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Jim Rantz

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Hall of Famer Posts: 21081 (01/26/07 7:38 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None 03/04/2003 7:39 pm ET Q&A with Jim Rantz By Christie Cowles / MLB.com FT. MYERS, Fla. -- Minnesota Twins minor league director Jim Rantz took time out to give MLB.com the inside scoop on the Twins' minor league system and some of its blue chip players, including Justin Morneau, Lew Ford and 2001 No. 1 overall draft pick, catcher Joe Mauer. MLB.com: Who are some of the top Twins prospects this year? Jim Rantz: When you've got 150 players in camp, you think they all are prospects. Obviously, some are more high profile than others. Denard Span hasn't been out this year yet, because he was a late sign. We had him in the instructional league. But, he is a guy that we're anxious to get in camp, and get playing. He'll be at probably Class A or Rookie level next year. So he's a guy that you'll be looking at. But a lot of the guys that have been out, are really over there in Major League camp, some of the higher picks. A guy like J.D. Durbin is a pitcher for us, he was the Pitcher of the Year in our system. He is a guy that we're looking at to put up some big numbers again this year. He was in Quad Cities last year, won 13 ballgames, but our Player of the Year was Lew Ford and he's in big league camp. Those guys put up some numbers. Going down our roster, Jason Kubel -- an outfielder that was in the Midwest League had an outstanding year. He's just a young player that we're looking to move up in the system. We think a lot of him. Joe Foote -- a right-handed pitcher, Jesse Crain -- another guy, a right-handed pitcher. Justin Morneau -- he's over at big league camp. He's just a young fellow that we're looking at to put some big numbers up. He's a Canadian, he had a very nice year at Double-A last year. We'll see what happens, but he is one of our top prospects. He reported with a broken toe, so he has been pushed back a little bit. With a broken toe you really can't do anything, you've just gotta let it heal. You don't put a cast on it. It's sore and it hurts, and he hasn't been able to hit for a week, but now I understand he's back in the cage hitting. So here's a guy that's got a sweet swing, he's gonna put some power numbers up. He's got power to all fields. He's playing first base. When we drafted him a few years ago, he was a catcher. He's played the outfield and now he's playing more at first base, and that's where he played last year. Joe Mauer is doing very nicely. This is his second full season. His first year was in the rookie league level, which was probably 200 at-bats or so, and he hit .400. Last year he hit .300. He just needs experience playing and knowing the hitters in the other league, which comes from experience. He's working on calling the game, knowing his own pitching staff, which he has to learn and that's all part of it. But he's a heck of an athlete. He not only is a good baseball player, he was a good football player, he was a good basketball player. At 19 years old, he handles himself as a real pro. He's gonna be a player that's an impact player when he gets to the big leagues. And he'll be there at a young age too. MLB.com: What about these players made them stand out and why did you decide to draft them? Rantz: No. 1, Joe Mauer is from the Twin Cities area. We were the No. 1 pick in the country. Mike Radcliff, who is our scouting director, travels through the area. He said Mauer was the best player out there and that's why we took him No. 1. He's a left-handed bat, he's gonna hit for power, he can hit for average, he can really catch and throw. Being a left-handed bat too is good, and also PR wise, we really struck it rich with him being from the the area. He's got a following, there's no doubt about it. And he's got a brother in the organization too, Jake. They're good baseball people, they've been trained well and they come from a baseball family. They're blue-collar people, supportive of their kids. They'll be down here cheering them on. Jake is doing well, he's progressing very nicely in the system. So far (Jake and Joe) have been kind of teaming coming through. We'll see how that goes down the road. MLB.com: Do the coaches have them working on anything in particular? Rantz: In Joe's case, he's just learning how to call the game, knowing the opposing players and working with the pitchers. And that's coming. The rest of the things, he's such a good athlete, he just needs to continue playing and every day playing and experience. Jake is a guy that's learning to play around (the bases), because he's gonna be that utility guy. He can play around, he's got enough ability and talent to play all around the infield and play the outfield. They do have tremendous work habits, they've got a good feel for the game. So, it's nice to have them both in the system. MLB.com: Are you going to be looking for anything in particular in the upcoming First-Year Player Draft? Rantz: We're the 23rd pick this year. Mike Radcliff he's been out chasing (prospects). I