The Twins Almanac for June 22

June 22, 1879: Birthdate of Jack Zalusky

University of Minnesota all-time great and 1903 New York Highlanders (Yankees) catcher Jack Zalusky was born in Minneapolis on this date in 1879.

June 22, 1884: Birthdate of Charlie Roy

Former Phillies pitcher Charlie Roy was born in Beaulieu, MN on the White Earth Reservation on this date in 1884. He attended the Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. At least two other Minnesotan major leaguers attended Carlisle: Frank Jude and Hall of Famer Charles Albert Bender.

June 22, 1962: Pascual Has Big Day at the Plate

Pitcher Camilo Pascual went 2-for-4 with a home run, double, three runs batted in, and two runs scored in an 8-3 Twins win over the Angels at Met Stadium on this date in 1962.

Earl Battey homered off Angels starter Dean Chance. 

June 22, 1984: Griffith Sells Twins to Pohlad

Billionaire financier Carl Pohlad bought the Twins from Calvin Griffith for a cool $38 million on this date in 1984, almost certainly preventing the team from leaving Minnesota. 

Donald Trump—who published The Art of the Deal just three years later—actually bid $50 million for the team, but Griffith elected instead to sell the club to Pohlad, leaving millions on the table from The Great Negotiator.

June 17–22, 1990: Rookie Beats Cy Young Winner Twice

26-year-old rookie Kevin Tapani beat reigning Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen twice over a six-day span in 1990.

If you believe in WAR, Tap actually led the 1991 World Series Champion Twins win a 6.8 WAR during the regular season (per Baseball Reference). 

June 22, 2006: Rookie Outduels Rocket

Rookie Francisco Liriano outdueled Roger Clemens in a much-hyped game on ESPN on this date in 2006. It was Clemens' first game back after coming out of retirement for the third time.

How far would the 2006 Twins have gone in the Postseason had Liriano not been injured?

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!