Matt Johnson

Today's Almanac features Bert Blyleven, Jay Bell, Minnesota natives Paul Giel, Don Wheeler, Jack Crooks, and Tom Kelly enjoying a celebratory cigar. Playing for the National League St. Louis Browns, St. Paul native Jack Crooks hit a lead-off home run off Cleveland Spiders ace Cy Young on this date in 1892. Young—playing in his third season—led the majors with 36 wins and a 1.93 ERA while only giving up eight home runs that year. Crooks also hit his 21st and final major league home run off Young in 1898. Crooks' most significant home run trivia came back in 1889 when he had the first four-home run game in professional baseball history playing for the visiting Omaha Omahogs in his hometown of St. Paul. Former White Sox catcher Don Wheeler was born in Minneapolis on this date in 1922. He was teammates at Minneapolis South High School with fellow major leaguer Red Hardy. Playing for the Minneapolis Millers in 1948, he set an American Association record with a .998 fielding percentage. That record stood for 45 years until future Twin Matt Walbeck broke it. Of course the Millers were a New York Giants farm team, but Wheeler was blocked in that organization by fellow Minnesotan Wes Westrum, hence his eventual trade to the White Sox organization. His most significant achievement came as a member of the United States Army in the vicinity of Lowenstein, Germany on April 13, 1945. "Leading his squad forward in an advance, Sergeant Wheeler observed hostile activity on a ridge which was his objective. Aware that a frontal assault might result in severe casualties, he ordered his men to take cover while he advanced along to a vantage point from which he directed mortar fire upon the opposing forces. He then summoned his men forward and led them in an attack in which six hostile riflemen were captured and the position secured without casualty to his squad." (Quote from his Bronze Star citation.) Six-year major league pitcher Paul Giel was born in Winona on this date in 1932. He was on the mound for the first exhibition game in Twins history. He was runner-up for the Heisman as a Gophers tailback in 1953 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. Did color commentary on Vikings radio broadcasts in the 1960s and was the University of Minnesota Athletic Director from 1971 to 1989. Texas Rangers shortstop Danny Thompson connected for his final major league hit off the Twins' Pete Redfern at Met Stadium on this date in 1976. He died just 72 days later. Thompson played four seasons after being diagnosed with leukemia in February 1973. Okay, this is an all-time great piece of trivia from this date in 1986: One year after being sent to Cleveland as part of a trade for Bert Blyleven, former Twins first-round draft pick Jay Bell homered off Blyleven on his very first major league pitch! But that's not all: It was Blyleven's 47th home run allowed, breaking Robin Roberts' 30-year-old single-season record. The Twins clinched the AL West by virtue of a White Sox loss on this date in 1991. Tom Kelly was enjoying a celebratory cigar as he congratulated his men coming off the bus. Twins clinch 1991 AL West from Simply the Best.mp4 View full article

Today's Almanac features the Twins clinching the 1987 AL West division championship, an epic collapse in '84, a pitchers' duel in 1993, Dave Winfield's pursuit of a batting title, Kirby Puckett's final regular season plate appearance, heroics from a Blaine High School grad, and Calvin Griffith's notorious appearance at the Waseca Lions Club. Image courtesy of Tommy Tomsic (1977 photo of Carew), RVR Photos (photo of Puckett) Twins owner Calvin Griffith made a notorious appearance at the Waseca Lions Club on this date in 1978. When asked why he moved the team from Washington DC to Minnesota, he stated, "I'll tell you why we came to Minnesota. It was when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks here ... We came here because you've got good, hard-working, white people here." According to a Star Tribune article printed online the next day and archived online, Griffith denigrated many players over the course of a 40-minute diatribe, including Waseca's native son Jerry Terrell. It's really pretty wild to read about if you feel like googling the article. Needless to say, reaction among Twins players was emphatically negative. The Twins had an epic collapse in 1984. They had a five-game lead in the AL West as late as August 25th. They were just a half game back on September 24 before losing their final six games of the season ... it was White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver who beat them on September 25 and Cleveland pitcher Bert Blyleven who beat them in the final game of the season. On this date, they were three games back, but jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the top of the third in Cleveland—with the first five runs coming off Hermantown native Jerry Ujdur—but wound up losing 11-10. St. Paul native Dave Winfield went 2-for-5 on