Monthly Archives: March 2020

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-nine

CHICAGO 13, MINNESOTA 12 IN CHICAGO (GAME 2--12 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, October 3.

Batting stars:  Pedro Munoz was 3-for-6 with a home run (his seventh), a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Gene Larkin was 3-for-6 with two doubles.  Scott Leius was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and two RBIs.  Paul Sorrento was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and three RBIs.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his twentieth.  Greg Gagne was 1-for-5 with a home run, his eighth.

Pitching star:  Gary Wayne pitched three innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Ozzie Guillen was 4-for-5.  Dan Pasqua was 4-for-6 with a home run (his seventeenth), a double, a walk, and three runs.  Warren Newson was 3-for-4.  Carlton Fisk was 3-for-7 with two home runs (his seventeenth and eighteenth), a double, three runs, and six RBIs.  Craig Grebeck was 2-for-5 with a double and a walk.  Lance Johnson was 2-for-6 with a double, a stolen base (his twenty-fifth), and two runs.  Tim Raines was 2-for-7 with a stolen base, his fifty-first.

The game:  The White Sox got on the board in the third when Guillen doubled, went to third on Raines' single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  The Twins responded with six in the fourth.  Gagne led off with a home run to tie the score.  Munoz and Chili Davis singled, Larkin had an RBI double, Lenny Webster walked, Sorrento had a two-run single, and Leius had an RBI single.  Jarvis Brown drew a one-out walk to load the bases, and with two out Munoz walked to force in a run.  The Twins left the bases loaded, but they led 6-1 and things looked good.

It didn't last.  In the fourth, Johnson reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a stolen base-plus-error-plus-error, making it 6-2.  In the fifth Pasqua and Fisk hit back-to-back home runs to make it 6-4.  The Twins got a run back in the sixth on a pair of errors, making it 7-4, but in the bottom of the fifth Frank Thomas homered, Pasqua and Fisk hit back-to-back doubles, and Newson had an RBI single, tying the score 7-7.

Chicago took the lead in the seventh.  A single and two walks loaded the bases and Fisk hit a two-out grand slam to give the White Sox an 11-7 lead.  Leius homered in the eighth to make it 11-8, but in the bottom of the eighth Johnson doubled, went to third on Grebeck's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 12-8.

Munoz led off the ninth with a homer to make it 12-9.  With two out Webster singled and scored from first on a Sorrento double.  Hrbek then hit a pinch-hit two-run homer to tie it 12-12.

The Twins had men on second and third in the tenth but could not score.  Chicago had men on first and third in the tenth but could not score.  In the twelfth Joey Cora singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Matt Merullo single to win the game for the White Sox.

WP:  Brian Drahman (3-2).  LP:  Terry Leach (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Brown was in center field in place of Kirby Puckett.  He batted first.  Gagne batted second.  Munoz was in left in place of Dan Gladden and batted third.  Larkin was in right field in place of Shane Mack.  Webster was behind the plate in place of Brian Harper.  Sorrento was at first base in place of Hrbek.  Al Newman was at second base in place of Chuck Knoblauch.

Randy Bush pinch-hit for Chili Davis in the fourth.  Harper pinch-hit for Bush in the ninth.  Hrbek pinch-hit for Leius in the ninth.  Knoblauch then replaced Hrbek and went to second base, with Newman moving to third.  Mike Pagliarulo pinch-hit for Gagne in the tenth and stayed in the game at third base, with Newman moving to shortstop.  Mack pinch-ran for Harper in the tenth.  Gladden pinch-hit for Sorrento in the eleventh.  Gladden then went to left field, with Munoz moving to right and Larkin going to first base.

Webster was 1-for-3 and was batting .333.  Harper was 1-for-2 and was batting .313.  Bush was 0-for-2 and was batting .308.  Mack was 0-for-1 and was batting .306.

Kevin  Tapani started and pitched five innings, allowing four runs on eleven hits and two walks and striking out five.  His ERA was 2.99.  Carl Willis allowed three runs in one inning to make his ERA 2.65.

Brown was 0-for-6 and was batting .161.  Newman was 0-for-5 and was batting .194.

Greg Hibbard started for Chicago.  He lasted just three innings, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk and striking out none.  The White Sox used nine pitchers:  Hibbard, Roberto Hernandez, Steve Wapnick, Jeff Carter, Donn Pall, Scott Radinsky, Bobby Thigpen, Ken Patterson, and Drahman.

