Brian Adam Dinkelman (born November 10, 1983) is an American retired professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
second baseman who is the manager of the
Cedar Rapids Kernels
The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...
, the Class-A minor-league affiliate of the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
. Dinkelman was drafted by the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
in the eighth round of the
2006 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut on June 4, 2011. He last played professional baseball in 2013, transitioning into coaching in the Twins organization. He served as the Kernels' hitting coach prior to his promotion to manager for the 2019 season.
Early life
Brian Adam Dinkelman was born on November 10, 1983, in Centralia, Illinois. He attended Centralia High School, where he played basketball and golf along with baseball.
[ (Note: click "bio" for more information)] After graduation, Dinkelman played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
at
McKendree College
McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...
in
Lebanon, Illinois
Lebanon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,418 at the 2010 census and had decreased to an estimated 4,256 as of 2018. Like many other places in " Little Egypt" or Southern Illinois, Lebanon was named afte ...
, for the McKendree Bearcats. Dinkelman won the
American Midwest Conference
The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States.
History
The c ...
Player of the Year award from 2004 to 2006, and won the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA) Player of the Year award his senior year. At McKendree, Dinkelman set 25 career school records, as well as five NAIA career records.
After college, Dinkelman was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the eighth round of the 2006 MLB draft; he signed with the team on June 8, 2006.
Playing career
In his first professional season, Dinkelman played for the
Elizabethton Twins
The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...
of the
Rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...
. Over 46 games played, Dinkelman
batted .298 with four
home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
and 32
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
. Defensively, Dinkelman predominately played as a second baseman. In 2007, he was selected to play in the Western Division of the
Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...
All-Star game, representing the
Beloit Snappers
The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...
. In June of the same year, he was promoted to the
Advanced A class Fort Myers Miracle
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...
; combined, Dinkelman batted .269 in 131 games played,
and was voted the "Mightiest Miracle Player" (the favorite Fort Myers Miracle player) by fans.
In 2008, Dinkelman continued his professional career, playing for the Miracle as well as the
New Britain Rock Cats
The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They playe ...
. Along with teammates
Rob Delaney
Rob Delaney (born January 19, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and activist. He was the co-star and co-writer of the TV show ''Catastrophe'', and has appeared in comedy films such as ''Deadpool 2'' (2018) and ''Tom & Jerry'' (2021). ...
,
Jeff Manship
Jeffrey Michael Manship (born January 16, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cleveland Indians. Manship ha ...
,
Anthony Slama
Anthony Thomas Slama (born January 6, 1984) is a former professional baseball relief pitcher. He is 6'3", and weighs 207 lbs., and bats and throws right-handed. He played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins.
Career
College
Aft ...
and
Danny Valencia
Daniel Paul Valencia (דני ולנסיה; born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israeli national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota T ...
, Dinkelman represented the
Fort Myers Miracle
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...
in the
Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...
All-Star game. He finished the season with the AA Rock Cats, batting a combined .272 with four home runs, 40 RBI, and 12
stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...
s.
From May 1–7, 2009, Dinkelman was the Twins' Minor League Player of the Week.
He was named to his third consecutive All-Star team after batting .299 with four home runs and 43 RBI in the first half of the season. For the year, Dinkelman posted club highs in
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
,
doubles and
walks to help the Rock Cats make their first post-season appearance since 2003.
After the season, Dinkelman was named to the
Eastern League All-Star Post-Season team as a
utility player
In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo.
The ...
.
Dinkelman spent the entire 2010 season with the
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...
. He led his team in games played (137),
total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while ...
(199), and hits (139), while playing
right field
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
,
left field
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
and second base. He began the 2011 year with the Red Wings before being promoted to the Minnesota Twins on June 2, 2011, to replace
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
Trevor Plouffe
Trevor Patrick Plouffe ( ; born June 15, 1986) is an American media personality and former professional baseball third baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and ...
. On June 4, 2011, Dinkelman made his MLB debut, where he was
hit by a pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...
and
intentionally walked
In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...
, while also recording a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
.Dinkelman reflects on Major League debut
KANSAS CITY—Brian Dinkelman will have some special memories of his Major League debut on Saturday night.
After starting in left field for the Twins, Dinkelman had a diving catch and picked up his first hit with a line drive single to left. A large group of fans cheered on Dinkelman, chanting "MVP" and "Dink-el-man" when he came to the plate.
"It's awesome," Dinkelman said. "Getting to the Major Leagues was always something I wanted to do. When you get here and then get that first hit, it's a great feeling."
Dinkelman, a left-handed hitter, wasn't in the lineup on Sunday with left-hander Jeff Francis on the mound. That left him with some time to reflect on the debut after earning a promotion from Triple-A Rochester.
"It's really good to get that first hit because you don't want to go too long and put the pressure on yourself," Dinkelman said. "You get one out of the way and then see how things go from there."
Dinkelman had some friends and family from Illinois in attendance, but the loud chants for him were coming from a larger section of the crowd.
"I have no idea who those people were," Dinkelman said with a smile.
He was
outrighted to the Red Wings on June 16, and recalled to the Twins on September 5, 2011.
For the Twins in 2011, Dinkelman batted .301, with four RBI and no home runs. However, he also had a .373 BABIP, contributing to his high average. On October 22, after being outrighted off the roster, he declared free agency. Later in the 2011 while with Rochester, Brian made a grab that was featured as number 1 on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
top 10 plays.
On November 10, 2011, Dinkelman signed a minor league contract to return to the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
.
He played all of 2012 with Rochester, but he missed 2 months of the season from a hand injury.
In 74 games, he hit .252 with 4 HR and 32 RBI.
On October 29, 2012, Dinkelman re-signed with the Twins.
Dinkelman once again played the season in Rochester, and was used mostly off the bench. In 84 games in 2013, he hit .215 with 6 HR and 23 RBI. Over 4 seasons and 427 games with Rochester in his career, he hit .248 with 21 HR and 150 RBI.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinkelman, Brian
1983 births
Living people
Baseball coaches from Illinois
Baseball players from Illinois
Beloit Snappers players
Elizabethton Twins players
Fort Myers Miracle players
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball right fielders
Major League Baseball second basemen
McKendree Bearcats baseball players
Minnesota Twins players
Minor league baseball coaches
Minor league baseball managers
New Britain Rock Cats players
People from Centralia, Illinois
Rochester Red Wings players