Thoughts on 1987

Now that I have (finally) finished the re-living the 1987 season, some thoughts:

-The ‘87 Twins really weren’t that good. They were actually outscored through the season, and based on run differential should have finished fourth in their own division. The West was so bad that year, that the Twins record would have only translated to fifth place if they were in the AL East. It was quite remarkable for the team to find its way into the postseason considering that there would be no “Wild Card” for another seven years.

-Two of the new Twins were given much of the credit for the team making the World Series. Dan Gladden and Jeff Reardon were almost universally praised as the elements that put this team over the edge, and Reardon was even named team MVP by some of the local writers.

Gladden’s OPS+ in 1987 was only 75. He contributed less from an offensive standpoint than six of the other eight regulars. He did steal 25 bases in 34 attempts, but that 73% success rate combined with some pretty solid defense in left still doesn’t make Gladden even an average left fielder in 1987.

Reardon’s 1987 season is one of the more overrated in Twins’ history. He was a downright lousy closer for the first two months of the season; and while he improved from June-September, he was nowhere near the dominant closer he had been for most of the decade prior. What separates Jeff Reardon from Ron Davis in Twins’ history is the timing of his blown saves (Reardon’s came largely early in the season, while Davis seemed to have a flair for dramatic blown saves in September) and the fact that the team had success with Reardon on the mound (mainly due to the fact that the ‘87 Twins scored more runs than the teams that Davis pitched for).

-All that aside, this was a fun season to follow. The team was very streaky, and ended up streaking for the good at the right time. Though the 1991 team was much better, I still remember the 1987 team fondly, and suspect that is the case with a lot of upper-midwest baseball fans.
-If I were to hand out awards for the 1987 Twins, I would name Frank Viola the MVP and best pitcher, while Kent Hrbek would be the most valuable everyday player, with Kirby Puckett a close second.

-This was a lot of fun, and I intend to pull out another Twins team to cover next winter. I’m not sure if I will just go in order and take on 1988, or skip ahead to 1991. I would love to go back further, but going back through any year pre-1986 would involve a lot of library time and microfiche. Hopefully one of the local papers will eventually be archived online back the the 1960’s, but at this point they aren’t.

1987 World Series Game 7: St. Louis Cardinals (3-3) @ Minnesota Twins (3-3)

Sunday October 25, 1987

Twins 4, Cardinals 2

The Twins’ magic carpet took Minnesota to the moon Sunday night.

It was borne by the sound of 55,000 exploding voices in the Metrodome and hundreds of thousands more from border to border in one floor-stomping, chest-pounding declaration:

“We’re No. 1.”

And the moment Gary Gaetti fired to Kent Hrbek in the ninth inning to retire Willie McGee and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2, The Celebration began.

It cascaded from the playing field where the Twins mobbed themselves in a primeval scream of glory, clutching, laughing and crying, and from the grandstand were the fans erupted in a feast of triumph and vindication. It came rolling out of the upper galleries like the boom of an ocean surf, and it flashed to the world on television in a wild swirl of white bandanas.

The champions of baseball. The World Series. No. 1.

-Jim Klobuchar, Star Tribune, 10/26/87

Minnesota finally had its World Championship; but early on it looked as though the Cardinals might spoil the party. A shaky-looking Frank Viola allowed three consecutive singles to start the second inning; the third of which, a base hit by Tony Pena, scored the game’s first run. With two outs in the inning, catcher Steve Lake hit the fourth single of the frame to score Willie McGee from third and to give the Cards a 2-0 lead.

The Twins were able to answer in the bottom of the second. The inning started when Don Baylor did what he did best, got hit by a pitch. Tom Brunansky singled Baylor to second, and with one out, Tim Laudner lined a single to left. Baylor was waved around third by Ron Gardenhire when the throw came in from Vince Coleman. Though replays later showed he slid under the tag, the ball beat Baylor and the “out” call was made. Fortunately, Steve Lombardozzi’s RBI single to center salvaged a run in the inning, cutting the St. Louis lead in half.

For a few innings, the umpires were the centers of attention. From Vancil’s game story:

Television replays showed that plate umpire Dave Phillips blew a call that took away a Twins run in the second. First-base umpire Lee Weyer missed two calls, one that resulted in a Twins run in the fifth and one that took St. Louis out of the sixth inning.

