Tag Archives: Bobby Floyd

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixty

KANSAS CITY 14, MINNESOTA 13 IN MINNESOTA (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Tuesday, September 29.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 5-for-6 with a walk and four RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Jim Holt was 3-for-7.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base (his third), and two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a double, two walks, and three RBIs.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Billy Sorrell was 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs.  Cookie Rojas was 3-for-6 with two runs.  Pat Kelly was 2-for-2.  Bobby Floyd was 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs.  Ed Kirkpatrick was 2-for-6 with a double, a stolen base (his fourth), and three RBIs.  Bob Oliver was 2-for-6.  Jim York pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.

The game:  The Twins led early.  Tovar led off the first with a walk and Cardenas and Oliva singled, loading the bases.  Harmon Killebrew hit a two-run single, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.  The Twins again loaded the bases in the third inning, this time with two out, on singles by Mitterwald and Tovar and a walk to Cardenas.  And this time it was Oliva delivering a two-run single, making it 4-0.  The Twins added one more in the third when Mitterwald drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on a Danny Thompson single, bringing the score to 5-0.

But the Royals came roaring back in the fifth.  Consecutive one-out singles by Oliver, Rojas, Floyd, Tommy Matchick, Sorrell, and Kelly resulted in five runs, tying the score at 5-5.

The Twins took the lead back in the fifth.  Killebrew walked, Holt singled, and a two-out double by Mitterwald made it 7-5.  In the fifth Bob Allison reached on an error and scored on a Cardenas single.  Oliva followed with a single, and another error brought home another run, making it 9-5 Twins.

It stayed 9-5 until the ninth, when Kansas City had another big inning.  Singles by Rojas, Floyd, Sorrell, and Jackie Hernandez made it 9-7 with one out and two on.  A ground out followed for the second out, but an error made it 9-8, Kirkpatrick's two-run double made it 10-9 Royals, and another error increased the Kansas City lead to 11-9.

This time it was the Twins' turn to come back.  In the bottom of the ninth Rich Reese walked and singles by Paul Ratliff, Cardenas, and Charlie Manuel tied the score and sent the game to extra innings.

Neither team scored in the tenth, but each team scored two in the eleventh.  In the top of the inning Eliseo Rodriguez walked, was bunted to second, and scored on a Lou Piniella single.  Piniella then stole second and scored on Kirkpatrick's single to give the Royals a 13-11 lead.  But in the bottom of the inning Cotton Nash walked, Tovar doubled, and Cardenas delivered another two-run single to tie it 13-13.

In the twelfth Floyd led off with a walk, Sorrell singled with one out, and pitcher Ted Abernathy hit a two-out single to put Kansas City back up 14-13.  This time the Twins could not come back.  Holt had a leadoff single but could advance no farther and the game was over.

WP:  Abernathy (10-3).

LP:  Pete Hamm (0-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was again in center field, with Tovar at third base, Killebrew on first, and Reese out of the lineup.  Thompson was at second in place of Rod Carew.

There were a lot of substitutions.  Allison pinch-hit for starter Jim Perry in the fifth and stayed in the game in right field, with Oliva coming out.  Steve Brye went to left and Jim Nettles to right in the eighth, replacing Brant Alyea and Allison.  Carew pinch-hit for Mitterwald in the ninth, with Rick Dempsey coming in to catch.  Reese pinch-hit for Thompson in the ninth, with Frank Quilici pinch-running for Reese and going to second base.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Brye in the ninth, with Herman Hill pinch-running for Ratliff.  Manuel pinch-hit for Bill Zepp in the ninth and stayed in the game in left field.  Nash replaced Herman Hill in the lineup and went to first base, with Killebrew coming out of the game.  Rick Renick went to shortstop in place of Cardenas in the twelfth.

Carew was 0-for-1 and was batting .370.  Oliva was batting .324.  Williams had an ERA of 2.01.  Ron Perranoski gave up four runs (two earned) in a third of an inning and had an ERA of 2.44.

