Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Matt Johnson

Twins Daily Contributor
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    798

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Blog Entries posted by Matt Johnson

  1. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 9th

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    April 9
    Happy Birthday, Luis Arráez
    Happy birthday to 2022 American League and 2023 National League Batting Champion Luis Arráez.
    The legend of Luis Arráez began back in 2019, when the rookie entered for the injured Jonathan Schoop down 0-2 in the count to Edwin Diaz—who was throwing 98–100 miles per hour. Arráez fouled off four pitches and took four for balls to work an electrifying walk. (If you don’t get how a walk could be epic, look up the video and I think you’ll understand.)

    April 9
    Happy Birthday, Joe Brinkman
    Happy 80 birthday to 1962 Holdingford graduate and 35-year AL umpire Joe Brinkman. He was the crew chief for the 1987 ALCS, and at third base for Laudner and Gaetti‘s famous pickoff of Darrell Evans.
    He worked three World Series: 1978, 1986, and 1995.
    He famously ejected Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove and pitcher Doc Gooden in the top of the first inning in Game 2 of the 1998 ALCS.
    Playing football for St. Cloud State, he kicked the game-winning field goal for a 15-14 Huskies win over Bemidji State on October 20, 1962.
    April 9, 1962
    “Rocky” Johnson’s Big Opening Day
    President John F. Kennedy threw out the ceremonial first pitch in front of 44,383 fans assembled in the nation’s capital for the first major league game at D.C. Stadium on this date in 1962.
    Playing for the Senators, Edina-Morningside graduate Bob “Rocky” Johnson went 3-for-4 with the first homer in the new stadium’s history in a 4-1 win over the Tigers.
    Later in life, that home run ball was the most prized memento he had in the lower-level family room of his home on the east side of St. Paul.
    April 9, 1995
    Allison Passes Away
    Bob Allison passed away on this date in 1995 from the effects of ataxia—a rare, incurable disease that affects nerve cells in the brain. He was just 60 years old.
    Read Gregory H. Wolf‘s SABR BioProject biography of Allison, which first appeared in the 2015 book, A Pennant for the Twin Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins.
    April 9, 2000
    Twins and Royals Go Back-to-Back-to-Back
    After Corey Koskie singled to lead off the top of the sixth, Ron Coomer, Jacque Jones, and Matt LeCroy hit three consecutive home runs on a total of four pitches, extending the Twins lead to 10-0.
    Coomer homered again in the seventh inning, again with Koskie on base.
    Eric Milton retired the first 20 batters in order and had a two-hit shutout going into the eighth. With two out and two on in the eighth, however, TK relieved Milton and before the end of the inning the Twins bullpen had surrendered three-straight home runs to Carlos Beltran, Jermaine Dye, and Mike Sweeney.
    It was the first time in MLB history that both teams hit three consecutive home runs.
    The Twins are one of seven teams to have hit four consecutive home runs, with Tony Oliva, Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, and Harmon Killebrew doing so to start the top of the 11th in Kansas City on May 2, 1964.
    The Twins set an American League record by hitting five home runs in a single inning on June 9, 1966, also against Kansas City, but this time at home in Bloomington, with Rich Rollins, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Don Mincher, and Harmon Killebrew homering off three different Athletics pitchers.
    Four National League teams have hit five home runs in an inning between 1939 and 2006, all four against the Cincinnati Reds.
    April 9, 2010
    Drew Butera Makes MLB Debut
    Catcher Drew Butera made his major league debut in Chicago on this date in 2010, making him and his dad Sal the first father-son duo in Twins history.
  2. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 8th

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    And here is the Twins Almanac for April 8th, featuring:
    • Paul Molitor
    • Will Clark
    • Dan Gladden
    • Kirby Puckett
    • Byron Buxton
    April 8, 1978
    Molitor’s Career Off to a Hot Start
    The day after hitting an RBI-single in his major league debut, St. Paul native Paul Molitor went 3-for-6 with a three run homer, five RBI, and two runs scored in his second major league game. Guess he was Cooperstown-bound right out of the gate.
    April 8, 1986
    Bonus Fun Fact
    This one isn’t Minnesota-related, but Will Clark homered off Nolan Ryan on his very first major league swing on this date in 1986.
    April 8, 1988
    Gladden Has Hot Home Opener
    Gotta imagine the home opener the season after a team wins a championship would be a pretty festive environment, right? Well, in the Twins case, the left fielder led off the home half of the first inning with a home run—Dan Gladden in 1988 and Shane Mack in 1992. That’s right, the Twins’ very first at-bats back at the Metrodome after winning both the 1987 and 1991 World Series were home runs. Can you imagine the pandemonium inside the Dome?
     
    What’s more, both Gladden and Mack went 4-for-5.
    Gladden had two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored including a straight steal of home in a 6-3 win over Toronto in the ’88 home opener. The straight steal of home came off David Wells with Kent Hrbek batting in the seventh inning. It was the first of three straight steals of home in his career.
    Gladden had also gone 4-for-5 in the Twins’ previous game two days earlier at Yankee Stadium.
    April 8, 1994
    Puckett Collects 2,000th Hit
    After striking out in his first at-bat, Twins right fielder Kirby Puckett connected for five-straight hits, including his 2,000th hit with an opposite-field single driving in Pat Meares in the bottom of the third.
     
     
    Trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the eighth and Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley on the mound, Chuck Knoblauch hit a two-run double followed by a Puckett two-run single to tie the game, giving Eckersley his first blown save of the season.
    After Oakland took a 10-8 lead in the top of the tenth, Puckett drove in Knoblauch with a double, but the Athletics held on for a 10-9 win. Altogether, Puckett was 5-for-6 with a double, four RBI, and a run scored in the game.
    1980 New Ulm graduate and Golden Gophers all-time great Terry Steinbach homered in the game for Oakland.
    April 8, 2021
    Buxton Comes Into Home Opener on a Roll
    Byron Buxton homered and doubled in the 2021 home opening, setting a new Twins record with an extra-base hit in six-straight games to start the season.
    The previous team record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit to start the season was five by Doug Mientkiewicz in 1999 and José Offerman in 2004. (In Offerman’s case, it was his first five games in a Twins uniform.)
    The MLB record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit to start the season is eight by Alex Rodriguez and Sandy Alomar Jr.
    Buxton’s four home runs through the team’s first seven games were second-most behind Kirby Puckett in 1987. (It was a good year.)
  3. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 7th

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    Here is the Twins Almanac for April 7th, featuring:
    • Harmon Killebrew
    • Brant Alyea
    • Jack Morris
    • Dwight Evans
    • Kent Hrbek
    • David Ortiz
    • Tsuyoshi Nishioka
    April 7–13, 1962
    Killebrew on Cover of TV Times
    If you were wondering what was on channels 2, 4, 5, 9, and 11 the week of April 7–13, 1962, you could look it up in this issue of TV Times with Harmon Killebrew, Ray Scott, Frank Beutel, and Halsey Hall on the cover.

    April 7, 1970
    Alyea Ties Team Record in Twins Debut
    In his first game as a Twin, outfielder Brant Alyea tied the team record with seven RBI, powering Jim Perry to a 12-0 shutout on Opening Day in Chicago. Alyea went on to drive in 20 runs in the Twins’ first 12 games of the season. But here’s the crazy thing: 19 of those 20 RBI came in Jim Perry’s first four starts. Incidentally, Perry won the AL Cy Young Award in 1970, perhaps thanks in part to Alyea’s run support.
    Heckuva start to Alyea’s Twins career. His major league career got off to a hot start, too, homering on the first MLB pitch he saw with the Senators on September 12, 1965. (Worth noting that the manager he was playing for at the time was none other than the Splendid Splinter himself, Ted Williams.)
    Alyea equaled the team single-game RBI record again on September 7, 1970, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and driving in all seven Twins runs in a 7-6 win over the Brewers at Met Stadium. It was the beginning of a team record nine-game RBI streak for Alyea.
    Glenn Adams established a new team record with eight RBI on June 26, 1977. 
    Rod Carew also made Twins history that day, going 4-for-5 with a walk and a team record (since tied) five runs scored, raising his season average to .403.
    Randy Bush tied Adams’ team record with eight RBI on May 20, 1989.
    April 7, 1984
    Morris Pitches No-Hitter
    St. Paul native Jack Morris pitched a no-hitter for the Tigers in Chicago on NBC’s nationally televised Game of the Week on this date in 1984.
    Some members of the Minnesota sports media, including Jeff Passolt, were actually at the game, being in town for the North Stars versus Blackhawks playoff series. “I remember it being colder than you know what,” Passolt said in 2018. “Hitters didn’t have a chance against Jack’s fireball!”
    Morris did get into a jam in the fourth, walking the first three batters before inducing a P-C-1B double play from DH Greg Luzinski, playing in his final major league season. Morris then struck out Ron Kittle to end the inning. He walked six White Sox batters altogether in the 4-0 Tigers win.
    Twins lefty Francisco Liriano also issued six walks in his no-hitter on a chilly 42° night in Chicago on May 3, 2011.
    In addition to the no-hitter, Morris also pitched three one-hitters in his career, including against the Twins on August 21, 1980.
    Perhaps even more impressive than Morris’s no-hitter was a one-hitter he threw against the Royals at Tiger Stadium on July 6, 1990, when he did not issue a walk and faced the minimum. (After surrendering a single to Kurt Stillwell in the top of the first, he promptly induced a 4-6-3 double play from George Brett and was perfect the rest of the way.)
    April 7, 1986
    Morris Gives Up HR on First Pitch of Season
    Dwight Evans hit Jack Morris’s first pitch of the season 400 feet on Opening Day 1986.
    Sidenote: Kirby Puckett homered on Morris’s very first pitch of the game on May 2, 1986, and did the same thing to Walt Terrell the next night! 
    Morris’s 14 consecutive Opening Day starts (including with the 1991 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins) are the most by a pitcher in MLB history.
    April 7, 1987
    Hrbek Hits Walk-Off in Opener
    After tying the game with his second RBI groundout in the eighth, Kent Hrbek hit a walk-off single in the tenth to give the Twins a 5-4 Opening Day win over Oakland at home in the Dome.
    Kirby Puckett homered and doubled, and in the top of the 10th, he robbed Mickey Tettleton of a go-ahead home run.
     
    April 7, 2002
    Ortiz Season-Starting RBI Streak
    David Ortiz homered in a 10-6 win in Toronto on this date in 2002, giving him an RBI in each of the Twins’ first six games of the season—the second-longest RBI streak to start a season in Twins history.
    Tony Oliva had an RBI in each of the Twins’ first eight games to start the 1970 season.
    April 7, 2011
    Nishioka Breaks Leg
    Twins second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka broke his leg attempting to turn a double play on this date in 2011.
    On the Twins telecast (below), Blyleven immediately rejected any notion of Nick Swisher’s slide being dirty. “That’s the way you play the game,” Blyleven said, “That’s one thing that Nishioka should have known . . . he’s gotta try to get out of the way.”
    “He was just breaking up the double play; no issues there,” Ron Gardenhire said after the game. “[Nishioka] just got caught a little flat-footed. Swisher’s a clean player. That’s just a good baseball slide, trying to break up a double play. There’s no intent there.”
  4. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 3rd

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS:
    • Happy Birthday, Darrell Jackson and Ryan Doumit
    • First Game at the Domea
    • Old Man Grand Slam
    • Radke Does Radke Stuff
    • Stelmaszek Throws Out First Pitch
    • Combined One-Hit Shutout
    April 3
    Happy Birthday, Darrell Jackson
    Happy birthday to former Twins pitcher Darrell Jackson, born in Los Angeles on this date in 1956. The Arizona State alumnus pitched nine no-hit innings in his professional debut at double-A Orlando on April 14, 1978. Manager Johnny Goryl went to the pen, though, in the 10th, and Orlando eventually won in 12 innings. 
    In Jackson’s fourth major league start on July 7th of that year he pitched a three-hit shutout for a 1-0 Twins win in Oakland. A’s pitcher Rick Langford also went all nine innings, allowing just one unearned run in the top of the fifth. Good old-fashioned pitchers’ duel. 
    April 3
    Happy Birthday, Ryan Doumit
    Happy birthday to switch-hitting catcher Ryan Doumit, born in Moses Lake, Washington on this date in 1981. He was DH’ing on July 22, 2012 when he became the third player in Twins history to homer from both sides of the plate in a game. He also had a two-run single, knocking in four runs altogether in a 7-5 Twins win in Kansas City.
    The first two Twins to homer from both sides in a game were Roy Smalley and Chili Davis. Smalley, Davis, and Doumit were all at Target Field one day in 2012 (Smalley as a broadcaster, and Davis as the A’s hitting coach) and autographed balls for each other commemorating their accomplishment. 
    Kennys Vargas and Jorge Polanco have since joined the club. 
    April 3, 1982
    First MLB Game at the Dome
    The Twins and Phillies played an exhibition game at the Metrodome, the first major league game at the new ballpark. After Pete Rose connected for the Dome’s first single, Bloomington native Kent Hrbek hit the first AND second home runs in Metrodome history, powering the Twins to a 5-0 win.
    April 3, 1997
    Old Man Grand Slam
    40-year-old Twins DH Paul Molitor hit a grand slam off Detroit’s Willie Blair at home in the Dome on this date in 1997, driving in Todd Walker, Chuck Knoblauch, and Rich Becker.
    It was the third and final grand slam of the 1974 Cretin High School graduate’s career. The second came off Minnesota’s Dave Stevens on July 5, 1994. The first came way back on April 22, 1981.
    41-year-old Dave Winfield hit a grand slam at the Metrodome on April 4, 1993. I believe he is the oldest Twin to do so. (Let me know if I’m wrong.)
    Atlanta’s Julio Franco became the oldest player in major league history to hit a grand slam on June 27, 2005 at age 46. Playing for the Mets, he became the oldest player to hit a home run off the Diamondbacks’s Randy Johnson on May 4, 2007 at age 48.
    April 3, 2000
    Radke Does Radke Stuff
    Brad Radke gave up a home run to Devil Rays center fielder Gerald Williams on literally the first pitch of the 2000 season. Now, Radke was famously susceptible to the first-inning long ball, but first pitch of the season? Come on! 
    Hall of Famer Fred McGriff also homered off Radke in the 7-0 Tampa Bay win at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
    April 3, 2017
    Stelmaszek Throws Out First Pitch
    Flanked by an assembly of Twins all-time greats, Rick Stelmaszek threw out the first pitch at the Twins home opener on this date in 2017. It was an emotional occasion, as Stelly had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over the winter and was visibly frail. He passed away just seven months later at age 69.
    NOBODY spent more seasons in a Twins uniform. Thirty-two seasons, from 1981 to 2012. In the entire history of Major League Baseball, only two men have coached more years with a single team.
     
    April 3, 2021
    Combined One-Hit Shutout
    José Berríos and Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes both had no-hitters going through six innings on this date in 2021, with 12 of Berríos’s 18 outs coming via the K. Both pitchers were perfect before exchanging hit-by-pitches in the fifth inning.
    In a move that surely met with immediate grumbling on social media, Rocco Baldelli pulled Berríos after six innings with the no-hitter still on the line.
    Brewers manager Craig Counsell, on the other hand, left Burnes in there, and he gave up what would be the game-winning home run to Byron Buxton with one out in the top of the seventh. (It was Buxton’s second-straight game with a homer to start the season.) 
    Taylor Rogers, meanwhile, struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh. 
    The Brewers finally broke up the Twins no-hit bid with a single off Tyler Duffey in the eighth. Alex Colomé got the ninth and locked down the one-hit shutout for a 2-0 Twins win. (Arráez added an RBI single in the eighth.)
    Removing a starter with a no-hitter going in always controversial, but here we have a case where one got lifted for a reliever and his teammates completed the shutout, while the other stayed in the game and gave up the game-winning home run. Well played, Rocco; well played. 
  5. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 6th

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS:
    • Happy Birthday, Bert Blyleven and Joe Barbeln
    • Twins Trade Stigman
    • Oliva Hits First HR by DH
    • First Regular Season Game at Dome
    • Puckett and Winfield Thrill the Home Fans
    • Offerman's Memorable Twins Debut 
    April 6
    Happy Birthday, Bert Blyleven
    It’s the birthday of two-time World Series Champion and noted flatulence enthusiast Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven, born in Zeist, Holland in 1951. He grew up in Garden Grove, CA, and was drafted by the Twins out of high school in the third round in 1969. 
    Bert recorded 3,701 strikeouts during his 22-year Hall of Fame career, which ranked third-most in MLB history at the time he retired, and is still good for fifth all-time behind Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens*, and 1987 teammate Steve Carlton. 
    A FEW FUN FACTS:
    Bert earned both the 1,000th and 2,000th wins in Twins history—in 1972 and 1985, in between which he played for Texas, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, and won a World Series with the Pirates in 1979. 
    In 1973, Bert set teams records that will likely never be broken with 25 complete games, nine shutouts, and 325 innings pitched. His 258 strikeouts that season stood as the team record for 31 years until Johan Santana K’ed 265 in 2004. (For a little perspective, Nolan Ryan led the majors with 383 strikeouts in 1973 . . . 125 more than Bert’s longtime team record.) 
    He pitched a two-hit shutout at Met Stadium in his very first start against the Twins after being traded to the Rangers prior to the 1976 season. 
    He was in spring training with the Twins in 1993, attempting to come back for a third stint with the team, but was beat out for a spot in the rotation by Willie Banks and Pat Mahomes. (Mike Trombley made the team out of the bullpen.)

