1988: The Twins help the Orioles set a dubious record

Originally posted October 25, 2007

Thursday April 28, 1988

The Twins helped the Orioles make history when they completed the three-game sweep at Metrodome. It was the Orioles 21st consecutive loss, a new American League record.

It has come to this: The Baltimore Orioles lost their 21st game of the season Thursday, losing to the Portland Beavers 4-2.

OK, OK, Kent Hrbek hit a home run and Tom Herr made a couple of nice plays at second base. But the guys who did the real damage to the Fighting O’s on Thursday were Allan Anderson, Mark Portugal and John Moses - three guys called up this week from Class AAA Portland. “The Portland connection, the Beaver connection,” said Anderson, the starter and winner for the Twins. “That’s something.”

Something else, really, when considering that Portugal stepped off the plane, arrived at the park in time for the fourth inning, walked into the dugout, loosened up and blew it past those Fighting O’s for 2 2/3 innings.

-Tom Powers, Pioneer Press 4/29/1988

For the third straight game, the Orioles scored in the first inning, and for the third straight game they ultimately fell to a Twins team that had its own problems, led by Kent Hrbek, a player who until recently had his own problems.

This may have been the biggest series of the year for the Twins, and it certainly had a unique pressure to it. The sweep helped the Twins to get out of the AL West cellar.

The Twins will head to Boston for a three-game weekend series, while the Orioles will take the big story of the early baseball season to Chicago, where the pressure will be on the White Sox to avoid being the first team to lose to the O’s.

Box

Player of the Game
Kent Hrbek 3-for-3, HR 2 RBI

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               22   15    7    0  .682     -   124   97
Kansas City Royals              20   11    9    0  .550   3.0    94   86
Chicago White Sox               19   10    9    0  .526   3.5    88   78
Seattle Mariners                22   10   12    0  .455   5.0    98  118
Minnesota Twins                 19    8   11    0  .421   5.5    80  117
Texas Rangers                   19    8   11    0  .421   5.5    47   66
California Angels               21    8   13    0  .381   6.5   103  115

Ed.: The Orioles won the next day at Chicago, 9-0. 

Also this week:

A Couple of Hall of Famers reach 400

The Most Famous Double in Metrodome History

The Franchise 1963

1963 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Sam Mele 3rd Season (3rd with Minnesota 229-195-2)
91 W 70 L 767 RS 602 RA 3rd AL 13.0 GB (New York 104-57)
4.76 RPG (AL = 4.08 ) 3.28 ERA (AL = 3.63)
.717 DER (2nd AL)

All Stars (4) Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Harmon Killebrew, Zolio Versalles

Franchise (1901-1963) 4466-5095-106; 8-11 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1963) 252-231-2

Injuries plagued the Twins early in the season, causing them to find themselves in last place as late as May 15. Once the full slate of players returned along with a few mid-season acquisitions, the Twins were off and running. From May 16 on, the Twins were 80-50. During that time they had a 10-game winning streak and an 8-game winning streak.

The Twins had the top offense in the American League, outdistancing the traditionally powerful Yankees by 53 runs. Most of the production came from the home run ball, of which the Twins hit 225 in 1964, at the time second most in major league history (the 1961 Yankees held the record with 240).

The hole the Twins dug themselves early in the season made it impossible to catch the Yankees, who ultimately ran away with the AL Pennant. Still, the optimism remained in Minnesota for a team that was stocked with young talent, including a 24-year-old sensation named Tony Oliva who was still a year away from being a major factor.

At season’s end, Calvin Griffith offered manager Sam Mele a contract for the 1964 season. To Mele’s dismay, it called for a pay cut. After taking a few days to think it over, Mele signed the one-year deal to stay on as manager of the Minnesota Twins. The pay cut was unprecedented at the time, and frowned upon by many in and around baseball who thought that Griffith should have offered Mele at least a token raise or changed managers if he thought the job was not being done properly. The move solidified the label of “cheap” that accompanied Calvin Griffith, and very likely helped him in future negotiations with players. TSN reported that one “front line” pitcher said “If Mele couldn’t get a raise, what chance do I have?”

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1963

C Earl Battey .285/.369/.476 26 HR 4.0 BFW 26 WS 31 FRAR 7.7 WARP3
From an article by Arno Goethel in the 7/6/63 issue to TSN:

Earl Battey, work-horse catcher for the Minnesota Twins, credits his indestructibility to Trainer George Lentz.

“If it wasn’t for Doc,” said Battey, “I’d be in trouble and out of the lineup.”

It’s true that Battey has been commanding much of Lentz’ time, ointments, needles, and medications this season.

…

Foul tips splotched Battey with bruised on both hands, both feet, his right knee, and his right elbow.

He had pulled hamstring muscles in his right leg and wrenched his right knee.

