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50th Anniversary of 715

Unless I missed it, no one on Twins Daily posted anything about the significance of this past Monday in baseball history. Here is an adaptation of something I posted on Facebook that day. There's no Twins connection here, but hopefully this is okay, given the historical significance. ---------------------------------------------------- The eclipse was amazing. But between that and the place the Iowa Women's Basketball team has had in my brain space lately, it nearly snuck by me that to

IndianaTwin

IndianaTwin in Odds & Ends

The Twins Almanac for April 9th

April 9 Happy Birthday, Luis Arráez Happy birthday to 2022 American League and 2023 National League Batting Champion Luis Arráez. The legend of Luis Arráez began back in 2019, when the rookie entered for the injured Jonathan Schoop down 0-2 in the count to Edwin Diaz—who was throwing 98–100 miles per hour. Arráez fouled off four pitches and took four for balls to work an electrifying walk. (If you don’t get how a walk could be epic, look up the video and I think you’ll understand.)

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

1978 Topps and the Minnesota Twins

Welcome to my review of the 1978 Topps baseball card set and the Minnesota Twins. There really are not any Twins superstars in this set other than Rod Carew. It’s easy to see how the Twins weren’t world beaters in the late 1970s. In my judgment, the 1978 Topps baseball card design is one of their better designs during the late 1970s. I like the script team name in the lower left corner, the small baseball in the upper right corner listing the player’s position, and the player’s name at the

The Twins Almanac for April 8th

And here is the Twins Almanac for April 8th, featuring: • Paul Molitor • Will Clark • Dan Gladden • Kirby Puckett • Byron Buxton April 8, 1978 Molitor’s Career Off to a Hot Start The day after hitting an RBI-single in his major league debut, St. Paul native Paul Molitor went 3-for-6 with a three run homer, five RBI, and two runs scored in his second major league game. Guess he was Cooperstown-bound right out of the gate. April 8, 1986 Bonus Fun Fact This one

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

The Twins Almanac for April 7th

Here is the Twins Almanac for April 7th, featuring: • Harmon Killebrew • Brant Alyea • Jack Morris • Dwight Evans • Kent Hrbek • David Ortiz • Tsuyoshi Nishioka April 7–13, 1962 Killebrew on Cover of TV Times If you were wondering what was on channels 2, 4, 5, 9, and 11 the week of April 7–13, 1962, you could look it up in this issue of TV Times with Harmon Killebrew, Ray Scott, Frank Be

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

The Twins Almanac for April 6th

TABLE OF CONTENTS: • Happy Birthday, Bert Blyleven and Joe Barbeln • Twins Trade Stigman • Oliva Hits First HR by DH • First Regular Season Game at Dome • Puckett and Winfield Thrill the Home Fans • Offerman's Memorable Twins Debut  April 6 Happy Birthday, Bert Blyleven It’s the birthday of two-time World Series Champion and noted flatulence enthusiast Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven, born in Zeist, Holland in 1951. He grew up in Garden Grove, CA, and was drafted by the Tw

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

Byron Buxton vs Bratwurst, Luck Is On Our Side For Once

So we've all seen the video by now of the Bratwurst almost plowing over Byron Buxton in Milwaukee. Let's face it, if the guy HAD bowled him over and Buck had gotten injured, not a single one of us would have been surprised. It would be just another day in the Life of Byron. Like, of course he's out for two months now.  But the fact that he DIDN'T get bowled over signals a change of luck. It's a good omen. This is the year he's going to play injury free!! All hail Lord Byron!!

The Mad King

The Mad King in Twins

Uneducated Analytics Guy Questions pathetic Managing decisions

OK, first off, yes I am old school.  I HATE platooning, and what I hate even more is strictly pinch hitting RH for LH, especially young players.  How the heck is a lefty gonna learn how to hit a lefty if never given the chance???  And what makes no sense to me even MORE is pinch hitting in the 6th inning or earlier!!! I wish there was some smart analytics guy out there who coudl run stats and prove me either right or wrong.  even if proven right I HATE managing purely by analytics.  

