Monthly Archives: January 2016

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred One

MINNESOTA 3, BALTIMORE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 30.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.  Earl Battey was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Curt Blefary was 1-for-2 with a home run (his fourteenth) and a walk.  Dave McNally pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and five walks with two strikeouts.  He was also 1-for-2 with a run.  Russ Snyder was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

The game:  Tony Oliva's RBI ground out put the Twins up 1-0 in the first.  That lead held until the fifth, when Blefary homered to tie it.  The Twins got the lead right back in the bottom of the fifth on Rollins' RBI double, but the Orioles tied it back up again in the top of the sixth when Snyder delivered an RBI single.  It stayed 2-2 until the ninth.  Don Mincher singled, Harmon Killebrew doubled, and Bob Allison was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out.  Battey then bunted and pitcher Dick Hall made an error, allowing the go-ahead run to score.  Baltimore went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Of note:  Oliva was 0-for-4 with an RBI.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a double.

Record:  The win made the Twins 64-37 and increased their lead to five games.  Baltimore, by losing, fell into a tie for second with Cleveland, which beat the Yankees 5-0.

Notes:  Battey was hitting .306.  Oliva dropped to .305.  Jimmie Hall did not play, with Joe Nossek taking over in center field...This was Curt Blefary's rookie year.  He hit .260/.381/.470 with 22 homers and was the Rookie of the Year at age 21.  His 1966 was similar:  .255/.371/.468 with 23 homers at age 22.  Those would be the best two seasons he would have.  He was a starting outfielder for the Orioles through 1968 but when he batted only .200 in '68 he was traded to Houston in a deal that sent Mike Cuellar to Baltimore.  He had a pretty good year for the Astros, hitting .253/.347/.393 with 12 homers in the spacious Astrodome, but it was the last good year he would have.  He went to the Yankees in 1970, to Oakland in 1971, and finished his career with San Diego in 1972.

Keeping Track

1969 Rewind: Game One Hundred

MINNESOTA 8, WASHINGTON 1 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Wednesday, July 28.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 5-for-5 with two stolen bases (his eleventh and twelfth), scoring three times and driving in two.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double, scoring twice.  Don Mincher was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Camilo Pascual pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Garry Roggenburk pitched 5.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Don Zimmer was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.  Frank Howard was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Doug Camilli was 1-for-1 with an RBI.

The game:  The Twins opened the scoring in the third when Oliva singled in a run and Harmon Killebrew followed with a two-run homer.  Bob Allison delivered a two-run single in the fifth to make it 5-0.  In the sixth, Oliva had another RBI single and Mincher followed with a two-run double.  The lone Senators run came in the seventh, when Zimmer led off with a double and scored on Camilli's pinch-hit single.

Of note:  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his twenty-second) and a walk.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Record:  The win made the Twins 63-37.  Baltimore defeated California 5-1, so the Twins lead remained four games.

Notes:  Oliva's big day boosted his average over .300 for the first time all season at .308.  Hall was at .305.  Battey went up to .304...Pascual had been battling injuries for some time.  After this game, he would go on the disabled list and would not pitch again until September.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 14

Billy Meyer (1892)
Smead Jolley (1902)
Phil Piton (1903)
Chet Brewer (1907)
Sonny Siebert (1937)
Dave Campbell (1942)
Ron Clark (1943)
Derrel Thomas (1951)
Wayne Gross (1952)
Terry Forster (1952)
Mike Pelfrey (1984)
Erick Aybar (1984)

Billy Meyer won 1,604 games as a minor league manager, mostly in the Yankees organization.

Phil Piton was president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues from 1964-1971.

Chet Brewer was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues known for his mastery of throwing scuffed baseballs.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 14 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Ninety-nine

MINNESOTA 9, WASHINGTON 5 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Tuesday, July 27 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his thirteenth).  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a home run (his eleventh) and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with three runs.

Pitching stars:  Al Worthington struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.  Dwight Siebler struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Dick Nen was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Don Lock was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.  Doug Camilli was 1-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.

The game:  In the first, Harmon Killebrew had an RBI single and another run scored on an error to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  Lock singled in a run in the bottom of the first, but Versalles homered in the second to get the run back and give the Twins a 3-1 lead.  The Senators started the four with two walks and an infield hit to load the bases and Camilli unloaded them with a three-run double that put Washington up 4-3.  Nen's RBI single in the sixth made it 5-3.  Earl Battey homered in the seventh and Mincher delivered a two-run shot in the eighth to give the Twins the lead back at 6-5.  The Senators threatened to tie it in the eighth, putting men on second and third with two out, but Worthington struck out pinch-hitter Jim King to end the inning.  The Twins added two more in the ninth on a Joe Nossek RBI single and an infield out.

Of note:  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a run.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Battey was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.  Jim Kaat struck out five in five innings but gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks.

Record:  The doubleheader split made the Twins 62-37 and gave them a four game lead over Baltimore.

Notes:  Hall was now hitting .305.  Battey was at an even .300...Jim Kaat made his second start in three days and his fifth in thirteen days.  Not surprisingly, he did not pitch particularly well.