STARTING LINEUPVIEWING KIT

Thank YouThank You

Dear Friend,On behalf of all of us affiliated with the Diamond Awards, we are grateful for

our friends, partners, and sponsors who care so much about the health of the

countless lives of individuals who are affected by neurological diseases.

Most of us have been affected by someone

who suffers from one of these horrible

diseases.

Our stories with neurological diseases are

very personal. For me, Deb, it starts with

the diagnosis of my father-in-law, Bob

Allison. Bob was diagnosed with ataxia

in 1989 and with his wife Betty founded

the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center at

the University of Minnesota. Bob left us in

1995, from the complications of ataxia but,

he lives on with us now as we talk about

treatments and cures not just hope.

For me, Jennifer, my story centers on my

father who died from the complications of

Parkinson’s disease in 2003. When he began

showing signs of Parkinson’s disease he

was in his 60s. I feel truly blessed to be a

part of this cause and cannot say enough

great things about the Medical Staff at the

University of Minnesota and the research

they are conducting on a daily basis to come

up with a cure for these debilitating diseases.

We are very fortunate to have world

renowned doctors and researchers working

everyday on finding the keys to the

treatment and cure for these neurological

diseases. Join us in continuing the fight

against these diseases by funding the

research that is so desperately needed.

BE WELL and STAY SAFE!

Debra Allison

2021 Event Co-Chair

Jennifer Crowder

2021 Event Co-Chair

Tips for a SAFE! Event

PRE-GAME PREP

Gather your Grounds Crew and get your space Home Field ready:

11Equipment Check: Batting helmets and catcher’s masks keep players safe. Follow their lead and

encourage masks for any indoor gathering. Whenever

possible, gather outdoors or in well-ventilated areas.

22 Batting Clean Up: Clean well before attendees arrive and have a dedicated restroom. Utilize paper towels instead of a cloth towel in shared restrooms.

33 Concession Stand-ins: Consider catering that is single serve prepared food and avoid buffet style food service.44 Find Your Sweet Spot: Maintain 6ft distance by properly spacing tables, chairs, food areas, etc.

55 Members Only: Limit attendance to include only immediate family per MDH recent guidelines.

66 The Injured List: Ask that all attendees come in good health and do not attend if they are showing symptoms or have had exposure to COVID-19.

Review the playbook MDH recommendations for safe events:www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/safeevents.pdf

HOT DOG

Tune in to FOX Sports North at 7:00pm on December 9th to watch the

2020 Minnesota Twins Diamond Awards and visit bid612.com to bid on the

auction and donate to further the innovative research and patient care for

brain, nerve, and muscle disorders at the University of Minnesota.

Wednesday, December 9

Watch LIVE

STREAM

www.AES.com/ELP/DA20/www.facebook.com/Twins/

www.twitter.com/twinswww.youtube.com/twins

News Talk 830 WCCO Radio

BIDon the Auction

NOON Sunday, Dec. 6th through

8:30pm Tuesday, Dec. 15th

bid612.com

VIEWING Tips

Who was Bob Allison?Baseball star Bob Allison played 17 seasons

with the Washington Senators and the

Minnesota Twins. He slugged 256 home

runs, made three All-Star appearances, and

was recently voted the greatest left fielder

in the first 40 years of the Twins. He retired

from baseball at the end of the 1970 season.

Thirteen years later, Allison began noticing

problems with his coordination. Family

and friends started to notice the stagger

in his walk. Allison was suffering from a

progressive sporadic ataxia known as

Olivo-Ponto cerebellar atrophy (OPCA).

Allison continued to battle this rare

degenerative neurological disease for

years, eventually losing his ability to walk,

talk, write, and feed himself. He died of

complications from ataxia in April of 1995

at the age of 60.

Researcher Progress Muscular Dystrophy: UMN researchers

have engineered antibodies to target

blood vessels in the muscles of mice with

Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, decreasing

damage and improving muscle function.

Multiple Sclerosis: University of

Minnesota researchers (Patterson Group)

are currently working on a new class of

drugs designed to prevent damage to the

nervous system caused by multiple sclerosis.

Ataxia: Dr. Harry Orr with the University

of Minnesota is making strides towards a

gene therapy that could become the first-

ever ataxia treatment.

Parkinson’s: U of MN researchers have

developed innovative improvements to

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) implants for

patients with Parkinson’s disease.

ALS: Using new voice database technology,

the University of Minnesota offers “voice

banking” as a way for patients with ALS to

preserve their voices electronically. Patients

are able to communicate using their natural

voice through an iPad or speech generating

device after symptoms of ALS make

speaking difficult.

