MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 2 IN DETROIT

Date:  Friday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Graig Nettles was 3-for-4 with a double.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double.  Rod Carew was 1-for-3 with two walks.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his eighth.

Pitching stars:  Dean Chance struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks.  Bob Miller pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jim Northrup was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, his third.  John Hiller struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The Tigers put men on first and third with one out in the first, but a double play ended the inning.  In the second, the Twins had men on first and third with one out, but Nettles was caught stealing home on a 2-3-2 putout to end the threat.  The Twins broke through in the third when Carew scored from first on a two-out double by Tony Oliva.

The Twins added to their lead in the fourth.  Nettles singled, Cardenas doubled, and Johnny Roseboro was intentionally walked, loading the bases with one out.  Chance singled to center to bring home a run, and with two out Carew drew a walk to force home a run and make it 3-0.

Meanwhile, Chance had retired twelve men in a row before Bill Freehan doubled with two out in the fifth.  He reached third on a wild pitch but went no farther.  The Tigers got back into in the seventh, however.  Norm Cash drew a walk and Northrup hit a two-run homer to cut the Twins' lead to 3-2.  After a walk to Freehan, Miller came in to retire pinch-hitter Gates Brown on a ground out to end the inning.

The Twins got an insurance run in the eighth when Rich Reese singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Roseboro single.  They put it out of reach when Killebrew hit a two-out two-run homer in the ninth.  Detroit did put men on first and second with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Ron Perranoski came in to retire Northrup and Freehan to end the game.

WP:  Chance (3-0).  LP:  Earl Wilson (1-4).  S:  Perranoski (6).

Notes:  Carew was batting .393.  Nettles raised his average to .321.  Roseboro was 1-for-3 with a walk and was also at .321.  Cardenas was batting .316.  Oliva was 1-for-4 with a walk and was batting .311.  Killebrew was batting .307.

Chance lowered his ERA to 1.46.  Perranoski lowered his to 0.36.

Chance would make just one more start and two relief appearances in May before going on the disabled list until August 1.  His RBI single was a rare event--not only was it his only RBI of the season, it was his only hit of the season.  He batted .042 for the year, and that was not the worst batting average of his career.  He batted .026 in 1966 and .033 in 1967.  His best was .150 in 1963.  For his career, he batted .066/.113/.069.  He drew thirty walks in his career, which shows that sometimes just the simple act of throwing a strike is more than a pitcher can manage.  He struck out 420 times in his 662 career at-bats.  I assume that, on those occasions when the possibility of using a designated hitter was raised, he was one of its most ardent proponents.

The DH came along too late to help Gates Brown, too.  He was, in theory, and outfielder, but he only had one season in which he saw semi-regular play there (1964).  He was primarily a pinch-hitter, and a good one.  For his career, he batted .251/.356/.421 in exactly five hundred plate appearances as a pinch-hitter.  In 1968, in forty-eight pinch-hitting appearances, he batted ,450/.542/.850, for an astounding OPS of 1.357.  In 1972, in thirty-one pitch-hitting appearances, he batted .346/.452/.692, for an OPS of 1.144.  He was still around in 1973, when the DH came in, but by then he was thirty-four, and as he had never kept himself in great shape, he was able to only bat .236/.328/.366.  If there was a pinch-hitters Hall of Fame, though, he'd be in the first group selected.

Wilson pitched just 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks and striking out two.

This would be the last multi-hit game for Nettles until August 8.  His average went all the way down to .214 over that period.  As his batting declined, so did his playing time as others, primarily Bob Allison, were given time in left field.

Record:  The Twins were 18-8, in first place, leading Oakland by 1.5 games in the American League West.

MINNESOTA 10, CLEVELAND 3 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Wednesday, May 7.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his sixth and seventh) and a walk, driving in three.  Jim Kaat was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.

Opposition star:  Jose Cardenal was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.

The game:  The Twins went down in order in the first, but Killebrew led off the second with a home run.  Charlie Manuel walked, but the next two batters went out and when Johnny Roseboro hit a ground ball to second it looked like the inning would be over.  Vern Fuller booted it, putting men on first and second.  No worries, it just brought up the pitcher's spot.  The pitcher, however, was Kaat, and he delivered a two-run double to left, with Roseboro scoring from first to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.

