The Twins Almanac for July 20: Happy Birthday to Tony Oliva and Alexi Casilla

Happy 87th birthday to Hall of Famer Tony Oliva, born in Pinar del Río, Cuba in 1938.
He is one of six players in major league history to lead their league in hits five times, along with Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Tony Gwynn, and Ichiro.

He and Kirby Puckett are two of only eight players to lead their league in hits for three-straight seasons. The others are Wisconsin native Ginger Beaumont, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Johnny Pesky (interrupted by service in WWII), Ichiro, and José Altuve*.

What's your favorite memory, stat, or fun fact about Tony O? Let's get a conversation going down in the comments section below.

Happy 41st birthday to former Twins middle infielder Alexi Casilla.
He drove in the most exciting regular-season run in team history on October 6, 2009.

Tell me all your stories about watching that game. Let's take a trip down memory lane together :)

Morneau Drives in Seven, But Twins Blow 10-Run Lead
Justin Morneau hit a grand slam in the second inning and three-run homer in the third but the Twins blew a 10-run lead for a tough loss in Oakland on this date in 2009.

The Twins led 12-2 after the top of the third (with Morneau driving in seven runs), and led 13-7 going into the bottom of the seventh, but ultimately lost 14-13.

1997 Austin graduate Michael Wuertz pitched the ninth for the A's, and got Nick Punto and Justin Morneau swinging to start the inning. But then Michael Cuddyer doubled, putting the tying run on second with two out. Wuertz bounced a pitch that got past catcher Kurt Suzuki, who had trouble finding the ball. Cuddyer tried scoring the tying run all the way from second, but was called out. The video, however, clearly shows he was safe.

Catching Prospect Drives In 10 Runs
Twins catching prospect Justin Morneau set a Gulf Coast League record with TEN runs batted in on this date in 2000, going 5-for-5 with a grand slam and three-run homer. The hitting prowess was legit. The catching capability, maybe not so much.

Pitcher Wins Two Games in One Day
Jim Perry earned two wins on this date in 1969, first pitching two perfect innings of relief before pitching a complete-game shutout.

In a game resumed from the night before, Perry pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 17th. Then, in the top of the 18th, he hit a double and eventually scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded balk. He then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 18th to secure an 11-7 win in Seattle versus the short-lived Pilots.

Perry then went back out there and pitched a complete-game shutout for a 4-0 Twins win in the day's regularly scheduled game.

The first win is officially listed as July 19—when the game began—but Perry did all of his pitching on July 20.

'27 Yankees Play in St. Paul
The Yankees narrowly beat the Saints 9-8 in an exhibition game in St. Paul on this date in 1927 (a pretty good season for the Yankees). Winona native Julie Wera played in the game for the Yankees and scored on a home run by catcher Pat Collins. (Wera hit his only MLB home run in front of a record crowd of 74,000 at Yankee Stadium on the Fourth of July that year.) 

According to SABR historian Rich Bogovich, the Yankees were stealing signs! Can you believe it? The vaunted '27 Yankees stealing signs to win an exhibition game against the minor-league St. Paul Saints.

How did Babe Ruth spend the winter prior to his famous 60-home run season in '27? Well, in part by embarking on a 12-week vaudeville tour that included stops in Minneapolis and Duluth in November. He went duck hunting in northern Minnesota with Hall of Famers Harry Heilmann and Heinie Manush between tour engagements in Duluth and Fargo.

Birthdate of Minnesotan Major Leaguer
Ollie Fuhrman was born in Jordan, MN on this date in 1896. He got into seven major league games with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1922 as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement at catcher (he never started a game) going 2-for-6 with a double and run scored. Hey, he has a lifetime .333 MLB batting average!

Major league baseball has been played for 149 years. Only 188 major leaguers have been born in Minnesota. 

Are you interested in Twins history? Then check out the Minnesota Twins Players Project, a community-driven project to discover and collect great information on every player to wear a Twins uniform!