Monthly Archives: October 2015

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seven

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MINNESOTA 8, DETROIT 6 IN DETROIT (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, April 23.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched four shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and two walks with two strikeouts.  Al Worthington struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one walk.  Bill Pleis pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Al Kaline was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a walk, scoring twice.  Dick McAuliffe was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run.  Norm Cash was 1-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  The Tigers scored five in the first inning off Mudcat Grant, who retired only one of the six batters he faced.  The Twins got back into the game two by two.  They scored two in the second and got a pair of unearned runs in the third to cut the lead to 5-4.  Kaline homered in the seventh to make it 6-4, but the Twins got two more in the eighth, with an RBI single by Earl Battey tying the score.  The Twins opened the tenth with two walks, Hall put the Twins ahead with a run-scoring single, and an error allowed an insurance run to score.  The Tigers did not get a hit after Kaline's homer leading off the seventh.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-6 with a run.  Rich Rollins was 1-for-5 with an RBI.  Bob Allison was 0-for-5 with two RBIs.  Grant pitched only a third of an inning, giving up five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk with one strikeout.

Record:  The win gave the Twins a five-game winning streak and made them 6-1 on the season, in first place, a game ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 12

Sam Field (1846)
Pop Smith (1856)
Malachi Kittridge (1869)
Pete Hill (1882)
Dixie Davis (1890)
Rick Ferrell (1905)
Joe Cronin (1906)
Al Smith (1907)
Bob Sheppard (1910)
Tony Kubek (1935)
Glenn Beckert (1940)
Herman Hill (1945)
Garth Iorg (1954)
Jim Lewis (1955)
Sid Fernandez (1962)
Jose Valentin (1969)
Derrick White (1969)
Tanyon Sturtze (1970)
Tony Fiore (1971)

B-r.com says "Sam Field played only 12 games in the majors, but managed to do so with three teams in two leagues. He played mostly catcher.  His career may have been doomed by his .712 fielding percentage."  It may also have been doomed by his .146 batting average.

Pete Hill is considered one of the greatest outfielders of the Negro Leagues.  Incomplete statistics list his average as .326.

Hall of Famer Joe Cronin, of course, played for the Washington franchise from 1928-1934, managing the team in the latter two years. He married Clark Griffith’s niece, which did not keep Griffith from trading him to Boston after the 1934 season.

If there was a Hall of Fame for public address announcers, Bob Sheppard would be the first one in.

Jose Valentin is the brother of ex-Twin Javier Valentin.

First baseman/outfielder Derrick White was drafted by Minnesota in the 23rd round in 1989, but did not sign. He played in the major leagues for Montreal, Detroit, the Cubs, and Colorado, playing in three seasons and totaling 116 at-bats.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Dr. Chop.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 12 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Six

MINNESOTA 8, NEW YORK 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Thursday, April 22.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and a stolen base, scoring twice and driving in three.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his second and third), driving in four.  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-5 with a run.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Rollie Sheldon struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits.  Bob Schmidt was 2-for-4.  Joe Pepitone was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch, scoring once.

The game:  A walk, an error, and a ground out put the Yankees on the board 1-0 in the first.  The Twins came back with three in the second, tying it on a Jerry Kindall RBI single and taking the lead on a two-run single by Versalles.  It stayed 3-1 until the seventh, when Oliva hit a two-run homer.  Hector Lopez delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Twins lead to 5-2.  The Twins added three in the ninth when Versalles hit an inside-the-park home run and Oliva hit another two-run homer.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Kaat was 1-for-4, dropping his average to .300.

Record:  The win made the Twins 5-1, in first place, a half-game ahead of Detroit.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 10

1 Comment

Otto Hess (1878)
Bill Killefer (1887)
Wally Berger (1905)
John Stone (1905)
Floyd Baker (1916)
Bobby Tiefenauer (1929)
Don Schaly (1937)
Gene Tenace (1946)
Roger Metzger (1947)
Terry Enyart (1950)
Les Straker (1959)
Jim Weaver (1959)
Ramon Martinez (1972)
Placido Polanco (1975)
Pat Burrell (1976)
Troy Tulowitzki (1980)
Kolten Wong (1990)

Don Schaly was the head baseball coach at Marietta College for forty years.  His teams reached the finals of the Division III College World Series ten times, winning three times.

Kolten Wong was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 2008, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 10 →