In eight games against the Twins in 1991, Warren Newson went 6-for-16 (.375).  For his career he batted .326/.425/.579 against the Twins for an OPS of 1.004.  For his career overall, he batted .250/.374/.401.

Fisk's grand slam was his last home run of the season.  He would hit only four more in his career.  He was forty-three at this point, and near the end of his career, but he played two more seasons before finally retiring.

What's more fun than playing a meaningless doubleheader at the end of the season?  Playing two extra-inning games in a meaningless doubleheader at the end of the season!

Record:  The Twins were 94-65, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 14

Candy Nelson (1849)
Bill Holbert (1855)
Marty McManus (1900)
Jack Rothrock (1905)
Santos Amaro (1908)
Ron Law (1946)
Dave McKay (1950)
Butch Wynegar (1956)
Steve Lake (1957)
Jerry Willard (1960)
Kirby Puckett (1960)
Kevin Brown (1965)
Brent Gates (1970)
Matt Kata (1978)
Bobby Jenks (1981)
Marwin Gonzalez (1989)

Santos Amaro is the father of Ruben Amaro Sr. and the grandfather of Ruben Amaro Jr.  He was a star player in Cuba and in Mexico and is a member of the Salon de la Fama.

Matt Kata was drafted by Minnesota in the twentieth round in 1996, but did not sign.

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Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 13

Frank "Home Run" Baker (1886)
Patsy Gharrity (1892)
Alejandro Oms (1895)
C. Arnholt Smith (1899)
Doug Harvey (1930)
Bill Dailey (1935)
Steve Barber (1948)
Randy Bass (1954)
Terry Leach (1954)
Yoshihiko Takahashi (1957)
Luis Aguayo (1959)
Mariano Duncan (1963)
Will Clark (1964)
Jorge Fabregas (1970)
Scott Sullivan (1971)
Johan Santana (1979)
Mike Aviles (1981)

Outfielder Alejandro Oms was a star in Cuba and in the Negro Leagues.

C. Arnholt Smith was the original owner of the San Diego Padres.

Doug Harvey was a National League umpire from 1962-92.

Infielder Yoshihiko Takahashi has the longest hitting streak in Japanese professional baseball.

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Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-eight

CHICAGO 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN CHICAGO (GAME 1--10 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, October 3.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-4 with a stolen base, his twenty-fourth.  Chili Davis was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Dan Gladden was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched five shutout innings, giving up six hits and a walk and striking out five.  He threw 72 pitches.  Mark Guthrie pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits.

Opposition stars:  Jack McDowell pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out three.  Lance Johnson was 4-for-4 with a triple and a stolen base, his twenty-fifth.  Frank Thomas was 2-for-3 with two walks.

The game:  The White Sox loaded the bases with one out in the first on two singles and a walk, but Bo Jackson hit into a double play to end the inning.  The Twins put men on first and second with two out in the fourth, but Brian Harper flied out to end the inning.

Those were the only threats until the sixth, when Gladden led off the inning with a home run to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Twins added a run in the ninth when Kent Hrbek walked and pinch-runner Jarvis Brown scored from first on Davis' double.

It was 2-0 going to the bottom of the ninth, and Rick Aguilera came in to finish it off.  But he walked Warren Newson to lead off the inning, and Johnson then circled the bases on a triple-plus-error to tie the score 2-2.  The next three batters went out, so we had free baseball.

The Twins went down in order in the top of the tenth.  In the bottom of the tenth, Tim Raines reached on a two-base error.  A ground out, an intentional walk, and a foul popup gave the Twins hope, but Newson delivered a single to score Raines and give the White Sox the victory.

WP:  Scott Radinsky (5-5).  LP:  Aguilera (4-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Al Newman was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.

Lots of substitutes again.  Brown pinch-ran for Hrbek in the ninth and stayed in the game in right field.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Harper in the ninth and stayed in the game at first base.  Gagne pinch-ran for Davis in the ninth.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Shane Mack in the ninth, but after a pitching change Pedro Munoz pinch-hit for Bush.  Lenny Webster then replaced Munoz in the bottom of the ninth and went behind the plate.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 and was batting .318.  Harper was 0-for-3 and was batting .312.  Mack was 0-for-3 and was batting .306.  Morris lowered his ERA to 3.43.  Terry Leach pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run to make his ERA 3.46.  Aguilera allowed three runs (one earned) in 1.2 innings to make his ERA 2.38.  It was his ninth blown save of the season.

Newman went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .198.  He would not get back over the Mendoza line.

