The wife’s on a trip so I’m holding the fort down. Always an adventure.
Monthly Archives: November 2024
Random Rewind: 1978, Game 98
MINNESOTA TWINS 7, NEW YORK YANKEES 5 IN NEW YORK (10 INNINGS)
Date: Friday, July 28, 1978.
Batting stars: Rich Chiles was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Roy Smalley was 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs. Dan Ford was 2-for-5 with a double. Willie Norwood hit a home run, his fifth.
Pitching stars: Geoff Zahn pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.
Opposition stars: Lou Piniella was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. Reggie Jackson was 2-for-4 with a walk. Sparky Lyle pitched 5.1 innings of relief, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.
The game: Roy Smalley homered in the first inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. The Twins got singles by Mike Cubbage and Rich Chiles in the second to put two men on with one out, but nothing came of it. Roy White led off with a triple in the third, but was stranded there. The Twins increased their lead in the fourth. Dan Ford led off with a single and Mike Cubbage reached on an error, putting men on first and second with none out. A bunt moved runners to second and third, Rich Chiles delivered a two-run double, and Glenn Adams followed with an RBI single, giving the Twins a 4-0 lead.
New York got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Thurman Munson singled and Lou Piniella doubled, putting men on second and third. Chris Chambliss singled home a run, Reggie Jackson walked to load the bases, and with one out Roy White hit a sacrifice fly to cut the Twins’ lead in half at 4-2.
The Twins got a run back in the fifth when Roy Smalley singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a two-out single by Mike Cubbage. The Yankees got the run back in the sixth when Lou Piniella singled, Chris Chambliss walked, a fly out moved them to second and third, and a sacrifice fly brought home a run.
It stayed 5-3 until the eighth, when Mike Marshall came in to relieve Geoff Zahn. Lou Piniella drew a one-out walk, and with two out Reggie Jackson singled and Graig Nettles hit a two-run double to tie the score 5-5.
Each team went down in order in the ninth. In the tenth, Dan Ford led off with a double, but was thrown out trying to go to third on a Mike Cubbage grounder back to the pitcher. The baserunning blunder appeared costly, but not to worry. With two out, Willie Norwood hit a two-run homer off Sparky Lyle, who had been pitching since two out in the fifth. The Twins led 7-5. New York went down in order in the tenth, the Evil Empire was vanquished, and the good guys won!
WP: Mike Marshall (5-8).
LP: Sparky Lyle (7-2).
S: None.
Notes: Rob Wilfong was at second. He shared duties there with Bobby Randall, with Randall making the most appearances. Rich Chiles was in left. Willie Norwood, who substituted for Chiles in the sixth inning, made the most appearances in left.
Rod Carew was batting .336. He would finish at .333. Mike Cubbage was batting .315. He would finish at .282. Jose Morales was batting .315. He would finish at .314. Dan Ford was batting .304. He would finish at .274.
Mike Marshall had an ERA of 2.90. He would finish at 2.45.
Graig Nettles played for the Twins from 1967-1969.
This was one of nine times Mike Marshall would pitch three or more innings of relief in 1978. He appeared in 54 games and pitched 99 innings, so his average appearance was not far from two innings.
This was the longest appearance of the season for Sparky Lyle, but not by much. He pitched five innings of relief against Seattle on June 14. He had twelve appearances of three innings or more in 1978. In 59 appearances he pitched 111.2 innings, so his average appearance was just over two innings.
Willie Norwood hit 18 home runs in his career. He set his season high in 1978 with 8.
Bob Lemon was the Yankee manager at this point, having taken over from Billy Martin three days earlier. The next day, it would be announced that Martin would be back as manager in 1980. The Bronx Zoo.
Record: New York was 55-45, in fourth place in the AL East, 8 games behind Boston. They would finish 100-63, in first place, one game ahead of Boston, winning a game 163. They had the best record in baseball after this game, 45-18.
The Twins were 44-54, in fifth place in the AL West, 12.5 games behind Kansas City. They would finish 73-89, in fourth place, 19 games behind Kansas City.
Random Record: The Random Twins broke their losing streak and are back to .500 at 24-24.
