Monthly Archives: February 2016

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-three

MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, August 20 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Andy Kosco was 1-for-3 with an RBI.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-1 with an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and four walks with five strikeouts.  Johnny Klippstein struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  George Brunet pitched 8.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts.  Jose Cardenal was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and a walk.  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  Cardenal homered leading off the bottom of the third to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  The Twins managed only three singles in the first eight innings, and after a one-out single by Kosco in the fourth the next fourteen Twins were retired.  In the ninth, however, Zoilo Versalles led off with a single and Rollins doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Tony Oliva hit a fielder's choice that did not result in an out, scoring Versalles to tie the score.  Kosco followed with a sacrifice fly and Valdespino delivered a pinch-hit RBI single, giving the Twins a 3-1 lead.  California was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Of note:  Versalles was 1-for-4 with a run.  Oliva was 0-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Earl Battey was 1-for-1.

Record:  The win made the Twins 78-45.  Detroit swept a doubleheader from Boston and moved into a tie for second with Chicago, eight games back.

Notes:  Kosco was in right field, with Oliva moving to center.  Jimmie Hall was rested...Battey was removed in the fourth inning due to either injury, illness, or exhaustion--he had been asked to catch both games of a doubleheader in the middle of August.  He would be back in the lineup the next day.  Jerry Zimmerman took over at catcher...Oliva and Battey were now in a tie for the team batting lead, each at .310...Jose Cardenal was in the rookie year of what would turn out to be a long and successful career.  He would be a major league regular from 1965-76 and was a reserve from 1977-80.  His best years would be with the Cubs, for whom he played from 1972-77.  He was named on a few MVP ballots in 1972 and 1973, but his best season was probably 1975, when he batted .317 with an OBP of .397.  He was a major league coach for a number of years as well, with his coaching career ending in 2003 with Cincinnati.  He is a cousin to longtime Oakland infielder Bert Campaneris.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 6

Frank LaPorte (1880)
Babe Ruth (1895)
Jake Levy (1900)
Glenn Wright (1901)
Dale Long (1926)
Smoky Burgess (1927)
Augie Garrido (1939)
Richie Zisk (1949)
Larry Young (1954)
Bob Wickman (1969)
Chad Allen (1975)

Pitcher Jake Levy had a minor league career that started in 1921 and lasted until 1945.  He played under a variety of names, making it difficult to determine his true record, but he won at least two hundred games.  He was also a good hitter, and early in his career played in the field when he was not pitching.

Augie Garrido is the baseball coach at the University of Texas and has the most coaching wins of anyone in Division I.

Larry Young was a major league umpire from 1983-2007.

You may have heard of that "Babe Ruth" fellow.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-two

CALIFORNIA 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, August 20 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base (his thirteenth), scoring once.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Jerry Kindall was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and no walks with one strikeout.  Al Worthington pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Albie Pearson was 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.  Joe Adcock was 2-for-3 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Jack Sanford pitched six innings, allowing one run on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

The game:  Each team threatened in the first, but there was no scoring until the fourth, when Adcock hit a two-run homer to put the Angels up 2-0.  The Twins got one back in the sixth when Oliva scored from first on a Hall double, but that was as close as the Twins would come.  Hall reached third with one out but was stranded, and in the seventh Pearson singled home an insurance run to make it 3-1.  The Twins threatened in the ninth, getting two out singles from Andy Kosco and Zoilo Versalles, but Sandy Valdespino flied out to end the game.

Of note:  Versalles was 2-for-5.  Valdespino was 0-for-5.  Earl Battey was 0-for-4.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 77-45.  The White Sox defeated Kansas City 3-1, so they continued to trail the Twins by 7.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva took over the team batting lead at .312.  Battey fell to .308.  Hall came back to an even .300...This was the second consecutive doubleheader the Twins had...Valdespino played left in place of Bob Allison...If people remember Albie Pearson at all, it's usually for his size (5'5", 140 lbs.).  He had a solid career, though.  He was the Rookie of the Year for the Senators in 1958.  He was traded to Baltimore in May of 1959 for original Twin Lenny Green, then was selected by the Angels in the expansion draft after the 1960 season.  He had three really good years for them, batting .288 in 1961, leading the league in runs scored in 1962, and batting .304 in 1963.  He made his only all-star appearance that year and received minor consideration for Most Valuable Player.  Unfortunately, back problems, which had bothered him in 1959-60, came back after that.  1965 would be his last good season.  After baseball, he became an ordained minister, established churches and orphanages in Ecuador and Zambia, and also has founded a home for abused, neglected, and abandoned boys in California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–February 5

Bill Rariden (1888)
Max Flack (1890)
Roger Peckinpaugh (1891)
Joan Payson (1903)
Jack Murphy (1923)
Don Hoak (1928)
Al Worthington (1929)
Hank Aaron (1934)
Norm Miller (1946)
Mike Heath (1955)
Roberto Alomar (1968)
Eric O'Flaherty (1985)
Mark Hamburger (1987)

Joan Payson was the original owner of the New York Mets.

Jack Murphy was a longtime sportswriter in San Diego who helped bring the Padres to the city.  The baseball stadium was named in his honor for many years until the naming rights were sold.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-one

MINNESOTA 2, DETROIT 1 IN DETROIT

Date:  Thursday, August 19 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with a triple and a double, scoring twice.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-1 with an RBI.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Mickey Lolich struck out thirteen in seven innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks.  Norm Cash was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Jerry Lumpe was 2-for-4.

The game:  With one out in the third, Versalles tripled and scored on Jerry Kindall's squeeze bunt to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The lead held until the seventh, when Cash doubled and scored on a two-out single by Jake Wood.  In the eighth, Versalles doubled and scored on a pinch-hit single by Valdespino to put the Twins back in front 2-1.  The Tigers got the tying run to second with one out in the eighth, but that was as close as they would come.

Of note:  Kindall was 0-for-2 with an RBI.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4.  Andy Kosco was 0-for-3.

Record:  The doubleheader sweep gave the Twins a record of 77-44.  The Tigers dropped to third, with Chicago moving up into second, 8.5 games back.

Of note:  Kosco played right, with Oliva moving to center.  Jimmie Hall was rested, although he was used as a pinch-hitter...Earl Battey was also rested, with Jerry Zimmerman catching...Oliva's average dropped to .310...I wonder when the last time is a team got complete games in both ends of a doubleheader.