Despite the blown calls for both sides, there was little arguing. Al Michaels, calling the game for ABC, had his own theory. “It’s ridiculous to have an argument here. You can’t hear a man standing next to you.”

The first of the controversial calls that went against the Cardinals came in the fifth inning. With one out, Greg Gagne hit a chopper that first baseman Jim Lindeman. Lindeman fielded the ball and flipped it to Joe Magrane, who had hurried over to cover first. When Magrane took the throw, he clearly missed the bag with his first step, and took an awkward second step at the base. Though replays showed that he had the bag on the second attempt, the umpire didn’t see it, and Gagne was safe at first.

The play marked the end of Magrane’s night on the mound, and Danny Cox came in to try and get out of the inning with no damage. The first man he faced, however, Kirby Puckett, doubled to the gap in right-center, scoring Gagne all the way from first. Cox got out of trouble however, thanks mostly to the Twins base running. Puckett was caught stealing third for the second out, and the third out was made at home plate when Gaetti tried to score from second on a Baylor single to left, the second out Coleman’s arm had made at home.

Cox’s trouble continued in the sixth. After walking Brunansky and Hrbek, Cox was able to get Laudner to pop out. That brought Todd Worrell into the game, normally the Cardinal’s closer. Worrell walked pinch-hitter Roy Smalley to load the bases with one out. After a Dan Gladden strikeout, Gagne hit his second infield single of the game, this time to third, to score the go-ahead run. Worrell ended the inning by striking out Puckett. Though the Cards were down, they had wriggled out of two potentially big innings in a row, and only trailed by one.

While St. Louis pitchers struggled, Frank Viola was on cruise control. After allowing those two runs in the second, he retired 11 in a row before Tom Herr singled in the sixth. Herr was eventually picked off, and Viola allowed only one more hit, taking his team to the eighth inning.

The Twins added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth in the form of a Dan Gladden RBI double. With a 4-2 lead, Tom Kelly had a decision to make, though Kelly didn’t make it a particularly tough one.

“I told Frankie I was very proud of him,” Twins manager Tom Kelly said. “He did an outstanding job. He knows, like we all know, Jeff Reardon gets the ball in the ninth. That’s the way we’ve done it all year, and that’s the way we were going to do it tonight.

“We weren’t going to go away from our plan. When the ninth inning comes around, Reardon comes in. Frankie understands that’s the way we do it. I told him again, I was very very proud of him, but here comes Reardon.”

Reardon retired the Cardinals in order in the top of the ninth, the last out coming on a Willie McGee grounder, Gaetti to Hrbek.

The Minnesota Twins are baseball’s champions.

Player of the Game and World Series MVP

Frank Viola

1987 World Series Game 6: St. Louis Cardinals (3-2) @ Minnesota Twins (2-3)

Saturday October 25, 1987

Twins 11, Cardinals 5

The Twins used back-to-back big innings to come from behind and force a seventh game in the World Series.

Things started well for the Cardinals, however, when Tommy Herr hit a solo home run off of Les Straker in the first inning. It was only the second long ball of the series for the Cardinals.

The Twins answered in their half of the first. Dan Gladden hit a lead off triple, and later scored when Kirby Puckett singled to left. After Puckett reached second on a ground out, Don Baylor knocked in the second Twins’ run with a single to right.

St. Louis tied the score at two in the second when Jose Oquendo singled home Terry Pendleton. The tie held up until the fourth, when the first three batters Straker faced reached safely to give the Cardinals a 4-2 lead. Dan Scahtzeder entered with nobody out, and was able to get out of the inning with no further damage. The Cards did get to Schatzeder in the fifth when Willie McGee knocked Ozzie Smith in with a single.

Down 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Twins needed to score runs. Fortunately, runs have come relatively easy in the Metrodome, and that was the case on this night as well. Like the Cardinals fourth, the first three Twins reached safely off of John Tudor.

Kirby Puckett led the inning off with a single. That was followed by a Gaetti RBI double that cut the St. Louis lead to two. Don Baylor quickly erased that lead with a home run to left, his first in a Twins’ uniform. Baylor last home run came on August 23 when he was with Boston; a grand slam off of Steve Carlton.

