The Franchise 1976 (Part 1)

1976 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Gene Mauch 17th Season (1st with Minnesota 85-77)
85 W 77 L 743 RS 704 RA 3rd AL West 5.0 GB (Kansas City 90-72)
4.59 RPG (AL = 4.01) 3.69 ERA (AL = 3.52)
.695 DER (9th AL)

All Stars (2) Rod Carew, Butch Wynegar

Franchise (1901-1976) 5576-6078-110; 11-21 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1976) 1362-1214-6; 3-10 Post Season; 3-4 WS

Though it had been seven years (and two Twins managers) since Billy Martin led the Twins to the first ever AL West Division title, he was still considered the standard by which all Twins managers would be compared. So it wasn’t surprising when Calvin Griffith set out to replace Frank Quilici before the 1976 season many fans and writers were looking for someone who would fill the significant shoes left by Martin those years ago.

Griffith looked outside of the organization and landed the most experienced manager he could find. Gene Mauch had 16 seasons under his belt when he became the seventh manager of the Minnesota Twins. All of his prior experience had been in the National League with Philadelphia (1960-1968) and Montreal (1969-1975). Mauch was given something that none of the six previous Twins’ managers had: job security. Calvin Griffith signed him to a three-year deal.

“I knew he was the man I wanted.” said Griffith, “I felt that we needed someone who would be tougher with our players. I felt we needed someone from outside our organization. I like the way Gene handled his teams in spring training. There was no loafing.”

When asked if the three-year deal meant that Mauch would be with the Twins for three years, Griffith responded with “no comment.”

The big news during the 1976 season was the Bert Blyleven trade (covered in detail in part two) and the team’s best record since 1970. The Twins finished with 85 wins thanks to their offense, the most prolific run-scoring offense in the American League in 1976. Unlike the Twins teams of the 1960’s who would home run their way to victory, this version of the Twins did not use the long ball. They totaled just 81 home runs, 8th in the American League. This version of the Twins scored runs by getting on base (AL leading .339 OBP as a team) and with their speed (51 triples – 2nd in the AL, 146 stolen bases – 5th in the AL).

Roster/Stats (Hitters)
Bold = Player new to Minnesota in 1976

C Butch Wynegar .260/.356/.363 10 HR 0.8 BFW 20 WS 21 FRAR 6.1 WARP3
The Twins took a prep catcher, Butch Wynegar, in the second round of the 1974 amateur draft. Harold Delano Wynegar, Jr was a switch-hitter who earned the nickname “Butch” due to his chubby frame as an infant. On his way to the majors, Wynegar won the Appalachian League batting title in his first professional season with a .346 batting average. His success continued for the next few years and, despite the Twins’ organization attempts to keep him in the minor leagues for seasoning, Wynegar’s performance would not allow them to do so. He made his debut in the 1976 season and made an immedate impact in the majors. At the age of 20, Wynegar made the American League All Star team and was named TSN’s AL Rookie of the Year following the season.

1B Rod Carew .331/.395/.463 9 HR 2.7 BFW 30 WS 11 FRAR 9.2 WARP3
The long awaited move for Rod Carew finally came in 1976. After years of speculation by the media, Carew made the change from second base to first base. At the age of 30, Carew seemed to be on top of the world. Prior to the 1976 season, he signed a three year contract with the Twins and was set for his seemingly inevitable run at a fifth consecutive AL batting title. What Bob Fowler from TSN had called baseball’s only “sure bet” in the spring didn’t pan out as Carew finished third in the batting race behind a pair of Royals; George Brett and Hal McRae. Still, Carew finished fifth in AL MVP voting and made his 10th consecutive All Star team.

The batting race in 1976 was fascinating and controversial. It came down to the final day. Coincidentally, the Royals and the Twins were playing in Kansas City for the final series of the season so all three contenders were playing on the same field. Prior to game 161, Kansas CIty had already clinched the division, so Brett and McRae both were benched in preparation for the playoffs. During the warm ups for Game 2, McRae made a comment to Carew, as reported in TSN, saying “No way you’re going to win another title. We’re going to walk you the next two games and George and I aren’t going to play.” When Gene Mauch caught wind of this he approached Whitey Herzog and the two managers agreed there would be no intentional walks of the three contenders in the last two games. With McRae percentage points ahead of teammate George Brett, Carew went 3-for-4 to pull within two points of the leaders, meaning that Brett and McCrae would have to play on the final day to try and ensure a batting title.

All three had success on the final day, but George Brett won the title when his blooper was misplayed by Steve Braun in left field. Braun let the ball bounce over his head for an inside-the-park home run that ended Brett’s season at .333 thanks to a 3-for-4 afternoon. McCrae went 2-for-4 but grounded out in his final at bat. McCrae angrily accused Braun of delibrately misplaying the ball, and initially suggested that his race might have been a factor, but later backed off that statement. Carew went 2-for-4 that day as well to finish third in the batting race.

2B Bob Randall .267/.317/.328 1 HR -0.2 BFW 12 WS 14 FRAR 2.9 WARP3
Randall made his major league debut at the age of 28. He was drafted by the Dodgers in 1969 and spent seven seasons with various minor league teams prior to his debut as the Twins’ regular second baseman.

SS Roy Smalley .271/.353/.344 2 HR 2.5 BFW 14 WS 30 FRAR 5.6 WARP3
Smalley was a product of USC and the first overall pick in the 1974 amateur draft. He had played just over 100 games with the team that drafted him, the Rangers, when he was traded to the Twins as part of the Bert Blyleven deal. Smalley had been a bit of a disappointment early on in Texas, but had been trying to learn a new position (2B) after playing shortstop most of his life. Even with the slow start, at age 23 Smalley seemingly had a lot of promise. Though Minnesota was a new place for Smalley, there was at least one familiar face. He was now playing for his uncle, Gene Mauch. Mauch installed Smalley at shortstop, a position he manned for the rest of the decade in Minnesota.

3B Mike Cubbage .260/.344/.371 3 HR 1.2 BFW 12 WS 19 FRAR 4.3 WARP3
Cubbage was another product of the Blyleven trade. Like Smalley, Cubbage was young (25 years old) and seemed to have a great career ahead of him. At one time, Cubabge was conisidered the top hitting prospect in the Rangers’ system. The left-handed hitter was also valuable because of his versatility on defense, Cubbage could play at second or third. Cubbage, considered to be a “throw-in” at first, quickly became the Twins’ regular third basemen. On August 10 in Baltimore, Cubbage had the distinction of being the only Twin to get a hit off of Jim Palmer.

LF Larry Hisle .272/.335/.394 14 HR 1.2 BFW 19 WS 32 FRAR 7.8 WARP3
Hisle’s numbers were down a bit from the previous two years, but he was still a very valuable member of the Twins, finishing first or second on the team in many offensive categories (Rod Carew was the leader in most). On June 4, he became the seventh player in franchise history to hit for the cycle in a game. With all of his success, Hisle was very disappointed that Calvin Griffith offered a low-ball contract after the season was over.

CF Lyman Bostock .323/.364/.430 4 HR 1.6 BFW 19 WS 13 FRAR 6.0 WARP3
While solid in his rookie season, Bostock broke out in his sophmore campaign, earning the owner’s award for most improved Twin in 1976. Bostock attributed his success to his uncle. In the midst of a slump during the 1975 season, Bostock visited his uncle looking for sympathy. Instead of sympathy, Bostock’s uncle gave him a tongue-lashing about his frequent arguments with umpires and hot dog attitude on the field. The encounter changed Bostock, and the difference was noticable not only in his attitude, but in his success on the field. On July 24, less than two months after his teammate hit for the cycle, Bostock did the same, becoming the eighth man in franchise history to hit for the cycle.

RF Dan Ford .267/.323/.457 20 HR 0.2 BFW 18 WS 4 FRAR 5.1 WARP3
Disco Dan was another among the Twins’ hitters who improved his performance from the year before. Ford also had the distinction of being the first player to hit a home run in the newly-remodeled version of Yankee Stadium.