Haley Heynderickx – Mouth of a Flower
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Happy Birthday–November 18
Deacon McGuire (1863)
Jack Coombs (1882)
Les Mann (1892)
Gene Mauch (1925)
Roy Sievers (1926)
Danny McDevitt (1932)
Cal Koonce (1940)
Jim Shellenback (1943)
Steve Henderson (1952)
Luis Pujols (1955)
Mike Felder (1961)
Jamie Moyer (1962)
Dante Bichette (1963)
Ron Coomer (1966)
Tom Gordon (1967)
Gary Sheffield (1968)
Shawn Camp (1975)
David Ortiz (1975)
Steve Bechler (1979)
C. J. Wilson (1980)
Roy Sievers was a star for the franchise when it was in Washington in the 1950s.
There are eighty-three current and former major league players born on this day. I'm pretty sure that's the most on any day.
Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers – Sugar Brown
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November 17, 2024: Extended Version
I've been watching the long LotR movies with the kids and they are long.
Random Rewind: 1982, Game 152
TORONTO BLUE JAYS 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 2 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Wednesday, September 22, 1982.
Batting stars: None.
Pitching star: Brad Havens pitched 9.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk and striking out eight.
Opposition stars: Garth Iorg was 2-for-5. Buck Martinez hit a home run, his eighth. Jim Clancy pitched a ten-inning complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk and striking out five.
The game: The Twins took an early lead. Bobby Mitchell led off the first with a walk, Tom Brunansky hit a one-out double to put men on second and third, and a two-base error brought them both home to put the Twins up 2-0.
Toronto did not even mount a threat until the fourth, when Damaso Garcia and Garth Iorg led off with singles, but a line drive double play took them out of the inning. The Twins threatened in the fifth, getting one-out singles by Sal Butera and Lenny Faedo, but a double play took them out of the inning as well.
The Blue Jays got on the board in the seventh, when Iorg and Barry Bonnell led off with singles, and an error brought home a run. Martinez homered with one out in the eighth to tie it at two. Each team went down in order in the ninth, so we went to an extra inning.
The Twins went down in order in the tenth. With one out, Leon Roberts walked, and Billly Gardner brought Ron Davis into the game. Pinch-runner Lloyd Moseby stole second, which led to an intentional walk to Willie Upshaw. A ground out moved men to second and third, leading to an intentional walk to Hosken Powell. Damaso Garcia then drew an unintentional walk to force in a run. It turned out to be the deciding run. Ron Washington singled with one out in the tenth, but a double play ended the game.
WP: Jim Clancy (14-14).
LP: Brad Havens (9-13).
S: None.
Notes: Sal Butera was behind the plate in place of Tim Laudner. Ron Washington was at second base in place of John Castino, who was playing third. Gary Gaetti, the regular third baseman, did not play. Randy Bush was the DH. The Twins did not have a regular DH. The player with the most games there was Randy Johnson with 66. Others used there were Jesus Vega (39), Mickey Hatcher (29), Bush (26), and Dave Engle (20).
Kent Hrbek was batting .304. He would finish at .301.
Hosken Powell drew a pinch-hit walk. He had played for the Twins from 1978-1981.
By game scores, this was the second-best game Brad Havens had in 1982. His best was July 18, when he pitched a complete game against Detroit, giving up one run on three hits and three walks and striking out three.
Ron Davis had come to the Twins in an April trade for Roy Smalley. The Twins also got Greg Gagne and Paul Boris in the trade.
This was not the only time in 1982 that Jim Clancy pitched ten innings. He also did so in a June 19 game in Oakland. He got a no-decision in that one, going ten innings and giving up an unearned run on three hits and two walks and striking out ten.
This was the only time Brad Havens pitched more than nine innings in 1982. However, he had four complete games.
The Twins had only one reliever who had an ERA below four, and that was Paul Boris at 3.99 in 49.2 innings. Other relievers that year were Jeff Little (4.21), Ron Davis (4.42), Terry Felton (4.99), Pete Redfern (5.85 as a reliever), and John Pacella (7.37). The starters were nothing to shout about, but things got worse when Billy Gardner went to the bullpen.