In addition, he had been hit by pitches in the head, left bicep, right shoulder, and left wrist.

Still, the 228-pound 28-year-old backstop was playing at a pace that promised to make Manager Sam Mele a piker as a prognosticator.

Despite all of the knicks throughout the season, 1963 was Earl Battey’s signature year. He had his most productive season at the plate while remaining one of the top fielding catchers in the major leagues.

1B Vic Power .270/.297/.384 10 HR -1.0 BFW 10 WS 14 FRAR 2.3 WARP3
Power’s final full season with the Twins was a disappointment. Though his veteran presence was continuously talked up by the organization through the season and off season, Power was traded to the Angels in June of 1964.

2B Bernie Allen .240/.302/.356 9 HR -2.5 BFW 8 WS 17 FRAR 2.1 WARP3
Rather than building on his promising rookie season of 1962, Allen took a step back in ‘63. That he managed to finish with the numbers he did was a bit of a testimony to his second half performance, however. Through June 5, Allen was hitting .162/.253/.231. His batting average didn’t stay above .200 until August 17 and his OBP didn’t even reach .300 until September 12. Needless to say, Allen’s playing time was cut significantly by 1964. The fact that he remained with the team as long as he did is a good indication of how difficult it was for the Twins to find a good second baseman in their first several years in Minnesota. In fact, that problem wasn’t solved until a young Carew joined the team in 1967.

SS Zoilo Versalles .261/.303/.401 10 HR 0.4 BFW 19 WS 49 FRAR 6.8 WARP3
While the right side of the infield struggled to produce, the left side was solid throughout the season. Zorro, now 23 years old, turned in another outstanding defensive season, and even showed a bit of improvement at the plate, particularly in the slugging deparment, a skill that was quite scarce among short stops at the time.

3B Rich Rollins .307/.359/.444 16 HR 0.8 BFW 19 WS 17 FRAR 5.4 WARP3
Rollins’ sophomore season didn’t get off on the right foot when his jaw was broken by a pitch in the final exhibition game. He missed the first couple weeks of the season due to the injury, and actually played a couple of weeks with his jaw wired shut, living on a diet of baby food and ground-up foods eaten through a straw. Still, Rollins was able to build on his impressive rookie season and put together what would end up being the best season of his career. At the end of the season, Rollins’ actually credited his broken jaw as a major reason he was able to turn things around after a horrible exhibition season.

LF Harmon Killebrew .258/.349/.555 45 HR 2.5 BFW 23 WS -2 FRAR 5.2 WARP3
Like Rollins, Killebrew had limited playing time in the first month of the season due to injury. During the exhibition season, Killer wrenched his knee on some loose sod. Though the knee would eventually require surgery, the Twins’ slugger would not allow the injury time off to slow him down during the regular season. The Twins were 9-13 when Killebrew finally started to regular playing time on May 5. By the beginning of June, the team was over .500 and only a handful of games out of first place in the American League. By season’s end, Killebrew was once again the league’s home run champion, helped by a late September double header in Boston in which Killer hit four in a single day’s work. In December, Killebrew had surgery on his knee.

CF Jimmie Hall .260/.342/.521 33 HR 2.8 BFW 21 WS 16 FRAR 6.1 WARP3
CF Lenny Green .239/.315/.325 4 HR -1.4 BFW 6 WS 5 FRAR 0.9 WARP3
Harmon Killebrew’s absence early in the season gave rookie Jimmie Hall and earlier-than-expected chance to show his stuff on a major league field. He didn’t disappoint. Though his numbers weren’t great in the first month, his performance off the bench in May and June made it clear that Sam Mele needed to find a home for Hall. He did so by shifting the rookie to center field. Though he was, by most accounts, out of his fielding element in center, he managed to knock 33 home runs and finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Lenny Green served as a late inning defensive replacement for Hall, but had become expendable, and was traded away in the Vic Power deal the next season.

RF Bob Allison .271/.378/.533 35 HR 3.8 BFW 28 WS 23 FRAR 8.7 WARP3
The 6′4″ 220 lb former college fullback got into a bit of a war of words with future teammate Dean Chance in the middle of the season. Chance had been very vocal about how easily he would be able to retire both Killebrew and Allison before an early season game. When he didn’t have the success he predicted against Allison, Chance seemingly resorted to the bean ball. After the third time Chance beaned Allison in the season, Bob got annoyed, saying “I’m not threatening anybody, but Chance better stay loose if he hits me again.”

Chance wasn’t the only American League pitcher to have trouble getting Allison out. The Twins’ outfielder had his best season to date, and actually was in the driver’s seat of the AL home run race during the middle months of the season. Allison’s most memorable game of the season was a three home run effort on May 17.