In the fourth, the Indians got on the board.  Richie Scheinblum led off with a single, but a forceout put Ray Fosse on first instead.  A single and another forceout put men on first and third, and a wild pitch brought Fosse home to make it 3-1.

The Twins got the run back with interest in the fifth.  Kaat again was involved, leading off the inning with a single.  A forceout made Ted Uhlaender the baserunner.  He stole second and scored on a Tony Oliva single.  Killebrew followed with a two-run homer to put the Twins up 6-1.

Cleveland didn't give up, as Cap Peterson hit a one-out single and scored on Cardenal's two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the margin to 6-3.  In the sixth, however, Rich Reese led off with a double and two walks filled the bases.  The Twins then got consecutive singles from Uhlaender, Carew, and Oliva to go ahead 10-3 and put the game out of reach.

WP:  Kaat (2-0).  LP:  Luis Tiant (0-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was batting .395.  Manuel was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .391.  Roseboro was 0-for-4 with a walk and was batting .320.  Oliva was batting .314.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Cardenas was 0-for-4 and was batting .305.  Uhlaender was 1-for-5 and was batting .304.

Manuel obviously did not stay at .391.  He was mostly used as a pinch-hitter in 1969, playing in 83 games but starting just 31 and getting only 164 at-bats.  Pinch-hitting is a tough way to make your living, especially for a young player (he was twenty-five and in his rookie season), and Manuel wasn't up to it, batting just 0.83 with six walks and no extra base hits.  That didn't stop Billy Martin from using him in that role forty-three times in 1969.  In games that he started, Manuel hit a fairly respectable .250/.369/.352.  He hit .320/.411/.597 in AAA--one wonders what he might have done if he'd been with a team that would put him in the lineup and let him play.

Kaat has a reputation of having been a good hitter.  It would be more accurate to say that he was a good hitter for a pitcher.  His lifetime batting numbers are .185/.227/.267.  He had two good years at the plate:  1981, when he went 3-for-8, and 1972, when he batting .289/.304/.489 in 45 at-bats.  There were only two other seasons when he had an OPS of over. 600.  In 1969, he went .207/.247/.368 in 87 at-bats.  Again, good for a pitcher, but not actually good.

Jose Cardenal had more power than I remember.  He wasn't a power hitter, but he hit double digit home runs in eight seasons.  His high was seventeen, with the Cubs in 1972.  He would hit eleven in 1969.  He was a good batter, batting .275/.333/.395 in 18 major league seasons.  He never put up eye-popping numbers--he hit over .300 only twice--but he was a consistently good ballplayer for a long time.

Zoilo Versalles was used as a pinch-hitter by Cleveland, getting a single to center.  He was near the end of his major league career, although he would continue to play in Mexico through 1974.

Record:  The Twins were 17-8, in first place, leading Oakland by 1.5 games.

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 4.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 3-for-3.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Graig Nettles hit a pinch-hit home run, his third.

Pitching stars:  Dick Woodson pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and three walks and striking out none.  Joe Grzenda pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, a walk, and a stolen base, his sixth.  Bill Melton was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the second.  Mitterwald doubled with one out but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple, leaving the Twins with two out and none on.  Frank Quilici walked and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches.  Ted Uhlaender walked, and the pair pulled off a double steal of second and home, giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead.  It went to 2-0 in the third when Tovar tripled and scored on a Leo Cardenas sacrifice fly.

The White Sox were putting men on base, but could not do anything with them.  They had a pair of walks in the first, a leadoff double by Aparicio in the fourth, a walk and a single with one out in the fifth, and one-out singles by Melton and Pete Ward in the sixth, all to no avail.  Duane Josephson got a leadoff single in the seventh.  The next two batters went out, but this time Carlos May singled to score Josephson and Aparicio tripled to tie the game.  Charlie Walters came in to replace Woodson but gave up a double to Melton, putting Chicago ahead 3-2.  Grzenda came in to retire the side, but the damage had been done.

