Monthly Archives: December 2021

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-eight

MINNESOTA 8, OAKLAND 6 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Wednesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Rich Reese was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Sal Bando was 4-for-4 with a double and three runs.  Don Mincher was 2-for-4.  Reggie Jackson was 2-for-4.  Dave Duncan was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his eighth.

The game:  The Twins took the lead in the first when Tovar singled and Oliva hit a two-run homer.  The Athletics got on the board in the second when Bando singled, went to third on Jackson's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  They tied it in the fourth when Bando doubled and scored on Mincher's single.

The Twins got the lead back in the sixth.  Thompson reached third on a single-plus-error, scored on a sacrifice fly, and then Reese homered to make it 4-2.  They added two more in the seventh.  Cardenas led off with an infield single.  He had only gotten to second with two out, but then Jim Perry walked and Thompson and Oliva had run-scoring singles, making it 6-2.  The Twins got one more in the eighth when Cardenas doubled and scored on a Perry single, and one more in the ninth when Oliva singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Frank Quilici double.

So it was 8-2 going to the bottom of the ninth, and Perry had given up just one hit since the fourth.  But with one out Bando, Jackson, and Mincher all singled, making it 8-3, and Duncan hit a three-run homer, making the Twins' lead just 8-6.  Ron Perranoski came in and walked Felipe Alou.  Frank Fernandez fanned, but Bert Campaneris singled, bringing the winning run to the plate in Joe Rudi.  But he grounded out and the Twins held on for the victory.

WP:  Perry (13-6).

LP:  Catfish Hunter (13-6).

S:  Perranoski (20).

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Rick Renick was at third base in place of Harmon Killebrew, who got his first day off of the season.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici replaced Renick in the eighth, with Quilici going to second and Thompson moving to third.

Oliva was batting .331.  Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.65.

Quilici was 1-for-1 and was batting .188.

Perry pitched very well for eight innings, but his like was 8.1 innings, six runs, eleven hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.

Hunter pitched 6.2 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and one walk and striking out two.

I don't suppose it's all that rare, but it does seem somewhat unusual to have both starters give up six runs.

This was the third four-hit game for Oliva in 1970.

The Twins had won four in a row, nine of ten, and eleven of thirteen.

Record:  The Twins were 52-26, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 23

Mike Grady (1869)
Sam Leever (1871)
Tommy Thomas (1899)
Jerry Koosman (1942)
Dave May (1943)
Raul Cano (1945)
Jerry Manuel (1953)
Keith Comstock (1955)
Tim Leary (1958)
Frank Eufemia (1959)
Rick White (1968)
Brad Lidge (1976)
Jesus Colome (1977)
Victor Martinez (1978)
Cody Ross (1980)
Hanley Ramirez (1983)
Tyler Robertson (1987)

 Raul Cano had a long career in the Mexican League as a player, manager, and general manager.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 23 →

WGOM Videos

Cory Hanson – Paper Fog

Video 6 Comments

Hey y'all. Another year, another best of! I was really, really struggling to find suitable videos for my post from my favorite album of the year (VAR! by Pony Hunt - seriously check it out!) or my most listened to artist (Curren$y), and settled on posting a song by Cory Hanson. Who was also my pick on the Summer Mix. But honestly, I keep coming back to this album. It's an excellent, weird listen. Which I guess is perfect for another weird year. Anyway, enjoy the song, check out the record, and stay safe. Hopefully concerts are a thing again for me soon, "lol!"

9 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 109 votes, average: 7.78 out of 10 (9 votes, average: 7.78 out of 10)
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Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-seven

MINNESOTA 4, OAKLAND 2 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Tuesday, July 7.

Batting star:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out six in four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and striking out six.  Stan Williams pitched five shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Joe Rudi was 3-for-3 with a walk.  Sal Bando was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his seventeenth) and two walks.  Mudcat Grant pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  Neither team threatened until the fourth, when the Twins had two on with one out but did not score.  In the bottom of the fourth Rudi walked and Bando hit a two-run homer to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead.  Tommy Davis followed with a double and Don Mincher singled, putting men on first and third with one out, but they did not score.

The Twins came back in the fifth.  Leo Cardenas and Danny Thompson started the inning with singles.  Hall hit into a force out at third base.  Cesar Tovar was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and Jim Holt hit a sacrifice fly to bring home the first Twins run.  Tony Oliva walked, loading the bases again, and Killebrew delivered a three-run double, putting the Twins up 4-2.

That was it for scoring.  Oakland loaded the bases with two out in the sixth but did not score.  They did not put a man past first after that.

WP:  Williams (6-0).

LP:  Chuck Dobson (7-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Alyea pinch-hit for Ratliff in the fifth, with Mitterwald going behind the plate in the next inning.

Oliva was 0-for-2 and was batting .322.  Killebrew was batting .317.  Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .315.  Hall had an ERA of 2.24.  Williams had an ERA of 1.53.

I suspect Hall must have had a slight injury or illness.  Not only was four innings a quick hook when he had given up just two runs, but Hall batted in the top of the fifth and then was replaced by Williams.  If he was injured or ill, it must have been minor, because he pitched in relief just two days later.

This was Rudi's first full season in the majors, and he took advantage of it, batting .309 with an OPS of .821.  He didn't really become a star until 1972, but he was already a good player.

In addition to Grant, another ex-Twin who played in this game was Jim Roland.  He faced one man in the fifth, Rich Reese, and walked him.  Roland was still a fine reliever in 1970, going 3-3, 2.70, 2 saves, 1.18 WHIP.  He continued to pitch well the following season, but had a poor 1972 and then was done at age twenty-nine.

The Twins had now won three in a row and eight out of nine.

Record:  The Twins were 51-26, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.  They still had the best record in the American League, but were well behind the Big Red Machine, which was 59-23 in the National League.

 

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 22

Connie Mack (1862)
Matty Alou (1938)
Elrod Hendricks (1940)
Steve Carlton (1944)
Hiroyuki Yamazaki (1946)
Charley Taylor (1947)
Steve Garvey (1948)
Tom Underwood (1953)
Ken Landreaux (1954)
Lonnie Smith (1955)
Glenn Wilson (1958)
George Wright (1958)
Jeff A (1958)
Andy Allanson (1961)
Mike Jackson (1964)
Jason Lane (1976)
Zack Britton (1987)

Second baseman Hiroyuki Yamazaki was a five-time all-star in Japan over a twenty-year career.

Charley Taylor was a minor-league pitching coach for over thirty years in the Houston Astros organization.

Steve Garvey was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1966, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 22 →