leave that up to him. He and his staff will take the best available (pick) when our turn comes around. We're always looking for pitching. They do their homework, we've got 26 full-time scouts. Radcliff travels throughout the United States. He lines them up and they do a heck of a job. MLB.com: What are the Twins plans for the abundance of outfield prospects they have this year? Rantz: We're very deep in the outfield as you can see over at the Major League camp. We have good quality (players) -- Kubel is one of those guys, and guys like Michael Restovich, they're all in the mix over there. Lew Ford is another one, Josh Rabe is another guy that's in the mix at the lower level. We've got seven guys at the Major League level that are probably good enough to play in anyone's Major League outfield. So, there's a battle going on in the outfield over here at the Major League level. If it doesn't work out, they'll be coming back to the Triple-A level and stay ready, as long as they're playing. That's up to the manager (how many stay on the Major League roster). The one thing is, we've always looked for the extra outfielder, but Denny Hocking is a guy that can play both the infield and outfield. So, it depends upon what the manager wants to keep. MLB.com: Do you see any of the current prospects contributing to the Major League club by the end of the year? Rantz: Ford and Restovich are guys like that, Morneau is not out of the picture. But, those type of guys are knocking on the door. Injuries always play a big part in any organization. Hopefully we don't get them, but we want to be able to have someone ready to step in if somebody goes down. MLB.com: How long do you think Joe Mauer will stay in the big league camp? Rantz: They need the extra catching because they've got all the pitching over there. (The minor league) games don't start until March 14th. Once the games start then they get some at-bats, otherwise it's just batting practice. If he can get more at-bats over (at the Major League camp), keep him over there. The more exposure and experience he gets over there, the better it is. Christie Cowles is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.
jan	Re: Jim Rantz	#1	[-]
Hall of Famer Posts: 21081 (01/26/07 7:39 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR OF MINOR LEAGUES JIM RANTZ 03/06/03 Minnesota Twins Director of Minor League Operations Jim Rantz has been in the Minnesota organization since its inception in 1961, after he signed his first professional contract with Washington in 1960. A college pitcher at the University of Minnesota who won the decisive game in the 1960 College World Series, Rantz joined the Twins front office in 1965. After spending four years in the Twins public relations department, he moved into the minor league and scouting departments. Rantz took over his current post as Director of Minor League Operations in January, 1986. He is currently the longest-tenured person in that position in all of Major League Baseball. Rantz's duties include overseeing player moves at the minor league level and the development of the Twins young talent. Rantz is also responsible for maintaining the working relationship between the major league team and its six minor league affiliates. This offseason, the Twins honored Rantz's contribution to the organization by re-naming its minor league pitcher of the year award in his honor. Quad City River Bandits hurler J.D. Durbin became the first ever winner of the Jim Rantz Award in December of 2002. The staff of riverbandits.com spoke with Rantz during TwinsFest 2003 about the strong relationship between the Twins and River Bandits, the performance of former River Bandits throughout the Minnesota Twins system, and the prospects for the 2003 River Bandits squad. riverbandits.com: Jim, we received some good news this offseason, as the Twins chose to re-up with the Bandits. What was it that went into that decision to sign up for a few more years? JR: Obviously, our concern was always the facility, as it was for (River Bandits President) Kevin (Krause) - that it would be brought up to standards. It's no secret that the clubhouse had to have a lot of work done. The commitment that has been made by the city-we're comfortable with it. When it's done-and Kevin has anticipated it being done-our plan is to re-up with another two years. So we're looking for a long-term relationship there. It's convenient for us. We think there are a lot of Twins fans down there. It's easy for our personnel to get down to the area and our players like playing down there and the staff all like the city and the community. So the big hang-up was the playing facility itself. riverbandits.com: In this previous offseason did you have any serious conversations with other affiliates? How close were the Twins to having a Class-A affiliate other than Quad City? JR: We did have other conversations with other affiliates, and we went through the process. But when it came down to it-and Kevin assured us after he had these meetings that this was going to happen-we had no problem coming back. riverbandits.com: Let's take a brief look at the season