The Twins continued the hit parade, however. Tom Brunansky finally ended Tudor’s night when he singled to left, the fourth straight hit for the Twins. Ricky Horton came in to get Hrbek and Laudner for the first two outs, but Steve Lombardozzi knocked a single to center to score Brunansky from second before the inning was over. The Twins took a 6-5 lead.

After Juan Berenguer retired the Cardinals in order in the top of the sixth, the Twins continued the onslaught. From Mark Vancil’s game story:

But it was the sixth inning that turned the game, and perhaps the Cardinals’ season, upside down. Greg Gagne singled to lead off before Bob Forsch came on to walk Puckett. In between outs, Baylor was intentionally walked and Herzog brought in lefthander Ken Dayley to face Hrbek, who had been 1-for-14 against lefties in the Series.

“I knew no matter what that if I got to the plate, I’d be facing a lefty,” Hrbek said.

He faced him for one pitch. Hrbek took a Dayley fastball 439 feet, over the center-field wall, for a 10-5 lead that buried the Cardinals and sent Herzog looking for a Game 7 starter.

The Twins added an unearned run in the eighth to make the final 11-5 and force a seventh game. So far, the Twins have outscored the Cardinals 29-10 in three World Series games at the Dome, the site of Game 7.

Somewhat lost in all of the fire works was Kirby Puckett’s game. He went 4-4 and scored 4 runs, tying a World Series record for runs in a game.

Player of the Game

Kirby Puckett

Tomorrow Game 7: Frank Viola (L) 17-10 2.90 ERA 1.18 WHIP vs Joe Magrane (L) 9-7 3.54 ERA 1.27 WHIP

A Couple of Hall of Famers Reach 400

April 27

1926: Walter Johnson records his 400th career win, a 9-1 win over Boston at Griffith Stadium. The milestone didn’t even merit a mention in the New York Times that day, though there was a write up on his four-hit performance.

Johnson went on to win 417 career games to only 279 losses (a .599 lifetime winning percentage). The next highest win total in franchise history belongs to Jim Kaat, who won 190 games with the Minnesota Twins. Johnson is also far and away the franchise leader in losses, with 279 (Kaat is second in that category as well, with 159).

The win total is second in major league history to Cy Young’s 511. Johnson is fourth in all-time losses behind Young, Pud Galvin, and Nolan Ryan.

The Coffeyville Whirlwind’s win totals are certainly impressive, though not the best statistic to illustrate his dominance. A 203.3 career WARP3, 146 career OPS+, 2.0 BB/9 rate and 8.2 K/9 rate are better numbers to use when discussing a great career.

What 400+ career wins does illustrate is longevity and durability. He lasted 21 major league seasons, often pitching on three days rest, part of why no pitcher in today’s era has even come close to 400.

1969: Harmon Killebrew hit the 400th home run of his career in a game at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The solo blast came in the first inning off of Gary Peters, and helped the Twins win the game 4-3. It was Killer’s third of 1969, his eventual season total would be 49, equaling a career high set in 1964.

Three years later, Killebrew will pass the 500 mark, one of only 20 other major leaguers to do so. He currently stands at number eight on the all-time home run list with 573, four more than Rafael Palmiero and 10 fewer than Mark McGwire.

What’s more impressive is Killebrew’s home run rate. He hit a home run every 14.22 at-bats. Though that is the eighth best rate in history, there are only two above him that did not play most of their career in the 90’s - to early 00’s. Babe Ruth got a home run in every 11.76 at-bats, while Ralph Kiner hit one every 14.11 at-bats. Killebrew hit at a greater rate than all of the famous sluggers who played during his career, including Mantle, Mays, and home run king Hank Aaron.

1987 World Series Game 5: Minnesota Twins (2-2) @ St. Louis Cardinals (2-2)

Thursday October 22, 1987

Cardinals 4, Twins 2

For the fourth time in this World Series the winning team scored most of its runs in one big inning. This time, however, it was not the fourth.

Bert Blyleven and Danny Cox were engaged in a pitching duel in the early innings. Both were pitching shutouts as the game headed into the bottom of the sixth inning. Blyleven allowed just four hits over the first five innings, while the Twins had only managed three against Cox. All of the hits in the game so far had been singles.

The Cardinals finally got to Blyleven in the bottom of the sixth on a rally that started with two infield singles. Vince Coleman led off with a grounder that took a bad hop as it reached Kent Hrbek. With Coleman at first, Ozzie Smith bunted down the third-base line. Blyleven bobbled the ball, but Smith likely would have been safe anyways.