DH/1B Craig Kusick .259/.344/.432 11 HR 0.9 BFW 10 WS 1 FRAR 2.7 WARP3
DH/OF/3B Steve Braun .288/.384/.353 3 HR 1.3 BFW 16 WS 7 FRAR 4.7 WARP3
Kusick and Braun essentially ended up platooning in the DH role, with Tony Oliva playing when he was able. With Oliva retired and Braun left unprotected and drafted by Seattle in the expansion draft, the DH job would be Kusick’s alone in 1977.

DH Tony Oliva .211/.234/.260 1 HR -1.0 BFW 0 WS 0 FRAR -0.7 WARP3
To say that Oliva’s final season was forgettable would be an understatement, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was one of the franchise’s all-time great players. In 15 seasons, all with the Twins, Oliva posted the following numbers:

.304/.353/.476 131 OPS+ 220 HR 135 FRAR 66.7 WARP3

After 15 years and seven knee surgeries, Oliva was forced to retire at the age of 37. Take away the knee problems and is difficult to argue that Oliva does not belong in the Hall of Fame.

The Franchise 1975 (Part 2)

The Twins had a very thin pitching staff in 1975, a fact that was exposed by several injuries. While the top of the rotation was fairly strong, there wasn’t much to be found below Blyleven and Goltz. The team’s best asset, Bill Campbell, was hurt when, in a pinch, it became necessary for him to make some starts for the Twins. Campbell’s absence in the bullpen meant that an already weak group would be even weaker.

Frank Quilici was quoted as saying “a manager is only as good as his bullpen.” In this case, the manager was fired.

Roster/Stats (Pitchers)
Bold = Player new to Minnesota in 1975

SP Bert Blyleven 15-10 3.00 ERA 1.10 WHIP 2.97 FIP 2.3 PW 21 WS 9.0 WARP3
Blyleven missed most of June due to shoulder problems, but remained the team’s best pitcher when he was starting. The Dutchman finished 20 of his 35 starts, including 11 innings in an extremely dominant performance on August 27. With all of Blyleven’s success, baseball “experts” continued to say he hadn’t yet reached his peak and wondering if he ever would, usually citing his career W-L record (95-85 after the 1975 season) as the reason. Opposing teams seemed to know, however, and Catfish Hunter called Blyleven the best pitcher in the league on several occasions.

SP Jim Hughes 16-14 3.82 ERA 1.47 WHIP 4.10 FIP 0.2 PW 14 WS 5.7 WARP3
Hughes’ career highlight up to this point was pitching a perfect game in the Carolina League during the 1972 season. The rookie was impressive for the Twins in 1975, but did not come close to the same success in any of his two subsequent major league seasons.

SP Dave Goltz 14-14 3.67 ERA 1.26 WHIP 3.45 FIP 0.6 PW 15 WS 5.9 WARP3
Goltz went somewhat unnoticed in Bert Blyleven’s shadow, but quietly began to create some buzz with a second consecutive solid season. It was said that Goltz was a favorite among other teams seeking a trade with the Twins, and many within the organization were as high on the Minnesota native as they were on Blyleven.

SP Ray Corbin 7-6 5.29 ERA 1.54 WHIP 4.71 FIP -1.5 PW 2 WS 0.6 WARP3
Ray Corbin struggled through the season until it was ended early by an elbow injury. He ended up having surgery on his elbow and never saw another inning in the majors.

SP/RP Vic Albury 6-7 4.53 ERA 1.57 WHIP 5.29 FIP -1.1 PW 4 WS 1.4 WARP3
Albury worked his way into the starting role and had team management hoping that they had finally found a lefty starter to fill the void left by Jim Kaat a few years earlier. As it turned out, that would not be the case. Albury, like many Twins, struggled with injuires that cut his 1975 season short.

RP Bill Campbell 4-6 3.79 ERA 1.36 WHIP 3.91 FIP 0.1 PW 7 WS 3.0 WARP3
Campbell was called on to make spot starts on occasion in 1975, a move that really stretched the Twins’ bullpen. With Campbell often unavailable out of the bullpen due to his starting duties, the Twins struggled in close games. Campbell also struggled in comparison to his 1974 performance. The Twins must have noticed the change because Campbell was not used as a starter after the 1975 season.

RP Tom Burgmeier 5-8 3.09 ERA 1.31 WHIP 3.65 FIP 1.0 PW 7 WS 3.5 WARP3
With Campbell often not an option out of the bullpen, Burgmeier shouldered most of the load as “ace” of the Twins’ bullpen. The results were mixed. Overall he had a very good season statistically, but fans and management saw Burgmeier lose too many games in the late innings.

RP Bill Butler 5-4 5.95 ERA 1.65 WHIP 4.42 FIP -1.8 PW 0 WS -0.1 WARP3
After Burgmeier and Campbell, Butler was the third option for the Twins -a clear indication of the weakness of their bullpen. Butler did not play in the majors in 1976, only returning for six appearances in 1977 before his career was over.

The Franchise 1975 (Part 1)

Ed: because of the length of these I am going to split them up over two posts – the first will highlight the hitters, the second will be for the pitchers.

1975 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Frank Quilici 4th Season (4th with Minnesota 280-287-1)
76 W 83 L 724 RS 736 RA 4th AL West 20.5 GB (Oakland 98-64)
4.55 RPG (AL = 4.30) 4.05 ERA (AL = 3.78)
.700 DER (6th AL)

All Stars (1) Rod Carew

Franchise (1901-1975) 5491-6001-110; 11-21 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1975) 1277-1137-6; 3-10 Post Season; 3-4 WS

While the Twins were still in the midst of a slow transition process from the great teams of the later 1960’s, hopes were still high for improvement entering the 1975 season. Calvin Griffith and Frank Quilici both felt that the lineup and pitching staff would both be greatly improved over the team’s 82-80 showing of the year before.

For the third straight season, however, the Twins turned in a mediocre performance. By the time the All Star break rolled around, the team was 10 games below the .500 mark and well out of the AL West race.

The second half of the season was filled with speculation about Frank Quilici’s future as manager. Though Griffith said he would not make a final decision until the final out of the final game, he set the odds that Quilici would be back at “50-50″ – certainly not a ringing endorsement for the youngest manager in baseball.

To Griffith, at least, even more concerning than the record itself was the poor attendance the Twins were drawing. For the second straight season the Twins finished dead last in attendance among American League teams, averaging just over 8,000 fans per game in both 1974 and 1975. It all added up for a case against Quilici, who became the sixth Twins manager fired by Griffith in the team’s 15 years in Minnesota.

Roster/Stats (Hitters)
Bold = Player new to Minnesota in 1975

C Glenn Borgmann .207/.303/.278 2 HR -0.9 BFW 8 WS 25 FRAR 2.5 WARP3
With a young Butch Wynegar waiting for a chance in the minor leagues, this would be Borgmann’s last season as a regular with the Twins. He stuck with the team as a backup catcher until he became a free agent after the 1979 season. Borgmann signed with Chicago and finished his career with 32 games played for the White Sox in 1980.

1B Johnny Briggs .231/.371/.360 7 HR 0.9 BFW 9 WS 10 FRAR 2.9 WARP3
1B Craig Kusick .237/.346/.404 6 HR 0.0 BFW 4 WS 2 FRAR 1.3 WARP3
1B Tom Kelly .181/.262/.244 1 HR -1.2 BFW 1 WS 3 FRAR -0.2 WARP3
Kusick started the season at first base for the Twins, but his performance was such that the team went looking for options elsewhere. On June 14 the Twins sent OF Bobby Darwin to Milwaukee in exchange for veteran Johnny Briggs. Briggs had been in the majors since 1964 and had spent most of his time with the Philadelphia Phillies. His best days were behind him, but Briggs was an improvement over what the Twins had prior to the trade. In all, the Twins tried seven different players at first base, including 24-year-old Tom Kelly, who saw his only major league action as a player in 1975.

