Game 122: Minnesota Twins (66-55) @ Detroit Tigers (69-47)

Wednesday August 19, 1987

Tigers 7, Twins 1

Although Dan Gladden and Mark Davidson tried to bring a little bit of home to Tiger Stadium by hanging 20+ pictures of the Metrodome in the clubhouse, the Twins’ road woes continued. Once again it wasn’t even close. The Tigers scored four runs in the second and the Twins never really got back into the game.

In the midst of the loss, Greg Gagne quietly participated in his 40th consecutive errorless game at shortstop. The team record is 42 games- held by Leo Cardenas.

Player of the Game

Pat Sheridan 2-4, 3 RBI

AL West Standings through 8/19 (Retrosheet)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Minnesota Twins                122   66   56    0  .541     -   611  614
Oakland Athletics              120   61   59    0  .508   4.0   624  575
Kansas City Royals             120   60   60    0  .500   5.0   514  502
California Angels              121   60   61    0  .496   5.5   576  597
Texas Rangers                  119   56   63    0  .471   8.5   643  652
Seattle Mariners               120   56   64    0  .467   9.0   551  624
Chicago White Sox              119   49   70    0  .412  15.5   538  576

Tomorrow vs Detroit: Joe Niekro 3-4 5.04 vs Doyle Alexander 0-0 6.00
Friday-Sunday @ BOS
Monday-Wednesday vs DET
8/28-8/30 @ MIL
9/1-9/3 vs BOS

The Franchise 1911

1911 Washington Nationals

Manager: Jimmy McAleer 11th Season (2nd with Washington 130-175-6)
64 W 90 L 624 RS 765 RA 7th AL 38.5 GB (Philadelphia 101-50-1)
4.06 RPG (AL = 4.61) 3.52 ERA (AL = 3.34)
.656 DER (8th AL)

Franchise (1901-1911) 610-1008-36

1911 Uniforms from baseballhallffame.org

The roster remained pretty consistent for the third year in a row, and that was reflected again in the results. The main problem for the team again was a lack of offense, but the non-Walter Johnson members of the pitching staff fell off from the previous year, making 1911 another miserable year for the franchise.

The bright spots for the Nationals remained the same as well. Walter Johnson was the star, putting up another great season. Clyde Milan was the leader of the offense, while George McBride continued to dazzle with his defense.

The two Washington standouts, Johnson and Milan, were also close friends off the field.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to Washington in 1911

C Gabby Street .222/.279/.264 0 HR 0.1 BFW 4 WS 29 FRAR 2.4 WARP3
In his final season with the Nats, the 28-year-old veteran shared time with two second-year players: Eddie Ainsmith and John Henry. That duo will share catching duties for most of the decade ahead.

1B Germany Schaefer .334/.412/.398 0 HR 1.8 BFW 19 WS 19 FRAR 5.8 WARP3
A well known character of the game, Schaefer came to Washington in the 1909 Jim Delahanty trade. He was a veteran of several Detroit’s pennant-winning teams of the 1900’s, but wasn’t known much for his bat. 1911 was easily his best season at the plate, but it was also his only year as a regular for Washington. He would basically fill a utility role for the rest of his career.

2B Bill Cunningham .190/.239/.278 3 HR -3.4 BFW 2 WS -2 FRAR -2.0 WARP3 Cunningham had some success in 21 games as a rookie in 1910. His 1911 season can be described as anything but a success. Kid Elberfield was the backup, and a superior hitter (.272/.405/.339 0 HR 2.2 BFW 17 WS). One might assume that Cunningham was good defensively, but the numbers indicate that Elberfield was more sure-handed and probably better at turning the double play. It isn’t clear why Cunningham played so much (the fact that Elberfield was 36 years old may be a clue, and Elberfield also backed up a 34-year-old at third base); but he was clearly the worst hitter on the worst hitting team in the American League. Cunningham will play eight more games in his major league career after 1911.

SS George McBride .235/.312/.269 0 HR 1.2 BFW 11 WS 42 FRAR 3.7 WARP3
Despite poor numbers at the plate, McBride recieved a vote for MVP in 1911, indicating how respected he was for his defense. He played every single game for Washington, all at shortstop.

3B Wid Conroy .232/.282/.304 2 HR -0.9 BFW 5 WS 9 FRAR 0.2 WARP3
Conroy’s final major league season.