Manuel was 1-for-2 and was batting .197.  Hamm gave up one run in one inning and had an ERA of 5.51.

Perry pitched five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and no walks and striking out two.

Al Fitzmorris was the starting pitcher, but he came out of the game without throwing a pitch.  Paul Splittorff replaced him.  I have to assume Fitzmorris either was ill or injured himself warming up--I see no reason this would be some sort of ploy in a meaningless game.

Floyd had another big game against the Twins.  He was now 8-for-13 with three doubles and a walk in his last three games.  He played in 17 major league games in 1970, nine of them against the Twins.  In those nine games he batted .320/.400/.440.  For his career against the Twins, he batted .239/.313/.310 in 27 games.  I guess it just goes to show that anyone can get hot for a few games.

The Twins used eighteen position players and six pitchers in this game.  With the only slightly expanded September rosters now, we will never be able to see this again.

Record:  The Twins were 96-64, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-nine

MINNESOTA 1, KANSAS CITY 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, September 28.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a double.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-3 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall pitched eight shutout innings, giving up five hits and a walk and striking out seven.  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Floyd was 2-for-4 with a double.  Dick Drago pitched seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk and striking out two.

The game:  Again we had a game of missed opportunities.  Amos Otis led off with a single and stole second with none out.  Floyd doubled in the second with one out.  Killebrew led off the second with a double.  The Royals got a pair of two-out single in the third.  Yet, the score remained 0-0 until the fifth.

Alyea led off the fifth with a double.  George Mitterwald then bunted him to third and Danny Thompson bunted him home, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.

And it held up, because after that the opportunities went away.  Neither team got a man past first base after the fifth inning.  The Twins won it 1-0.

WP:  Hall (11-6).

LP:  Drago (9-15).

S:  Perranoski (33).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in center field, with Cesar Tovar moving to third, Killebrew to first, and Rich Reese out of the lineup.  Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.

Jim Nettles went to left field in the eighth in place of Alyea.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Hall in the eighth.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .321.  Hall had an ERA of 2.55.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.28.

Manuel was 0-for-1 and was batting .186.

This was a Monday afternoon game.  It was a makeup game, making up a snowed out game on April 14.  While I can't know how much it affected play, and while I'm all for playing all 162 games, I can't think that anyone was too thrilled about having to play a meaningless Monday afternoon makeup game.  The game took one hour and fifty-one minutes, so I suspect a lot of the players wanted to get it over with.  The attendance was 1,100, so apparently there weren't a whole lot of fans who were too excited about this one, either.

One guy who apparently was excited about it was Bobby Floyd.  After going 4-for-4 with two doubles the day before, he went 2-for-4 with a double in this game, making him (obviously) 6-for-8 with three doubles over two games.  He only had fourteen hits and four doubles for the season (45 at-bats).  He had about half his season in these two games.

Record:  The Twins were 96-63, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-eight

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, September 27.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 2-for-3 with a double.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Luis Tiant pitched four innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Floyd was 4-for-4 with two doubles.  Lou Piniella was 3-for-4.  Amos Otis was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Jim Rooker pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out seven.

The game:  The Royals took the lead in the first inning.  Otis led off with a single and Piniella hit a one-out single.  A pickoff error moved the runners to second and third and a wild pitch brought home a run.  Ed Kirkpatrick's RBI single made it 2-0 Kansas City.

Then came some missed opportunities.  The Royals had men on first and third with none out in the second.  The Twins had men on first and second with two out in the third.  The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the fourth.  The Twins had a man on third with one out in the sixth.  But it was still 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when doubles by Bob Oliver and Floyd plated a Kansas City run and made it 3-0.  The Twins had a man on second with one out in the seventh and did not score.  In the bottom of the seventh Otis doubled and scored on Piniella's single to make it 4-0.

The Twins finally broke through in the eighth.  Harmon Killebrew hit a one-out single.  With two out Alyea singled and Bob Allison delivered a two-run double.  Rich Reese then hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3.

That's all there was, though.  The last four Twins batters went out and the score stayed 4-3 Royals.

