Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Sixteen

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CALIFORNIA 7, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, April 23.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fourth.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4.  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Wally Joyner was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and a walk, scoring twice.  Devon White was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Brian Downing was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his seventh.

The game:  Gaetti's two-run homer in the first made it 2-0 and an error in the fifth put the Twins up 3-2, but it was all downhill after that.  In the sixth, Joyner's homer tied it and an RBI single by Darrell Miller made it 4-3 Angels.  A three-run ninth made it 7-3.  The Twins didn't give up, loading the bases with none out in the bottom of the ninth, but Mark Salas popped up, Randy Bush struck out, and Dan Gladden flied out to end the game.

Of note:  Gladden went 0-for-5 to drop his average to .314...Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 with a run.  It was his fourth consecutive oh-fer and dropped his average to .328...Frank Viola started and pitched 7.1 innings, but allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts.  John Candelaria was the California started.  He worked seven innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins record was 10-6, dropping them into a first-place tie with the Angels.

Notes:  Newman started at shortstop in this game, with Greg Gagne going to the bench...Tim Laudner was the DH, replacing Roy Smalley...When I saw that the go-ahead run was knocked in by "D. Miller", I wondered who in the world that was.  I kind of remember the name "Darrell Miller', but did not remember a thing about him.  It turns out he's the older brother of Cheryl Miller and Reggie Miller.  He spent his entire major league career with the Angels, getting drafted in the ninth round in 1979.  He started out as a catcher, moving to the outfield in 1981.  He reached the majors in mid-August of 1984 after an excellent season in AAA Edmonton.  He spent almost all of 1985 with the Angels but rarely played, appearing in fifty-one games but making only five starts.  Granted that they had Brian Downing, Gary Pettis, and Reggie Jackson in the outfield, but you can't find more than five starts for a guy who hit .326 with a .937 OPS in AAA?  He did well in his limited playing time, batting .375 in 1985, but it did him no good.  He was with California for half of 1986, starting a grand total of six games.  He continued to hit well in AAA.  1987 was his only full season in the majors, but he got only 108 at-bats and started twelve games.  In 1988 they moved him back to catcher and he played a little more, but not much.  The Angels let him go after that season.  He was in AAA with the Yankees in 1989 and with Baltimore and Seattle in 1990.  There could be reasons the Angels didn't think he would succeed--they may have thought his AAA numbers were inflated by playing in the Pacific Coast League, and he may have been a poor defensive player (although, other than Pettis and Devon White, these Angels teams did not exactly have a gold glove outfield).  Still, it looks like Gene Mauch unfairly buried him on the bench without ever giving him a chance to see if he could play, and that's too bad.  According to wikipedia, he is now major league baseball's vice-president of Youth and Facility Development.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Fifteen

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SEATTLE 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, April 22.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in two.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his second) and an RBI.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Mark Langston pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with nine strikeouts.  Rey Quinones was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk, scoring twice.  Harold Reynolds was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his fourth), scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  Blyleven left a pitch up to Quinones in the fourth to tie the game 1-1, but Newman's two-run single in the fifth put the Twins up 3-1.  The Mariners tied it with two in the seventh.  In the eighth, Seattle got three consecutive singles off George Frazier, with the last a run-scoring hit by Reynolds, to take the lead.  The Twins put two on with two out in the ninth, but Mark Davidson popped up to end the game.

Of note:  Newman raised his average to .317...Gladden was batting .357...Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 to drop his average to .351...Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4.

Record:  The Twins were 10-5, in first place by a game over California.

Notes:  Newman started at second base in place of Steve Lombardozzi...Gladden was in center field, with Davidson in left.  Puckett was the DH...It seems highly unlikely that Langston would be allowed to pitch a complete game today in this situation.  I don't have a pitch count for him, but he had allowed three runs in eight innings and had a one-run lead, so the closer would almost certainly be brought in to start the ninth.  Even if not, it seems like a move would be made after Langston allowed a single and a walk with two out.  That's not to say which is better or worse, just that times have changed.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Fourteen

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MINNESOTA 6, SEATTLE 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, April 21.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his second.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, scoring twice and driving in one.  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Pitching star:  Les Straker pitched seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Phil Bradley was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.  Ken Phelps was 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI.  Mike Kingery was 2-for-4 with a triple.