HistoryHistory

ATAXIA and

DISEASES

NEUROLOGICAL

2020 STATISTICS150,000 Number of Americans

currently suffering from some form of ataxia

50% Percent of Ataxias are hereditary

$8 Million

Raised by BAARC (Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center)

LineupLineupWednesday, December 9 at 7pm Central Time

DIAMOND AWARDS PROGRAMwith Hosts Marney Gellner and Dick Bremer

Awards Overview Baseball Writers’ Association of America La Velle E. Neal, III, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Awards Presentation Kirby Puckett Alumni Community Service Award: LaTroy Hawkins

Terry Ryan Play Ball! Minnesota Award: Charles “Corky” Reynolds

Dick Siebert Award – Upper Midwest Player of the Year: Brad Hand

Joseph W. Haynes Award – Twins Pitcher of the Year: Kenta Maeda

Bill Boni Award – Twins Most Outstanding Rookie: Randy Dobnak

Charles O. Johnson Award – Most Improved Twin: Matt Wisler

Mike Augustin Media Good Guy Award: Taylor Rogers

Special Guest Rocco Baldelli Minnesota Twins Manager

Tribute to Sid Hartman

Awards Presentation Carl R. Pohlad Award for Outstanding Community Service and

Jim Kaat Award – Twins Defensive Player of the Year: Byron Buxton

Calvin R. Griffith Award – Most Valuable Twin and

Bob Allison Award – Twins Leadership: Nelson Cruz

Mission Moment Kasner Family

Special Guest Derek Falvey President of Baseball Operations for the Twins

PROGRAM

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By Minnesota Twins

Former Twins pitcher LaTroy Hawkins is a 21-year major league veteran, who pitched nine seasons with the Twins. LaTroy has been an outspoken advocate for racial and social injustice, helping lead the conversation about systemic racism in professional sports and in America. He is an active member of the Still Got Game Foundation, a nonprofit where former professional athletes and like-minded charitable individuals exchange ideas, provide resources, volunteer, and develop and promote programming that supports social change.

LaTroy and his wife, Anita, are supporters of the Dallas-based nonprofit Women Called Moses, which provides support to battered women and their children and are longtime supporters of the Jackie Robinson Foundation and St. Jude Research Hospital.

As a player, Hawkins won the Sherry Robertson Award as Minor League Player of the Year in 1993 and 1994, and the Charles O. Johnson Award for Most Improved Twin in 2002.

Kirby Puckett Alumni Community Service Award

LaTroy Hawkins

AWARD WINNERS

For more than 20 years, Charles Reynolds has been the official scorer and public address announcer for the Crookston High School baseball team.

Reynolds, who has also played the role of coach and umpire, was instrumental in starting the Crookston Baseball Association and currently serves as secretary.

Terry Ryan Play Ball! Minnesota Award

Charles “Corky” Reynolds

AWARD WINNERS

By Phil Miller, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Kenta Maeda hit his one and only major-league home run in his very first MLB game. So he knows how to make a strong first impression.

Still, how could the Twins expect Maeda to adapt so quickly to his new home in Minnesota, he turned in one of the greatest pitching seasons since Johan Santana was here? Who would have foreseen the Japanese righthander becoming a unanimous winner of the Joseph W. Haynes Award as Twins Pitcher of the Year, and drawing Cy Young votes as best in the American League?

The season began with Maeda retiring 12 of the first 14 hitters he faced. His second start lasted six innings and included only one hit, an infield grounder. And in mid-August, Maeda didn’t allow the Brewers a hit in the first eight innings, and at one point struck out a Twins-record eight consecutive hitters.

“He just doesn’t miss. It’s been pretty incredible,” admired Twins reliever Tyler Duffey. “He throws five or six pitches, and everything is just darting left and right.”

Maeda made 11 regular-season starts—eight of them defined as “quality starts,” the highest percentage since Santana’s first Cy Young season —and one more in the postseason, and not once did he allow more baserunners than innings pitched. His WHIP (walks/hits per inning) of 0.750 not only led the majors, it marked the lowest figure in franchise history. His 2.70 ERA was the second-lowest by a Twins starter in the past 32 seasons, bettered only by, yes, Johan Santana; his 10.80 strikeouts per nine innings broke Santana’s franchise record.

Basically, the only thing Maeda didn’t accomplish in his first season in Minnesota was hitting another home run—but only because he never got to bat, right?

“I always tried to hit home runs” with the Dodgers, Maeda said. “Maybe someday I’ll get lucky again.”