2B Rod Carew .359/.421/.497 14 HR 6.7 BFW 30 WS 30 FRAR 11.1 WARP3
Carew, at the age of 29, had his best season yet in 1975. Despite his success, Carew still played in realitve obscurity. He was often overlooked nationally due to his team’s home in flyover country and his less than gaudy home run totals. While he might not have been appreciated on the national stage, at least Carew was starting to earn respect from his own organization. He was named team captain in the middle of the summer, indicating that his manager felt he was more of a team leader than he had been in the past. There had been talk prior to the season of moving Carew to first base, but that was quickly nixed by Calvin Griffith who was disturbed by the number of errors Carew had made at second the year before.

SS Danny Thompson .270/.302/.355 5 HR -0.6 BFW 5 WS 9 FRAR 1.5 WARP3
Though Thompson spent most of the season as the starting short stop for the Twins, there were several indications that he was not the team’s long-term solution at that spot. Thompson played through rumors that the Twins were trying to get rid of him, either by trade or outright release. Many felt that his disease was affecting his on field performance, particularly in the field. Thompson made 24 errors in 1975, and even joked that he would name his autobiography E-6.

3B Eric Soderholm .286/.365/.415 11 HR 2.5 BFW 14 WS 25 FRAR 6.0 WARP3
When asked how he turned his career around after a slow start, Soderholm credited his aerobic program. Starting in the spring of 1975, he ran at least five miles in the mornings before hitting the field, and would run an amount determined by his performance after games and practices. Soderholm claimed that when he is in better shape, he was able to set and achieve more ambitous goals on the field. He was going along pretty well when an off-the-field injury, a fall into a manhole on his new lakefront property in late August, sidelined him for the rest of the season. While he suffered cracked ribs in the fall, it was his perpetually ailing knee that kept him out for the 1976 season. The Twins released him after the 1976 season. Soderholm was picked up by the White Sox and had a career year in 1977. He stuck around the majors until 1980.

UT Jerry Terrell .286/.324/.345 1 HR 0.0 BFW 7 WS 18 FRAR 3.0 WARP3
Terrell struggles in spring training meant that the Minnesota native would start the season at triple-A Tacoma. He was so loved by the fans, however, that a petition began circulating the state calling for Calvin Griffith to return the utility man to the major league roster. Griffith, ever the businessman, offered to accept the terms of the petition if each signee would purchase a ticket for the home opener. Though that never happened, Terrell’s performance brought him back to the majors by the beginning of June.

LF Steve Braun .302/.389/428 11 HR 1.2 BFW 17 WS 17 FRAR 6.3 WARP3
The musical chairs that the Twins played to get Braun into the lineup was a testament to his value as a hitter. The original plan out of spring training was to platoon Braun at first base. After a few weeks of that, Braun was moved to an already crowded outfield. Though he wasn’t considered a very good left fielder, having his bat in the lineup was important enough to Quilici that Braun got the bulk of the starts over Larry Hisle.

CF Dan Ford .280/.333/.434 15 HR -0.8 BFW 12 WS 10 FRAR 3.7 WARP3
23-year-old “Disco” Dan Ford was originally drafted by Oakland in the 1970 draft. Though he showed major league promise, he was unable to break into an outfield that already featured Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, and Bill North. The Twins acquired Ford at the end of the 1974 season in exchange for seldom-used 1B Pat Bourque (who had been acquired from Oakland just a few months prior). Ford wasn’t immediately placed into the starting lineup, but an early season injury-bug hit the Twins outfield and gave Ford the opportunity to play every day. Ford’s signature play early in the season was the stolen base, though he went about it in an unconventional way. He had a knack for getting picked off of first base, so he taught himself how to run to second in such a way as to make it difficult for the first baseman to make the throw. He had at least three such stolen bases in his first month as a regular.

RF Lyman Bostock .282/.331/.366 0 HR -1.2 BFW 8 WS 9 FRAR 2.3 WARP3
Bostock’s rookie season was interrupted early when the second-generation ballplayer (his father, Lyman Sr., played in the Negro Leagues) collided with the outfield wall and broke his ankle on April 20. At the time he was batting .219/.324/.219. Bostock didn’t return to the lineup until the end of June, but earned his way back as a regular and batted .323/.368/.426 after the All Star break.

OF Larry Hisle .314/.376/.494 11 HR 1.2 BFW 11 WS 6 FRAR 3.9 WARP3
American League pitchers likely breathed a sigh of relief when Larry Hisle began having elbow problems at the end of June. His performance was starting to make Twins fans talk about him as the next Harmon Killebrew. Unfortunately for Hisle, his elbow required surgery and he missed almost three months.

DH Tony Oliva .270/.344/.378 13 HR -0.1 BFW 9 WS 0 FRAR 2.2 WARP3
There was some speculation in the spring that Oliva’s knees wouldn’t hold out enough for him to even be a regular designated hitter, but that turned out to be a bit exaggerated. This was Oliva’s final full season with the Twins.

The Franchise 1974

1974 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Frank Quilici 3rd Season (3rd with Minnesota 204-204-1)
82 W 80 L 1 T 673 RS 669 RA 3rd AL West 8.0 GB (Oakland 90-72)
4.13 RPG (AL = 4.10) 3.64 ERA (AL = 3.62)
.690 DER (12th AL)

All Stars (1) Rod Carew

Franchise (1901-1974) 5415-5918-110; 11-21 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1974) 1201-1054-6; 3-10 Post Season; 3-4 WS

The Twins were just about average in runs scored and allowed per game. The hidden trouble in 1974 was their fielding. The Twins’ .976 fielding percentage put them towards the bottom of the league, though not by much. It was their range as a team that hurt them, as evidenced by the last-place ranking in AL defensive efficiency rating (.690). Based on the numbers, the only position in which the Twins had a clear strength was second base, the same position where Rod Carew was such a lightning rod for criticism of his defensive effort. Beyond Carew, third baseman Eric Soderholm had a decent season, but the rest of the team wasn’t doing the pitching staff any favors when it came to defensive range.

In that regard, it was probably a minor victory that the Twins were able to slightly improve on their two consecutive seasons of .500 baseball. Once again, the team got off to a horrible start. They were as many as 13 games below .500 in June, and were 10 games below even as late as the first few weeks of July. Though the team came storming back to the tune of a 47-34 record from July 6 on, the same voices that began calling for Bill Rigney’s firing a few years earlier were starting to call for Quilici’s job as well.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1974

C Glenn Borgmann .252/.323/.307 3 HR -0.4 BFW 12 WS 13 FRAR 2.1 WARP3
Borgmann had been with the Twins since 1972, but this was his first crack as a regular. He led all AL catchers with a .997 fielding percentage, though most of the numbers indicate he was about an average catcher. Still, management liked how he called a game, so Borgmann earned another season as a starter despite his less-than-stellar performance at the plate.

1B Craig Kusick .239/.353/.403 8 HR 0.3 BFW 7 WS 3 FRAR 1.8 WARP3
1B Jim Holt .254/.302/.310 0 HR -0.5 BFW 2 WS 7 FRAR 0.8 WARP3
Kusick was called up in early June when it became clear to the Twins that Killebrew would not be able to play first base every day. He basically platooned with Holt until the lefty was traded to Oakland. Believe or not, Holt’s numbers actually went down after the trade; he went .143/.182/.143 to finish out the season in Oakland.

2B Rod Carew .364/.433/.446 3 HR 6.9 BFW 32 WS 23 FRAR 10.4 WARP3
Carew, by now widely considered the best hitter in baseball, had another outstanding season. Carew was also able to win his manager over. Just more than a year after fining Carew for lack of hustle, Quilici was publicly backing his All Star second baseman when Calvin Griffith floated the idea of moving him to first base. Said Quilici: “He has been playing his tail off. He has the best range of any second baseman in our league, in the major leagues.”