The game:  Brunansky's three-run homer in the second put the Twins up 3-0.  RBI singles by Hrbek and Gaetti made it 5-0 after three.  Straker took it from there.  The only times he was in any trouble were the first, when the Mariners had men on first and second with two out, and the sixth, when men were on second and third with two out.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett went 0-for-3 with a walk and saw his average fall to .377.  Mark Salas was 0-for-3 with an RBI to drop his average to .333.  Keith Atherton pitched two innings and allowed his first run of the season, raising his ERA to 0.93.

Record:  The Twins were 10-4, in first place, leading California by one game.

Notes:  Hrbek stole thirty-seven bases in his career.  His season high was five, in 1987, 1990, and 1992.  He stole at least one in every season of his career except 1988, when he was 0-for-3, and his last year, 1994, when he did not attempt any steals.  He was not a good percentage base stealer, going 37-for-63 (59%)...Al Newman was at second in this game, replacing Steve Lombardozzi...Randy Bush was again in right, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden on the bench...Salas started for the second time in three games.  He would make eight more starts for the Twins before being traded to the Yankees in June for Joe Niekro...Mike Morgan, who had started yesterday's game but faced only six batters, retiring none, came in at the start of the sixth and pitched a perfect inning of relief.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Thirteen

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MINNESOTA 13, SEATTLE 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, April 20.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his third) and a walk.  Randy Bush was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Mike Smithson pitched seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk with no strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  John Moses was 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  Ken Phelps was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk, driving in two.  Rey Quinones was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.

The game:  The Twins scored six runs in the first and never had a lead of less than four after that.  Mariners starter Mike Morgan faced six batters and did not retire any of them, giving up RBI doubles to Bush and Kent Hrbek, the Gaetti three-run homer, and a home run to Roy Smalley.

Of note:  Newman raised his average to .333...Kirby Puckett was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run, dropping his average to .400...Dan Gladden was 1-for-1 as a reserve and was batting .346.

Record:  The Twins were 9-4 and in first place, leading California by one game.

Notes:  Newman started the game at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  Gagne entered the game in the eighth inning to give Gaetti a break, with Newman moving to third base...Bush was again in right and Tom Brunansky in left.  Gladden entered the game in the seventh and took over for Puckett in center...Smithson did a lot of pitching from 1982-86, and it appears to have taken a toll on him.  He pitched 199.1 innings in 1982 (most in AAA), 223.1 in 1983, 252 in 1984 (his first year with the Twins), 257 in 1985, and 198 in 1986.  He led the league in starts in both 1984 and 1985.  He did very well 1984, was still decent in 1985, was not very good in 1986, and by 1987 he was done as an effective pitcher.  His first two starts in 1987 were good, this one was okay, but it would go downhill from here.  He made a couple of starts that weren't bad, but most of them were.  He spent part of the season in the minors and would only make one more really good start, on September 5.  The Twins released him after the season, he had a couple of poor years with Boston, and then he was done, apparently a victim of overuse.  When the old school guys talk about how modern pitchers are "babied", they never mention the Mike Smithsons of baseball, but a guy could find an awful lot of them if he wanted to take the time to look.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Twelve

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MINNESOTA 6, CALIFORNIA 5 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Sunday, April 19.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his second.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his third) and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice and driving in one.  Mark Salas was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.

Pitching star:  Juan Berenguer pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Devon White was 1-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a hit-by-pitch.  Jack Howell was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his second), two walks, and a stolen base.  Gary Pettis was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

The game:  Gaetti's three-run homer in the sixth put the Twins up 4-2.  It was 4-3 going to the ninth, when the Twins got two runs on one hit.  They were aided by a walk, an error, and two productive outs.  They needed both those runs, as closer Jeff Reardon loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with a walk, a single, and a hit batsman, then gave up a two-run single to Ruppert Jones before getting the last out.

Notes:  Al Newman was 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, making his average .310.  Puckett raised his average to .426.  Salas, making his first start of the year, was batting .500 (2-for-4).  Reardon had given up at least one run in three of his five appearances and had an ERA of 6.35.  Starter Mark Portugal pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 8-4, tied for first with California.

