OAKLAND ATHLETICS 7, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN OAKLAND (GAME 1)

Date:  Sunday, June 22, 1969.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a double.  Rod Carew was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-5 with two doubles.

Pitching stars:  Al Worthington pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition star:  Ted Kubiak was 3-for-4 with a home run (his first) and two runs.  Sal Bando was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his thirteenth and fourteenth), three RBIs, and a walk.  Phil Roof was 2-for-3.  Reggie Jackson was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-seventh), two runs, and three RBIs.  Chuck Dobson pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on eleven hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  Ted Uhlaender led off the game with a double, Rod Carew followed with a single, and Harmon Killebrew hit a two-run double, putting the Twins up 2-0 three batters into the game.  Unfortunately, the lead only lasted until the bottom of the first, when Ted Kubiak singled and Sal Bando hit a two-out two-run homer to tie it 2-2.

Then came the third.  With two out and no one on, Ted Kubiak, Reggie Jackson, and Sal Bando hit consecutive homers.  Solo homers may not hurt you, but three of them in a row tend to sting a little, and it was 5-2 Oakland.

The Twins got one run back in the fifth when Rod Carew hit a one-out single and scored from first on a Tony Oliva two-out double, making it 5-3.  In the sixth, however, Phil Roof led off with a single, Ted Kubiak hit a two-out single, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, and Reggie Jackson singled them both home to give the Athletics a 7-3 advantage.

And that was it.  The Twins got a pair of singles in the seventh, but they did not get a baserunner after that. 

WP:  Chuck Dobson (8-5).

LP:  Jim Kaat (7-6).

S:  None.

Notes:  Graig Nettles was in left field.  Bob Allison played the most games there at 58, but Nettles was right behind at 53.  Also in the left field mix were Ted Uhlaender (44), Charlie Manuel (41), and Cesar Tovar (40).

Rod Carew was batting .376.  He would finish at a league-leading .332.

Despite giving up five runs in three innings, Jim Kaat had an ERA of 2.63.  He would finish at 3.49.

Phil Roof would play for the Twins from 1971-1976.

This was one of only two home runs Ted Kubiak hit in 1969.  He would finish with thirteen in a ten-year career.

Graig Nettles is one of several third basemen the Twins have tried to turn into outfielders.  Others include Rick Renick, Trevor Plouffe!, and Miguel Sano.  I’m sure there are others I’ve forgotten about.  

This was Al Worthington’s seventh game of the season.  He had retired after the 1968 season, but was persuaded to come back to help the Twins’ bullpen.  His ERA after this game was 9.95 due to one bad outing in which he gave up six runs in two-thirds of an inning.  He would end with an ERA of 4.57.

Record:  Oakland was 35-27, in first place in the AL West by percentage points over Minnesota.  They would finish 88-74, in second place, nine games behind Minnesota.

The Twins were 35-29, in second place in the AL West, percentage points behind Oakland.  They would finish 97-65, in first place, nine games ahead of Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 48-49 (.495).

CLEVELAND INDIANS 11, MINNESOTA TWINS 3 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Tuesday, April 26, 1994.

Batting stars:  Dave Winfield was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5.  Scott Leius hit a home run, his third.

Pitching stars: None.

Opposition stars:  Albert Belle was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Eddie Murray was 2-for-4 with a double.  Paul Sorrento was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Kenny Lofton was 2-for-5 with a triple, a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer, his fourth.  Candy Maldonado hit a home run, his second.  Mark Clark pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out two.  Jose Mesa retired all seven men he faced, striking out one.

The game:  In the first, Kenny Lofton walked and Albert Belle delivered a two-out two-run double to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the third when Scott Leius led off with a home run.  With two out in the inning, Alex Cole singled, stole second, and scored on a Chuck Knoblauch single to give the Twins a 2-1 lead.

The Indians got the lead back in the fourth, and this time they kept it.  With one out, Albert Belle doubled, went to third on an Eddie Murray single, and scored on a Paul Sorrento single.  The next batter went out, but Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer to give Cleveland a 5-2 lead.

Dave Winfield homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-3, but that was as good as it got.  Candy Maldonado led off the seventh with a home run.  Kenny Lofton then doubled, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make the score 7-3.

Cleveland put it away in the eighth.  Paul Sorrento singled with one out, with two down, Manny Ramirez reached on an error, Tony Pena hit an RBI single, Kenny Lofton had a two-run triple, and Mark Lewis hit an RBI single.  The score was 11-3, and that’s where it stayed.

WP:  Mark Clark (2-0).

LP:  Pat Mahomes (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Alex Cole was in left.  Shane Mack played the most games there with 66, followed by Pedro Munoz at 42.  Cole played the most games in center, with 84, but Rich Becker was there in this game.

Kirby Puckett was batting .333.  He would finish at .317.  Rich Becker was batting .305.  He would finish at .265.  Alex Cole was batting .303.  He would finish at .296.

Paul Sorrento had played for the Twins from 1989-1991.  Jim Thome was at third base for Cleveland.  He would play for the Twins from 2010-2011.