this date in 1984, raising his average to .342 to overtake teammate Don Mattingly, putting him in position to win the AL Batting Title with only two games left to play. Mattingly wrestled the crown away from Winfield on the final day of the season, however, surpassing him with his fourth hit of the game leading off the bottom of the eighth. The Twins clinched the American League West Championship on this date in 1987. I don't recognize the voice of the play-by-play announcer here. If anyone knows who that is, let us know in the comments below. Clinch 1987 pennant.mp4 Quite a pitchers' duel at the Metrodome on this date in 1993, with Twins starter Kevin Tapani and Angels starter Mark Langston both going the distance. The Twins trailed 1-0 after just the second batter of the game (leadoff single, steal, RBI double), but that's the only run Tapani would surrender. Langston, meanwhile, was pitching a three-hit shutout going into the bottom of the ninth. After Chuck Knoblauch walked and Jeff Reboulet reached on an error, Kirby Puckett hit a double to left driving in Knoblauch, but Reboulet was thrown out at the plate. Two batters later, Brian Harper knocked in Kirby for the walk-off win. The Twins walked off the Angels again the next night, this time with Pedro Munoz driving in Puckett in the 10th inning. They won 4-3 the day after that, completing the four-game sweep, and giving them three-straight one-run wins. Kirby Puckett was hit in the face by a Dennis Martinez fastball on this date in 1995, shattering his upper jaw. Frankie Rodriguez plunked Albert Belle with the first pitch the next inning. Apparently Belle considered charging the mound until on-deck hitter Eddie Murray ran up to him and said, “Get to first base; we just hit Kirby Puckett in the face." Kirby Puckett hit in face Denny Martinez from Living the Dream.mp4 With the Rays down to what could have been their final strike of the season, Minnesota native Dan Johnson came up, pinch-hitting for Sam Fuld, and hit a game-tying homer on this date in 2011! Rays won in 12 to clinch the Wild Card spot. Johnson was only hitting .108 at the time. Ballsy move by manager Joe Maddon, but Johnson, who didn't have a very splashy MLB career, had a knack for hitting clutch home runs in his time with the Rays. Safe to say the Blaine graduate is a cult hero down in Tampa Bay. Dan Johnson HR September 28, 2011 (1).mp4 View full article

Whoever chose the photo today found a good one of Bert Blyleven's famous curveball grip. Of course his no-hitter on this date in 1977 came in a Rangers uniform, but I'd be willing to be he threw a bunch of those curveballs.

Today's Almanac features Brian Dozier, Bert Blyleven, César Tovar, Mark Guthrie, Wally Backman, "Mr. Basketball" Gene Glynn, the first two division championships in team history, an unlikely shutout, the 2010 pitching staff, and we continue to chronicle the havoc wrought by Nelson Cruz on the Twins record book. Image courtesy of © Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images Happy 68th birthday to Waseca native and former Twins third base coach Gene Glynn. Fun Fact: Glynn received Minnesota's first-ever "Mr. Basketball" award his senior year at Waseca, and handed the award off to Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin McHale (of Hibbing) the following year. Glynn was an all-time great at Mankato State in both baseball and basketball, and still holds school basketball records in assists in a game (16, 1976), season (221, 1977), and career (772). The second baseman also once held the school record with 81 career stolen bases. After earning his degree in Physical Education in 1979, Glynn was signed as an amateur free agent by Montreal Expos scout Bob Gebhard (who is a Minnesota native, played for the Twins, and later served in the Twins front office during both World Championship seasons before becoming the first general manager of the Colorado Rockies). Glynn played seven seasons in the Expos' farm system, including parts of four seasons at Triple-A. He began his coaching career in 1986 as a manager in the Expos farm system. Bob Gebhard brought him into the Rockies organization in 1992 and he got his first major league job as manager Don Baylor's first base coach in 1994 and third base coach from 1995 to '98. Glynn has mentioned 1996 as one of his most memorable seasons, when the Rockies hit 221 home runs and stole 201 bases (and still finished third in the NL West). Glynn then coached third for the Expos in 1999, Chicago Cubs from 2000 to 2002, and San Francisco Giants from 2003 to 2006. He was then a scout in the Tampa Bay Rays organization from 2007 to 2011. He was hired by the Twins to manage the triple-A Rochester Red Wings in 2012. He interviewed for the major-league manager job after Ron Gardenhire’s dismissal in 2014. That job ultimately went to Paul Molitor, but Glynn was named the Twins' third-base coach, a role in which he served for four seasons until Molitor was dismissed, too. Happy 65th