Twins Almanac: Jim Thome's Walk-Off, Doug Mientkiewicz's Brawl, Joe Mauer Pinch-Hit Magic

August 17, 1943: Minnesota Native Pitches Third No-Hitter

Olivia, Minnesota native Blix Donnelly pitched his third minor league no-hitter with the Rochester Red Wings against the Jersey Giants on this date in 1943. He became a World Series hero out of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen one year later. 

August 17, 1980: Hermantown Grad Makes MLB Debut

Hermantown High School graduate and Golden Gophers all-time great Jerry Ujdur made his major league debut with the Tigers on this date in 1980, relieving Mark "The Bird" Fidrych with two out in the fifth. He gave up a two-run double to the first batter he faced.

Ujdur made 53 appearances (40 starts) over five seasons in the majors. He had some pretty impressive numbers versus a handful of Hall of Famers:

• Eddie Murray 0-for-11 
• Carlton Fisk 0-for-10 
• Paul Molitor 2-for-14 
• Dave Winfield 1-for-9 
• Rickey Henderson 1-for-9 

(Each of the above had one or two walks)

August 17, 2010: First Walk-Off at Target Field

Jim Thome hit one of the most memorable walk-off home runs in Twins history on this date in 2010. The White Sox—trailing the Twins by three games in the Central Division standings—were in town for the first of a three-game series. The Twins jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first against John Danks. Entering the top of the ninth, however, the Twins clung to a 5-4 lead. White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, hitting in the 8-hole, tied the game on closer Matt Capps’ second pitch of the inning. The White Sox threatened to take the lead, but after intentionally walking Alex Rios to load the bases, Capps induced an inning-ending double play from none other than Paul Konerko. Alexei Ramirez came to the plate again in the tenth, this time with big Jon Rauch on the mound, and this time with a runner in scoring position. Ramirez singled to center, driving in the go-ahead run. Delmon Young led off the bottom the tenth with a single against 2010 All-Star Matt Thornton. Jim Thome then hit Thornton’s 1-0 offering—a belt-high fastball—well over the limestone facade onto the plaza for the first walk-off hit in Target Field history. It was Thome’s 17th home run of the season, and 581st of his career.

August 17, 2013: Mientkiewicz Instigates Brawl

Single-A Fort Myers Miracle manager Doug Mientkiewicz charged out of the dugout and tackled Bradenton manager Frank Kremblas, sparking an all-out brawl on this date in 2013.

August 17, 2018: Mauer Hits Game-Winning Pinch-Hit Homer

Joe Mauer hit a big pinch-hit three-run homer in a 5-4 Twins win over the Tigers at Target Field on this date in 2018. The next day, he led off the game with a homer, and went 3-for-5 altogether in a 7-5 loss to the Tigers.

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!