The Twins Almanac: Boomer, Bombas, and the Team Who Made it Back

[Matt Johnson]

Today's Almanac features Kirby Puckett, Royce Lewis, Greg "Boomer" Wells, the Twins' first playoff berth since 1991, the historic 2019 Bomba Squad, and a pitcher who tied for the league league in shutouts while losing 17 games.

Image courtesy of © David Richard-Imagn Images

September 15: Happy Birthday, Rich Robertson
Happy birthday to former Twins pitcher Rich Robertson. He lost 17 games in 1996, but tied for the major-league lead with three shutouts! Those three shutouts are even more improbable when you consider that he led the league in walks and had a 5.12 ERA and 1.68 WHIP. 

The only Twins pitcher with three shutouts since Robertson is Ervin Santana, in 2017. Loosely relatedly, Brainerd native Bullet Joe Bush pitched eight shutouts in 1916 while leading the majors with 24 losses.

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September 15, 1982: Wells Reaches on Error Three Times
Twins DH Greg Wells reached on errors a team-record three times in a 10-2 win over the Rangers at home in the new Metrodome on this date in 1982. Guess the league needed some time to adjust to the AstroTurf carpet and Teflon roof.

"Boomer" was big in Japan, hitting 277 home runs in 10 seasons over there. Other former Twins who were big in Japan: Charlie Manuel and Randy Bass.

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September 15, 1988: Puckett Begins Record Streak
Kirby Puckett went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in a 10-3 win over the White Sox at home in the Dome, on this date in 1988. It was the beginning of a team-record 11-game RBI streak for Kirby.

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September 15, 2002: Twins Clinch Playoff Berth
After an offseason during which the Pohlads openly talked contraction*, the Minnesota Twins clinched their first playoff berth since 1991 on this date in 2002, with Kyle Lohse, Johan Santana, and Eddie Guardado combining for the shutout in Cleveland.  

*Jim Pohlad wrote in a letter to employees, "When we are posed the question 'why should the Minnesota Twins not be contracted?' we are unable to find a plausible answer." Uff da. At least when Joe right-sizes the payroll, he doesn't think that right size is zero.

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September 15, 2019: Triple Bomba #44
Miguel Sanó, Eddie Rosario, and LaMonte Wade Jr. combined for the Twins' 44th three-homer (or more) game of the season on this date in 2019, surpassing the 1997 Mariners for the most such games in a single season in major-league history. They finished with 47 such contests. That year's Yankees and last year's team from a suburban highway confluence north of Atlanta both got to 44.

After a tight home run race with the Yankees, the 2019 "Bomba Squad" finished with a major-league record 307 home runs. That same Georgian nowheresville club tied that record in 2023. 

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September 15, 2023: Rookie Breaks Grand Slam Record
Rookie Royce Lewis set a new team single-season record with his fourth grand slam of the season on this date in 2023, breaking the previous record shared by Bob Allison (1961), Rod Carew (1976), Kent Hrbek (1985), Kirby Puckett (1992), and Torii Hunter (2007).

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