organization-wide. How would you assess the performance of the Minnesota Twins minor leagues? JR: As the big club, we had a good year. We were 55 games over .500, we had three clubs participating in a pennant race and one club (AAA Edmonton) that did win a pennant. So we had a good year. More importantly, we went ahead and moved some players up to the major league roster, which gives us 27 players on our 40-man roster that came through our system. It's a credit to our scouts, our coaches and instructors, and to the players themselves, because if it wasn't for the players we wouldn't have had the year that we had. riverbandits.com: As Director of Minor Leagues, it's got to be fun for you to know that these guys will progress through the system and they'll get a shot at the major leagues. That's how the Twins have done it. JR: That's our M.O, and the players know that. They come to camp and they're trying to make a club and compete with other players and they know that if they put the numbers up, they'll get promoted. That's what we do. We are not in the free agent market-we try to promote our own players. It makes for a happy camp for me, I can tell you that. Players have a sense of how we operate, and they have no problem with it. As long as they're doing their job, they're going to get an opportunity. II riverbandits.com: You're the person in charge of moving the players within the minor league rosters. How much say do you have in when a player is going to get promoted to the big leagues? JR: Well, obviously there are more people than just myself. There's four or five people-the field people are talked to by either (Twins General Manager) Terry (Ryan) or myself or both-on even the minor league moves. We have the field coordinator (Joe Vavra), the pitching coordinator (Rick Knapp as well as hitting instructor Jim Dwyer) so we do talk to a lot of people. We don't just do it at a whim. On the major league level, we bring the major league people into it: The coaching staff as well as Terry and myself and other people in the front office. It's something that we do talk over-we don't just make moves to make moves. riverbandits.com: Obviously you don't get to see the players that frequently. What are you looking for when you get down to see a player in person? JR: You're right. I try to make every club two to three times-for sure, two times-and I stay in that city about five days a shot. I like to see the consistency in a player, and if he is improving. For me, being in town gives a player a chance to come up and express his concerns about his career or whatever he has on his mind. We are always accessible, not only myself but anybody else that travels from the front office; we make ourselves available. riverbandits.com: So there's a lot of give-and-take between yourself and the players? JR: I hope so. We are always a club, and always have been a club that is open to the players. As they say, our door is always open, and I think our relationship with the players has been very honest and up-front. riverbandits.com: Do you think when a Jim Rantz is coming in town, or a Joe Vavra, or a Jim Dwyer, that the players get nervous? Do they know you're coming and does that affect their performance sometimes? JR: We hope not, because if they get up here to the Dome there's going to be 45,000 people here. And I'm sure (the players are) all trying and maybe the adrenaline gets going a little bit and they all want to do well. They put a little added pressure on themselves, but hopefully they're not nervous because, as I said, there's more to it than just two or three of us. They'll have to play in front of big crowds. riverbandits.com: I wanted to talk about a few players that have come through the Quad Cities and now are making some headway up through the system. Michael Restovich sort of has an interesting situation: A great Triple-A season (.286, 29 HR, 98 RBI for Edmonton) but the major league outfield situation is a little crowded. Do you see him winding up in (new Triple-A affiliate) Rochester this season? JR: Well, you never know. Of course, we are very strong and have a lot of depth at the major league and Triple-A level in the outfield. Michael Restovich has done very well-everything we've asked of him. He's hit for some power, he's really improved his defense, and I'm sure he's going into camp and he's going to battle for a job. If it happens that he has to go back, I know Michael will be the same kind of pro he's always been. He's gonna give 100 percent. But who knows what's going to happen? Nobody likes to talk about injuries, but sometimes that dictates what happens to certain players. riverbandits.com: Do you see a possibility, with the outfield being as crowded as it is-Michael Cuddyer obviously has big things expected of him this season, also Bobby Kielty, Dustan Mohr-that players could be moved to add depth somewhere else in the system? JR: That's always a possibility. If it's going to be those players, I couldn't say. But that's what we're here for-to develop players for the major leagues and also to develop players that have value for somebody else to fill a void that we have, whether