Doc Munson

Doc Munson in Twins

The Twins Almanac for April 5th

TABLE OF CONTENTS: • Longest HR to CF in Metrodome History • Molitor’s Three-Year SB Streak Snapped • Big Comeback in 2000 • Two Minnesotans Make MLB Debuts • Manager Wins 1,000th Game • Eleventh Cycle in Team History April 5, 1994 Muñoz Hits Epic Blast Pedro Muñoz hit a 473-foot bomb to center field at the Metrodome on this date in 1994. It was the longest homer ever hit to center at the Dome. The longest homer at the Dome overall was 481 feet to right field by M

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

Twins poised for early big trade with the Marlins

As has been mentioned in previous posts, the Marlins desperately want... NEED... to move salary. The only thing that had prevented the Marlins from selling off pitching prior to the start f the season was the fact that they made the playoffs last year. How would that look? dismantling the strength of a team on the heels of a playoff appearance? It was abundantly clear that with the Braves being the Braves, and Philly improving, that at best Miami was a third place team and most likely out of the

Doc Munson

Doc Munson in Twins

The Twins Almanac for April 4th

TABLE OF CONTENTS: • Birthdate of a Clubhouse Cancer • Tommy John Pitches in 26th Season • Twins Trade Pomeranz • Ortiz Walk-Off April 4, 1956 Birthdate of Tommy Herr Clubhouse cancer Tommy frickin’ Herr was born on this date in 1956. Screw that guy, am I right? April 4, 1989 Tommy John Pitches in 26th Season 45-year-old Tommy John was the Yankees Opening Day starter at the Metrodome on this date in 1989, outdueling reigning Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola fo

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

The Twins Almanac for April 3rd

TABLE OF CONTENTS: • Happy Birthday, Darrell Jackson and Ryan Doumit • First Game at the Domea • Old Man Grand Slam • Radke Does Radke Stuff • Stelmaszek Throws Out First Pitch • Combined One-Hit Shutout April 3 Happy Birthday, Darrell Jackson Happy birthday to former Twins pitcher Darrell Jackson, born in Los Angeles on this date in 1956. The Arizona State alumnus pitched nine no-hit innings in his professional debut at double-A Orlando on April 14, 197

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

The Twins Almanac for April 2nd

TABLE OF CONTENTS: • Happy Birthday, Tom Johnson and Denny Hocking • Twins Trade Ramos for Power and Stigman • First MLB Game at Target Field  April 2 Happy Birthday, Tom Johnson Happy birthday to former Twins pitcher Tom Johnson, born in St. Paul in 1951. He had a stellar season out of the Twins bullpen in 1977, earning 16 wins (all in relief) and 15 saves. Those 16 wins were ninth-most in the American League,

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

1977 Topps and the Minnesota Twins

Hello again Twins fans! This is another post in my series about Minnesota Twins baseball cards. Please share your opinions, stories, comments, and memories below. 1977 Topps Overall, I think it’s safe to say the mid to late 70s cards are not my favorite. But 1977 might be little better than the other sets of this era. Again, the Twins do not have a plethora of stars in the 1977 set. The 1977 Topps baseball card design is, I would say, good. I like the large team name, italicized, and o

Review of “Tony Oliva: The Life and Times of a Minnesota Twins Legend”

This book written by Thom Henninge tells the story of the great Tony Oliva.   Tony O. has a fascinating life story from growing up in Cuba to coming to the USA to pursue his dream of playing baseball. This book really delves into all the things that this man has endured to make his dream happen. Unfortunately that dream came to an end sooner than he would have liked and was published before he received a long overdue honor of getting into the Hall of Fame. A must read for a

BigJoeGun

BigJoeGun in Book review

The Twins Almanac for April 1st

TABLE OF CONTENTS: • Birthdate of Ron Perranoski • Meares Hits Game-Winning Homer • Five Home Runs on Opening Day • Carneal Passes Away • Mauer Ready to Lead Twins to Title • Berríos Pitches Three-Hit Shutout April 1, 1936 Birthdate of Ron Perranoski Ron Perranoski was born in Paterson, New Jersey on this date in 1936. He led the American League in saves in 1969 and ’70 when the Twins won back-to-back AL West Championships.