1B Don Mincher .258/.351/.520 17 HR 0.5 BFW 10 WS 1 FRAR 2.3 WARP3
Mele didn’t tend to use his reserves very often, but the fact that Mincher showed so much power in such little playing time meant that he was sure to get at-bats off of the Twins’ bench.

SP Camilo Pascual 21-9 2.46 ERA 1.15 WHIP 4.7 PW 22 WS 9.2 WARP3
For the second consecutive season, everything came together for Camilo Pascual. Not only did he continue to miss bats (for the third consecutive season he led the league in strikeouts with 202), but he got enough run support to top the 20-win mark for the second time in his career. The only thing that seemed to slow Pascual down in 1963 was a sore shoulder that limited him to only three innings pitched from June 12 to July 18. Without the layoff, Pascual may well have taken some Cy Young votes away from Sandy Koufax. As it stood, Pascual did enough in 1963 to finish 12th in AL MVP voting.

SP Jim Kaat 10-10 4.19 ERA 1.31 WHIP -1.0 PW 5 WS 1.6 WARP3
Kaat had a tough year in 1963, mostly due to numerous arm injuries. He ended up pitching just 178.3 innings over the course of the season, and spent the majority of the last two months of the season watching rather than pitching. For Griffith, it was enough to put Kaat on the trading block at season’s end. Fortunately for the Twins, a deal was never made, and Kaat returned to the rotation in 1964. Despite the poor numbers in other areas, Kaat did manage to win his second consecutive Gold Glove award.

SP Dick Stigman 15-15 3.25 ERA 1.21 WHIP 1.4 PW 14 WS 5.7 WARP3
With all of the injuries to starting pitchers, Dick Stigman picked up his innings and performance, putting together the busiest and most productive season of his career. The talk of the off season was Stigman’s 15-15 record, thought not to be indicative of his true performance. The reasons cited by the media and the Twins were that Stigman allowed too many home runs (32 total, 23 at home) and lost too many one-run games (6).

SP Jim Perry 9-9 3.74 ERA 1.33 WHIP 0.2 PW 8 WS 2.7 WARP3
Jim Perry came from the Indians in a May trade that was an even exchange for Jack Kralick. Perry had spent the previous four seasons in Cleveland, and had followed up very promising rookie and sophomore campaigns with a couple of disappointing seasons in which it looked as though he might not regain the form of his youth. After spending the first month in Cleveland pitching out of the bullpen, Perry was installed in the starting rotation for the Twins. Despite fairly good results at that spot, Perry was moved to a full-time relief role in 1964, and served as a bit of a tweener during the rest of Sam Mele’s tenure as manager.

SP Lee Stange 12-5 2.62 ERA 1.14 WHIP 1.8 PW 12 WS 4.7 WARP3
Stange had been used mostly as a reliever in his early years, but was moved to the rotation out of necessity in 1963. Stange had a lot of success, something he credited partially to his off season bowling regiment. Stange was the major league bowling champion in the spring and actually signed a contract with Brunswick to bowl exhibitions during the off season. He credited his bowling for strengthening his arm, making it possible to go deeper into games. Stange’s WHIP at the beginning of 1964 was not too far off from his 1963 level (1.22), but a poor win-loss record (3-6) and a relatively high ERA (4.74) made him ripe for the trade block. He was sent to Cleveland in June of 1964 as part of the package that brought Mudcat Grant to the Twins.

RP Bill Dailey 6-3 1.99 ERA 0.91 WHIP 2.9 PW 17 WS 6.2 WARP3
The reason Lee Stange was able to move to the rotation for Minnesota was Griffith’s pre-season purchase of Bill Dailey from the Cleveland Indians. Dailey represented the sole spring roster move for the Twins, and his acquisition meant that a young Tony Oliva would start the season with the farm club in Dallas-Fort Worth. The reported $50,000 deal turned out golden for the Twins. Despite the fact that Dailey had little in the way of a major league track record, he proved that he was more than capable in the stopper role, and put together one of the best seasons for a relief pitcher in franchise history. Dailey was dominant in 1963. Being the only real strong right-handed option out of the pen, he was used accordingly. Dailey logged 108.7 innings in 66 relief appearances. Unfortunately for both the Twins and Dailey, the work might have been his downfall. Early in the 1964 season, Dailey reportedly couldn’t lift his pitching arm without pain. He tried to pitch through it, but saw his last major league action in a pretty ugly performance in which he allowed eight earned runs in just 1/3 innings pitched in June of 1964.

RP Bill Pleis 6-2 4.37 ERA 1.22 WHIP -0.6 PW 3 WS 0.6 WARP3
Pleis’ 68 innings pitched marked a career high, as did his win total of six.

RP Gary Roggenburk 2-4 2.16 ERA 1.38 WHIP 0.4 PW 3 WS 0.8 WARP3
Roggernburk’s rookie season was a success, but he would not again repeat the results.