LF Tilly Walker .278/.311/.334 2 HR -1.6 BFW 6 WS 1 FRAR 0.2 WARP3
Walker, a 23-year-old rookie, would only play part time in the Washington outfield in 1912. He became one of the league’s best power hitters when he moved on from Washington, playing for four different AL teams over his 14-year career. From 1914-1922, he was among the lead home run leaders each year, tying Babe Ruth for the league lead in 1918. Walker spent his last six seasons with Philadlephia, where, in his final season (a year after he hit 37 home runs), he was essentially benched by Connie Mack due to Mack’s belief that the home run was a fad.

CF Clyde Milan .315/.395/.394 3 HR 1.8 BFW 27 WS 16 FRAR 6.3 WARP3
This is the season that Milan established himself as one of the top center fielders in baseball. He played in every game and had his best offensive season to date. Milan also broke out as a baserunner, finishing second in AL stolen bases with 58. He continued to show outstanding range in center, and totaled 33 assists by the end of the season. Milan also gained some respect around the league, finishing 9th in MVP voting. The best news for the Nats: at 24 years of age he had a long career ahead of him.

RF Doc Gessler .282/.406/.373 4 HR 0.4 BFW 18 WS -1 FRAR 3.4 WARP3
Gessler’s 4 home runs and 78 RBI in his final season were enough to lead the team.

P Walter Johnson 25-13 1.90 ERA 1.12 WHIP 5.4 PW 31 WS 10.0 WARP3
Johnson, now a superstar, actually held out for a contract at the beginning of the 1911 season. It didn’t last long, as he signed a 3-year deal worth $7,000 a year around opening day. The hold out did mean that Johnson missed the opening day start for Washington. The next time that would happen isn’t until 1922. Other notable events in 1911 include Johnson’s first career over-the-fence home run surrendered on April 28, an appearance in for the AL All-Stars in a benefit game for Addie Joss’s family, and a 14 strikeout performance in a All-Star exhibition against the Lincoln Giants from the Negro Leagues. Johnson finished 2nd in AL ERA, and led the league in complete games (36) and shutouts (6); including an 11 inning gem over the White Sox on August 4.

The 1911 AL All-Stars. Johnson (4th from left, top) was joined by Washington teammates Milan (7th from left, top), Schaefer (1st from left, bottom), Street (6th from left, bottom), and manager McAleer (middle front).

P Bob Groom 13-17 3.82 ERA 1.36 WHIP -1.7 PW 11 WS 1.0 WARP3
Once again the drop between Johnson and the rest of the pitching staff was a massive one. Groom, in his third season, held steady as a slightly below average pitcher. The low point of his career came on May 11, when he allowed 20 runs in a loss at Chicago.

P Tom Hughes 11-17 3.47 ERA 1.47 WHIP -0.9 PW 10 WS 0.9 WARP3
Hughes, one of the more consistent pitchers for the first decade of Washington’s existence (that’s not saying much), returned to Washington for the 1911 season. At the age of 32, he had one good year left (1912) before retiring.

P Dixie Walker 8-13 3.39 ERA 1.37 WHIP 0.0 PW 11 WS 1.6 WARP3
This was Walker’s best season in the major leagues. He would appear in only nine games the following year, which would close the book on his major league career.

P Dolly Gray 2-13 5.06 ERA 1.65 WHIP -2.1 PW 1 WS -1.3 WARP3
1911 was the curtain call for a very undistinguished career. In three seasons, Gray finished 15-51 3.52 ERA with a -2.0 WARP3. Dolly Gray did win on opening day in lieu of Walter Johnson. Gray will be remembered most for setting the major league mark for consecutive walks with seven; a record that wouldn’t be equaled until 1983.

1911 World Series
Frank Baker earned the nickname “Home Run Baker” with a two homer performance in Philadelphia’s 6-game World Series win over John McGraw’s New York Giants. The win for the AL team means that each league has won four championships.

Game 121: Minnesota Twins (66-54) @ Detroit Tigers (68-47)

Tuesday August 18, 1987

Tigers 11, Twins 2

It was the Tigers’ turn to do the early scoring on this night, and they did so with a six run first inning off of Steve Carlton.

Carlton lasted only three innings, allowing nine runs, six of which were earned. The Tigers used the home run ball to put together their big inning. Larry Herndon hit a three-run home run and Tom Brookens hit a two-run shot off of Carlton in the first.

Randy Bush and Roy Smalley each hit a solo home run to account for all of the Twins’ runs. Jack Morris pitched well, allowing only three hits in seven innings, including the two home runs.