What's more fun than a doubleheader after the pennant race is over?  Extra innings in a doubleheader after the pennant race is over!

It's a little surprising to me that Aguilera would stay in the game to pitch the tenth.  He ended up throwing thirty-nine pitches, which these days would be considered a lot for a closer.  Things were different then, of course.  Still, with the expanded rosters and a meaningless game, I'd have expected someone else to come in to pitch the tenth.

Record:  The Twins were 94-65, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.

On October 2, when the Twins didn't play (presumably they were rained out), Toronto won and clinched the East, so the Twins would play the Blue Jays in the ALCS.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-seven

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 2 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Tuesday, October 1.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fifteenth.  Shane Mack was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his twelfth.

Pitching stars:  David West pitched four innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Carl Willis pitched two perfect innings.  Mark Guthrie pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.  Rick Aguilera pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Wilson Alvarez pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out two.  Frank Thomas was 2-for-4 with a double.  Sammy Sosa was 2-for-4.  Ozzie Guillen was 2-for-4.

The game:  Each team missed a chance in the first.  The Twins had men on first and second with none out; the White Sox loaded the bases.  Still it was scoreless until the second.  Brian Harper reached on an error and Mack singled.  A bunt advanced the runners and Pedro Munoz delivered an RBI single.  With men on first and third, the Twins tried a double steal of second and home, but Mack was thrown out at the plate to leave the score 1-0 Twins.

Chicago tied it in the third on back-to-back two-out doubles by Thomas and Carlton Fisk.  They took the lead in the fourth.  Sosa and Lance Johnson started the inning with singles, putting men on first and third.  The White Sox then tried a double steal of their own and got the same result the Twins had, with Sosa thrown out at the plate.  Ron Karkovice singled, however, putting Chicago up 2-1.

It stayed 2-1 until the seventh.  With one out Mack singled, stole second, and scored on a Gene Larkin single, tying it 2-2.  In the eighth Puckett homered to give the Twins a 3-2 advantage.  The White Sox did not get a man past first after that.

WP:  Guthrie (7-5).  LP:  Melido Perez (8-7).  S:  Aguilera (41).

Notes:  Mack was in left field, with Dan Gladden on the bench.  Gagne moved up to the leadoff spot.  Larkin was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Munoz was in right field.

Al Newman replaced Gagne in the sixth and went to third base, with Leius moving to shortstop.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Munoz in the seventh and went to right field.  Junior Ortiz replaced Harper at catcher in the seventh.  Jarvis Brown replaced Bush in right field in the eighth.

Puckett was batting .321.  Harper was 0-for-3 and was batting .314.  Bush walked in his only plate appearance and remained at .312.  Mack raised his average to .308.  Willis lowered his ERA to 2.37.  Aguilera went down to 2.31.

This was the only year of his career that Melido Perez was mainly a reliever.  He did pretty well, going 8-7, 3.12, 1.20 WHIP.  He'd had a good rookie year as a starter in 1988, but then struggled for two seasons.  He was traded to the Yankees for 1992, went back to starting, and had the best season of his career, going 13-16, 2.87, 1.23 WHIP.  He fell off after that, though, and never posted an ERA below four again.  He was not a great pitcher, but he did have a couple of good years, which is a couple more than some people have.  For his career, he was 78-85, 4.17, 1.34 WHIP.

Not only had the White Sox been eliminated, they now had only a 1.5 game lead over Oakland and Texas for second.  It was possible that they might drop to third or even fourth.

Record:  The Twins were 94-63, in first place in the American League West, ten games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto won and Boston lost, increasing the Blue Jays' lead to 4.5 games.  Toronto had clinched at least a tie for the division.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–March 12

Abraham Mills (1884)
Denny Lyons (1866)
Leroy Matlock (1907)
Vern Law (1930)
Durwood Merrill (1938)
Johnny Callison (1939)
Jimmy Wynn (1942)
Bill Butler (1947)
Larry Rothschild (1954)
Ruppert Jones (1955)
Dale Murphy (1956)
Mike Quade (1957)
Darryl Strawberry (1962)
Shawn Gilbert (1965)
Steve Finley (1965)
Raul Mondesi (1971)
Greg Hansell (1971) 
David Lee (1973)
P. J. Walters (1985)

Abraham Mills was president of the Mills Commission, which determined that Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball in Cooperstown, New York in 1839.

Leroy Matlock was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s.

Durwood Merrill was a major league umpire from 1977-2002.

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