1963 World Series
The Los Angeles Dodgers brought the World Series title west when they swept the Yankees in four games. Don Drysdale pitched a three-hit shut out in Game 3, while Sandy Koufax allowed just a single run in the 2-1 clinching victory.

Walter Johnson 1913: Game 4

April 25, 1914

Just two days removed from his dominant shut out of the same Red Sox, Walter Johnson was called on again to stifle Red Sox hitters. This time, however, Johnson came out of the bullpen. It wasn’t uncommon for “ace” pitchers of the day to serve as closers on occasion as well, and that is exactly what Johnson did. Washington trailed for the bulk of the game, but were able to take a 5-4 lead after a four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. Johnson looked anything but dominant this time out, but worked around two Sox singles to hold the lead for the Nats. Had saves been tallied in 1913, this would be number one for Walter Johnson.

The next day, Walter Johnson was in the news under the headline: “Walter Johnson not to wed.” In the story, Johnson denied rumors that he was taking a two-week absence from the team to marry Anna B. Scully of Cambridge, MA, a woman with whom Johnson said he was acquainted, but “only slightly.”

Through 4/25:
4 G 3 GS 3-0 28.0 IP 1 R 0 ER 18 H 3 BB 19 K 0.00 ERA 0.75 WHIP

Walter Johnson 1913; Game 3

April 23, 1913

From the New York Times:

Walter Johnson pitched wonderful ball against Boston today, blanking them, 6-0. He allowed only two hits, one of which, a “Texas-leaguer,” came in the ninth inning, and gave two bases on balls, one in the seventh inning and one in the final inning. This accounted for all the visitors who reached bases. Johnson has now pitched 26 consecutive innings without being scored on.

Once again Johnson helped his cause with the bat, going 2-for-3, including his second triple of the season.

Through 4/23:
3 G 3 GS 3-0 27.0 IP 1 R 0 ER 16 H 3 BB 18 K 0.00 ERA 0.70 WHIP

The All-Washington Team: Catcher

Muddy Ruel 1923-1930

1923:
C Muddy Ruel .316/.394/.383 0 HR 3.1 BFW 23 WS 43 FRAR 7.9 WARP3
Griffith sent three players, the most notable of which was Howie Shanks, the the Red Sox in exchange for Muddy Ruel and pitcher Allen Russell. At 5′9″ 150 lbs, Ruel was small, even for the 1920’s. He was durable, however, and had been the everyday catcher for the past two seasons in Boston. Ruel was one of the better hitting catchers in the league, and immediately made an impact in Washington by having his best offensive season. Prior to his time with Washington, Ruel was behind the plate when Ray Chapman died on the field after he was hit by a Carl Mays pitch. Ruel would hold down the catching duties in Washington for the bulk of the rest of the decade.

1924:
C Muddy Ruel .283/.370/.331 0 HR 1.9 BFW 17 WS 50 FRAR 6.8 WARP3
Ruel played in 149 games in 1924, 147 of which he caught; a remarkable number for a catcher. Only three members of the ‘24 team appeared in more games (Goslin, Rice, and Peckinpaugh). A lot of catchers had good offensive seasons in 1924, but Ruel remained among the best thanks to his excellent work behind the plate.

1925:
C Muddy Ruel .310/.411/.344 0 HR 2.1 BFW 18 WS 42 FRAR 6.5 WARP3
Ruel had a career best on-base percentage in 1925, and continued to be a solid performer both at the plate and behind it. After struggling in the 1924 World Series, Ruel had a good effort in 1925, batting .316/.409/.368 in this year’s fall classic.

1926:
C Muddy Ruel .299/.401/.389 1 HR 1.6 BFW 18 WS 31 FRAR 6.2 WARP3
At the age of 30 Ruel again provided solid offense from the catcher’s position and very good defense. He will have a couple more years as a regular catcher ahead of him.

1927:
C Muddy Ruel .308/.403/.376 1 HR 1.4 BFW 20 WS 38 FRAR 6.7 WARP3
From 1923-1927 Ruel was one of the better catchers in the league. At the age of 31, Ruel appeared in 131 games, though he only caught in 101 of those. His playing time would drop in 1928 as he started to show his age.

1928:
C Muddy Ruel .257/.342/.320 0 HR 0.3 BFW 8 WS 33 FRAR 4.0 WARP3
Following the 1928 season, Ruel would finish his career in the veteran backup catcher role. He only played in 108 games in 1928, fewest in his career since 1920 when he was a backup for the Yankees. Ruel will leave Washington after the 1930 season. During his six seasons as the starting catcher in Washington, the Nats won a World Series and narrowly lost another. His final numbers in Washington:

1923-1930: .290/.382/.349 2 HR 10.4 BFW 114 WS 275 FRAR 47.7 WARP3

Ruel’s place in franchise history is pretty secure. He was the best catcher during the Washington years.

