Twins Almanac: Rod Carew's 3,000th Hit, Jimmie Hall's Big Weekend, a Hall of Fame Matchup, and a Big Sexy Complete Game

[Matt Johnson]

Today's Almanac features Rod Carew, Steve Carlton, Bartolo Colón, Kent Hrbek, Jimmie Hall, Brian Dozier, Allan Anderson, and townball great Mike Davison, with guest appearances by Frank Viola, Harmon Killebrew, Don Sutton, and Carlos Gómez.

Image courtesy of Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Birthdate of Mike Davison
Springfield (MN) High School graduate Mike Davison was born in Galesburg, IL, on this date in 1945. He pitched for the San Francisco Giants in 1969 and '70 (and shares a 1971 Topps rookie card with the great George Foster). 

After his pro career, he played townball with the Windom Pirates. He passed away in Glencoe, MN, in 2013 at age 67. 

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August 2–4, 1963: Hall's Big Weekend
Rookie Jimmie Hall homered in all three games of a weekend series in Kansas City between August 2 and this date in 1963. He homered 33 times altogether on the season, breaking Ted Williams' American League record for first-year players. Hall's record stood for 50 years until José Abreu hit 36 in 2014.

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August 4, 1985: Carew's 3,000th Hit
Angels first baseman Rod Carew singled off Twins lefty Frank Viola for his 3,000th hit on this date in 1985. Kent Hrbek was there at first base to shake Carew's hand. Color commentator Harmon Killebrew got a little choked up on the telecast. Killebrew interviewed Carew on the field after the game.

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August 4, 1987: Matchup of 300-Game Winners
In just the fourth matchup of 300-game winners since 1900, the Angels' Don Sutton (317) held the Twins to three runs over six innings, while Steve Carlton (328) gave up nine runs in just 4.2 innings on this date in 1987. The 645 combined wins is the most ever in a pitching matchup.

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August 4, 1988: Anderson Pitches to Contact
Allan Anderson pitched the only complete game in Twins history without a strikeout or walk on this date in 1988. He threw just 102 pitches and faced only 29 batters in the 2-1 Twins win in Toronto, which was over in two hours and nine minutes. (Of course Anderson famously finished the season as the American League ERA leader.)

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August 4, 1993: Hrbek Drives In 1,000th Run
Kent Hrbek knocked in his 1,000th career run on this date in 1993, joining Harmon Killebrew as the only players in Twins history with 1,000 RBI. Kirby Puckett later joined the club, and to this date, they are the only three members in Twins history. 

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August 4, 2017: Colón Becomes Oldest Twin to Pitch Complete Game
44-year-old Bartolo Colón became the oldest player in Twins/Senators history to pitch a complete game, beating the Rangers 8-4 at Target Field on this date in 2017. The only runs Colón surrendered came in the first and ninth innings, on an Adrián Beltré two-run single in the first and a two-run homer by Carlos Gómez with two out in the ninth. 

Brian Dozier led off the bottom of the first AND second innings with home runs off the Rangers' Martín Pérez.

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[Deke]

I had a good-field-no-hit high school baseball career back in the early 1960s: three hits in 27 at bats, but one of them was epic. We were facing a scary-good Springfield HS right-hander named Mike Davison. You could hear his fastball coming at you, but you couldn't really see it. Totally coincidentally, my bat failed to get out of the way of one of those fast balls, and the result was a grand slam home run over the center field fence. We still lost 11-5. RIP, Mike Davison, and thanks for allowing me to say that I did it against a future MLB pitcher.