This was the show opener at his concert last November. We didn't have the full orchestra, but it was good anyway.
(2 votes, average: 7.50 out of 10)
Loading... 5. Dozier Walks-Off the Tigers
Twins were decent for the first time in five years and at this point only a half game out of the wildcard race. Down 6-1 in the ninth, they did lots of things. Suzuki had a based load hit by pitch. Danny Santana knocked in a couple of runs. And then this.
12. Arreaz Pinch-Hit Walk From 0-2 count
Jonathan Schoop had to leave the game in the middle of an at-bat. Arraez came in during an 0-2 count against really really good reliever Edwin Diaz, and a legend was born. (link in the headline)
The Better Moment
Total Voters: 19
Loading ...The Better Moment
Total Voters: 20
Loading ...The Better Moment
Total Voters: 19
Loading ...Date: Friday, August 24.
Batting stars: Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4. Bernie Allen was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Georges Maranda struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Frank Sullivan pitched two scoreless innings, giving up three walks and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Orlando Pena pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and five walks and striking out three. Billy Bryan was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his second) and a walk. Norm Siebern was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs. Jerry Lumpe was 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs, and two RBIs. Bobby Del Greco was 2-for-4 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and two runs. Gino Cimoli was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and four RBIs. Wayne Causey was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Ed Charles was 2-for-6.
The game: Del Greco led off the game with a base hit, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on Lumpe's single. The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the second, but nothing came of it.
Then came the third. Del Greco and Charles singled. An error brought home a run. Siebern had a two-run double. That chased starter Bill Pleis and brought in Lee Stange. He gave up a two-run single to Cimoli, a single to George Alusik, an RBI single to Causey, and a three-run homer by Bryan. The first eight batter reached base, all scored, and it was 9-0 Athletics.
That was pretty much it. The Twins scored in the fifth when Versalles singled, Don Mincher walked, a force out put men on first and third, and Vic Power hit a sacrifice fly. Kansas City added three in the eighth when Lumpe and Siebern singled, Cimoli hit a two-run double, and Causey had an RBI single.
WP: Pena (2-1). LP: Pleis (2-4). S: None.
Notes: The Twins used their standard lineup at the time. Jerry Zimmerman caught the ninth to give Earl Battey a break. Mincher, Johnny Goryl, and George Banks were used as pinch-hitters for various pitchers.
Rollins was the only batter over .300, at .308. He would finish at .298. He was a good batter in 1962 and 1963, still fairly good in 1964, but then just stopped hitting. I think injuries may have been involved, but I really don't remember. He would continue to play through 1970, but he really was not very good for his last several seasons.
Pleis lasted just two innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk and striking out three. This was the last of four starts he would make in 1962 and one of only ten in his career. He did have some good years out of the bullpen.
Orlando Pena had a very long career, pitching through 1975, when he was forty-one. He was a reliever in 1958-1960, a starter through 1964, and then went back to the bullpen to stay, other than an occasional spot start. If I had more time I'd give more of a biography--it looks like it would be fairly interesting. He pitched for eight different teams. It doesn't look like he was ever a team's main short reliever, but he was usually an important part of the bullpen. His career numbers: 58-77, 3.71, 40 saves, 1.27 WHIP. Nothing great, but not too shabby, either. He appeared in 427 games and pitched 1202 innings. A very respectable career.
The Twins were in a pennant race in 1962, so a loss to the lowly Athletics was costly. It was their third straight loss, but they would go on to win eight of their next ten and ten of their next thirteen.
Record: The Twins were 79-52, in third place in the American League, 5.5 games behind New York. They would finish 91-71, in second place, five games behind New York.
The Athletics were 60-70, in ninth place in the American League, seventeen games behind New York. They would finish 72-90, in ninth place, twenty-four games behind New York.
Bob Ewing (1873)
Howard Ehmke (1894)
Harry Harper (1895)
Andy Cooper (1896)
Ed Musial (1922)
Frank Lucchesi (1927)
Lou DiMuro (1931)
Terry Tata (1940)
Ivan Murrell (1943)
Bill Singer (1944)
Pat Zachry (1952)
Bill Krueger (1958)
Mike Blowers (1965)
Omar Vizquel (1967)
Todd Jones (1968)
Chipper Jones (1972)
John Barnes (1976)
Carlos Beltran (1977)
Wellington Castillo (1987)
Miss SBG (2007)
Andy Cooper pitched in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1939. He managed the Kansas City Monarchs to four consecutive Negro American League Championships from 1937-1940. He also holds the Negro Leagues career record for saves with 29.
