Terry Pendleton Helps Me Remeber the 1991 Minnesota Twins

I sent a baseball card to 1991 NL MVP Terry Pendleton on 7/30/2008. Mr. Pendleton was a member of the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals and the 1991 Atlanta Braves making him the only man to be on the 2 teams the Twins beat to win their 2 World Series Championships.

This weekend the Twins will celebrate the 20 anniversary of their 1991 World Championship team by hosting the reunion celebration. Many of the players of the 1991 team will return to be honored.

The 91 Twins are considered the best Twins team ever.

Jack Morris, Kevin Tapani, and Scott Erickson were the foundation of a good starting staff. Rick Aguilera, Mark Guthrie, Willis, Steve Bedorisan, and Terry Leach anchored a strong bullpen.

The everyday lineup of Kirby Puckett, Shane Mack, Dan Gladden, Chili Davis, Kent Hrbek, 91 AL Rookie of the Year Chuck Knobluach, Greg Gagne, Mike Paglirulo/Scott Lieus, and the underrated Brian Harper, who in 469 plate appearances amazingly stuck out only 22 times and even more amazingly walked only 14 times, formed one of the best hitting and fielding Twins lineups ever.

Add in key reserves Randy Bush, Al Newman, Junior Oritz, and Gene Larkin, and you had one great team.

The 1990 Twins had the worst record in the American League, and the 91 team started the season with a 2-9 west coast road trip. In June however they reeled off a 15 game win streak, and ended the season with the best record in the American League.

Puckett would hit .429 with 2 home runs to help the Twins beat Toronto in the 1991 ALCS (Toronto would go on to win the 1992 and 1993 World Series). I watched the end of climatic game from the concourse of the Target Center because my Mother and I had tickets to the Judds “farewell tour”.

The 1991 World Series against Atlanta was in my opinion the best World Series of all-time. Five of the seven games were decided by one run with all five of decided in the last at bat.

Three of the games went into extra innings including Games 6 and 7 with Game 6 ending on a Kirby Puckett walk-off home run, and Game 7 ending up being 1-0 in 10 innings.

Jack Morris outpitched Atlanta John Smoltz in Game 7 going all 10 innings giving up 7 hits 0 runs while walking 2 and striking out 8. It was the greatest World Series pitching performance of all-time, and for it Morris was named the World Series MVP for it

My brother and his then young son had come up from Texas to visit, and together with my parents we watched the Twins win Games 6 & 7. The memory of Jack Buck calling out, “the Twins are going to win the World Series, the Twins have won it” as Gene Larkin lifted the series winning hit in the bottom of the 10^th still echoes pleasantly in my head.

Today as I was thinking of posting something about the 91 Twins I got a signed baseball card in the mail. It was from Terry Pendleton whose memories of the 1991 are not as good as mine. 1099 days after I sent it (that’s 3 years and 4 days) my Terry Pendleton card returns to provide me a chance to remember some of my best memories as a Twins fan.

I know you did not do it intentionally Mr. Pendleton, but thanks for helping me remember some good times. Win Twins!

I Meet Ben Revere of the Minnesota Twins

I got to meet Ben Revere at an autograph signing held at AME Sports in Roseville, MN. Ben signed a banner (which you can see in the above picture) given to me as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago by my sister-in-law.

Ben seems like a really nice guy who is just happy to be able to live the life he is living. Twins fans love Ben because of his speed on the bases and in the outfield, and because he does seem to so warm and upbeat. Long term though I fear Ben won’t be a star. That is not to say he won’t be a solid player, but his lack of power and inability to walks limits his upside.

Ben wears the #11 which was last worn prominently by Jacque Jones. Jacque was a member of the 2002, 2003 & 2004 division champion teams and he hit 132 home runs in his 7 years with the Twins. Jacque also struck out over 700 times and posted an OPS + of only 100.

Like Ben, Jacque did some things well, and some things not so well which kept him from being a star. However, Jacque is still well thought of by Twins fans who remember his time here. Ben Revere time here could be viewed in roughly the same way – not a star, but as a contributor who helped the Twins to success.