With one out, Coleman and Smith executed a double steal on a pitch that Tim Laudner had some trouble handling. An intentional walk to Dan Driessen loaded the bases in an inning where the only ball that left the infield was a lazy fly to left that also produced the only out.

Blyleven came back to strike out Willie McGee, and was one out away from escaping with no damage when Curt Ford lined a single to center field to score the first two runs of the game. A Greg Gagne error on a chopper by Jose Oquendo allowed a third Cardinal run to score before a Tony Pena grounder to third finally ended the inning.

The three runs would hold up, though the Cardinals scored another run in the seventh to take a 4-0 lead.

The Twins finally hit the scoreboard when Gary Gaetti hit a two-out triple to knock two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Gaetti was stranded at third, however, and though the Twins put together a mini-scare for Cardinals fans in the ninth, the final score was 4-2 in favor of St. Louis.

The Twins now must win two straight home games to win the franchise’s first World Series since 1924.

Though the Cardinals have the clear advantage in the series, they aren’t thrilled that they have to win a game at the Metrodome. From Mark Vancil’s game story:

“I feel lot better now, but that’s a tough place to play,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said of the Metrodome. “We have to go up there and win a ballgame. It’ll be tough because they played us tough here.”

Said Ford: “I think it will be a different story when we go back again this weekend.”

Player(s) of the Game

Vince Coleman and Ozzie Smith

Saturday Game 6: Les Straker MIN 8-10 4.37 ERA 1.35 WHIP vs John Tudor (L) 10-2 3.84 ERA 1.38 WHIP

if necessary…

Sunday Game 7 @ MIN

GOTW: 4.25.1970

Saturday April 25, 1970
Metropolitan Stadium

Detroit Tigers (10-3) @ Minnesota Twins (8-4)

1969 marked the first year of division play in major league baseball. Two of the better teams in that era were the Twins and the Tigers. Minnesota had won the first AL West title in 1969, only four years after they had unseated the powerful Yankees for the ‘65 pennant. Detroit had winning seasons every year since 1964, and of course the 1968 World Series victory was still fresh in the minds of Tiger fans. Though Detroit finished 19 games out of first place in 1969, they still had a respectable 90-72 record.

The two teams met in a three-game series at Metropolitan Stadium early in the 1970 season. Both had gotten off to good starts, and both had a goal to win their respective divisions. The Tigers took Friday’s series opener 8-6 on the strength of Bill Freehan’s second homer of the year; a two run shot that broke the tie in the seventh inning.

The lineups looked like this (Baseball-Reference):

   Detroit Tigers                Minnesota Twins                      
1. M Stanley            1B    1. C Tovar              CF
2. D McAuliffe          2B    2. L Cardenas           SS
3. A Kaline             RF    3. T Oliva              RF
4. W Horton             LF    4. H Killebrew          3B
5. B Freehan            C     5. R Reese              1B
6. J Northrup           CF    6. B Alyea              LF
7. E Maddox             3B    7. P Ratliff            C
8. C Gutierrez          SS    8. F Quilici            2B
9. E Wilson             P     9. J Kaat               P

This was Jim Kaat’s fourth start of the season. His first was his best, a 1-0 shut out over Oakland. His record stood at 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA. The opposing pitcher was power-arm Earl Wilson, who was making his fifth start with mixed results in his first four (2-2, 4.73).

The two pitchers exchanged scoreless innings for the first three, but did it in different ways. Wilson was able to keep the Twins’ bats largely silent, while Kaat wiggled his way out of problems early with the help of three double plays, all of which got him out of an inning. The fourth was Kaat’s first 1-2-3 inning, and it was the bottom of that frame that produced the game’s first runs.

With one out, Tony Oliva launched his third home run of the season. After a Harmon Killiebrew ground out, Rich Reese hit his first of the season to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers finally got to Kaat in the sixth, when first baseman Mickey Stanley hit his first home run of the year to lead off the inning. A walk and an error later in the inning were not enough to tie the game, but the lead had been cut in half to 2-1.

The lead held up through the seventh, and the Twins added an insurance run in the eighth on Jim Kaat’s sacrifice fly.

Kaat came into the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead. Willie Horton led off the inning with a single, and two batter later came home on a Jim Northrup triple. The triple chased Kaat from the game in favor of Stan Williams, who came on to pitch with the tying run at third and one out.