birthday to 14-year major-leaguer Wally Backman. His one season with the Twins in 1989 got off to a productive start, scoring 12 runs in the team's first 11 games. Happy 59th birthday to 15-year major leaguer and 1991 World Series Champion Mark Guthrie. You know I'm interested in Minnesotan major leaguers, right? Well here's a fun fact: Hopkins High School graduate Tim McIntosh made his MLB debut with the Brewers against his hometown Twins in 1990, but Guthrie spoiled it by pitching a four-hit shutout that day. In addition to the Twins in 1991, Guthrie also pitched in the postseason with the Dodgers, A's, and Cubs (but never made it back to the World Series). César Tovar played all nine positions on this date in 1968, striking out Reggie Jackson in the first inning. The Twins beat the A's 2-1 in two hours and 18 minutes. Crazy Coincidence: The first batter Tovar faced was Bert Campaneris, who was the only previous person to play all nine positions in an MLB game. The Twins clinched the inaugural AL West Championship on this date in 1969, beating the Royals 4-3 thanks, in part, to Harmon Killebrew's 47th home run of the season. The Killer finished the season with a major league-leading 49 home runs and 140 runs batted in. The day after being no-hit by Vida Blue, the Twins clinched their second-straight AL West Championship in Oakland on this date in 1970. Tony Oliva went 3-for-5 with a home run, double, two RBI, and three runs scored in the 5-3 win. Unfortunately, the Twins were swept in the ALCS by the Orioles both years. Bert Blyleven pitched a no-hitter in his final game as a Texas Ranger on this date in 1977. The Rangers sent Bert to the Pirates as part of four-team, 11-player trade on December 8. (Bert, of course, won a ring in Pittsburgh.) Roy Smalley drove in Hosken Powell for a 1-0 first-inning lead on this date in 1980. That's all the Twins would need as Jerry Koosman (eight innings) and Doug Corbett pitched an unlikely shutout despite allowing fifteen baserunners in the 1-0 win over the Rangers at Met Stadium. Nick Blackburn earned his 10th win of the season on this date in 2010, giving the Twins six pitchers with 10 or more wins: Carl Pavano 17, Francisco Liriano 14, Kevin Slowey 13, Scott Baker 12, and Brian Duensing 10. The only previous pitching staff to achieve this in the 21st century were the 2008 Angels. I doubt another team has done it since, but somebody could look into that if they were so inclined. Brian Dozier hit his 40th home run of the season as a second baseman on this date in 2016, setting a new American League record for his position. (He also hit two homers as a DH.) In 2021, Oakland's Marcus Semien hit 41 home runs while playing second base and another four as a shortstop. (So let's call it 45 as a middle infielder.) On the National League side, Atlanta's Davey Johnson hit 42 as a second baseman and another as a pinch hitter in 1973. Cardinals second baseman Rogers Hornsby hit 42 in 1922. Nelson Cruz hit his 400th career home run—and 40th of the season—on this date in 2019, becoming just the third player in Twins history to hit 40 home runs in a season. Harmon Killebrew did it seven times as a Twin (and once as a Senator) and Brian Dozier hit 42 in 2016. (Though, Washington Senators slugger Roy Sievers hit 42 in 1957.) View full article

Today's Almanac features Harmon Killebrew, Vida Blue, Brad Radke, Michael Cuddyer, David Ortiz [didn't need him], and New Ulm native Doc Hamann. Image courtesy of © Raj Mehta-Imagn Images September 21, 1922: New Ulm Native Makes MLB Debut New Ulm native Doc Hamann made his only major league appearance pitching for Cleveland on this date in 1922. He gave up six runs without recording an out in the ninth inning of a 15-5 loss to the Red Sox. His career ERA is, therefore, "infinity" (or undefined). Believe it or not, the next New Ulm-born player to make it to the majors was Fred Bruckbauer with the Minnesota Twins in 1961. Bruckbauer also made just one appearance and retired with an MLB ERA of "infinity." Want to hear something crazy? Hamann went straight from pitching for the New Ulm townball team to the majors. He shut out Hopkins for a 2-0 New Ulm win on September 11 and pitched in the majors on September 21. (Cleveland was in a free fall and scouting for fresh talent far and wide.) September 21, 1963: Killebrew Has 4-HR Day Twins left fielder Harmon Killebrew hit four home runs at Fenway Park on this date in 1963, including three in the first game of a doubleheader. It was the second three-homer game in Twins history. Bob Allison had the first on May 17th of that season. Killebrew homered again the next day, giving him five home runs in two days. I wonder what the team record is for home runs in a three-game series. If you know, spread the knowledge in the comments section below. September 21, 1970: Blue No-Hits Twins Rookie September call-up Vida Blue no-hit the Twins in Oakland on this date in 1970. The Twins were one win away from clinching their