Notes:  Newman started at shortstop, replacing Greg Gagne, and batted leadoff.  Randy Bush again played right field, with Tom Brunansky moving to left...Don Sutton was the starter for California.  He pitched well until the Gaetti homer, but his line was five innings, four runs, seven hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.  Sutton was in the next-to-last year of his Hall of Fame career and had his worst season, going 11-11, 4.70, although with just a 1.25 WHIP.  He was still durable at age 42, making 34 starts and pitching 191.2 innings.  He also made one relief appearance that season, pitching 4.1 innings of relief on Sept. 27, two days after he had started and pitched five innings.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Eleven

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CALIFORNIA 1, MINNESOTA 0 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Saturday, April 18.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-3 with a walk and stolen base.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4.  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola got the Twins' second consecutive complete game loss, going eight innings and giving up an unearned run on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  John Candelaria pitched 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Donnie Moore struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Doug DeCinces was 2-for-3 with a run.

The game:  The lone run came in the seventh, when DeCinces singles, Dick Schofield got an infield single, and Butch Wynegar got an infield single-plus-error to bring DeCinces home.  The Twins got a man to third with two out in fifth and to second with one out in both the eighth and the ninth.

Of note:  Dan Gladden was 0-for-4 to drop his average to .320.  Randy Bush pinch-hit and was 0-for-1, dropping his average to .303.  Puckett's average fell to .419.  Greg Gagne was 0-for-3 and was batting .313.

Record:  The Twins were 7-4 and in second place, a game behind California.

Notes:  Tom Brunansky was the DH in this game, with Mark Davidson playing right field and Roy Smalley out of the lineup.  Nieto remained the starting catcher...I assume you know the story of the suicide of Donnie Moore.  His biographies tend to say he was never the same pitcher after the blown save in the deciding game of the 1986 ALCS, but that's really not true.  He pitched pretty well in the first part of 1987, but then ran into injury problems.  He made only three appearances after May 24, struggled through a 1988 season again marred by injury, and was released in late August.  He made a few appearances in AAA for the Royals in 1989, was released in June, and died in July.  On the face of it, it seems like perhaps the Angels did not treat him particularly fairly, but I don't know enough of the circumstances to state that with confidence.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Ten

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CALIFORNIA 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, April 17.

Batting star:  Randy Bush was 1-for-4 with a triple and a run.  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, going eight innings and giving up two runs on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Mike Witt also pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.  Devon White was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third.  Mark McLemore was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring once.

The game:  Blyleven left a pitch up to Devon White, who homered in the third to put the Angels up 1-0.  Bush led off the fourth with a triple and scored on a Puckett single to tie it 1-1.  McLemore led off the sixth with a ground-rule double and scored on a Wally Joyner single to give California a 2-1 lead.  The Twins did not get a hit after Puckett's fourth-inning single and their only baserunner after the fifth came when Puckett reached on a strikeout/passed ball leading off the ninth.

Of note:  Puckett's average dropped to .425.  Dan Gladden struck out as a pinch-hitter and dropped to .381.  Greg Gagne was 1-for-3 and was batting .345.  Al Newman went 0-for-4 to fall to .320.  Bush fell to .313.

Record:  The Twins were 7-3 and were tied for first with California.

Notes:  Newman was again at second base with Steve Lombardozzi on the bench.  Bush again started in right with Tom Brunansky in left and Gladden on the bench...Devon White had more power than I remembered.  I think of him as a speed guy, but he hit 208 home runs in his career.  1987 was his first full season in the majors and his best from a home run standpoint, as he hit 24 that year.  His highest slugging percentage, and his highest OPS, actually came in his last season, with Milwaukee in 2001, when he hit .277/.343/.459.  He became a free agent after that season--I don't know if nobody wanted him or if he simply decided, at age 39, that he'd had enough.  My recollection of him as a speed guy is not entirely misplaced, as he stole 346 bases.  His highest number there came in 1989, when he stole 44.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Nine

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MINNESOTA 5, OAKLAND 2 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Wednesday, April 15.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Mike Smithson pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  George Frazier struck out two in 1.1 innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Dave Stewart pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Dwayne Murphy was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.

The game:  Puckett singled in a run in the third, Newman doubled one home in the fifth, and Puckett had another RBI single in the seventh to put the Twins up 3-0.  Doubles by Carney Lansford and Murphy made it 3-1 after seven, but Tom Nieto delivered a two-out two-run single in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Of note:  Dan Gladden was 1-for-3 with a walk and three runs.  He was batting .400 on the young season.  Newman raised his average to .381.  Puckett raised his average to .444.  Randy Bush went 2-for-3 to raise his average to .321.  Roy Smalley went 0-for-4 but was still batting .310.  Greg Gagne raised his average to .346.  That's six of the nine batters in the starting lineup with averages over .300.

Record:  The Twins were 7-2, in first place, leading California by a game.

