Monthly Archives: May 2020

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 23

Dummy Hoy (1862)
Deacon Phillippe (1872)
Zack Wheat (1888)
Halsey Hall (1898)
Arch McDonald (1901)
Willis Hudlin (1906)
Augie Galan (1912)
Lawrence Ritter (1922)
Clyde King (1924)
Skip Bertman (1938)
Tom Penders (1945)
Reggie Cleveland (1948)
Buck Showalter (1956)
Ricky Gutierrez (1970)
Ramon Ortiz (1973)
Mike Gonzalez (1978)
Mike Dunn (1985)
Jordan Zimmerman (1986)
Kyle Barraclough (1990)

Deacon Phillippe was the winning pitcher in the first World Series game.  He lived in what would become the state of South Dakota from 1875-1896, where his family farmed near the town of Athol.

Legendary sportswriter and broadcaster Halsey Hall broadcast Twins games from 1961-72.

Arch McDonald was an early baseball broadcaster known for his re-creations of games.

Author Lawrence Ritter wrote the excellent book, "The Glory of Their Times".

Skip Bertman was the head baseball coach at LSU from 1984-2001.

College basketball coach Tom Penders played minor league baseball for the Indians in 1968.

Kyle Barraclough was drafted by Minnesota in the fortieth round in 2011 but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 23 →

Friday Music Day

FMD 5/22/20: I Need To Get Ready For A Summer Mix

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Don't worry, we're not soliciting yet for summer mix material. I suppose that'll happen at some point. Or not. Either way...

I'm just working on my personal Summer Mix, which is usually ready over labor day weekend. It might take a bit longer this year. I usually try to identify at least a single new song that I think is going to really explode - In the past I've hit pretty well with "Pumped Up Kicks", "Feel It Still", and "Can't Stop The Feeling" - and I've whiffed on a bunch of others.

This year? I got nuthin. The only truly new song that I think will make the mix as it currently stands is American Aquarium's "The Luckier You Get" (again, I think anyone digging Isbell would like this group, from what I've heard. "The Luckier You Get" isn't necessarily typical of their other songs, many of which are more contemplative.).

I definitely don't have a pop song that I'm ready to grab. I don't know if the virus stuff is making it harder to get into new things, or what... but I'm just completely lacking that new summer song. So, if anyone has any ideas... I'm open.

Also, don't tell Pepper, but I think Courtney Barnett's "Everybody Here Hates You" is likely to make the cut.

Alright, here's that American Aquarium song, just for fun:

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 2000, Game Sixty-three

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MILWAUKEE 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 11.

Batting stars:  Matt Lawton was 2-for-2 with a triple and three walks.  Denny Hocking was 2-for-4 with a double.  Midre Cummings was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Pitching star:  LaTroy Hawkins pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Geoff Jenkins was 3-for-5 with a double, two stolen bases (his second and third), and two RBIs.  Marquis Grissom was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third), a stolen base (his eleventh), a walk, three runs, and two RBIs.  Mark Sweeney was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Raul Casanova was 2-for-4.

The game:  Ronnie Belliard led off the game with a single and Grissom followed with a two-run homer, putting the Twins in a 2-0 hole two batters into the game.  The Twins got one back in the bottom of the first when Cristian Guzman drew a one-out walk and scored on Lawton's triple.  The Brewers had men on first and third with none out in the second and first and second with one out in the third, but were denied both times, leaving the score 2-1 through three.

The Twins took their first (and only) lead of the game in the fourth.  Cummings led off with a double but only made it as far as third with two out.  Hocking then got an RBI single to tie the score.  Singles by Jacque Jones and Guzman produced another run, and the Twins led 3-2.

The lead lasted until the next half-inning.  In the fifth, Grissom singled, stole second, went to third on a fly ball, and scored on a fielder's choice, tying it 3-3.  Charlie Hayes walked to put men on first and second and Sweeney had a run-scoring single to give Milwaukee a 4-3 advantage.

The Twins threatened in the sixth when Hocking led off with a double, but he could only get as far as third.  The Brewers added an insurance run in the seventh when Grissom reached on a two-base error and scored on a Jenkins single.  The Twins had one more threat in the ninth.  Lawton led off with a single, David Ortiz had a one-out single, and Cummings walked, loading the bases.  A hit would have tied the score, but Matthew LeCroy hit into a double play and the game was over.