SS Danny Thompson .250/.311/.326 4 HR -0.7 BFW 3 WS 8 FRAR 1.2 WARP3
Thompson’s 1973 struggles continued in the spring of 1974. He batted just .118 on his way to losing the starting short stop job to a rookie named Sergio Ferrer. Ferrer hit well over the first couple weeks of the season, but was erratic in the field, forcing the Twins to put Thompson back in the lineup. When Thompson pulled his thigh muscle late in April, the Twins placed him on the 21-day disabled list and called up another young short stop, Luis Gomez, to replace him. When the 21 days were up and Thompson’s leg was healed the Twins did not immediately activate him. Griffith initially cited Thompson’s white cell count as a concern, but when he was corrected (Thompson’s count at the time was 11,000 – normal according to team doctors was between 5,000 and 10,000) Thompson was still not activated. The truth came out shortly after that Griffith and the Twins liked Gomez’ fielding (Griffith called him the “best fielding short stop in the American League”) and did not want to risk losing Ferrer by sending him to the minor leagues to make room for Thompson. Ultimately, however, the Twins did send Ferrer down to make room for Thompson, who started most of the games from June to the end of the season.

3B Eric Soderholm .276/.349/.392 10 HR 1.1 BFW 15 WS 22 FRAR 5.4 WARP3
The Cortland, New York native was the Twins’ first round draft pick in 1968 and had played some with the team since 1971, but this was his first season as a regular.

UT Jerry Terrell .245/.279/.314 0 HR 0.5 BFW 3 WS 14 FRAR 1.3 WARP3
Terrell, helped by a switch-hitting experiment, led the team with a .476 batting average when the Twins broke camp in the spring, but he knew that his role would be as a utility man, particularly considering the fact that Rod Carew was the man ahead of him on the depth charts at his natural position. When Terrell’s bat cooled off significantly in the regular season, he abandoned switch-hitting and batted right-handed the rest of his career. Terrell’s biggest mark on the 1974 Twins and beyond was his role as bench “cheerleader” for the Twins. Terrell’s enthusiasm, accompanied by his local roots, made him a fan favorite in Minnesota.

LF Steve Braun .280/.361/.364 8 HR 0.1 BFW 13 WS 15 FRAR 4.2 WARP3
OF Larry Hisle .286/.353/.465 19 HR 0.9 BFW 18 WS 11 FRAR 6.0 WARP3
Braun had played mostly at third base in his first three seasons with the Twins, but found out in the spring of 1974 that the Twins were going with Soderholm at third. The team asked Braun to move to the outfield, and he did so without complaining. After a few adventures in the field early in the season, Braun settled in to become a reliable left fielder. Larry Hisle’s primary job was as a platoon partner for the lefty Braun, but he filled in the other outfield spots regularly, and was considered by many to be the Twins’ third most valuable player behind Carew and Blyleven.

CF Steve Brye .283/.319/.365 2 HR -1.0 BFW 11 WS 13 FRAR 2.8 WARP3
Early in June Brye was called into Calvin Griffith’s office. Griffith told Brye that he was disappointed with the 25-year-old’s progression as a player since he joined the club in 1971. Griffith’s advice as Brye recalled it: “He told me to get a haircut, that I’d see the ball better if I did.” Brye responded by seeking the advice of his former minor league manager Ralph Rowe, now third base coach for the Twins. Rowe’s advice helped Brye to improve at the plate- he was batting just .257/.311/.322 through June 22. Brye finished the season by going .295/.322/.384 from June 23 on. With regards to Griffith’s advice, Brye got what was described as a “minor trim” but Bob Fowler explained in TSN that Brye’s hair was still “modishly cut.”

RF Bobby Darwin .264/.322/.442 25 HR -0.7 BFW 16 WS 3 FRAR 4.0 WARP3
Darwin, at 31, was having another very good season. He regularly wowed fans with tape-measure home runs, earning himself the reputation as the strongest hitter in the league. Unfortunately, the Twins were not happy with one particular stat: 1974 was the third straight season in which Darwin led the American League in strikeouts. That fact, and a rough start to the 1975 season, meant that Darwin was a candidate to be traded. The Twins sent him to Milwaukee in early June of 1975.

DH Tony Oliva .285/.325/.414 13 HR 0.1 BFW 9 WS 0 FRAR 2.3 WARP3
DH/1B Harmon Killebrew .222/.312/.360 13 HR -0.5 BFW 5 WS 2 FRAR 1.2 WARP3
Calvin Griffith had a bit of a dilemma in 1974. With two aging Twin icons both relegated to the DH role and making a combined $180,000 in salary, it did not seem like both would be able to stick around for long. The 38-year-old Killebrew played some at first base early in the season, but it was clear that in order to continue playing he would need to DH. Though Oliva was three years Killer’s junior, four knee operations meant that his future was in the DH spot as well. When Killebrew learned that it was not in the Twins’ plans to give him regular playing time, the veteran of 21 seasons began to test the waters elsewhere. The final straw for Harmon was the offer from Griffith: a $50,000+ pay cut to play part time and coach the Twins’ hitters. Killebrew called Griffith in January of 1975 and asked for his release so he could sign with the Kansas City Royals. He played there for one season before retiring.

Killebrew, WAS/MIN Career: 2,329 G .258/.378/.514 (145 OPS+) 559 HR 93.5 WARP3

Not only was Killebrew the last remaining tie to the franchise’s Washington years, he was (and is) the greatest player in Minnesota Twins history. Despite the hard feelings towards the end of his career, Killebrew remains active with the Twins’ organization and continues to contribute his name, time, and energy to a lot of charitable work, most notably with the Miracle League of Minnesota.

SP Bert Blyleven 17-17 2.66 ERA 1.14 WHIP 3.7 PW 23 WS 10.8 WARP3
When asked what he was going to do to improve on his 20-win season of a year ago, Blyleven told Bob Fowler: “For one thing, I’ve got to cut down on my defeats, I can do that, too, by concentrating more when I am pitching, and relying more on my change up.” Blyleven must not have been concentrating early in the season. Despite a 2.72 ERA through May, almost a run better than the rest of the league, Bert had a 4-7 record in 12 starts. In an attempt to get him “straightened out,” the Twins skipped him in the rotation early in June. Blyleven was not happy to be skipped in the rotation, and made it known to the press. The move must have helped his concentration, however: Blyleven went 13-10 with a 2.63 the rest of the way. Once again, it seems, Blyleven’s season was defined by run support. The Twins scored fewer than three runs in 12 of his 17 losses, and scored more than three runs in only one of his losses.

SP Joe Decker 16-14 3.29 ERA 1.33 WHIP 1.2 PW 17 WS 7.0 WARP3
A year before Decker had been considered the hardest thrower in the majors. In 1974, partially due to the fact that he was in the starting rotation from day one, Decker dialed the velocity back a bit. He figured if he didn’t throw as hard it would help him to get through a full season for the first time in his career. The seemingly backwards strategy worked, and many in the Twins organization considered Decker’s season to have been better than Blyleven’s. Decker lost much of the 1975 season due to a virus, and when he returned so did his early career control problems. Decker appeared in just 23 combined games in ‘75 and ‘76 before the Twins released him in June of 1976.

SP Dave Goltz 10-10 3.25 ERA 1.36 WHIP 0.6 PW 11 WS 4.3 WARP3
After a solid start in his first appearance of 1974, Goltz struggled out of the gate – a theme that will become common in the Minnesota native’s career. Over the last two months of the season, however, Goltz was one of the better performers for the Twins, posting a 2.75 ERA (though he went only 6-5 over that stretch in Blyleven-like fashion). His season highlight was an October 1 two-hit shutout of the Texas Rangers.

SP Vic Albury 8-9 4.12 ERA 1.46 WHIP -0.6 PW 7 WS 3.0 WARP3
Albury, a Vietnam veteran, was acquired from San Diego in the 1970 minor league draft. This was his best major league season.

SP/RP Ray Corbin 7-6 5.29 ERA 1.54 WHIP -2.0 PW 1 WS 0.1 WARP3
Corbin had made his way through the Twins’ ranks with little fanfare. At each level, it seemed, management didn’t think that he had the stuff to make it. Corbin managed, however, and made the starting rotation in 1974 thanks to a career season the year before. Corbin numbers took a hit thanks to some games in which he allowed a lot of runs. The highlight of his season was probably a beanball war ignited by Corbin’s fastball that hit Milwaukee’s Bobby Coluccio on the left side of the helmet. TSN described the brawl as active on “three or four fighting fronts” including Brewers’ first baseman George Scott landing a right hand to the face of manager Frank Quilici.