1944: Baseball’s First Casualty of World War II

April 20, 1944

Elmer Gedeon was part of an athletic family from the beginning. His uncle Joe was a major league ballplayer who made a little history of his own by being the only player banned as a result of the Black Sox scandal that wasn’t actually a member of the team that threw the games.

Elmer followed in his uncle’s athletic footsteps, however, and became a multi-sport athlete at the University of Michigan. He lettered in three different sports, but his best was probably track and field, in which he was a two-time Big Ten Champion, helping his team to earn multiple National Championships. Elmer also played football and baseball in college.

Upon graduation in 1939, Gedeon signed with the Washington Nationals. After spending the first part of that season in the minors, he was called up in mid-September and appeared in five games for Washington. He spent the 1940 season playing in Charlotte, and though he received another September call to Washington he did not appear in any games. Gedeon was set to return to spring training in 1941, but was drafted to the military in January of that year instead.

Gedeon joined the Air Force and ended up flying missions as a captain in France. Gary Bedingfield chronicled the events of April 20 at Baseballlibrary.com:

On April 20, Gedeon piloted one of 30 B-26 Marauders that left Boreham to attack construction works at Bois de Esquerdes. It was the group’s thirteenth mission. Gedeon’s bomber was severely hit by flak over France, and co-pilot Lieutenant James Taaffe, who had been sitting alongside Gedeon when the airplane was hit, was the only crew member able to escape as the bomber plunged to the earth, carrying Gedeon and five others. He is buried at St Pol, France.

Gedeon was listed as MIA for more than a year. Finally, in May of 1945, his father received confirmation of Elmer’s death from a commanding officer who explained that his burial site had been located.

Gedeon was one of two major league players who were killed in action during World War II. The other was Harry O’Neill of the Philadelphia Athletics, who was killed at Iwo Jima in March 1945.

The Franchise 1962

1962 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Sam Mele 2nd Season (2nd with Minnesota 138-125-2)
91 W 71 L 1 T 798 RS 713 RA 2nd AL 5.0 GB (New York 96-66)
4.90 RPG (AL = 4.44) 3.89 ERA (AL = 3.97)
.708 DER (6th AL)

All Stars (4) Earl Battey, Jim Kaat*, Camilo Pascual, Rich Rollins
All but Kaat played in both games. Kaat was only on the roster for the second game.

Franchise (1901-1962) 4375-5025-106; 8-11 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1962) 161-161-2

After a rocky start in Minnesota, everything seemed to come together for the Twins in 1962. The infield was completely retooled with a combination of young talent (Rollins, Versalles, and Allen) and a veteran acquisition (Power) that seemed to make for the perfect mix. Camilo Pascual finally had a win-loss record to show for his outstanding pitching, and Jim Kaat came into his own from the left side of the mound. All of this while Harmon Killebrew came through, despite the fact that most of his performance in 1962 was considered disappointing at the time.

Though the Twins were able to completely reverse their record from the first season in Minnesota, they spent the entire season looking up at the New York Yankees. With the Bronx Bombers seemingly aging, there were a lot of reasons for Minnesota fans to be optimistic about the coming years for the Twins.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1962

C Earl Battey .280/.348/.393 11 HR 1.9 BFW 19 WS 33 FRAR 5.2 WARP3
Ever since he was hit in the face with a pitch by Cleveland’s Bobby Locke in July of 1961, Earl Battey had been wearing a protective helmet that had an extended earflap to protect his cheek. Battey said that he felt as though he was hitting from “behind a horse’s blinder.” Trainer George Lentz continuously made improvements to Battey’s helmet, and Battey didn’t mind because, though down a bit from his 1961 season, he continued to be one of the top hitting catchers in baseball.

1B Vic Power .290/.316/.421 16 HR 0.2 BFW 15 WS 14 FRAR 3.0 WARP3
The Cleveland Indians had a rough spring in 1962, and it seemed as though manager Mel McGaha was determined to make Vic Power the fall guy in the newspapers. All of the negative talk from the organization created rumors that the 34-year-old first baseman best known for his fielding prowess was on the trading block. Those rumors came to fruition when Power was packaged with Dick Stigman in the deal that sent Pedro Ramos from Minnesota to Cleveland. Manager Mele was high on the trade (The Sporting News):

I’ve never seen him miss a throw or drop a pop fly. He’ll be able to save us a lot of runs. He plays a deep first base so our pitchers will have to be on their toes to cover the bag on grounders hit to the right side of the infield.

Vic can help us with the bat, too. He can hit and run, come up with the occasional homer and do everything expected of a major leaguer at the plate.

Generally speaking, the praise for Power and his veteran presence from the organization went on throughout his three seasons with Minnesota. Because the Twins had power elsewhere, Power’s shortage in that category compared to other first basemen did not particularly hurt the team. While by all accounts he was very sure handed, it seems that most of his range at first by this time in his career was probably a result of his deep positioning (and looking at his career numbers that seems to be the case throughout).