    April 6
    Happy Birthday, Joe Barbeln
    Happy birthday to 1988 St. Michael-Albertville graduate Joe Barbeln. He pitched 4.1 innings of pro ball with single-A Yakima in the Dodgers organization in 1992.
    Nice 21-year townball career with the St. Michael Saints. Who can share some interesting stories or fun facts about the North Star League Hall of Famer? Tell me what you know in the comments below. 

    April 6, 1966
    Twins Trade Stigman
    The Twins traded Nimrod, MN native Dick Stigman to the Red Sox for Russ Nixon and Chuck Schilling on this date in 1966. 
    Fun Fact: Schilling (along with teammate Carl Yastrzemski) starred for the Minneapolis Millers in 1960—the Millers final season at Met Stadium before the Twins came to town and took over. On May 7 the following year, Schilling was back at Met Stadium with the Red Sox, and hit a grand slam off Camilo Pascual for his first major league home run.
    Schilling never played at Met Stadium as a member of the Twins, though. After the trade, the Twins wanted to assign him to the minors, but he opted to retire and put his college degree to use instead.

    April 6, 1973
    Oliva Hits First HR by DH
    With Rod Carew aboard in the top of the first on Opening Day in Oakland, Tony Oliva hit the first regular season home run by a designated hitter in major league history off Catfish Hunter. Coincidentally, it was Oakland owner Charlie Finley who spearheaded the movement for the AL to adopt the DH.
    Bert Blyleven pitched the first of his team record 25 complete games of the season as the Twins beat the A’s 8-3.

     
    April 6, 1982
    First Regular Season Game at Dome
    St. Cloud legend Jim Eisenreich was batting leadoff and playing center field when the Twins hosted the Mariners for the first regular season game in the Metrodome on Opening Day 1982. 
    Right fielder Dave Engle hit the first home run that counted* in the new ballpark in the first inning.
    *Kent Hrbek hit two homers in an exhibition game against the Phillies three days earlier.
    Gary Gaetti was thrown out at home trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park home run in his first at-bat, but then homered the old-fashioned way in each of his next two at-bats, going 4-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored in an 11-7 Twins win.
    Gaetti’s performance in his first regular season game at the Dome reminds me of his first postseason game at the Dome, when he homered in his first two at-bats off Detroit’s Doyle Alexander.
    April 6, 1993
    Winfield and Puckett Thrill the Home Fans
    After stressing everyone in Minnesota out by testing the free-agent market the previous winter, Kirby Puckett electrified the Metrodome fans by homering on his very first swing of the 1993 season off White Sox ace Jack McDowell, who went on to win 22 games and the AL Cy Young Award that season. 
    Kirby homered in three of the first four games of the season. 
     
    In addition to Kirby being back, Opening Day 1993 was also the Twins debut of St. Paul native Dave Winfield (age 41). Winny hit a go-ahead home run of McDowell in the third, driving in fellow Minnesota native Kent Hrbek. 
    The Winfield signing was exciting for Twins fans. In addition to being a local legend destined for Cooperstown, he was coming off a very good season in Toronto in which he came in fifth in AL MVP balloting and had several highlight hits in the ALCS and World Series.
    Kirby Puckett finished runner-up to Dennis Eckersley for the MVP in 1993, so between him and Winfield there was certainly cause for enthusiasm in Minnesota. 
    April 6, 2004
    Offerman’s Memorable Twins Debut
    José Offerman made his Twins debut on this date in 2004, entering as a pinch runner for Matthew LeCroy in the bottom of the 12th inning. (He was stranded on third.) Then, in the bottom of the 14th, he came to the plate for his first Twins at-bat and doubled, moving Jacque Jones over to third with nobody out . . . but Cleveland again escaped the jam. Offerman came up again in the 15th inning with two out and the bases loaded and hit a ground-ball single to center, bringing home Doug Mientkiewicz with the walk-off run.
    Offerman had an extra-base hit in each of his first five games to start the season, tying Mientkiewicz’s team record established in 1999. Byron Buxton broke their record with extra-base hits in his first six games of the 2021 season.
  6. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 5th

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS:
    • Longest HR to CF in Metrodome History
    • Molitor’s Three-Year SB Streak Snapped
    • Big Comeback in 2000
    • Two Minnesotans Make MLB Debuts
    • Manager Wins 1,000th Game
    • Eleventh Cycle in Team History
    April 5, 1994
    Muñoz Hits Epic Blast
    Pedro Muñoz hit a 473-foot bomb to center field at the Metrodome on this date in 1994. It was the longest homer ever hit to center at the Dome.
    The longest homer at the Dome overall was 481 feet to right field by Milwaukee’s Ben Oglivie in 1983. Kent Hrbek crushed a Charlie Hough knuckleball 480 feet to right the following season.
    As imprecise of a science as home run measurements are, they couldn’t find an extra foot or two for the hometown kid?!
    Mark McGwire hit a 475-foot homer to left field in 1996. 
    April 5, 1996
    Molitor’s Stolen Base Streak Snapped
    39-year-old DH Paul Molitor was caught attempting to swipe third in his first stolen base attempt with the Twins, snapping a streak of 36-straight successful attempts dating back to 1993.
    The Twins were trailing the Orioles 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth when Molitor connected for his second double of the game (third hit overall). With one out and Roberto Kelly at the plate, Molly was nabbed attempting to swipe third. It may seem ill-advised to risk being caught stealing when you’re already in scoring position representing the tying run, but Molly had previously scored the Twins’ only run of the game on a Roberto Kelly sac fly.
    Molly began his first season in Minnesota with an eight-game hitting streak, over which he went 14-for-33 (.424).
    He had 39 hits in the team’s first 25 games, ending the month of April with a .386 average. He only went 0-fer three times all month.
    He finished the season batting .341. He had 22 games with 3+ hits and SEVENTY-TWO games with 2+ hits.
    April 5, 2000
    Come-From-Behind Win
    The Twins trailed the Devil Rays 7-1 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth before tying it up with a six-run rally. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Matt Lawton hit a three-run walk-off homer for a 10-7 Twins win. Remarkably, nine of the last 11 Twins to come to the plate scored. The only out in the last 11 batters was a David Ortiz strikeout pinch hitting for nine-batter Torii Hunter to end the eighth. 
    It was the Twins’ second-straight walk-off. They blew a ninth-inning lead the next afternoon to split the four-game series to start the season. 
    April 5, 2004
    Wuertz and Mauer Make MLB Debuts
    1997 Austin High School graduate Michael Wuertz struck out the first two batters he faced in his major league debut, pitching a 1-2-3 sixth in a 7-4 Cubs win on Opening Day in Cincinnati.
    2001 Cretin-Derham Hall graduate Joe Mauer also made his major league debut on this date in 2004, going 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored, including on Shannon Stewart‘s walk-off home run in the 11th inning giving the Twins a 7-4 Opening Day win over Cleveland.
    Mauer also tagged out Cleveland’s Matt Lawton trying to score the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th. Jacque Jones made the throw from right field, hitting the relay man, second baseman Michael Cuddyer.
    April 5, 2014
    Gardenhire Wins 1,000th
    Brian Dozier homeed on the second pitch of the game, leading the Twins to a 7-3 victory in Cleveland for Ron Gardenhire’s 1,000th managerial win. The milestone victory didn’t come without a few new gray hairs, however, as 2001 Stillwater grad Glen Perkins gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth before securing the Kyle Gibson win.
    April 5, 2019
    Polanco Hits for Cycle
    Using Eddie Rosario‘s bat, Jorge Polanco went 5-for-5, hitting for the 11th cycle in Twins history in Philadelphia on this date in 2019.
    He finished a double shy of the cycle just four days later.
    Fun Fact: Ehire Adrianza used Rosario’s bat to hit a big pinch-hit double when both were playing for Atlanta in the 2021 NLCS.
  7. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 4th

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS:
    • Birthdate of a Clubhouse Cancer
    • Tommy John Pitches in 26th Season
    • Twins Trade Pomeranz
    • Ortiz Walk-Off
    April 4, 1956
    Birthdate of Tommy Herr
    Clubhouse cancer Tommy frickin’ Herr was born on this date in 1956. Screw that guy, am I right?
    April 4, 1989
    Tommy John Pitches in 26th Season
    45-year-old Tommy John was the Yankees Opening Day starter at the Metrodome on this date in 1989, outdueling reigning Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola for a 4-2 Yankees win. 1989 was John’s 26th season in the majors, setting a modern record (since 1900). Not bad for a guy whose name is synonymous with injuries. 
    The record didn’t last long, as Nolan Ryan pitched in his 27th season in 1993. 
    Twins fans may remember Tommy John as Dick Bremer‘s broadcast partner from 1994 to 1996, succeeding 25-year major league veteran Jim Kaat and preceding 22-year veteran Bert Blyleven. Bremer worked with some pretty long-tenured pitchers. In addition to Kaat, John, and Blyleven, he partnered with 21-year MLB veteran LaTroy Hawkins, and Jack Morris, who pitched a mere 18 seasons in the majors. 
    John’s son, Tommy John III, was the Gatorade Minnesota State Player of the Year in 1996 at Orono High School in Long Lake, Minnesota. 
    April 4, 1990
    Twins Trade Pomeranz for Ortiz
    The Twins traded future-KARE 11 anchor Mike Pomeranz to the Pirates for Junior Oritz and minor league pitcher Orlando Lind on this date in 1990.
    Oritz—who wore number 0—hit .335 (57-for-170) in 71 games (47 starts) in 1990. He is perhaps best remembered at Scott Erickson‘s personal catcher during the Twins’ 1991 World Series Championship season. Of course the primary catcher on that team was Brian Harper, who Ortiz had previous been teammates with in Pittsburgh.
    Fun Fact: Ortiz got his first major league hit off Jim Kaat. 
    Mike Pomeranz never made it to the majors. Many Minnesotans will remember him as an anchor on channel 11 from 2006 to 2012. These days, he lives in San Diego and can be seen on Padres pre- and post-game broadcasts.
    April 4, 2000
    David Ortiz Walk-Off
    The day after losing on Opening Day, the Twins trailed the Devil Rays 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Cristian Guzmán tied it up with a double to left, driving in Todd Walker, and David Ortiz connected for a two-out walk-off single for a 6-5 Twins win.
    The Twins walked off the Rays again the next night after trailing 7-1 going into the eighth. In Game 4, the Twins blew a ninth-inning lead to split the series. 
  8. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 2nd

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS:
    • Happy Birthday, Tom Johnson and Denny Hocking
    • Twins Trade Ramos for Power and Stigman
    • First MLB Game at Target Field 
    April 2
    Happy Birthday, Tom Johnson
    Happy birthday to former Twins pitcher Tom Johnson, born in St. Paul in 1951. He had a stellar season out of the Twins bullpen in 1977, earning 16 wins (all in relief) and 15 saves. Those 16 wins were ninth-most in the American League, and 15 saves were seventh-most. I wonder how many guys have finished top-10 in both wins and saves in the same season. His 71 appearances were second in the AL only to the Yankees’ Sparky Lyle. Johnson even received MVP votes.

    Johnson graduated from St. Paul’s Murray High School (now a middle school) in 1969, the same year Dave Winfield graduated from St. Paul Central. Both players accepted scholarships to play for coaches Dick Siebert and Jerry Kindall at the University of Minnesota, but Johnson backed out at the last minute and signed a professional contract with the Twins.
    Johnson’s MLB debut is an interesting story. It came at Met Stadium on September 10, 1974 (age 23), starting the top of the 14th in relief of 1961 St. Cloud Cathedral graduate Tom Burgmeier. The Twins had a 4-1 lead entering the ninth when White Sox catcher Brian Downing hit a three-run homer off Bill Campbell to tie it up. Each team scored in the 11th and 13th innings for a 6-6 tie going into the top of the 14th.
    Johnson struck out the first batter he faced, Eddie Leon. He gave up a single to the second batter, Jorge Orta. During the next at-bat, Johnson had Orta picked off first but made a throwing error, allowing Orta to advance to second. Orta later came around to score, with the run being unearned, despite the error being on Johnson himself.
    Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the inning, Eric Soderholm reached on a two-out single, and scored the tying run on a Tony Oliva double. Johnson came back out to pitch a 1-2-3 top of the 15th.
    With one out in the bottom of the inning, Goose Gossage walked Rod Carew, who stole second, and scored on a Larry Hisle walk-off single, giving Johnson the win over future Hall of Famer Goose Gossage in his major league debut.
    Johnson also earned the win in his second appearance three days later (September 13), again with Carew scoring the walk-off run, this time with a home run leading off the 10th.
    He pitched in both halves of a doubleheader on September 14, earning a save in Game 1. That was it for Johnson in 1974. In four major league appearances he earned two wins and a save. He pitched seven innings, giving up four hits and a walk for a 0.571 WHIP.
    In 1975 and ’76, he split time between triple-A Tacoma and the Twins.
    1977 was his lone standout season (as noted above).
    He struggled during 18 appearances in 1978, his final major league season. Perhaps he been too much of a workhorse the previous season.
    Read Jim McKernon‘s SABR BioProject essay on Johnson.
    April 2
    Happy Birthday, Denny Hocking
    Happy birthday to Twins fan-favorite Denny Hocking, born in Southern California on this date in 1953. He played 11 seasons in a Twins uniform, from 1993 to 2003.
    Fun Fact: When the Twins drafted him in the 52nd round out of El Camino College in his hometown of Torrance, CA after his freshman year in 1989, Hocking was a right-handed hitting catcher, but they told him he had a better chance of making it to the majors if he became a switch-hitting infielder. 
    He had five consecutive three-hit games at single-A Visalia in 1992. (His .331 average was second-best on the Oaks that season behind Marty Cordova‘s .341.) 
    Hocking had two five-hit games with the Twins:
    • 5-for-6 with three doubles in Detroit on June 27, 1999
    • 5-for-6 with two doubles in Oakland on May 18, 2000
    The Twins retired number 7 in 2019. 

     
    April 2, 1962
    Twins Trade Ramos For Power and Stigman
    It what is commonly considered the first major trade in team history, the Twins traded Pedro Ramos to Cleveland for four-time All-Star Vic Power and Nimrod, MN native and 1960 All-Star Dick Stigman on this date in 1962.
    Ramos started the first regular season game in Twins history, pitching a three-hit shutout opposing Whitey Ford at Yankee Stadium on April 11, 1961. Ramos, himself, knocked Whitey out of that game, with a two-run single in the seventh. 
    Ramos was involved in an interesting piece of Twins history on May 12, 1961, as he and Angels pitcher Eli Grba traded homers off each other. Grba homered off Ramos in the top of the fifth to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Ramos returned the favor in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. He added a two-run single in the sixth, and the Twins held on to win 5-4, with the pitcher Ramos driving in the final three runs.
    Minnesota native Dick Stigman went 12-5 in 40 appearances (15 starts) in his first season with the Twins.

    1963 was his best season. He pitched a three-hit shutout in his second start of the season on April 18, and went on to post a 15-15 record in 33 starts. That’s just three no-decisions! He posted career-bests with a 3.25 ERA, 1.207 WHIP, 15 complete games, and 193 strikeouts, finishing third in the American League in the latter two categories. (Camilo Pascual led the league in both. Pedro Ramos, incidentally, was second in the AL with a 1.067 WHIP, and 8.237 strikeouts per nine innings with Cleveland that season.)
    Vic Power won the Gold Glove at first base in each of his three seasons with the Twins, bringing his career total to seven. 
    April 2, 2010
    First MLB Game at Target Field
    The Twins and Cardinals played an exhibition game at Target Field—the first major league game at the new ballpark—on this date in 2010. Center fielder Denard Span had himself a day, collecting the stadium’s first hit (a triple, of course), first home run, and first run scored.
    Jacque Jones, attempting a comeback with the club, made a pinch-hitting appearance. Who remembers the standing ovation he received? I still get goosebumps thinking about it. 
  9. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for April 1st

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS:
    • Birthdate of Ron Perranoski
    • Meares Hits Game-Winning Homer
    • Five Home Runs on Opening Day
    • Carneal Passes Away
    • Mauer Ready to Lead Twins to Title
    • Berríos Pitches Three-Hit Shutout
    April 1, 1936
    Birthdate of Ron Perranoski
    Ron Perranoski was born in Paterson, New Jersey on this date in 1936. He led the American League in saves in 1969 and ’70 when the Twins won back-to-back AL West Championships. He received MVP votes both seasons, and received Cy Young votes in 1970, the year teammate Jim Perry won the award. 
    Perranoski won two World Series rings with the Dodgers, including in 1965 when they beat the Twins in seven games.
    The Twins acquired him along with John Roseboro and Bob Miller in a November 1967 trade with the Dodgers in exchange for Jim “Mudcat” Grant and Zoilo Versalles. 
    April 1, 1997
    Meares Powers Twins to Opening Day Win
    The Twins trailed the Tigers 5-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth on Opening Day before a four-run rally, capped off by a two-out, two-run homer by eight-hitter Pat Meares, driving in Terry Steinbach for the winning run in Steinbach's Twins debut. 
    All nine batters in the starting lineup had at least one hit, with Molitor, Lawton, Steinbach, and Meares connecting for two each. The lineup that day:
    Chuck Knoblauch, 2B Rich Becker, CF Paul Molitor, DH Marty Cordova, LF Matt Lawton, RF Terry Steinbach, C Scott Stahoviak, 1B Pat Meares, SS Todd Walker, 3B Brad Radke made the Opening Day start. Three of the four relievers TK used that day were at one time closers for the Twins: Rick Aguilera (who earned the save in this game), “Everyday” Eddie Guardado, and Mike Trombley. Dan Naulty also pitched in relief and was credited with the win. 
    April 1, 2002
    Twins Hit 5 HRs on Opening Day
    After a winter during which team owner Carl Pohlad openly talked contraction, Jacque Jones homered on the second pitch of the game on Opening Day in Kansas City. Jones also hit a three-run go-ahead homer in the seventh, powering the Twins to an 8-6 win.
    David Ortiz, Brian Buchanan, and Torii Hunter each hit solo homers for a total of five, tying the American League Opening Day record.
    The Twins are the most recent of five AL teams to hit five homers on Opening Day. The Mets set the major league Opening Day record with six against the Expos in 1988. The MLB record for home runs in any game is 10, by the Blue Jays against the Orioles in 1987.
    April 1, 2007
    Carneal Passes Away
    Legendary Twins radio broadcaster Herb Carneal passed away on this date in 2007, at age 83. He spent FORTY-FOUR years calling Twins games, originally joining Ray Scott and Halsey Hall in 1962—the Twins’ second season in Minnesota. He received the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 1996. He and Jim Kaat comprised the sophomore class of the Twins Hall of Fame, inducted on July 7, 2001.
    On a personal note, when I was in elementary school, I won a drawing at Hardee’s (true story) and got to spend an inning in the booth with Herb Carneal and John Gordon.
    April 1, 2010
    Joe Mauer appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kids on this date in 2010. Take a close look at that cover: “Joe Mauer is ready to lead the Minnesota Twins to the World Series.” Uff da . . .
    I mean, I guess it was April Fools’ Day 🙂