RP Bill Campbell 8-7 2.62 ERA 1.36 WHIP 2.5 PW 15 WS 7.0 WARP3
In just his second season, Campbell became the go-to guy out of the bullpen for the Twins. Campbell had the makeup that the Twins still look for today in a closer. The former army radio operator who served in Vietnam, Campbell once said “I don’t know what’s worse, facing a rocket attack or a guy like Dick Allen.” Campbell got a lot of work in his first year as bullpen ace. He appeared in 63 games and compiled 120.3 innings pitched. Interestingly, his workload would only expand over the next couple of years.

RP Tom Burgmeier 5-3 4.52 ERA 1.29 WHIP -0.3 PW 5 WS 2.0 WARP3
RP Bill Butler 4-6 4.10 ERA 1.49 WHIP -0.3 PW  0 WS 2.3 WARP3
Burgmeier and Butler were both acquired before the season to give the Twins some left-handed options out of the bullpen. 30-year-old Tom Burmeier was already a veteran of relief pitching when the Twins sent a minor league prospect to Kansas City to acquire the lefty before the 1974 season. Butler came in a trade with the Cleveland Indians.

RP Bill Hands 4-5 4.45 ERA 1.34 WHIP -0.5 PW 5 WS 2.3 WARP3
Nagging injuries slowed Hands down a bit in 1974, and the Twins simply cut him in September. He was picked up by Texas where he finished his career.

The Franchise 1973

1973 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Frank Quilici 2nd Season (2nd with Minnesota 122-124)
81 W 81 L 738 RS 692 RA 3rd AL West 13 GB (Oakland 94-68)
4.56 RPG (AL = 4.28) 3.77 ERA (AL = 3.82)
.695 DER (8th AL)

All Stars (2) Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew

Franchise (1901-1973) 5333-5838-109; 11-21 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1973) 1119-974-5; 3-10 Post Season; 3-4 WS

The Twins were widely expected to have major problems in 1973. In that regard, it is possible to see their second consecutive .500 season as a bit of a success. The teams’ quick start, they were 9-4 after 13 games and 29-21 after play on June 8, may have set the bar a little high for a rebuilding year. Still, the taste of success early was enough to make the rest of the season bitter for the Twins and their fans.

Among the positives for the Twins, however, was a 14-4 record against the eventual World Series Champion Oakland A’s. Additionally, they got another solid season from Bert Blyleven, while Rod Carew fully returned to his Hall of Fame form.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1973

C George Mitterwald .259/.326/.405 16 HR 1.0 BFW 15 WS 23 FRAR 4.6 WARP3
The 28-year-old catcher matched a career high with 125 games played and had more plate appearances in 1974 than an any other year of his 11-season major league career. Mitterwald responded by posting his best career batting stats, including a 102 OPS+. Mitterwald was traded to the Cubs after the season.

1B Joe Lis .245/.325/.403 9 HR -0.7 BFW 5 WS 3 FRAR 1.4 WARP3
1B/DH Harmon Killebrew .242/.352/.347 5 HR 0.0 BFW 5 WS 4 FRAR 1.5 WARP3
Lis came from the Phillies in the Cesar Tovar trade. Though originally slated to be a late-inning defensive replacement for Killebrew, Lis’ fielding “skills” were the subject of many clubhouse jokes. Lis, known to have a good sense of humor, piled on by selecting “Trolley Song” from the musical Streetcar Named Desire to be played when his name was announced, explaining that the lyric “clang, clang, clang goes the bell” resembled the sound of a ball hitting his glove. Defensive pedegree aside, Lis got more playing time than anybody expected when the 37-year-old Killebrew went down with a knee injury in late June. After starting the 1974 season with a .195/.298/.195 line, Lis was sold to Cleveland on June 5.

2B Rod Carew .350/.411/.471 6 HR 5.8 BFW 28 WS 30 FRAR 10.1 WARP3
Carew won his second consecutive (and third overall) batting title with a personal best .350 average in 1973. Even with his success in traditional batting statistics, Carew didn’t seem to get much national attention for his on the field performance. Despite putting up great numbers year in and year out, Carew had a reputation is some circles as a player that didn’t try hard and an overrated second baseman. True, Carew’s running style looked effortless, but a lot of the fuel for the critics came from an incident early in the 1973 season when Quilici fined Carew for lack of hustle, though there had been other occasions when the press surrounding the young star was unfavorable. For his part, Carew continued to put up numbers and answered his critics on the field.

SS Danny Thompson .225/.259/.282 1 HR -0.4 BFW 3 WS 24 FRAR 1.3 WARP3
UT Jerry Terrell .265/.297/.315 1 HR -2.0 BFW 7 WS 20 FRAR 2.1 WARP3
Thompson, understandable after a leukemia diagnosis in the off season, had a miserable season in 1973. Because of a clause in his contract that called for a bonus if he played in at least 130 games, Thompson played through several injuries early in the season. By the time his season ended prematurely due to a broken foot with a month left in the season, he was batting just .225/.259/.282 in 99 games played, way down from his production the season before. When Thompson was out it was usually Jerry Terrell in his place. Terrell was a native Minnesotan who was known early on as the “bespectacled” player in reference to the eye glasses he wore while playing.

3B Steve Braun .283/.408/.438 6 HR 1.2 BFW 16 WS 11 FRAR 5.1 WARP3
Braun’s third season in the majors was probably the best of his 15-year career. It was also his last as a regular third baseman. The Twins moved him to left field before the 1974 season.

LF Jim Holt .297/.341/.442 11 HR 0.5 BFW 12 WS 13 FRAR 4.1 WARP3
Despite being well-liked a fairly successful as a pinch hitter/fourth outfielder for the Twins in 1970 and 1971, Holt found himself playing at AAA Tacoma for the 1972 season, even after Tony Oliva went down with an injury. Critics of Calvin Griffith suggested that Holt’s demotion was a product of his race; that Griffith didn’t want an odd number of black players on the major league club because that would mean at least one of them would have to share rooms with a white player. Whether that was true or not, Holt returned to the majors in 1973 thanks to his spring training performance. He impressed so much, in fact, that he was one of five black players on the roster. In what Bob Fowler called “one of Minnesota’s most progressive moves” the Twins assigned Larry Hisle, a black player, to room with Danny Monzon, a white utility player.

CF Larry Hisle .272/.351/.422 15 HR 0.7 BFW 17 WS 22 FRAR 6.1 WARP3
After a very promising rookie season with the Phillies in 1969, Hisle struggled over the next couple of years. It got so bad that he didn’t see a single major league pitch in 1972. His career was revitalized when the Twins made a trade with St. Louis in which Hisle seemed to be little more than a throw-in player. After a successful and somewhat surprising spring with the Twins, Hisle became the team’s center fielder and lead off hitter. Hisle has some insight into his earlier career, as express in TSN: “I was one of those guys you hear about who climbs too far too fast and don’t know what to do once they get there.” Hisle’s success in 1973 almost matched his rookie season, and he became a mainstay in the outfield for the Twins. Hisle’s claim to fame from his first season in Minnesota was the fact that, in an exhibition game on March 6, 1973, he became the first designated hitter in major league history.

RF Bobby Darwin .252/.309/.391 18 HR -1.8 BFW 10 WS -2 FRAR 1.4 WARP3
Darwin came back down to earth a bit after his surprising 1972 season, but was still a very productive member of the Twins’ outfield. His numbers would rebound again in 1974.

DH Tony Oliva .291/.345/.410 16 HR 0.2 BFW 13 WS 0 FRAR 2.9 WARP3
Oliva, at 34 years of age and with bad knees, was the prototype player who 1973’s new designated hitter rule benefited. He played in 142 games in 1973, all at the DH position. Oliva, when learning about the new rule, said “if all I have to is hit, maybe I can play until I’m 50.”