it be by injury or that we just need more strength in that area. But it hits home in the minor leagues when you're talking about these types of players because we've had them as high school or college guys and this is the only club they've ever been with so we really, from my standpoint, hate to see that happen. riverbandits.com: What are your expectations from Justin Morneau (.298, 16 HR, 80 RBI for Double-A New Britain) in 2003? JR: Justin Morneau has come a long way. We signed him as a catcher and now he's at first base. He stopped off at the outfield position, so he's been a little versatile. His strength is going to be, as you know, that bat. He's got a terrific swing, he's a left-handed bat, he's still very young. And first base, he's still trying to improve that. He's a hardworking kid and once he gets to the major leagues, he's going to be there for a long time. riverbandits.com: Do you think that people underestimate the difficulty of switching positions, and maybe he struggled with the bat because he was still learning how to play that right side of the infield? JR: (laughs) I don't say he ever struggled with the bat. Definitely, there are adjustments to make when you change positions. If you recall, last spring, he got hit by a virus that backed him up for almost two, three weeks, so he was behind. But I know he's not happy with hitting .295-I was, but he wasn't. But he's a guy that's going to be a .300 hitter in the big leagues one day. III riverbandits.com: There were a host of guys that played in the Quad Cities that were added to the 40-man roster in November. Beau Kemp, Willie Eyre, Jonathan Pridie, Brent Hoard. What do you see as the future for that group? JR: Those pitchers that you're talking about are on the roster now. Obviously, they've progressed very nicely in our system-they're knocking on the door for the Triple-A level and one or two might surprise you in big league camp. You're in a market down there that we've been there so long now-you're starting to see these big leaguers surface up here, so that's great for you guys. riverbandits.com: And 2002 was quite a breakthrough season for Beau Kemp (3-2, 0.66 ERA, 29 saves for Class A-Advanced Fort Myers). JR: Oh, it sure was. An ERA of under 1.00, and all the saves that he had...he just had an outstanding year. riverbandits.com: Do you, when you evaluate players, place a timetable on how long you want them to be at a certain level and how quickly you want them to advance through the system? JR: That's tough to answer, and I think the fans put a timetable on it more than we do-they want to see 'em, especially guys like Joe Mauer. I get asked that every day, maybe three times a day. We're in no hurry to rush these players; they'll let us know when they're ready to come. When they dominate a league and we move them to the next level and they do it again, and if it's two years, three years, one year...they'll let us know. riverbandits.com: And what do you expect from Joe in 2003? I expect he'll start at Fort Myers. Would you expect him to be there all season long? JR: That's a good question. Again, it's dictated by what trickles down from the major leagues. We all know that Joe could do very well, probably, at whatever level he went to. I suspect he might start at the High-A level and hopefully be that dominating player that we think he can be, and then move him on up. riverbandits.com: And how about Jason Kubel? What does his 2003 season hold? He almost came out of nowhere this season. JR: He sure did. He had a strong season and again, he's still a very young player that I look for probably moving up to the High-A level. riverbandits.com: And J.D. Durbin, the Jim Rantz Award winner? JR: How 'bout that! riverbandits.com: Quite a season as well. Also to Fort Myers? JR: Quite an honor for me, too, I might say. J.D. won the first annual award, and I look for him to go to Fort Myers. riverbandits.com: A lot of evaluators think he might be better-suited to a move to the bullpen down the line. Do you see him as a starter, or a short man, and how do you look at him in terms of his tools? JR: J.D. Durbin I look at as a starter. He's got three pitches. He's a big, strong kid that I think is a starter down the road. riverbandits.com: Can you tell us a little bit about the 2003 roster we'll be seeing in Quad City? JR: If you guys have got that figured out, I won't go to spring training. (smiles) As I mentioned, we have a number of players-and you might have a few repeats-but we have so many players listed on your club now going to spring training that it looks like we'll be a very competitive club. After coming out of Elizabethton-what a good club (37-30 in the short-season Appalachian League)-and what you guys did last year, I think a combination of that makes a good, interesting club. riverbandits.com: And some of the names that might move in...Denard Span, Scott Tyler, Dusty Gomon ... JR: You got it. You got the names. Those guys are the future of the ballclub. Span-who hasn't played yet but was in the instructional league-he's kind of a special talent. riverbandits.com: Thank you very much, Jim. JR: My pleasure.