2B Bernie Allen .269/.338/.403 12 HR 0.1 BFW 19 WS 26 FRAR 4.3 WARP3
Calvin Griffith had identified the biggest problem with the 1961 season was the defense, so he set out to improve that by bringing up a couple of young prospects to play key infield positions. Bernie Allen, who had been best known previously as the quarterback of the Purdue football team, signed as an amateur free agent in 1961. After a short season in Charlotte, Allen earned his spot on the 1962 team with an impressive spring performance. He played well enough in 1962 to finish third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, but unfortunately for Allen and the Twins, his rookie season would be his best in Minnesota.

SS Zoilo Versalles .241/.287/.373 17 HR 2.6 BFW 16 WS 56 FRAR 5.5 WARP3
Versalles’ reputation as an enigma began to emerge in 1962. At the age of 21, it seemed, Versalles made the difficult plays at short stop look easy, but just as often would boot a ball on what should have been a routine play. Though he was already considered one of the top three all-around short stops in baseball by many scouts, he had found his way into the organization’s doghouse with his “inconsistent play” that was not helped at all by the fact that he left the team for a month in 1961 due to homesickness. Throughout the 1962 season, the organization touted the improved infield play by citing the other three regular members, despite the fact that Versalles looks to have been the most valuable by most defensive metrics.

3B Rich Rollins .298/.374/.428 16 HR 0.5 BFW 23 WS 6 FRAR 4.3 WARP3
Rollins was another new addition to the so called “Incubator Infield,” and it seemed that not a single article was written about him that didn’t mention his red hair (TSN referred to him as the “red-haired rage of the American League). Rollins got off to a hot start in 1962, knocking at least one hit in each of his first 12 games. After play on June 18, 65 games into the season, Rollins was batting .360/.433/.553 with nine home runs. Though he fell off a bit after that point in the season, it would be difficult to label Rollins’ rookie season as anything other than a success. Though he likely would have been a prime candidate for Rookie of the Year, Rollins was not eligible despite the fact that he had only appeared in 13 games in 1961 because he was actually on the roster for 108 days.

LF Harmon Killebrew .243/.366/.545 48 HR 1.3 BFW 24 WS -6 FRAR 4.3 WARP3
This marks Killebrew’s transition to the outfield that basically lasted three seasons. A month into the experiment, TSN gave him a ringing endorsement as an outfielder, saying that he only “butchered” two plays in the field, and neither of them cost his team a win.

The big story of Killebrew’s season according to the papers was his early “slump”. Through 80 games, Killer hit .223/.374/.470 with 17 home runs. In the final 81 games, he hit .259/.360/.607 with 31 home runs. The fact that Killebrew briefly earned the nickname “Harmless Harmon” and had fans writing to him with hitting advice early in the season indicates a.) how high the bar had been set, and b.) how important batting average was considered in 1962. Killebrew did rack up a career high 142 strikeouts in the season, though Calvin Griffith squashed trade rumors and dismissed the high strikeout total as a result of Killebrew’s difficulty adjusting to his new defensive position (interestingly, Griffith never said that he’d take 142 strikeouts any time in exchange for Killebrew’s power numbers, though it is hardly surprising).

CF Lenny Green .271/.367/.402 14 HR 0.7 BFW 23 WS 26 FRAR 5.8 WARP3
Somewhat overlooked, Lenny Green very quietly had another solid season for the Twins. Green reached base in all but three of the team’s first 59 games, and remained in the lineup even against left-handed pitchers, against whom he held his own with a .254/.391/.282 line versus .274/.363/.418 against right-handed pitching.

RF Bob Allison .266/.370/.511 29 HR 1.7 BFW 23 WS 6 FRAR 6.3 WARP3
In a late April game in Baltimore, Allison collided with the outfield fence and bruised his ribs. Eight games later he was finally convinced that they weren’t going to get any better if he kept playing, so he took 11 dyas off before returning to the lineup. Allison was plagued by other injuries as well, including an arm problem that forced him to bluff his way through the final eight weeks of the season in the outfield; but Allsion still managed to play most of the season and to put together his best offensive season to date. On July 18, both Allison and Killebrew hit grand slams in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians, making the Twins the first team in the 20th century to hit two grand slams in the same inning.

OF Bill Tuttle .211/.317/.285 1 HR -1.3 BFW 2 WS 0 FRAR -0.2 WARP3
Tuttle was a journeyman player, but he was used to playing. After serving only as a defensive replacement for most of the month of April, he made his objections known to manager Mele. He finally cracked the starting lineup on April 29 after Allison’s rib injury, and spent about two weeks as the every day right fielder. Tuttle started off with a hot bat, but cooled down very quickly and settled back into his backup role upon Allison’s return. As a result of his lack of playing time, Tuttle asked for a trade at the end of the season. The Twins weren’t able to work anything out, and Tuttle finished his career by spending the first two months of 1963 on the bench in Minnesota.

