Monthly Archives: December 2016

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 26

Morgan Bulkeley (1837)
Dad A (1922)
Stu Miller (1927)
Al Jackson (1935)
Wayne Causey (1936)
Ray Sadecki (1940)
Carlton Fisk (1947)
Chris Chambliss (1948)
Dave Rader (1948)
Ozzie Smith (1954)
Mike Sodders (1958)
Storm Davis (1961)
Jeff King (1964)
Esteban Beltre (1967)
Omar Infante (1981)
Yohan Pino (1983)

Morgan Bulkeley was the first president of the National League.

Mike Sodders was a first-round draft choice for the Twins in 1981. A star third baseman at Arizona State, he never could adjust to wooden bats, never hit, and never made the major leagues.

Dad A has been a Twins fan ever since the team started, and was a baseball fan before that. He coached, he ran the public address system, and he was on the board of the local baseball association. One of the many gifts he has given me is a love of baseball. Dad, I know you'll never read this, because you don't have a computer and can't think of a reason why you'd want one, but thank you and happy birthday. May you have many more.

Infielder Esteban Beltre did not play for the Twins, but he was in their farm system in 1998. Born and raised in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, he signed with Montreal as a free agent in 1984. He really showed nothing offensively for several years in the minors, but he was fast, athletic, and considered a good defender, and so got promoted up the ladder anyway. Despite never having hit more than .242 in any season, he was promoted to AAA in 1990. After he predictably hit .226 in Indianapolis, he became a free agent after the season. He signed with Milwaukee for 1991 but was traded to the White Sox in late May. He hit .271 in Vancouver and got a September call-up. He was in Chicago for over half the 1992 season as a reserve shortstop, but hit just .191 in 110 at-bats. Beltre was back in the minors for 1993 and was traded to Texas in late March of 1994. He was a reserve infielder for the Rangers in 1994 and 1995, his only two full seasons in the majors. He actually had a decent year in 1994, hitting .282 (although with no power and few walks). He slumped to .217 in 1995, though, and became a free agent after the season. He signed with Boston for 1996 but was released in mid-June, ending his major league career. He did not know that, of course, and kept trying to get back. He signed with Philadelphia in early August, was released three days later, and finished the season in AAA with Atlanta. He signed with Pittsburgh for 1997, was released in spring training, and was out of baseball that year, with exception of one appearance as a pitcher for the St. Paul Saints. The Twins signed him for 1998 and sent him to AAA Salt Lake. He was the regular shortstop for the Buzz, hitting .278/.327/.353. It wasn’t enough, and he was a free agent again after the season. He kept plugging away, moving to the Baltimore organization, back to the White Sox chain, and finally to the Arizona organization before ending his playing career after the 2000 season. Oddly, his last year was his best, as he topped .300 for the only time in his career, majors or minors. His lone major league homerun came in 1992, against Minnesota, in a wild game the White Sox won 19-11. At last report, Esteban Beltre was working for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.

Right-hander Yohan Jose (Alana) Pino made eleven starts for the Twins in 2014.  He was born in Turmero, Aragua, Venezuela and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2004.  He pitched well in the low minors but struggled when he reached AA New Britain in 2007.  He pitched well in 2009 in both New Britain and Rochester but was traded to Cleveland in late August as the player to be named later in the Carl Pavano trade.  He did not do particularly well in 2010 in AAA for Cleveland and in early 2011 he was sold to Toronto.  He spent most of his time in the Blue Jay organization in AA, pitching very well there, but became a free agent after the 2012 season and signed with Cincinnati. He had a fine season in AAA for the Reds, but by this time he was twenty-nine years old, so Cincinnati management was not terribly impressed.  A free agent again after the 2013 season, he signed with Minnesota.  He was sent to Rochester and few thought that he would go any higher, but he pitched so well (10-2, 2.47, 0.93 WHIP) that he essentially forced them to call him up, which the Twins did in mid-June.  It would make a better story if he had continued to pitch well when he got to Minnesota, but unfortunately life doesn't always follow what would make a good story.  He had some good games, but on balance he went 2-5, 5.07, although with a WHIP of 1.33, in 60.1 innings.  He was a free agent again after the season and signed with Kansas City.  He made the team as a long reliever in 2015 and actually pitched quite well, but was seldom used and went to Omaha in mid-May, returning only for an emergency start in June.  He went to Korea in 2016 and is pitching in winter ball this off-season.  He turns thirty-three today.  The odds are obviously against him making it back to the big leagues, but if he did I don't think he'd be the worst pitcher there.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Eighty-three