The Twins came back in the eighth.  With one out, Nettles pinch-hit for Mitterwald, who had gone 3-for-3, and hit a home run to tie the score 3-3.  A walk, an error, and an intentional walk loaded the bases and Tovar delivered a single to put the Twins ahead 4-3.  Uhlaender was thrown out at the plate, but it did not cost the Twins, as Perranoski came in to retire the White Sox on three ground outs to end the game.

WP:  Grzenda (1-1).  LP:  Bob Locker (1-1).  S:  Perranoski (5).

Notes:  Rod Carew did not start, but came in as a defensive replacement.  He went 0-for-1, making his average .395.  It's kind of an interesting move--Carew came in to play second, Quilici moved from second to third, and Tovar went from third to left to replace Bob Allison.  Billy Martin obviously felt that gave him a better defense.  Whether it actually did seems at least somewhat debatable.

In the eighth, not only did Nettles pinch-hit for Mitterwald, but Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici.  After that, Martin's defensive move was to put Nettles in left field, rather than play Manuel or to leave Tovar there, and to move Tovar back to third base, rather than to play Nettles there.  Nettles obviously did not have the reputation for defense at third that he would later gain, but it again seems debatable whether that was the best defensive move Martin could have made.

Cardenas was 0-for-4 and was batting .326.  Uhlaender was 0-for-2 with two walks and was batting .321.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with two walks and was batting .316.  Oliva was 0-for-4 and was also batting .316.  Grzenda's ERA was 2.93.  Perranoski's ERA was 0.37.

Tommy John started for the White Sox.  He pitched just four innings before being removed for a pinch-hitter with Chicago down 2-0, but with men on first and second with one out.  Pinch-hitter Walt Williams popped up to second.  John gave up two runs on five hits and three walks and struck out three.

Bill Melton looked like he was going to be really good when he was young.  In fact he was really good for a couple of years, but then it fell apart for him.  He was twenty-three in 1969 and in his first full season in the big leagues he hit .255/.326/.433.  He posted an OPS of over .800 his next two seasons.  He made the all-star team for the only time in 1971, but the two seasons were remarkably similar.  He hit 33 home runs in each season, and his slash lines are very close.  He missed much of 1972, but came back in 1973 to hit twenty homers and post an OPS of .802 at age twenty-seven.  That was as good as it would get for him, though.  He had a couple more down years for the White Sox, bounced to California in 1976 and to Cleveland in 1977, then was done at age thirty-one.  It was a back injury that cost him a lot of the 1972 season, and while no one comes right out and says so, one gets the impression that his back bothered him the rest of his career.

Record:  The Twins had won eight in a row and were in first place with a record of 16-7.  They led Oakland by 2.5 games.

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 3.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched five innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out one.  Ron Perranoski pitched four shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-4 with a double.  Carlos May was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.  Gary Peters pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out two.

The game:  Nobody came very close to scoring until the fifth, when Cardenas hit a one-out single and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer.  May homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 2-1.  The White Sox missed a chance for more, as Aparicio followed with a double and Bill Melton was hit by a pitch.  A bunt moved men to second and third, Don Pavletich was intentionally walked, and Buddy Bradford hit into a double play to end the inning.

The White Sox also had a chance to at least tie it in the seventh.  Walt Williams singled and was bunted to second and Ron Hansen walked.  A strikeout and a fly out ended the inning.

The Twins got an insurance run in the eighth.  Ted Uhlaender singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a two-out single by Cardenas.  The last eight Chicago batters went out, the last six of them on ground outs.

WP:  Perry (3-1).  LP:  Peters (1-4).  S:  Perranoski (4).

Notes:  It was a different lineup.  Cesar Tovar started, led off, and was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first.  Cardenas batted second.  Rod Carew was perhaps on another National Guard weekend, as Frank Quilici started at second.  George Mitterwald caught and Uhlaender, who had been leading off, batted eighth.

Cardenas raised his average to .341.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and dropped to .330.  Uhlaender was 1-for-2 with a walk and was batting .329.  Killebrew was batting .311.  Perry had an ERA of 2.57.  Perranoski had an ERA of 0.39.

Having gotten two days off, Perranoski was apparently fresh enough to throw four innings of relief.  He was averaging nearly two innings per appearance.