Joseph W. Haynes Award – Twins Pitcher of the Year

Kenta Maeda

By La Velle E. Neal, III, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Brad Hand is currently a free agent, but that’s not expected to last long. A three-time All-Star, Hand is considered one of the best closers in the game, and his services will be coveted by a number of winning teams.

Hand led the majors with 16 saves while posting a 2.05 ERA. In addition, his ERA and 7.25 strikeout to walk ratio were the best of his career. He’s just 30 years old, and should be an impact reliever for a few more years.

But this year, he’s the winner of the Dick Siebert Upper Midwest Player of the Year Award. Born in Minneapolis and a product of Chaska High, Hand becomes the second reliever in as many years to win the award, following Crosby’s Nick Anderson.

Well then, you are wondering, why is Hand a free agent if he is so good? The lefthander was a victim of the 2020 season and the pandemic that shortened the schedule to 60 games. If has forced teams across the league to make sacrifices, and Hand has his $10 million option declined by the Cleveland Indians. It was a move that raised eyebrows across the league because $10 million is a reasonable sum for a top closer. But Cleveland is one of many teams looking to keep payroll in check.

Since then, Hand has been linked to the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mets, Phillies and other teams. He won’t have to worry about having a job next season.

Hand doesn’t throw hard. In fact, his average fastballs was 91.4 miles per hour last season. That doesn’t fit well with the number of high velocity arms across the league. But what helps hand excel is an unhittable slider that he threw 51.5 percent of the time last season. He was drafted by the Marlins and broke into the league in 2011 with the Marlins as a starter. But starting didn’t go well for him, and he was waived by Miami after the 2015 season. The Padres claimed him off waivers, converted him to a reliever and the results were immediate. Hand has not had an ERA above 3.05 since then. He made his first All-Star team in 2017, two years after being let go the Marlins.

Now Cleveland has let Hand go. But, this time, there should be a sizeable market for his services.

Dick Siebert Award – Upper Midwest Player of the Year

Brad Hand

AWARD WINNERS

By Do-Hyoung Park, MLB.com

“If I have any advice, it’s to eat and play video games, and you’ll lose weight.”

Such were the wise words of Randy Dobnak when the 25-year-old arrived at Target Field in July in noticeably slimmer form, though he didn’t even realize that until local media started buzzing about how he’d lost 15-20 pounds during the sport’s hiatus due to COVID-19. He recommends eating lots of zucchini squash, if that helps.

How is it that a professional athlete doesn’t notice such a change in his body? Well, it’s for the same reason that he didn’t have any idea why his sinker suddenly started moving more or why, yes, he used to drive Uber, in case you somehow haven’t heard by now.

Randy Dobnak is an everyman, like us, and that won’t change about him. That’s part of the appeal when he dons the uniform every five games to start for the Twins, bridging the gap between Uber drivers and everywhere and the star athletes at the peak of the national pastime.

He’s that everyman in every way except in his ability to throw a baseball really, really well, which makes him the recipient of the 2020 Bill Boni Award for Twins Most Outstanding Rookie.

You’ve undoubtedly heard most of the made-for-film story by now: He went undrafted out of Division II Alderson-Broaddus University, briefly played in an independent league nobody’s ever heard of, was scouted by the Twins via YouTube and made a meteoric rise from High-A all the way to an MLB playoff start in a year.

But his story no longer needs to speak for him, because his pitching does that plenty well enough.

When Jake Odorizzi, Rich Hill, Homer Bailey and Michael Pineda were all unavailable in the starting rotation and José Berríos took some time to find his best stuff, Dobnak stepped in alongside Kenta Maeda as one of the sport’s best starting pitchers for much of the season, sitting among the league leaders in ERA and wins with a 5-1 record and 1.78 ERA on Aug. 22.

A late-season slump brought Dobnak’s ERA up to 4.05, but that understates the importance of his stability for most of the season while the Twins’ pitching staff healed up. Without him, the injury-depleted Twins would have had a much tougher road to a second straight AL Central titl—and it’s likely that he’s earned his place in more championship pushes to come.

Bill Boni Award – Twins Most Outstanding Rookie

Randy Dobnak

By Dave Campbell, Associated Press

The Twins made big splashes last winter by signing Josh Donaldson and trading for Kenta Maeda. They bargain shopped for Tyler Clippard, Rich Hill, Homer Bailey and Alex Avila to help shore up the roster. Still, could they have found a better payoff than the waiver claim they made on Matt Wisler?

