Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Carl Yastrzemski Avoids A Pitch

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Carl Yastrzemski Gets A Brush-back Pitch From Twins Tom Hall

The lesson in big league ball after hitting a home run used to be- get ready to hit the deck.

Pitchers would routinely throw at hitters on their next at bat after homering. And not for showboating like players do today by standing in the batters box admiring their blast or flipping the bat.

No, all you had to do in the old days was hit a home run and certain pitchers would make sure that you would end up on your keister during your next trip to the plate. A pitcher who does that today risks ejection, suspension and the batter charging the mound to pummel the pitcher.

The news slug says:

St. Paul – Minneapolis, June 9, 1969. A NEW TWIST. Boston Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski (8) twists away from home plate on brush-back pitch from Minnesota Twins pitcher Tom Hall in the 5th inning of American League game Monday in the Twin Cities. Yastrzemski lead off in first inning with a home run.  Minnesota catcher John Roseboro gloves ball. photo: AP

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Nolan Ryan Sets A Record Striking Out 383 Batters In A Year

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Nolan Ryan Displays The Baseball From His 383rd Strikeout -1973

Nolan Ryan 383 strikeouts 1973

Nolan Ryan holds the baseball used to set a single season record of 383 strikeouts. September 27, 1973 AP wirephoto

Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer are amazing pitchers. In 2019 Cole struck out 326 hitters in 212.1 innings and Scherzer fanned 300 batters in 220.2 innings in 2018. Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw have also struck out more than 300 batters in the past five years.

You’d think in this age of batters striking out more frequently than Le Pétomane farting, a pitcher will one day break Nolan Ryan’s 1973 single season record of 383 strikeouts. But unless Chris Davis, Joey Gallo or Gary Sanchez is the opposition at every at bat, Ryan’s record is probably safe.

It comes down to the number of innings pitched. Modern managers and baseball analytics have pitchers rarely going through the batting order a third time. A “quality start” is one where the pitcher has completed six innings – a ridiculous two thirds of a game. That’s quality? Continue reading →

A Klingon In The 1964 Topps Baseball Card Set & Other Strange Musings

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Some Random Observations On 1964 Baseball Cards and Players

Joe Torre 1964 Topps looks angry

Take away the cap and Joe Torre is not a ballplayer. He looks like a tough Brooklyn badass who you wouldn’t want to mess with.

The 1964 Topps baseball card set could be known as the mug shot set. Boring head shots predominate with few players pictured in full body or action poses. Continue reading →

Oh Brother, Could They Pitch – The Dean, Perry, Martinez & Niekro Brothers

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Winning Brothers, Dizzy & Daffy Dean

Dizzy & Daffy Dean 1935

Hold Chat On Bleachers

Dizzy and Daffy, those two Dean boys. Paul on the left looks a little skeptical as Dizzy shows his brother the way a ball is held for a “hook”. Just before the Giants and Cardinals got going  March 15 at Flamingo Park, Miami Beach, Florida, these two boys held a chat on the bleachers. The Giants defeated the Cardinals 2-0. — 3/17/1935 Associated Press Photo

In the history of Major League Baseball there have been many brothers who have each taken the mound to be pitchers. For both of them to be successful however, is another story. Continue reading →

Pitchers Hitting In The Postseason

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It Still Happens – Pitchers Hitting In The Postseason (And Making A Difference)

sandy-koufax-singles-world-series-october-12-1965This photograph of pitcher Sandy Koufax shows a rarity.

In 20 times at bat, Dodger great, Sandy Koufax got only one hit in postseason play.

Koufax is leaving the batters box after stroking a single in game six of the 1965 World Series driving in Ron Fairly. Koufax’s single gave the Dodgers a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh in an eventual 7-0 shutout over the Minnesota Twins. It wasn’t Koufax’s hitting that won the game, it was the complete game, four hitter with 10 strikeouts that he hurled. Still to everyone watching, sans Twin fans, Koufax’s hit was a pleasant surprise.

The Dodgers went on to win the seventh game and Koufax was named the series MVP.

Koufax was one of the worst hitters ever, compiling a minuscule .097 career batting average over 12 seasons. But no one ever came to see Koufax hit, they came to see him pitch. As bad as a hitter as Koufax was there was always the slim chance that he might get a base hit. And when he did guess what? It was exciting.

The use of the designated hitter in the American League and the DH’s use in World Series games only in American League ballparks has effectively eliminated the thrill out of watching the pitcher impacting the game with his bat.

So in this day and age when it is considered a shock when a pitcher comes to the plate and gets a hit, it is refreshing to see pitchers in the 2016 postseason hitting and making a difference in many games.

Travis Wood homers photo: Dennis Wierzbicki USA Today

Travis Wood homers photo: Dennis Wierzbicki USA Today

Giants starter Madison Bumgarner was actually used as a pinch-hitter in game two of the NLDS playoff game against the Cubs.  In that same game, Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks singled in two runs and reliever Travis Wood blasted a home run against the Giants pitcher George Kontos.

Then in the next game of the series Cubs starter Jake Arrieta hit a three run homer against the Giants. In the fourth inning of game 4 Giants pitcher Matt Moore singled home the go ahead run in a losing effort.