Notes:  Bush played right field in place of Tom Brunansky, who delivered a pinch-hit single in the eighth...Newman started at second base in place of Steve Lombardozzi.  Newman started nearly half the team's games in 1987, with 38 starts at shortstop, 32 at second base, 3 at third base, and 2 at DH...Bill Krueger, who would pitch for the Twins in 1992, was in the Oakland bullpen at the start of the 1987 season.  He made nine appearances, but pitched only 5.2 innings.  Four of those appearances and four of the innings were against the Twins.  He allowed three runs on six hits and two walks.  Two of the runs were in this game. He spent most of 1987 and 1988 in the minors before resurfacing with Milwaukee in 1989.  He had some decent seasons from 1989-1993, but was really never all that good, and after 1995 he was done.  He's had a successful life after baseball, though.   He's the Strategic Relationship Officer for Northwest Center, a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities.  He is also a broadcaster for Root Sports Northwest.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Eight

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MINNESOTA 9, OAKLAND 8 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Tuesday, April 14.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.  Roy Smalley was 2-for-5 with a double and a stolen base, scoring twice and driving in one.  Tom Nieto was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Terry Steinbach was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer and two walks, scoring twice.  Jose Canseco was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and a stolen base.  Reggie Jackson was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs.

The game:  The Twins had three doubles in a five-run fourth that gave them a 7-0 lead.  Starter Mark Portugal couldn't make it out of the bottom of the fourth, yielding four runs on four hits, two of them homers.  A two-run double by Gary Gaetti made it 9-4 in the top of the sixth, but again the Athletics responded, scoring three in the bottom of the sixth.  With the score 9-7, Jeff Reardon came on in the eighth to try for a two-inning save.  He retired the side with no problem in the eighth, but Mike Davis homered leading off the bottom of the ninth.  Tony Phillips followed with a single, but Reardon retired the next three batters to preserve the victory.

Of note:  Gladden was now batting .438.  Al Newman, playing second base, went 1-for-3 to raise his average to .313.  Kirby Puckett took an 0-for-3 to drop his average to .452.  Smalley raised his average to .360.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-4 to raise his average to .318.  Randy Bush played right field in place of Tom Brunansky and went 1-for-5.

Record:  The Twins were 6-2, in first place by a game over California.

Notes:  Joe Klink pitched two innings in this game, one of his twelve appearances as a Twin.  He pitched in five major league seasons spread over ten years.  One of them was actually pretty good:  He posted a 2.04 ERA in forty games for Oakland in 1990.  His career numbers are better than you might think:  10-6, 3 saves, a 4.26 ERA.  He had a stretch of ninety consecutive appearances without giving up a home run, the most by a left-hander since at least 1957.

Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Seven

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OAKLAND 6, MINNESOTA 3 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Monday, April 13.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBIs.  Roy Smalley was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola pitched 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and six walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Carney Lansford was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.  Alfredo Griffin was 2-for-5 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base.  Jose Canseco was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

The game:  Hrbek's two-run single in the sixth gave the Twins a 2-1 lead.  In the seventh, however, RBI singles by Griffin and Canseco gave the Athletics a 3-2 advantage.  Puckett tied it with a home run leading off the eighth, but in the bottom of the eighth, a two-out two-run single by Lansford gave Oakland the lead for good.  The go-ahead runs came off George Frazier, who had come in to get the last out of the seventh.

Of note:  Four of the Twins batters were batting .300 or better in the young season:  Al Newman (.308), Randy Bush (.300), Puckett (.500) and Smalley (.350).  Two, however, were below .200:  Tom Brunansky (.160) and Tom Nieto (.143).

Record:  The Twins were 5-2, tied for first with California.

Notes:  Because of all that's happened since, it's easy to forget what a great batter Jose Canseco was, especially early in his career.  He was the Rookie of the Year in 1986, made the all-star team in five of his first seven seasons, and received MVP votes in five of his first six seasons, winning the award in 1988.  The one year he didn't get MVP votes, 1989, was when he was injured and only played in 65 games.  He hit over 30 homers in each of his first five full seasons, leading the league in 1988 and 1991.  He was traded from Oakland in 1992 and then was up and down, battling injuries much of the time.  He still had some fine years, though, topping a .900 OPS with Texas in 1994, with Boston in 1995, and with Tampa Bay in 1999.  He hit 462 home runs for his career, had a slugging average of .515, and an OPS of .867.