Player of the Game

Larry Herndon 3-3, HR, 5 RBI

AL West Standings through 8/18 (Retrosheet)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Minnesota Twins                121   66   55    0  .545     -   610  607
Oakland Athletics              119   60   59    0  .504   5.0   617  572
California Angels              120   60   60    0  .500   5.5   575  595
Kansas City Royals             119   59   60    0  .496   6.0   503  496
Texas Rangers                  118   56   62    0  .475   8.5   637  641
Seattle Mariners               119   56   63    0  .471   9.0   551  616
Chicago White Sox              118   48   70    0  .407  16.5   530  573

Tomorrow at Detroit: Bert Blyleven 12-9 4.31 vs Walt Terrell 9-10 4.46
Thursday @ DET
Friday-Sunday @ BOS
8/24-8/26 vs DET
8/28-8/30 @ MIL

Game 120: Seattle Mariners (56-61) @ Minnesota Twins (65-54)

Monday August 17, 1987

Twins 4, Mariners 2

The Twins used another big first inning, this time three runs, to take the final game of a four game sweep against the Mariners. The win ends a homestand against AL West opponents in which the Twins finished 9-2, and the team’s lead in the division has grown to five games over second place Oakland.

A Gary Gaetti double plated Dan Gladden for the first run. Gaetti finished the four game series 8-for-16 with six doubles and seven RBI.

A Tom Brunansky home run followed to give the Twins a 3-0 lead. The offense would only manage to scratch together one more run, but it was enough for Les Straker and the bullpen. Straker gave up the two runs on a Jim Presley home run in the fourth. Three relievers combined to close the game with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, including Jeff Reardon who earned his 24th save with 1 1/3 perfect innings.

The Twins take to the road against two AL East teams for six games. Jeff Reardon, quoted in the Star Tribune, is looking forward to it.

“I just think we have to play .500, 3-and-3, and that would be an excellent road trip. Detroit and Boston are playing well right now, and everyone knows how bad our road record is. We’re the ones that know it the most. I think everyone here is looking forward to this trip, to try turning it around.”

Player of the Game

Gary Gaetti

AL West Standings through 8/17 (Retrosheet)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Minnesota Twins                120   66   54    0  .550     -   608  596
Oakland Athletics              118   60   58    0  .508   5.0   616  570
California Angels              119   60   59    0  .504   5.5   574  591
Kansas City Royals             118   59   59    0  .500   6.0   502  493
Seattle Mariners               118   56   62    0  .475   9.0   548  612
Texas Rangers                  117   55   62    0  .470   9.5   634  640
Chicago White Sox              117   48   69    0  .410  16.5   522  559

Tomorrow at Detroit: Steve Carlton (L) 1-2 7.08 vs Jack Morris 13-6 3.47
Wednesday-Thursday @ DET
Friday-Sunday @ BOS
8/24-8/26 vs DET
8/28-8/30 @ MIL

Presidents Day Baseball Quiz

These are actually questions taken from the White House kids site- the complete quiz is here.

1. Who was the first President to dedicate a new stadium?
A. John F. Kennedy
B. Lyndon Johnson
C. Calvin Coolidge
D. Chester Arthur

2. Which President was offered a major league position?
A. Benjamin Harrison
B. Millard Fillmore
C. William McKinley
D. Richard Nixon

3. President Ronald Reagan was the broadcaster for which team?
A. New York Yankees
B. Chicago Cubs
C. San Francisco Giants
D. Cleveland Indians

4. Which President threw a first pitch both right and left-handed in the same game?
A. Jimmy Carter
B. Gerald Ford
C. Zachary Taylor
D. John Quincy Adams

5. Who was the first President to watch a game between teams representing different cities?
A. Andrew Johnson
B. Grover Cleveland
C. Herbert Hoover
D. Dwight Eisenhower

Feel free to use the comments section to answer or make a guess. I’ll post answers in a week or so.

More Presidents day baseball fun:

Check out CW’s Presidents Day quiz from a year ago. I still haven’t gotten answers on three out of the four questions.

I have linked Oyez Baseball in the past- a trivia game in which baseball players and SCOTUS Justices are compared. I recently came upon Presidential Baseball, which is based on the same idea, just with US Presidents.

Game 119: Seattle Mariners (56-60) @ Minnesota Twins (64-54)

Sunday August 16, 1987

Twins 5, Mariners 1

The Twins scored three in the first inning, and once again used a big early lead at home to cruise to a victory. The big blow was a Gary Gaetti two-RBI double in the first inning. Howard Sinker wrote about the team’s tendency to score runs early:

Quick starts have been a fixture of the current homestand, during which the Twins have improved their Metrodome record to 41-18 by winning eight of 10 games. They scored 11 runs in the first two innings on Saturday and, during a five-game winning streak against the Athletics and Angels, got 19 in the first three innings of those games.

