Category Archives: Keeping Track

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 25

Pud Galvin (1856)
Joe Quinn (1864)
Barry McCormick (1874)
Walter Holke (1892)
Lloyd Brown (1904)
Ben Chapman (1908)
Jo-Jo Moore (1908)
Ned Garver (1925)
Nellie Fox (1927)
Gene Lamont (1946)
Manny Trillo (1950)
Luis Quintana (1951)
Jeff Little (1954)
Charlie Lea (1956)
Wallace Johnson (1956)
Rickey Henderson (1958)
Marty Pevey (1962)

There have been 24 major league players with the first name “Jesus”, including ex-Twins Jesus Vega and Jesus “Bombo” Rivera and one whose birthday is today, Manny Trillo.  There have been no major league players with the last name “Christ", although there have been two minor leaguers with that last name:  John Christ, who was in the Cleveland organization from 1999-2001, and Mike Christ, who was in the Seattle organization from 1984-1988.  There have been eighteen players whose first name was “Christian” (honorable mention to Cristian Guzman), sixteen players whose middle name was “Christian” (including ex-Twins Marcus Jensen, David Lamb, and Kevin Maas), and three players whose last name was “Christian”.  We would be remiss if we did not also mention 1980s journeyman catcher Steve Christmas, as well as Matt Holliday.

The staff of Happy Birthday would like to wish everyone a very merry and blessed Christmas.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Eighty

MINNESOTA 4, NEW YORK 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 10 (Game 1 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his ninth) and two runs.  Jimmie Hall was 3-for-4 with a run.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched eight innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Whitey Ford pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Tom Tresh was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

The game:  It was scoreless through four.  In the fifth Hall singled and Nossek doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Perry brought home one with a squeeze bunt and Versalles followed with a two-run homer.  The Yankees got one back in the sixth on Tresh's RBI double, but they never got the tying run on base.  The Twins added a run in the ninth on a run-scoring single by pinch-hitter Sandy Valdespino.

Of note:  Rich Rollins, back in the lineup at third base for the first time in a few weeks, was 0-for-3.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Earl Battey was 0-for-3.

Record:  The win was the ninth in a row for the Twins and raised their record to 52-28.  They were in first by four and a half games over Cleveland and Baltimore.

Notes:  Nossek replaced Bob Allison in the lineup but played center field, with Hall moving to left...Hall raised his average to .327...Battey saw his average drop to .309...Mickey Mantle was again not in the starting lineup but was used as a pinch-hitter.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 24

Henry Mathewson (1886)
Chico Garcia (1924)
Frank Taveras (1949)
John D'Acquisto (1951)
Tim Drummond (1964)
Mo Sanford (1966)
Kevin Millwood (1974)
Jamey Wright (1974)

Henry Mathewson is the younger brother of Christy Mathewson.  He appeared in two games for the Giants in 1906 and one in 1907.

Chico Garcia played professional baseball from 1944-1970, mostly in Mexico.  He played thirty-nine games in the majors in 1954 with Baltimore.  He also was a manager in Mexico for fifteen seasons.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 24 →

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-nine

MINNESOTA 8, NEW YORK 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 9.

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his eighth and ninth) and four RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-2 with a three-run homer (his fifteenth) and two walks, scoring twice.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks with eight strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Roger Repoz was 1-for-2 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk.  Elston Howard was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Phil Linz was 2-for-4.

The game:  In the first inning Killebrew hit a three-run homer and Mincher followed with a solo blast to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.  Howard homered in the fourth and Repoz hit an inside-the-park home run in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2.  The Twins got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth as Sandy Valdespino delivered a two-out RBI single.  Mincher hit a three-run homer in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base (his tenth) and a run.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4 with a run.  Earl Battey was 1-for-4.

Record:  The victory was the Twins' eighth in a row.  It raised their record to 51-28 and put them in first by 3.5 games, as Cleveland lost a doubleheader to California.

Notes:  Hall's average dropped to .321...Battey fell to .314...Repoz was playing center in place of Mickey Mantle, who appeared later as a pinch-hitter.