     
    April 1, 2018
    Berríos Gets Off to Hot Start
    José Berríos got off to a heckuva start in 2018, pitching a complete-game three-hit shutout in his first start of the season for a 7-0 Twins win in Baltimore. 
    The Twins had the lead from the very first pitch, as Brian Dozier hit his team record 28th and final leadoff home run. (Jacque Jones has the second-most leadoff home runs in team history with 20.)
    In 2019, Berríos was the Twins Opening Day starter. He responded by pitching the first 7.2 innings of the Twins’ first Opening Day shutout in 49 years (Jim Perry, 1970). Taylor Rogers earned the four-out save, striking out three.  
  10. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for March 31st

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    And here it is, folks—the Twins Almanac for March 31st:
    March 31, 1971
    Twins Release Tiant
    After just one season in Minnesota, the Twins released Luis Tiant at the end of spring training on this date in 1971. 
    1970—Tiant’s sole season in Minnesota—was the middle of a three-year rough patch in his career. He had posted double-digit wins each of his first five seasons in Cleveland, culminating with 21 in 1968 when he led the league with a 1.60 ERA and 0.871 WHIP and came in fifth in MVP balloting.  
    Keep in mind 1968 was the famed “Year of the Pitcher,” during which Detroit’s Denny McLain led the majors with 31 wins, while St. Louis’s Bob Gibson led the majors with a 1.12 ERA and 0.853 WHIP. 
    But then, in 1969, he led the majors with 21 losses, leading to speculation he was pitching hurt. 
    Following his lackluster ’69 season, the Twins acquired Tiant along with Stan Williams from Cleveland in exchange for Dean Chance, Ted Uhlaender, Graig Nettles, and Bob Miller.
    Tiant got off to a very good start in Minnesota. He was 6-0 through his first 10 starts, but he left that sixth victory early with a sore shoulder and it was subsequently discovered he had a cracked bone in his throwing shoulder. He returned after 10 weeks’ rest, but was much less effective the rest of the season, including in the 1970 ALCS. 
    Following his release by Minnesota, Atlanta gave Tiant a 30-day trial with their triple-A affiliate, after he which he was released again. Boston then picked him up and assigned him to Triple A, and he pitched his way back to the majors by early June. 
    Though he had kept his career afloat, 1971 was the third-straight subpar season for Tiant. 
    No longer able to rely on his fastball, Tiant reinvented himself as a junkballer, leading to a remarkable renaissance in Boston, beginning in 1972 when he led the majors with a 1.91 ERA. Over the five seasons from 1972 to 1976, he averaged 19 wins and received MVP votes in three of those seasons. 
    Long story short, a player the Twins released became a Red Sox legend.
    Thirty-one years later, the Twins released David Ortiz, but that’s a story for another day. 
    Adding insult to injury, remember the Twins had given up Graig Nettles in that trade to acquire Tiant. 
    Nettles, of course, went on to become a Yankees all-time great. He was MVP of the 1981 ALCS and to this day has the sixth-most home runs by a third baseman in MLB history.
    He started the third-most double plays by a third baseman in MLB history. (Gary Gaetti is number four on that list.)
    Nettles and Tiant have the sixth- and seventh-highest career bWARs among players who spent any amount of time in a Twins uniform. 
    March 31, 1987
    Twins Acquire Gladden, Release Hatcher
    With less than a week remaining in spring training, the Twins released fan-favorite Mickey Hatcher and acquired the much more dynamic Dan Gladden from San Francisco in exchange for two prospects and a player to be named later on this date in 1987. 
    That player to be named later turned out to be 1982 Bemidji graduate and Golden Gophers all-time great Bryan Hickerson. Fun Fact: Hickerson was the recipient of the first two Dave Winfield Pitcher of the Year Awards in Gophers history.
    Hatcher was still owed $650,000 for 1987, and had a $100,000 buyout clause for 1988. It was the most expensive contract the Twins had eaten to date, but it proved to be a prudent business decision, as Gladden was a key contributor to the only two World Series Championships in Twins history.
    A major appeal of Gladden was his game-changing speed. A newspaper headline the morning after the trade read “Popularity Sacrificed for Steals,” a motivation confirmed by Twins executive vice president Andy MacPhail, who said that “the reason we got him is he gives us speed. He can steal bases. He’s a good turf player.”
    Hatcher, who had been with the Twins since 1981, and peaked in ‘84, was a pretty one-dimensional player. “He just didn’t fit in,” Tom Kelly said; “there’s no place for him to play on this team. We have better athletes. We didn’t need him as a designated hitter or a pinch hitter, either.”
    Hatcher signed with the Dodgers with whom he won a World Series ring in 1988, hitting .368 with two home runs in the four-games-to-one victory over the Oakland A’s.
    The Gladden trade was the third significant move of the 1987 offseason. In February, the Twins acquired Jeff Reardon and Al Newman in separate trades with Montreal. They later traded for Joe Niekro on June 6, Dan Schatzeder on June 23, Steve Carlton on July 31, and Don Baylor on September 1.
    In contrast, the Twins made zero trades during the 1991 season. 

    March 31, 2014
    Mounds View Grad Makes MLB Debut
    2007 Mounds View graduate and Golden Gophers all-time great Seth Rosin made his major league debut with the Rangers on this date in 2014, pitching a scoreless ninth on Opening Day, striking out 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard on three pitches for his first big-league K.
  11. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for March 30

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    • Twins Trade Landreaux for Hatcher
    • Bob Casey Laid to Rest
    • Great Starting Pitching in 2019
    • Brainerd HS Grad Off to a Great Start
    March 30, 1981
    Twins Trade Landreaux for Hatcher
    The Twins traded Ken Landreaux to the Dodgers for Mickey Hatcher and a pair of prospects on this date in 1981. Calvin Griffith had acquired Landreaux and a trio of prospects from the Angels two years earlier in exchange for Rod Carew. 
    Landreaux made Twins history twice during the 1980 season. He compiled a Twins record 31-game hitting streak from April 23 to May 30. Then, on July 3, he tied the modern MLB record (since 1900) with three triples in a 10-3 home win over Texas. (Denard Span matched that record on June 29, 2010.)
    Hatcher made Twins history on April 28, 1985, going 4-for-5 in a 10-1 Twins win over Oakland at home in the Dome. He had gone 5-for-5 the previous day, giving him nine consecutive hits, tying the team record established by Tony Oliva in 1967. (Todd Walker matched the feat in 1998.)
    Hatcher, who had become a real fan-favorite, was released near the end of Spring Training 1987 when the Twins acquired Dan Gladden in a trade with San Francisco. 
    Hatcher signed with the Dodgers with whom he won a World Series ring in 1988, hitting .368 with two home runs in the four-games-to-one victory over the Oakland A’s.
    March 30, 2005
    Bob Casey Laid to Rest
    The inimitable Bob Casey was eulogized at St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis and laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on this date in 2005 (age 79). 
    PFC Casey served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Longtime public relations director Tom Mee—famously the first employee in Twins history—is also laid to rest at Fort Snelling.
    Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, John Gordon, and Dave St. Peter served as pallbearers at Casey’s funeral. Others in attendance included fellow WWII veteran Carl Pohlad, Roy Smalley, Juan Berenguer, Tim Laudner, and Scott Leius. 

     
    March 30, 2019
    Twins Starters Start Out Hot
    After José Berríos struck out 10 on Opening Day, Jake Odorizzi struck out 11 over six innings, making Berríos and Odorizzi just the second duo in MLB history to record 10+ strikeouts in the first two games of the season. The first pair were Arizona’s Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2001.

     
    Unfortunately, the Twins fell to Cleveland 2-1. Odorozzi and Trevor Bauer allowed just one run each—both coming in the fourth inning—but Cleveland pushed a run across off reliever Blake Parker in the top of the ninth. Chaska native Brad Hand came in to secure the save for Cleveland in the bottom of the ninth, but not without some drama. He gave up a leadoff double to Byron Buxton and eventually loaded the bases before inducing a game-ending fly ball to shallow right field from C.J. Cron. 
    March 30, 2019
    Anderson Gets Off to Hot Start
    Two days after retiring the only batter he faced in his major league debut, 28-year-old Brainerd native Nick Anderson struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning of a 7-3 Marlins win on this date in 2019. 
    Worth noting that the Twins had Anderson in their system, but they traded him for infielder Brian Schales prior to the season. (No, I’ve never heard of him either.)  

     
  12. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for March 29

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    • Happy Birthday, Mike Kingery and Billy Beane
    • Twins Acquire Veteran Pinch Hitter
    • Puckett Placed on DL
    March 29
    Happy Birthday, Mike Kingery
    Happy 63rd birthday to 1979 Atwater High School graduate Mike Kingery, born in Saint James, MN in 1961. When he was six months old, the Kingerys moved to Atwater where Mike’s father was proprietor of the Atwater Bowling Center.
    Kingery signed with the Royals as an amateur free agent on August 27, 1979. He made his major league debut in Kansas City on July 7, 1986 at age 25, going 2-for-4 in a 8-1 loss to the Orioles. He would go on to play 819 major league games over parts of 10 seasons with Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Colorado, and Pittsburgh.
    A career .268 hitter, Kingery’s best season by far came at age 33 in Colorado during the strike-shortened 1994 season when he hit .349 over 105 games. Interesting to note that the Rockies GM at the time was Lamberton, MN native and former Twins pitcher and front office executive Bob Gebhard, and the manager was 1987 World Series hero Don Baylor. (Dan Gladden was a Rockies scout from 1996 to 1998.)
    Curious how Kingery did against the Twins? He hit .290 in 24 career games versus the Minnesota, including a home run off Les Straker on July 29, 1987. That same season he hit two home runs off 1973 Highland Park High School graduate Jack Morris.
    Kingery and Blix Donnelly headlined the seven-member 2014 inaugural class of the West Central Baseball Hall of Fame in Willmar.
    A handful of years ago now, Mrs. Almanac and I swung into the Moose Lake Dairy Queen and noticed a poster for “The Kingery Family,” a travelling singing and ministry troupe. Turns out Mike and his wife Chris are parents of EIGHT children. In addition to his minstrel work, Mike Kingery operates the Solid Foundation Baseball School in Grove City, MN.
    March 29
    Happy Birthday, Billy Beane
    Happy 62nd birthday to 1980 Mets first-round draft pick and longtime A’s general manager Billy Beane. He came to the Twins as part of a January 1986 trade that sent Tim Teufel to the Mets.
    He had a heckuva game at Yankee Stadium on April 29, 1986. Entering the game with just three hits in 17 major league games dating back to 1984 (zero in his first four games with the Twins), Beane went 5-for-5 with a walk and his first career home run. (Twins lost 14-11.) Those five hits accounted for 7.6% of the just 66 hits Beane collected over parts of six major league seasons. He had fewer than five hits total in four of his six seasons.
    He was a September call-up in 1987 and came up clutch in his first MLB plate appearance of the season. He entered as a defensive replacement in right field in the top of the 11th of a 1-1 game against the Brewers on September 4. He came to the plate with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th and connected for a walk-off single to center off Dan Plesac, driving in Gary Gaetti. (Plesac made his first of three-straight All-Star appearances that season.) The win gave the Twins a three-game lead over Oakland in the AL West.
    March 29, 1978
    Morales Acquired from Expos
    The Twins purchased the contract of José Morales from the Expos on this date in 1978. He had set a major league record with 25 pinch hits in 1976 (since broken). In his first season with the Twins, he led all DH’s with a .323 average and set a team record with 14 pinch hits (since broken by Chip Hale). His 36 pinch hits in a Twins uniform are fourth-most in team history.
    He tied Jerry Terrell‘s team record by grounding into three double plays on May 17, 1980.
    March 29, 1996
    Puckett Placed on DL 
    After doctors determined his blurry vision was caused by a partial blockage of a blood vessel in his right eye, the Twins placed Kirby Puckett on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his career on this date in 1996.
    Please join the conservation in the comments section below.
    Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Twitter and Facebook. 
  13. Matt Johnson

    The Twins Almanac for March 28

    By Matt Johnson,


    Twins Almanac
    With the 2024 season starting today, I thought I'd start up the old Almanac blog again. You think I can keep this up every day all season long? Stay tuned!
    With no further ado, here it is—the Twins Almanac for March 28th:
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    • Some Unsettling News About Kirby
    • Berríos Historically Good on Opening Day
    • Brainerd Grad Makes MLB Debut
    March 28, 1996
    Puckett Wakes Up with Vision Problem
    36-year-old superstar Kirby Puckett appeared poised for a big year, hitting .344 in spring training, when on the last day of camp he woke up unable to see out of his right eye. He would be diagnosed with glaucoma and one day later placed on the 15-day disabled list (or injured list) for the first time in his career.
    Quoting directly from a New York Times article from March 31, 1996:
    “Kirby Puckett’s blurry vision is being caused by a partial blockage of a blood vessel in his right eye, and the Minnesota outfielder will miss the season opener, the Twins said Friday after placing him on the 15-day disabled list … retroactive to Thursday, making him eligible to return April 12. During that time, he will undergo treatment and will be able to work out with the club. Matt Lawton, who went 2 for 4 with a run batted in in Puckett’s place Friday, will start against the Tigers tomorrow.”
    Unfortunately, four surgeries did nothing to improve Puckett’s vision, and he officially retired on July 12.
    March 28, 2019
    Berríos’s Historically Good Opening Day Start
    José Berríos was historically good on Opening Day 2019, giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out 10 over 7.2 innings. He was the first pitcher in franchise history to pitch at least seven scoreless innings and strike out 10 on Opening Day since Walter Johnson did so in 1917. 
    Worth noting that Brainerd native Bullet Joe Bush took the loss for the Philadelphia Athletics in that 1917 game. And since we’re talking about 1917, Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth beat the Yankees on Opening Day that year. 
    Taylor Rogers retired the final four batters, striking out three, to secure the 2-0 Twins win over Cleveland at Target Field. The Twins’ only runs came on a Marwin Gonázlez double off Corey Kluber in the seventh, knocking in Nelson Cruz and C.J. Cron. (All three players were making their Twins debuts, providing plenty of optimism to start the season.) Chaska native Brad Hand came in to get the final out for Cleveland in the bottom of the eighth. 
     
    Berríos’s 10 Opening Day strikeouts set a new Twins record, breaking Brad Radke’s previous record of eight K’s over six innings in 1996 (Radke’s second season). 
    Berríos’s gem was the fourth Opening Day shutout in Twins history, and the first since Jim Perry’s complete-game shutout in Chicago in 1970.
    The second Opening Day shutout in Twins history was by Dean Chance in Washington in 1968, with the Twins’ two runs coming on Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison home runs off Senators pitcher Camilo Pascual. 
    And the first Opening Day shutout came in the very first regular season game in Twins history, with Pedro Ramos spinning a three-hitter opposing Whitey Ford at Yankee Stadium in 1961. After Bob Allison put the Twins on the board with the first home run in team history leading off the top of the seventh, Ramos himself knocked Ford out of the game with a two-run single to center, driving in Earl Battey and Reno Bertoia en route to a 6-0 Twins win. 
    March 28, 2019
    Nick Anderson Makes MLB Debut
    Brainerd High School graduate Nick Anderson made his major league debut with the Marlins on this date in 2019, retiring the only batter he faced, stranding a runner on second to end the inning.
    Two days later, he came in and struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning of a 7-3 Marlins win over the Rockies. 
    Anderson was striking out batters at a pretty impressive rate right out of the gate, K’ing 27 of the first 51 batters he faced to begin his MLB career. (There were two home runs mixed in there.)

    Worth noting that the Twins had Anderson in their system, but they traded him for an infielder nobody has ever heard of prior to the 2019 season. 
    Anderson will be pitching out of the Kansas City Royals bullpen this season. 
    He is the third Brainerd alumnus to pitch in the majors, following three-time World Series Champion Bullet Joe Bush and Todd Revenig (0.00 MLB ERA). And of course Hall of Famer Charles Albert Bender was born near Brainerd in 1884. 
    Please join the conservation in the comments section below.
    Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Twitter and Facebook. 
  14. Matt Johnson
    Now that the Eddie Rosario Experience is almost certainly over, let's take a look back at some of his contributions to Twins history. This is just what appears in my Twins Almanac spreadsheet. Please contribute your own Eddie trivia, fun facts, or cool stories in the comments section. And if you're into this kind of stuff, follow me on Twitter at @TwinsAlmanac.
     