Country Power Index (CPI)

For the fun of it I decided to assign 1 point for every million albums sold, every #1 song, every top 10 song, every CMA award, and every ACM award a country music artist achieved over their career. For example if you had sold 10 million records, had 10 #1 songs, had 30 top 10 songs, won 5 CMA’s and 5 ACM’s you would have 60 points. Artists with say 10.5 million records sold would get 10.5 points.

I used RIAA certifications to measure album sales, and Billboard Magazines country charts to measure #1 and top 10 country songs.

Of course there are possible inequities in this process as older artists from the 60’s and 70’s were not credited with selling as many albums as they did, and in the last few years record sales have flagged due to people just digitally downloading the songs they like rather than buying the whole album. On the other hand older artists had longer careers as artists who could chart songs meaning they were able to amass more top 10 and #1 singles.

Also Brooks & Dunn won a lot of CMA and ACM awards for being vocal duo of the year when really they had no competition whereas male and female solo artists had a great deal more competition for their awards.

I call my measurement the Country Power Index or CPI. Of course CPI does not measure artistic impact, so whether someone is considered a great singer or whether they have classic songs that will last beyond their lifetime is not factored in. Instead CPI shows an artist dominance of the airwaves, retail sales, and award shows.

I also want to point out that while I did my best to be accurate, there could be mistakes in these calculations.

Here now are the top 15 artists of all-time and their scores:

George Strait – 228

Garth Brooks – 207

Alan Jackson – 150.5

Alabama – 150

Reba McEntire – 139.5

Merle Haggard - 136.5

Conway Twitty - 131

Brooks & Dunn – 130

Tim McGraw – 125

Eddie Arnold – 123

Kenny Rogers – 119

Willie Nelson – 109

George Jones - 108

Dolly Parton – 105.5

Ronnie Milsap – 102

Notice only 2 female artists (Reba & Dolly) show up. This proves what has long been known – that country music has always been a male artist format. Otherwise I am not surprised who is on this list as each of these artists were dominate forces in country music for many years.

In case you are looking for country icons named Johnny, Waylon, Loretta, and Tammy. Here are their scores:

Johnny Cash – 96

Waylon Jennings – 86.5

Loretta Lynn – 84.5

Tammy Wynette - 59.5

Here are the top 5 amongst those artists who emerged in the 80’s. You could point out Strait and McEntire benefitted from having great success in the 90’s as the well 80’s while the other 3 artists on this list earned most of their points during the 80’s. I did not have the time to break out Strait and McEntire’s scores by decade. It would have be interesting to see how made points they earned in each decade.

George Strait – 228

Alabama – 150

Reba McEntire – 139.5

Hank Williams Jr. – 82.5

Randy Travis – 75.5

Here are the top 10 amongst artists who emerged in the 90’s. In case you are wondering – and I am sure someone is – Billy Ray Cyrus scored a 19.5 and LeAnn Rimes a 33.

I think this list includes most of the dominate artists of 90’s though again you could point out many of the artists (Chesney and Keith especially) earned point in the 2000’s as well as the 90’s.

Garth Brooks – 207

Alan Jackson – 150.5

Brooks & Dunn – 130

Tim McGraw – 125

Kenny Cheseny - 93

Toby Keith – 86

Shania Twain – 75

Vince Gill – 75

Dixie Chicks – 68.5

Faith Hill – 67.5

Here are the top 5 artists amongst those who emerged in the 00’s. Paisley has won a bunch of awards which is why he is so out front. Underwood and Swift have amassed their numbers with far fewer years in the industry than the others, so I expect them to eventually overtake Urban and RF.

Brad Paisley – 80

Rascal Flatts – 69

Keith Urban – 51.5

Carrie Underwood – 48

Taylor Swift - 39

Finally a look at the group of country artists who in 1989 revived country music, and set the stage for all the success country music has achieved since. They are collectively called the Class of 89. While officially the group consists of Garth, Alan, Clint, Travis, and Mary Chapin. I also added Vince and Lorrie as both really had their commercial breakthrough in 1989.

Garth Brooks – 207

Alan Jackson – 150.5

Vince Gill – 75

Clint Black – 58.5

Travis Tritt – 39

Lorrie Morgan – 24.5

Mary Chapin Carpenter – 22.5

If this was 1995 I would have told you that Black, Tritt, and Carpenter would have had higher scores. However that is not the case. It just proves you have to judge an artists career over an extended period of time, and in its own way CPI does just that.