WP:  Rooker (10-15).

LP:  Tiant (7-3).

S:  Ted Abernathy (14).

Notes:  Danny Thompson was at shortstop in place of Leo Cardenas.  Frank Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Allison was in right field, with Tony Oliva moving to center and Cesar Tovar out of the lineup.  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Reese out of the lineup.

Steve Brye pinch-hit for Tiant in the fifth.  Tovar pinch-hit for Jim Kaat in the seventh.  Jim Nettles pinch-ran for Alyea in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field.  Reese pinch-hit for Renick in the eighth, with Herman Hill pinch-running for Reese.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Mitterwald in the eighth and stayed in the game at catcher.  Cardenas went to shortstop in the eighth, with Thompson moving to third.  Jim Holt pinch-hit for Bill Zepp in the ninth.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici in the ninth.

Tiant was 0-for-1 and was batting .406.  Oliva was batting .322.

Manuel was 0-for-1 and was batting .190.  Brye was 0-for-1 and was batting .182.

It's sad to me that, with only slightly expanded rosters now, you can't have box scores that look like this.

This was Tiant's first appearance since September 7.

This would be the last start of Allison's career.

I have no memory of Bobby Floyd, but he played in parts of seven seasons.  He never played a lot--his highest at-bat total was 134, and it was the only time he got above 100.  He was a utility infielder, and was presumably considered a good glove man.  I would guess that this was probably his only four-hit game.  His career numbers are .219/.264/.266.    He did have a long career as a minor league manager and coach, and was on the Mets major league coaching staff in 2001 and 2004.

This closed out the three-game series in Kansas City.  The Twins would now come home to end their season with four more against the Royals.

Record:  The Twins were 96-63, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-eight

KANSAS CITY 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, June 19.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-4.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Steve Barber pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Amos Otis was 3-for-4 with a double.  Bob Oliver was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Joe Keough was 2-for-4.  Dick Drago pitched a complete game, giving up an unearned run on seven hits and one walk and striking out five.

The game:  There was no score until the third, when Bobby Floyd led off with a walk, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Cookie Rojas single.  The Royals added two in the fourth:  Oliver and Keough led off with singles and Lou Piniella followed with an RBI double.  Ed Kirkpatrick was intentionally walked, loading the bases with still none out.  All Kansas City could get out of that was one more, on a ground out, but it put the Royals up 3-0.  Kansas City added two more in the fifth.  Otis hit a one-out single and scored on Oliver's double.  Oliver went to third on Keough's single and scored on a ground out to make it 5-0 Royals.

The Twins didn't mount a lot of threats.  They had a walk and a single with two out in the second.  They got a pair of one-out singles in the seventh.  Their lone run scored in the eighth when Cesar Tovar reached on a two-base error and scored on a Carew single.

WP:  Drago (5-4).

LP:  Bert Blyleven (2-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Hall in the seventh.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the ninth.

Carew was batting .373.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .324.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .310.  Hall had an ERA of 2.30.  Barber had an ERA of 2.87.

Manuel was batting .176.  Manuel had been with the Twins all season and had appeared in twenty games, all as a pinch-hitter.  That's a tough way to try to succeed.  He was in his age twenty-six season.  I'm sure he was happy to be in the majors, but it sure wasn't a way to try to develop a young-ish player.

This was Blyleven's first poor start.  He allowed five runs in 4.1 innings, giving up seven hits and two walks and striking out two.

I don't remember that I've ever heard of Bobby Floyd.  He played in parts of seven major league seasons, from 1968-1974, but only once got as many as a hundred at-bats in a season (134 in 1972).  He was an infielder, playing 98 games at shortstop, 56 games at second base, and 48 games at third base.  He batted .219/.264/.266 in 425 at-bats.  1970 was his best season at bat, as he batted .311/.360/.400 in 45 at-bats.  He was tied with me in major league career home runs, as we both hit zero.  He did have a lengthy career as a minor league manager and coach.

Record:  The Twins were 38-20, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.