    May 6, 2015
    Major League Debut


     
    Leading off the bottom of the third against Oakland's Scott Kazmir, the 23-year-old Puerto Rico native hits the first big-league pitch he sees for an opposite field home run. In what made for a storybook moment, Eddie's parents were actually in the stands at Target Field being interviewed by Marney Gellner when it happened. Twins won 13-0.
     

    Six Twins have homered in their first major league at-bat: Rick Renick, Dave McKay, Gary Gaetti, Andre David, Gary Gaetti, Luke Hughes, and Rosario. Fifteen players in major league history have homered on their first pitch, including former Twin Brant Alyea (playing for the Ted Williams-managed Senators).  

    July 30, 2015
    Triple Streak


     
    The rookie left fielder triples in his third-straight game, tying the club record (Rod Carew 1977, Dan Gladden 1991, and Delmon Young 2008). Bonus Fact: Rosario led the majors with 15 triples his rookie season.
     

    June 13, 2017
    First Three-Home Run Game


     
    The Twins beat the Mariners 20-7 at Target Field, setting a franchise record with 28 hits. Nine-batter Eddie Rosario goes 4-for-5 with three home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored.
     

    Third baseman Eduardo Escobar went 5-for-6 in the game. Kennys Vargas, Jason Castro, and Rosario all had four hits. The only Twin in the starting lineup without multiple hits was first baseman Joe Mauer. 
    Rosario's 13 total bases in the game are tied for second-most in team history, along with outfieldmates Byron Buxton and Max Kepler, Tim Teufel, and Rich Becker. Kirby Puckett set the team record with 14 that one Sunday in Milwaukee.
     
    Rosario was the fifth player in major league history to hit three home runs from the nine-hole. The others were Trot Nixon, Dale Sveum, Art Shamsky, and knuckleball pitcher Jim Tobin in May 14, 1942.
     

    July 1, 2017
    5-for-5


     
    Rosario goes 5-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI in a 10-5 Twins win in Kansas City. Last I checked, there have been 51 five-hit games in Twins history. Escobar and Rosario both had one in 2017.
     

    Kirby Puckett had two six-hit games—one each in 1987 and '91.  

    June 3, 2018
    Second Three-Home Run Game


     
    Tied with stupid Cleveland 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, Rosario hits a two-run walk-off home run, becoming the first player in team history with two career three-home run games. Additionally, he joined Tony Oliva as the only other player in team history with two games with 12 or more total bases.
     

    Max Kepler and Nelson Cruz have since joined the club of Twins players with two career three-home run games, with Cruz's coming just 10 days apart. 

    Hitting three home runs in a game used to be a big deal. There were just four such games in the team's first 55 seasons (Bob Allison, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Justin Morneau), and EIGHT in the four seasons from 2016 to 2019. 
     

    April 5, 2019
    Rosario's Bat Hits for Cycle


     
    Jorge Polanco goes 5-for-5, hitting for the 11th cycle in Twins history—and he did it swinging Eddie Rosario's bat! Unfortunately the Twins lost 10-4 in Philadelphia (starter Jake Odorrizi gave up five runs in 2/3 of an inning).
     
    Polanco came up a double shy of the cycle just four days later.
     

    April 20, 2019
    Second-Straight Multi-HR Game


     


    In the first game of a Saturday doubleheader in Baltimore, Rosario hits two solo home runs in a 6-5 win, joining Don Mincher and Kirby Puckett as the only players in team history with back-to-back multi-home run games.


     


    The Twins tied a team record with eight home runs in the second game of the doubleheader. They had a second eight-home run game just over a month later, on May 23, becoming just the second team in major league history with two such games in one season, joining the '05 Rangers.


     

    May 6, 2019
    12 Home Runs in First 32 Games



    (*Note: This one is really about Kirby Puckett)


     
    After hitting zero home runs in 1984, and just four in 1985, Kirby Puckett erupted for 13 home runs in the Twins' first 33 games of the '86 season. That's a team record. Second-most through 33 is 12, by Harmon Killebrew in 1970, Rosario in 2019, and Nelson Cruz this season. (Rosario hit his 13th in Game 34, but, like I said, this fun fact was about Puckett.)
     
     


    Well folks, that's what I have. Obviously there are a lot more Eddie Rosario memories to share. Please make your contributions in the comments section below. (I remember him inducing a big balk dancing off third base...) And remember, if you enjoy geeking out on Twins history, coming join me at
    @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.

  15. Matt Johnson
    It’s the birthday of Twins all-time great Jim Perry, born in Williamston, North Carolina in 1935.
     
    Perry came up with the Cleveland ballclub in 1959 at the age of 23, finishing runner-up to Washington’s Bob Allison in American League Rookie of the Year balloting. His sophomore season he tied with Baltimore’s Chuck Estrada for the AL lead with 18 wins. He made his first All-Star team in 1961.
     
    The Twins acquired Perry from Cleveland on May 2, 1963 for Jack Kralick, who had pitched the first no-hitter in Twins history the previous season on August 26.
     
    Perry was used as both a starter and a reliever during his first five seasons in Minnesota, including the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. He started 36 of the 46 games he appeared in in 1969, winning 20 as the Twins won the AL West pennant. Perry won two games vs. the Seattle Pilots on July 20, 1969. He won a game suspended the previous day in the 17th inning, and then pitched a complete-game shutout in the regularly scheduled contest.
     
    Perry won the Cy Young Award in 1970, his first season in Minnesota in which he was used exclusively as a starter, tying Baltimore’s Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally for the major league lead with 24 wins. The Orioles, incidentally, swept the Twins in the best-of-five American League Championship Series.
     
    Perry made his second and third All-Star teams in 1970 and ‘71. The 37-year-old pitcher okayed a trade to Detroit on March 27, 1973. The Twins received pitcher Danny Fife and cash money.
     
    Perry is fifth in Twins history in both wins (128) and innings pitched (1,883.1). He became the sixteenth member of the Twins Hall of Fame in 2011.
  16. Matt Johnson
    May 17, 1963
    Allison Has Twins' First 3-HR Game


     
    Bob Allison became the first Minnesota Twin to hit three home runs in a game in an 11-4 Twins win in Cleveland. He was 3-for-5 on the day with six RBI. His batting average at the end of the day was .330. He would finish his All-Star ‘63 season with a .271 AVG, 35 HRs, and 91 RBI.
     
    Harmon Killebrew and Zoilo Versalles also hit home runs in the game. Pitcher Jim Perry, who had played for Cleveland the previous season, was 2-for-3 with a walk and scored on Allison’s first home run.
     




     

    May 17, 1975



    Aaron Brings Hammer to Bloomington


     
    Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Hank Aaron hit the 738th of his 755 career home runs off of the Twins' Ray Corbin in the fifth inning of a Saturday afternoon game at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The two-run home run extended the Brewers' lead to 6-2. Aaron had hit an RBI double in the third, knocking Twins starting pitcher Vic Albury out of the game. The Twins trailed just 6-7 in the bottom of the eighth when Rod Carew hit a two-out, two-run double. Tom Kelly entered one of his 49 major league games playing first base in the top of the ninth. The Twins held on to win 8-7.
     




     

    May 17, 1998
    David Wells Pitches a Perfect Game


     
    50,000 fans, including Billy Crystal, came out to Yankee Stadium for Beanie Baby Day, and what turned out to be the fifteenth perfect game in major league history. David Wells threw 120 pitches, striking out 11. The last perfect game at Yankee Stadium was Game 5 of the 1956 World Series by Don Larsen, who attended the same high school as Wells, Point Loma in San Diego. Don Larsen actually threw out the first pitch before baseball’s next perfect game, pitched by David Cone in 1999 on Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium. Berra had caught Larsen's perfect game in the '56 Series. Cone threw only 88 pitches in his perfect game.
     
    The major leagues’ first two perfect games were pitched in 1880, just five days apart. The next perfect game wasn’t pitched until 1904 by the Boston Americans’ Cy Young. The most recent perfect game was pitched by the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez on August 15, 2012.
     




     

    May 17, 2011
    Harmon Killebrew Passes Away


     
    Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew passed away at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on this date in 2011. He was just 74 years old.
     
     
    Be well, do good work, and keep in touch with the @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.
  17. Matt Johnson
    May 7, 1965



    Twins Commit Seven Errors


     
    The Twins committed seven errors in a 13-5 loss to the White Sox on their home turf in Bloomington. Shortstop Zoilo Versalles and third baseman Rich Rollins each committed two errors, while Harmon Killebrew, Earl Battey and St. Paul native Jerry Kindall added one each. Every infielder plus the catcher committed an error. Despite the seven errors, Twins pitching still gave up 10 earned runs. Nimrod, MN native Dick Stigman started the game for the Twins and lasted just 3 ⅔ innings, allowing four runs (all earned) on five hits.
     
    The Twins would salvage the season and capture the American League Pennant.
     

    May 7, 1978



    Smalley Draw Team-Record 5 Walks


     
    Roy Smalley set a team single-game record when he walked 5 times in a 15-9 Twins win in Baltimore. Smalley also hit a double in his sixth at-bat, driving in left fielder Willie Norwood. Smalley walked in each of the first three innings, the first two vs. 1990 Hall of Fame inductee Jim Palmer who only lasted 1 ⅔ innings, allowing six runs on three hits and five walks. Willie Norwood stole second during each of Smalley’s first three at-bats, which eventually ended in walks anyway. The Twins scored nine of their 15 runs in the first three innings. Starting for the Twins was Alexandria, MN High School graduate Gary Serum, who only lasted 4 ⅓ innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, but did not walk a batter.
     

    May 7, 1989



    Dan Gladden Makes Second Pitching Appearance


     
    Dan Gladden made his second big league pitching appearance in a 12-1 loss in Cleveland. Gladden allowed only one run on two hits and a walk. Not bad considering that Cleveland had scored 11 runs over seven innings against Minnesota’s full-time professional pitchers.
     
    By the way, how about Gimenez getting out of the inning on four pitches yesterday, eh?
     




     

    May 7, 2000



    Tom Kelly Wins 1,000th Game


     
    Tom Kelly became the 46th manager in major league history to win 1,000 games as Minnesota beat Detroit 4-0 at the Metrodome. Joe Mays, who entered the game with an 0-4 record, pitched a complete game five-hit shutout for the Twins.
     

    May 7, 2002



    Mary Tyler Moore Throws Out First Pitch


     




     

    May 7, 2008



    Carlos Gomez Hits for the Cycle


     
    Leadoff hitter Carlos Gomez hit for the “natural cycle” in reverse in a 13-1 Twins win versus the White Sox in Chicago. Gomez led off the game with a home run, and then hit a triple, double and single. Gomez had three RBI, two runs scored and also struck out twice. Nick Punto hit the first of his two home runs of the season. Livan Hernandez pitched the complete game for the Twins, improving to 5-1.
     




     
     
    Keep in touch with the @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.
  18. Matt Johnson
    April 30, 1961
    Killebrew’s First HR as a Twin


     
    Trailing the White Sox 5-2 in the bottom of the 11th in Bloomington, Harmon Killebrew hit his first home run in a Twins uniform. The White Sox held on to win 5-3 with Bob Shaw pitching all 11 innings.
     
    All told Harmon Killebrew would hit 573 home runs, fifth-most in baseball history at the time he retired, and still 11th all-time as of 2016. He hit 84 home runs as a member of the Washington Senators, 475 in a Twins uniform, and 14 as a Kansas City Royal in 1975.
     




     

    May 1, 1996
    Twins Win on Paul Molitor Walk-Off Hit-By-Pitch


     
    The Twins held a 5-3 lead vs. Kansas City heading into the top of the ninth when 1994 AL Rookie of the Year Bob Hamelin hit a two-run home run off of Dave Stevens to tie the game. Hamelin had also homered in the second, both times with Jose Offerman aboard. Royals all-time saves leader Jeff Montgomery set the Twins down in order in the bottom of the ninth. His second inning of relief did not go so smoothly, however. After popping Pat Meares up for the first out, Montgomery walked Rich Becker and Chuck Knoblauch. A single by Chip Hale loaded the bases for the future-Hall of Famer Paul Molitor who Montgomery beaned, forcing in the winning run.
     




     

    May 1, 2005
    Johan Santana Loses for First Time in 20 Starts


     
    Johan Santana pitched eight strong innings versus the Angels at the Dome, allowing only two runs on two hits, solo home runs by Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Molina. Bartolo Colon, however, held the Twins scoreless, allowing only two hits through 7 ⅓ innings. Shannon Stewart drove in the Twins only run with a solo home run off Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth.
     
    Santana had gone 17-0 in his last 20 starts going back to his 2004 Cy Young-winning season. He would go 16-7 in 2005 and finish third in Cy Young balloting. He won the award again in 2006 when he and the Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang tied for the major league lead with 19 wins.
     

    May 1, 2009
    Joe Mauer Homers in First At-Bat Back from Disabled List


     
    After missing the first 22 games of the season with a lower back injury, Joe Mauer homered in his first at-bat back from the disabled list. Playing Kansas City at the Metrodome, Mauer came up with two down in the first. After taking Sidney Ponson’s first two pitches, Mauer deposited his 2-0 offering in the left-center field seats.
     
    Mauer led-off the fourth inning with an opposite field double and scored on a Justin Morneau single up the middle. Mauer walked in the fifth and scored on Morneau’s sixth home run of the season. He finished the day 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored as the Twins beat the Royals 7-5.
     
    Mauer went on to hit 11 home runs and drive in 32 runs in the month of May en route to his third batting title and being named the 2009 American League MVP. The Twins won the Central Division in ‘09 with a dramatic 12th inning walk-off win in Game 163 vs. Detroit, but were swept by the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs.
     

    May 2, 1963
    Twins Trade Jack Kralick for Jim Perry


     
    The Twins traded pitcher Jack Kralick, who had come with the team from Washington, to the Cleveland ballclub for Jim Perry. Kralick pitched the Twins’ first no-hitter the previous season, on August 26, 1962. Kralick lost the perfect game by giving up a walk with one out in the ninth of the Twins’ 1-0 win over the Kansas City Athletics. The final two outs were recorded on foul pop flies. Though the Twins’ first season in Minnesota (1961) was probably Kralick’ best, he did garner his lone All-Star selection with Cleveland in 1964.
     
    Perry’s career had gotten off to a hot start in Cleveland. In 1959 he was runner-up to the Senators’ Bob Allison for American League Rookie of the Year. He tied with Baltimore’s Chuck Estrada for the American League lead with 18 wins in 1960, and made his first All-Star team in 1961.
     
    During Perry’s first five seasons with the Twins he was used both as a starter and relief pitcher, including the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. In 1969 he started 36 of the 46 games he appeared in, winning 20 as the Twins won the American League West pennant. Perry won the Cy Young Award in 1970, his first season in Minnesota in which he was used exclusively as a starter, and tied for the league lead with 24 wins as the Twins again won the West.
     
    Perry played ten seasons in Minnesota. He is fifth in Twins history in both wins (128) and innings pitched. In 2011 Perry became the sixteenth player inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.
     

    May 2, 1964



    Twins Hit Four Consecutive Home Runs


     
    Tony Oliva gave the Twins a 2-0 lead vs. the Athletics in Kansas City with a third inning home run. The teams were tied 2-2 entering the top of the ninth when Harmon Killebrew hit a solo home run to put the Twins in front. Rocky Colavito, however, tied it up in the bottom of the inning, singling in Ed Charles. The A’s came perilously close to the walk-off win. After Colavito advanced to second on a passed ball, the Twins filled first with an intentional walk. Both runners moved up on a groundout to the pitcher, the second out of the inning. The Twins then issued a second intentional walk, loading the bases. Manager Sam Mele then brought Bill Pleis. With zero margin for error, Pleis struck out his man, forcing extra innings.
     
    Neither team threatened to score in the tenth. Then Tony Oliva led off the top of the eleventh with a home run, followed by Bob Allison and Jimmie Hall. Kansas City then went to the bullpen, but to no avail, as Harmon Killebrew made in four in a row and the Twins beat Kansas City 7-3.
     
    Seven teams in the history of Major League baseball have hit four consecutive home runs, most recently the Diamondbacks in 2010. The last American League team to do so was the White Sox in 2008 when Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe went back-to-back-to-back-to-back.
     
    This wasn’t the only time the Twins made home run history against the Kansas City Athletics. The Twins set an American League record by hitting five home runs in a single inning on June 9, 1966 against KC at the Met in Bloomington. The Athletics erupted for four runs in the first off Camilo Pascual, who only lasted ⅔ of an inning. Facing 1987 Hall of Fame inductee, Catfish Hunter, the Twins pulled within 4-3 on a Bob Allison RBI double in the fifth and a two-run Killebrew homer in the sixth. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Rich Rollins and Zoilo Versalles connected for back-to-back home runs off of Hunter to take the lead. Reliever Paul Lindblad retired Sandy Valdespino before allowing back-to-back homers to Tony Oliva and Don Mincher. The Athletics then turned to John Wyatt who allowed the Twins’ third consecutive home run, and the fifth of the inning, to Harmon Killebrew, his second of the game.
     
    Four National League teams have hit five home runs in an inning. The first time was in 1939 and the most recent in 2006. All four were against the Cincinnati Reds.
     




     

    May 2, 2010
    Wilson Ramos Debuts with 4-Hit Game


     
    22-year-old Venezuelan catcher Wilson Ramos made his major meague debut going 4-for-5 with a double and run scored in Cleveland. The following night, at home versus Detroit, Ramos went 3-for-4 with a double, becoming the third player in major league history with seven hits in his first two games, and the first since the Chicago Cubs’ Coaker Triplett in 1938.
     
