Many thanks to Nibbsy for a nice week of Nibbishment.
We'll also close out February with these dudes. Thanks for listening.
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Loading... Date: Sunday, September 12.
Batting stars: Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and a stolen base (his nineteenth), scoring once. Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with two stolen bases (his twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth) and a run.
Pitching star: Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Earl Wilson pitched eight innings, allowing one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts. Jim Gosger was 2-for-4. Frank Malzone was 1-for-4 with a double.
The game: The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first when Oliva hit a two-out triple and scored on Allison's single. The score stayed 1-0 through eight innings. Neither team even mounted much of a threat--the only player for either team to reach second base in that time was Malzone, who hit a two-out double in the sixth. In the ninth, Versalles singled, stole second and third, and scored on a Don Mincher sacrifice fly. The Red Sox did not get a man past first base in the ninth.
Of note: Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4.
Record: The win was the Twins' fifth straight and made them 92-54. Chicago won and Baltimore did not play, so the White Sox resumed sole possession of second place, nine games behind.
Notes: Oliva's average remained .318...Earl Wilson is another forgotten pitcher of the 1960s. He became a rotation starter in 1961, but really did not hit his stride until he was traded to Detroit in June of 1966 at age 31. After posting an ERA of 4.10 and a WHIP of 1.40 in his seasons with Boston, he went 13-6, 2.59, 1.00 WHIP the rest of the 1966 season with Detroit. He followed that up in 1967 by going 22-11, 3.67, 1.17 WHIP in 1967. In 1968 his won-lost record was not as good, but his other numbers were comparable or better. He continued to pitch well in 1969, but struggled in 1970 and ended his playing career after that season. My first thought was that perhaps the Tigers had some genius pitching coach who helped Wilson in 1966. And maybe he was a genius, but he certain doesn't have that reputation. The Tigers' pitching coach in 1966 was Stubby Overmire.
How many February 29ths are you going to get, anyway?
Dickey Pearce (1836)
Pepper Martin (1904)
Al Rosen (1924)
Steve Mingori (1944)
Terrence Long (1976)
Predictably, there are fewer major league players born on this day than any other (12). No players with connections to the Minnesota Twins were born on this day.
We'll end nibbish week with one of my favorite songs ever, played well on a show that was a great platform for a lot of music that might not have gotten national exposure, otherwise.
Thanks for viewing, commenting, and even tossing a rating or two.
(1 votes, average: 10.00 out of 10)Loading... Date: Saturday, September 11.
Batting stars: Jimmie Hall was 4-for-5 with a double, a walk, and two stolen bases (his eleventh and twelfth), scoring three times and driving in two. Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-5 with a double and two stolen bases (his twenty-second and twenty-third), scoring twice. Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.
Pitching star: Camilo Pascual pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Carl Yastrzemski was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eighteenth) and two RBIs. Lee Thomas was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Jim Gosger was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.
The game: Oliva singled in a run in the first and Don Mincher had an RBI single in a two-run third to put the Twins up 3-0. Hall's two-run single in the fourth made it 5-0 and the Twins were never really threatened. Oliva's two-run double made it 8-2 in the eighth. The Red Sox got single runs in the eighth and ninth but never appeared to be back in the game.
Of note: Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a walk.
Record: The Twins' fourth consecutive win made them 91-54. Baltimore and Chicago both lost, so the Twins' lead over both went up to nine games.
Notes: Oliva raised his average to .318...The Twins' first three batters in the lineup (Versalles, Hall, Oliva) went a combined 10-for-15 with a walk, three doubles, and four stolen bases...The Boston starter was Jim Lonborg, who was in his rookie year and was not yet the ace pitcher he would become, if only briefly. He went 9-17, 4.47, 1.39 WHIP in 1965. The Red Sox, to their credit, kept him in the rotation all year. He improved in 1966 and had his best year in 1967, when he went 22-9, 3.16, 1.14 WHIP and won the Cy Young award. He broke his leg in a skiing accident that off-season and was never the same. He would, however, go on to have a long career and had a few good seasons, going 14-12, 2.83 for Milwaukee in 1972, 17-13, 3.21 for Philadelphia in 1974, and 18-10, 3.08 for the Phillies in 1976. After his playing career was over he went to dental school and appears to still be a practicing dentist in Hanover, Massachusetts.
Terry Turner (1881)
Jud Wilson (1897)
Bob Howsam (1918)
George Maloney (1928)
Frank Malzone (1930)
Bill Haller (1935)
Marty Perez (1946)
Mark Wiley (1948)
Tom Gamboa (1948)
Jim Wohlford (1951)
Mike Milchin (1968)
Trent Oeltjen (1983)
Aaron Thompson (1987)
Aroldis Chapman (1988)
Jud Wilson played in the Negro Leagues from 1922-1945 and had a lifetime batting average of .351.
Bob Howsam was the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds and helped put together the Big Red Machine.
George Maloney was an American League umpire from 1969-1983.
Bill Haller is the older brother of Tom Haller and was an American League umpire from 1963-1982.
Tom Gamboa was a minor league manager who won league championships twice and reached the playoffs four other times in a ten year career. Unfortunately, he is best known as the Kansas City Royals coach attacked by two White Sox "fans" in Comiskey Park in 2002.
I'm pretty much ready to drive off on Monday or probably Tuesday morning. I look forward to finally being able to spend time here again.
Shoegazey alt rock for your warm Saturday listening pleasure.
(1 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)Loading... with spoons on the lam, who is gonna handicap the Oscars for us? Do I have to call on The Boy?
