Monthly Archives: December 2015

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-eight

MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Earl Battey was 3-for-4 with a double and a run.  Bernie Allen was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts.  Johnny Klippstein pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two walks with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Bressoud was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once.  Felix Mantilla was 0-for-1 with three walks and a run.  Dennis Bennett pitched three innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

The game:  Allen's two-run single gave the Twins a 2-0 lead in the second.  A sacrifice fly by Hall in the third and another by Allen in the fourth made it 4-0.  The Red Sox got an RBI single by Chuck Schilling in the fifth and a sacrifice fly by Bob Tillman in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2.  The Twins got another sacrifice fly in the seventh, this one by Harmon Killebrew, to go up 5-2.  With two out in the ninth, a strikeout/wild pitch and a walk brought the tying run to the plate, but Al Worthington came in to retire Schilling on a fly out to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and an RBI.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Record:  The win was the Twins' seventh straight and made them 50-28.  Their lead fell to a game and a half, however, as Cleveland swept a doubleheader from the White Sox.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .326.  Battey raised his average to .316...Jim Lonborg started for the Red Sox and took the loss.  It dropped his record to 5-9 with a 3.18 ERA.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 22

5 Comments

Connie Mack (1862)
Matty Alou (1938)
Elrod Hendricks (1940)
Steve Carlton (1944)
Hiroyuki Yamazaki (1946)
Charley Taylor (1947)
Steve Garvey (1948)
Tom Underwood (1953)
Ken Landreaux (1954)
Lonnie Smith (1955)
Glenn Wilson (1958)
George Wright (1958)
Jeff A (1958)
Andy Allanson (1961)
Mike Jackson (1964)
Jason Lane (1976)

Second baseman Hiroyuki Yamazaki was a five-time all-star in Japan over a twenty-year career.

Charley Taylor was a minor-league pitching coach for over thirty years in the Houston Astros organization.

Steve Garvey was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1966, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 22 →

WGOM Videos

Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better

Video 21 Comments

DK is unsurprised.

I heard this song the first time while waiting for TV on the Radio to come onstage (great show), and it got its hooks in me instantly. There were lots of warm summer days soundtracked by this song, as well as the rest of Currents.

I haven't solidified a lot of my list, but this one has been the only realistic choice for "Song of the Year" for me.

Weird that the next song on the album is the worst song created by an artist that I like all year.

8 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 108 votes, average: 7.63 out of 10 (8 votes, average: 7.63 out of 10)
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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-seven

MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 6.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 3-for-3 with two two-run homers (his fifteenth and sixteenth) and a walk.  Don Mincher was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete shutout, giving up eight hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Bob Heffner struck out six in five innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits and two walks.  Tony Conigliaro was 1-for-1 with a double and three walks.  Eddie Bressoud was 3-for-5.

The game:  A few big inning made the difference.  In the first, Hall hit a two-run homer and Mincher followed later with a solo blast to make it 3-0.  Hall hit another two-run homer in the second to make it 5-0.  There was no more scoring until the seventh, when the Twins got their remaining four runs.  Two singles and a walk filled the bases, an error brought one home, Earl Battey's bunt scored another, and Bernie Allen singled home two more.  The Red Sox had two on in the second, third, and eighth and loaded the bases in the fifth, but did not score.

Of note:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a run.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Battey was 0-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

Record:  The Twins went to 49-28 and increased their lead over idle Cleveland to two games.

Notes:  Bob Allison was hit by a pitch in the first inning and was removed from the game.  He would not play again for a week and a half...Hall raised his average to .325...Battey's average dropped to .305...This was the second straight shutout for Twins pitchers...I am stunned that, in the seventh inning, with the Twins leading 6-0, the bases loaded and one out, Battey was bunting.  If you did that today, the old school types would scream that these young punks don't know how to play the game properly.  Of course, the old school types probably said that then, too.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 21

Cy Williams (1887)
Josh Gibson (1911)
Bob Rush (1925)
Howie Reed (1936)
Paul Casanova (1941)
Elliott Maddox (1947)
Dave Kingman (1948)
Joaquin Andujar (1952)
Tom Henke (1957)
Roger McDowell (1960)
Andy Van Slyke (1960)
Dustin Hermanson (1972)
LaTroy Hawkins (1972)
D’Angelo Jimenez (1977)
Freddy Sanchez (1977)
Philip Humber (1982)

Josh Gibson is generally considered to have been the greatest batter in Negro League history.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to hungry joe’s wife, peckish jane.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 21 →

WGOM Videos

EL VY – Return to the Moon

Video 9 Comments

Here's the new collaboration between Matt Berninger (of the National) and Brent Knopf (of Ramona Falls), doing the title track from their record on Conan. Also, their touring drummer has been Andy Stack of Wye Oak.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cJabOt6zIM

I can't play my favorite track off this album, since this is a family website, so instead, here's a stripped-down version of the closing track, "Careless".

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hRlt7xEx9c

I hope we're not all supposed to be putting our 2015 lists in these, cause...mine's not totally ready yet.

6 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 106 votes, average: 8.17 out of 10 (6 votes, average: 8.17 out of 10)
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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-six

MINNESOTA 2, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 5 (Game 2 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 1-for-1 with three walks and a stolen base (his eighth), scoring once.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game shutout, giving up seven hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Dave Morehead struck out seven in six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks.  Lee Thomas was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Eddie Bressoud was 2-for-4.

The game:  In the fourth, Allison singled and scored on a stolen base-plus-error to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth, an error, a walk, and Battey's RBI single made it 2-0.  Perry took it from there.  The Red Sox had two men on in the second, seventh, and ninth, but did not score.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4.

Record:  The doubleheader sweep made the Twins 48-28 and put them in first place by a game over Cleveland, who lost to the White Sox 3-1.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .317...Battey raised his average to .309...It was Perry's first start of the season and only the second time he had pitched more than three innings.  It goes without saying (but we're saying it anyway) that a pitcher in his situation would never be allowed to throw a complete game today, especially after allowing two batters to reach in the ninth.  He would remain in the rotation the rest of the season, although he made a couple of relief appearances down the stretch.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 20

Jack Manning (1853)
Harry Stovey (1856)
Jimmy Williams (1876)
Branch Rickey (1881)
Fred Merkle (1888)
Butch Henline (1894)
George Pipgras (1899)
Gabby Hartnett (1900)
Spud Davis (1904)
Eddie Leishman (1910)
Julio Becquer (1931)
Oscar Gamble (1949)
Cecil Cooper (1949)
Jose DeLeon (1960)
Augie Ojeda (1974)
Aubrey Huff (1976)
David De Jesus (1979)
James Shields (1981)
David Wright (1982)

Eddie Leishman was twice the Minor League Executive of the Year.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to spookymilk and mrs. milk.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 20 →