Monthly Archives: November 2015

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Fifty-four

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DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN DETROIT

Date:  Sunday, June 13.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his tenth.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a home run (his eleventh) and two walks.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Bill Pleis pitched 1.2 innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Willie Horton was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his thirteenth), a double, and a walk, scoring twice.  Al Kaline was 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.  Dick McAuliffe was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.

The game:  Kaline doubled in a run in the first and Horton hit a two-run homer in the third to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.  The Twins chipped away, getting a solo homer by Killebrew in the fourth and another from Nossek in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Tigers scored single runs in the sixth and seventh to again take a three-run lead at 5-2.  Allison hit a two-run homer in the eighth to again cut the lead to one at 5-4, but the Twins did not get another baserunner after that.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a run.  Jim Kaat pitched only three innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk with one strikeout.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 34-20.  They remained in first place, but their lead over Chicago dropped to a half-game.

Notes:  Nossek played in place of Jimmie Hall, who was rested.  As we've seen, the notion that the Glorious Guardians of the Game have put forward, that in the old days everyone played every game unless they had a broken leg and even then they'd try to hop around if they could, is not true.  Players got days off for rest back in the 1960s, too.  Pitchers were handled a lot differently then, though.  Mickey Lolich came in to pitch the ninth of this game and got a save.  He had just pitched seven innings on two days earlier and would pitch 6.2 innings three days later.  Lolich made six relief appearances in 1965 and got three saves.  He also pitched three shutouts that year.  I wonder what the record is for "as many shutouts as saves" or, looking at it the other way, "as many saves as shutouts".

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 28

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Heinie Pietz (1870)
Frank O'Rourke (1894)
Jerry Gardner (1920)
Wes Westrum (1922)
Sixto Lezcano (1953)
Dave Righetti (1958)
Walt Weiss (1963)
John Burkett (1964)
Matt Williams (1965)
Pedro Astacio (1969)
Robb Nen (1969)
Jose Parra (1972)
Carlos Villaneuva (1983)

Jerry Gardner spent most of his life in baseball as a minor-league player and manager and as a scout.

We would like to wish a very happy birthday to Mom Runner.

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Friday Music Day

FMD: So long, 2015! (GUEST DJ SIGNUP)

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Well cats and kiddos, we're wrapping up another year of the sheep (or goat, depending on how your own year went). As such, we got some guest DJing that needs to be done:

First up, we need a new crop of DJs for weeks next year. Let us know below in the comments, and we'll follow our normal methodology.

Also, December will be for the BEST OF 2015. Everyone who wants one will get a day to showcase their favorite music of the past year. We'll throw everyone in a pool and fill out a calendar in a little bit here.

And finally, feel free (he likes it) to drop your lists below.

DEADLINE IS NEXT FRIDAY
(not for your lists. you can go ahead and do that now.)

2016 Guest DJ Volunteers
nibbish
freealonzo
AMR
Pepper
cheaptoy
Rhubarb_Runner
DK
Daneekas Ghost
MagUidhir
Twayn
Philosofer
Zack
E-6
CarterHayes
Can of Corn
spookymilk
davidwatts
New Britain Bo

Best of 2015 Volunteers
hungry joe
freealonzo
nibbish
AMR
Pepper
cheaptoy
Rhubarb_Runner
Beau
DK
Daneekas Ghost
MagUidhir
Zack
E-6
Can of Corn
spookymilk

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Fifty-three

DETROIT 8, MINNESOTA 5 IN DETROIT

Date:  Saturday, June 12.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and a double, driving in four.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring twice.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching star:  Johnny Klippstein pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Don Wert was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times and driving in one.  Jerry Lumpe was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice and driving in one.  Willie Horton was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and four RBIs.

The game:  Hall hit a two-run double-plus-error in the top of the first, but the Tigers got the runs right back in the bottom half, aided by three walks and an error.  In the second, Horton hit a three-run homer to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead.  The Twins got those runs back in the third on Hall's three-run homer.  It stayed 5-5 until the sixth.  The Tigers put two on with a single and an error, Wert had an RBI single, Lumpe drove in one with a double, and a sacrifice fly plated a third.  The runs came off reliever Jerry Fosnow, who was in his fourth inning of relief.  The Twins got only two hits after Hall's homer in the third.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5.  Frank Kostro, filling in at third for Rich Rollins, was 0-for-5.  Camilo Pascual lasted only 1.2 innings, giving up five runs on three hits, three walks, and a hit batsman, striking out two.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 34-19, but they remained in first  place by 1.5 games over Chicago.

Notes:  Rollins was simply being rested and was used as a pinch-hitter.  Hall raised his average to .328.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 27

Bullet Joe Bush (1892)
Johnny Schmitz (1920)
Billy Moran (1933)
Jose Tartabull (1938)
Dave Giusti (1939)
Dan Spillner (1951)
Mike Scioscia (1958)
Randy Milligan (1961)
Tim Laker (1969)
Ivan Rodriguez (1971)
Willie Bloomquist (1977)
Jimmy Rollins (1978)

No players with connections to the Minnesota Twins appear to have been born on this day. The closest we come is Billy Moran, who was part of a three-team trade involving Minnesota, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Angels. Minnesota acquired Frank Kostro and Jerry Kindall and sent Lenny Green and Vic Power to Los Angeles. Billy Moran was sent from the Angels to Cleveland in that trade.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Fifty-two

MINNESOTA 5, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, June 11 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-5 with a home run (his tenth), scoring twice and driving in two.  Bob Allison was 2-for-5 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base (his seventh).  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Mel Nelson pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mickey Lolich struck out seven in seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks.  Fred Gladding struck out five in three perfect innings.  Don Demeter was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third) and a double.

The game:  Killebrew homered in the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  It stayed 1-0 until the sixth, when Killebrew's RBI single doubled the Twins lead.  George Thomas led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run to cut the lead in half and Demeter homered in the eighth to tie it 2-2.  There was no more scoring until the twelfth, when the Twins started the inning with three singles (one an RBI hit by Allison) a sacrifice fly, and a Hall RBI triple to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.  The Tigers came back in the bottom of the twelfth, as Jim Northrup hit a two-run homer to make it 5-4.  Detroit did not get the tying run on base, however, and the Twins swept a doubleheader, with both games going extra innings and ending 5-4.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-5.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a run.

Record:  The doubleheader sweep improved the Twins' record to 34-18, still in first place by 1.5 games over Chicago.

Notes:  Earl Battey and Hall were rested, with Jerry Zimmerman and Joe Nossek taking their places.  Hall was used as a pinch-hitter in the tenth inning and played the rest of the game.  Nelson was usually a reliever--this was one of only three starts he made in 1965 and only eleven in his career.  He had only once pitched more than two innings in a game in 1965 prior to this and in that case he pitched three.  He would never be allowed to pitch into the eighth inning in that situation today.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–November 26

Hugh Duffy (1866)
Fred Tenney (1871)
Bob Johnson (1905)
Lefty Gomez (1908)
Howard Easterling (1911)
Eddie Miller (1916)
Bob Elliott (1916)
Jeff Torborg (1941)
Larry Gura (1947)
Richie Hebner (1947)
Jorge Orta (1950)
Jay Howell (1955)
Bob Walk (1956)
Mike Moore (1959)
Harold Reynolds (1960)
Chuck Finley (1962)
Brian Schneider (1976)
Matt Garza (1983)

Infielder Howard Easterling was a star in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s and 1940s.

The staff of Happy Birthday would like to wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

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