MINNESOTA 6, SEATTLE 4 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Wednesday, April 16.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 4-for-5 with two doubles.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Joe Grzenda struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Ron Perranoski struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jim Gosger was 3-for-5 with a home run and two doubles.  Jerry McNertney was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Ray Oyler was 2-for-4.  Diego Segui retired all seven men he faced, striking out three.

The game:  The Twins jumped on starter Gary Bell for three runs in the first inning.  With one out, Minnesota got consecutive singles by Carew, Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, and Graig Nettles.  With two out, Cardenas delivered another run-scoring single.

The Twins missed a chance to add to the lead in the second due to some overly aggressive baserunning.  Ted Uhlaender was thrown out trying to score from first on a Carew double.  Later, with men on first and third, Oliva was caught trying to steal second.

The Pilots also missed some chances stranding two runners in the second and again in the third.  They got on the board in the fourth but could have had more, as they put men on second and third with none out but only got an RBI ground ball.  An error and another RBI ground ball gave Seattle a run in the fifth, cutting the margin to 3-2.  They tied it in the sixth on an RBI single by Oyler and went ahead in the eighth on Gosger's home run.

Jack Aker, who came on in the eighth, tried to close it out in the ninth.  With one out, Carew doubled and Oliva singled to tie it 4-4.  With Oliva on first and one out, Killebrew was intentionally walked.  Nettles flied out.  but Rich Reese doubled to left to bring home both runners and put the Twins ahead 6-4.

The Pilots kept trying.  Larry Haney walked and ex-Twin Don Mincher singled to put men on first and second with none out in the bottom of the ninth.  Another ex-Twin, Rich Rollins, grounded into a double play and Gosger struck out to end the game.

WP:  Perranoski (2-0).  LP:  Aker (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was batting .455 (10-for-22).  Oliva was batting .382.

Nettles was again in left, with Killebrew on third and Reese at first.  Frank Quilici again went in at third and Cesar Tovar went to left in the ninth.

Dean Chance started for the Twins and pitched five innings.  He gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and five walks and struck out two.  There seem to have been a lot of walks in these early-season games.  The strike zone had been made smaller that off-season, which may have contributed.

Seattle gave the Twins four intentional walks.  Two of them went to Killebrew, including the one in the ninth with Oliva on first base.  It was a sign of respect for Harmon, but also probably had to do with the fact that the rookie Nettles was the next batter.

The Twins were now 2-for-9 in stolen base attempts.

Perranoski had now appeared in six of the Twins first seven games, throwing thirteen innings.

All of the Twins first seven games were decided by either one or two runs.

Record:  The Twins moved up from last to tied for last.  They were actually tied for fourth with California and Seattle, 1.5 games behind Kansas City in a very tight AL West.

MINNESOTA 5, OAKLAND 4 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Tuesday, April 15.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-4 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Rich Reese was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat struck out nine in 8.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Hershberger was 2-for-4.  Bert Campaneris was 2-for-5 with a double.

The game:  The Twins could do nothing with a leadoff double by Uhlaender in the first.  Oakland also got a leadoff double, by Campaneris, but scored him on a Hershberger single.  The A's made it 2-0 in the second when Rick Monday reached on an error and scored on a double by Catfish Hunter.

The Twins again wasted a leadoff double in the fourth, this one by Rod Carew, as Carew was thrown out trying to advance to third on a ground ball to the pitcher.  In the seventh, however, Minnesota finally broke through against Hunter, as Graig Nettles led off with a single and Reese hit a two-run homer to tie the score 2-2.  The Twins took the lead in the eighth, as Oliva and Killebrew started the inning with back-to-back home runs to give Minnesota a 4-2 advantage.

The Twins added a run in the ninth, as George Mitterwald was hit by a pitch, Uhlaender hit a one-out single, and Oliva scored him with a two-out single.  They needed it, as the A's weren't done yet.  Hershberger and Monday led off the inning with singles.  Kaat retired the next two batters on fly outs, but pinch-hitter Jim Pagliaroni walked to load the bases.  Bob Miller came in and gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Ramon Webster, making the score 5-4.  Ron Perranoski came in and walked Ted Kubiak to re-load the bases, but Campaneris hit into a force out to end the game.

