The Twins Almanac for May 10: A Legendary Voice and a Legendary Comeback

[Matt Johnson]

Herb Carneal was born in Richmond, Virginia on this date in 1923. He was in the Twins radio booth for FORTY-FOUR years, from 1962 to 2006. Share your favorite memories or stories about Carneal in the comments section at the bottom of the page. 

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Biggest Comeback Win in Team History: 
The Twins overcame an 8-1 seventh-inning deficit for the biggest comeback win in team history on this date in 2000.

After Cleveland scored four in the top of the seventh to take an 8-1 lead, the Twins scored six in the bottom of the inning to pull within one. David Justice homered in the top of the ninth to give Cleveland a 9-7 lead, but after an RBI-hit in the bottom of the ninth, Midre Cummings hit a two-out walk-off homer for a 10-9 Twins win.  

Matt Lawton went 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored, raising his season average to .365. Cleveland’s Jim Thome went 3-for-4 with a home run and double.

From CBS News:

Quote

“This team, we don’t beat you with the long ball. And me? I never hit homers,” Cummings said after his game-winning home run . . . “That’s the first time in my life I hit a game-winning homer,” Cummings said. “We had a fast guy on first and I was just trying to hit the ball into the gap. And I never thought I’d hit out the opposite way.” . . . [Steve] Karsay said the outside fastball was exactly where he wanted it. “If I was going to get beat, it would be to the opposite field,” he said.

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Twins Ambush Perry:
Lenny Green and Vic Power started the bottom of the first with back-to-back home runs off Cleveland pitcher Jim Perry on this date in 1962. 

Fun Fact: Nobody reached base more often in the Twins’ first two seasons than Lenny Green (522). And of course Jim Perry won the Cy Young pitching for the Twins in 1970. 

Back-to-back home runs to begin a team’s half of the first inning tied the major league record at the time. The current record is three-straight to begin a game.

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Fred Lynn Hits Ninth-Inning Homers in Three-Straight Games:
Baltimore's Fred Lynn hit ninth-inning home runs in three-straight games against the Twins including two walk-offs beginning on this date in 1985.

Ron Davis gave up a walk-off home run to the Yankees' Don Mattingly on May 13 to make it four-straight ninth-inning home runs surrendered by the Twins.

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[CharlieDee]

Just thinking about Herb brings back many great memories. I grew up listening to him, so he played a part in me becoming a life long Twins fan.

[twinstalker]

Fred Lynn had another weekend vs the Twins where he did something somewhat similar.  I believe it was a number of years earlier but can't remember whether it was with Boston or California.  Okay, on my first try I chose 1979, and that may have been it.  8/13/79-8/15/79 Lynn for Boston went 7-11 with three HR and ten RBI, including a two-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th vs Dave Goltz that first game.

But I don't think that was hit.  It could be the 5/12-5/14 series in 1980 where he went 8-13 with three doubles, a triple, and two homers, but that like the other was a M, T, W series.  I think this was on a weekend.

Perhaps it was May 13, 14 of 1978 where he went 4-6 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 3 BB.  But I think it was later that summer, 7/16/78 in the 2nd game of a double header when he hit a soul-crushing two-run homer in the bottom of the 6th in a tie game.  The Twins had lost the series opener 5-4, the first game of the DH 5-3, that game 3-2, and the finale 3-2 in 10.  I think that's what I really remember.  Lynn "only" went 3-10 that series with 2 BB and the homer, but let's just say that after that series, my mind and time were freed up from the Twins.

[Matt Johnson]

18 hours ago, CharlieDee said:

Just thinking about Herb brings back many great memories. I grew up listening to him, so he played a part in me becoming a life long Twins fan.

I have no memory of the 1987 World Series, but the '87 season highlight tape narrated by Carneal is probably my number-one core baseball memory. 

 

[Matt Johnson]

16 hours ago, twinstalker said:

Fred Lynn had another weekend vs the Twins where he did something somewhat similar.  I believe it was a number of years earlier but can't remember whether it was with Boston or California.  Okay, on my first try I chose 1979, and that may have been it.  8/13/79-8/15/79 Lynn for Boston went 7-11 with three HR and ten RBI, including a two-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th vs Dave Goltz that first game.

But I don't think that was hit.  It could be the 5/12-5/14 series in 1980 where he went 8-13 with three doubles, a triple, and two homers, but that like the other was a M, T, W series.  I think this was on a weekend.

Perhaps it was May 13, 14 of 1978 where he went 4-6 with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 3 BB.  But I think it was later that summer, 7/16/78 in the 2nd game of a double header when he hit a soul-crushing two-run homer in the bottom of the 6th in a tie game.  The Twins had lost the series opener 5-4, the first game of the DH 5-3, that game 3-2, and the finale 3-2 in 10.  I think that's what I really remember.  Lynn "only" went 3-10 that series with 2 BB and the homer, but let's just say that after that series, my mind and time were freed up from the Twins.

So you're saying Fred Lynn was a bona fide Twins killer. Here's a clip of Lynn against the Twins that Twins fans had to see every week on This Week in Baseball. (It was part of the opening or closing montage, I don't remember which.) 

 

 

[Whitey333]

I also have fond memories of Herb Carneal.  I grew up listening to his great voice and knowledge.  I could always visualize what was happening by the way he described the game.  Plus there were times that nothing was said for a few seconds.  This was awesome as you could hear fans in the stands.  Announcers now can never shut up.  Except Cory Provus.  I love him too.  But corneal was special.

[Scott51104]

It was a lot of fun listening to Herb and to Ray Scott. We had it pretty good.

[USAFChief]

Herb Carneal is my favorite Minnesota Twin. He IS Twins baseball to me.

Welllllll, maybe tied with Kirby.

Really enjoy the read, Matt.

[Met Stadium Usher]

Herb & Halsey (and Ray, too), made every game fun listening.  It really was a different style from today's announcers, of which the Twins have some good ones, but I, like every other older Twins fan who has commented on this site, have genuine nostalgia for the long ago crew and style. It really was like being with friends at a game. 

[Bodie]

Remember listening to game 7 of the '87 series.  KGLO out of Mason City,  Couldn't even come close to getting reception in the yard (electrical lines overhead + AM radio don't mix!) and I wasn't going to miss a second of the game.  Kept driving in a 6 mile loop on gravel roads in my '68 Dodge.  Until the gas ran out.  Didn't start hiking for gas until the TWINS WERE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS. 

Was a pretty happy 17 year old.... almost as happy as I was about 4 years later as my birthday present was a pair of game 7 tickets on my 21st birthday. 

Thousands of hours of listening to Herb &Co.  Wouldn't trade a second of it!