Tuesday, June 24

 Photo courtesy of Kody Clemens

You probably know plenty about Kody Clemens’ father. That would be seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the sport. 

You may also know that Kody, one of the newest Twins, is not the only baseball player among his brothers. His older brothers Koby and Kacy both also played professionally, though neither reached the Major Leagues.  

What all of that means is that you probably don’t know enough about his mom, Debbie. Kody pointed to mom as the rock in his baseball family, always there from tee-ball to Little League to his days at the University of Texas and now as a big leaguer.  

“My mom and my grandma were a huge part of my life,” he said, “raising me when my dad was playing. They’ve always been very supportive. All the way through college, they were trying to go to every baseball game they can. So yeah. I’m very fortunate to have a great mom and a great grandmother to kind of take over there.” 

Asked to single out a particular highlight in honor of Mother’s Day, Kody hearkened back to the MLB Draft in 2018. The Longhorns had just won the Austin regional, putting them two wins from the College World Series, when he was selected by the Tigers. 

“We got to celebrate,” he said. “That was a special moment.  

“We went back and watched it on the computer. It was cool because it was the first pick of day two. Third round, first pick. So it was cool. I knew that I was going to get picked. The Tigers called. So we had time to go back and get the computer set up and get everything. My name was called and it was a super special moment with my mom there. It was awesome.” 

Mom was also present for a more recent special moment. Kody homered at Fenway Park, the stadium where his dad began his legendary career, with both of his parents in attendance. It was his first time playing at the venerable old ballpark, and he made the most of it. 

The Twins waited until late in the winter before they made their first pitching addition, and when they did, it was a bargain move. But adding Danny Coulombe has paid off in spades. 

Coulombe, 35, signed a one-year deal after a couple of excellent years in Baltimore. He missed much of the second half in 2024 due to injury, which may have dampened his market, but his return to Minnesota has worked out well for both parties. 

Coulombe has been brilliant, and he’s done so in a variety of roles. He’s appeared in every inning from the fifth through the ninth. He’s come in to get out of a jam against a single lefty, and he’s gotten as many as five outs. He’s even garnered two saves, most recently on Friday night. 

And he hasn’t given up a run. Since last May 26, actually. 

“It's something we were excited about at the time,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “Knowing the ways we can deploy a successful, really good left-hander and someone we knew and were very comfortable with as a human and excited about as a member of the team. He's been phenomenal. But he's also coming off a really good year, too. It's not something that should surprise anyone.” 

As for that zero on his stats page, he wasn’t directly asked about it. And he didn’t directly talk about it. 

“There’s some things that are not talked about, you know?” Coulombe said “It’s kind of like [Chris Paddack] with the perfect game in the sixth yesterday. You just kind of don’t talk about it. Everybody in the bullpen knew what was going on. You just don’t talk about it.” 

My friends and colleagues at MLB Pipeline took a look recently at a potential future closer for each Major League team. And I apologize for going all Buzzfeed on you here, but their choice for the Twins actually might surprise you. Take a look here, and of course always check out the great coverage that the Pipeline and MiLB.com folks provide. They’re the best. 

The weather this week in the Twin Cities has been absolutely spectacular, so it’s finally been time to open the sunroof and windows and enjoy the sunshine and mild temps. So in celebration of that, here are five of my most essential sunroof-open, turn-it-up songs. 

Material Issue, “She’s Going Through My Head” 

Letters to Cleo, “Pizza Cutter” 

Tom Petty, “American Girl” 

Chemical Brothers, “Block Rockin’ Beats” 

Stone Temple Pilots, “Interstate Love Song” 

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