Minnesota Twins Update

The Twins have played 58 games with their franchise player Joe Mauer having played in only 9 of games. Add to that the fact the Twins have been forced to call up 14 players from the minors due to injuries and poor performance, and it is no wonder the Twins have the worst record in baseball.

Still it has been an interesting year with interesting subplots, some of which I write about below.

Casilla and Plouffe

Alexi Casilla seemed on the verge of being release, now he is playing like the team’s most valuable player. After a horrid start, Alexi Casilla has become an igniter in the Twins lineup with his batting average having risen over 100 points to .262. He leads the team in stolen bases with 8 which is twice as many the as anyone else on the team.

Casilla has had quite a ride with the Twins since being first called up in 2006. From bad to good to bad to good, Casilla’s play has been all over the place, and rightly earned him the reputation of being an enigma. He may yet fail again, but Casilla recent play has earned him a chance to play out the season as a starter

Casilla supposed replacement Trevor Ploufe on the other hand has earned the demotion he received. Plouffe was called up when Casilla go off to a horrible start. Ploufe, a former 1st round draft pick, had the chance to win the shortstop job and secure his spot on the team for the next few years. While Ploufe did hit 3 home runs in his time up with the Twins, I have never seen someone airmail so many throws to 1st base.

Plouffe’s throws seem to be careless, and he was to easily upset by reports questions about his bad play. He also hit only .200 in the 18 games he played for the Twins. Bad defense, being easily hurt by bad press, and hitting only .200 is not a good combination to have if you want to be a big league shortstop.

Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins

I have never seen the entire Twins organization turn on someone as they have turned on pitcher Kevin Slowey. Twins television color man Bert Blyleven, who is a Hall of Fame pitcher, has repeatedly slammed Slowey on air about Slowey’s unwillingness to pitch out of the bullpen. Others have followed in bashing Slowey whose time here in Minnesota is obviously about to end.

I have meet Kevin Slowey and thought he was a pretty decent guy. That said Slowey has been with the Twins 5 seasons and has yet to pitch more than a 160 innings as a starter (typical good starting pitchers pitch 200 + innings in a season). Slowey cannot seem to stay healthy, and when he is healthy he gives up way to many fly balls many of which turn into extra base hits.

Glen Perkins was once like Slowey, a man about to be sent into exile, but Perkins arrived this year with the attitude he was going to move to the bullpen and be effective. To the surprise of many, Perkins has been the Twins best reliever. Though he is currently on the disable list, Perkins has been the biggest and most pleasant surprise for the Twins this season.

Liriano and Pavano

Right now the highlight of the season is Francisco Liriano’s no-hitter. However, Carl Pavano’s no infamous attack on a garbage can in the Twins dugout in at Kansas City on May 1st may go down as the symbol of how most Twins fans feel about this season.

The Future for These Twins Might be as ex-Twins

I believe if the Twins are over 10 games out of first place by the all-star break in July, they will explore trading Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, Jason Kubel, Carl Pavano, Matt Capps, and of course Kevin Slowey. All but Young will draw interest, and many will be traded. I do not think as some have suggested that Jim Thome will be traded as he is too beloved here to be sent away via trade. Plus Thome may take a while to reach home run number 600, and the Twins will not trade him till he reaches that milestone.

I respect Justin Morneau for playing hard even when it is obvious he still has injury concerns. I respect Joe Nathan for realizing he was not ready to contribute to this team, and removed himself from the closer role, and asked to be put back on the disabled list. Men of character are hard to find in pro sports, and Morneau and Nathan are 2 of them.

I think Morneau will be back to his old self and with the Twins next year. Nathan, on the other hand, will likely not be back, but should land a job elsewhere.

The Twins Minor League System

Luke Hughes, Trevor Ploufe, Rene Rivera, Steve Holm, Rene Tosoni, Brian Dinkelman, Ben Revere, Jim Hoey, Phil Dumatrait, Eric Hacker, Jeff Manship, Anthony Swarzek, Anthony Slama, and Chuck James are the 14 players called up from the minors to help the Twins. Only Revere, Swarzek, and James have major league talent.

Matt Tolbert, Jason Repko, and Dusty Hughes were Twins on the opening day roster that had no business being on a major league roster and should be in the minors. Come to think about it, Dusty Hughes is back in the minors. I have a feeling Tolbert and Repko’s time on the big league roster is limited.

