OAKLAND 6, MINNESOTA 3 IN OAKLAND
Date: Monday, April 13.
Batting stars: Kirby Puckett was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk. Kent Hrbek was 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBIs. Roy Smalley was 2-for-4 with two doubles.
Pitching star: Frank Viola pitched 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and six walks with three strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Carney Lansford was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Alfredo Griffin was 2-for-5 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base. Jose Canseco was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
The game: Hrbek's two-run single in the sixth gave the Twins a 2-1 lead. In the seventh, however, RBI singles by Griffin and Canseco gave the Athletics a 3-2 advantage. Puckett tied it with a home run leading off the eighth, but in the bottom of the eighth, a two-out two-run single by Lansford gave Oakland the lead for good. The go-ahead runs came off George Frazier, who had come in to get the last out of the seventh.
Of note: Four of the Twins batters were batting .300 or better in the young season: Al Newman (.308), Randy Bush (.300), Puckett (.500) and Smalley (.350). Two, however, were below .200: Tom Brunansky (.160) and Tom Nieto (.143).
Record: The Twins were 5-2, tied for first with California.
Notes: Because of all that's happened since, it's easy to forget what a great batter Jose Canseco was, especially early in his career. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1986, made the all-star team in five of his first seven seasons, and received MVP votes in five of his first six seasons, winning the award in 1988. The one year he didn't get MVP votes, 1989, was when he was injured and only played in 65 games. He hit over 30 homers in each of his first five full seasons, leading the league in 1988 and 1991. He was traded from Oakland in 1992 and then was up and down, battling injuries much of the time. He still had some fine years, though, topping a .900 OPS with Texas in 1994, with Boston in 1995, and with Tampa Bay in 1999. He hit 462 home runs for his career, had a slugging average of .515, and an OPS of .867.
I wasn't around for the times the Twins met the Orioles in the ALCS, so the Twins' best rivalry from my perspective was with the A's. So many years have passed since the old AL West was disbanded that it doesn't feel particularly significant when the teams meet these days, but even as late as the '05 ALDS it felt like there was some extra juice in the current.
I imagine I will always dislike the White Sox, although Ozzie made that that rivalry the most fun it probably ever will be in my lifetime. The Angels are dislikable because Scioscia, but Trout just about makes up for him. I've never been able to get all that worked up about playing against the Spiders, Royals, or even the Tigers. Maybe that's one criticism of the contemporary all-interleague schedule & divisional alignment – longstanding rivalries outside of large markets (Boston - New York), within divisions (Cubs-Cardinals), or between intra-state clubs (Giants – Dodgers) have been substantially diminished. Or have the Twins just been so bad for so long that they've warped my perspective? (Canada vs. Texas being a developing example?)
My favorite Jose Canseco moment will always be this:
httpv://youtu.be/QixQMUu4CKI
The Twins did have a rivalry but Guillen, and AJ, made it fun. Also sort of a rivalry/general frustration with the Yankees. Before and after that the Twins weren't good enough to matter. The Twins still lose to the Yankees but also everyone else now.
Kirby's .500/.533/1.179 (5 HR, .429 BAbip, 1.080 WPA) was the best seven-game stretch to start the season of his career. He was pretty good in a couple other years (1989 & 1993 in particular), but nothing quite like this.
Yeah, I don't remember him having such a great start. Of course, it is only a week, but 5 home runs in the first 7 games I would think would be pretty memorable. Of course, '86 was his best power year, so I probably thought that this was just how good he was going to be.