Happy Birthday–January 13

January 13, 2016 Jeff A

Ernie Calbert (1887)
Fred Schulte (1901)
Ron Brand (1940)
Makoto Matsubara (1944)
Mike Tyson (1950)
Bob Forsch (1950)
Odell Jones (1953)
Gene Roof (1958)
Kevin Mitchell (1962)
Kevin McClatchy (1963)
Elmer Dessens (1971)

Ernie Calbert won six minor league home run titles. He also once pitched a minor league no-hitter.

Makoto Matsubara was an eleven-time all-star in Japan.

Kevin McClatchy was the CEO of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1996-2007.

When Elmer Dessens made his major league debut in 1996, he was the first big leaguer in thirty-five years to have the first name "Elmer".

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins who were born on this day. The closest we come is Gene Roof, whose brother, Phil, played for the Twins.

We would, however, like to wish a happy birthday to a certain Dread Pirate.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Ninety-eight

January 12, 2016 Jeff A

WASHINGTON 10, MINNESOTA 7 IN WASHINGTON

Date: Tuesday, July 27 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars: Earl Battey was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer (his fifth) and a double. Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twenty-first) and a walk, scoring twice. Rich Rollins was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run.

Pitching star: Dwight Siebler pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.

Opposition stars: Mike Brumley was 2-for-3 with two home runs and a walk, driving in three. Don Blasingame was 1-for-3 with a triple and two walks, scoring twice and driving in one. Pete Richert struck out eight in 6.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks.

The game: The Senators scored one in the second and two in the third, but took control of the game with a six-run fourth which put them ahead 9-0. Don Zimmer had an RBI single, Brumley hit a two-run homer, Blasingame contributed a run-scoring triple, Willie Kirkland drove in one with a single, and a ground out finished the scoring. The Twins got on the board in the sixth on Killebrew's two-run homer, but Washington got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth on a Frank Howard RBI single to make it 10-2. In the seventh, two walks, two errors, and Battey's three-run homer (all with two out) got the Twins back into the game at 10-7. That was as good as it got, though. The Twins brought the tying run up to the plate with two out in the eighth, but Mike McCormick got Tony Oliva to ground out, ending the threat.

Of note: Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5. Oliva was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs. Jimmie Hall was used as a pinch-hitter and was 0-for-1. Jim Perry lasted only 3.1 innings, giving up five runs on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts.

Record: The game one loss made the Twins 61-37. Combined with a Baltimore extra-inning win, the Twins lead over the Orioles fell to 3.5 games.

Notes: Versalles had his average drop to .228...Battey brought his average back over .300 at .301...Hall fell to .306...This was the first bad start Perry had since joining the rotation at the beginning of the month...This was the first good season Pete Richert had. After struggling with the Dodgers, he was traded with Howard and others to the Senators, went 15-12, 2.60, and made the all-star team. He would make the all-star team again in 1966. Traded to Baltimore during the 1967 season, he would have several good years as a reliever for the Orioles and for other teams...The two home runs Mike Brumley hit were 67% of his season total and 40% of his career total. He had been the regular catcher for the Senators in 1964, shared the job with Doug Camilli in 1965, and was mostly in the minors through 1969. He is the father of the Mike Brumley who was an infielder from 1987-1995.

Cup of Coffee

January 12, 2016: The Lock-In

January 12, 2016 spookymilk 84 Comments

Last night my wife and I got stuck in our room when the door latch wouldn't activate. Fun times.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 12

January 12, 2016 Jeff A

Henry Larkin (1860)
Tom Kinslow (1866)
George Browne (1876)
Joe Hauser (1899)
Lee Allen (1915)
Alfredo Ortiz (1944)
Ron Polk (1944)
Paul Reuschel (1947)
Randy Jones (1950)
Terry Whitfield (1953)
Mike Marshall (1960)
Tim Hulett (1960)
Casey Candaele (1961)
Andy Fox (1971)
Luis Ayala (1978)
Dontrelle Willis (1982)

Joe Hauser twice hit over 60 home runs in a season in AAA.

Historian and writer Lee Allen contributed much to the Hall of Fame and to the first edition of the Baseball Encyclopedia.

