Twins have faith in Suzuki

ARLINGTON, Texas » Last season, his first with the Minnesota Twins, couldn’t have gone much better for Kurt Suzuki.

Not only did he lead all American League catchers with a .288 batting average and 34 doubles, he also earned his first trip to the All-Star Game, which was held at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.

"It was awesome," Suzuki said of being a 2014 All-Star. "Those individual accolades obviously mean a lot for personal reasons, but obviously the main goal is to win a World Series. But to be recognized as one of the best players in the game, it’s something I guess you can never deny or never say you’re not part of it. I think it’s something that (says) hard work and performance are good."

The Wailuku native his hitting .227 this year, but there is a rather big change for him in this, his eighth year in the big leagues and second in the Twin Cities. For one, the Twins have a new manager, Paul Molitor, hired after last season to replace longtime skipper Ron Gardenhire.

"It’s been great," Suzuki said of playing for Molitor. "The way he goes about his preparation, this guy is here like an hour before everybody else. He’s watching video. He’s preparing for the series before games. I think it’s just what he does. He’s a baseball guy. He’s been such a joy to be around."

Suzuki also is working with a new pitching coach, Neil Allen. But the biggest change is that the Twins staff is much improved from last year and is a big reason why Minnesota is suddenly a factor in the AL Central for the first time in several seasons.

"Everything’s good. We’re hanging in there. We’re playing well. Obviously, right now we hit a little bump in the road, but everything’s fine," Suzuki said during a mid-June road trip to Texas. "Just being aggressive and making pitches (is why our staff’s been successful in 2015). That’s the thing, is making pitches and really making the big pitch when it counts."

While this is his first year playing for Molitor, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Suzuki, 31, has already earned immense respect from his new skipper.

"He’s just a catcher who understands responsibility goes far beyond what he can do offensively for a team," Molitor said. "There’s a lot of confidence from Joe Vavra, our catching coach, to myself and not having to be overly concerned about what he’s doing day-to-day to get his guys ready to pitch."

But the best accolade Suzuki might have earned last season was the Bob Allison Award, which is named for a former Twin and is given annually by the Minnesota Baseball Writers Association to the player who shows the best leadership.

"Yeah, that’s a big thing. I’m not a real vocal kind of guy, but I try to go out there and play the game the right way. Hopefully people follow," Suzuki said. "You just hope that your energy and positivity kind of feeds off of everybody and it all comes together."