    Ramos played seven games for the Twins before being traded to the Washington Nationals for closer Matt Capps. The Twins would go on to win the American League Central with a 94-68 record. They were swept out of the playoffs by the New York Yankees.
     
    Ramos was the second Twin to debut with a four-hit game. 24-year-old Kirby Puckett went 4-for-5 with a run scored in his major league debut on May 8, 1984 in 5-0 Twins win in Anaheim. Hitting leadoff, Kirby grounded out in his first at-bat before collecting four straight singles. Puckett was the sixth player in American League history to debut with a four-hit performance.
     
    Kirby would finish third in American League Rookie of the Year balloting behind Seattle’s Alvin Davis and Mark Langston. The Twins’ Tim Teufel finished right behind Kirby in fourth place. Roger Clemens came in sixth. In the National League, future-World Series Hero Dan Gladden finished fourth behind Doc Gooden, Juan Samuel, and Orel Hershiser.
     




     

    May 3, 1986
    Puckett Leads Off Consecutive Games with First-Pitch Home Runs


     
    Twins leadoff hitter Kirby Puckett homered on the Tigers’ Walt Terrell’s first pitch of the game. He had homered on Jack Morris’s first pitch the day before. It was already his 11th home run of the young season.
     
    Morris struggled mightily in the May 2 matchup, as the Twins touched the ‘73 Highland Park grad for four runs on four hits and four walks in just 1 ⅓ innings. Even Steve Lombardozzi got in on the act, leading off the second inning with a home run. Kirby was 3-for-6 with two RBI and three runs scored in the Twins 10-1 win. 23 games into the ‘86 season, Kirby was hitting .396.
     
    Tigers pitching fared better on May 3, however. In addition to Kirby’s first-pitch home run, Gary Gaetti also homered in the first, driving in Tom Brunansky. Walt Terrell recovered, though, and kept the Twins off the board until, leading 7-3 with two out in the ninth, he gave up a solo home run to Gaetti. He then struck out pinch-hitter Billy Beane to complete the 7-4 Tigers victory.
     




     

    May 3, 2011
    Francisco Liriano Pitches a No-Hitter


     
    Francisco Liriano pitched the fifth no-hitter in Twins history on a chilly 42 degree night in Chicago, beating the White Sox 1-0. Liriano entered the game with a 1-4 record and 9.13 ERA.
     
    The Twins’ only run came on a Jason Kubel home run in the fourth. Liriano was far from perfect, giving up six walks, although he did induce three ground ball double plays. Despite averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings on the season, and 9.3 per nine over the course of his career, Liriano only struck out two batters in his no-hit performance. He threw 123 pitches, only 66 of which were strikes. Liriano would finish the season with a 9-10 record and 5.09 ERA. The no-hitter was Liriano’s only complete game as a Twin. He pitched two complete games for the Pirates in 2013.
     
    This was the second Twins no-hitter in which six runners reached base. The first was the Twins’ first no-hitter, thrown by Dean Chance on August 25, 1967 in the second game of a doubleheader in Cleveland. Chance completed the no-hitter despite giving up an earned run. He walked the first two batters of the game and then the bases were loaded on an error by third baseman, Cesar Tovar. Chance then threw a wild pitch, giving Cleveland an early 1-0 lead. The Twins would go on to win 2-1 as Chance walked five and struck out eight. Cleveland hit into two double plays.
     

    May 4, 1975
    The Twins Retire Their First Number


     
    Harmon Killebrew signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals in January, 1975. The Twins retired his number in a ceremony before the Sunday finale of their first home series against Kansas City the following season. Killebrew’s #3 was the first number retired by the Twins. Killebrew hit a two-run home run in the top of the first. The Twins went on to win 6-3.
     
    Minnesota natives Dave Goltz and Tom Burgmeier picked up the win and the save in the first game of the series. Killebrew sat out game two in which Bert Blyleven earned a complete game victory.
     




     

    May 5, 1882
    Lee Quillen Born in North Branch


     
    It’s the birthdate of former major league infielder Lee Quillen, born 135 years ago in North Branch, MN. Quillen played four games (three at shortstop) for the eventual 1906 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox. He hit .192 in 49 games as Chicago’s backup third baseman in 1907.
     
    Quillen passed away in 1965 at the age of 83. He is buried at Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul.
     




     

    May 5, 1884



    Charles Albert Bender Born in Crow Wing County


     
    It's the birthdate of the first Minnesotan Hall of Famer, Albert "Chief" Bender, who was elected in 1953.
     




     

    May 5
    Happy 70th Birthday to Larry Hisle


     
    It’s the birthday of Larry Hisle, born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1942. The 14-year major leaguer played five seasons for the Twins, from 1973 to ‘77 when he hit .302 with 28 home runs and an American League-leading 119 RBI.
     
    Hisle made Twins history twice in June, 1976. First, on June 4, he hit for the third cycle in Twins history. Then, on June 30, he stole a team record four bases. Lyman Bostock, incidentally, hit for the cycle on July 24, 1976.
     
    Hisle was the hitting coach for the back-to-back World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and ‘93. In ‘93 the Blue Jays’ John Olerud, Paul Molitor and Roberto Alomar had the first, second and third best batting averages in the American League.
     
    In 2010, Fox Sports North included Hisle among their “50 Greatest Twins.” He is currently the Milwaukee Brewers’ Manager of Youth Outreach.
     




     

    May 5, 2001



    LaTroy Hawkins Blows First Save After Record Streak


     
    On a Saturday night in Kansas City, the first place (20-8) Twins handed LaTroy Hawkins a 10-8 lead in the bottom of the ninth. Hawkins had converted the first 23 save opportunities of his career, an MLB record. After pulling within a run on a sacrifice fly, however, former Twin David McCarty tied the game with a two-out, line drive single to center, scoring Jermaine Dye. With McCarty aboard in the twelfth, Royals outfielder Dee Brown hit a walk-off home run off of Travis Miller.
     




     

    May 6, 2015



    Eddie Rosario Homers on First MLB Pitch


     
    Leading off the bottom of the third against Oakland’s Scott Kazmir at Target Field, Eddie Rosario hit the first pitch he saw in the Major Leagues for an opposite field home run. He was hitless in three subsequent at-bats. The Twins went on to beat Oakland 13-0.
     
    Six Twins have homered in their first Major League at-bat: Rick Renick, Dave McKay, Gary Gaetti, Andre David, Luke Hughes and Rosario. Fifteen players in the history of Major League Baseball have homered on their first big league pitch. In 2010, Boston’s Daniel Nava hit a grand slam on his first Major League pitch. In 1981, in the span of less than a month, Kent Hrbek, Tim Laudner and Gary Gaetti each homered in their first Major League game.
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on the Twitter.
  19. Matt Johnson
    April 2, 1962
    Twins Trade Ramos For Stigman


     
    It what is commonly considered the first major trade in Twins history, Minnesota trades Pedro Ramos for Nimrod native, 1954 Sebeka High School graduate, and 1960 All-Star Dick Stigman.
     
    Pedro Ramos started the first regular season game in Twins history, pitching a complete game three-hit shutout vs. Whitey Ford at Yankee Stadium on April 11, 1961.
     
    He was involved in an interesting piece of Twins history on May 12, 1961 as he and Angels pitcher Eli Grba traded homers off of each other. Grba homered off of Ramos in the top of the fifth to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Ramos returned the favor in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Ramos added a two-run single in the sixth. The Twins held on to win 5-4, with the pitcher driving in the Twins’ final three runs.
     




     

    April 2, 2010
    First MLB Game at Target Field


     
    The Twins and St. Louis Cardinals play an exhibition game at Target Field, the first major league game at the new ballpark, and Denard Span has himself a day. The center fielder collects the stadium’s first hit (a triple, of course), first home run, and first run scored.
     
    Jacque Jones, attempting a comeback with the club, pitch-hits and receives a moving standing ovation. I sure wish the Twins would make this kind of footage available. If they want to monetize it, fine, but don’t just keep in the damn vault!
     




     

    April 3, 1982



    First MLB Game at the Dumb Metrodome


     
    The Twins and Philadelphia Philles play an exhibition game at the Metrodome, the first major league game at the new ballpark, and 1978 Bloomington Kennedy grad Kent Hrbek has himself a day. The Phillies’ Pete Rose collects the Dome’s first basehit, but the hometown kid hits the first AND second home runs in Metrodome history, powering the Twins to a 5-0 win.
     




     

    April 3, 1997
    Old Man Grand Slam


     
    40-year-old Twins DH Paul Molitor hits a grand slam off Detroit’s Willie Blair at home in the Dome, driving in Todd Walker, Chuck Knoblauch, and Rich Becker.
     
    It is the third and final grand slam of Molitor’s career. The second came off of Minnesota’s Dave Stevens on July 5, 1994. The first was way back on April 22, 1981.
     




     

    April 4, 1990
    Twins Trade Pomeranz for Ortiz


     
    The Twins trade future-KARE11 anchor Mike Pomeranz to Pittsburgh for Junior Oritz and minor league pitcher Orlando Lind. Oritz, who wore number 0, is best-rememberd as Scott Erickson’s peronal catcher during the Twins’ 1991 World Series Championship season.
     




     

    April 5, 2004
    Michael Wuertz Makes MLB Debut


     
    1997 Austin, Minnesota High School graduate Michael Wuertz strikes out the first two batters he faces in his major league debut, pitching a 1-2-3 sixth in a 7-4 Cubs win in Cincinnati.
     
    Wuertz would pitch 426 major league games over eight seasons with the Cubs and Oakland A’s.
     

    April 5, 2014
    Gardy Gets Win 1,000


     
    Brian Dozier homers on the second pitch of the game, leading the Twins to a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland ballclub for Ron Gardenhire’s 1,000th managerial win. The milestone victory doesn’t come without a new gray hair, however, as 2001 Stillwater grad Glen Perkins gives up two runs in the bottom of the ninth before securing the Kyle Gibson win.
     




     

    April 6
    Happy 66th Birthday to Bert Blyleven


     
    It’s the birthday of Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven, born in Zeist, Holland in 1951. Blyleven grew up in Garden Grove, California and was drafted by Minnesota out of high school in the 3rd round in 1969. After only 21 minor league starts, Bert made his major league debut on June 2, 1970 at age 19. Blyleven would pitch for 22 seasons, 11 in Minnesota (‘70-’76, ‘85-’88). He is a 2x World Series Champion, winning his first in 1979 as a Pittsburgh Pirate, and his second as a member of the ‘87 Twins. Blyleven won 149 games as a Twin, 2nd only to Jim Kaat (190). He pitched three one-hitters with the Twins, two in 1973 and another in 1974. He pitched a no-hitter in his final game as a Texas Ranger, September 22, 1977. His 3,701 career strikeouts rank fifth in major league history. Only Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and Steve Carlton had more strikeouts. Bert Blyleven was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011, his 14th year on the ballot. His number 28 is retired by the Minnesota Twins.
     




     

    April 6, 1973
    First DH Home Run


     
    With Rod Carew aboard in the top of the first on Opening Day, Tony Oliva hits the first home run by a designated hitter in major league history off of Oakland’s Catfish Hunter. Bert Blyleven pitches the first of 25 complete games on the season in the Twins’ 8-3 victory.
     




     

    April 6, 1982
    First Regular Season Game in the Dome


     
    The Twins opened the 1982 season vs. Seattle at home in the dumb new Dome. 1977 St. Cloud Tech graduate Jim Eisenreich had the honor of being the first Twins batter to the plate. He grounded out to short. Two batters later right fielder Dave Engle homered for the first regular season hit in Metrodome history.
     
    In his first at-bat in the dumb new Dome, Gary Gaetti was thrown at at home trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park home run. He put the ball over the fence in his next two at-bats, going 4-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. The Twins fell to the Mariners, however, 11-7.
     




     

    April 7, 1970
    Alyea Has Record-Setting Opening Day


     
    Outifielder Brant Alyea, who the Twins had just acquired on March 21, drives in a Twins record seven runs to back Jim Perry on Opening Day. He will go on to drive in 21 runs in the Twins’ first 12 games. Quite remarkably, 19 of those 21 RBI come in Jim Perry’s first four starts. Alyea matched his own record, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and driving in all seven Twins runs in a 7-6 win on September 7, 1970.
     
    Glenn Adams broke Alyea’s record with 8 RBI on June 26, 1977. Randy Bush matched that on May 20, 1989.
    Alyea’s career had gotten off to an Eddie Rosario-esque start, homering on the first big league pitch he saw as a Washington Senator on September 11, 1965.
     

    April 8, 1988
    The Dazzle Man Has Himself a Day


     
    Dan Gladden goes 4-for-5 with two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored in a 6-3 Twins win vs. Toronto at home in the Dome. Gladden homered to lead off the Twins’ half of the first, and knocked out another in the bottom of the eighth. With Kent Hrbek batting in the seventh, Gladden stole home off of David Wells. It was the first of three times that Gladden would steal home in his career. He would do so again later in the ‘88 season, and once more in 1989. He was caught trying to steal home five times in his career. Rod Carew stole home 17 times and in his caeer, and Paul Molitor did so 10 times.
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter, and on Facebook.
  20. Matt Johnson
    March 26, 1989
    Twins Trade Atherton for Castillo


     
    The Twins trade pitcher Keith Atherton to the Cleveland ballclub for outfielder Carmelo Castillo.
     
    Atherton’s name is attached to one of the more dubious records in team history as one of the record five Twins pitchers to work the eighth inning in a 14-8 loss to Toronto at the Metrodome.
     
    Atherton made 59 relief appearances for the 1987 World Series Champion Twins. He faced two batters in Game 4 of the ‘87 ALCS, and made two appearances in the World Series, pitching a perfect top of the ninth in the Twins’ 10-1 Game 1 victory.
     
    He would make 32 relief appearances for Cleveland in 1989, his final major league season.
     
    Carmelo Castillo’s major league career fizzled out early in the Twins’ 1991 World Series Championship season, going 2-for-12 over nine games. He played his final big league game on May 9, 1991.
     




     

    March 27
    Happy 49th Birthday to Tom Quinlan


     
    It’s the birthday of 1986 Hill-Murray graduate Tom Quinlan. Tom was a “Mr. Hockey” finalist his senior season at Hill-Murray. He was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 4th round, and Toronto Blue Jays in the 27th round out of high school. He made his major league debut on September 4, 1990, doubling in his second at-bat vs. Frank Tanana for his first big league hit. His first at-bat was cut short when current Executive Vice President of the White Sox Ken Williams was caught trying to steal second. Quinlan would strike out leading off the following inning.
     
    Quinlan hit his only big league homer while playing for the Phillies on May 29, 1994 off of 1990 NL Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek. Despite winning 22 games in 1990, Drabek made his one and only All-Star team in 1994 as a member of the Astros.
     
    Quinlan appeared in only 42 games over parts of four seasons. He was briefly a Minnesota Twin in 1996, going 0-for-6 in his final four major league games.
     




     

    March 27
    Happy 38th Birthday to Michael Cuddyer


     
    It’s the birthday of 2x All-Star, 2013 National League Batting Champion and current Twins Special Assistant Michael Cuddyer, born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1979.
     
    The Twins drafted Cuddy in the first round (9th overall) in 1997 out of high school. He made his major league debut as a September call-up in 2001.
     
    In June, 2006 he hit two grand slams in a span of four days. He hit for the cycle on May 22, 2009. And on August 23, 2009 he became the only player in Twins history to homer twice in the same inning.
     
    This past January 27 the Twins announced the Michael Cuddyer and Andy MacPhail were elected to the team Hall of Fame.
     




     

    March 27, 1973
    Jim Perry Okays Trade to Tigers


     
    37-year old pitcher Jim Perry okays a trade to Detroit for pitcher Danny Fife and cash money.
     
    The Twins had originally acquired Perry from the Cleveland ballclub for Jack Kralick on May 2, 1963. Kralick had pitched the first no-hitter in Twins history the previous season, on August 26, 1962.
    .
    During Perry’s first five seasons with the Twins he was used as both a starter and a reliever, including the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. In 1969 he started 36 of the 46 games he appeared in, winning 20 as the Twins won the American League West pennant. Perry won the Cy Young Award in 1970, his first season in Minnesota in which he was used exclusively as a starter, and tied for the league lead with 24 wins as the Twins again won the West.
     
    Perry played ten seasons in Minnesota. He is fifth in Twins history in both wins (128) and innings pitched. In 2011 he became the sixteenth member of the Twins Hall of Fame.
     




     

    March 27, 2005



    Bob Casey Passes Away


     
    Iconic Twins public address announcer Bob Casey passes away at the VA in Minneapolis as a result of complications of liver cancer and pneumonia, which he had contracted while visiting Twins Spring Training earlier in the month despite his poor health. He was 79 years old.
     
    Casey was the only public address announcer in the Twins’ 44-year history up until the day of his death.
     
    Casey, who was universally liked and respected, developed relationships with many players over the course of his career, one of whom was Alex Rodriguez. When A-Rod learned of Casey’s condition from Twins broadcasters John Gordon and Dan Gladden, he called Casey in the hospital.
     
    From Mark Sheldon’s story for the team website:

    Casey was hoping to work part-time for a 45th season and announce his retirement in June when Rodriguez and the Yankees were scheduled to be in town.
    "He spoke a lot, but it was hard to understand him," Rodriguez said of the final conversation with Casey. "His son was kind of translating what he was trying to say. His son told me that Puckett and myself were his favorites, and that he wanted to go out this year in June ... (and) have me take him out there and throw out the first pitch. It was very emotional." 
    If you ask me, the Twins should find a way to play Bob Casey’s Kirby Puckett introduction at every home game. Maybe let two or three fans do their best impersonations during the seventh inning stretch. Thoughts?
     