1B Don Mincher .240/.406/.488 9 HR 0.5 BFW 6 WS 1 FRAR 1.3 WARP3
Mincher was set to start at first base out of spring training, but neither Griffith nor Mele were comfortable with the 24-year-old playing every day, prompting the trade for Vic Power. Still, Mincher showed glimpses of power in his brief playing time in 1962, and would get more playing time a year later.

SP Camilo Pascual 20-11 3.32 ERA 1.15 WHIP 3.7 PW 23 WS 8.8 WARP3
When asked about the difference in his approach in 1962, Pascual said that he “didn’t show all of his stuff” over the first few innings anymore. In the past, he said, he would get a lot of early strikeouts but would wear out in the later innings of games. In 1962, according to Pascual, he learned to save his best pitches for crucial moments in games. The result was a small drop in the number of strikeouts (about one less per nine innings) with roughly the same results in every other pitching metric save one: wins; a stat for which Pascual said he would gladly trade in all of the other numbers. For the first time in his career, Pascual was able to pitch for a winning team, and the results showed with a 20-11 record. Number 20 came on a 1-0 victory over Baltimore in his last start of the season.

SP Jim Kaat 18-14 3.14 ERA 1.18 WHIP 3.8 PW 22 WS 9.0 WARP3
Kaat got off to a slow start in 1962, sporting a 1-4 record with a 6.08 ERA after his first six starts. He righted the ship quickly, however, and came out on the winning end on his next seven consecutive decisions. Kaat blamed his slow start on the fact that he spent most of spring training attempting to work on adding a slider, something that he said caused his other pitches to suffer. Kaat’s sophomore season as a regular pitcher ended up being very successful, a fact most attributed to the fact that he cut down on his walks. Interestingly, one of Kaat’s best games of the season came right in the middle of his early season woes, a 5-0 shut out win over the Angels in which Kaat struck out 10.

SP Jack Kralick 12-11 3.86 ERA 1.24 WHIP 0.7 PW 13 WS 4.3 WARP3
For better or worse, Jack Kralick’s signature moment came on August 26 against the Kansas City A’s. Kralick’s no hitter that day, the first for the franchise since 1931, is likely remembered as a bit of a fluke but the truth is that Kralick was in the midst of a four-year stretch from 1961 to 1964 in which he put up very good numbers. He did not have the gaudy win-loss totals of Kaat and Pascual, but his ERA+ came in above league average in each of the four seasons. The emergence of Kaat as a left-handed force made Kralick expendable, and the southpaw was traded to Cleveland early in the 1963 season for Jim Perry in a deal that was considered an even swap with both clubs desiring a pitcher of the opposite hand.

SP/RP Dick Stigman 12-5 3.66 ERA 1.30 WHIP 0.5 PW 11 WS 3.9 WARP3
Stigman was the other player that came from Cleveland along with Vic Power in exchange for Pedro Ramos. Considered aloof throughout his career, Stigman was actually a very valuable member of the Twins in 1962 and 1963. He spent the first half of the season pitching out of the bullpen, but moved into the rotation in the middle of July. Stigman attempted to match Kralick’s no-hitter on September 5 when he carried a no-no into the sixth inning against the Senators. With two outs, John Kennedy kicked off his major league career by homering to break up the no-hitter and ignite a seven-run rally that brought Washington all the way back from 7-0 to a tie ballgame. The Twins did score twice in the 11th to earn the victory.

SP/RP Joe Bonikowski 5-7 4.09 ERA 1.33 WHIP 0.3 PW 6 WS 2.4 WARP3
The 21-year-old filled in as part of the starting rotation when injuries made it necessary, but he primarily worked out of the bullpen. He was probably the most consistent reliever for the Twins in 1962. Regardless, “Bongo” did not make the team out of spring training in 1963 and never returned to the major leagues.

RP Ray Moore 8-3 4.73 ERA 1.31 WHIP -0.7 PW 6 WS 2.0 WARP3
Moore, at age 36, played his last full season in 1962. Somehow he managed to have a decent career as a relief pitcher despite the fact that his walk rate was very close to his strikeout rate (4.7 BB/9; 5.6 K/9 career).

RP Lee Stange 4-3 4.45 ERA 1.44 WHIP -0.5 PW 4 WS 0.9 WARP3
Though the Twins had been grooming Stange for a relief role, he also briefly answered the call as a starting pitcher in 1962. His results as a starting pitcher were not great, and he spent most of the season filling a relief role.

