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Golden Sombrero: Chris Parmelee

Top 1: Chris Parmelee struck out swinging against David Huff

Top 4: struck out swinging against Huff

Top 6: called out on strikes against David Huff

Top 7: struck out swinging against Zach Putnam

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Despite being selected by the Twins in the first-round of the 2006 draft, Parmelee didn’t have a breakout season until 2010 when he slashed .285/.356/.401 across three levels.  After posting an .801 OPS this season for Double-A New Britain, the left-handed hitting first baseman has made the most of his chances since making his big league debut on September 6: In 80 plate-appearances, Parmelee has posted an .968 OPS that includes a 13/10 K/BB rate.  That ratio became slightly skewed on Saturday, however, when he recorded the first golden sombrero of his career against the Tribe.  If he wants to be the Twins’ first baseman of the future, he will have to show 20+ home run power across a full season – something that he’s yet to do.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 123

Golden Sombrero: Jorge Posada

Bottom 2: Jorge Posada called out on strikes against Matt Moore

Bottom 4: struck out swinging against Moore

Bottom 6: singled to right against Dane De La Rosa

Bottom 7: struck out swinging against Alexander Torres

Bottom 8: struck out swinging against Jake McGee

Final Line: 1-for-5, 4 K

Notes: Posada collected his first golden sombrero of the year on Thursday night against the Rays.  It’s important to note that each of his strikeouts came against left-handers, as he was forced to hit from the right side – his single came against De La Rosa, a right-hander.  Appearing in only 110 games this season due to his deteriorated skillset behind the plate and the offseason acquisition of Russell Martin, Posada is currently sporting a career-low slash line of .238/.315/.398.  It’ll be interesting to see how much (or how little) playing time Posada receives this postseason.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 122

Video: Mike Stanton destroys Mike Minor

 

On Monday night, Mike Stanton belted not one, but two of his most impressive bombs of the 2011 season at home against Mike Minor and the Atlanta Braves.  While he hasn’t hit the 50 home runs that I had hoped for (he will next year), Stanton’s power has been every bit as advertised; of his 34 home runs, 26 have traveled over 400 feet.

According to ESPN Home Run Tracker (formerly Hit Tracker Online), Stanton has hit five balls over 450-feet, and 15 of his gargantuan blasts have been classified as “no-doubters.”  Thanks to MLB.com and their wise decision to allow the use of their videos, here are Stanton’s tape-measure shots from Monday night at Dolphins Stadium.

Perhaps it’s the astonishing lack of attendance and background noise, but the sound of Stanton striking the ball just sounds different than everyone else.

True Distance: 408 ft.

True Distance: 461 ft.

Golden Sombrero: Alex Liddi

Top 3: Alex Liddi struck out swinging against Kevin Slowey

Top 6: struck out swinging against Slowey

Top 7: struck out swinging against Slowey

Top 9: called out on strikes against Scott Baker

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Really not too much to say about Liddi’s golden sombrero against Slowey and the Twins on Wednesday.  It’s the sort of thing that will happen when you are a free-swinging call-up…just ask Paul Goldschmidt.  For what it’s worth, the Italian-born third baseman has shown some pop: of his four hits in 24 at-bats, Liddi has doubled and jumped the yard twice.  This year at Triple-A, he dropped 30 bombs and drove in 104 runs while fanning 170 times (559 at-bats).

Total 2011 Sombreros: 121

Golden Sombrero: Bobby Abreu

Top 1: Bobby Abreu struck out swinging against Dustin McGowan

Top 3: struck out swinging against McGowan

Top 6: called out on strikes against Jesse Litsch

Top 7: called out on strikes against Luis Perez

Top 8: flew out to center against Carlos Villanueva

Final Line: 0-for-5, 4 K

Notes: Abreu notched his first golden sombrero of the season on Wednesday against the Blue Jays.  A week away from completing the worst season of his career, this will be the first time Abreu has finished with less than 150 games played (136), double-digit home runs (7), sub-.400 slugging (.360), sub-1.0 fWAR (0.2), and sub-.142 ISO since bursting onto the scene with the Phillies in 1998.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 120