second-straight AL West title and had the champagne on ice in their locker room so someone sent a bottle over for Blue. Former Twins slugger Don Mincher caught the final out for Oakland, making a fine defensive play on a foul pop by César Tovar, who had broken up TWO no-hit bids in the ninth inning the previous season, and had his team's only hit five times in his career, tied for the MLB record. Blue carried the momentum into the 1971 season when won both the American League Cy Young and MVP Awards. September 21, 1997: Radke Goes 10 No Twins pitcher has gone 10 innings since Brad Radke on this date in 1997, when the Twins beat the Brewers 2-1 on a Paul Molitor walk-off triple. It was Radke's 20th win of the season ... particularly noteworthy considering the Twins only won 68 games that season! RELATED: Future Twins Steve Carlton earned 27 of the Phillies' 59 win in 1972. Will a Twins pitcher ever go 10 innings again? Rochester native Michael Restovich homered for his first major league hit on this date in 2002. September 21, 2005: Cuddyer Hits Four Extra-Base Hits Michael Cuddyer went 4-for-4 with three doubles, a home run, four RBI, and two runs scored in a 10-4 win in Oakland on this date in 2005. Those four extra-base hits are tied for the team record with César Tovar, Kirby Puckett, Rich Becker, Corey Koskie, and Nelson Cruz. September 21, 2006: Didn't Need Him David Ortiz hit his 51st home run of the season off Johan Santana on this date in 2006, breaking the Red Sox single-season record. (He finished the season with 54.) He gave the bat he hit it with to Red Sox hitting coach and former Twins first baseman Ron "Papa Jack" Jackson. Ortiz hit another homer in the game off Matt Guerrier, and he had homered the day before off Boof Bonser. View full article

Today's Almanac features Kirby Puckett, Royce Lewis, Greg "Boomer" Wells, the Twins' first playoff berth since 1991, the historic 2019 Bomba Squad, and a pitcher who tied for the league league in shutouts while losing 17 games. Image courtesy of © David Richard-Imagn Images September 15: Happy Birthday, Rich Robertson Happy birthday to former Twins pitcher Rich Robertson. He lost 17 games in 1996, but tied for the major-league lead with three shutouts! Those three shutouts are even more improbable when you consider that he led the league in walks and had a 5.12 ERA and 1.68 WHIP. The only Twins pitcher with three shutouts since Robertson is Ervin Santana, in 2017. Loosely relatedly, Brainerd native Bullet Joe Bush pitched eight shutouts in 1916 while leading the majors with 24 losses. September 15, 1982: Wells Reaches on Error Three Times Twins DH Greg Wells reached on errors a team-record three times in a 10-2 win over the Rangers at home in the new Metrodome on this date in 1982. Guess the league needed some time to adjust to the AstroTurf carpet and Teflon roof. "Boomer" was big in Japan, hitting 277 home runs in 10 seasons over there. Other former Twins who were big in Japan: Charlie Manuel and Randy Bass. September 15, 1988: Puckett Begins Record Streak Kirby Puckett went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in a 10-3 win over the White Sox at home in the Dome, on this date in 1988. It was the beginning of a team-record 11-game RBI streak for Kirby. September 15, 2002: Twins Clinch Playoff Berth After an offseason during which the Pohlads openly talked contraction*, the Minnesota Twins clinched their first playoff berth since 1991 on this date in 2002, with Kyle Lohse, Johan Santana, and Eddie Guardado combining for the shutout in Cleveland. *Jim Pohlad wrote in a letter to employees, "When we are posed the question 'why should the Minnesota Twins not be contracted?' we are unable to find a plausible answer." Uff da. At least when Joe right-sizes the payroll, he doesn't think that right size is zero. September 15, 2019: Triple Bomba #44 Miguel Sanó, Eddie Rosario, and LaMonte Wade Jr. combined for the Twins' 44th three-homer (or more) game of the season on this date in 2019, surpassing the 1997 Mariners for the most such games in a single season in major-league history. They finished with 47 such contests. That year's Yankees and last year's team from a suburban highway confluence north of Atlanta both got to 44. After a tight home run race with the Yankees, the 2019 "Bomba Squad" finished with a major-league record 307 home runs. That same Georgian nowheresville club tied that record in 2023. September 15, 2023: Rookie Breaks Grand Slam Record Rookie Royce Lewis set a new team single-season record with his fourth grand slam of the season on this date in 2023, breaking the previous record shared by Bob Allison (1961), Rod Carew (1976), Kent Hrbek (1985), Kirby Puckett (1992), and Torii Hunter (2007). View full article

