Twins Almanac 8/31: Baylor's Big Bat, a Near No-No, and a 0.00 ERA

August 31, 1987: Pennant-Chasing Twins Acquire Big Bat
The Twins acquired veteran slugger Don Baylor from the Red Sox inexchange for minor league pitcher Enrique Rios on this date in 1987.

Eight days earlier—with the Red Sox trailing the Twins by three at Fenway—Baylor hit a go-ahead grand slam off lefty Steve Carlton. He did not hit another home run until Game 6 of the World Series.

The Baylor trade was the Twins' seventh trade of the season. They had acquired Tom Nieto, Jeff Reardon, Al Newman, and Dan Gladden in pre-season trades, Joe Niekro and Dan Schatzeder in June, and Steve Carlton in July. (Interesting to note, they made zero trades at the major-league level in 1991, though they did acquire Steve Bedrosian in a trade in December 1990.)

Fun Fact: Minnesota native Bob Gebard—who was in the Twins front office in 1987—became the first GM in Colorado Rockies history and hired Don Baylor as the team's first manager. (Gebhard also later hired Dan Gladden as a scout for the team.)

August 31, 1992: Brainerd Native Has 0.00 ERA
Brainerd native Todd Revenig made his second and final major league relief appearance on this date in 1992. After giving up a first-pitch single to Cal Ripken Jr., A's catcher Terry Steinbach put down the sign for a ground ball double-play, and Revenig executed. He retired with a 0.00 MLB ERA. He was the second Mankato State alumnus with a 0.00 MLB ERA. Can you name the first? Flex your baseball history knowledge in the comments section below.

I wonder how many All-Minnesotan batteries there have been in the majors other than with the Twins. Let me know in the comments if you can think of any. Paul Giel nearly made his MLB debut pitching to catcher Wes Westrum, but Westrum was lifted for a pinch runner the previous half inning.

August 31, 1993: Pedro Muñoz Ends Longest Game in Twins History
Pedro Muñoz hit a walk-off home run in the 22nd inning on this date in 1993, finally ending the longest game in Twins history six hours and 17 minutes after first pitch. He crossed home plate at 1:22 AM.

The Twins actually trailed Cleveland 4-3 with two out in the bottom of the ninth when Terry Jorgenson doubled home David McCarty. Brian Harper went 4-for-8 in the game. (Worth noting, Muñoz entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 20th inning.)

Mike Trombley was the starting pitcher the next day and got a speeding ticket around 2 AM as he was hurrying home to get some rest. Couldn't wriggle out it, he said. He only lasted 2.1 innings in the game, giving up seven runs on 10 hits and a walk. 

Dick Bremer has a fun story about Muñoz. Bremer bumped into Ted Williams at the '92 All-Star Game in San Diego and the Splendid Splinter brought up Muñoz, saying, "I love the way he f*cking turns on a curveball!" Pretty high praise. 

August 31, 2005: Twins Get 13 Hits, Do Not Score
The Twins collected 13 hits, two walks, and a reached-on-error for a grand total of 16 base runners and still managed to lose to the Royals 1-0 at Kaufman Stadium on this date in 2005.

Twins starter Kyle Lohse had a three-hit shutout going through seven innings before yielding to Juan Rincón who pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth. 

The game was still scoreless entering the bottom of the ninth when former Twin Denny Hocking hit a lead-off single off reliever Matt Guerrier. The next batter reached on an error by third baseman Terry Tiffee. Not sure if it was a potential double-play ball, but it allowed Hocking to move into scoring position. Terry Mulholland then came in and struck out DH Matt Stairs swinging before right fielder Emil Brown drove-in Hocking for a 1-0 Royals walk-off win.

August 31, 2007: Baker Flirts with Perfect Game
Scott Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning at the Metrodome on this date in 2007. He walked Royals catcher John Buck to lead off the inning and lost the no-hitter two batters later on a one-out single by pinch hitter Mike Sweeney. That was all the offense the Royals would muster, though, as Baker completed the one-hit shutout for a 5-0 Twins win.

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!