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

The Twins Almanac for March 31st

And here it is, folks—the Twins Almanac for March 31st: March 31, 1971 Twins Release Tiant After just one season in Minnesota, the Twins released Luis Tiant at the end of spring training on this date in 1971.  1970—Tiant’s sole season in Minnesota—was the middle of a three-year rough patch in his career. He had posted double-digit wins each of his first five seasons in Cleveland, culminating with 21 in 1968 when he led the league with a 1.60 ERA and 0.871 WHIP and came in fifth

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

Austin Martin and Isolated Power

We look forward to seeing if Austin Martin can translate his on base skills to the big leagues. Will those skills translate without more power? He has a career 105 ISO is the minor leagues which led to major league projections this year in the 80-99 range. That leads to the following questions. Is there any reason to hope that his ISO is trending up? Can a hitter be a successful every day player with a ISO in the 80-99 range? Any hope? There is at least some reason to

jorgenswest

jorgenswest in projection

The Twins Almanac for March 30

TABLE OF CONTENTS • Twins Trade Landreaux for Hatcher • Bob Casey Laid to Rest • Great Starting Pitching in 2019 • Brainerd HS Grad Off to a Great Start March 30, 1981 Twins Trade Landreaux for Hatcher The Twins traded Ken Landreaux to the Dodgers for Mickey Hatcher and a pair of prospects on this date in 1981. Calvin Griffith had acquired Landreaux and a trio of prospects from the Angels two years earlier in exchange for Rod Carew.  Landreaux made Twi

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

The Twins Almanac for March 29

TABLE OF CONTENTS • Happy Birthday, Mike Kingery and Billy Beane • Twins Acquire Veteran Pinch Hitter • Puckett Placed on DL March 29 Happy Birthday, Mike Kingery Happy 63rd birthday to 1979 Atwater High School graduate Mike Kingery, born in Saint James, MN in 1961. When he was six months old, the Kingerys moved to Atwater where Mike’s father was proprietor of the Atwater Bowling Center. Kingery signed with the Royals as an amateur free agent on August 27, 1979. He made hi

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

Three Teams to Bet the Over, Three to Bet the Under

The offseason tends to consolidate around narratives. Certain moves seem to scratch the itches of specific analysts, and depending on the volume they project their voice at, the vibes around said team will grow or shrink accordingly. For example, the MLB zeitgeist loved the Yankees acquiring Juan Soto, and hated the Mariners trading Eugenio Suarez. They hate that the Red Sox cut payroll, and loved that the Diamondbacks increased theirs. The true talent level of a team is often hard to see.

Last minute preseason picks between my brother and I

Every year my brother and I make preseason picks just for fun just to see if we differ and who gets more right. Without further adieu: My brother’s picks: AL Division winners: Orioles  Twins Rangers Wildcards: Yankees Rays Astros NL Division winners: Braves Brewers Dodgers Wildcars: Reds Giants Diamondbacks League Champs Orioles Dodgers World Series victors: Dodgers My picks: Okay. Here's mine. AL  Division winners:

The Twins Almanac for March 28

With the 2024 season starting today, I thought I'd start up the old Almanac blog again. You think I can keep this up every day all season long? Stay tuned! With no further ado, here it is—the Twins Almanac for March 28th: TABLE OF CONTENTS • Some Unsettling News About Kirby • Berríos Historically Good on Opening Day • Brainerd Grad Makes MLB Debut March 28, 1996 Puckett Wakes Up with Vision Problem 36-year-old superstar Kirby Puckett appeared poised for a big year,

Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson in Twins Almanac

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