The addition of the right-handed journeyman reliever with a career 5.20 ERA on Oct. 29, 2019, didn’t make much of a ripple, but the now-28-year-old Wisler wound up making a significant impact on a Twins bullpen that played a vital role in the team’s second straight American League Central division title.

Armed with a late-moving slider that team evaluators saw strong potential to develop into a dangerous pitch, Wisler slid right into a mid-inning role and thrived from start to finish. He allowed only three runs all season in 25 1/3 innings, with 35 strikeouts and only 15 hits allowed. He started four games as an opener in a three-week stretch from mid-August to early September, totaling 10 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings with only two hits surrendered in those appearances.

Wisler had never posted a full-season ERA under 4.28 in his first five major league seasons with Atlanta, Cincinnati, San Diego and Seattle, but his 1.07 ERA and .165 batting average against with the Twins turned his career onto a different track.

There were mechanical improvements that pitching coach Wes Johnson and other specialists in the organization helped Wisler make.

“The one thing why I think my slider is so effective, talking to catchers, it doesn’t move the same,” Wisler said. “One pitch it will go straight down and the other one goes more side to side. I have a lot of different movements on my pitch. I don’t do anything different that I can feel.”

For the pitcher himself, the sudden mid-career success had just as much to do with joining a healthy, winning environment.

“This is the first time I’ve really been on a World Series-contending team,” Wisler said near the end of the regular season. “Instead of pitching to statistics on a bad team, all you’re trying to do is go out there and win the game. It frees you up a little bit, instead of worrying about your numbers and giving up runs. You’re just trying to make sure you win that game.”

Charles O. Johnson Award – Most Improved Twin

Matt Wisler

AWARD WINNERS

By Betsy Helfand, St. Paul Pioneer Press

Whether robbing home runs, charging in to make diving catches or throwing out runners who were trying to take an extra base, Byron Buxton provided plenty of web gems for the Twins’ highlight reel in 2020.

The dynamic center fielder, who was a Gold Glove Award finalist, consistently wowed his teammates, coaches and fans with his defense, and so when it came to voting on a Defensive Player of the Year, there was no doubt who it would be. Buxton took home the award unanimously, earning the honor for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

Buxton, who finished the year with a perfect fielding percentage, was tied for third in the majors with 11 defensive runs saved per FanGraphs, helping transform the Twins’ defensive outlook each time he stepped foot on the field. Buxton used his speed and his athleticism to make difficult plays look routine, and he completed many plays others simply would be nowhere near.

His play in the outfield has left his teammates in awe—and appreciative. Starting pitcher Kenta Maeda said Buxton “can contribute 10 times more than what other guys can,” in the field and fellow outfielder Max Kepler went even further in his praise.

“His defense is like no other,” Kepler said. “I think it’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

In addition to providing Gold Glove-caliber defense, Buxton finished his year at the plate slashing .254/.267/.577 with 13 home runs in 39 games played. Buxton’s 1.2 fWAR was third on the team behind just designated hitter Nelson Cruz and Maeda.

Buxton was also the winner of the Carl R. Pohlad Award for Outstanding Community Service, taking home the honor for his work with his wife Lindsey supporting military members and their families.

Last year, he began the Buxton’s Battalion program, where he hosted families of service members at Target Field on Tuesdays, giving out tickets to games and inviting them to watch batting practice and partake in meet and greets.

He has also donated money to the Minnesota Military Family Foundation, helped create opportunities for members of the Minnesota National Guard to play catch at Target Field and distributed baseball gloves to members of the Twins RBI program.

Carl R. Pohlad Award for Outstanding Community Service and Jim Kaat Award –

Twins Defensive Player of the Year

Byron Buxton

By Dan Hayes, The Athletic

Typically, the relationship between a team’s closer and the media isn’t always the easiest to navigate.

When you think about it, most of the interactions between the two parties normally occur after the pitcher has blown a save.

Those exchanges can get often get a little dicey and rarely are fun for either side.

But that wasn’t all Taylor Rogers had to endure during the 2020 season.

As the team’s Major League Baseball Players Association representative, Rogers was much busier than normal. Not only was he the liaison for his teammates as everyone tried to navigate the challenges associated with the coronavirus, from the initial shut down through the endless wait and contentious negotiations, Rogers was tasked with keeping the media updated, too.

And none of that includes the trials Rogers and his teammates faced when they finally stepped on the field.

Try playing baseball without fan support to provide you any energy. Tack on all of the health and safety protocols that were put in place to conduct the season. And subtract doing something as simple as leaving your hotel room to find a sandwich or spending time talking to your teammates in the clubhouse.