Alfredo Ortiz won 287 games in the minor leagues, mostly in the Mexican League, and 104 more in the Mexican Winter League.

Ron Polk was a very successful college baseball coach, most notably at Mississippi State.

The Mike Marshall listed above is the outfielder/first baseman who played mostly for the Dodgers.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 12 →

WGOM Videos

David Bowie – Young Americans

Video January 12, 2016 hungry joe 11 Comments

Aww, screw it, let's play a few more cuts, eh?

4 Dec 1974

Sorry, the mix is really bad for this the song. No, your speakers aren't screwy, that saxophone is clipping way the funk out. Sampling several videos for this performance leads me to believe this is the fault of that sneaky Dick Cavett...

(2 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.

WGOM Videos

David Bowie – Heroes

Video January 11, 2016 hungry joe 7 Comments

While freealonzo gets situated, we obviously must take the time to recognize an amazing soul that graced us with his time on this planet. We are all so much richer for it. The list of contributions are far too long to try to tick off, and I'm sure many words far more meaningful than mine will be spoken in the coming weeks, but I can imagine how cathartic it was for all those kids growing during his rise to have someone to turn to and think, hey, I don't have to fit into a box. This isn't weird. This is cool.

1977

Let us know your favorite remembrances below.

(6 votes, average: 9.67 out of 10)
You must be a WGOM Citizen to rate WGOM Videos.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Ninety-seven

January 11, 2016 Jeff A

MINNESOTA 8, BALTIMORE 2 IN BALTIMORE

Date: Monday, July 26.

Batting stars: Don Mincher was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his twelfth) and a double. Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twentieth) and two runs. Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

Pitching stars: Mudcat Grant pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Garry Roggenburk pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk.

Opposition stars: Dick Brown was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third. Brooks Robinson was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Russ Snyder was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game: Mincher hit a three-run homer in the first inning to give the Twins a 3-0 lead. Brown homered leading off the third and Robinson singled in a run later in the inning to cut the margin to 3-2. A run scored on a passed ball in the fifth and Killebrew homered in the sixth to put the Twins up 5-2. The Twins put it away in the seventh on an RBI single by Grant and a two-run single-plus-error by Oliva. The Orioles had the bases loaded with two out in the seventh, but Roggenburk retired Boog Powell on a fly to center and Baltimore did not threaten again.

Of note: Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5. Jimmie Hall was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Record: The win made the Twins 61-36 and gave them a split in the four-game wraparound series with the second place Orioles. Baltimore dropped to 4.5 games out of first.

Notes: Hall's average dropped to .307...Garry Roggenburk came up in 1963 at age 23 and had a fine season out of the bullpen, posting 2.16 ERA in fifty innings. He was out all of 1964, presumably due to injury. He started 1965 in the minors but came up in late July and though he wasn't used a lot he pitched fairly well in twelve appearances. He pitched poorly in 1966, was sold to Boston in 1967, and finished his career with Seattle in 1969...Dick Brown was in the last year of a nine-year career in which he was almost always a part-time catcher. He was a backup for Cleveland from 1957-59, went to the White Sox for 1960, went to Detroit for 1961-62, and spent the rest of his career with Baltimore. His one shot as a starter was 1962, when he started 122 games. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't particularly good, either, hitting .241 with an OPS of .631. Bill Freehan came along in 1963, which is why Brown was traded to the Orioles. He started the most games of anyone for Baltimore in 1965, but it was only 73, as he split time with John Orsino and Charlie Lau, with a few games going to a young Andy Etchebarren. He likely would have played longer, but was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was forced to retire after the 1965 season. He became a scout for the Orioles until his death in 1970.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 11

January 11, 2016 Jeff A

George Pinkney (1859)
Silver King (1868)
Elmer Flick (1876)
Max Carey (1890)
George Trautman (1890)
General Crowder (1899)
Schoolboy Rowe (1910)
Don Mossi (1929)
Gene Cook (1932)
Jim McAndrew (1944)
Jack Zduriencik (1951)
Rocket Wheeler (1955)
Lloyd McClendon (1959)
Donn Pall (1962)
Warren Morris (1974)