Norm Cash, pinch-hitting for Maddox, tied the game with a sacrifice fly off of Williams. Cesar Gutierrez grounded out to end the inning, but the damage had been done; the game was tied heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Tom Timmerman managed to get Leo Cardenas to ground out for the first out of the inning. He did not have as much success against Oliva, however, who singled to right and was able to stretch to second base when Kaline had trouble fielding the ball. The error proved costly, as the next batter, Harmon Killebrew, singled to right; enough to bring in the winning run from second base.

Boxscore and play-by-play

Stars of the Game
1. Tony Oliva MIN 2-4, 2 R, HR
2. Jim Kaat MIN 8 IP 3 ER 2 BB 5 K
3. Rich Reese MIN 1-4, HR

The Twins won the series with a Sunday afternoon Luis Tiant 6-0 shutout. Eventually, the Twins would go on to win their second straight AL West title in 1970. Detroit was headed in the other direction. After a 12-6 record in April, they tanked in May going 9-17. The team hovered around the .500 mark for the rest of the season, finishing with Detroit’s first losing record since 1963.

1987 World Series Game 4: Minnesota Twins (2-1) @ St. Louis Cardinals (1-2)

Wednesday October 21, 1987

Cardinals 7, Twins 2

In two out of the three previous games, the Twins used a big fourth inning to run away with wins. The Cardinals turned the tables in Game 4.

The Cardinals entered their half of the fourth with a tie score thanks to a Jim Lindeman single in the third that matched the solo home run Greg Gagne hit in the top of the frame. St. Louis went right to work in the fourth. Tony Pena drew a walk from Frank Viola to start the inning, and he was moved the third base by a Jose Oquendo single. With nobody out, Tom Lawless stepped to the plate.

In five major-league seasons, Lawless had hit only two career home runs, though he had done so in limited playing time. His inexperience may have been apparent in the way he reacted to his three-run home run. He trotted slowly and admired his work before flipping the bat straight in the air about half way to first base. Lawless explains himself, recorded in Mark Vancil’s game recap:

“Well, I’ve hit the ball pretty well here before and it hasn’t ever gone out,” Lawless said. “It’s a big stadium, especially for a little guy like myself. I didn’t run because there were guys on second and third and if he catches the ball, I can’t pass up Jose (Oquendo) anyway.

“I watched it hit the back wall and said, `Holy cow, the ball went out.’ I went blank for a second. It never happened to me before. From the fifth inning on I just wanted the game to get over with in a hurry so I could relish the moment, I guess.”

Gary Gaetti was among the Twins who weren’t happy with the slow trot.

“I just think that was something strange for him to do, seeing he’s hit only two home runs,” Gaetti said. “Maybe he knows he could hit 30 or 40 home runs if he played every day. But if you do that enough over a course of a season, he’ll sure get a lot of dents in his helmet.

“If I was a pitcher I wouldn’t forget it. I don’t do that stuff. It’s part of the game that’s not called for. Maybe he was just out of control.”

Frank Viola made an early exit from the game two batters later, but that didn’t slow the Cardinals down. Dan Schatzeder allowed two more hits, including a two RBI double off the bat of Willie McGee, to bring the game score to 7-1 by the end of the fourth inning.

When a Kirby Puckett fifth inning single scored Gene Larkin, Twins’ fans may have thought that their team would start chipping away at the lead. Bob Forsch was able to work his way out of the inning, however, and there was no more scoring in the game.

Ken Dayley pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to close the game out and even the series.

Player of the Game

Tom Lawless

Tomorrow Game 5: Bert Blyleven 15-12 4.01 ERA 1.31 WHIP vs Danny Cox 11-9 3.88 ERA 1.48 WHIP

Saturday: Game 6 @ MIN

if necessary
Sunday: Game 7 @ MIN

Dom Perignon

At first glance it seems innocent enough. One millionaire ballplayer sends another four bottles of champagne as a tongue-in-cheek thank-you note for sweeping his division rival on the final weekend of the season. Unfortunately, the gesture is outlawed by baseball’s rules, and Torii Hunter may be in some hot water with the league.

