The Minnesota Twins appear to have a revolving door that their middle infielders continue to step into, only to exit on another team’s roster.
When Minnesota opens the 2011 season it will be five consecutive years with a different tandem starting at second and short.
The Twins traded J.J. Hardy to Baltimore, and appear unlikely to re-sign free agent, Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson.
Currently the leading candidates to replace Hudson and Hardy are Alexi Casilla and Japanese import, 26 year-old Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
Casilla and Nishioka can both play either position, although some reports suggest Nishioka would be better suited as a second baseman in North America.
At this point the Abbott and Costello routine can kick in with the question, “What’s the guy’s name on second base?”
I looked over the 50-year history of the Minnesota Twins and compiled the following list of middle infield duos who have fielded ground balls, and turned double plays.
Included are only those duos that started next to each other for at least two consecutive years. Surprisingly there are only nine combinations that qualify in the history of the Minnesota Twins.