SP Bert Blyleven 20-17 2.52 ERA 1.12 WHIP 5.3 PW 29 WS 13.6 WARP3
At 22 years of age, Bert Blyleven had his best season so far. Not only did he impress with career highs in the traditional stats (20 wins, 2.52 ERA), but his peripherals were very good as well (7.14 K/9, 1.86 BB/9, 0.44 HR/9, 2.31 FIP – all career highs up to 1973 except for strikeout rate). Blyleven pitched in three games in which his Bill James game score was 90, and finished the season with a league-leading nine shut outs. Quilici said of his young pitcher “There is a different feeling in the dugout before a game when he is pitching. The guys seem to sense that the other team isn’t going to get many runs, if it scores at all, and they’re more relaxed.” A relaxed team might have been a problem for the Twins. In an incredible 12 of Blyleven’s 17 losses, the Twins offense scored 2 or fewer runs. Only once all season did Blyleven lose a game in which the Twins scored more than three runs.

SP Jim Kaat 11-12 4.41 ERA 1.35 WHIP -1.0 PW 7 WS 3.2 WARP3
Kaat had a pretty good first half of the season, just about what should have been expected from the 34-year-old lefty. After shut out of the Yankees on July 18, Kaat had a 10-9 record with a 3.50 ERA – better than league average. From his next start on July 22 through August 12, Kaat had a string of ineffective outings. Over that stretch, he was 1-3 with a 10.88 ERA in 6 GS and 22.1 innings pitched. Of those six games, Kaat lasted past the third inning only half of the time. Thanks to another contract dispute in the offseason, it wasn’t a huge surprise when the Twins sold Kaat to the White Sox for the waiver price of $20,000. Though Griffith and the Twins thought the winningest active lefty in the majors was on a career decline, it turned out Kaat had some of his best years ahead of him. He won at least 20 games in both 1974 and 1975 for the White Sox with ERA+ of 129 and 125 respectively. He bounced around baseball for a few years before he finally retired in 1983. Kaat remains the second winningest pitcher in franchise history with 190 wins. His Twins career line: 15 seasons 190-159 3014.3 IP 3.34 ERA (110 ERA+) 1851 K 69.1 WARP3. Kaat’s departure in late August meant that Harmon Killebrew was the only remaining player on the Twins who had moved with the franchise from Washington.

SP Joe Decker 10-10 4.17 ERA 1.50 WHIP -0.3 PW 8 WS 3.9 WARP3
The Twins acquired Joe Decker from the Cubs before the 1973 season began. He was one of three Cubs that came to Minnesota in exchange for Dave LaRoche. Decker was coveted by Twins’ scouts despite the fact that he struggled with control. Calvin Griffith once said that Decker could be another Nolan Ryan if he found the plate. In his first season with the Twins, Decker walked 4.5 batters every nine innings, just about what his career average had been up to that point in his career.

Incidentally, here is a comparison of Decker to Ryan

1973
Decker 1.50 WHIP 4.5 BB/9 6.4 K/9
Ryan 1.23 WHIP 4.8 BB/9 10.2 K/9

1974
Decker 1.33 WHIP 3.6 BB/9 6.5 K/9
Ryan 1.27 WHIP 6.7 BB/9 10.1 K/9

SP Dick Woodson 10-8 3.95 ERA 1.45 WHIP 0.1 PW 8 WS 3.3 WARP3
Woodson had a decent season to follow up his career best season from 1972, but he made more headlines in the off season after the year was over. In February of 1974, Woodson became the first player to invoke the new arbitration procedure. Woodson was asking $29 K while Griffith was offering $23 K. Woodson won, and was traded to the Yankees in May of 1974.

SP Eddie Bane 0-5 4.92 ERA 1.53 WHIP -0.5 PW 1 WS 0.5 WARP3
Higly-touted pitching prospect Eddie Bane made his debut to much fanfare on July 4 (more on that game here).

SP/RP Bill Hands 7-10 3.49 ERA 1.26 WHIP 0.5 PW 8 WS 3.9 WARP3
Hands was another product of the LaRoche trade. At 33 years of age, it seems that his glory days of the late 60’s and early 70’s had all but come to an end. Still, Hands had some success with the Twins both as a starter and as a reliever.

SP/RP Dave Goltz 6-4 5.25 ERA 1.60 WHIP -1.1 PW 2 WS 1.2 WARP3
Goltz was throwing in the back yard of his parents’ Minnesota home when he was discovered by a Twins scout in 1966. He became the first native Minnesotan to make the home team’s roster.

RP Ray Corbin 8-5 3.03 ERA 1.24 WHIP 1.4 PW 15 WS 5.5 WARP3
1973 was Corbin’s best career season.

RP Bill Campbell 3-3 3.14 ERA 1.24 WHIP 0.7 PW 6 WS 2.5 WARP3
“Soup” made his major league debut as a 24-year-old rookie in 1973. Campbell would quickly become the Twins’ bullpen ace.

The Franchise 1972

1972 Minnesota Twins

Managers Bill Rigney 17th Season (3rd with Minnesota 208-184)
Frank Quilici 1st Season (1st with Minnesota 41-43)
77 W 77 L 537 RS 535 RA 3rd AL West 15.5 GB (Oakland 93-62)
3.49 RPG (AL = 3.47) 2.84 ERA (AL = 3.06)
.724 DER (4th AL)

All Stars (1) Rod Carew

Franchise (1901-1972) 5252-5757-109; 11-21 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1972) 1038-893-5; 3-10 Post Season; 3-4 WS

In February of 1972, Bill Rigney participated in a TSN article discussing the challenges of a modern manager. The gist of Rigney’s argument, it seems, was that the modern player was much more difficult to deal with, making the manager’s job near impossible. Rigney, who was still largely managing in the shadow of his predecessor Billy Martin, knew that he had to succeed in 1972 to keep his job, and seemed to sense that it might not be in the cards for him.

Rigney lasted just about half of the strike-shortened season. In the midst of a team slump and laggin attendance, Rigney got the pink slip on July 6. Griffith gave many reasons for the move, but most interestingly is the fact that he echoed Rigney’s thoughts from that February article when he said he wanted a manager who could relate better to the modern player.

Enter assistant coach Frank Quilici. At 33 he became the youngest manager in the majors. Quilici was a bit of a local celebrity from his days as a utility infielder with the Twins in the mid-1960’s. Griffith hoped that Quilici’s hiring would spark interest among the fans and players.

The Twins finished the season at the .500 mark, just 41-43 under the new manager. Still, Quilici’s contract was renewed and there was hope that 1973 would be a new beginning.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1972

C George Mitterwald .184/.225/.239 1 HR -0.7 BFW 2 WS 15 FRAR 0.2 WARP3
C Glenn Borgmann .234/.325/.309 3 HR 0.2 BFW 5 WS 10 FRAR 1.4 WARP3
C Phil Roof .205/.235/.356 3 HR -1.0 BFW 2 WS 3 FRAR 0.0 WARP3
Mitterwald and Roof split catching duties for much of the first half of the season. With neither lighting the world on fire, that opened the door for rookie Glenn Borgmann to take over most of the playing time in the second half of the season. 22-year-old Rick Dempsey was also a brief participant the revolving door of catchers for the Twins in 1972.

1B Harmon Killebrew .231/.367/.450 26 HR 2.7 BFW 18 WS 9 FRAR 6.0 WARP3
The 36-year-old sure fire Hall of Fame player had a down year when it came to slugging, but he was still one of the more valuable offensive players in the league. 1972 represents the last of Killebrew’s very good seasons, though he’ll be roughly a league average player in his last three active seasons.

2B Rod Carew .318/.369/.379 0 HR 2.6 BFW 22 WS 34 FRAR 7.8 WARP3
Carew was on his way to a great season in 1970 when his year was cut short by a knee injury. It seems as though it took him a couple of years to get his career back on track:

Year Age OPS+
1970 24 152 *cut short due to injury
1971 25 107
1972 26 119
1973 27 144

Carew’s OPS+ won’t return to the low levels of 1971 and 1972 until he is in his late 30’s.