Frank Viola won his 14th game by pitching eight innings and allowing only one run on five hits.

Player of the Game

Frank Viola

AL West Standings through 8/16 (Retrosheet)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Minnesota Twins                119   65   54    0  .546     -   604  594
Oakland Athletics              117   60   57    0  .513   4.0   612  564
California Angels              118   59   59    0  .500   5.5   568  587
Kansas City Royals             117   58   59    0  .496   6.0   495  487
Seattle Mariners               117   56   61    0  .479   8.0   546  608
Texas Rangers                  116   55   61    0  .474   8.5   628  633
Chicago White Sox              116   47   69    0  .405  16.5   520  558

Twins Stats through 8/16

Dan Gladden LF .254/.317/.349 4 HR
Greg Gagne SS .276/.315/.442 4 HR
Kirby Puckett CF .319/.359/.496 17 HR
Kent Hrbek 1B .278/.374/.556 30 HR
Gary Gaetti 3B .260/.310/.506 25 HR
Tom Brunansky RF .269/.361/.504 24 HR
Gene Larkin DH .283/.352/.434 4 HR
Tim Laudner C .197/.259/.436 15 HR
Steve Lombardozzi 2B .236/.292/.347 5 HR

Roy Smalley DH .281/.346/.423 6 HR
Al Newman UT .216/.286/.315 0 HR
Randy Bush RF .238/.330/.378 6 HR
Mark Davidson OF .274/.339/.354 1 HR
Sal Butera C .188/.239/.275 1 HR
Tom Nieto C .247/.310/.377 1 HR (IR)

Bert Blyleven 12-9 4.31 ERA/5.11 FIP/1.36 WHIP
Frank Viola (L) 14-7 2.78/3.99/1.10
Les Straker 5-7 4.63/5.30/1.40
Steve Carlton (L) 1-2 7.08/5.37/1.87
Roy Smith 1-0 4.32/5.37/1.81
Joe Niekro 3-4 5.04/5.10/1.59 suspended

Jeff Reardon 5-6 4.94/4.89/1.35
Juan Berenguer 5-0 3.87/3.80/1.33 IR
Keith Atherton 4-4 4.01/3.78/1.38
George Frazier 5-5 5.29/4.96/1.62
Dan Schatzeder (L) 3-0 5.79/6.13/1.96

Tomorrow vs Seattle: Les Straker 5-7 4.63 vs Mark Langston (L) 13-9 3.99
Tuesday-Thursday @ DET
Friday-Sunday @ BOS
8/24-8/26 vs DET
8/28-8/30 @ MIL

Game 118: Seattle Mariners (56-59) @ Minnesota Twins (63-54)

Saturday August 15, 1987

Twins 14, Mariners 4

The Twins put on an unearned run scoring clinic, putting up eight runs in the bottom of the first inning.

It was one of those occasions where the boxscore numbers just didn’t seem to lineup. Here is the play-by-play from Retrosheet:

TWINS 1ST: Gladden reached on an error by Brantley [Gladden to
second]; Lombardozzi grounded out (shortstop to first); Gaetti
singled to left [Gladden scored (unearned)]; Brunansky doubled
to right [Gaetti to third]; Larkin walked; Hrbek was called out
on strikes; Laudner singled to center [Gaetti scored (unearned),
Brunansky scored (unearned), Larkin to third]; Gagne tripled to
center [Larkin scored (unearned), Laudner scored (unearned),
Gagne scored (error by S. Bradley) (unearned) (no RBI)]; BROWN
REPLACED GUETTERMAN (PITCHING); Davidson doubled to left;
Gladden singled to left [Davidson scored (unearned, but earned
for the pitcher)]; Gladden stole second; Lombardozzi doubled to
center [Gladden scored (unearned, but earned for the pitcher)];
Gaetti flied out to center; 8 R (2 ER), 7 H, 2 E, 1 LOB. 
Mariners 1, Twins 8.

When Mike Brown came in with two outs to try and mop up the situation, he came with essentially a clean slate. The bases were clear and the Twins had already scored six runs (all unearned) on the starting pitcher Lee Guetterman. Because of the error earlier in the inning, and the fact that there were two outs, the two runs Brown surrendered counted as earned runs on his personal statistics, but not for the team.

