Gulf Coast League Twins
Encyclopedia
The Gulf Coast League Twins are the Rookie "A" Level Minor League Baseball
affiliate of the Minnesota Twins
. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida
, at the Lee County Sports Complex
.
Gulf Coast League
team rosters are thirty players, and cannot have more than twelve players over twenty years old, and no more than four players over 21. No player can have more than two years of prior service, excluding Rookie leagues outside the United States
and Canada
. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball
either as draftees or non-drafted free agent
s from the United States
, Canada
, Dominican Republic
, Venezuela
and other countries.
The GCL Twins compete in the GCL's Southern Division. In , the GCL Twins won the South with a 34-21 record under manager Jake Mauer
, who is the older brother of the Minnesota Twins
AL MVP catcher
Joe Mauer
. They lost 1-0 in twelve innings to the wild card
winning GCL Nationals in the one game playoff. Following the season, Mauer was promoted to manager of the Florida State League
Fort Myers Miracle
, and Chris Heintz took the reins for the GCL Twins. Like Mauer, Heintz was also a player in the Twins organization. He coached with the Beloit Snappers
the final two months of the 2009 season. In addition to managing the GCL club, Heintz will also run the Twins' extended Spring Training.
On July 25, 2010, it was announced that Tom Brunansky
, member of the 1987 Twin's championship team
, accepted a job to be the hitting coach for the GCL Twins and had started working early this July.
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
affiliate of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
, at the Lee County Sports Complex
Hammond Stadium
Hammond Stadium is a baseball field located in the Lee County Sports Complex in South Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The stadium was built in and holds 7,500 people. It is the Spring Training home of the Minnesota Twins, and houses their Class A Advanced affiliate, the Fort Myers Miracle, in...
.
Gulf Coast League
The Gulf Coast League is a minor league baseball league which operates in Florida. It is a Rookie League, with a season running from mid-June to late August. The season is 60 games long and teams in the league are divided into three divisions, East, North and South...
team rosters are thirty players, and cannot have more than twelve players over twenty years old, and no more than four players over 21. No player can have more than two years of prior service, excluding Rookie leagues outside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
either as draftees or non-drafted free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
s from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and other countries.
The GCL Twins compete in the GCL's Southern Division. In , the GCL Twins won the South with a 34-21 record under manager Jake Mauer
Jake Mauer
Donald Charles "Jake" Mauer is a former Minor League Baseball player, and former NCAA Division III baseball standout. As senior in , he set the University of St. Thomas season record for hits with 83, and is the school's career leader in hits , runs & games . He was inducted into the St...
, who is the older brother of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
AL MVP catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Joe Mauer
Joe Mauer
Joseph Patrick Mauer is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Minnesota Twins. He is the only catcher in Major League history to win three batting titles...
. They lost 1-0 in twelve innings to the wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
winning GCL Nationals in the one game playoff. Following the season, Mauer was promoted to manager of the Florida State League
Florida State League
The Florida State League is a Class A-Advanced minor league baseball league operating in the state of Florida. They are one of three leagues currently operating in Class A-Advanced, the third highest of six classifications of minor leagues...
Fort Myers Miracle
Fort Myers Miracle
The Fort Myers Miracle is the Class A Advanced minor league baseball affiliate of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball club, currently managed by Jake Mauer. Home games are played at the Lee County Sports Complex in Hammond Stadium, which has a capacity of 7,500, and opened in...
, and Chris Heintz took the reins for the GCL Twins. Like Mauer, Heintz was also a player in the Twins organization. He coached with the Beloit Snappers
Beloit Snappers
The Beloit Snappers are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, that plays in the Midwest League.Beloit joined the Midwest League as an expansion franchise in 1982. They were a Milwaukee Brewers farm team from its beginning through 2004; they switched to the...
the final two months of the 2009 season. In addition to managing the GCL club, Heintz will also run the Twins' extended Spring Training.
On July 25, 2010, it was announced that Tom Brunansky
Tom Brunansky
Thomas Andrew Brunansky , nicknamed "Bruno", is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1981 to 1994 for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers....
, member of the 1987 Twin's championship team
1987 Minnesota Twins
The 1987 Minnesota Twins won the World Series for the first time since moving from Washington in 1961, marking the second time that the franchise had won the World Series...
, accepted a job to be the hitting coach for the GCL Twins and had started working early this July.