Today's Almanac features historic achievements by Jeff Reardon and Brian Dozier, and must-see video of perhaps the most unique putout in Twins history. Image courtesy of RVR Photos (Reardon), Rick Osentoski, USA Today (Dozier) September 14, 1989: Reardon Record Setting Save On this date in 1989, Jeff Reardon became the first player in MLB history with five-straight seasons of 30+ saves. September 14, 2003: Standard 8-9 Putout On this date in 2003, Twins right fielder Mike Ryan lost a Jhonny Peralta fly ball in the sun ... it bounced off his face and was caught by center fielder Dustan Mohr. Ryan was credited with an assist on the play. Mike Ryan fly ball to head.mp4 September 14, 2016: Dozier's Record Tying Home Run On this date in 2016, Brian Dozier hit his 41st home run of the season, and 39th as a second baseman, tying Alfonso Soriano's American League record for home runs by a second baseman. Dozier took sole possession of the AL record on September 22. He finished the season with 42 home runs, with two coming as DH. At the time, Dozier was just the second player in Twins history with 40 home runs in a season. One other slugger has since joined the club. Bet you know who. Flex your baseball trivia knowledge in the comments section below. View full article

In today's Almanac, we mark the birthdays of two Minnesota natives, remember Tom Kelly's number retirement, and continue to chronicle the damage Nelson Cruz did to the Twins record books. Image courtesy of Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports September 8, 1906: Birthdate of Frank Stewart Frank Stewart was born Frank Zwiaska to Polish immigrant parents in Minneapolis on this date in 1906. He made one major league pitching appearance with the Chicago White Sox in the final game of the 1927 season. Interestingly, Stewart was the second Minnesota native to make his only MLB appearance in the final game of a season with the White Sox. Cloquet native William Cadreau started the final game of the 1910 season for the White Sox under the moniker of "Chief Chouneau." September 8: Happy Birthday, Eric Porter Happy birthday to Waseca native Eric Porter. The catcher was drafted by Cleveland in the eighth round out of high school and by the Mets in the seventh round out of Iowa Western Community College but didn't sign either time. He finally signed with the Twins out of their 1981 Met Stadium tryout camp (along with Minnesotan pitchers Mark Larcom and Dick Henkemeyer). Porter spend two years in the Twins farm system, not advancing past single-A Wisconsin Rapids. If anybody has any stories about Porter, or knows what he's been up to the past 40 years, let me know down below in the comments section. September 8, 2012: Twins Retire Number 10 The Twins retired Tom Kelly's number 10 on this date in 2012. During the on-field ceremony, the team announced they would be naming a practice field down in Ft. Myers in his honor. They also gifted the skipper a trip to the Kentucky Derby. Did you know that TK and Kent Hrbek co-owned a race horse together during Hrbie's playing days? Pretty cozy player/manager relationship! September 8, 2020: Boomstick, Baby! Nelson Cruz homered in both games of a doubleheader in St. Louis on this date in 2020. It was the third time he had homered in both games of a doubleheader that season. That, obviously, is a Twins record. (Of course there were quite a few doubleheaders during the 2020 COVID season, with both games being just seven innings each.) View full article

Ope! FOURTEEN baserunners in that 1974 game. Hisle reached on a strike-three wild pitch.

Todyay's Almanac features Harmon Killebrew, Brant Alyea, Mitch Garver, Hal Haydel, Sam Jones, Wally Gilbert, and the cautionary tale that walks will haunt. Image courtesy of David Berding-USA TODAY Sports September 7, 1949: Rochester No-Hits Austin Townball Rochester Royals pitcher Sam Jones no-hit the Austin Packers on this date in 1949. (He had also no-hit Owatonna back on August 4th.) Six years later, playing for the Chicago Cubs, Jones pitched the first no-hitter by a Black pitcher in AL/NL history. It's worth noting that the same summer former Negro Leaguer Sam Jones was playing townball in Rochester, fellow former Negro Leaguer Hilton Smith was playing townball in Fulda, Minnesota. Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001—the same class as Kirby Puckett and Dave Winfield. September 7, 1958: Gilbert Dies at 57 Duluth Denfeld graduate Wally Gilbert passed away at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth on this date in 1958. He was just 57 years old. In addition to playing Major League Baseball, Gilbert played in the NFL and even played some professional basketball, but he had a lung removed as a complication of working in a Duluth steel plant during World War II. September 7, 1969: Killebrew Owns the A's Harmon Killebrew drove in SEVEN runs in the first TWO innings of a 16-4 Twins win in Oakland on this date in 1969. He hit a three-run homer in the first and grand slam in the second before coming out of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Killebrew drove in 34 runs in 18 games against the A's in 1969, which was the first season the leagues split into two divisions. Nobody