In other words, the total earned runs allowed by Seattle pitchers at the end of the game was eight, but the team allowed only six earned runs.

The runs were welcome in whatever form they came in for the Twins, particularly for starter Roy Smith who earned his first ML victory since August 1, 1985 with the Indians.

Tom Brunansky, Kent Hrbek, and Gary Gaetti all homered once the game was already out of hand. Hrbek’s shot was his 30th of the season.

Player of the Game

Greg Gagne 2-4, 1st inning triple, 2 RBI

AL West Standings through 8/15 (Retrosheet)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Minnesota Twins                118   64   54    0  .542     -   599  593
Oakland Athletics              116   59   57    0  .509   4.0   603  558
California Angels              117   59   58    0  .504   4.5   562  578
Kansas City Royals             116   58   58    0  .500   5.0   489  477
Seattle Mariners               116   56   60    0  .483   7.0   545  603
Texas Rangers                  115   55   60    0  .478   7.5   626  621
Chicago White Sox              115   47   68    0  .409  15.5   516  552

Tomorrow vs Mariners: Frank Viola (L) 13-7 2.90 vs Mike Moore 5-14 5.05
Monday vs Mariners
Tuesday-Thursday @ DET
Friday-Sunday @ BOS
8/24-8/26 vs DET

Game 117: Seattle Mariners (56-58) @ Minnesota Twins (62-54)

Friday August 14, 1987

Twins 6, Mariners 3

Although the Twins got a nice pitching performance out of Bert Blyleven, a pair of solo home runs from Kent Hrbek and Tim Laudner, and a two-run double from Gary Gaetti; the biggest play in the 6-3 victory over the Mariners may have been a high and tight pitch from Mike Morgan that connected with Kirby Puckett’s left hand.

Puckett eventually came around to score on the Gaetti double in the eighth, but the importance of the play was not limited to securing the victory at home. The hand started to swell up immediately, and Puckett was replaced in center in the ninth inning.

Those watching feared the worst, but the x-ray told a different story: no broken bones. Puckett is likely not to miss any action, and a major loss was avoided.

Player of the Game

Bert Blyleven 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K

AL West Standings through 8/14 (Retrosheet)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Minnesota Twins                117   63   54    0  .538     -   585  589
California Angels              116   59   57    0  .509   3.5   559  565
Kansas City Royals             115   58   57    0  .504   4.0   485  469
Oakland Athletics              115   58   57    0  .504   4.0   590  555
Seattle Mariners               115   56   59    0  .487   6.0   541  589
Texas Rangers                  114   55   59    0  .482   6.5   620  614
Chicago White Sox              114   46   68    0  .404  15.5   515  552

Tomorrow vs Seattle: Roy Smith 0-0 6.75 vs Lee Guetterman (L) 9-3 4.19
Sunday-Monday vs SEA
Tuesday-Thursday @ DET
8/21-8/23 @ BOS
8/24-8/26 vs DET

The Good News

On Sunday, the same day that my son turns one month old, Twins pitchers and catchers report to camp.

Excited to see his first baseball season!

Game 116: California Angels (58-56) @ Minnesota Twins (62-53)

Thursday August 13, 1987

Angels 5, Twins 1

Though the Twins managed nine hits against Angels starter Mike Witt, they only scored once. The Angels on the other hand, scored five off of Steve Carlton to take the game and the series from the Twins.

Howard Sinker described Witt as “more in luck than in command” and noted that the Twins hit the ball hard right at defenders on several occasions with runners in scoring position, including three drives caught on the track in right field. The team left a total of 12 on base in the losing effort.

It is the first time the Twins have lost back-to-back games at the Metrodome since mid-May.

Player of the Game

Mike Witt

AL West Standings through 8/13 (Retrosheet)

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Minnesota Twins                116   62   54    0  .534     -   579  586
California Angels              115   59   56    0  .513   2.5   553  558
Kansas City Royals             114   57   57    0  .500   4.0   478  464
Oakland Athletics              114   57   57    0  .500   4.0   583  549
Seattle Mariners               114   56   58    0  .491   5.0   538  583
Texas Rangers                  112   54   58    0  .482   6.0   608  601
Chicago White Sox              113   46   67    0  .407  14.5   513  549

Tomorrow vs Seattle: Bert Blyleven 11-9 4.40 vs Mike Morgan 10-11 4.44
Saturday-Monday vs SEA
Tuesday-Thursday @ DET
8/21-8/23 @ BOS
8/24-8/26 vs DET