Article: The Twins Almanac for May 17

[Matt Johnson]

In Twins history, May 17th has included a breakthrough game, a visit by a home run legend, a perfect game to forget and the final departure of perhaps the greatest Twin of all time.May 17, 1963

 

Allison Has Twins' First 3-HR Game

Bob Allison became the first Minnesota Twin to hit three home runs in a game in an 11-4 Twins win in Cleveland. He was 3-for-5 on the day with six RBI. His batting average at the end of the day was .330. He would finish his All-Star ‘63 season with a .271 AVG, 35 HRs, and 91 RBI.

 

Harmon Killebrew and Zoilo Versalles also hit home runs in the game. Pitcher Jim Perry, who had played for Cleveland the previous season, was 2-for-3 with a walk and scored on Allison’s first home run.

 

 

 

 

May 17, 1975

Aaron Brings Hammer to Bloomington

Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Hank Aaron hit the 738th of his 755 career home runs off of the Twins' Ray Corbin in the fifth inning of a Saturday afternoon game at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The two-run home run extended the Brewers' lead to 6-2. Aaron had hit an RBI double in the third, knocking Twins starting pitcher Vic Albury out of the game. The Twins trailed just 6-7 in the bottom of the eighth when Rod Carew hit a two-out, two-run double. Tom Kelly entered one of his 49 major league games playing first base in the top of the ninth. The Twins held on to win 8-7.

 

 

 

 

May 17, 1998

David Wells Pitches a Perfect Game

50,000 fans, including Billy Crystal, came out to Yankee Stadium for Beanie Baby Day, and what turned out to be the fifteenth perfect game in major league history. David Wells threw 120 pitches, striking out 11. The last perfect game at Yankee Stadium was Game 5 of the 1956 World Series by Don Larsen, who attended the same high school as Wells, Point Loma in San Diego. Don Larsen actually threw out the first pitch before baseball’s next perfect game, pitched by David Cone in 1999 on Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium. Berra had caught Larsen's perfect game in the '56 Series. Cone threw only 88 pitches in his perfect game.

 

The major leagues’ first two perfect games were pitched in 1880, just five days apart. The next perfect game wasn’t pitched until 1904 by the Boston Americans’ Cy Young. The most recent perfect game was pitched by the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez on August 15, 2012.

 

 

 

 

May 17, 2011

Harmon Killebrew Passes Away

Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew passed away at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on this date in 2011. He was just 74 years old.

 

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