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.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-eight

MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Earl Battey was 3-for-4 with a double and a run.  Bernie Allen was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts.  Johnny Klippstein pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two walks with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Bressoud was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once.  Felix Mantilla was 0-for-1 with three walks and a run.  Dennis Bennett pitched three innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

The game:  Allen's two-run single gave the Twins a 2-0 lead in the second.  A sacrifice fly by Hall in the third and another by Allen in the fourth made it 4-0.  The Red Sox got an RBI single by Chuck Schilling in the fifth and a sacrifice fly by Bob Tillman in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2.  The Twins got another sacrifice fly in the seventh, this one by Harmon Killebrew, to go up 5-2.  With two out in the ninth, a strikeout/wild pitch and a walk brought the tying run to the plate, but Al Worthington came in to retire Schilling on a fly out to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch and an RBI.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Record:  The win was the Twins' seventh straight and made them 50-28.  Their lead fell to a game and a half, however, as Cleveland swept a doubleheader from the White Sox.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .326.  Battey raised his average to .316...Jim Lonborg started for the Red Sox and took the loss.  It dropped his record to 5-9 with a 3.18 ERA.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 22

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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)

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.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-seven

MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 6.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 3-for-3 with two two-run homers (his fifteenth and sixteenth) and a walk.  Don Mincher was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete shutout, giving up eight hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Bob Heffner struck out six in five innings of relief, allowing one run on two hits and two walks.  Tony Conigliaro was 1-for-1 with a double and three walks.  Eddie Bressoud was 3-for-5.

The game:  A few big inning made the difference.  In the first, Hall hit a two-run homer and Mincher followed later with a solo blast to make it 3-0.  Hall hit another two-run homer in the second to make it 5-0.  There was no more scoring until the seventh, when the Twins got their remaining four runs.  Two singles and a walk filled the bases, an error brought one home, Earl Battey's bunt scored another, and Bernie Allen singled home two more.  The Red Sox had two on in the second, third, and eighth and loaded the bases in the fifth, but did not score.

Of note:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a run.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Battey was 0-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

Record:  The Twins went to 49-28 and increased their lead over idle Cleveland to two games.

Notes:  Bob Allison was hit by a pitch in the first inning and was removed from the game.  He would not play again for a week and a half...Hall raised his average to .325...Battey's average dropped to .305...This was the second straight shutout for Twins pitchers...I am stunned that, in the seventh inning, with the Twins leading 6-0, the bases loaded and one out, Battey was bunting.  If you did that today, the old school types would scream that these young punks don't know how to play the game properly.  Of course, the old school types probably said that then, too.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 21

Cy Williams (1887)
Josh Gibson (1911)
Bob Rush (1925)
Howie Reed (1936)
Paul Casanova (1941)
Elliott Maddox (1947)
Dave Kingman (1948)
Joaquin Andujar (1952)
Tom Henke (1957)
Roger McDowell (1960)
Andy Van Slyke (1960)
Dustin Hermanson (1972)
LaTroy Hawkins (1972)
D’Angelo Jimenez (1977)
Freddy Sanchez (1977)
Philip Humber (1982)

Josh Gibson is generally considered to have been the greatest batter in Negro League history.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to hungry joe’s wife, peckish jane.

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Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Seventy-six

MINNESOTA 2, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 5 (Game 2 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 1-for-1 with three walks and a stolen base (his eighth), scoring once.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

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

Opposition stars:  Dave Morehead struck out seven in six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks.  Lee Thomas was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Eddie Bressoud was 2-for-4.

The game:  In the fourth, Allison singled and scored on a stolen base-plus-error to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth, an error, a walk, and Battey's RBI single made it 2-0.  Perry took it from there.  The Red Sox had two men on in the second, seventh, and ninth, but did not score.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4.

Record:  The doubleheader sweep made the Twins 48-28 and put them in first place by a game over Cleveland, who lost to the White Sox 3-1.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .317...Battey raised his average to .309...It was Perry's first start of the season and only the second time he had pitched more than three innings.  It goes without saying (but we're saying it anyway) that a pitcher in his situation would never be allowed to throw a complete game today, especially after allowing two batters to reach in the ninth.  He would remain in the rotation the rest of the season, although he made a couple of relief appearances down the stretch.