MINNESOTA 2, NEW YORK 0 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Monday, July 6.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4 with a home run (his seventeenth) and a stolen base (his eighth).  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a home run, his twenty-third.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Ron Guidry pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Rickey Henderson was 2-for-3 with a walk and was caught stealing.  Claudell Washington was 2-for-4 and was also caught stealing.

The game:  I guess solo home runs can hurt you if your team doesn't score.  Brunansky homered with two out in the first inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the third the Yankees got a single and two walks, all with two out, to load the bases, but Dave Winfield flied out to end the threat.  Washington hit a one-out double in the fourth but was caught trying to steal third.  Hrbek hit a two-out home run in the sixth to make it 2-0 Twins.  The Yankees did not get man past first base after Washington's fourth-inning double.  Other than the two home runs, the only Twins hit was a single by Brunansky with two out in the ninth.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett again batted second and was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .346.

Record:  The Twins won their fourth in a row to make their record 47-36.  They took a one game lead over Kansas City, which lost to Cleveland 9-7.

Notes:  Ron Guidry was in his next-to-last season, but was still an effective pitcher when healthy.  His record dropped to 1-4, but his ERA was 2.80.  He was injured part of the season and finished 5-8, but with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

Player profile:  The Yankees' third baseman in this game was Jeff Moronko.  This was one of only seven games he played this season and one of fourteen for his career.  He was a sixth round draft choice by Cleveland in 1980.  His best minor league season was 1984 in AA, when he hit .314/.395/.479 for Buffalo.  He got a September call-up that year and went 3-for-19 with a double and three walks.  He was twenty-four then, and had repeated AA, but still, a year like that seems like it would give people reason to hope there was something there.  Apparently people didn't, though, because he was traded in late April as the player to be named later in a deal that netted Cleveland Kevin Buckley (five career major league games).  Moronko split the season between AA and AAA, and while he wasn't awful he wasn't particularly good, either.  He had a solid season at AAA Oklahoma City in 1986, though:  .280/.351/.409.  He was twenty-six by now, and not really a hot prospect, but still, reason to think he might be able to do something.  Texas allowed him to become a free agent and he signed with the Yankees.  If he thought this was going to be his big break, though, he was disappointed.  He hit only .201 at Columbus.  He did spend about three weeks in July with New York, going 1-for-11.  For his major league career he was 4-for-30 with a double and three walks.  He scored one run and drove in three.  A native Texan, he appears to be living in Sugar Land, Texas.  I guess it's not much of a career, but he played in fourteen more big league games and got four more big league hits than I ever will,

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 25

Pud Galvin (1856)
Barry McCormick (1874)
Walter Holke (1892)
Lloyd Brown (1904)
Ben Chapman (1908)
Jo-Jo Moore (1908)
Ned Garver (1925)
Nellie Fox (1927)
Gene Lamont (1946)
Manny Trillo (1950)
Luis Quintana (1951)
Jeff Little (1954)
Charlie Lea (1956)
Wallace Johnson (1956)
Rickey Henderson (1958)
Rich Renteria (1961)
Marty Pevey (1962)

There have been 24 major league players with the first name “Jesus”, including ex-Twins Jesus Vega and Jesus “Bombo” Rivera and one whose birthday is today, Manny Trillo.  There have been no major league players with the last name “Christ", although there have been two minor leaguers with that last name:  John Christ, who was in the Cleveland organization from 1999-2001, and Mike Christ, who was in the Seattle organization from 1984-1988.  There have been seventeen players whose first name was “Christian” (honorable mention to Cristian Guzman), sixteen players whose middle name was “Christian” (including ex-Twins Marcus Jensen, David Lamb, and Kevin Maas), and two players whose last name was “Christian”.  We would be remiss if we did not also mention 1980s journeyman catcher Steve Christmas, as well as Matt Holliday.

