Farewell Bobby Korecky

In order to make room for Luis Ayala, the Twins took Bobby Korecky off the 40-man roster, and he did not make it through waivers. He is now headed to Arizona, his time with the Twins now all in the past.

Korecky came to the Twins before the 2004 season, when he was 24 years old. He started at New Britain and remained there until mid-2006 (although his 2005 season was a complete wash). After that point, he spent his time with Rochester, and wound up closing for them the last two years. Korecky was solid all the way through, compiling a 3.09 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 328 strikeouts versus 124 walks. 2008 was also his best minor league season, as he dropped his K/BB ratio to its lowest point since he came to the Twins (71/22) and had the highest K/9 of his career (8.6).

So finally, at the age of 28, he got his chance to pitch in the Major Leagues. He was with the Twins for about a month, from late April to late May, and in that time had one of the most memorable performances of the season, and certainly the most memorable of his career. The day was May 19th, and he'd only pitched 5 1/3 Major League innings previously. Korecky came in with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 11th inning, but managed to get two outs without allowing a run. In the bottom of the frame, he recorded a hit (the first by a Twin in an AL game in a LONG time), but was stranded at third base. Unphased, he set the Rangers down in order in the next inning and, after the Twins won it in the following half-inning, picked up his first Major League win.

He had another stint with the Twins in September, and pitched reasonably well again. However, it was not enough to keep him safe this off-season. I would've liked to see him back again this year, but it's only a very minor qualm. In the end, Korecky threw 17 2/3 innings for the Twins over 16 games.