The Twins Almanac for April 13: Kirby Puckett on a Roll, and Jim Perry Kicking It Old-School

[Matt Johnson]

April 13 is an eventful date in Minnesota baseball history. Jim Perry, Kirby Puckett, and Dave Winfield had great games, and Ron Davis, well, did Ron Davis things. The first Minnesotan major-leaguer was born in Shakopee on this date in 1858. And a staple of the Minneapolis sports scene showed incredible heroism in Germany on this date in 1945.

April 13, 1987: Puckett Homers in Fourth Straight

Kirby Puckett homered in his fourth straight game on this date in 1987. The team record for consecutive games with a home run is five, by Harmon Killebrew, on two separate occasions in 1970; rookie Marty Cordova, in 1995; Brian Dozier, in 2016; and Nelson Cruz, in 2019.

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April 13, 1991: Winfield Has Historic Game vs. Twins

Angels right fielder Dave Winfield went 5-for-6 with three home runs (in his first three at-bats), a double, six RBIs, and four runs scored in a 15-9 win at the Metrodome. New Angels third baseman Gary Gaetti went 4-for-6 with a double. Overall, he went 7-for-14 (.500) with five RBIs in his first series as a visitor at the Metrodome. Winfield’s 15 total bases are the most ever in a major-league game played in Minnesota, be it at Met Stadium, the Dome, or Target Field. That figure is also tied for the most by a player born in Minnesota, with Clearbrook native Wes Westrum, who went 4-for-4 with three home runs and a triple at the Polo Grounds on Jun. 24, 1950.

The Twins record is 14, by Puckett, in Milwaukee on Aug. 30, 1987.

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April 13, 1968: Perry Pitches Shutout, Hits Homer

Jim Perry had a heckuva game on this date in 1968, pitching a four-hit shutout and hitting a ninth-inning homer in a 6-0 Twins win at Yankee Stadium. The only other player in Twins history to homer while pitching a shutout is Jim Kaat, who did so on Jul. 24, 1963 and Oct. 1, 1970.

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April 13, 1985: Davis Gives Up Walk-Off Grand Slam

Trying to protect a 7-4 lead with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Twins closer Ron Davis gave up a walk-off grand slam to Mariners left fielder Phil Bradley. It was the first walk-off grand slam surrendered in team history. Davis, of course, was coming off a 1984 season in which he tied the MLB record with 14 blown saves.

In Davis’s defense, Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers (1976) and Bruce Sutter (1978) had previously blown 14 saves in a season, but nobody has done it again since Davis. 

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April 13, 1945: Minnesotan Major Leaguer Heroic in WWII

Minneapolis native Don Wheeler made it to the majors with the White Sox in 1949, but perhaps his most significant achievement occurred on this date in 1945—when, as an infantry sergeant, he demonstrated incredible heroism in the vicinity of Lowenstein, Germany. According to his Bronze Star citation, while “leading his squad forward in an advance, Sergeant Wheeler observed hostile activity on a ridge which was his objective. Aware that a frontal assault might result in severe casualties, he ordered his men to take cover while he advanced along to a vantage point from which he directed mortar fire upon the opposing forces. He then summoned his men forward and led them in an attack in which six hostile riflemen were captured and the position secured without casualty to his squad.”

Following his nine-year professional career, Wheeler remained active in Minneapolis sports. At various times, he threw batting practice for the Millers, umpired Gophers games, was a penalty timekeeper for the North Stars, and worked the sidelines at Vikings games. 

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April 13, 1858: First Minnesotan Major-Leaguer Born in Shakopee

The first major-leaguer born in Minnesota was born in Shakopee on this date in 1858. Center fielder Bill Barnes, along with teammates Joe Werrick and Lou Galvin, became the first Minnesota natives to play major-league baseball when St. Paul joined the Union Association as a replacement team for the final nine games of the 1884 season. Even though the Union Association only existed for one season, it is officially recognized by MLB as a “major league.” 

St. Paul played all nine of their Union Association games on the road, so even though Minnesota technically had a major-league baseball team in 1884, no major-league games were actually played on Minnesota soil.  

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April 13, 1962: In just the second year of major-league baseball in Minnesota, the Twins’ home opener versus the Los Angeles Angels was canceled due to six inches of snow.

April 13–15, 2018: The largest April snowstorm in Twin Cities history (14.9″) forced the postponement of the final three games of a four-game series versus the White Sox.

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That's all for today, folks. Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

 

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