MLB’s Rule 21, quoted by The Cheaters Guide to Baseball blog:

(b) Gift for defeating competing club. Any player or person connected with a Club who shall offer or give any gift or reward to a player or person connected with another Club for services rendered or supposed to be or to have been rendered in defeating or attempting to defeat a competing Club, and any player or person connected with a Club who shall solicit or accept from a player connected with another Club any gift or reward for any services rendered, or supposed to have been rendered, or who, having been offered any such gift or reward, shall fail to inform his League President or the Commissioner or the President of the Minor League Association, as the case may be, immediately of such offer, and of all facts and circumstances connected therewith, shall be declared ineligible for not less than three years.

A three year suspension may seem excessive, particularly in light of today’s 50-game suspensions for a first positive PED test, but baseball history has been exceedingly clear on this point: gambling, or the appearance of gambling, does not belong in baseball.

At the beginning of the 20th century, gambling was as big a part of baseball as the pitcher or the base. Scandals seemed to occur on a yearly basis, and baseball was becoming an environment where the fans questioned the legitimacy of every player and every game (sound familiar?).

One of the common practices of the time was incentive payments, a practice where a player or team would “reward” a non-contending team for winning games against another contending team. On the scale of gambling-related sins, this certainly seems benign, but it was the appearance of impropriety that Judge Landis wanted to remove after the scandal of 1919. It wasn’t hard to imagine that these mostly-cash payments for winning could eventually turn into payments for throwing a game; thus came Rule 21.

Today’s baseball environment is decidedly different than it was when Judge Landis set out to clean up the game some 80 years ago. There is no longer a need for ballplayers to “supplement” their salary; one of the biggest reasons that baseball and gambling originally went hand-in-hand. Four bottles of Dom is probably about the same to Hunter and Sweeney as a couple of mini candy bars might be to you and me, so the significance of the payment in this case is almost laughable.

Still, it is hard for me to believe that people who have been around the game so long could be so clueless as to the rules, particularly involving what was, until recently, baseball’s number one sin. Christensen adds:

But Ryan also hinted at the reason MLB won’t let it pass with a simple slap on the wrist. The rule is designed to avoid any tampering between teams — gifts from a team to a pending free agent, for example — and MLB remains highly sensitive to anything that could even be remotely viewed as a form of gambling.

I don’t want to speculate as to what MLB’s response will be, nor am I advocating for a three year suspension (a punishment that would certainly not fit the “crime” in this instance). It will be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming weeks, however. The last several years in baseball has been a frenzy of panic in response to the limited evidence that baseball had been taken over by ‘roided up home run machines; now a near 80-year old scandal that was a true threat to the integrity of the game rears its head again, and I don’t think that it should simply be laughed off or swept under the rug.

1987 World Series Game 3: Minnesota Twins (2-0) @ St. Louis Cardinals (0-2)

Tuesday October 20, 1987

Cardinals 3, Twins 1

Twins fans were treated to something they had yet to see in the 1987 post-season: a pitcher’s duel. Unfortunately, the outcome did not go the Twins’ way.

John Tudor and Les Straker exchanged scoreless innings for the first five frames. In that time, no base runner advanced past second base for either team.

The scoring began in the sixth. After getting Dan Gladden to ground out to start the inning, Tudor walked the next two batters. The free passes to Greg Gagne and Kirby Puckett represent the only walks Tudor issued in the game. He would pay for it later in the inning when a Tom Brunansky single scored Gagne from third.

Straker pitched an uneventful sixth inning, and ended his first World Series appearance with a very impressive line.

Minnesota Twins       IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
Straker                6     4   0   0   2   4   0

Tom Kelly defended his decision to lift Straker in the sixth (quoted in Mark Vancil’s game recap in the Star Tribune).

“Lester gave us just what we wanted, six innings,” said Kelly. “Check his history. After six he gets a little shaky. He gave us a beautiful game, but he had men on base every inning.”

Paul McEnroe recorded Straker’s reaction:

“I didn’t expect to come out,” he said softly.

“Tired, no I wasn’t tired. I didn’t say anything when he (manager Tom Kelly) told me he’s taking me out. He’s been doing that all year.

“I was real surprised when he took me out.”

Enter Juan Berenguer. Kelly’s plan was to go with Berenguer for two innings, then to bring on Reardon to close the game out. Unfortunately for the Twins, the plan changed quickly when Berenguer ran into trouble immediately in the seventh.

