Category Archives: Keeping Track

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 27

Andy Lotshaw (1880)
Milt Gaston (1896)
Bibb Falk (1899)
Fred Heimach (1901)
John Lowenstein (1947)
Tom Trebelhorn (1948)
Eric Wedge (1968)
Phil Plantier (1969)
Angel Berroa (1980)
Gavin Floyd (1983)

Andy Lotshaw had a thirteen-year minor league career as an outfielder/first baseman, leading his league in triples four times and in home runs five times.  He also played professional basketball.  He then became the trainer for the Chicago Cubs from 1922-1952.

Tom Trebelhorn managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 1986-1991 and the Chicago Cubs in 1994.

There do not appear to be any players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twelve

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MINNESOTA 7, NEW YORK 3 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, August 10.

Batting stars:  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Al Worthington struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Whitey Ford pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Hector Lopez was 2-for-3 with a triple, scoring twice.  Mickey Mantle was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixteenth.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring early, as Rich Rollins had an RBI double and Tony Oliva a run-scoring single to take a 2-0 lead.  It stayed 2-0 until the fifth, when Lopez tripled and scored on a Clete Boyer single to make it 2-1.  The Yankees had two out and none on in the seventh, but a walk, an error, and a Ray Barker single tied it 2-2.  Things worked out for the Twins, though, because Barker pinch-hit for Ford, against whom the Twins had done little since the first.  Pete Mikkelsen came in and it looked as if it might work, as the Twins had a man on second with two out.  A walk and an error put the Twins up 3-2.  Then came an RBI single by Jimmie Hall, a two-run double by Battey, and a run-scoring single by Don Mincher to make it 7-2.  Mantle homered leading off the eighth, but New York never threatened to get back into the game.

Of note:  Rollins was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Bob Allison was 0-for-5 with a run.

Record:  The win was the Twins' sixth straight and made their record 73-39.  Baltimore split a doubleheader with Boston, making the Twins' lead 8.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva's average stayed at .307.  Hall fell to .306.  Battey raised his average back to .300...1965 was Whitey Ford's last year as a rotation starter.  He had the worst ERA of his career at 3.24.  He also pitched the fewest innings that he had since 1960, at 244.1.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 26

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Francis Richter (1854)
Kaiser Wilhelm (1874)
Tubby Spencer (1884)
George Blaeholder (1904)
Charlie Gelbert (1906)
Bob Nieman (1927)
Ray Knoblauch (1928)
Bob Uecker (1935)
Mike Pazik (1950)
Rick Schu (1962)
Jeff Branson (1967)
Esteban German (1978)
Andres Torres (1978)
Ryan Rowland-Smith (1983)

Francis Richter was the editor of two  influential early baseball publications, the Sporting Life and the Reach Guide.

The father of Chuck Knoblauch, Ray Knoblauch pitched in the minors from 1948-1957, going 54-51.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Daneeka's Ghost.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 26 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eleven

MINNESOTA 8, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, August 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in three.  Bob Allison was 1-for-2 with a triple and three walks, scoring twice and driving in one.  Don Mincher was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game shutout, giving up two hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Felix Mantilla was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Dave Morehead pitched five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

The game:  It was close for quite a while.  Mincher singled in a run in the first to put the Twins up 1-0.  It stayed 1-0 until the fifth, when Allison tripled in a run and scored on a balk.  Mincher delivered a two-run triple in the seventh to make it 5-0 and in the eighth, Oliva had a two-run double and Jimmie Hall an RBI single to round out the scoring.  The Red Sox did not have a hit until Mantilla's two-out double in the seventh, which was the only scoring threat they had.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5 with a run.  Hall was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

Record:  The win made the Twins 72-39.  Baltimore split a doubleheader with Kansas City, meaning the Twins' lead was now eight games.

Notes:  Oliva and Hall both raised their averages to .307...Dave Morehead would lead the league in losses in 1965 with eighteen.  It is the only black ink on his baseball-reference page.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 25

Danny Richardson (1863)
Les Nunamaker (1889)
Kenichi Zenimura (1900)
Ernie Harwell (1918)
Bill Lucas (1936)
Jake O’Donnell (1939)
Wally Bunker (1945)
Vern Ruhle (1951)
Kerry Taylor (1971)
Dan Serafini (1974)

Better known as an NBA referee, Jake O’Donnell was an American League umpire from 1969-1972.  He is the only person to have officiated both an NBA all-star game and a major league baseball all-star game.

Kenichi Zenimura was a long-time player and manager in Japan as well as an ambassador of the game of baseball.  He helped organize Babe Ruth's tour of Japan in 1934 and is known as the Father of Japanese Baseball.

Ernie Harwell was a major league baseball broadcaster from 1948-1991 and 1993-2002, mostly for the Detroit Tigers.

Bill Lucas was the first African-American general manager, holding the position for the Atlanta Braves from 1976-1979.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 25 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Ten

MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, August 7.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifteenth) a stolen base (his fifteenth) and two runs.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring twice and driving in one.  Jerry Kindall was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on nine hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Frank Malzone was 3-for-4 with a double and a run.  Felix Mantilla was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifteenth) and a walk.  Lee Thomas was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.

The game:  Each team scored once in the first, with the Twins run coming on a Versalles homer.  It stayed 1-1 until the fourth, when Don Mincher's two-run homer capped a three-run inning that put the Twins up 4-1.  Hall hit an RBI triple and later scored in a three-run fifth that made it 7-1.  Solo homers by Carl Yastrzemski in the sixth and Mantilla in the eighth cut the lead to 7-3, but that Twins scored two more in the bottom of the eighth to put to bed any thoughts of a Red Sox comeback.

