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 isn’t Minnesota-related, but Will Clark homered off Nolan Ryan on his very first major league swing on this date in 1986.

April 8, 1988
Gladden Has Hot Home Opener

Gotta imagine the home opener the season after a team wins a championship would be a pretty festive environment, right? Well, in the Twins case, the left fielder led off the home half of the first inning with a home run—Dan Gladden in 1988 and Shane Mack in 1992. That’s right, the Twins’ very first at-bats back at the Metrodome after winning both the 1987 and 1991 World Series were home runs. Can you imagine the pandemonium inside the Dome?

What’s more, both Gladden and Mack went 4-for-5.

Gladden had two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored including a straight steal of home in a 6-3 win over Toronto in the ’88 home opener. The straight steal of home came off David Wells with Kent Hrbek batting in the seventh inning. It was the first of three straight steals of home in his career.

Gladden had also gone 4-for-5 in the Twins’ previous game two days earlier at Yankee Stadium.

April 8, 1994
Puckett Collects 2,000th Hit

After striking out in his first at-bat, Twins right fielder Kirby Puckett connected for five-straight hits, including his 2,000th hit with an opposite-field single driving in Pat Meares in the bottom of the third.

Trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the eighth and Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley on the mound, Chuck Knoblauch hit a two-run double followed by a Puckett two-run single to tie the game, giving Eckersley his first blown save of the season.

After Oakland took a 10-8 lead in the top of the tenth, Puckett drove in Knoblauch with a double, but the Athletics held on for a 10-9 win. Altogether, Puckett was 5-for-6 with a double, four RBI, and a run scored in the game.

1980 New Ulm graduate and Golden Gophers all-time great Terry Steinbach homered in the game for Oakland.

April 8, 2021
Buxton Comes Into Home Opener on a Roll

Byron Buxton homered and doubled in the 2021 home opening, setting a new Twins record with an extra-base hit in six-straight games to start the season.

The previous team record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit to start the season was five by Doug Mientkiewicz in 1999 and José Offerman in 2004. (In Offerman’s case, it was his first five games in a Twins uniform.)

Buxton’s four home runs through the team’s first seven games were second-most behind Kirby Puckett in 1987. (It was a good year.)