    March 28, 1996
    Kirby Puckett Wakes Up with Vision Problem


     
    36-year-old Twins superstar Kirby Puckett appears poised for a big year, hitting .344 in spring training, when, on the last day of camp, he wakes up unable to see out of his right eye. He is diagnosed with glaucoma and placed on the Disabled List for the first time in his career. Four surgeries do nothing to improve his vision, and he officially retires on July 12.
     




     

    March 29
    Happy 56th Birthday to Mike Kingery


     
    It's the birthday of 1979 Atwater High School graduate Mike Kingery, born in Saint James, Minnesota in 1961. When he was six months old the Kingerys moved to Atwater where Mike’s father was proprietor of the Atwater Bowling Center. Kingery signed with the Royals as an amateur free agent on August 27, 1979. He made his major league debut on July 7, 1986 and would go on to play 819 major league games over parts of 10 seasons with Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Colorado, and Pittsburgh. A career .268 hitter, Kingery’s best season by far was with the Rockies in 1994, when, at age 33, he hit .349 over 105.
     
    Kingery hit .290 in 24 games vs. the Minnesota Twins, including a home run off of Les Straker on July 29, 1987. That same season he hit two home runs off of 1973 Highland Park High School graduate Jack Morris.
     
    Kingery and and Blix Donnelly headlined the seven-member 2014 inaugural class of the West Central Baseball Hall of Fame in Willmar.
     
    Mrs. Johnson and I swung into the Moose Lake Dairy Queen on our way home from Duluth last summer, and I was interested to see a poster for “The Kingery Family,” a travelling singing and ministry troupe. Turns out Mike and his wife Chris are parents of EIGHT children. In addition to his minstrel work, Mike Kingery operates the Solid Foundation Baseball School in Grove City, MN.
     

    March 29, 1996
    Puckett Placed on 15-Day Disabled List


     
    Quoting directly from a New York Times article from March 31, 1996:
     

    “Kirby Puckett's blurry vision is being caused by a partial blockage of a blood vessel in his right eye, and the Minnesota outfielder will miss the season opener, the Twins said Friday after placing him on the 15-day disabled list … retroactive to Thursday, making him eligible to return April 12. During that time, he will undergo treatment and will be able to work out with the club. Matt Lawton, who went 2 for 4 with a run batted in in Puckett's place Friday, will start against the Tigers tomorrow.” 




     

    March 30, 1981
    Twins Trade Landreaux to Los Angeles


     
    The Twins trade Ken Landreaux to the Dodgers for Mickey Hatcher and minor leaguers Mathew Reeves and Kelly Snider. The Twins had acquired Landreaux from the Angels along with three other prospects just over two years earlier for Rod Carew.
     
    Lanreaux made Twins history twice during the 1980 season. He compiled a Twins record 31-game hitting streak from April 23 to May 30. Then, on July 3, he tied the modern major league record with three triples in a 10-3 home victory vs. Texas. Denard Span matched that record on June 29, 2010.
     
    Landreaux made his lone All-Star team in 1980, despite having one of his least productive seasons according to Baseball Reference who calculates his 1980 WAR as -0.2.
     
    Mickey Hatcher also appears in the Twins record book, and just for having the largest glove anyone has ever seen. On April 28, 1985 Hatcher went 4-for-5 in a 10-1 Twins win over Oakland at the Metrodome. He had gone 5-for-5 the previous day, giving him nine consecutive hits, tying Tony Oliva’s 1967 club record. Todd Walker matched the feat in 1998.
     
    The Twins released Hatcher on March 31, 1987 to make room for Dan Gladden who they had acquired in a trade with the Giants.
     




     

    March 30, 2005
    Bob Casey Laid to Rest


     
    The inimitable Bob Casey, who had passed away three days prior from complications of liver cancer and pneumonia, is eulogized at St. Olaf Catholic Church and laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, John Gordon, and Dave St. Peter served as pallbearers. Also in attendance were Carl Pohlad, Roy Smalley, Juan Berenguer, Tim Laudner, and Scott Leius.
     




     

    March 31, 1987
    Twins Trade for Gladden


     
    The Twins release fan-favorite Mickey Hatcher and pick up San Francisco outfielder Dan Gladden for two minor league pitchers and a player to be named later, who would turn out to be Bemidji native and 2x Gophers Dave Winfield Pitcher of the Year Bryan Hickerson. Hatcher was still owed $650,000 for 1987 and a $100,000 buyout clause for the ‘88 season. At the time it was the most expensive contract the Twins had eaten. It would prove to be a prudent business move.
     
    Gladden, of course, was a key contributor to both World Series Championship teams, coming up with clutch hits in both Series. He hit a grand slam in Game 1 of the 1987 Series, and hustled out one of the most important hits in Twins history, a broken-bat AstroTurf double leading off the bottom of the tenth in Game 7 of the ‘91 Series.
     
    Chuck Knoblauch then executed one of the most underrated plays in Twins history, a textbook sacrifice bunt to move Gladden to third with one out. Atlanta then intentionally walked Kirby and Hrbie to set up a potential inning-ending double play. Pinch-hitter Gene Larkin foiled that strategy, however, elevating the first pitch he saw to left-center giving the Twins a 1-0 walk-off victory.
     
    The Gladden trade was the third significant move of the ‘87 off season. Back in February the Twins had acquired Jeff Reardon and Al Newman in separate tradres with Montral. The Twins would make several more significant moves during the season, including trades for Joe Niekro and Don Baylor.
     
    Dan Gladden signed with Detroit as a free agent following the ‘91 World Series.
     




     

    March 31, 2010



    Span Hits His Mother


     
    Leading off a Spring Training game vs. the Yankees in his hometown of Tampa, Denard Span fouls Phil Hughes’s 3-2 pitch over the third base dugout striking his own mother square in the chest. It was a scary moment at the ballpark but she was not seriously hurt.
     




     

    March 31, 2014
    Mounds View’s Seth Rosin Makes MLB Debut


     
    With his Rangers trailing the Phillies 14-10 on Opening Day, 2007 Mound View graduate and three-year Golden Gopher Seth Rosin makes his major league debut, pitching a scoreless ninth, striking out 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard on three pitches for his first Big League K.
     
    Rosin signed a minor league deal with the Twins on February 23, 2017.
     




     

    April 1, 2002
    Twins Hit 5 HRs on Opening Day


     
    The Twins tie an American League record by clubbing five home runs on Opening Day in Kansas City. Jacque Jones hit a solo and three-run home run, while David Ortiz, Brian Buchanan, and Torii Hunter each hit solo shots in the 8-6 Twins win.
     
    The Twins are the most recent of five American League teams to hit five home runs on Opening Day. The previous four were the Yankees in 1932, Red Sox in 1965, Brewers in 1980, and the Cleveland ballclub in 1995. The Mets set the major league record with six Opening Day home runs in 1988.
     




     

    April 1, 2007
    Herb Carneal Passes Away


     
    Legendary Twins radio broadcaster Herb Carneal passes away at the age of 83. Carneal spent 44 years with the Twins, joining Ray Scott and Halsey Hall in 1962, the Twins’ second season in Minnesota. Carneal received the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 1996. He and Jim Kaat comprised the sophomore class of the Twins Hall of Fame, inducted on July 7, 2001.
     
    On a personal note, when I was in elementary school I won a drawing at Hardee’s (true story) and got to spend an inning in the booth with Herb Carneal and John Gordon.
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter, and on Facebook.
  21. Matt Johnson
    March 19


     
    Nothing happened today, except for the births of Paul Powell in San Angelo, Texas in 1948, and Tim Corcoran in Glendale, California in 1953. The two hit a combined .171 in 42 total games as Twins.
     
    Powell went 5-for-31 as a Twins rookie in 1971. Corcoran, who played parts of nine season in the majors, went 9-for-51 for the Twins in 1981.
     




     

    March 20
    Happy 27th Birthday to Brad Hand


     
    It’s the birthday of 2008 Chaska High School graduate and current Padres pitcher Brad Hand. Nobody pitched in more major league games last season than Hand who made 82 relief appearances for San Diego.
     
    His senior season at Chaska the lefty went 8-2 with two saves, allowing only six earned runs in 68 innings for a 0.61 ERA. At the plate he hit .352 with eight home runs and 24 RBI. He was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2nd round (52nd overall) out of high school.
     
    Brad Hand made his major league debut on June 27th, 2011 in Miami vs. the Atlanta Braves. He walked the first big league batter he faced, Jordan Schafer, who would play for the Twins in 2014 and ‘15. The second batter he faced was Adrian Gonzalez, who struck out swinging. Hand would allow only one hit over six innings. That one hit, however, was a solo home run by Adrian Gonzalez to lead off the fourth in a 1-0 Braves win.
     
    Hand's first major league win came in his fifth start, on July 7th at home vs. Houston as he held the Astros scoreless, giving up two hits and three walks over seven innings in a 5-0 Marlins victory.
     
    Hand only pitched in one game in 2012, starting the first game of a doubleheader in Washington on August 3rd. He allowed seven runs on six hits and six walks over 3 ⅔ innings in a 7-4 loss.
     
    He appeared in only seven games in 2013. Between 2014 and ‘15, Hand pitched in a combined 70 major league games, starting 28, compiling a 7-15 record. He was 9-25 over parts of five big league seasons entering 2016 when he was claimed off waivers during the first week of the season by the San Diego Padres. Hand went 4-4 with a save and 2.92 ERA in his aforementioned major league-leadeing 82 appearances last season.
     
    As a batter, Hand has five major league hits, one each off of Johnny Cueto and Stephen Strasburg. He hit three home runs as a minor leaguer.
     




     

    March 21
    Happy 52nd Birthday to Tim McIntosh


     
    It’s the birthday of 1983 Hopkins High School graduate Tim McIntosh. He played three seasons at the University of Minnesota before being selected in the 3rd round of the ‘86 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He played in 71 major league games over the course of five seasons, primarily at catcher and in the outfield. His first major league hit was a home run.
     
    McIntosh got into five games with the Brewers in 1990, making his major league debut on September 3rd in Milwaukee vs. the Minnesota Twins. He went 0-3 as the Twins’ Mark Guthrie hurled a complete game shutout. Paul Molitor (Cretin High School class of ‘74) went 0-4.
     
    On September 28th, with the Yankees leading the Brewers 6-1, McIntosh entered the game in the 7th as a defensive replacement for catcher B.J. Surhoff. McIntosh led off the bottom of the 8th, hitting a home run for his first major league hit and his only hit of the 1990 season.
     
    McIntosh was a September call-up in 1991, going 4-9 with a HR in his first two games. He played only as a defensive replacement, however, in five subsequent games, making only two plate appearances. McIntosh, in fact, only started 25 of the 71 major league games that he played in, and 20 of those starts came in 1992 when he played in a total of 35 games, collecting 14 of his 21 career hits while batting .182.
     
    McIntosh appeared in one game as a late-inning defensive replacement for Milwaukee in ‘93 before being claimed off waivers by the Montreal Expos on April 14th. He played in 20 games for the Expos, collecting two hits and zero walks in 21 plate appearances for an .095 batting average. He became a free agent after the season and was signed by the Minnesota Twins. He spent the 1994 season with Triple-A Salt Lake, hitting .338 with 18 HRs. After the ‘94 season, his contract was purchased by the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan where he hit only .220.
     
    In February of ‘96, McIntosh signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees. He played in three games for the big league club that season. Tim McIntosh appeared in his last major league game on June 12, 1996, entering in the ninth as a defensive replacement at third in a 7-4 Yankee loss in Toronto.
     




     

    March 21, 1970
    Twins Trade Gzrenda & Charley Walters for Brant Alyea


     
    The Twins trade pitchers Joe Grzenda and 1965 Minneapolis Edison High School graduate Charley Walters to the Washington Senators for outfielder Brant Alyea.
     
    Alyea’s career had gotten off to an Eddie Rosario-esque start, homering on the first big league pitch he saw on September 11, 1965.
     
    His Twins career also got off to a hot start, driving in a Twins record seven runs to back Jim Perry on Opening Day. He will go on to drive in 21 runs in the Twins’ first 12 games. Quite remarkably, 19 of those 21 RBI come in Jim Perry’s first four starts. Alyea matched his own record, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and driving in all seven Twins runs in a 7-6 win on September 7, 1970.
     
    Glenn Adams broke Alyea’s record with 8 RBI on June 26, 1977. Randy Bush matched that on May 20, 1989.
    Though Walters didn’t make the same splash in the major as Alyea, his story is nonetheless interesting.
     
    The Twins signed Walters out of their annual open tryout at Met Stadium in 1965. He went 7-2 with a 1.94 ERA for the 1967 Northern League Champion St. Cloud Rox. Walters broke camp with the Twins in ‘69 and pitched 6.2 innings over six games between April 11-May 14. He did not allow a run in his first five outings. He allowed four, however, in his sixth and final major league appearance.
     
    Walters has been a sportswriter for the Pioneer Press since well before I was born.
     




     

    March 21
    Happy 39th Birthday to Cristian Guzman


     
    It’s the birthday of former Twins shortstop Cristian Guzman, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1978.
     
    The Twins acquired Guzman along with Eric Milton, Brian Buchanan, Danny Mota and three millions dollars of George Steinbrenner’s cold hard cash in exchange for Chuck Knoblauch on February 6, 1998. Guzman was the Twins’ starting shortstop for six seasons, leading the league in triples three times. He never realized his full potential, but Twins fans sure saw some sparks from the exciting speedster.
     




     

    March 21, 2010



    Nathan Needs Tommy John Surgery


     
    The defending Central Division Champion Minnesota Twins announce that 4x All-Star closer Joe Nathan needs Tommy John surgery. He had saved a career-high 47 games the previous season. Nathan would make two more All-Star teams post-surgery in 2012 and '13 as a Texas Ranger.
     




     

    March 22, 2010
    Joe Mauer’s Big Payday


     
    2001 Cretin-Derham Hall graduate and 2009 American League Most Valuable Player Joe Mauer officially signs his eight-year, $184 million extension during a press conference at the Twins’ Spring Training facility in Ft. Myers, Florida. The contract, which locks the hometown kid up through 2018, is the fourth-fattest in major league history at the time.
     




     

    March 23, 2015
    Molitor and Sanberg Face-Off


     
    The Paul Molitor-managed Twins lose 3-0 to Ryne Sandberg’s Phillies. It is believed to be the first time that current Hall of Famers have managed against each other. Such an occurrence has never happened in the regular season.
     
    On a side note, who in the audience saw Hall of Fame player Ted Williams manage the Senators and Rangers when they'd come to Bloomington to play the Twins? The Splendid Splinter had a lot of friends in Minnesota dating back to his 1938 season with the Minneapolis Millers. Williams famously spent his first major league off season in Minnesota rather than return home to see his mom in sunny San Diego. Obviously there was a girl involved. Ted's first wife was Doris Soule from Princeton, MN. My grandma, for the record, thought Ted was a vile man. I, however, was more interested in grandpa's stories of fishing with the Kid.
     




     

    March 24, 1988
    Twins Trade Billy Beane


     
    The Twins trade outfielder Billy Beane to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Balvino Galvez. Beane, who was the Mets’ first-round draft choice in 1980, played 80 games for the 1986 Twins, and 12 games for the ‘87 World Series Championship team. Galvez, who pitched 10 games for the Dodgers in ‘86, never made it back to the majors.
     
    The Twins had originally acquired Beane from the Mets on January 16, 1986 in a five-player trade featuring Tim Teufel.
     
    Billy Beane was the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics from 1998 until after the 2015 season when he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations.
     




     

    March 25, 1983
    Twins Trade Sal Butera


     
    The Twins and Tigers swap catchers, with Minnesota sending Salvatore Butera to Detroit for minor leaguer Stine Coole and straight cash, homie.
     
    Sal had made Minnesota Twins history on May 29, 1982 by throwing out four baserunners in a 6-4 loss to the Yankees at him in the Dome.
     
    Sal and Drew Butera are the only father-son combination to play for the Twins. They have pretty impressive big league pitching resumes, too. Sal did not allow a hit in his two major league pitching appearances. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning in his big league pitching debut for Montreal in 1985. In 1986 he pitched a scoreless ninth for the Cincinnati Reds, walking one and striking out one.
     
    Drew, meanwhile, pitched a hitless bottom of the eighth for the Twins on May 20, 2012, walking one Brewer and striking out Carlos Gomez. While playing with the Dodgers in 2014, Drew pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning versus the Miami Marlins. He pitched again for Los Angeles just three days later, this time giving up a 2-run HR to Paul Goldschmidt as he recorded the final two outs of the game.
     
    The Twins re-signed Sal Butera as a free agent on May 22, 1987. They would go on to win the World Series...
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter, and on Facebook.
  22. Matt Johnson
    March 12, 2006
    Kirby Puckett Memorial Service


     
    15,000 fans, family, and friends including Cal Ripken Jr., Dave Winfield, Kent Hrbek, Harmon Killebrew, Dan Gladden, Al Newman, Gardy, TK and more pay tribute to Kirby Puckett in a moving memorial service at the Metrodome. Mudcat Grant sang “What a Wonderful World.”
     




     

    March 12, 2014
    Sano Goes Under the Knife


     
    Mets team physician Dr. David Altchek performs Tommy John surgery on 20-year-old Twins prospect Miguel Sano at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Dr. Altchek performed the same surgery on 2016 Twins First-Round Draft Choice Alex Kirilloff last Wednesday (March 8).
     