Of note:  Tony Oliva was 0-for-2 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Record:  The win made the Twins 71-39.  Baltimore once again lost to last-place Kansas City, this time 7-4, so the Twins lead increased to 7.5 games.

Notes:  Hall's average went up to .306, while Oliva fell to .301...Harmon Killebrew sat out a second consecutive game, with Mincher again at first and Rich Rollins at third.  He would not return until September 21...Jerry Zimmerman started the game, but was removed for Earl Battey in the third inning.  If he was injured it was nothing serious, as he played again a few days later.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 24

Dave Brain (1879)
Pinch Thomas (1888)
Cliff Heathcote (1898)
Flint Rhem (1901)
Jean Yawkey (1909)
Johnny Dickshot (1910)
Ray Kelly (1914)
Jack Brickhouse (1916)
Walter Haas (1916)
Dick Stigman (1936)
Sandy Valdespino (1939)
Jumbo Ozaki (1947)
Tim Stoddard (1953)
Atlee Hammaker (1958)
Neil Allen (1958)
Rob Dibble (1964)
Scott Kazmir (1984)

Jean Yawkey was the wife of Tom Yawkey and was owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1978 until her death in 1992.

Ray Kelly was a baseball writer in Philadelphia for fifty years.

Jack Brickhouse was a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs from 1948-1981.

Walter Haas was the owner of the Oakland Athletics from 1980 until his death in 1995.

Better known as a professional golfer, Jumbo Ozaki played professional baseball in Japan for three seasons, pitching for two seasons and playing outfield for one.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 24 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Nine

MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 6.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer (his fourteenth) and a stolen base (his fourteenth), scoring twice.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his eighteenth) and a walk, scoring twice.  Don Mincher was 3-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jim Merritt pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Dwight Siebler pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Felix Mantilla was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fourteenth) and a walk.  Lenny Green was 2-for-5 with a double and a run.  Jim Gosger was 0-for-1 with three walks and a run.

The game:  It was close most of the way.  Tony Oliva singled in a run in the third to put the Twins up 1-0, but Mantilla homered leading off the fourth to tie it 1-1.  Merritt delivered an RBI single in the fifth to make it 2-1 but the Red Sox again immediately responded, as Green doubled and later scored on an error to tie it 2-2 in the top of the sixth.  In the sixth, however, the Twins scored six times to put the game away.  Allison hit a two-run homer and later Versalles hit a two-out three-run homer to make the score 8-2.  The Red Sox never threatened to get back into the game.

Of note:  Oliva was 1-for-5 with an RBI.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a run.

Record:  The win made the Twins 70-39.  Baltimore lost 9-4 to Kansas City, so the Twins lead increased to 6.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva was now hitting .302.  Hall remained at .304...Harmon Killebrew sat this game out, with Mincher playing first and Rich Rollins at third...This was Merritt's second major league start (his first had come August 2) and first major league win.  He made nine starts for the Twins in 1965 and pitched well in them, going 4-3, 3.55.  He then went to the bullpen and pitched even better, going 1-1 with two saves and a 1.35 ERA...Lenny Green, as you probably know, was an original Twin, coming with the team from Washington in 1961.  He became a starting outfielder in 1960 and was a fine player from 1960-62.  He slumped in 1963, however, batting only .239, and was traded the following year.  1965 was his last season as at least a semi-regular player.  He bounced back pretty well, hitting .276 with an OPS of .790, but the next year he hit .241 in only 133 at-bats and he would play only a couple more years.  His drop-off was probably due to age:  he was already twenty-seven in 1960.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 23

Ben Shibe (1838)
Red Donahue (1873)
Bobby Burke (1907)
Randy Gumpert (1918)
Chico Carrasquel (1926)
Frank Sullivan (1930)
Joe Amalfitano (1934)
Don Nottebart (1936)
Paul Ratliff (1944)
Kurt Bevacqua (1947)
Charlie Spikes (1951)
Alan Embree (1970)
Mark Wohlers (1970)
Erubiel Durazo (1974)
Brandon Duckworth (1976)
Juan Rincon (1979)

Ben Shibe was the owner of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 until his death in 1922.  Shibe Park was named in his honor.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 23 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eight

MINNESOTA 8, WASHINGTON 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 5.

Batting stars:  Joe Nossek was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, his second.  Bob Allison was 2-for-4 with a triple and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run.

Pitching star:  Johnny Klippstein struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ken Hamlin was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and two runs.  Woodie Held was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his twelfth.  Joe Cunningham was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  Aided by an error, a wild pitch, and a passed ball, the Twins scored three runs in the second to take a 3-0 lead.  They added three more in the third on Nossek's three-run homer to make it 6-0.  Each team scored once in the fourth and Held hit a three-run homer in the sixth to cut the Twins' lead to 7-4.  The Senators would never get closer than three runs and did not get the tying run up to bat.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-5 with a double.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with two runs.  Jim Kaat struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and no walks.

Record:  The win made the Twins 69-39.  Baltimore did not play, so the Twins' lead over the Orioles increased to 5.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva and Hall were both now batting .304...Joe Nossek hit the second of his three career home runs in this game.  His next and last homer would come in 1966...The top three batters in the Washington lineup went 6-for-12 with two home runs and a double.  The rest of the lineup went 2-for-23...You don't often see a first baseman batting leadoff, but Joe Cunningham did it for the Senators in this game.  He was a starter for the Cardinals from 1958-61 and for the White Sox in 1962, but missed a couple of months in 1963 due to a broken collarbone and was a part-time player after that.  He was pretty good, making the all-star team in 1959 (when he hit .345 and led the league in OBP at .453) and twice finishing in the top twenty in MVP voting.  His career numbers were .291/.403/.417. His career ended in 1966, after which he was hired by the Cardinals and was at various times a minor league manager and coach and also worked in the front office.