WP:  Kaat (1-0).  LP:  Hunter (1-1).  S:  Perranoski (1).

Notes:  Nettles was once again in left field, with Reese at first and Killebrew at third.  After the Twins took the lead in the eighth, Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third and Cesar Tovar replaced Nettles in left.  It seems like defensive replacements were a lot more common back then, maybe because benches were deeper.

Carew was batting .353 on the young season.  Oliva and Nettles were each at .333 and Reese was batting .316.

On the other side, Uhlaender as batting just .160 and Leo Cardenas was at .167.

Kaat had pitched 19.2 innings in his two starts.  His ERA was 2.29.

Perranoski made his fifth appearance in six games, this time going just a third of an inning.  He had pitched 11.2 innings.

Reggie Jackson was batting second in the Oakland lineup, with Hershberger third and Sal Bando fourth.  Jackson had a very good year in 1968, but 1969 was the year he would really become a star.  He led the league in runs, slugging average, OPS, and intentional walks.  He finished third in home runs, one behind Killebrew and two behind Frank Howard.

Five of the Twins first six games were decided by one run.  The other was decided by two runs.

Maybe there were rainouts, but this was a really strange schedule.  The Twins opened with two in Kansas City, then had three at California.  They then had one game in Oakland, one game in Seattle, and then went home for a seven-game homestand.

Record:  Minnesota was 2-4, still in sixth place in the AL West, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.

MINNESOTA 5, CALIFORNIA 4 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Sunday, April 13.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Graig Nettles was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall pitched five innings of relief, giving up two hits and no walks and striking out four.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.2 innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Rick Reichardt was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Tom Murphy pitched six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks and struck out three.

The game:  With one out in the bottom of the first, the Angels put together a walk and two singles to take a 1-0 lead.  They weren't done, as with two out a walk and a two-run single by Tom Satriano made it 3-0 after one inning.

It stayed there until the third, when a pair of singles and a productive ground out put Twins on second and third with two down.  Jim Fregosi then made an error on a Leo Cardenas ground ball to make it 3-1.  In the seventh, singles by Cardenas and Cesar Tovar and a walk to Bob Allison loaded the bases with none out.  A pair of fielder's choices brought home two runs to tie it 3-3.

The Twins finally took the lead in the eighth.  Killebrew led off the inning with his first home run of the season to make it 4-3.  Nettles walked and went to third on a George Mitterwald single.  Cardenas then hit a sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 5-4 lead.

The Angels didn't go away quietly.  With one out in the eighth, Bill Voss walked and Fregosi doubled to put men on second and third.  Perranoski then struck out Jay Johnstone, intentionally walked Reichardt, and got Bubba Morton on a fly out to end the inning.  Aurelio Rodriguez led off the ninth by reaching on catcher's interference.  With one out, Bobby Knoop and Ruben Amaro singled to cut the Twins lead to 5-4 and put men on first and second.  Voss hit into a forceout, putting men on first and third.  Bob Miller then came in to replace Perranoski and got Fregosi to ground out to end the game.

WP:  Perranoski (1-0).  LP:  Pedro Borbon (1-1).  S:  Miller (1).

Notes:  It was a somewhat more conventional lineup, although batting Rich Reese second when Tovar was in the lineup seems a little unusual.  Tovar was at second, with Rod Carew still out of the lineup.  Nettles was again in left field, with Killebrew at third.  Killebrew came out of the game for defense in the eighth, but rather than move Nettles to third base the Twins used Frank Quilici there.

Mitterwald seems to have been the mostly regular catcher early on, with Johnny Roseboro in a reserve role.

Dick Woodson started for the Twins and pitched one inning.  It's tempting to try to claim he was an opener, but in fact I'm sure he was removed because he gave up three runs on three hits and two walks.  Hall made his second relief appearance in four games after his opening day start.  Perranoski had now pitched 11.1 innings of relief and appeared in four of the five Twins games.