Carlos May has largely been forgotten, but he was a pretty good ballplayer.  Primarily an outfielder, he spent most of his ten-year career with the White Sox.  He made the all-star team in 1969 and again in 1972.  He was third in Rookie of the Year voting in '69 and got MVP votes in 1972-1973.  1969 was probably his best year, as he batted .281 with an OBP of .385 and 18 home runs.  He also had a very good year in 1972, when he batted .308 with an OBP of .405 and twelve home runs.  His career numbers are .274/.357/.392.  A couple of interesting things about him:  he lost his right thumb in an accident while on Marine Reserve duty in August of 1969.  It ended his season, but he came back to have a solid year in 1970.  Also, he is probably the only major league player to wear his birthday on his uniform:  May 17.

Record:  The Twins had won their seventh in a row and were 15-7, in first place, leading Oakland by two games.

MINNESOTA 6, SEATTLE 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, April 30.

Batting stars:  Tom Hall was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a stolen base (his fourth--and his third steal of home), scoring twice and driving in two.

PItching star:  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Gus Gil was 2-for-4.  Jim Bouton pitched two shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and striking out one.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fourth, when Carew singled, took second on a ground out, and scored on a Harmon Killebrew double.

The Twins took control in the fifth.  Leo Cardenas singled, Johnny Roseboro walked, and Hall singled to load the bases with none out.  Ted Uhlaender delivered a two-run single to make it 3-0.  A forceout-plus-error scored one and put Carew on second.  Walks to Tony Oliva and Killebrew filled the bases.  With Graig Nettles batting, the Twins pulled off a triple steal, with Carew stealing home, Oliva third, and Killebrew second, increasing the Twins lead to 5-0.

The Pilots got on the board in the sixth.  Three two-out singles plated one run and a passed ball brought home another, making the score 5-2.  In the bottom of the sixth, Hall doubled and Carew produced a two-out RBI single to make it 6-2.

Seattle wasn't done.  They opened the seventh with three more singles, cutting the lead to 6-3 and chasing Hall from the game.  Bob Miller came in to get one out and Ron Perranoski shut Seattle down the rest of the way, allowing just a sacrifice fly to ex-Twin Don Mincher.  The Pilots got a leadoff single in the ninth to bring the tying run up to bat, but Tommy Harper hit into a double play.

WP:  Hall (2-1).  LP:  Gene Brabender (0-2).  S:  Perranoski (3).

Notes:  Carew was batting .413.  Oliva was 0-for-2 with two walks and was batting .341.  Roseboro was 0-for-3 with a walk and was also batting .341.  Uhlaender was 1-for-5 with two RBIs and was batting .320.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a stolen base and was batting .309.  Cardenas was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .308.

Hall had allowed just two hits in 5.2 innings before singles got the best of him.  All eight hits he allowed were singles.  One wonders how many of those singles might have been outs today, with all the shifts going on.

Two ex-Twins played for Seattle in this game, Mincher and Rich Rollins.

The triple steal came off Pilots reliever Darrell Brandon.  I remember Bouton writing about this in "Ball Four".  As I recall the way Bouton told the story, Brandon was unsure whether he should go from the stretch or from the windup.  Pitching coach Sal Maglie hollered from the dugout "Go from the windup.  He's not going anywhere."  Then, of course, Carew stole home, with Oliva and Killebrew also advancing.  After the inning, Maglie went up to Brandon and said, "Darn it, you know you have to go from the stretch in that situation."

Record:  The Twins were 13-7, in first place, 1.5 games ahead of Oakland.

MINNESOTA 9, KANSAS CITY 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, April 29.

Batting stars:  Johnny Roseboro was 4-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a grand slam (his fourth homer) and a walk.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson pitched a complete game, giving up one run on nine hits and two walks and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Bob Oliver was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Pat Kelly was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his third.

The game:  The Royals got on the board first, as Oliver homered with two out in the second inning.  The lead lasted until the third.  Uhlaender and Carew opened the inning with singles, and Tony Oliva was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Killebrew unloaded them with a grand slam to put the Twins ahead 4-1.

The Twins added a run in the fourth on an error.  They scored two more in the sixth on singles by Roseboro, Uhlaender, Carew, and Tony Oliva.  They scored two more in the seventh on one hit, helped by two walks, two errors, and two wild pitches.