WP:  John Snyder (1-2).  LP:  Brad Radke (3-8).  S:  Bob Wickman (7).

Notes:  Hocking was at second base in place of Jay Canizaro.  Jacque Jones was in center.  Torii Hunter played the most games in center, but he was sent down for a couple of months in the middle of the season after batting just .207.  He would hit very well the last couple of months and end at .280.  Lawton, who played quite a bit in both right and left, was in left in this game, with Cummings in right.

The only non-pitcher substitution was that Brian Buchanan pinch-ran for Ortiz in the ninth.  I understand that, if the game went extra innings, Buchanan was probably the best choice to replace Ortiz as DH.  I also don't have time to go back and look at who was on the roster in that game or what their health situation was.  But it's hard to believe the Twins didn't have a better pinch-running candidate than Buchanan, especially when he represented the tying run.  It didn't matter, as it turned out, but that still seems like a strange move.

Lawton was batting .346 at this stage of the season, and the Twins' front office was promoting him as a superstar.  Well, I guess they had to promote someone.  He would finish at .305, which of course is still very good.  Jones was batting .322.  He would finish at .285.  On the other end of the scale, LeCroy was batting .180.  He would finish at .174.

Catcher was pretty much a black hole for the Twins in 2000.  LeCroy and Marcus Jensen each caught 49 games, the most on the team.  Jensen batted just .209.  Chad Moeller caught 48 games.  He would go on to have a long career, but he batted just .211 in 2000.  Danny Ardoin caught 15 games and batted .125.  Finally, in August, A. J. Pierzynski came up and took over the catcher's job, batting .307.

Radke started, and as you can see he had trouble in the first inning.  He lasted six innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on ten hits and two walks and striking out three.  For his career, Radke had a 5.05 ERA in the first inning, compared to his overall ERA of 4.22.  In 2000 he went 12-16, 4.45.

I don't know how many times Geoff Jenkins stole two bases in the same game, but it can't be very many.  He had 32 stolen bases for his career.  2000 was the only season when he had more than five--he had 11 in this season.  It was 11-for-12, so he was picking his spots well.  For his career he was 32-for-46.

Record:  The Twins were 28-35, in fourth place in the American League Central, ten games behind Chicago.  They would finish 69-93, in fifth (last) place, 26 games behind Chicago.

The Brewers were 25-37, in fifth place in the National League Central, nine games behind St. Louis.  They would finish 73-89, in third place, 22 games behind St. Louis.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–May 22

Al Simmons (1902)
Terris McDuffie (1910)
Jose Valdivielso (1934)
Ron Piche (1935)
Rich Garcia (1942)
Walt Hriniak (1943)
Tommy John (1943)
Jim Colborn (1946)
Jose Mesa (1966)
Al Levine (1968)
Julian Tavarez (1973)

Terris McDuffie pitched from 1930-1954, playing in the Negro Leagues, the Cuban Winter League, the Mexican League, the Puerto Rican League, the Dominican League, the Venezuelan League, the California Winter League, and the minor leagues.  His biography at b-r.com is worth reading.

Rich Garcia was an American League umpire from 1975-1999.

Tommy John was one of the Twins’ television broadcasters from 1994-1996.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 22 →

Twins Top Moments

Joe Mauer Region: Sweet 16

I tried to find Hawk Harrelson's call of Thome's homer.  There's even a reddit threat talking about looking for the clip.  Alas, it appears to be gone forever.  I guess a minute of silence isn't worth keeping around.

Also, I found clips below of Gordo calling other parts of Game 163.  I'm guessing Gladden got the call for Casilla's walk-off, and while I've never heard it, I don't really care to.