Jose Oquendo greeted Berenguer with a single to start off the inning. Tony Pena advanced Oquendo to second with a single of his own. Terry Pendleton, pinch hitting for Tudor, handed the first out to Berenguer by sacrificing the runners to second and third with a bunt.

Both runners scored when Vince Coleman lined a shot down the third base line, just out of Gary Gaetti’s reach for a two RBI double. Juan Berenguer’s night was finished.

Coleman eventually scored on an Ozzie Smith single off of Dan Schatzeder, but the Cardinals didn’t need the extra run in the end. The Cardinals’ closer, Todd Worrell, held the Twins scoreless on one hit in the eighth and ninth innings.

Player(s) of the Game

John Tudor and Les Straker

Game 4 Tomorrow: MIN Frank Viola (L) 17-10 2.90 ERA 1.18 WHIP vs STL Greg Mathews (L) 11-11 3.73 ERA 1.29 WHIP

Thursday: Game 5 @ STL

if necessary…

Saturday: Game 6 @ MIN
Sunday: Game 7 @ MIN

The Franchise 1919

1919 Washington Nationals

Manager: Clark Griffith 19th Season (8th with Washington 625-562-23)
56 W 84 L 2 T 533 RS 570 RA 7th AL 32 GB (Chicago 88-52)
3.75 RPG (AL = 4.09) 3.01 ERA (AL = 3.22)
.686 DER (7th AL)

Franchise (1901-1919) 1235-1570-59

1919 was the worst season of Clark Griffith’s career in Washington. In fact, the .400 winning percentage is the worst by any Griffith managed team.

Once again, the biggest problem was a lack of offense. Washington scored 3.75 runs per game. If it weren’t for lowly Philadelphia (3.26), the Nats would have been last in AL run scoring. The pitching was again the strength of the team. A 3.01 team ERA was good enough to be third best in the AL. The defense was breaking down, however. Only Philadelphia kept the Nats out of the AL cellar in fielding percentage (.960) and DER (.686). The poor defensive numbers turned a team with the third best league ERA into only the third highest runs allowed in the league.

Washington was 14-36 in one run games over the course of the season. The offense was shut out 16 times, and was held to one run 21 times.

Walter Johnson was once again the most important player on the team. He had another great season, though he would return to earth from an incredible run of excellence in 1920. Sam Rice, Joe Judge, and Mike Menosky all had good years at the plate, but that was not enough to make up for the struggling batters that made up the team’s infield apart from first base.

During the dead ball era, little offense was expected from the middle infielders. Washington got even less than that. Their starting second baseman, Hal Janvrin, finished the season with 34 OPS+, by far the worst among league regulars. Howie Shanks and Eddie Foster at short stop and third base had 66 and 76 OPS+ respectively. The combined OPS+ at 2B, SS, and 3B was the worst in the league.

Needless to say, it was a good move by Griffith to bring in three new players for those positions in 1920, even though it was the biggest lineup turnover in his time with the team.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to Washington in 1919

C Val Picinich .274/.330/.401 3 HR 1.7 BFW 7 WS 24 FRAR 4.1 WARP3
Picinich’s offensive numbers may not look that impressive on the surface, but his 1919 season may have been the best offensive season for a catcher in the 19-year history of the franchise (although he played in only 80 games. Picinich started his career in with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s, where he caught a no-hitter thrown by Joe Bush in his rookie season of 1916. He made his way to Washington where, for most of his five seasons, he was a backup catcher. Picinich shared the catching duties in 1919 with…

C Patsy Gharrity .271/.325/.366 2 HR 0.0 BFW 9 WS 15 FRAR 3.1 WARP3
Gharrity logged a lot more playing time than Picinich; but that was due to his versatility. Aside from the 60 games he played behind the plate, he also appeared in the outfield 33 times, and at first base seven times. Gharrity quickly became Walter Johnson’s favorite catcher, meaning that he would start with Picinich as a backup for the first few years of the 1920’s.

1B Joe Judge .288/.386/.409 2 HR 1.4 BFW 17 WS 2 FRAR 5.3 WARP3
His number came up from a disappointing 1918 campaign, particularly his OBP which rose 54 points. Judge’s OBP will stay in the high .300’s until his career winds down in the early 1930’s. Though he has a great defensive reputation, Judge’s FRAR remains low.