Kenny Lofton was a really good player.  He was a six-time all-star, every year from 1994-1999.  He led the league in hits once, in triples once, and in stolen bases five times.  In those five seasons, 1992-1996, he averaged sixty-five stolen bases.  Over seventeen seasons, he batted .299/.372/.423.  He also won four gold gloves, so he was considered a fine defender.  I don’t think he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but he was an excellent player for many years, and if he was in the Hall of Fame I don’t think he’d be the worst player there.

Pat Mahomes started, and after the game he had an ERA of 8.41.  Mark Guthrie was the only reliever used, and after the game he had an ERA of 12.75.  It was early in the season, obviously, but while those numbers would come down neither of them had a good season in 1994.

Mark Guthrie has a son, Dalton, who played briefly for Philadelphia from 2022-2023.  If I knew that, I’d forgotten it.  A utility player, he has batted .244/.393/.333 in forty-five major league at-bats.  He played in AAA for Boston in 2024 and is currently a free agent.  He’s twenty-nine, so it’s an open question whether he’ll get another chance.  He does have a good OBP in AAA, so he might someone might sign him.  Or, of course, they might not.

Record:  Cleveland was 11-7, in first place in the AL Central, percentage points ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 66-47, in second place, one game behind Chicago.

The Twins were 7-14, in fifth (last) place in the AL Central, 5.5 games behind Cleveland.  They would finish 53-60, in fourth place, fourteen games behind Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 48-48 (.500).

DETROIT TIGERS 12, MINNESOTA TWINS 4 IN DETROIT

Date:  Friday, April 21, 1967.

Batting star:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a home run (his first) and two RBIs.  Russ Nixon was 2-for-5.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.  Rod Carew hit a home run, his first.

Pitching star:  Dwight Siebler pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Jim Perry pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jim Northrup was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer (his first), a double, and two runs.  Ray Oyler was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Bill Freehan was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third) and two runs.  Al Kaline was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Denny McLain pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out two.

The game:  The Twins loaded the bases in the first on an error and two walks, but did not score.  They got on the board in the third when Cesar Tovar singled and scored from first on a Tony Oliva single.  The lead lasted until the bottom of the third.  Don Wert drew a one-out walk, followed by a Gates Brown triple and an Al Kaline single, putting Detroit up 2-1.

From there it was all Tigers.  With one out in the fourth Denny McLain and Dick McAuliffe walked, followed by a Don Wert RBI single.  A run scored on an error, Al Kaline hit an RBI single, and Jim Northrup hit a three-run homer.  With two out Bill Freehan followed with another home run.  When the rally was over, Detroit led 9-1.  They added three more runs in the sixth.  Northrup singled with one out.  With two down, Freehan singled, Ray Olyler hit a two-run double, and a wild pitch scored Oyler from second, making the score 12-1.

Rod Carew hit a two-run homer in the seventh and Tony Oliva homered in the ninth, but the Twins never got back into the game.

WP:  Denny McLain (2-1).

LP:  Dave Boswell (0-1).

S:  Larry Sherry (1).

Notes:  Russ Nixon was behind the plate.  Jerry Zimmerman was the regular catcher in 1967, as Earl Battey was injured most of the season.  Cesar Tovar was in center in place of Ted Uhlaender.

Zoilo Versalles was batting .385.  He would finish at .200.  Russ Nixon was batting .333.  He would finish at .235.  Sandy Valdespino was batting .333.  He would finish at .165.  Cesar Tovar was batting .313.  He would finish at .267.  Obviously, batting averages are skewed this early in the season.

Dwight Siebler had an ERA of zero.  He would finish at 3.00.

This was Rod Carew’s first career home run.  He would hit ninety-two in his career, with a high of fourteen in 1975 and 1977.

Cesar Tovar played in every game in 1967 despite not having a regular position.  He played 72 games at third base, 64 games in center field, 35 games at second base, ten games in left field, nine games at shortstop, and six games in right field.  He actually played in 164 games in 167 due to a couple of tie games.  He also led the league in at-bats and plate appearances.  He finished seventh in MVP voting that year, one of five seasons in which he received MVP votes.

As shown below, and as you probably know, the Twins lost the pennant by one game in 1967.  You have to think a healthy Earl Battey would’ve made the difference.  Jerry Zimmerman was known as a fine defender, but he batted .167/.243/.192, for an OPS of .436.  Even in the 1960s, that’s terrible.  One might also fault the Twins’ front office for not going out and getting a catcher who wasn’t an automatic out at the plate.

This was the only triple Gates Brown would hit in 1967.  He hit nineteen in his career, with a high of six in 1964.

You would be hard pressed to find a pitcher who had consecutive years better than Denny McLain in 196-1969.  As you know, he won 31 games in 1968.  But for the two years combined he was 55-15, 2.37, 1.00 WHIP.  He won the Cy Young Award both years and was the MVP in 1968.  He led the league in wins, starts (82), and innings pitched (661) in both years, led the league in WAR in 1969, and led the league in complete games in 1968 (28).  For the two years combined he had 51 complete games.

This was the next-to-last game of Dwight Siebler’s major league career.  He would appear in one more game (April 30), finish the year in AAA, and then his playing career was over.

Record:  Detroit was 6-3, in first place in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and New York.  They would finish 91-71, tied for second place with Minnesota, one game behind Boston.

The Twins were 2-5, in tenth place in the American League, three games behind Detroit.  They would finish 91-71, tied for second place with Detroit, one game behind Boston.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 48-47 (.505).