SS Danny Thompson .276/.318/.356 4 HR 0.9 BFW 15 WS 38 FRAR 6.0 WARP3
Thompson had been a member of the roster since 1970, but didn’t get regular playing time until 1972. By just about every account, he was as well-liked by his teammates as a ballplayer could be. Still, when Cardenas was traded before the season many fans and writers were uneasy with the idea of Thompson as a regular shortstop, particularly considering his past arm trouble. He proved that he belonged, however, with an impressive season in the field and at the plate. During a routine physical in the offseason, Twins team doctors found a high white-cell count in his blood. A few days after his 26th birthday, Danny Thompson was diagnosed with Luekemia.

3B Eric Soderholm .188/.245/.359 13 HR -1.1 BFW 5 WS 16 FRAR 1.4 WARP3
3B Steve Braun .289/.360/.356 2 HR -0.3 BFW 14 WS 20 FRAR 4.7 WARP3
Soderholm was the first-round draft pick of the Twins in 1968. He platooned with another young player, Steve Braun, in 1972 with underwhelming results.

LF Steve Brye .241/.292/.300 0 HR -0.4 BFW 6 WS 19 FRAR 2.0 WARP3
Brye led the Southern Association in batting during the 1970 season, and had a few stints with the major league club that year and in 1971. This was his first taste of regular action.

CF Bobby Darwin .267/.326/.442 22 HR -0.1 BFW 18 WS 6 FRAR 4.5 WARP3
Darwin was orginally drafted by the Angels in 1962 as a pitcher. He was dominant in the low minor leagues but control problems and injuries forced him to make a gradual shift towards the outfield. He was 29 years old when he came to the Twins in a trade with the Dodgers, and looked like a world-beater in his first month of regular play. As of May 9, he was batting .355/.446/.710 with 6 HR in 74 PA’s. He came back down to earth quickly, however, with an extended slump that lasted into July. Darwin was much more consistent in the second half of the season, and ended up with a successful season for himself and the Twins.

RF Cesar Tovar .265/.329/.334 2 HR -0.7 BFW 17 WS 27 FRAR 4.9 WARP3
The 31-year-old Tovar became the second Twin to hit for the cycle (sixth in franchise history) when he did it on September 19. As it turned out, that was one of Tovar’s last games with the Twins. He was traded to the Phillies for three players after the season. Tovar bounced around the majors until 1976. He had a pretty good year with the Rangers in 1974, but was clearly on the downward slope in his career production after the Twins traded him away. In eight seasons with the Twins, Tovar hit .281/.337/.377 with 38 HR. He played at least an inning at each of the nine fielding positions, and compiled 35.3 WARP3.

SP Bert Blyleven 17-17 2.73 ERA 1.10 WHIP 2.4 PW 19 WS 7.4 WARP3
On May 31, Blyleven won his seventh game of the season over the visiting Kansas City Royals. At the time he had just three losses. Over the next two months, Blyleven pitched fairly well, posting a 3.61 ERA in 14 starts. Unfortunately for Blyleven, his record over that same time span was 2-11. Take out the two wins, in which the Twins scored 7 and 5 runs respectively, Blyleven received a whopping 15 runs of offensive support in his 12 appearances. He even pitched 10 scoreless innings against the Yankees on July 8 and only had a no decision to show for it. The lack of support wasn’t lost on Blyleven: “When I look up in the 5th inning and see 0-0, I start thinking ‘well, here we go again.’” Blyleven was able to storm back in the later months to even his record, but the label of a pitcher who “struggles to win games” was already starting to stick to Blyleven, despite the anemic run support.

SP Dick Woodson 14-14 2.72 ERA 1.17 WHIP 0.9 PW 15 WS 3.6 WARP3
On June 25 Woodson was pitching against Kansas City when RIgney decided to go get him. Woodson refused to give the ball to his manager, touching off an argument that continued into the dugout. Woodson was ultimately fined and, as it turned out, it wouldn’t be long before the manager was replaced. Woodson had a pretty good year from a pitching standpoint in the busiest season of his career.

SP Jim Perry 13-16 3.35 ERA 1.15 WHIP -0.3 PW 9 WS 2.2 WARP3
At the end of the 1972 season, the same in which Jim’s brother Gaylord won the AL Cy Young award, the Twins figured to have six starting pitchers for 1973. Since Perry was the highest paid, he was the most logical to go in a trade. In March of 1973, the Twins traded the winningest active pitcher in the AL to Detroit in exchange for pitcher Danny Fife and cash. The trade was a bit of a head-scratcher to observers; Fife wasn’t even on the Tigers’ 40 man roster at the time. It was, perhaps, a fitting end for Perry’s Twins career, however. In 10 seasons with the Twins his record was 128-90 with a 3.15 ERA (113 ERA+) and 46.2 WARP3. He even won a Cy Young award but still managed to be one of the most underrated and underutilized pitchers in Twins’ history. Perry had some success with Detroit and Cleveland before he retired following a brief stint with Oakland in 1975.

SP Ray Corbin 8-9 2.62 ERA 1.16 WHIP 0.8 PW 10 WS 2.9 WARP3
The 23-year-old started the season in relief but became a regular starter by the end of June. He had a string of very good games from August 20 to September 4 in which he allowed just a single run and 14 hits in 28 innings pitched over the course of three starts.

SP Jim Kaat 10-2 2.06 ERA 1.01 WHIP 2.0 PW 12 WS 3.6 WARP3
Early in the season, writers were already suggesting that the 32-year-old had found the “zip” in his pitches again. Kaat was on a roll when, on July 2, his season came to end when he broke his pitching hand while sliding. Despite only playing half a season, Kaat again won the Gold Glove award. Awards and statistics aside, Kaat still didn’t do enough to impress the money out of Griffith’s pocket. Kaat wanted a three-year deal with a raise to total $60,000 per year. Griffith essentially used the reserve clause to force Kaat to play out the 1973 season under his old contract. The owner attempted to spin the move by claiming he could have cut the ace’s salary by 20 percent based on the rules at the time, but instead elected to keep Kaat’s salary steady. Kaat eventually got the contract he wanted, but this is likely the dispute that ultimately led to Kaat’s exit from Minnesota.

RP Wayne Granger 4-6 3.01 ERA 1.24 WHIP -0.1 PW 8 WS 1.4 WARP3
RP Dave LaRoche 5-7 2.83 ERA 1.16 WHIP 0.8 PW 8 WS 3.5 WARP3
The Twins didn’t have many steady options out of the bullpem, but new acquisitions Granger and LaRoche provided some effective innings. Both were traded away following the season; Granger for two players including Larry Hisle and LaRoche for three including Bill Hands and Joe Decker.

The Franchise 1971

1971 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Bill Rigney 16th Season (2nd with Minnesota 172-150)
74 W 86 L 654 RS 670 RA 5th AL West 26.5 GB (Oakland 101-60)
4.09 RPG (AL = 3.87) 3.81 ERA (AL = 3.46)
.703 DER (10th AL)

All Stars (5) Leo Cardenas, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry

Franchise (1901-1971) 5175-5680-109; 11-21 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1971) 961-816-5; 3-10 Post Season; 3-4 WS

After the Twins won four of their first six games it looked as though they might be on their way to a third straight division title. An extended losing streak in April, however, meant that this year’s version of the Twins would be fighting to stay above .500 for most of the first half of the season. By the break, the Twins were well out of contention and began to focus on playing some of their younger players.

As the Twins fell further and further out in the late summer months the talk shifted to Rigney’s future as the team’s manager. While Calvin Griffith held the line that he would not make any decisions until the end of the season, the speculation as to RIgney’s future was a daily topic in Minnesota. Despite an undercurrent of player displeasure with the manager, Griffith renewed Rigney’s contract for another year.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1971

C George Mitterwald .250/.316/.389 13 HR 0.0 BFW 13 WS 19 FRAR 3.1 WARP3
Mitterwald played more in 1971 than he had in any of his previous four major league seasons. He also had more success at the plate, posting a 97 OPS+. If only he could have faced more lefties, Mitterwald had a pronounced split, batting .301/.370/.521 in 166 PA’s against left-handed pitching, though he was just .219/.282/.310 in 268 PA’s against right-handed pitching.