The brother of Stan Musial, Ed Musial played in the minors in 1941 and from 1946-1950.
Frank Lucchesi managed in the minors for twenty-three seasons and in the majors for seven seasons.
Lou DiMuro was an American League umpire from 1963-1982.
Terry Tata was a National League umpire from 1973-1999.
Didn't see any mention before, but the Red Sox got off pretty light, eh?
I always think of rain as the original percussion instrument, and listening to a rainstorm pound out a solo on the roof has always been one of my favorite things. If I'm curled up with a quilt on the bed as I listen, so much the better. In the absence of rain, a good rock and roll drummer can fill the gap. I've always been partial to John Bonham and Nick Mason, with some latter days Phil Collins. How about you?
https://youtu.be/0NBeK_vJG80
Many a good Friday and Saturday night in my youth included taking doses of Mark, Don, and Mel far above prescription levels. But not for the last 40 years or so.
(3 votes, average: 7.67 out of 10)Loading... You get two losses to choose from today.
#8. Joe Mauer Tags Out Gardner
Man, is this just an #8 seed? Checks. Yep, just an #8 seed.
#9. Dozier/Rosario Homer Off Severino
Couldn't find a clip of this other than the entire inning, and I'm not going to subject you guys to that. I remember watching this with my then four year-old son (who couldn't care less about baseball) and I freaked out after Rosario's homer. So much so that my son cared about baseball for ten minutes until the bottom of the 1st happened and then he stopped caring.
The Better Moment
Total Voters: 20
Loading ...The Better Moment
Total Voters: 19
Loading ...Date: Friday, April 6.
Batting stars: Ron Jackson was 2-for-4. Roy Smalley was 1-for-3 with a walk. Ken Landreaux was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Pitching star: Dave Goltz pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out three.
Opposition stars: Mickey Klutts was 2-for-3 with a double. Dave Revering was 2-for-4 with a double. Dave Heaverlo retired all eight men he faced.
The game: The Twins put men on first and second in the first, but did not score. In the second, Revering hit a one-out double and Tony Armas delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 1-0 Athletics.
The pitchers then took over for a while, as neither team got a hit in innings three through five. In the sixth, Mike Cubbage led off with a single, was bunted to second, and went to third on a ground ball. Jackson then tied it with an RBI single. Glenn Adams followed with a run-scoring double and scored on a Butch Wynegar single. The Twins led 3-1. They got a couple more in the seventh. Willie Norwood hit a one-out triple and Jose Morales was hit by a pitch. A fielder's choice scored Norwood and Smalley's RBI single put the Twins up 5-1.
Oakland got a run back in the bottom of the seventh. Singles by Jeff Newman and Revering put men on first and third and a force out made it 5-2. A double play took them out of the inning. They threatened again in the ninth. Mitchell Page tripled and Newman walked, bringing the tying run to the plate. Mike Marshall came in to pitch for the Twins. Revering hit into a force out, cutting the lead to 5-3. It was the second out, however, and Mike Edwards then struck out to end the game.
WP: Goltz (1-0). LP: Rick Langford (0-1). S: Marshall (1).
Notes: Opening day of 1979. This was a period where it seemed like every year the Twins opened the season on the west coast.
Cubbage opened the season as the Twins' third baseman. He held the job until the middle of May, when he was replaced by John Castino. Castino would go on to win the Rookie of the Year award.
The Twins' outfield on opening day was Landreaux, Norwood, and Rick Sofield, with Adams at DH. Landreaux was a good player, but the Twins were shuffling various mediocre players in the other outfield spots with, understandably, mediocre results. In addition those mentioned above, Hosken Powell, Dave Edwards, and Bombo Rivera saw significant time in the outfield in 1979. Adams was a decent batter but was more suited to DH. The highest OPS among the others was Powell at .739.
Wilfong was in a platoon with Bobby Randall at second base. As the left-handed batter, Wilfong got the majority of at-bats and actually had a pretty good year, batting .313.
Ron Jackson was a pretty mediocre first baseman, but "Papa Jack" is a great nickname.
Record: The Twins were 1-0, tied for first place in the American League West with Kansas City and Seattle. They would finish 82-80, in fourth place, six games behind California.
The Athletics were 0-1, tied for fifth place in the American League West with Chicago and California. They would finish 58-104, in seventh (last) place, thirty-four games behind California.
It somehow is simultaneously already and only Thursday.