     

    March 13
    Happy 38th Birthday to Johan Santana


     
    It’s the birthday of former Twins ace Johan Santana, born in Tovar, Venezuela in 1979.
     
    Santana pitched for the Twins for eight seasons, winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2004 and ‘06, the latter unanimously. In 2004 he became the first Venezuelan 20-game winner. He also set Twins records with 13 consecutive victories and 265 strikeouts that season. On August 19, 2007 Santana set a Twins single-game record with 17 strikeouts vs. Texas at home in the Dome.
     




     

    March 14
    Happy 61st Birthday to Butch Wynegar


     
    It’s the birthday of 2x Twins All-Star catcher Butch Wynegar, born in York, Pennsylvania in 1956.
     
    The 20-year-old rookie became the youngest Twin to appear in an All-Star on July 13, 1976, pinch-hitting for Luis Tiant. He drew a walk in the 7-1 American League loss. Wynegar finished second to Detroit’s Mark Fidrych in 1976 AL Rookie of the Year balloting.
     
    The Twins traded Wynegar to the Yankees for diddly squat on May 12, 1982 as part of a string of cost-cutting measures.
     




     

    March 14
    Kirby Puckett Born 57 Years Ago


     
    It’s the birthdate of Kirby Puckett, born in Chicago, Illinois in 1960. Kirby and Mr. T grew up in the same Chicago public housing project, Robert Taylor Homes. Puckett played twelve seasons with the Minnesota Twins. He was a 10-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove winner, 1988 AL Batting Champ (.339), and 1991 American League Championship Series and 1993 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. Puckett retired as the Twins' all-time leader in hits (2,304), doubles (414), total bases (3,453), at-bats (7,244) and runs (1,071). At the time of his retirement his .318 career average was the highest for a right-handed batter since Joe DiMaggio.
     
    Obviously Puckett’s name is all over the Twins record book. He is one of four players in major league history with two 6-hit games, and only one since 1935. Kirby’s 6-hit games, incidentally, came in 1987 and 1991. The ‘91 game went extra-innings. Kirby’s sixth hit came in the bottom of the eleventh, advancing Shane Mack to third. Kent Hrbek drove Mack in with a walk-off infield hit (a line drive to deep shortstop according to Baseball Reference).
     
    His eight 4-hit games in 1988 tied Rod Carew (1977) for the Twins record. The following season he set a Twins record with 74 multi-hit games. On May 13, 1989 he set a Twins record with four doubles. In 1992 he became the fourth Twin to hit three grand slams in a season. The first three were Bob Allison (1961), Rod Carew (1976), and Kent Hrbek (1985). Torii Hunter hit three grand slams in 2007.
     
    Kirby Puckett is one of 11 players in major league history with three 215+ hit seasons. Only four players including Kirby have had three such seasons since Stan "the Man" Musial. Puckett and Tony Oliva are two of only seven players to lead their league in hits for three consecutive seasons.
     
    Kirby Puckett was inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 5, 2001 alongside St. Paul Central High School graduate and Golden Gopher great Dave Winfield, Bill Mazeroski, and Negro Leaguer Hilton Smith.
     




     

    March 15
    Happy 62nd Birthday to Mickey Hatcher


     
    It’s the birthday of Mickey Hatcher, born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1955.
     
    The Twins acquired Hatcher from the Dodgers along with a pair of minor leaguers for Ken Landreaux in a trade near the end of Spring Training on March 30, 1981.
     
    On April 28, 1985 Hatcher went 4-for-5 in a 10-1 Twins win over Oakland at the Metrodome. He had gone 5-for-5 the previous day, giving him nine consecutive hits, tying Tony Oliva’s 1967 club record. Todd Walker matched the feat in 1998.
     
    The Twins released fan-favorite Hatcher on March 31, 1987 to make room for Dan Gladden who they had acquired in a trade with the Giants for two minor league pitchers and a player to be named later, who would turn out to be Bemidji native and 2x Gophers Dave Winfield Pitcher of the Year Bryan Hickerson. Hatcher was still owed $650,000 for 1987 and a $100,000 buyout clause for the ‘88 season. It was the most expensive contract the Twins had to eat up to that point.
     
    Hatcher returned to Los Angeles where he played four more major league seasons.
     




     

    March 16
    Happy 73rd Birthday to Rick Renick


     
    It’s the birthday of Rick Renick, born in London, Ohio in 1944.
     
    Renick was the first of six Twins to homer in their first major league at-bat, doing so on July 11, 1968. It was a second-inning solo shot off of Mickey Lolich in a 5-4 Twins home win over Detroit. The five Twins to homer in their first major league at-bats since Renick are Dave McKay, Gary Gaetti, Andre David, Luke Hughes, and Eddie Rosario who homered on his first major league pitch.
     
    Renick also hit one of the twelve pinch-hit grand slams in Twins history on June 30, 1970. Rich Reese had also hit one on June 7. Reese, in fact, hit 25% of the pinch-hit grand slams in Twins history, one each in 1969, 1970 and ‘72.
     
    Rick Renick was the third base coach for the Twins’ 1987 World Series Championship team.
     




     

    March 17, 1906



    Hy Vandenberg Born 111 Years Ago


     
    It’s the birthdate of Minneapolis Roosevelt and South High Schools alumnus and major league pitcher Harold "Hy" Vandenberg, born in 1906. He made his big league debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1935 at age 29, though he wouldn't win his first game until 1940 with the New York Giants, and his second not until 1944 with the Chicago Cubs. The 6'4" right-hander, who got his professional start with the Minneapolis Millers, appeared in 90 major league games, going 15-10 with five saves during seven seasons over an 11-year period. Additionally, he pitched in at least 435 minor league games, compiling a record of 139-128.
     
    Hy Vandenberg was born in Abilene, Kansas. When Vandenberg was four years old his father died from tuberculosis and his mother moved the surviving members of the family to Minneapolis. Vandenberg began playing professional baseball with the Minneapolis Millers right out of high school, though he does not appear in the statistical record until age 24, when, in 1930, he pitched for the Bloomington, Illinois Cubs. He bounced around minor league baseball, going back and forth between Bloomington, Minneapolis and elsewhere before finally ending up in Syracuse in 1935 where he caught the attention of the Boston Red Sox. Vandenberg, however, didn't exactly think he was given a fair trial with Boston. He made only three relief appearances over a six week period, giving up 12 runs in 5 1/3 innings before heading back to Syracuse.
     
    Vandeberg next appeared in the majors in 1937, getting one start for the New York Giants versus the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He allowed seven runs over eight innings in a 7-4 loss. He appeared in six games for Giants in '38, and two in '39, spending most of his time with the Jersey City farm club. He finally got his first major league win in 1940 in a 5-2 Giants win against the Phillies in Philadelphia. The New York Times described the five-hit complete game victory as an "elegant mound triumph."
     
    After 1940, Vandenberg would not pitch in the majors again until 1944 when he re-emerged with the Chicago Cubs, appearing in 35 games, more than the 25 appearances he had accumulated in his previous five stints in the majors combined. He finished 1944 with a 7-4 record, two saves and a 3.63 ERA.
     
    Vandenberg held out into the 1945 season, training at the University of Minnesota. Once he did report to the Cubs, however, he matched his success from the year before, compiling a 7-3 record and 3.49 ERA in 30 games. The Cubs played the Detroit Tigers in the 1945 World Series. Though the Cubs lost in seven games, Vandenberg provided solid relief pitching in Games 4, 5 and 7.
     
    Despite coming off of his two most successful seasons, the Cubs released Vandenberg during spring training in 1946. Possibly dispirited, he performed poorly in the minors with Oakland and Milwaukee. In 1947 his contract was purchased by Oklahoma City, but he chose instead to leave professional baseball and pitched for the Springfield, Minnesota team in the amateur Western Minor League.
     
    Following his playing career, Vandenberg worked as an engineering technician for the Hennepin County Highway Administration. Hy Vandenberg died from cancer at his home in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1994. He was 88 years old.
     




     

    March 17
    Happy 40th Birthday to Robb Quinlan


     
    It’s the birthday of 1995 Hill-Murray graduate and 3x Gophers MVP Robb Quinlan.
     
    As a junior at Hill-Murray High School in 1994 Quinlan set a state record by reaching base in 86 consecutive plate appearances, attracting attention from newspapers across the country.
     
    After high school Quinlan went to the University of Minnesota where he hit .325 as a freshman in ‘96. His batting average went up each season from there, hitting .363 as a sophomore, .408 as a junior, and .413 as a senior. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named the Gophers’ Richard "Chief" Siebert Most Valuable Player each season from 1997 to ‘99. He was the Big Ten player of the year his senior season in 1999. Quinlan graduated as the Big Ten Conference's career leader in hits and Minnesota's career leader in hits, home runs, doubles, runs scored, RBI, total bases, and at-bats. As of last check (March 2016) he was still the Big Ten single season leader in total bases (92 in '98), and Gophers career leader in RBI, doubles, hits, runs scored, total bases, and tied for the career lead with 12 triples.
     
    The summer after his junior year Quinlan played for the St. Cloud River Bats of the Northwoods League. He hit .353 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI en route to being named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
     
    Quinlan was drafted by Angels in 10th round of 1999 Amateur Draft. Robb was a stud in 2002, his fourth professional season, being named the Angels’ Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .333 with 31 doubles, 13 triples, 20 home runs, and a league-leading 112 RBI for Triple-A Salt Lake. From May 29 to June 20 he went on a 21-game hitting streak in which he hit .440. He also had two five-hit games on the season. On May 12 he went 5-for-5 with two home runs and eight RBI vs. Edmonton. On July 28 he went 5-for-6, hitting for the cycle with two home runs and eight RBI vs. Colorado Springs. The Angels won the World Series in 2002. Quinlan, however, would not make his major league debut until July 25, 2003.
     
    He would spend eight seasons in the majors, all with the Angels. Despite being a career .276 hitter, he never appeared in more than 86 games in a single season.
     
    Robb’s older brother Tom was drafted in 1995. He played nine pro seasons, but had only three brief stints in the majors totalling 58 at-bats.
     




     

    March 17, 1992
    Twins Trade for John Smiley


     
    Having lost 1991 World Series MVP Jack Morris to Toronto, the Twins trade former Gopher Denny Neagle, and Midre Cummings to Pittsburgh for ‘91 NL All-Star John Smiley. I was in second grade at the time and remember being very excited about the Twins picking up Smiley, whose 20 wins in 1991 matched Tom Glavine, Scott Erickson, and Marshall, MN native Bill Gullickson for the major league lead. Smiley, who had finished third in National League Cy Young balloting in 1991, was solid for the Twins in ‘92, going 16-9 with a 3.21 ERA. But after just the one season he was off to Cincinnati where he would make a second All-Star team in 1995.
     
    Denny Neagle, meanwhile, put together a respectable thirteen-year major league career, making All-Star teams in 1995 as a Pirate, and 1997 as a Brave. He led the National League with 20 wins in 1997, and finished third in Cy Young balloting to the winner Pedro Martinez, and teammate Greg Maddux.
     




     

    March 18


     
    Nothing happened today, unless you count the birth of former major league catcher Corky Miller 41 years ago in Yucaipa, California. Corky went 0-for-12 in five games with the 2005 Twins.
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter, and on Facebook.
  23. Matt Johnson
    February 26, 1933
    Johnny Blanchard Born in Minneapolis


     
    It’s the birthdate of probably the most famous backup catcher in baseball history, Johnny Blanchard, born 85 years ago in the Mini Apple. Blanchard attended Minneapolis’s De LaSalle and Central High Schools, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He played one game for the New York Yankees late in the 1955 season, and would not play in the majors again until 1958, making a career of backing up Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. He would appear in five World Series as a Yankee. The highlight of his career came in the 1961 World Series when he hit .400 with 2 HRs as the Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games. Blanchard would earn his second ring in 1962.
     
    Blanchard tied a major league record by homering in four consecutive at-bats in 1961. Of course in true “Suber Sub” fashion, those four consecutive at-bats came over a six-day span. Blanchard hit a game-winning two-out pinch-hit grand slam at Fenway Park on July 21, 1961. He hit another pinch-hit homer the next day, and then sat out the next three games. He made a rare start on July 26 vs. the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium, homering in his first two at-bats and flying out to the wall in his third.
     
    Johnny Blanchard died of a heart attack at North Memorial in Robbinsdale on March 25, 2009. He was 76 years old.
     
    Read George Rekela’s SABR BioProject entry on Johnny Blanchard: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/92bd6f31
     
    A version of Rekela’s essay appears in the Halsey Hall SABR chapter’s book Minnesotans in Baseball, edited by the inexhaustible Stew Thornley.
     




     

    February 26
    Happy 59th Birthday to Bob Hegman


     
    It’s the birthday of 1976 Sauk Rapids-Rice graduate Bob Hegman, born in Springfield, Minnesota in 1958. Hegman was drafted by Kansas City in the 15th round of the 1980 amateur draft. He played half an inning for the 1985 World Series Champion Royals, entering as a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth of a 10-3 win at home vs. Chicago on August 8, 1985.
     
    1956 NL All-Star Rip Repulski also attended Sauk Rapids-Rice High School.
     




     

    February 27
    Happy 33rd Birthday to Denard Span


     
    It’s the birthday of 2002 Twins first-round draft choice Denard Span, born in Tampa, FL in 1984.
     
    Span went 4-for-4 with a walk, tying a modern (since 1900) major league record with three triples at Target Field on June 29, 2010. Span drove in five and scored two runs in the 11-4 win over Detroit.
     

    March 1, 2014
    Miguel Sano to Undergo Tommy John Surgery


     
    Acting GM Rob Antony announces that Twins top prospect Miguel Sano will undergo Tommy John surgery. Sano would miss the entire 2014 season, but would be back in 2015, making the jump from Double-A Chattanooga to the majors on July 2. Sano would hit 18 HRs in just 80 major league games during his rookie season.
     

    March 2
    Happy 66th Birthday to Mike Johnson


     
    It’s the birthday of 1969 Faribault High School graduate and former San Diego Padres pitcher Mike Johnson, born in Slayton, Minnesota in 1951. Johnson was signed by Cincinnati Reds scout Bill Clark out of his annual tryout camp at Bell Field in Faribault.
     
    Johnson lost his major league debut with the San Diego Padres on July 25, 1974. He walked Atlanta’s Darrell Evans to lead off the bottom of the tenth. Evans was bunted over (thoughts, Parker Hageman?) and scored on Rowland Office’s walk-off single. Tom House (throwing guru to the stars, including Nolan Ryan and Tom Brady) earned the win for Atlanta.
     
    Walks were an issue for Johnson during his brief major league career. He pitched 21.1 innings over 18 relief appearances, issuing 15 walks and striking out 15. He also allowed 29 hits in those 21.1 innings. He finished with an 0-2 record and 4.64 ERA.
     
    Johnson returned to Faribault following his pro career, playing for the Lakers townball team.
     




     

    March 3
    Happy 55th Birthday to Terry Steinbach


     
    It’s the birthday of 1980 New Ulm High School graduate, former Golden Gopher and 3x American League All-Star Terry Steinbach.
     
    Here’s a fun story: the Gophers moved hotshot Edina third baseman Greg Olson to catcher to make room for up-and-coming New Ulm third baseman Terry Steinbach. Steinbach was later converted to catcher by the Oakland A’s to make room for third baseman Mark McGwire. McGwire, of course, ultimately wound up at first base while Olson and Steinbach each developed into All-Star major league catchers.
     
    Steinbach homered in his first major league at-bat on September 12, 1986. He would also homer in his first All-Star at-bat.
     
    After being maligned by the press as an unworthy All-Star starter in ‘88, Steinbach hit a solo home run and a sacrifice fly to lead the American League to a 2–1 victory and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. The AL only used two catchers in the game, the other being Park Center graduate Tim Laudner. Steinbach was also an All-Star in ‘89 and ‘93.
     
    Steinbach hit an Opening Day grand slam when I was in fourth grade (1994). I know this because Mel Allen told me so on This Week in Baseball.
     
    Altogether Steinbach would play 14 seasons in the majors, including his final three in Minnesota (1997-’99).
     
    Steinbach coached the Wayzata High School baseball team from 2008-2012. The Twins hired him as bench coach for the 2013 season, succeeding Steve Liddle. He was not retained when Paul Molitor took over as manager in 2015.
     




     

    March 2
    Happy 34th Birthday to Glen Perkins


     
    It’s the birthday of 2001 Stillwater Area High School graduate, University of Minnesota alumnus and current Minnesota Twin Glen Perkins. born in St. Paul in 1983.
     
    After redshirting in 2002, Perkins played for the Gophers in 2003 and 2004, going 19-5 with a 2.87 ERA, 13 complete games, two shutouts and 230 strikeouts in 216.1 innings. Perkins set a new Gophers single-season strikeout record in ‘03 with 117 in 105.1 innings. He gave his own record a run for it’s money in 2004 with 113 strikeouts in 111.1 innings. Those innings pitched, incidentally, were the second and fifth most in school history. Perkins was named the 2004 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.
     
    The Twins drafted Perkins in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2004 draft. He made his major league debut in September 2006, the same season as fellow-Gopher Jack Hannahan. He made the American League All-Star team in 2013, ‘14 and ‘15, saving 30+ games each of those three seasons.
     
    Perkins currently ranks third on the Twins’ all-time saves list, a position in which he’ll likely remain. His 120 saves are 134 shy of second-place Rick Aguilera. Twins bullpen coach Eddie Guardado is actually only 4 saves behind Perkins, but at this early juncture it remains unclear whether or not the Twins will have to resort to calling Everyday Eddie up to active duty this season.
     




