Twins Almanac for 9/8: Tom Kelly Number Retirement, Double Boomstick

[Matt Johnson]

In today's Almanac, we mark the birthdays of two Minnesota natives, remember Tom Kelly's number retirement, and continue to chronicle the damage Nelson Cruz did to the Twins record books. 

Image courtesy of Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

September 8, 1906: Birthdate of Frank Stewart

Frank Stewart was born Frank Zwiaska to Polish immigrant parents in Minneapolis on this date in 1906. He made one major league pitching appearance with the Chicago White Sox in the final game of the 1927 season. Interestingly, Stewart was the second Minnesota native to make his only MLB appearance in the final game of a season with the White Sox. Cloquet native William Cadreau started the final game of the 1910 season for the White Sox under the moniker of "Chief Chouneau." 

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September 8: Happy Birthday, Eric Porter

Happy birthday to Waseca native Eric Porter. The catcher was drafted by Cleveland in the eighth round out of high school and by the Mets in the seventh round out of Iowa Western Community College but didn't sign either time. He finally signed with the Twins out of their 1981 Met Stadium tryout camp (along with Minnesotan pitchers Mark Larcom and Dick Henkemeyer). Porter spend two years in the Twins farm system, not advancing past single-A Wisconsin Rapids.

If anybody has any stories about Porter, or knows what he's been up to the past 40 years, let me know down below in the comments section. 

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September 8, 2012: Twins Retire Number 10

The Twins retired Tom Kelly's number 10 on this date in 2012. During the on-field ceremony, the team announced they would be naming a practice field down in Ft. Myers in his honor. They also gifted the skipper a trip to the Kentucky Derby. Did you know that TK and Kent Hrbek co-owned a race horse together during Hrbie's playing days? Pretty cozy player/manager relationship! 

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September 8, 2020: Boomstick, Baby!

Nelson Cruz homered in both games of a doubleheader in St. Louis on this date in 2020. It was the third time he had homered in both games of a doubleheader that season. That, obviously, is a Twins record. (Of course there were quite a few doubleheaders during the 2020 COVID season, with both games being just seven innings each.) 

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[Twins63]

Always like reading these, Thank you! 

Don't have any stories about Porter, however, the name Mark Larcom I think rings a bell. Think I played baseball with him at Golden Valley Lutheran College...🤔