The staff of Happy Birthday would like to wish everyone a very merry and blessed Christmas.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 25 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of December 23

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

CARACAS 4, LA GUAIRA 2 IN CARACAS

Trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Caracas got a walk, a single, and a walk to load the bases and Felix Perez delivered a three-run triple to bring in the go-ahead runs.  Henry Alejandro Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a run for Caracas

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

ORIENTE AT GIGANTES

Rained out.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

SANTURCE 3, CAGUAS 2 IN SANTURCE (11 INNINGS)

Caguas got two in the first but could do no more.  Santurce tied it with one in the fifth and one in the sixth.  With two out and none on in the eleventh, a walk, a single, and an RBI single by Hector Olivera produced the winning run.  Andres Santiago pitched five innings for Santurce, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

AGUADILLA 8, MAYAGUEZ 3 IN MAYAGUEZ

With the score tied 2-2, Aguadilla scored two in the sixth and two in the seventh to take control.  Eddie Rosario was 1-for-4 with a walk for Mayaguez.  Kennys Vargas was 0-for-4 for Mayaguez.  Benji Gonzalez was 0-for-4 with a walk for Mayaguez.  Jarret Leveret pitched five innings for Aguadilla, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Ricardo Bautista was 4-for-5 with a double for Aguadilla, scoring once and driving in two.  Yariel Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a triple and a walk for Aguadilla, scoring once and driving in two.  Alexis Pantoja was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Aguadilla.  Reymond Fuentes hit a home run for Aguadilla, his second.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

MEXICALI 1, OBREGON 0 IN OBREGON

A hit batsman, a single, and an error in the first inning produced the game's only run.  Miguel Pena pitched 7.2 scoreless innings for Mexicali, giving up two hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

LOS MOCHIS 12, HERMOSILLO 4 IN HERMOSILLO

Los Mochis got three in the second and two in each of innings three through five to take control of the game.  Yadir Drake was 4-for-5 with a walk for Los Mochis, scoring three times.  Jake Fox was 3-for-6 with a home run (his third) and two doubles for Los Mochis, scoring twice and driving in three.  Rodolfo Amador was 3-for-5 with a double and a walk for Los Mochis, scoring twice and driving in two.

CULIACAN 9, MAZATLAN 2 IN CULIACAN

Ramiro Pena hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Culiacan led all the way.  Daniel Rodriguez pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts.  Pena's home run was his fourth.  Iker Franco hit a three-run homer for Culiacan, his fifth.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

No games scheduled.

WGOM Videos

Sufjan Stevens – Christmas Unicorn

Video 3 Comments

Christmas is kinda weird. But that's okay.

However, at this point, I feel like I'm the Christmas Unicorn.

But that's okay. You're the Christmas Unicorn too.

It's alright, I love you.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 24

Joe Quinn (1862)
Henry Mathewson (1886)
Chico Garcia (1924)
Frank Taveras (1949)
John D'Acquisto (1951)
Tim Drummond (1964)
Mo Sanford (1966)
Kevin Millwood (1974)
Jamey Wright (1974)

Henry Mathewson is the younger brother of Christy Mathewson.  He appeared in two games for the Giants in 1906 and one in 1907.

Chico Garcia played professional baseball from 1944-1970, mostly in Mexico.  He played thirty-nine games in the majors in 1954 with Baltimore.  He also was a manager in Mexico for fifteen seasons.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 24 →

Keeping Track

Winter Wonderland: Games of December 22

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

ANZOATEGUI 4, ZULIA 3 IN ZULIA

Niuman Romero's sixth-inning RBI single tied it 3-3 and a wild pitch later in the inning brought home the go-ahead run.  Reynaldo Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with an RBI for Zulia and is batting .309.  Ehire Adrianza hit a home run for Anzoategui.