The only minor league talent the Twins have not called up this season that is even remotely ready to help them are starting pitchers Kyle Gibson and Liam Hendriks. Gibson is at Triple A Rochester, and Hendriks is at Double A New Britain. The Twins currently have enough decent starting pitching that neither man is needed, but by next year Gibson especially will be a factor.

Outside of Gibson and Hendriks the Twins best minor league prospects are Oswaldo Arcia (a 20 year old outfielder who can hit for power and average), Adrian Salcedo (a 20 year old starting pitcher with ace potential), Miguel Sano (a 18 year old hitting sensation), and Nate Roberts (a 22 year old outfielder who can hit). All have star potential and all are in low A ball or the rookie leagues which means 2-3 years minimum before they can be counted on.

Unfortunately it looks like supposed top 10 prospects Aaron Hicks (21) and Alex Wimmers (22) are not on verge of greatness as many had hoped. Hicks is a great defensive outfielder who cannot hit. Wimmers has suddenly lost his ability to throw strikes. The Twins were counting on both players to help out in the near future. Now it looks like neither will be ready for some time if at all.

There is always hope some minor league player will suddenly blossom ala Denard Span, and there are other players in the system like Joe Benson, James Beresford or Logan Darnell who have the chance to be a good player. On the whole though all the really good players are young and will not be contributing next year.

Final Thought

The Twins may yet somehow end up contending, but I sense this is a lost year.

I think the Twins organization needed to be knocked down off their high pedestal. The Twins organization has started acting pretty smug lately. It was time to remind both the baseball side and the business side of the Twins that they are not infallible. There is a fine line between being a winning and losing team.

If there is one thing I know about the Minnesota sports fans, it is they support winners not losers. God forbid the Twins have a couple losing seasons in a row. Target Field will become a ghost town. Let’s hope that does not happen, but the Twins had better watch out because it can easily become the case.

My First Twins Game of the Year

I went to my first Minnesota Twins game of the year on Friday, and promptly watched the Twins bullpen blow a 5 run lead in the 8th. I found out later the Twins had their major league record 755 game winning streak when entering the 8th inning leading by 5 or more runs snapped with the loss.

The record was a tribute to the many good relievers the Twins have had over the decade like Joe Nathan, Eddie Guardado, LaTroy Hawkins, Juan Rincon, Matt Guerrier, etc. Unfortunately it looks like the current Twins bullpen does not posses relievers of such quality.

One good thing that did happen at the game was I got an autograph Nick Blackburn baseball. I obtained the ball by buying a “Ball in a Bag” from the Twins Wives Organization. They have several brown bags in a basket that had an autographed baseball in them. If you donate $25 you get to choose a bag.

I asked Carroll Gardenhire, manager Ron Gardenhire’s wife, to pick a bag for me with the hope she would get me a ball signed by someone decent who I do not have a signed ball from already. Nick Blackburn fits the bill. Thanks Carroll for coming through for me!

In case you were wondering you had to pay $100 to have a shot at a Joe Mauer, Jim Thome, or Justin Morneau ball. That is a little above my price range, and I already have signed balls from Mauer and Morneau.

Despite the loss, I did have a good time at the game, and wish I could go to more, but the tickets are pricey, the parking is pricey, and the food is pricey and not all that good. Still the environment is enjoyable and it is worth attending a couple of games a year in person.

Harmon Killebrew

Harmon Killebrew has died. Harmon was the Twins all-time career leader in home runs (475), RBI’s (1325), and OPS + (143). As a Twin Harmon amassed a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 54.9 which is second best total in Twins history.

Some Twins fans will tell you Harmon is the face of the Twins franchise. Other Twins fans will tell you, as they did when he died, that Kirby Puckett is the face of the Twins franchise. While other Twins fans will tell you Joe Mauer is the true face of the Twins franchise. Oh, and don’t forget Rod Carew who advanced statistical measurements say was the greatest Minnesota Twin of all-time. I say why do we have to have only one face of the Twins franchise?

Most Twins fans will tell you Harmon was one of the nicest men they ever meet.