One can accurately say that Woodson scattered nine hits, because there was only one time when Kansas City had more than one man on base.  That came in the eighth, when singles by Lou Piniella and Jerry Adair put men on first and second with one out.  Ellie Rodriguez hit into a double play to end the inning.

WP:  Woodson (1-0).  LP:  Roger Nelson (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew raised his average to .414.  Roseboro was up to .366.  Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch and was batting .350.  Uhlaender went up to .329.  Killebrew was back up to .308.  Leo Cardenas was 0-for-5 and fell to .307.

Roseboro had a bunt single to lead off the fourth.

This was the first career complete game for Woodson and was only his second major league start.  As you may recall, his first start on April 13 had lasted just one inning, an inning in which he gave up three runs on three hits and two walks.  He would have fifteen complete games in his career, nine of them in 1972.  He actually had a really good year in '72, going 14-14 but with an ERA of 2.72 and a WHIP of 1.17.  He threw 251.2 innings that season and one suspects the workload was too much for him, as he never had another year that came anywhere close to that.

It was the third consecutive game in which the Twins starter had thrown a complete game, and in the game before that only one relief pitcher had been used.  Billy Martin apparently was not too concerned about keeping his relievers sharp, as a blowout game like this one would've been a perfect time to get somebody an inning.  One assumes Ron Perranoski, for one, was happy to get a break.

Royals starter Nelson pitched 5.1 innings, but allowed seven runs (six earned) on twelve hits and two walks and struck out four.

Record:  The Twins were 12-7, in first place, leading Oakland by 1.5 games.

MINNESOTA 4, KANSAS CITY 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, April 28.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, his second.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-4 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-0 with three walks.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game shutout, giving up seven hits and one walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Mike Fiore was 2-for-4 with a double.  Future Twin Tom Burgmeier pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks and striking out one.

The game:  An error, a walk, and a single loaded the bases for the Twins with none out in the first inning.  Killebrew hit a sacrifice fly, but it was the only run the Twins got in the inning.  It did not come back to haunt them.  Killebrew and Graig Nettles started the fourth with walks and Reese delivered a three-run homer to make it 4-0.

The Royals threatened in the fifth.  Ellie Rodriguez doubled and Juan Rios had a bunt single, putting men on first and third with one out.  Ed Kirkpatrick struck out, however, and Pat Kelly flied out to end the inning.  The Twins had men on first and second in both the fifth and the sixth, but were turned aside each time.  No more runs were needed, however, as Perry did not allow more than one baserunner in any inning after the fifth.

WP:  Perry (2-1).  LP:  Mike Hedlund (1-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-3 with a walk to "drop" his batting average to .409.  Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .351.  Cardenas was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .329.  Uhlaender was 0-for-4 and was batting .318.

Frank Quilici and Cesar Tovar were again used as defensive replacements for Killebrew and Graig Nettles, respectively.

Perry was making just his second start of the season.  He had started the third game of the season, then made five appearances out of the bullpen, the last one an outing of 2.1 innings just three days earlier on April 25.  He would make one more start on May 3, then go back to the bullpen.

Reese was caught stealing for the third time this season.  For the year he would go 1-for-6 in stolen bases, indicating that Billy Martin eventually figured out that having him try to steal bases might not be a good idea.

Hedlund, the Royals starter, was in his first full season in the majors, having gotten cups of coffee with Cleveland in 1965 and 1968.  He started 16 games and relieved in 18, and really did pretty well--only 3-6, but with an ERA of 3.24 and a WHIP of 1.30.  He wasn't bad as a starter, but was excellent as a reliever, posting an ERA of 1.69 and a WHIP of 1.03 out of the pen.  His best year in the majors was 1971, when he was in the Kansas City rotation all season.  He went 15-8, 2.71, 1.17 WHIP that year.  The next year, however, he went 5-7, 4.78 and was through as a big-leaguer.  He played in AAA two more seasons, but was done after 1974.  Just looking at his record, one suspects he may have had injury problems.  His career numbers are 25-24, 3.56, 1.30 WHIP.  He pitched 465.2 innings in 113 games, 62 of them starts.

Record:  The Twins had won three in a row and were 11-7, in first place, leading Oakland by one game.