LARA 6, CARACAS 2 IN LARA

Gustavo Molina hit a two-run homer in a four-run third that put Lara ahead to stay.  Nestor Molina pitched five innings for Lara, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Gustavo Molina's homer was his third.

MAGALLANES 4, MARGARITA 3 IN MARGARITA

RBI singles by Ronny Cedeno and Frank Diaz in the fifth inning put Magallanes ahead 4-3.  Mark Serrano pitched four innings of relief for Magallanes, giving up one run on two hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

ARAGUA 5, LA GUAIRA 4 IN LA GUAIRA

Trailing 5-2, La Guaira scored one in the eighth and one in the ninth but could not complete the comeback.  Lueris Gomez pitched five innings for Aragua, giving up two unearned runs on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Hernan Perez was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk for Aragua, driving in three.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 5, GIGANTES 2 AT GIGANTES

The Aguilas scored in four of the first five innings, building a 5-0 lead.   Danny Santana was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter for the Aguilas.  Dan Rohlfing was 0-for-2 with a walk for the Gigantes.  Angel Castro struck out five in five innings for the Aguilas, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks.  Jonathan Villar hit two home runs for the Aguilas.

ESCOGIDO 6, ORIENTE 4 IN ORIENTE

Escogido broke a scoreless tie with three in the third and never trailed.  Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4 for Escogido.  Chesny Young was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Escogido.  Erik Gonzalez hit a two-run homer, his third, for Escogido.

ESTE 3, LICEY 2 IN ESTE

Diory Hernandez' RBI single in the top of the ninth put Licey up 2-1, but Deibinson Romero delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to give Este the win.  Edwar Cabrera pitched six innings for Este, giving up one run on four hits and no walks with five strikeouts.  Eugenio Velez was 3-for-4 with a triple and a run for Este.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

MAYAGUEZ 3, CAROLINA 2 IN CAROLINA

Mayaguez got all three of their runs in the second inning.  Eddie Rosario was 2-for-4 with a walk for Mayaguez.  Kennys Vargas was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk for Mayaguez.  Benji Gonzalez was 0-for-1 as a reserve for Mayaguez.  Dereck Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning for Mayaguez despite giving up two hits and a walk, lowering his ERA to 0.55.  Jonathan Sanchez struck out five in five innings for Mayaguez, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks.

SANTURCE 10, AGUADILLA 1 IN AGUADILLA

Already leading 4-0, Santurce scored five in the fourth to put the game out of reach.  Frank Del Valle pitched five shutout innings for Santurce, giving up three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Jose Lozada was 3-for-3 with a double, scoring three times and driving in three.  Neftali Soto was 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Santurce.  Christian Vazquez hit a home run for Santurce, his second.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

NAVOJOA 2, HERMOSILLO 1 IN HERMOSILLO (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

A double and three walks brought home the go-ahead run in the fifth inning.  Hector Velazquez pitched five innings for Navojoa, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

NAVOJOA 5, HERMOSILLO 0 IN HERMOSILLO (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

Alan Sanchez put Navojoa up 2-0 with a two-run single in the second, Jesus Castillo homered leading off the sixth, and Niko Vasquez hit a two-run homer later in the sixth.  Zack Dodson pitched a complete game for Hermosillo, striking out eight in seven innings while giving up three hits and two walks.  It was the seventh homer for both Castillo and Vasquez.

LOS MOCHIS 4, MEXICALI 3 IN LOS MOCHIS (13 INNINGS)

Mexicali led 3-1 after seven, but Los Mochis scored one in the eighth and one in the ninth to send it to extra innings.  A walk, a fielder's choice, a hit batsman, and a sacrifice fly scored the winning run.  Sergio Garcia hit a home run for Los Mochis, his second.

CULIACAN 4, OBREGON 2 IN OBREGON

Culiacan scored two in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie.  Patrick McCoy pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

JALISCO 3, MAZATLAN 1 IN MAZATLAN

Japhet Amador hit a two-run homer in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie.  Tyler Alexander struck out eleven in 7.1 innings for Jalisco, giving up one run on two hits and a walk.  Amador was 3-for-4 and scored twice.  The home run was his seventh.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

No games scheduled.