I have meet Harmon twice in person. To honest he basically ignored me the first time we meet, but he did hurriedly sign my baseball for me. The second time we meet he signed a baseball card for me then took the time to tell me about the pen he was using to sign the card with. He said he had specifically brought the pen with him to signed baseball cards.

I have been in four autograph lines where because Harmon talked too much to the people ahead of me I did not get through and get his autograph. I also sent a donation to his foundation in exchange for Harmon to sign a picture and baseball card for me. I asked him to sign in blue, he signed in black. I was told he would be put “HOF 84” on both items, and he only did so on the picture.

Of course Harmon was no different than any other person. He had his good days and his bad days. He had his reasons for basically ignoring me the first time we met just as he had his reason for being friendly to me the second time we met.

It was not his fault I cut off in his autograph lines. The Twins people who running those lines knew Harmon was the slowest autograph signer in all of baseball. They should have cut the line off after 100 people rather than let people sit there and fester then get angry when they did not get through the line.

Like what happen when Kirby Puckett died, people will spend too much time talking about how great a man Harmon was. In reality no one deserves all that praise. We all do good things, we all do bad things. We all at times are nice people, and we all have our moments of being not so nice people. No one is perfect.

I think Harmon would say of himself that he was a very good baseball player who tried to be as good a person as he could be. Sometimes he succeeded being that good person, sometimes did not succeed.

In the end that is all we could ask of him. Rest in peace Harmon, you did the best you could.

Liriano Autograph Signing

Here are some pictures of my encounter with Francisco Liriano who was signing autographs at Fan HQ. Francisco signed a photo for me on which he added the inscription “No Hitter 5/3/11”, and he signed an Allen Ginter baseball card for me.

Francisco does not get out much to sign autographs, so it was great of Fan HQ to stage this signing. Thanks to Shaun and everyone at Fan HQ for doing this. If you ever need some sports memorabilia and apparel, and you live in the Twin Cities area, check out Fan HQ as they have a nice selection of items.

I also added this picture of me at the free Drew Butera autograph signing at Fan HQ a while back. As you can see Drew is attempting to hand me back my baseball card, but I am to busy posing for the camera.

I also notice I am wearing the same jacket and hat. I only have one Spring/Fall jacket so wearing it is understandable, but I have at least 5 Twins hats so we will have to work at getting a little variety my choices of head gear.

Liriano's No-Hitter

I have never seen a no-hitter from start to finish till I saw one last Tuesday (5-3-2011) thrown by Francisco Liriano against the White Sox. Liriano had never thrown a complete game less a shutout in his major and minor league career. Yet there he was pitching the first Twins no-hitter in roughly 13 years. Let’s hope this is the start of revitalization of Liriano the ace pitcher. The Twins certainly need him.

In my previous post I said the Twins have chance to contend because they have a franchise player in Joe Mauer. I also mentioned the only thing could prevent Mauer from keeping the Twins in contention was his health. Well guess who has played only 9 of his team’s first 31 games? Joe Mauer is on the disabled list, and may not be back till the end of May which might be too late to help the Twins this season.

Let hope it is not too late, and Mauer can come back and carry this team. Let’s hope Liriano becomes the staff ace. Let’s hope that several other Twins start playing better, and this team heads to the World Series. There is always hope. As Twins fans saw on that magically night in May, sometimes hope is realized.

On a side note, I will have in-person encounter with Francisco Liriano. He is scheduled to sign autographs at FanHQ which a sports memorabilia and apparel store in the Twin Cities suburb of Minnetonka. For $20 a pop you can get him to sign a card, photo, or ball. $10 for inscriptions including what I think will be the most popular inscription – “No-Hitter 5-3-11”.

Joe Mauer Gives the Twins a Good Chance to Reach the Playoffs

Elite position players determine whether your baseball team is a playoff contender. It is as that simple. Don’t believe me? Consider the following.

The Kansas City Royals made the playoffs 7 times during George Brett’s playing career. The Royals never made the playoffs before or after the time Brett played for them.

Since 1890 the Philadelphia Phillies have been to the playoffs 13 times with 10 of those times featuring teams lead by Mike Schmidt (6 times) or Ryan Howard (4 times).

Reggie Jackson lead the Oakland A’s to 5 straight playoff berths (1971-1975). When he left after the 1975 season the A’s did not make the playoff, but Jackson’s new team the New York Yankees did. By the way the Yankees went to the playoffs 4 of his 5 years Reggie Jackson played for them.