I have no memory at all of Bill Voss, but he played in parts of eight major league seasons.  An outfielder, 1969 would be the year he got the most playing time, 133 games.  He hit .261, but had an OPS of .660 because he had no power.  He played from 1965-1972, playing for the White Sox, California, Milwaukee, Oakland, and St. Louis.

Record:  Finally in the win column, the Twins were 1-4, still in sixth place in the AL West, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.

CALIFORNIA 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Saturday, April 12.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 2-for-3 with a home run, his second.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bob Miller retired all five men he faced.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-4.  Eddie Fisher pitched two shutout innings, giving up on hit.

The game:  The Twins again scored first, as Mitterwald led off the second inning with a home run to give them a 1-0 lead.  It went to 2-0 in the third, as Allison had a two-out walk, was balked to second, and scored on a Tony Oliva single.  The Angels tied it in the bottom of the third on a two-run triple by Bill Voss.

California took the lead in the fifth, as Jim Fregosi doubled and scored on a two-out single by Roger Repoz.  Allison led off the sixth with a home run to tie it 3-3.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Angels went into the lead to stay.  They led off the inning with a pair of walks, which led to the removal of starter Dave Boswell.  A bunt moved the runners to second and third, and a fielder's choice brought home the lead run.  The Twins did not get a man past first base after Allison's home run.

WP:  Rudy May (1-0).  LP:  Dave Boswell (1-0).  S:  Hoyt Wilhelm.

Notes:  Neither starting pitcher had a stellar game, although neither was awful, either.  May pitched six innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks and striking out four.  Boswell pitched five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and six walks and striking out five.

The Twins scored exactly three runs for their fourth consecutive game.  They lost all four, and lost them by a total of five runs.

I don't know if Billy Martin pulled the lineup out of a hat or what, but it was a strange one.  Here it is:

1.  Allison, LF
2. Oliva, RF
3. Killebrew, 1B
4. Mitterwald, C
5. Cardenas, SS
6. Clark 3B
7. Tovar, CF
8. Quilici, 2B
9. Boswell, P

You have Killebrew, Oliva, and Allison in the lineup, and you bat Mitterwald cleanup?  You have Cesar Tovar in the lineup, and you lead off with Allison?

Tovar was in center in place of Ted Uhlaender.  Frank Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew, who was out for his second consecutive game.  Carew may have had a minor injury, as he did not play again until April 15.

Perranoski, the closer, had pitched eight innings in the first four games.  He did not give up a run.

The Twins again got a runner caught stealing, as Oliva was thrown out trying to steal second in the third inning with two out and Harmon Killebrew up to bat.  They were 2-for-7 in stolen base attempts.

I wonder, given the Twins record and some of the questionable managerial decisions, if anyone was saying that the Twins' first-year manager was just not up to the job?  Maybe not--the world was different in 1969, of course--but I'm curious.  I'm pretty sure, in this situation, that people would be saying it now.

The Twins had hit six home runs, five in the last two games.  All were solo home runs.

Record:  The Twins were 0-for-4, sixth in the AL West, three games behind California, Kansas City, and Seattle.

CALIFORNIA 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, April 11.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a home run.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Joe Grzenda pitched a perfect inning.  Tom Hall struck out two in two shutout innings of relief, giving up two hits.  Charlie Walters pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a stolen base.  Aurelio Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a double.  Tom Satriano was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.  George Brunet pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk and striking out six.

The game:  Mitterwald hit a one-out homer in the second to start the scoring.  The Angels took the lead in the bottom of the second on Satriano's two-run homer.  Johnston hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 4-1.

In the fourth came the only run of the game not brought in with a homer.  Roger Repoz walked, took third on a Rodriguez single, and scored on a wild pitch.

The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the fifth, but a ground out and a popup ended the threat.  They did not threaten again until the ninth, when Oliva and Allison led off with back-to-back homers.  That was the end of the day for Brunet.  Hoyt Wilhelm came on to retire the next three batters and end the game.

