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Each week leading up to Spring Training 2012 check here for a different
fact about Minnesota Twins' #18 Ryan Doumit.
Week of Jan. 23-29:
Led the National League with a .407 average with runners in scoring position in 2008. That's not all catchers
in the NL - that's every player.
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Twins fans: Get ready to meet Superman!
Dec. 16, 2011 -- Minnesota Twins fans can purchase tickets now for TwinsFest 2012, and by attending get
a chance to meet Ryan Doumit.
Over 45 current Twins players are confirmed to attend the event Jan. 27-29 in the
H.H.H. Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Doumit was signed in late November as a catcher with the potential for designated hitter,
first base and outfield roles. He had spent his nine seasons in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates who decided not to
take Doumit's two-year contract renewal option this fall.
Twins fans can brush up on the baseball history of Ryan
Doumit by reading a detailed article about his rise to the majors on this site by clicking on the "Inside Ry" tab
in the navigation bar on the left.
Follow the link below to read more about TwinsFest and find out where to get tickets.
General admission is $9 presold, and the presale ends Jan. 26. Tickets at the door are $15.
Information on TwinsFest
Twins Manager sees Doumit as a catcher
Nov. 27, 2011 -- Since the Twins signed Ryan Doumit last week, baseball writers, baseball bloggers and Twins
fans have discussed online the merits of Doumit's versatility as a catcher, outfielder, first baseman and designated hitter.
His new manager, however, had this to say (from ESPN Twin Cities):
General manager Terry Ryan said in a conference
call, "First and foremost we consider Ryan a catcher."
Terry Ryan added the versatility is a plus, and
Twins bloggers have been writing that Doumit's addition to the offense would be welcome - some going so far as to sketch
in the 2012 line up and put Doumit batting fifth.
It's official: Superman to play for Minnesota
Twins
Nov. 23, 2011 -- The Minnesota Twins announced today that
they have signed Ryan Doumit to a 1-year, $3 million contract to back up their catcher and serve as a designed hitter and
potential outfielder.
Baseball sources announced last week that the deal was done "pending physical."
The deal was announced by the team today, meaning the physical was satisfactory.
Doumit was drafted in 1999 in
the second round by the Pittsburgh Pirates and has spent seven major league seasons with them.
From Jennifer Longosch's
blog entry about Doumit's new team, here's what Doumit had to say:
“I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Pittsburgh,” Doumit said. “I grew up
there as a baseball player. By the same token, it was time to go someplace else. I’m excited to go to the American League
and face unfamiliar teams in new cities and have new challenges.”
Follow the link below to the Twin's
formal announcement.
Minnesota Twins announce Doumit signing
It's Twins!
Nov. 18, 2011 -- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick is reporting that according to a baseball source, Ryan
Doumit has agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins. He's to have the deal-sealing physical next
week.
Baseball Nation is reporting Doumit will be backup catcher, designated hitter and sometimes corner outfielder.
Looking ahead, the Twins come to Pittsburgh for interleague play this year. Pittsburgh area fans can catch Superman in new
colors when the Twins play Cleveland at Cleveland (about two hours away) in June, August and September.
One offer declined so far...
Nov.
15, 2011 -- Several media sources have reported that Ryan Doumit declined a one-year contract offered by the Los
Angeles Dodgers for just under $3 million.
The major league sports writer for a Minneapolis paper verified in his online
newspaper-based blog that Doumit is of interest to the Minnesota Twins.
As stated in articles below, it has been reported
Doumit is seeking a one-year deal. Over the weekend it was reported that additional offers came in for Doumit's talents
via his agent on Saturday, including one unspecified National League team. Several offers from American League teams are said
to be on the table.
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| As of this weekend, the new Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Doumit |
Happy times ahead!
Nov. 11, 2011 -- MLB outlets are reporting that Ryan Doumit has received
several offers and is expected to sign with a new team by the end of this month.
Doumit's option was not picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who signed a catcher 6 years older and 100 OPS lower
than Doumit to a one-year deal yesterday. The Pirates have until Nov. 23 to offer him arbitration. If he doesn't take
it, they get a sandwich draft pick. If Doumit signs with another team before Nov. 23 the Pirates automatically get another
draft pick. In addition to a new team (it is believed Doumit is looking
for a one-year deal and his agent said he was open to signing as a catcher, outfielder or designated hitter) Doumit adds another
big change to his life this month. Doumit is getting married this weekend!
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| After more than 11 years with the Pirates, Ryan Doumit is a free agent, moving on. |
Moving on
Nov.
7, 2011 -- Ryan Doumit fans, gather up your stuff, we're moving.
(Did you notice the Pittsburgh Pirates
part was removed from the top of this page?)
With the Pittsburgh Pirates' formal declaration to decline
Ryan Doumit's two-year contract option, Doumit has been declared a free agent -- a type B free agent in Major League Baseball
terms.
The Pirates can offer him a contract by Nov. 23, and if he declines that contract by the Dec. 7 deadline
under MLB type B rules, they get a sandwich pick in the draft. If they offer him no contract, the Pirates get nothing.
Either way Doumit gets the $500,000 written into the contract for the declined option. He also gets some freedom: to
choose from among his suitors, to escape the third-class citizen status treatment from the Pirates, to have an opportunity
to be a part of winning baseball.
Doumit was a second round draft pick of the Pirates in 1999. His entire MLB career
has been with Pittsburgh.
On Nov. 1 the Pittsburgh's Trib Total Media company had this comment:
"I
enjoyed my time in Pittsburgh," Doumit said via text message. "Now it's time to move on."
According
to multiple media reports, Doumit's agent, Matt Sosnick, told FoxSports that his client was open to signing as a catcher,
outfielder or designated hitter.
For those fans that follow Pittsburgh media closely, opinions of the switch-hitting
superhero improve outside the Steel City. Sports writers in Houston and Milwaukee are pitching him to their readership as
the answer to a couple of positions and at the plate.
Read up on the free agent market for catchers this year, and you'll
see a lot of this:
"Ramon Hernandez might be the headliner of this batch because of his long and successful
body of work as a starting catcher in the big leagues, but keep an eye out for Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder. Both formerly
of the Pirates and both of whom were plagued with injuries (Snyder had back surgery, Doumit had ankle problems) in 2011. While
both are health risks, they have been productive at and behind the plate when healthy." -- MLB.com.
Pirates intend to decline Doumit's option
Oct. 21, 2011 -- The Pittsburgh Pirates confirmed today that after the conclusion
of the world series they intend to decline Ryan Doumit's two-year option, making him a free agent.
From the official
MLB article to the blogs, the announcement was described as "no surprise."
The link to the MLB article is below.
This begins what for fans could be a drawn out process through the winter, waiting to see who lands Superman.
Doumit
had send during the final series in Milwaukee that after the season he would talk with his agent and fiancee and decide "what's
best for us."
The free agent catcher market is considered by baseball enthusiasts to be slim this year. Doumit is
the youngest of the top 10 FA catching prospects coming off a .303 season. The link to that analysis is also below.
MLB article on Pirates' intent to decline
Top 10 free agent primer - catchers
This is a fansite. That means it's privately run and
not endorsed by Ryan Doumit or the Pittsburgh Pirates. All articles are attributed or written by the site owner. Articles
and photos are welcome for submission and will be considered by the site administrator. Inquire by contacting Andrea at administrator@ryandoumit.com
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