has driven in more runs against a single team since then. (At least that was true as of a few years ago. Somebody can double check if that's still accurate.) The Twins, incidentally, won the first two AL West crowns. September 7, 1970: Alyea Puts the Twins on His Back Brant Alyea hit a grand slam in the first inning and three-run homer in the third to drive in all seven Twins runs in a 7-6 win in the first game of a home doubleheader against the Brewers on this date in 1970. It was the beginning of a team record nine-game RBI streak during which he knocked in 17. September 7, 1970: Haydel's Historic MLB Debut In the second game of the doubleheader, Hal Haydel made his major league debut entering in relief of Luis Tiant in the second inning. Folks, get this: The pitcher doubled and homered off Al Downing in his first two MLB at-bats, and pitched five strong innings to earn the win. Has a pitcher ever done better than six total bases in his first two MLB plate appearances? (If you know, let me know in the comments.) September 7, 1974: Walks Will Haunt Despite the Twins having 13 baserunners and the Royals only having four baserunners, the Twins lost 1-0 in Kansas City on this date in 1974. Twins starter Joe Decker walked Vada Pinson leading off the bottom of the first. Pinson then somehow advanced to third on a 1-3 groundout (maybe he was running on the pitch) and scored on a groundout to first, giving the Royals their only run without the benefit of a hit. Decker held the Royals scoreless the next eight innings while giving up just two hits and another walk for a total of four baserunners in the game (and one of those was erased on a double play), but the Twins couldn't muster a single run despite putting 13 men on base on eight hits and five walks off Royals pitcher Al Fitzmorris. September 7, 2019: Garver Sets Career Record in a Single Season Mitch Garver had his fifth multi-home run game of the season on this date in 2019, setting a team CAREER record for catchers in a single season. Joe Mauer is second with four multi-home run games as a catcher. The only other Twins catchers with even two multi-HR games in a season at Earl Battey in 1961, Tim Laudner in 1988, and Joe Mauer in 2009. View full article

In today's Almanac, Matt Wallner hits for the cycle, Rod Carew has a walk-off steal of home, Chuck Knoblauch scores 100 run for the third-straight season, and the Twins have a new career saves leader. September 1, 1972: Tenth-Inning Walk-Off Steal of Home Rod Carew stole home for a walk-off (or run-off) Twins win in the 10th inning on this date in 1972. Minnesota and Cleveland were knotted 4-4 after nine, with right fielder Bobby Darwin driving in all four Twins runs in regulation. Darwin was 4-for-4 with a home run and double when he struck out with the bases loaded and one down in the 10th, so Carew took matters into his own hands. Carew stole home 17 times over the course of his career. September 1, 1992: New Twins Career Saves Leader Rick Aguilera surpassed Ron Davis as the Twins all-time saves leader on this date in 1992, pitching a scoreless ninth to preserve a 5-4 Twins win at Tiger Stadium. It was his 35th save of the season and 109th of his Twins career. He eventually saved 254 in a Twins uniform, which stood as the team record until Joe Nathan finished the 2011 season (and his tenure with the Twins) with 260. Here's how a few prominent Twins closers stack up overall: Joe Nathan: 377 career saves (10th in MLB history) Jeff Reardon: 367 (12th) Rick Aguilera: 318 (24th) September 1, 1997: Knoblauch Scores 100 Runs for Third-Straight Season On this date in 1997, Chuck Knoblauch scored his 100th run for the third-straight season, which stood as the Twins record for consecutive 100-run seasons until Brian Dozier did it four years in a row. Overall, Knoblauch scored 100+ runs five years in a row including his first two seasons with the Yankees. September 1, 2022: Minnesota Native Has Historic Night with Saints Forest Lake native Matt Wallner hit for the first cycle in St. Paul Saints history on this date in 2022. View full article

In today's almanac, the Twins acquire a big bat for the pennant chase, a Twins pitcher flirts with a perfect game, and a Brainerd native has a career 0.00 MLB ERA. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports August 31, 1987: Pennant-Chasing Twins Acquire Big Bat The Twins acquired veteran slugger Don Baylor from the Red Sox inexchange for minor league pitcher Enrique Rios on this date in 1987. Eight days earlier—with the Red Sox trailing the Twins by three at Fenway—Baylor hit a go-ahead grand slam off lefty Steve Carlton. He did not hit another home run until Game 6 of the World Series. The Baylor trade was the Twins' seventh trade of the season. They had acquired Tom Nieto, Jeff Reardon, Al Newman, and Dan Gladden in pre-season trades, Joe Niekro and Dan Schatzeder in June, and Steve Carlton in July. (Interesting to note, they made zero trades at the major-league level in 1991, though they did acquire Steve Bedrosian in a trade in December 1990.) Fun Fact: Minnesota native Bob Gebard—who was in the Twins front office in 1987—became the first GM in Colorado Rockies history and hired Don Baylor as the team's first manager. (Gebhard also later hired Dan Gladden as a scout for the team.) August 31, 1992: Brainerd Native Has 0.00 ERA Brainerd native Todd Revenig made his second and final major league relief appearance on this date in 1992. After giving up a first-pitch single to Cal Ripken Jr., A's catcher Terry Steinbach put down the sign for a ground ball double-play, and Revenig executed. He retired with a 0.00 MLB ERA. He was the second Mankato State alumnus with a 0.00 MLB ERA. Can you name the first? Flex your baseball history knowledge in the comments section below. I wonder how many All-Minnesotan batteries there have been in the majors other than with the Twins. Let me know in the comments if you can think of any. Paul Giel nearly made his MLB debut pitching to catcher Wes Westrum, but Westrum was lifted for a pinch runner the previous half inning. August 31, 1993: Pedro Muñoz Ends Longest Game in Twins History Pedro Muñoz hit a walk-off home run in the 22nd inning on this date in 1993, finally ending the longest game in Twins history six hours and 17 minutes after first pitch. He crossed home plate at 1:22 AM. The Twins actually trailed Cleveland 4-3 with two out in the bottom of the ninth when Terry Jorgenson doubled home David McCarty. Brian Harper went 4-for-8 in the game. (Worth noting, Muñoz entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 20th inning.) Mike Trombley was the starting pitcher the next day and got a speeding ticket around 2 AM as he was hurrying home to get some rest. Couldn't wriggle out it, he said. He only lasted 2.1 innings in the game, giving up seven runs on 10 hits and a walk. Dick Bremer has a fun story about Muñoz. Bremer bumped into Ted Williams at the '92 All-Star Game in San Diego and the Splendid Splinter brought up Muñoz, saying, "I love the way he f*cking turns on a curveball!" Pretty high praise. August 31, 2005: Twins Get 13 Hits, Do Not Score The Twins collected 13 hits, two walks, and a reached-on-error for a grand total of 16 base runners and still managed to lose to the Royals 1-0 at Kaufman Stadium on this date in 2005. Twins starter Kyle Lohse had a three-hit shutout going through seven innings before yielding to Juan Rincón who pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth. The game was still scoreless entering the bottom of the ninth when former Twin Denny Hocking hit a lead-off single off reliever Matt Guerrier. The next batter reached on an error by third baseman Terry Tiffee. Not sure if it was a potential double-play ball, but it allowed Hocking to move into scoring position. Terry Mulholland then came in and struck out DH Matt Stairs swinging before right fielder Emil Brown drove-in Hocking for a 1-0 Royals walk-off win. August 31, 2007: Baker Flirts with Perfect Game Scott Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning at the Metrodome on this date in 2007. He walked Royals catcher John Buck to lead off the inning and lost the no-hitter two batters later on a one-out single by pinch hitter Mike Sweeney. That was all the offense the Royals would muster, though, as Baker completed the one-hit shutout for a 5-0 Twins win. View full article

Today's Twins Almanac is a one-cup-of-coffee read, featuring Dean Chance, "Everyday" Eddie Guardado, and Minnesota native Mark Hamburger. August 25, 1967: Second No-Hitter in Team History Dean Chance pitched the second no-hitter in Twins history in the second game of a doubleheader in Cleveland on this date in 1967. Interestingly, Cleveland led the game 1-0 at the end of the first inning. Chance walked the first two batters of the game before getting a strikeout for the first out. Cleveland’s cleanup hitter then reached on an error to load the bases, and Chance unleashed a wild pitch allowing a run to score without the benefit of a hit. Chance issued five walks altogether in the narrow 2-1 no-hit victory. The first game of the doubleheader was a tight one, too, with the Twins winning 6-5 in 10 innings. It was actually 4-4 going into the extra inning. After the Twins scored twice in the top of the 10th, Cleveland hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning before the Twins nailed down the win. Chance had actually pitched a rain-shortened five-inning perfect game on August 6th of that season. Though Major League Baseball considers a game official after five innings, in 1991 MLB dictated that a pitcher only gets credit for a no-hitter if the game goes the full nine innings. Chance—along with 35 other pitchers—thus had their no-hitters retroactively wiped from the record books. Fun fact regarding Dean Chance and no-hitters: As a high schooler in Ohio, he pitched SEVENTEEN of them (I’ve also read 18), including eight in one season. He posted a 52-1 high school