , Bert Blyleven 149). He was very good on a lot of crappy mid-to-late 90's teams (20 wins in 1997, the team had 68) and 5th in innings pitched and 5th in strikeouts. The guy was a fan favorite, and his last season (2006) when he was pitching every 5th day with a torn labrum will go down in legend with Twins fans.

He also had a pretty awesome changeup, but was prone to giving up the gopher ball (

)

Is he Twins HoF worthy? yes. But these teams HoF's are mostly a marketing tool to get fans in the seats.

Man, the Twins hall of fame is easier to get into then Arizona State.

Man, the Twins hall of fame is easier to get into then Arizona State.

An ERA+ of 112 is not that great...

 

You're 12% better than league average. Woohoo!

 

Not hall of fame worthy.

 

Twins Hall of Fame dude. They don't exactly have a storied franchise like the Yankees.

 

And 12% better than the entire league for a total of 12 seasons and 377 starts is pretty f***ing impressive. And, considering all of them were with the Twins, it has to make him a bit more deserving to be in the Twins Hall of Fame.

 

 

(p.s. Nolan Ryan's career ERA+ is 111.)

I had no idea that people actually liked Paul Konerko.

 

What's the appeal?

I had no idea that people actually liked Paul Konerko.

 

What's the appeal?

 

rosy red cheeks

No offense, but I don't give a flying f*** about who the Twins induct into their little personal HOF. Why would anybody?

Well, Radke (148) is 4th on the all time Franchise Wins list (Walter Johnson 417, Jim Kaat 190 , Bert Blyleven 149). He was very good on a lot of crappy mid-to-late 90's teams (20 wins in 1997, the team had 68) and 5th in innings pitched and 5th in strikeouts. The guy was a fan favorite, and his last season (2006) when he was pitching every 5th day with a torn labrum will go down in legend with Twins fans.

He also had a pretty awesome changeup, but was prone to giving up the gopher ball (

)

Is he Twins HoF worthy? yes. But these teams HoF's are mostly a marketing tool to get fans in the seats.

 

No offense, but to link Walter Johnson to the Twins franchise is a ridiculous stretch. I know they moved from Washington, but the Twins franchise is an entirely different entity than their predecessor Senators.

i was just going off Baseball References list. The Twins dont really honor the Senators, except for the player that made the transition (Killibrew, Kaat, etc) and they have a page in the back of the media guide that has the all time franchise leaders.

Compliling list that includes players from Washington and Minnesota gets confusion using b-r because their list is not seprated out.