2B Hal Janvrin .178/.253/.221 1 HR -4.3 BFW 0 WS -1 FRAR -1.3 WARP3
Washington acquired Janvrin in the offseason from Boston in exchange for Eddie Ainsmith and pitcher George Dumont. He didn’t last long in Washington. After putting up horrible numbers in 61 games, he was traded to Buffalo of the International League in exchange for a 22-year old second baseman named Bucky Harris. The position was filled by Howie Shanks, Joe Leonard, and Roy Grover for the balance of the season.

SS Howie Shanks .248/.289/.299 1 HR -3.6 BFW 7 WS 16 FRAR 1.6 WARP3
While his hitting still wasn’t lighting the world on fire, Shanks’ value came from his defense; both quality and versatility.

3B Eddie Foster .264/.314/.310 0 HR -0.7 BFW 11 WS 33 FRAR 4.5 WARP3
In his final season in Washington, Foster had his worst at the plate. At the same time, his 33 FRAR was a career high. All in all, Foster held down third base for Clark Griffith from 1912-1919. During that time, he hit .266/.328/.330 (94 OPS+) and compiled 35.4 WARP3. Foster will be traded to the Red Sox in January 1920.

LF Mike Menosky .287/.379/.401 6 HR 0.7 BFW 11 WS 3 FRAR 3.4 WARP3
Upon returning from the war, Menosky had another very good season at the plate. He led the Nats in home runs with six. After the season, Menoksy will head to Boston with Eddie Foster.

CF Clyde Milan .287/.371/.361 0 HR -0.2 BFW 9 WS 0 FRAR 2.2 WARP3
The 32-year-old played in only 88 games, the lowest total of his career if you take away his first and last seasons. Buzz Murphy filled in at center field when Milan was out, but was very unimpressive at the plate and wasn’t really an improvement in the field.

RF Sam Rice .321/.376/.411 3 HR 1.4 BFW 18 WS 15 FRAR 6.6 WARP3
Rice has the distinction of being the only Nats hitter in 1919 that could be accurately described as having a good season. One year removed from serving in World War I, Rice returned to form as if he hadn’t missed any time at all.

SP Walter Johnson 20-14 1.49 ERA 0.99 WHIP 6.7 PW 27 WS 14.1 WARP3
On opening day, Johnson pitched a 13-inning shutout, and the Nats defeated Philadelphia 1-0. It was one of five 1-0 victories for Johnson in 1919, tying his own major league record. Johnson led the AL in ERA (1.49), WHIP (0.99), H/9 (7.28), K (147), Shutouts (7), K/W (2.88), and ERA+ (214). The 1919 season marks the end of Johnson’s dominance. He will have several more very good seasons, but will not approach the dominance he displayed from 1910-1919. Over those 10 seasons, from the age of 22 to 32, Johnson compiled an amazing 138.7 WARP3. It is probably the most dominant stretch for any player in ML history.

SP Jim Shaw 17-17 2.43 ERA 1.22 WHIP 1.6 PW 18 WS 7.9 WARP3
Since Shaw started with Washington in 1913, he had some flashes of brilliance. In 1919, that all came together and Shaw had his best career season at the age of 25. Shaw was actually used more than Johnson, and more than any other pitcher in the AL for that matter. He led the AL in games (45) and innings pitched (306.7).

SP Harry Harper 6-21 3.72 ERA 1.52 WHIP -1.9 PW 4 WS 1.1 WARP3
The pitching depth in Washington took a nose dive after the number two spot. Harper led the league in one category: losses. He was the final Washington piece of the trade that sent three players to Boston in the offseason.

SP Eric Erickson 6-11 3.95 ERA 1.46 WHIP -1.2 PW 3 WS 1.3 WARP3
Erickson came to Washington from Detroit in exchange for Doc Ayers in July. Erickson was born in Sweden and started his major league career in 1914 with the New York Giants. He spent the next four years between Detroit and the minor leagues before landing in Washington where he will finish his career.

1919 World Series
One of the more famous series’ in history, though it was not due to the play on the field. The Cincinnati Reds upset the Chicago White Sox 5 games to 3 in a best of 9 series. It was about a year later when a grand jury convened to investigate the rumors of foul play that came out of this series, which ultimately led to the banishment for life of eight members of the White Sox. Among the eight was former Nat Chick Gandil.