WP:  Brunet (1-0).  LP:  Jim Perry (0-1).  S:  Wilhelm (2).

Notes:  The Twins do win the division this year, don't they?  You'd never know it from their start.  Oddly, the scored exactly three runs in each of their first three games, all losses.

Allison made his first appearance of the year in this game, playing left field.  To the extent the Twins had a regular left fielder this year, he was it, but he started only fifty-two games there and was a part-time player.  Frank Quilici played third base, with Harmon Killebrew on first.  Rod Carew was given the day off, with Cesar Tovar at second.

Jim Perry made his first start of the season.  One could argue that it went all right except for the home runs, but the home runs made the difference.  He pitched just three innings, giving up five runs on five hits and a walk and striking out two.  Hall was used for two innings of relief just three days after making the opening day start, which makes his selection for that honor all the more puzzling.

Tom Tischinski made his major league debut in this game, pinch-hitting in the seventh and flying out to right field.  One assumes he was considered an excellent defensive catcher, because he never hit, even in the minors.  His AAA numbers are .235/.313/.356 and his major league numbers are .181/.296/.224.  Oddly, his best season was his last one, when he batted .286/.355/.481 in AAA Albuquerque at age twenty-nine.

Hoyt Wilhelm was forty-six years old at this point in his career.  He would play three more seasons before finally retiring.  Just looking at his numbers, it looks like he was still a somewhat effective pitcher, but his body just wouldn't hold up any more, as he threw only 45.1 innings in his last two seasons combined.

Record:  The Twins were 0-3, in sixth place in the AL West, two games behind California, Kansas City, Oakland, and Seattle.

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN KANSAS CITY (17 INNINGS)

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-7 with a double and a stolen base, his second.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-7 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched eleven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and five walks and striking out four.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.1 perfect innings, striking out two.  Joe Grzenda struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Joe Foy was 2-for-5 with two walks and a stolen base.  Chuck Harrison was 0-for-7.  Bill Butler struck out six in five shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and one walk.  Moe Drabowsky pitched 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  There was no score until the third, when George Mitterwald walked and Uhlaender and Carew followed with singles to make it 1-0.  With two out, an error charged to Royals shortstop Jackie Hernandez made it 2-0.  Kansas City tied it in the fourth.  Consecutive singles by Ed Kirkpatrick, Foy, and Harrison brought home the first run and a Jim Campanis sacrifice fly tied it.

The Twins took the lead in the fifth.  Carew doubled, went to third on a sacrifice fly, and scored on a straight steal of home.  It looked like the 3-2 lead might hold up, but in the bottom of the eighth Jerry Adair got to second on a single-plus-error and scored on Foy's single.

The game nearly ended in the twelfth, but a double play allowed the Twins to get out of the inning unscathed despite walking four batters (one intentional) in the inning.  Kaat allowed the first walk, then came out of the game.  Dave Boswell got a double play but went on to walk three more batters in the inning.  Perranoski came on to get the last out.

The game finally ended in the seventeenth.  With Bob Miller pitching, Hernandez drew a one out walk, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Lou Piniella single to end the game.

WP:  Tom Burgmeier (1-0).  LP:  Miller (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew's steal of home came with one out and Harmon Killebrew up to bat.  In the first two games, Billy Martin seems to have been trying to establish that he would have anyone try to steal any base at any time.  Cesar Tovar was caught trying to steal second, as was Mitterwald.  It would be Mitterwald's only stolen base attempt of the season.

Kaat threw eleven innings and faced one batter in the twelfth before coming out of the game.  b-r.com does not give pitch counts, at least not going back to 1969, but I'm pretty sure it was over a hundred.  Not only that, Perranoski pitched 2.1 innings after pitching 5.1 innings the day before.  In both games he did not give up a run.  Martin's reputation for giving pitchers a heavy workload was cemented in Oakland, but it clearly started from his first managerial job.