Record: Toronto was 71-81, in seventh (last) place in the AL East, twenty games behind Milwuakee. They would finish 78-84, tied for sixth, seventeen games behind Milwaukee.
The Twins were 57-95, in seventh (last) place in the AL West, thirty games behind California. They would finish 60-102, in seventh place, thirty-three games behind California.
Random Record: The Random Twins have lost six in a row and are 23-24 (.489).
Happy Birthday–November 17
George Stallings (1867)
Mike Garcia (1923)
Orlando Pena (1933)
Gary Bell (1936)
Tom Seaver (1944)
Brad Havens (1959)
Mitch Williams (1964)
Paul Sorrento (1965)
Jeff Nelson (1966)
Eli Marrero (1973)
Darnell McDonald (1978)
Ryan Braun (1983)
Nick Markakis (1983)
Shane Greene (1988)
Elias Diaz (1990)
George Stallings managed in the major leagues for thirteen years. He is best remembered as the manager of the 1914 Miracle Braves.
November 16, 2024: The First
Rick lost his first tooth today(/yesterday). I went out and got the crispest tener I could find (I'm waiting for Pete to complain, but inflation, man). Where do you stand on the various American demigods (Easter Bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy, etc.)? I've always tried non-denial denials.
Random Rewind: 2001, Game 107
TORONTO BLUE JAYS 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN TORONTO
Date: Wednesday, August 1, 2001.
Batting star: Doug Mienkiewicz was 2-for-4. Jacque Jones was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: Kyle Lohse pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk and striking out two. Todd Jones pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.
Opposition stars: Brad Fullmer was 3-for-3 with a home run (his twelfth) and a double. Carlos Delgado hit a home run, his twenty-ninth. Roy Halladay pitched eight innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk and striking out two.
The game: The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the first, thanks to singles by Jones and Mientkiewicz, but nothing came of it. The scoring started in the second, when Delgado led off with a home run. Fullmer doubled later in the inning, but was stranded at second. Toronto scored again in the fourth when Shannon Stewart led off with a double, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly, making the score 2-0.
Meanwhile, the Twins had only one hit in innings two through six. They got on the board in the seventh, though. Doug Mientkiewicz singled and Corey Koskie walked, putting men on first and second with none out. A double play almost took them out of the inning, but David Ortiz delivered a double, cutting the lead to 2-1.
The Blue Jays got the run right back in the bottom of the seventh, when Brad Fullmer led off with a home run. The Twins got the tying run up to bat in both the eighth and the ninth, but they did not score again, and Toronto won 3-1.
WP: Roy Halladay (1-1).
LP: Kyle Lohse (3-4).
S: Billy Koch (22).
Notes: Denny Hocking was at short in place of Cristian Guzman. Chad Allen was in right field in place of Matt Lawton, who had been traded to the Mets a couple of days earlier for Rick Reed.
Doug Mientkiewicz was batting .329. He would finish at .306.
Shannon Stewart went 1-for-4 in this game. He would be traded to the Twins two years later and would play for them through 2005.
Todd Jones had been traded to the Twins a few days earlier for Mark Redman. He would only stay through the end of 2001, leaving as a free agent. He would play in the majors through 2008.
It was the rookie year for Kyle Lohse. He had made his first start on June 22. 2001 was a struggle, as he went 4-7, 5.68. He would do better, but would not have an ERA under four until 2008, when he was with St. Louis.
Roy Halladay was still in the process of establishing himself as a major league pitcher. He’d had a full season in the majors in 1999 and done pretty well, but 2000 was a struggle for him and he was back in AAA for part of the season. He came back to the majors about a month before this game. The next year he would be an all-star, and the year after that would win the Cy Young Award.
Record: Toronto was 50-58, in third place in the AL East, 15.5 games behind New York. They would finish 80-82, in third place, 16 games behind New York.
The Twins were 60-47, in second place in the AL Central, 1.5 games behind Cleveland. They would finish 85-77, in second place, 6 games behind Cleveland.
Random Record: The Random Twins have lost five consecutive games and are 23-23 (.500).