Joe Morgan arrived in Cincinnati in 1972 and the Reds went to playoffs 5 times in 8 years including winning their first World Series in 35 years. When Morgan left for Houston in 1980, Houston made the playoffs and Cincinnati did not.

Barry Bonds lead Pittsburgh to the playoffs three straight years (90-92). Bonds left Pittsburgh in 1992 and Pittsburgh has not made the playoffs since.

When Derek Jeter arrived, the Yankees returned to greatness. Players have come and gone in New York, but Derek Jeter has remained and the Yankees keep going to the playoffs.

I could go on, but you get the point. Not every championship team has an elite position player on it, but most do. If your team has a legitimate elite player on it then you have a good chance of making the playoffs.

That is why the Minnesota Twins have a good chance of making the playoffs again in 2011 as they have an elite position player in Joe Mauer.

Yes, the Twins’ bullpen has been rebuilt, the starting rotation may lack a true ace, Justin Morneau is coming off a major injury, the middle infield could have problems, some players are aging, but Joe Mauer remains.

Since Mauer has started playing full-time in 2005 the Twins have made the playoffs 3 times and lost a chance at a fourth berth by losing a 1 game playoff to determine the division championship. When they did not make the playoffs in 2007, Mauer missed 52 games due to various injuries while in 2005 (the other year they did not make it) he was coming back from a major knee injury.

Mauer is only 28, so the Twins still have a good 4 to 5 years left at the top unless Mauer is injured. So health to you Joe Mauer, we need you most in order to make another run at the playoffs.

(The above picture is Joe Mauer's 2006 Allen & Ginter Baseball Card. I think it is one of the best looking Joe Mauer baseball cards of all-time.)

Random Thoughts on Country Music

Here are some of my random thoughts regarding events in the country music world so far this year.

New Music

The only new country music I have gotten into lately is from artists on the far fringe of the country genre. The Civil Wars is a duo that makes acoustic orientated music that might qualify as country. Whatever it is I have to say it is reverting to listen to even if the subjects and lyrics are depressing.

Crystal Bowersox is a former American Idol contestant who is not exactly country, but is pushing her new single “Farmer’s Daughter” to country radio. The song is about her troubled relationship with her mother. The song is sung with great passion and some anger which sets it aside from the bland, generic music I heard every time I turn on and then quickly turn off my country radio station.

Alan Jackson Down Under

My favorite country singer Alan Jackson is touring Australia for the first time in his 22 year career. I have read and heard he is a big star there, and his all shows are sold-out. While I think it is great he finally got over there, I have wonder what took him so long. 22 years and he never got there? I wonder if it was just too easy and too lucrative for him to keep touring in the United States every year, though we can never know for sure because we are not inside Alan Jackson’s head. Hopefully he won’t wait 22 more years to go back again.

Lady A Grammy Wins

I cannot get pumped up about Lady Antebellum’s big Grammy wins for their massive hit “Need You Know”. I think it is their best song, but for the most part I am not into their music. I know numerous other folks are into them, and I think that is great. We all should be allowed to listen to what we want, not what other people think we should.

Reba McEntire Finally Gets Into the Country Music Hall of Fame

After Alabama and George Strait were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005 & 2006 respectively, I was certain 2007 would bring the election of Reba McEntire. Alabama, Strait, and McEntire debuted at roughly the same time rose to super-stardom in the 80’s with Strait and McEntire carrying on their super-stardom into the 90’s.

Instead Vince Gill was elected in 2007, and McEntire had to wait 4 more years till she was finally elected this year. I think it was it wrong to elect Gill ahead of McEntire. McEntire has achieved far more than Gill, and has been around longer. She certainly deserved entry into the Hall of Fame before him. He would likely agree.

Unfortunately like all voting, voting for the Country Music Hall of Fame is not a non-bias activity. Gill is a popular guy amongst the voters, and they rewarded him. Other folks like Kenny Rogers and Garth Brooks are not so popular with voters, and they will have to wait for induction.

That is not fair, but it is the way the system works. Nonetheless it is great to see Reba McEntire get her just due. Hopefully Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, the Judds, Dwight Yoakam, and Randy Travis will be amongst those who join her in the next few years.