1962 World Series
The Yankees hit 199 home runs during the regular season, but managed only three against the San Francisco Giants seven games of the World Series. It ended up being enough, and the Yankees won what would be their last World Series championship until 1977, a huge drought for the franchise who won half of the World Series played in the 40 years between 1923 and 1962.

Walter Johnson 1913; Game 2

April 19, 1913

The first paragraph in the game story from the New York Times just about says it all.

Walter Johnson, a Swedish Winter resident of Coffeyville, Kan., limbered up his strong right arm against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds yesterday. He showed lots of promise, and manager Griffith of the Senators says that if the Swede hangs on in the league long enough he will develop into quite a pitcher. The Yanks had about as much chance making a run as chop suey has at a wedding feast. The Washingtons-they made three runs.

Johnson did allow the Yankees six hits, but he struck out eight against no walks, and allowed just one Yankee past first base. Johnson also added his own offense when he tripled home a run in the fourth inning.

Through 4/20:
2 G 2 GS 2-0 18.0 IP 1 R 0 ER 14 H 1 BB 11 K 0.00 ERA 0.83 WHIP

Vintage Minnesota North Stars

Stars are too slick for Oilers - Team makes it look easy in waltz to Stanley Cup finals

Star Tribune: May 11, 1991

Author: Rachel Blount; Staff Writer

North Stars coach Bob Gainey has been around Bobby Smith long enough to know when the Stars center isn’t happy with himself. During the second intermission of the Stars’ 3-2 victory over Edmonton on Friday night, Gainey glanced over at Smith and saw a player in need of a supportive word.

Smith said he was disappointed with his play in the first two periods of Game 5 of the Campbell Conference finals. Gainey, who played with Smith through other Stanley Cup playoffs in Montreal, went to him. He asked Smith if he thought he could give the team a good period in the third. Smith said he would do his best.

At 4:59 of the final period, Smith took a pass from Stewart Gavin and faked out Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr, tucking the puck into the left side of the net to give the Stars their second trip to the Stanley Cup finals. Smith, who was with the Stars when they made their first trip to the finals in 1981, broke a 2-2 tie and became the latest in a long line of heroes that have lifted the Stars through their improbable romp through the playoffs.

The Stars took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Mark Tinordi and Marc Bureau, but the Oilers came back to tie it on a second-period goal by Esa Tikkanen and a third-period goal by Mark Messier. Messier’s shot from in front of the net tied the score 2-2 at 4:18 of the third, but Smith scored the winning goal 41 seconds later, and the Stars hung on through a wild finish.

It was the first-ever Campbell Conference championship for the North Stars, who were presented with the Clarence Campbell Bowl after the game. The Stars had gone to the conference finals once since the NHL adopted the current playoff format in 1981-82, losing that series to the Oilers in four straight games in 1984. The Oilers lost the championship for the first time in their seven trips to the conference finals.

“I never ask a question unless I know what the answer will be,” said a smiling Gainey, who knew Smith would respond to his challenge. “It was fitting that he would get the winning goal. The players are ecstatic; we got there because we earned it, and the victory tonight we certainly had to earn. It feels great.”

The Stars finished the series one game earlier than their previous victories over Chicago and St. Louis. They will begin the finals either Wednesday or Friday against the winner of the Pittsburgh-Boston series. The Stars, who finished the regular season with 68 points, will not have home-ice advantage over either team. They are the third team in NHL history to finish below .500 in the regular season and make it to the Stanley Cup finals.

I believe that the 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the first time that I watched a hockey game and cared. I picked it up right about this time, and vividly remember the Bobby Smith goal. I hoped the goal was on youtube, but only found this Bobby Smith goal from earlier in the series.

Walter Johnson 1913; Game 1

Thursday April 10, 1913

With President Wilson on hand for the season opener, Walter Johnson won a pitcher’s duel against George McConnell and the New York Yankees.

The only run the Yankees managed was of the unearned variety and came in the top of the first. Johnson hit the first batter he faced, Bert Daniels, in the back with a pitch. Daniels stole second, then scored when Chick Gandil couldn’t handle Harry Wolter’s ground ball.

Johnson did not allow another run after that, and finished the game with just the one run on eight hits allowed. He struck out three, walked one, and had the one HBP in the first inning.

The Nats didn’t score until the bottom of the seventh, another scoring opportunity that started with a hit batsman. This time it was Washington’s Eddie Ainsmith who “led off the inning by stopping one of the pitcher’s shoots with his back” according to the New York Times. Howie Shanks reached with a bunt down the first base line that turned into a single. George McBride pushed them both over with a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for a two out, two run single by Danny Moeller two batters later that turned out to be the difference in a 2-1 Nat victory.

1 G 1 GS 1-0 9 IP 1 R 0 ER 0.00 ERA 1.00 WHIP

If you want to cheat and see how the season ends, check out my write up of the 1913 Washington Nationals.