There were enough tests to drive anyone mad.If that weren’t enough, Rogers had to deal with

individual performance struggles.He had his share of rough days and bad breaks.

Rogers’ internal numbers would suggest he pitched just as well as in 2019, when he was considered one of the team’s breakout performers. Yet his ERA and blown save opportunities didn’t match up.

It was a trying year through and through.Despite his struggles, Rogers made it all easy for

everyone with a recorder by incorporating his typical blend of patience and dry humor.

Whether it was detailing his color-coordinated closet in March, thoroughly discussing the possibilities of a season resumed in June or dissecting a series of rough outings during the summer, Rogers left no doubt as to who deserved to win the Twins’ Mike Augustin Media Good Guy Award.

Mike Augustin Media Good Guy Award

Taylor Rogers

AWARD WINNERS

By Pat Borzi, MinnPost.com

Three things epitomize Nelson Cruz’s brief yet meaningful tenure with the Twins. Clutch hitting. Leadership. And community service, whether here or in his native Dominican Republic.

The first two traits enabled Cruz to repeat his 2019 Diamond Awards double, winning this year’s Most Valuable Twin and Bob Allison Leadership Awards for the second time in his two seasons in Minnesota. Cruz is the fifth player and first full-time DH to win the Allison multiple times since its inception in 2005, joining three-time winners Michael Cuddyer (2009-11) and Justin Morneau (2008, ’12-13) and two-time recipients Mike Redmond (2005, ‘07) and Brian Dozier (2016-17).

In this pandemic-shortened season, the 40-year-old Cruz topped the Twins with 16 homers and a .992 OPS in 53 games. His 33 RBI trailed only Eddie Rosario’s 42 for the club lead, and he batted .303 with an American League-best five intentional walks. He finished among the top five in the AL in homers, slugging (.595) and on-base percentages (.397) and seventh in batting.

Cruz started off hot, crushing three homers with 10 RBI in the season-opening three-game series in Chicago. On Sept. 8 he became the first 40-year-old in major league history to homer in both ends of a doubleheader twice in a season.

Leadership? So much of what Cruz does happens behind the scenes. The most public example manifested late in the regular season, when Cruz began draping a bathrobe over the shoulders of Twins home-run hitters in the dugout. Josh Donaldson bought blue personalized robes for his teammates to use in quarantine, and Cruz cleverly repurposed his. In the postseason, Cruz drove in both Twins runs in the Wild Card Series loss to Houston.

Cruz’s two Diamond Awards pair nicely with two more recent honors: The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award from MLB for leadership, and the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award from ESPN for his charity work through his Boomstick23 Foundation.

Calvin R. Griffith Award - Most Valuable Twin and Bob Allison Award -

Twins Leadership

Nelson Cruz

Baseball Writers’ Association of America

Thank you to our partners with our local chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, who put in the extra time of nominating, voting, and awarding many of our Diamond Awards. Tonight we want to thank them for all the time and effort they have put in to make these awards happen year after year.

Thank you, BBWAA!

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COMMITTEE Roster 2021Robert (Mark) Allison

Event Founder

BAARC Chair Emeritus

Bob Allison Family

ALLSOUND Investments

Debra Allison

2021 Event Co-Chair

Bob Allison Family

Mary Kay Cosmetics

Jennifer Crowder

2021 Event Co-Chair

BAARC Member

GR Promotions

KT Anderson

Cargill

Ryan Anderson

BAARC Member

Fortune Financial

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TwinsDaily

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Patrick Borzi

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MinnPost

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Dick Bremer

BAARC Member

Minnesota Twins

(Fox Sports North)

Louise Coauette

Stand Up 2 Ataxia

John Hanson

WCCO 830 Radio

(Entercom)

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KSTP-TV (ABC)

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BAARC Chairman

Schulze Family Foundation

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BAARC Member

Former Diamond Awards

Event Chair

Jolae Maly

Hamilton Beach

Josh Ortiz

Minnesota Twins

Dustin Morse

Minnesota Twins

Michelle Nash

Eric Pogulis Family

IWG plc (Regus)

La Velle E. Neal III

Baseball Writers’

Association of America

Star Tribune

Dave St. Peter

President, Minnesota Twins

UMN STAFF

Laura Berg

Program Specialist

Sarah Gleason

Assoc. Development Officer,

Neurosciences

Amanda Pieper

Assoc. Development Officer,

Community Partnerships

Kristen Rasmussen

Director of Development,

Neurosciences