record overall. August 25, 2008: Guardado Traded for Hamburger In the midst of an intensely close pennant race with the White Sox, the Twins traded minor league pitcher Mark Hamburger to Texas for veteran reliever Eddie Guardado on this date in 2008. Hamburger was born in St. Paul in 1987, graduated from Mounds View High School, and attended Mesabi Range Community and Technical College in Virginia, Minnesota before signing with the Twins out of an open tryout at the Metrodome in 2007. He made it to "The Show" in 2011, making five appearances out of the Rangers bullpen. He bounced around in the minors in 2012. In 2013, he was playing independent ball with the St. Paul Saints. That September, the Twins signed him again, and he spent the 2014 and '15 seasons down in the Minnesota farm system. Over the next few seasons, he played in Mexico, Venezuela, Australia, and again with the independent St. Paul Saints. His final season of professional baseball was in 2018 (age 31) with the independent New Britain Bees out in Connecticut. I'm sure some of you have some great Mark Hamburger stories and memories. Please share them in the comments section below. What is he up to today? Does he want to join my 35+ team? Eddie Guardado made his major league debut with the Twins in 1993. He pitched for the team until 2003, leading the league with 45 saves in 2002 and representing Minnesota at the 2002 and 2003 All-Star Games. He signed with the Mariners after the ‘03 season and made a stop in Cincinnati before ending up in Texas. It was exciting to have "Everyday" Eddie back in Minnesota for the 2008 pennant stretch, but he only wound up making nine appearances, mostly working the eighth inning. (Of course the Twins wound up losing to the White Sox in a thrilling Game 163.) Guardado re-signed with the Rangers for the 2009 season—his final season at age 38. Guardado pitched in more games than any other pitcher in Twins history, and it’s not even close, appearing in 648 games for Minnesota. Rick Aguilera is second at 490. Guardado was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2013. He was the Twins bullpen coach from 2015 to 2018. View full article

Only three items in today's Almanac, but one of them is one of my favorite events on the Almanac calendar: Kent Hrbek's major league debut. There are some interesting layers to the story beyond his 12th-inning game-winning homer. Also, on this date in 1969, Tom Hall bested Al Downing in an epic pitchers' duel, and on this date in 1992, Hrbie and Gladden traded homers to left as Gladden returned to the Dome with Detroit. Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports August 24, 1969: Blade Wins Pitchers' Duel Tom "The Blade" Hall and the Yankees' Al Downing locked horns in an epic pitchers' duel at Met Stadium on this date in 1969, with both pitchers taking three-hit shutouts into the ninth inning. After Tony Oliva made it to third on an error leading off the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees intentionally walked Bob Allison and Leo Cárdenas before George Mitterwald delivered a walk-off single. Hall surrendered a hit in the ninth inning, making it a four-hit shutout. He also walked two in the game. Al Downing ... where have I heard that name before? Flex your baseball history knowledge in the comments section below. August 24, 1981: Hrbek Hits Game-Winning Home in MLB Debut 21-year-old Kent Hrbek hit the game-winning home run in the 12th inning of his major-league debut at Yankee Stadium on this date in 1981. Hrbie was called up straight from Low-A Visalia, where he was batting .379 with 27 home runs and 111 RBI. The call up straight from Class A meant he'd be getting home to Minnesota sooner than expected, where his dad had recently been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. (You'll note, of course, that Hrbie made his major-league debut playing Lou Gehrig's old position at Gehrig's old ballpark.) The 1978 Bloomington Kennedy graduate's first major league hit was an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1 in the fifth. The game was tied 2-2 in the top of the 12th when Hrbie hit the game-winning homer off 1987 teammate George Frazier, over the head of Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. Supposedly Twins pitching coach Johnny Podres said to Hrbek, "Hey, kid, it's getting kind of late; I'm going to need a cocktail pretty soon. Hit one out of here, will you? Hrbek was the first of three Twins to homer in their MLB debuts in less than a month. Four days later, Park Center graduate Tim Laudner did so, and on September 20th, Gary Gaetti homered in his very first big-league at-bat. Hrbek debut.mp4 August 24, 1992: Old Teammates Trade Homers After watching a Kent Hrbek opposite-field homer sail over his head the previous half inning, Tigers left fielder Dan Gladden hit one over the plexiglass himself as part of a 6-2 Tigers win at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on this date in 1992. View full article