jan	Re: Jim Rantz	#2	[-]
Hall of Famer Posts: 21081 (01/26/07 7:52 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Superheroes in the shadows Last update: December 24, 2006 8:44 PM JIM RANTZ FARM DIRECTOR Talk about longevity. Rantz has been with the organization since the beginning, in 1961. The St. Paul native and former Gophers pitcher actually signed with the Washington Senators in 1960, right before the Griffith family moved the franchise to Minnesota. In 1965, Rantz hung up his cleats and joined the front office, starting as a public relations intern and then moving into baseball operations. In 1981, he helped the Twins discover a stubby junior college player, Kirby Puckett. Rantz has been Twins farm director since 1986. He called this past year "probably the most satisfying" to date. Besides winning the AL Central with contributions from several players who started the year at Class AAA, the Twins saw the remnants of that Rochester squad come within one victory of the International League title. Four of the Twins' six minor league affiliates made the playoffs. For next year, the entire minor league field staff -- all the coaches, managers and trainers -- is returning to the same jobs. In an industry in which there is widespread annual turnover, the Twins are throwbacks to another time. Every member of the major league staff, from Gardenhire on down, came through the farm system. "I think that goes to show that we have confidence in our support people," Rantz said. "If you're doing it right at the top, why would you want to do it any different at any level of the system?" STrib
jan	Re: Jim Rantz	#3	[-]
Hall of Famer Posts: 21081 (01/26/07 7:55 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	PRESS RELEASE 01/26/2007 3:23 PM ET Gary Gaetti and Jim Rantz elected to Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota Twins announced today that former third baseman Gary Gaetti, the 1987 ALCS Most Valuable Player who helped lead the Twins to their first World Series Championship, and Director of Minor Leagues, Jim Rantz have been elected to the team's Hall of Fame. Gaetti and Rantz will become the 17th and 18th members of the Twins Hall of Fame when they are inducted during special on-field pre-game ceremonies, Saturday May 5th (Rantz) and Sunday, August 19th (Gaetti). The Twins Hall of Fame, which honors players, managers, coaches and off-field personnel who have contributed to the organization's growth and success since the Twin Cities broke into the Major Leagues in 1961, was created as part of the club's 40th Season Celebration in 2000. The inaugural class of Twins Hall of Famers -- Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett and Calvin Griffith -- were inducted on August 12, 2000. Other inductees include pitcher Jim Kaat (2001), broadcaster Herb Carneal (2001), pitcher Bert Blyleven (2002), former manager Tom Kelly (2002), long-time public address announcer Bob Casey (2003), outfielder Bob Allison (2003), catcher Earl Battey (2004), pitcher Frank Viola (2005), owner Carl Pohlad (2005) and shortstop Zoilo Versalles (2006). ... Rantz, who has been a member of the Twins organization since its inception in 1961, signed his first professional contract with the Washington Senators in 1960. A former pitcher, Rantz spent five years as a player and Manager before joining the Twins front office following the 1965 season. He spent four years as Assistant Public Relations Director before moving into the Minor League and Scouting department. Rantz was named Director of Minor League Operations in January of 1986. Rantz' duties have included full administration of the minor league department, including the working relationships with the Twins six affiliates. He is responsible for player moves at the minor league level and for the development of young talent for the Major League club. Rantz also handles contract negotiations with minor league players. In 1997, he was named Topps' Long Meritorious Service Award winner and in 2000, the Minnesota Twins were named Topps' Organization of the Year. Baseball America recognized the Twins as Organization of the Year in 2002 and 2004. Rantz was elected through the Veterans Committee ballot, which consists of 14 voters; voting participants include all living Twins Hall of Famers, current Twins President and General Manger and two Minnesota Baseball historians. The 14-member committee votes every other year on "non-uniform" personnel for induction into the Twins Hall of Fame.
jan	Re: Jim Rantz	#4	[-]
Hall of Famer Posts: 21081 (05/05/07 7:38 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Rantz mark shows on many levels The Twins will honor their longtime director of minor leagues tonight, mostly for being a tireless helping hand for 37 years. By Patrick Reusse, Star Tribune Last update: May 04, 2007 11:32 PM George Brophy served as a Twins vice president in charge of both the minor leagues and scouting from Sherry Robertsons death in October 1970 until January 1986. Brophy hired Jim Rantz as his assistant. Ruth Harvison was the secretary. That was it for the Twins player development department. Dont forget Lucky, Ruthies dog, Rantz said. It was a mutt Ruthie found abandoned on the beach in Florida. Lucky was in our office every day. Brophy was well-known for his short temper, particularly with agents representing draft choices. When we first moved into this building [Metrodome], we were down the hall from the accounting office, Rantz said. Broph was on the phone with an agent, and he was hollering some choice words. A woman from the accounting office came down the hall to see what was going on. I