     

    March 4
    Happy 81st Birthday to Bob “Rocky” Johnson


     
    It’s the birthday of 1954 Edina-Morningside grad and 11-year major league middle infielder Bob “Rocky” Johnson, born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1936. Johnson’s father had grown up in the Twin Cities and the family returned to Minneapolis in December of 1947.
     
    Johnson, who signed with Detroit out of high school, was a career .272 hitting over 874 games with eight major league teams over his 11-year major league career. Johnson made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Athletics in 1960, and went on to play for the Senators, Orioles, Mets, Reds, Braves, Cardinals and back to the Athletics, now in Oakland. He played 71 regular season games for the eventual 1966 World Series Champion Orioles.
    Over his career Johnson earned a reputation as a proficient pinch-hitter. He strung together six consecutive pinch-hits in 1964, an American League record that he owned for 17 years until Bill Stein bested it in 1981.
     
    Johnson, who lives in St. Paul these days, was inducted into the Edina Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.
     
    Read the prolific Stew Thornley’s SABR BioProject essay on Bob “Rocky” Johnson: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/5b8d84d0
     
    A version of Thornley’s essay appears in the Halsey Hall SABR chapter’s book Minnesotans in Baseball.
     
    (There's no connection between "Rocky" Johnson and Blaine High School grad Dan Johnson, by the way. That's just the picture I had handy.)
     




     

    March 4



    Happy 37th Birthday to Gopher Great Jack Hannahan


     
    It’s the birthday of Cretin-Derham Hall grad, Gopher great and eight-year major leaguer Jack Hannahan, born in Minneapolis in 1980.
     
    Hannahan was the 2001 Big Ten Player of the Year after leading the conference in hits, runs scored, home runs, total bases, and slugging percentage. The Tigers snatched him up in the 3rd round of the ‘01 draft. He made it to the Show in 2006, going 0-for-9 in three games. Hannahan stuck around in the majors until 2014, playing 614 games for the Tigers, Athletics, Mariners, the Cleveland ballclub, and the Reds. He played in South Korea in 2015 where he got a good up-close look at Byung-ho Park.
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter, and on Facebook.
  24. Matt Johnson
    Here is the Twins Almanac for the week of February 19-25. Four Minnesotan major leaguers were born in this week in history: "Home Run" Joe Marshall, Charley Walters, Dave Maurer and Dana Kiecker. Dick Siebert, one of the most important figures in the history of baseball in our great state, was born in Fall River, Massachusetts this week in 1912. And the Twins traded for two members of their first World Series Championship team this week in 1985 and '87.
     



    February 19, 1876
    “Home Run” Joe Marshall Born in Audubon, MN


     
    It’s the birthdate of “Home Run” Joe Marshall, born in Audubon, MN in 1876. Marshall broke into professional baseball in the Red River Valley League in 1897. Despite his 5’8”, 170 lb. frame, Marshall was one of the preeminent minor league sluggers of the Deadball Era. He led all of organized baseball with 25 (officially) or 26 home runs for the San Francisco Pirates in 1903. The Boston Americans’ Buck Freeman, by comparison, led the major leagues that season with just eight round-trippers.
     
    Despite his success at lower levels, Marshall performed poorly in two brief major league stints, first with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903, and again with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1906.
     
    Read Terry Bohn’s SABR BioProject biography of “Home Run” Joe Marshall: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/fe32283a
     
    And some interesting blog posts by Jeff Bozovsky, author of Divorcees, Barmaids, and Cranks: The 1897 Red River Valley League: http://historicbaseballfargo.blogspot.com/search/label/Home%20Run%20Joe%20Marshall
     



    February 19, 1912
    Dick Siebert Born in Fall River, MA


     
    It’s the birthdate of Richard “Dick” Siebert, born in Fall River, MA in 1912. In the summer of 1923 the Sieberts moved to Cass Lake, Minnesota where Dick’s dad pastored Immanuel Lutheran Church. In 1926 the family moved to St. Paul where the elder Siebert had accepted a teaching position at Concordia College. Dick graduated from Concordia Academy High School in 1928.
     
    Dick Siebert played in six games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932, and two games in 1936. He was drafted by the Cubs in the 1936 Rule 5 Draft and purchased by the Cardinals prior to the ‘37 season. In May 1938 he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics where he finally saw regular playing time from ‘38-’45. He was an American League All-Star in 1943.
     
    Siebert is best known in Minnesota, of course, for coaching the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1948-’78, winning three NCAA championships (1956, ‘60 & ‘64), and 12 Big Ten titles with only three sub-.500 seasons. Dick Siebert passed away on December 9, 1978. He was just 66 years old. The U of M renamed its ballpark “Siebert Field” on April 21, 1979.
     
    Read Rich Arpi’s SABR BioProject biography of Dick Siebert: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9aee41e7
     



    February 19, 1985
    Twins Acquire Roy Smalley, Again


     
    The Twins trade first baseman Randy Johnson and outfielder Ron Scheer to the White Sox for infielder Roy Smalley. Randy Johnson, who originally came up with Chicago in 1980, had last played in the majors with Minnesota in 1982. He would not make it back to the show. Ron Scheer would never make it past class Double-A.
     
    The Twins had originally acquired Roy Smalley in the 1976 trade that sent Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson to the Texas Rangers. (See the previous week’s Almanac for some douchey Calvin Griffith history involving his contract negotiations with Danny Thompson)
     
    Smalley’s first stint with the Twins was highlighted by his 1979 All-Star campaign. On April 10, 1982 he was traded along with St. Cloud State Alumnus and proprietor of Serum’s Good Time Emporium in Anoka, Gary Serum, to the New York Yankees for pitchers Ron Davis, and Paul Boris, and a minor league infielder named Greg Gagne. In July of ‘84, the Yankees offloaded Smalley to the White Sox in exchange for players to be named later, one of whom wound up being Doug Drabek, who after just one season the Yankees in turn shipped off to Pittsburgh where he would win the 1990 NL Cy Young Award.
     
    One of the highlights of Smalley’s second stint with the Twins -- other than winning the 1987 World Series, of course -- was becoming the first player in Twins history to homer from both sides of the plate on May 30, 1986. Three players have done so since Smalley: Chili Davis (October 2, 1992), Ryan Doumit (July 22, 2012), and Kennys Vargas (August 11, 2016). Here’s a fun story that Roy Smalley related to me on Twitter: “It just so happened that right after Doumit did it Chili was in town with the A's and I was there for FSN. We took a great picture together… We also each signed three baseballs with the dates we hit the HR's -- one for each of us -- which I'm proud to have. Only three Twins to have done it (at the time).”
     
    Smalley retired following the Twins’ 1987 World Series Championship season.
     



    February 20, 1987
    Twins Acquire Al Newman


     
    The Twins trade minor league pitcher Mike Shade to the Montreal Expos for infielder Al Newman. Shade would never make it to the majors. Newmie, meanwhile, played an important role on the Twins’ 1987 and 1991 World Series Championship teams.
     
    Newman played in 110 games for the ‘87 Twins, starting 75, splitting time pretty evenly between second base and shortstop. It is interesting to note, though, that Al Newman started two games that season as the Twins’ designated hitter.
     
    Newman played in 118 games for the ‘91 Twins, starting 56, once again mostly splitting time between second and short, with four starts at third, one in left, and one as first baseman.
     
    Newman is one of eight players to play for both the ‘87 and ‘91 Twins, and one of seven to play in both World Series. Allan Anderson did not play in either Series. Unfortunately, Anderson -- who posted the lowest ERA in the American League in 1988 and won 33 games between ‘88 and ‘89 -- was just getting his feet wet in ‘86 and ‘87 and was on his way out in ‘91. The other six Twins to play in both World Series are Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Dan Gladden, Greg Gagne, Gene Larkin, and Randy Bush.
     
    Newman became a free agent following the 1991 season. He signed with the Reds, was released in April and ultimately wound up playing with the Texas Rangers in 1992, his final season.
     



    February 21
    Happy 70th Birthday to Charley “Shooter” Walters


     
    It’s the birthday of 1965 Edison High School graduate Charley Walters, born in Minneapolis in 1947. The Twins signed Walters out of their annual open tryout at Met Stadium in 1965. He went 7-2 with a 1.94 ERA for the 1967 Northern League Champion St. Cloud Rox. Walters broke camp with the Twins in ‘69 and pitched 6.2 innings over six games between April 11-May 14. He did not allow a run in his first five outings. He allowed four, however, in his sixth and final major league appearance.
     
    Walters has been a sportswriter for the Pioneer Press since way before Al Gore invented the internet. If anyone knows the exact year he started writing for the Pioneer Press, shoot me a message through the system of tubes.
     
    Read the prolific Stew Thornley’s SABR BioProject biography of Charley Walters: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/f96b4aae
     



    February 23
    Happy 42nd Birthday to Apple Valley Grad Dave Maurer


     
    It’s the birthday of Apple Valley graduate Dave Maurer, born in Minneapolis in 1975. The Padres drafted Maurer in the 11th round of the 1997 Amateur Draft. He made his major league debut in 2000, pitching 14.2 innings over 14 games and picking up his only big league win. He made only three appearances for the Padres in ‘01. After brief stints in the Reds’ and Athletics’ organizations, Maurer made it back to the majors with Cleveland late in the 2002 season, pitching in two games, both against the Minnesota Twins. At the Metrodome on September 25, he took his only major league loss, giving up a twelfth-inning walk-off home run to David Ortiz. Maurer made three appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2004. They did not go well.
     
    If anyone knows what year Dave Maurer graduated from Apple Valley High School, please let me know.
     

    February 24
    Happy 61st Birthday to Eddie Murray


     
    I spend a lot of time nerding out on BaseballReference.com researching the Twins Almanac. Interesting details jump out at me all the time. Like the fact, for instance, that Eddie Murray absolutely owned Bert Blyleven, hitting .419 with seven HRs in 62 at-bats. That’s a home run in a little over 11% of his at-bats vs. Blyleven. He also drew five walks and struck out ten times.
     
    And it’s hardly a small sample size. Murray only faced 12 pitchers more often during this 21-year major league career. He actually faced St. Paul’s Jack Morris most of all, hitting .304 with five HRs and 12 walks in 105 plate appearances.
     
    Murray was a career .287 hitter with 3,255 hits and 504 home runs. Actually, that brings up another story! Murray collected his 3,000th hit off of Mike Trombley on June 30, 1995 in the Metrodome while playing for the Cleveland ballclub. Cal Ripken Jr. collected his 3,000th hit at the Dome on April 15, 2000. The first man to congratulate him was none other than Orioles first base coach Eddie Murray. Mike Trombley, now an Oriole, earned the save.
     
    I hate to ramble on and on like this, but actually another Eddie Murray-related tidbit comes to mind. Hermantown High School graduate Jerry Ujdur only pitched in 53 major league games, but he sure had the number of a few Hall of Famers, including Eddie Murray who went 0-for-11 with two walks vs. Ujdur. Carlton Fisk went 0-for-10 with a walk, Paul Molitor 2-for-14 with a walk, and Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson each went 1-for-9 with 2 walks.
     



    February 25
    Happy 56th Birthday to Dana Kiecker


     
    It’s the birthday of 1979 Fairfax High School and 1983 St. Cloud State graduate Dana Kiecker, born in Sleepy Eye in 1961. Kiecker pitched in 50 major league games for the Boston Red Sox between 1990 and ‘91, making 30 starts, compiling a 10-12 record with a 4.68 ERA. You can hear Kiecker on St. Paul Saints broadcasts this summer.
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter and on Facebook.
  25. Matt Johnson
    Here is the Twins Almanac for the week of February 5-11. Former Twins closer Al Worthington, Mounds View grad Mark Hamburger, and current Twins outfielder Max Kepler are all celebrating birthdays this week. '27 Yankees third baseman Julie Wera was born in Winona this week in 1902. Also this week in Twins history was a big payday for Bloomington's Kent Hrbek (1985), the Chuck Knoblauch trade ('08), and Terry Ryan's cancer diagnosis ('14).
     
     
    http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/Worthington.68T_zpshtvoxhjr.jpg
     

    February 5
    Happy 88th Birthday to Al Worthington


     
    It’s the birthday of former Twins stopper Al Worthington, born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1929. The Twins purchased the 35-year-old pitcher from the Reds on June 26, 1964, the same day on which Twins pitcher Gerry Arrigo took a no-hitter against the White Sox into the ninth at Met Stadium. Arrigo would complete a 1-hit shutout of the Sox. Worthington, meanwhile, would appear in 41 of the Twins’ 81 remaining games, posting a 1.37 ERA.
     
    Worthington was the first Twin to save 20+ games, going 10-5 with 21 saves and a 2.13 ERA during the Twins’ 1965 American League Championship season.
     
    Worthington was the first Twin to lead the league in saves with 18 in 1968 at age 39. Ron Perranoski (‘69 and ‘70), Mike Marshall (‘79), and Eddie Guardado (‘02) are the only other Twins to do so.
     
    Worthington lives in Sterrett, AL these days, and, incidentally, would be happy to answer your letter.
     
    http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/hamburger%201_zps8lukeqze.jpg
     

    February 5
    Mark Hamburger Turns the Big 3-0


     
    Happy 30th birthday to Mounds View High School and Mesabi Range Community and Technical College alumnus Mark Hamburger, born in St. Paul in 1987. Hamburger was signed by the Twins in 2007, and traded to Texas for Eddie Guardado in August, 2008. He pitched eight innings over five games for the Rangers late in the 2011 season, posting a 1-0 record during his only big league call-up.
     
    Hamburger subsequently spent time in the Padres’ and Astros’ organizations before being signed again by the Twins in September 2013. He never made it back to the majors, though. Hamburger pitched for the St. Paul Saints in 2016, going 12-6 in 21 appearances (20 starts), with a 3.29 ERA.
     
    http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/knoblauch.Milton.Guzman_zpsrjiautqk.jpg
     

    February 6, 1998
    Twins Trade Chuck Knoblauch


     
    The Twins trade All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch to the New York Yankees for minor leaguers Eric Milton, Cristian Guzman, Brian Buchanan, Danny Mota and three millions dollars of George Steinbrenner’s cold hard cash. There had been speculation for several years that the struggling Twins would deal hot commodity Knoblauch, and eventually he himself demanded to be traded to a contender.
     
    Knoblauch was coming off a stretch of four sensational seasons in which he made three all-star teams, hitting .318 and stealing 188 bases. His 127 OPS+ over that stretch was three points better than that of Roberto Alomar.
     
    The trade would ultimately go down as a win-win. Knoblauch was uneven as a Yankee. We all know about his struggles throwing the ball to first base. He continued to swing a solid stick, though, and the Yankees won the World Series in each of his first three seasons in New York.
     
    Cristian Guzman, meanwhile, was the Twins’ starting shortstop for six seasons, leading the league in triples three times. He never realized his full potential, but Twins fans sure saw some sparks from the exciting speedster. Milton jumped straight into the starting rotation, giving the Twins five solid seasons, highlighted by a no-hitter on September 11, 1999. Another highlight came on April 15, 2001 when Milton struck out eight of the first 10 White Sox he faced.
     
    http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/wera_zpsgffok02p.jpg
     

    February 9, 1902
    It’s the Birthday of Julie Wera


     
    Julie Wera, who played 38 games at third base for the vaunted ‘27 Yankees, was born in Winona, MN on this date in 1902. The 25-year-old Wera made his major league debut at Yankee Stadium on April 14, 1927, pinch-hitting for Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt against Hall of Famer Lefty Grove. He grounded out. Wera hit his one and only big league homer during a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1927 in front of a then-record crowd of 74,000.
     
    Wera did not play in the 1927 World Series in which the Yankees swept the Pirates. He did, however, receive the same $5,782 portion of the winners’ purse as the rest of his teammates, which included Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. Nice bonus, considering that Wera’s ‘27 salary was reported to be $2,400.
     
    Julie Wera died of a heart attack at his home in Rochester, MN on December 12, 1975. He was 73 years old.
     
    Read J.G. Preston’s SABR BioProject biography of Julie Wera: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/2dc33add
     
    http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/Kepler.Mauer.8-1-16_zpskprrgr69.jpg
     

    February 10
    Happy 24th Birthday to Max Kepler


     
    It's the birthday of Twins outfielder Max Kepler, born in Berlin, Germany in 1993.
     
    Playing Cleveland at Target Field on August 1, 2016, Kepler became the fifth player in Twins history to hit three home runs in a game. The previous four were Bob Allison ('63), Harmon Killebrew ('63), Tony Oliva ('73), and Justin Morneau ('07). Brian Dozier joined the club on September 5, 2016.
     
    Kepler's 3-HR game was the beginning of a historic offensive outburst for the team as a whole. Mired in one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Twins hit a team record 19 extra-base hits over a two-game span.
     
    They set a milestone in the third game of the series, too, putting up 10 runs in three straight games against the same team for the first time. They had scored 10 runs in three straight games before, but not against the same team. They would lose the fourth game of the series 2-9.
     

    February 10, 2014
    Terry Ryan Reveals Cancer Diagnosis


     
    The Twins release a statement on behalf of 60-year-old General Manager Terry Ryan revealing that he has been diagnosed with skin cancer in his neck.
     
    http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/hrbek.85t_zpspasivh1t.jpg
     

    February 11, 1985
    Kent Hrbek Cashes In


     
    1978 Bloomington Kennedy High School grad Kent Hrbek signs a 5-year, 6 million dollar contract, meaning he would be the first player in Twins history to earn a million dollars for a single season’s work. Hrbek celebrated by going ice fishing outside his Lake Minnetonka home.
     
     
    Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter and on Facebook.
×
×
  • Create New...