Graig Nettles was again in left, with Killebrew at third and Rich Reese at first.  In the seventh, with the Twins leading 3-2, Frank Quilici entered the game at third base for defensive purposes.  Killebrew moved to first, with Reese coming out of the game.  In both of the first two games, Cesar Tovar came in to replace Nettles, yesterday as a pinch-hitter and today as a pinch-runner.  In both cases, he remained in the game to play left field.

Nettles was batting .400 (2-for-5).  Carew was batting .417 (5-for-12).  Killebrew, on the other hand, was batting .091 (1-for-11).

Roger Nelson was the Kansas City starter.  He pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits and five walks and striking out four.

The Royals used one former Twin (Hernandez) and two future Twins (Butler and Burgmeier).

The Twins had now played two games and twenty-nine innings against an expansion team and had nothing to show for it.  I don't know what the expectations were for the 1969 Twins (they had nearly made the World Series in 1967, but had finished seventh in 1968), but I have to think the fans were not terribly pleased.

Record:  The Twins were 0-2, in sixth and last place in the AL West, two games behind Kansas City.

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN KANSAS CITY (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Tuesday, April 8.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a stolen base.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-5.  Graig Nettles was 1-for-2 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on nine hits and no walks and striking out two.  Ron Perranoski pitched 5.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Lou Piniella was 4-for-5 with a double and a walk.  Jerry Adair was 2-for-5.  Dave Wickersham pitched five shutout innings of relief, giving up four hits and no walks and striking out three.

The game:  Piniella opened the game with a double and Adair followed with a single, putting the Royals up 1-0.  Nettles homered in the second to tie it 1-1.

It stayed 1-1 until the sixth.  Carew and Oliva opened the top of the inning with singles and Killebrew had an RBI ground out to put the Twins up 2-1.  Oliva was caught stealing, but Cesar Tovar singled and Rich Reese doubled him home to make it 3-1.  The Royals got the runs back in the bottom of the sixth.  Their first two batters went out, but Ellie Rodriguez singled, Killebrew (playing third) made an error to put men on first and third, and RBI singles by Jim Campanis and Piniella tied the score 3-3.

And there it stayed until the bottom of the twelfth, with neither team even mounting a threat.  With one out in the bottom of the twelfth, Joe Foy singled and went to second on a passed ball.  Chuck Harrison was intentionally walked, but a wild pitch moved men to second and third and led to an intentional walk to Bob Oliver.  Joe Keough then singled home the winning run.

WP:  Moe Drabowsky (1-0).  LP:  Joe Grzenda (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Hall seems a strange choice for opening day starter.  He had only made four major league starts before this game.  Other starting pitchers on the Twins roster included Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Dave Boswell, and Dean Chance.  I'm sure there was a reason Billy Martin went with Hall, but I didn't have time to research what it was.

Perranoski was to be the Twins' closer, and yet he pitched 5.1 innings.  You would never, ever, ever see that today.  A team would use a position player and allow the game to be lost rather than use their closer that long.  I'm not saying this is good, bad, or indifferent.  It simply shows how the game has changed.

The Twins have always seemed to have a thing about playing young third basemen in the outfield.  They did it with Corey Koskie.  They did it with Trevor Plouffe.  They did it with Miguel Sano.  And here, we see that they did it with Graig Nettles.  Nettles started this game in left field, with Killebrew at third and Reese at first.

The Twins were 1-for-3 in stolen bases in this game.  Carew stole second in the fourth inning, but Reese was thrown out trying to steal second in the fifth and Oliva was thrown out trying to steal third in the sixth.  Both caught stealings hurt.  You can't say for sure how the inning would've played out, but the Reese CS was the first out of the inning and was followed by a walk and a single, while the Oliva CS (the second out of the inning) was followed by a single and a double.

Roseboro, who I remember as having a reputation as a good defensive catcher, was charged with two passed balls in this game.  He would have eleven on the season.

This was the first-ever game for the expansion Kansas City Royals.  Wally Bunker was their starting pitcher, which may help you win a trivia contest someday.

Record:  The Twins were 0-1, tied for fourth in the American League West, a game behind Kansas City, Oakland, and Seattle.