#1. Mauer's Final Game (Def. Mauer Tags Out Gardner 11-3)

#4. Thome Walks-Off Sox (Def. Arraez Pinch-Hit Walk 10-3)

#6. Baker's Near-Perfecto (Def. Lineout DP, Game 163 9-4)

#2. Casilla Drives Home Gomez (Def. HR Record, 11-2)

The Better Moment

  • Joe Mauer's Final Game (75%, 12 Votes)
  • Thome Walks-Off Sox (25%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 16

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The Better Moment

  • Casilla Drives Home Gomez (71%, 12 Votes)
  • Scott Baker's Near Perfecto (29%, 5 Votes)

Total Voters: 17

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The Better Moment

  • Puckett Robs Ron Gant (88%, 14 Votes)
  • Twins Clinch ALDS 2002 (13%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 16

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The Better Moment

  • Puckett Walk-Offs Game 6 (100%, 16 Votes)
  • Scott Erickson No-Hitter (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 16

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The Better Moment

  • Twins Clinch Division On Final Day (59%, 10 Votes)
  • Santana Strikes Out 17 (41%, 7 Votes)

Total Voters: 17

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The Better Moment

  • Twins Win 87 World Series (81%, 13 Votes)
  • Span Triples Down The Line (19%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 16

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The Better Moment

  • Hrbek Turns 3-2-3 Double Play (69%, 11 Votes)
  • Hrbek Grand Slam (31%, 5 Votes)

Total Voters: 16

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The Better Moment

  • Larkin Walks It Off (88%, 14 Votes)
  • Hrbek Tags Out Gant (13%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 16

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Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1976, Game Twenty-seven

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CALIFORNIA 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Sunday, May 16.

Batting stars:  Butch Wynegar was 2-for-2 with two walks.  Dave McKay was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Don Kirkwood pitched a complete game, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks and striking out five.  Bill Melton was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Andy Etchebarren was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Twins got on the board in the second inning, as Danny Thompson singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on McKay's single.  That was as good as it would get for the Twins.

The Angels took the lead in the third.  Dave Chalk and Ron Jackson led off the game with a single.  Jerry Remy laid down a sacrifice bunt, but an error scored Chalk and put men on  second and third with none out.  All California could get out of it was a sacrifice fly by Bobby Bonds, but the Angels led 2-1.

It stayed 2-1 until the seventh, when California scored two runs without a hit.  With one out Chalk walked and Jackson was hit by a pitch.  With two out, Rusty Torres walked to load the bases, Bonds was hit by a pitch to force home a run, and Leroy Stanton walked to bring home another run.  The Angels added a run in the ninth when Bill Melton tripled and scored on Etchebarren's single.

The Twins did not get a man past first base after the second inning.

WP:  Kirkwood (1-3).  LP:  Jim Hughes (0-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson was at shortstop.  Roy Smalley would be the regular shortstop for most of the season, but he had not been traded from Texas yet.

Lyman Bostock, normally the center fielder, was given the day off.  Larry Hisle moved over from left to play center, with Steve Braun taking over left.

The lone Twin over .300 who played in this game was Rod Carew, at .311.  He would finish at .331.  Bostock, at this point in the season, was batting .349 and would finish at .323.

The Twins did not hit a home run, which was a fairly common occurrence in 1976.  Dan Ford led the team in homers with twenty.  Others in double figures were Hisle (14), Craig Kusick (11), and Wynegar (10).

Twins starter Jim Hughes pitched 6.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks and striking out two.  Older fans may remember Hughes for throwing a palmball.  Hughes had gone 16-14, 3.82 as a rookie in 1975, leading Twins fans to think they might have something.  It was the only good year he would have.  It could be that the workload got to him--he pitched 249.2 innings in 1975 at age twenty-three.  Or, it could be that he wasn't that good in the first place--even in 1975, his WHIP was 1.47.  He stayed in the 1976 rotation until early August, mostly because the Twins didn't have much for alternatives.  He would make two relief appearances in 1977 and then would never pitch in the big leagues again.

Hisle batted leadoff in this game, one of eight times he did that in 1976.  The fact that Bostock was out of the lineup probably had to do with that.  Hisle batted all over the lineup in 1976, starting double digit games at every spot except first, eighth, and ninth, and starting at least a few games at every spot except ninth.  Gene Mauch did love to play with the batting order.

The Twins were in the middle of a stretch where they won five of six.  As randomness would have it, this was the one loss.

Record:  The Twins were 14-13, in third place in the American League West, 3.5 games behind Texas.  They would finish 85-77, in third place, five games behind Kansas City.

The Angels were 12-22, in sixth (last) place in the American League West, 10 games behind Texas.  They would finish 76-86, tied for fourth with Texas, 14 games behind Kansas City.