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw helped his own cause in game four against the Washington Nationals by doubling and scoring the go-ahead run in what ended up being a 6-5 L.A. victory.

If you polled baseball fans most would say they want more offense and never have pitchers bat. Continue reading →

Minnesota’s Original Baseball Stadium

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Metropolitan Stadium Under Construction

Construction of Metropolitan Stadium 12 22. 1955

Although the weather can be unpredictable in Minnesota, this scene was not photographed during baseball season. Taken 60 years ago today, December 22, 1955, this photograph predates the Twins baseball team by more than five years.

Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN is shown nearing completion here.

The caption reads:

Here’s something that should be a smile-bringer to bond drivers and bond buyers both as the Metropolitan Stadium push hits the final post. You see the Bloomington project stands are this far along looking from the right field approach. Johnson Drake and Piper, the construction firm in charge, says work is progressing very satisfactorily despite the weather. Both dugouts are in and you may see the first base bench in the picture. 12-22-55 photo – Chester Freden

Built  to attract a major league baseball team, Metropolitan Stadium was originally home to the American Association’s Minneapolis Millers. Continue reading →

Wes Parker Battles Fans For A Foul Ball In The 1965 World Series

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Hey Dodgers Fans Get Out Of The Way!

Wes Parker catch attempt WS game 4 Oct 10 1965 photo UPI

Wes Parker goes after a ball in game 4 of the World Series Oct 10 1965 photo: UPI

The Los Angeles Dodgers played the Minnesota Twins in the 1965 World Series with the Dodgers prevailing in seven games.

At Dodger Stadium on October 10, 1965, in game four with two outs in the top of the ninth, Twins slugger Don Mincher hit a pop fly that was drifting into the stands in foul territory. With the Dodgers leading 7-2, Dodgers first baseman Wes Parker made a desperate leap into the stands to try and catch Mincher’s foul ball and end the game.

Parker’s jump fell short and he missed the ball.

Mincher ended up striking out and Don Drysdale got the complete game win for the Dodgers. Time of the game two hours and fifteen minutes.

Crazy Baseball All-Star Game Ticket Prices

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$2.40 For An All-Star Game Box Seat?

Fenway Park ticket booth before the 1946 All Star Game

$2.40 for a box seat is not the crazy price we are talking about. Those days are long gone.

The scene above is Fenway Park where the 1946 All-Star Game was played. As fans lined up for tickets the night before the game at the box office (what a novel idea), they had the choice of purchasing box seats for $2.40 or reserved seats for $1.80.

Please direct your attention to the kids, wearing suits no less, neatly lined up waiting for tickets. Yes, even kids could save up $1.80 by delivering newspapers, mowing lawns or doing chores in 1946.

The crazy prices we are talking about are for the current baseball All-Star game.

According to a May 9 Forbes Magazine story, the 2014 baseball All Star Game in Minneapolis is the second most expensive ticket in All-Star game history. The article points out that according to a ticket broker who owns hundreds of MLB All-Star tickets the average ticket price for the 2014 All-Star Game is significantly higher than the previous four All-Star games, with a current average ticket price of $1,096. Continue reading →

The No-hitter, Break-up King

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Cesar Tovar

Pitchers who come close to baseball immortality by throwing a one-hitter will always remember the batter who broke up their no-hitter.

Of all the players who have played big league baseball, you’d think some great or pesky contact hitter like Pete Rose, Ty Cobb, Joe Sewell or Lloyd Waner would hold the record for getting the only hit in a game that otherwise would have been a no-hitter.

But the man who set the record for having the only hit in a game, that ended up being a one-hitter is Cesar Tovar.

Tovar, a .278 career hitter, who played from 1965-1976 spoiled five no-hitters, a record now shared with Eddie Milner.

Tovar got the only hit of the game off of:

  1. Barry Moore of the Washington Senators (April 30, 1967)
  2. Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles (May 15, 1969)
  3. Mike Cuellar  of the Baltimore Orioles (August 10, 1969)
  4. Dick Bosman of the Washington Senators (August 13, 1970)
  5. Jim “Catfish” Hunter of the Oakland Athletics (May 31, 1975)

The first four times, Tovar was playing for the Minnesota Twins.  The last time versus Hunter, he was with the Texas Rangers. Tovar’s hits against McNally and Cuellar came in the ninth inning.

Tovar is also one of four players to play all nine positions in one major league game.

Cesar Tovar died at the age of 54 on July 14, 1994.

Mickey Mantle After Retirement

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3 Photographs of Yankees First Base Coach – Mickey Mantle

 

 

 

 

And Bobby Murcer gets playfully pushed away after reaching first base

Mickey Mantle announced his retirement March 1, 1969. In 1970, Mickey Mantle was an announcer on the NBC Game of the Week, but left in late August and  joined Yankee manager Ralph Houk’s coaching staff for the remainder of the season.

Mantle’s first game coaching was on August 30 against the Minnesota Twins. Bobby Murcer walked to lead off the fourth inning. When Murcer came over to talk with Mantle, who would coach first base only for the middle three innings, Mantle kiddingly pushed Murcer back to first base. The Twins first baseman is Rich Reese. The Yankees won this game 5-2. Continue reading →