told her, 'Dont worry. Brophs just talking to his wife. Rantz laughed in memory of his splendid execution of baseball humor and added: When George hung up, he said, 'I guess were not going to sign that guy. Calvin Griffith sold the Twins to Carl Pohlad in the summer of 1984. Brophy had health problems and was let go by the new regime late in 1985. Terry Ryan was hired as scouting director, and Rantz was promoted to minor league director in January 1986. Add it up and Rantz has been in the Twins baseball department for 37 years. Before then, he was a minor league pitcher for five years, a minor league manager for a year and the public relations assistant for five years. Rantz, 69, will become the 17th inductee in the Twins Hall of Fame before tonights game with Boston. He is being honored for long, patient, humor-filled, highly competent and tireless service. When I started, the minor league managers would fill out sheets with notes on each player for the game and attach a boxscore that was clipped out of the local newspaper, Rantz said. They would get three or four sheets, then mail them. We would get our report on a minor league team about a week after the game was played. On Friday, the Twins Class A team in Fort Myers was playing an afternoon game, with Rantz monitoring the play-by-play on the Internet. Rantz was a hockey and baseball standout at St. Paul Washington, the long-gone high school on Rice Street. Rantz was a senior in 1956, when the Presidents reached the state hockey tournament and won the state baseball title. Three of us off the team John Erickson, Milo Fuller and myself went to a tryout camp held by the Kansas City Athletics, he said. They offered $500 to sign. Milo took the money, and John and I went to the university. The Gophers had won their first College World Series title that June. They were back in Omaha in 1960, and Rantz went 10 innings to beat Southern Cal 2-1 in a winner-take-all final game. The Gophers came home to a heros welcome at Wold-Chamberlain Airport. Dick Wiencek and Angelo Giuliani, scouts for the Washington Senators, were there to offer contracts to Erickson, the College World Series MVP, and Rantz. John signed right away, Rantz said. The offer to me wasnt so good. I waited, and wound up signing for $4,200. In October 1960, it was announced the Washington Senators were moving to Minnesota to become the Twins. Rantz pitched four more years in the Twins organization, managed St. Cloud to a Northern League pennant in 1965, then was hired to help Tom Mee in public relations for the final days of that World Series season. He stayed in that job until being hired by Brophy. The first task Tom gave me was to update the stats after a game, Rantz said. You had all those columns and did it on a mimeograph sheet. I hunt-and-pecked for about four hours before I was finished. Tom said, 'Youll get the hang of it, but one thing. You might want to take the onion skin out in front of the blue copy sheet. Four hours and I hadnt made a copy! And then Rantz offered the laugh thats part of what has made him both a Twins lifetimer and Hall of Famer. Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. preusse@startribune.com
jan	Rantz wins inaugural Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award	#5	[-]
Hall of Famer Posts: 21050 (11/17/08 10:16 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	11/17/2008 2:00 PM ET Rantz wins inaugural Chief Bender Award Twins' farm director has been with the club since 1961 MiLB ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The inaugural recipient of Minor League Baseball's annual Sheldon "Chief" Bender Award is Minnesota Twins Director of Minor League Operations Jim Rantz. He will be honored, along with Minor League Baseball's other major award winners, during the Baseball Winter Meetings™ to be held December 8-11 at the Las Vegas Hilton. The Bender Award is presented to someone with distinguished service who has been instrumental in player development. Jim has been in his current position overseeing Minnesota's farm system, annually considered among the best in baseball, since 1986. Under his watch, the Twins' Minor League affiliates have finished with a combined winning percentage over .500 in 19 of 23 seasons. Jim's tenure with the Twins dates back to the club's inception in 1961, when he was a player in their farm system. "Jim Rantz epitomizes the spirit of the Chief Bender Award by his dedicated career with the Twins," stated Minor League Baseball President Pat O'Conner. "Jim has led the Twins' efforts to build from within and partner with Minor League Baseball affiliates to develop talent in positive settings. We congratulate Jim on winning the inaugural Sheldon 'Chief' Bender Award." Rantz is in charge of developing talent for the Twins and personnel moves and contract negotiations with Minor League players. He is also responsible for the working relationships with Minnesota affiliates in Rochester, New Britain, Fort Myers, Beloit, Elizabethton and the Twins' entry in the Gulf Coast League. "I'm very honored to receive the Chief Bender Award," said Rantz. "He was such a role model. Chief was not only a solid baseball man, but a true gentleman of the game." Jim was a pitcher in the Twins system for four years. He then managed their St. Cloud affiliate for one season, leading it to a league title in 1965. After that season, Rantz left the field and joined the Twins front office. He worked in public relations for four years before getting involved in player development. Last Edited By: jan 11/17/08 10:18 PM. Edited 1 times.

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