Nice article on Span. I am very glad to see anyone but Carlos Gomez at the top of the Twins lineup. They need to send him down to the minors.

It is fun to watch a guy on a hot-streak, especially a rookie just coming onto the scene. However it is hard to believe he can get his current pace. I think he has had some good luck, after all it is pretty hard to triple one's way to a .450 slugging percentage over the course of a season. I am sure Span did not like hitting .267 in the minors in 2007, but he is only a .287 lifetime hitter in the minors. In 2007 he did have career highs in other stats like exta-base hits, RsBI, second best walks... Overall his 2007 does not seem like such an aberration. Span's yearly minor league batting average for balls in play (BABIP) is 2005 .348 (BA .307); 2006 .320 (BA .285); 2007 .306 (BA .267); 2008 BABIP .420(!) (BA .340) and his 2008 MLB BABIP .348 (BA .316). Aside from the fluctuations in "luck" as shown in the BABIP, Span's 2008 walk rate has dramatically increased. His walk rates: MLB 2008 12.5%; AAA 2008 14.5%; AAA 2007 7.2%; AA 2006 6.7%; A/AA 2005 8.4%.

He may not continue on his current tear, but if he can keep his gains in his walk rate, it will have an impact on how he hits, and on how he, unlike the current Gomez, can be a useful baseball player.

good story no matter what his first name means. nobody likes kid makes good better than me, always a good story line.
if the twins had a crystal ball and could have forseen the potential, i wonder how the trade with either the rays or mets would really have turned out. who need young when you have span. who needs go go with this quality span available. next the crowded outfield will be interesting to watch.

Whatever the definition of his name he looks a little creepy in his old Red Wings picture?
I love baseball but the constant jockeying for first place night after night although entertaining to most makes me nutty. There are 5 weeks if not more left. Spicer any advice on how a girl can manage "Mad Balls" i.e. mood swings of her boyfriend night to night?

Captain- A salute to your fine stats, suggesting- perhaps appropriatley- that I was somewhat shortsighted in not mentioning Span's other stat lines from '07. But still, that fact that he hit more than 70-points higher in AAA this year than last, and is now hitting almost 50-points higher in the Bigs than '07's .267 proves that there had to be something mental going on there. For me, should, say, Liriano not have been brought up in time, we may have seen some regression there as well.

Sugar Pop- If memory serves, you Commented on the previous Post as well, which signifies that you probably have some personal reason to watch, balls and strikes aside. My advise: enjoy the ride, and get a TV in a distant room come NFL time. Either that, or get your dude to watch some of your shows as well, just to even the scales.

great stats on the kid.....btw, he was named after me, kuney!

great stats on the kid.....btw, he was named after me, kuney!

Judd, I am just not sure I see any evidence that shows some sort of mental block with Span which would then have had a causal effect on his 2007 BA. I mean the difference between his lifetime minor league average (to include his awesome 2008) and his .267 in 2007 is about 10 hits over the course of a year. Do you really think that 10 fewer hits were more likely caused by a mental issue or just maybe, the simpler explanation that he was just a little bit less lucky in terms of hitting "balls where they ain't" - Particularly given the correlation between his BABIP and his BA, and what his other 2007 stats show?

Also, I think you may, even if unintentional, being selling short his work ethic or strive to improve by suggesting a mental block. After all, in 2007 he knew he was lodged behind Torii Hunter in center, he was only 23, and had just been promoted to AAA.

Just more proof that speed kills, both on the basepaths and in the outfield. It was just a matter of time until Gardy got the lineep fine-tuned, and here we are in 1st with 44 games to go!

While watching Span sprint from home to first base last night trying to get an infield hit, I realized just how athletic this kid is.

I think what we are seeing now from him is only a glimpse of what is to come as he keeps adjusting to the majors.

Even though I like Gomez's intensity he clearly is not or will never be the player Span is. I see gold gloves and all-star games in that kids future.

As usual Mr. Spicer I enjoy your witty articles and tidbits to break up what is a hectic day for Smart Money. Toodles.

...as I arrive back from Vegas...I have one thought on this guy...ESPN says this guy should ALREADY be in the HALL of FAME on their Webgems...the guy has the look of great ballplayer...Tori who?...

enough said.

Go Twinks!!

I love Denard! Save big runs at Denard's...Every box score I read, I am shocked - every sportscenter play I see, I am amazed - can he have a cabinet post?

Captain- You're no doubt correct in that, sure, a number of hits could be quantified to turn an a mediocre average in a mentionable one. From Bull Durham:

"Know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It's 25 hits. 25 hits in 500 at bats is 50 points, okay? There's 6 months in a season, that's about 25 weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week - just one - a gorp... you get a groundball, you get a groundball with eyes... you get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week... and you're in Yankee Stadium."
-- Crash Davis

Twins Fan- I'm not sure if that fine-tuning will ever completely be achieved this year. But such are the teams that achieve ultimate success: finding someone else to step in, step up, perform.

Malone- Your inquiry and suggestion will be strongly considered by the Board ...

Good article Judd though i wish you mentioned some particulars of Spans contract with the Twins as in how long we get to keep him and his talents in the forseeable future. What a pleasure it is to see such talent coupled with his desire and motivation to be the best he can be.

Nice article. You captured the story behind the story. That's one article you should keep as an exhibit of your talent.

Any relation to Warren?

i would like to thank the twin organization for selecting one of the best players of its time. denard not only a great player but he is also a wonderful individual on and off the field. what he brings to the team is unmeasurable.