1B/3B Harmon Killebrew .254/.386/.464 28 HR 1.2 BFW 23 WS 0 FRAR 5.6 WARP3
1B Rich Reese .219/.270/.353 10 HR -2.4 BFW 5 WS 4 FRAR 0.2 WARP3
On August 10, 1971, Harmon Killebrew hit his 500th career home run. Killebrew was 35 years old and playing in his 1,955th game. He hit number 500 in his 8,067th plate appearance and 6,671st at bat. Later in that same game, hit hit number 501. Killebrew started his 18th major league season as the Twins’ primary third baseman, but shifted over to first to make room for rookie Steve Braun. A letter to the editor in the Star Tribune suggested that Griffith look to Killebrew as a player-manager over the unpopular Rigney. Griffith responded that managing is a full time job, but he would certainly consider Killebrew as skipper when the slugger’s playing career was over.

2B Rod Carew .307/.356/.380 2 HR -1.0 BFW 17 WS 14 FRAR 4.2 WARP3
After missing most of the 1970 season due to injury, Carew appeared in 147 games in 1971. Carew had a tough time out of the gate. It got so bad that at one point manager Bill Rigney moved Carew to third base for a couple of games in hopes that a change of scenery would jump start the perennial All Star’s bat. Carew bottomed out on June 13 when, after a 1-for-5 game, his line stood at .215/.258/.287. Rigney did not give up on Carew, however, and he was ultimately rewarded. From June 14th on, Carew batted .359/.410/.432, much more in line with the numbers that the Twins had come to expect.

SS Leo Cardenas .264/.321/.421 18 HR 2.4 BFW 22 WS 54 FRAR 8.5 WARP3
With all of the shifting in the Twins infield, the one constant in 1971 was Leo Cardenas at shortstop. The Cuban turned in another spectacular season in the field, measured both in traditional fielding stats (just 11 errors all season – a new major league record for shortstops), and newer fielding metrics (54 FRAR). That he was somewhat successful with the bat was just icing on the cake for the Twins. Cardenas performance in 1971 was good enough to be considered the team’s MVP. Despite that fact, he found himself on the trading block after the season. Cardenas, who turned 33 in December, was traded to the Angels in exchange for relief pitcher David LaRoche. Most in baseball said that the Twins should have gotten more for Cardenas, who batted .263/.325/.394 in three seasons as a Twin. In the same three seasons, he compiled 24.5 WARP3 and an amazing 175 FRAR.

3B Steve Braun .254/.350/.344 5 HR -0.8 BFW 10 WS 6 FRAR 2.0 WARP3
The New Jersey native jumped from single A to the majors in 1971. He wanted to pattern himself after Pete Rose, and found himself a Twins’ regular by May.

LF Cesar Tovar .311/.356/.368 1 HR 0.8 BFW 21 WS 20 FRAR 5.0 WARP3
Manager Bill Rigney on his lead off man in a June edition of TSN: “He’s a great leadoff man and reminds me of Eddie Stanky. He’s a great competitor too. He always wants to play and would play every inning, if you let him.”

CF Jim Holt .259/.292/.318 1 HR -1.7 BFW 5 WS 9 FRAR 0.5 WARP3
“Hustling Holt” didn’t get a lot of attention from the fans and the media, but he was well respected by Twins’ management. The Vietnam veteran was versatile and a favorite of Rigney in 1971.

RF Tony Oliva .337/.369/.546 22 HR 2.6 BFW 23 WS -5 FRAR 5.1 WARP3
On June 29, Oliva hurt his right knee while chasing a Joe Rudi fly ball in the ninth inning. He played the rest of the season, but it would be the same injury that would cause Oliva to miss all but 10 games of the 1972 season. Despite playing about half the season on the bad knee, Oliva won his third batting title. He credited some of his success in 1971 to a change in batting stance that he played with in the spring due to a sore heel.

SP Bert Blyleven 16-15 2.81 ERA 1.17 WHIP 2.2 PW 20 WS 8.8 WARP3
Blyleven, who turned 20 years of age just as the season started, improved upon his impressive rookie season. He gained 25 pounds in the offseason and reports were that his curveball, already considered one of the best in baseball, was even better in 1971. Despite his numbers, a problem emerged that would plague Blyleven for his entire career. Though he posted a 2.81 ERA in a league with a 3.46 ERA, Blyleven won just one more game than he lost in 1971. The Twins scored two or fewer runs in eight of his 15 credited losses.

SP Jim Kaat 13-14 3.32 ERA 1.24 WHIP 0.8 PW 15 WS 6.4 WARP3
Kaat won his 10th consecutive Gold Glove Award in 1971. Such was his defensive reputation that he will win the award a total of 16 times in a row between 1962 and 1977. Greg Maadux has since compiled 17 Gold Gloves, but Kaat is tied for second with Brooks Robinson for most Gold Gloves in baseball history.

SP Jim Perry 17-17 4.23 ERA 1.35 WHIP -2.0 PW 10 WS 3.9 WARP3
A year after winning the Cy Young Award, Perry struggled with an ERA+ of 84. His ERA was about a run and a half higher than Blyleven’s, but Perry managed to win one more game than the 20-year-old. The 35-year-old Perry was selected to his third and final All Star Game of his career, but he did not play.

SP Steve Luebber 2-5 5.03 ERA 1.62 WHIP -1.2 PW 0 WS -0.1 WARP3
The 21-year-old rookie joined the Twins in late June. He struggled in his first attempt to pitch in the majors, particularly with his control. Luebber walked 37 batters in 68 innings pitched. He wouldn’t return to the major league team for significant playing time again until 1976.

RP/SP Tom Hall 4-7 3.33 ERA 1.25 WHIP 0.5 PW 10 WS 4.2 WARP3
Hall was considered one of the hardest throwers in the majors by his fourth season. He did not have the success that he had a year earlier, and was traded to Cincinnati in the offseason. Hall had what was often considered his best career season with the Reds in 1972, but the fact is he was more dominant with the Twins in 1970.

RP/SP Ray Corbin 8-11 4.10 ERA 1.50 WHIP -1.2 PW 5 WS 2.6 WARP3
Corbin was another young pitcher called upon to get significant innings for the Twins in 1971. While he had a rough rookie season, he would become one of the Twins’ more reliable relief pitchers in 1972 and 1973.

RP Ron Perranoski 1-4 6.75 ERA 2.06 WHIP -2.3 PW 0 WS -1.4 WARP3
The Twins left Perranoski unprotected at teh July deadline and the 35-year-old reliever was claimed off of waivers by the Detroit Tigers. In four seasons with the Twins, Perranoski was one of the best left-handed relievers in the American League. He bounced around in 1972 and 1973, including a brief return to the Dodgers, before retiring.

RP Stan Williams 4-5 4.15 ERA 1.37 WHIP -1.0 PW 3 WS 0.8 WARP3
When Williams’ start to the 1971 season did not match his success of the previous season, he was traded to St. Louis for a player to be named. The Cardinals actually ended up sending two players to Minnesota to complete the trade, one of which was a minor league outfielder named Dan Ford.

RP Hal Haydel 4-2 4.28 ERA 1.33 WHIP -0.3 PW 2 WS 1.2 WARP3
Haydel did not pitch in the majors again after the 1971 season.

The All-Franchise Team 1961-1970

Few surprises from the first decade in Minnesota.

C Earl Battey (1961-1967) 32.4 WARP3
Battey was the “iron man” for the Twins through most of the decade. He remains the top catcher in franchise history, though some kid named Mauer will probably take that title in a few years.

1B Harmon Killebrew (1961-1970) 67.8 WARP3
The only decision to make with regards to Killebrew and this team was at which position he would play. He played more games at first base in the decade. Besides, if I put Killer at third base than I have to choose from Vic Power, Don Mincher, Bob Allison, and Rich Reese to fill first base – I like the other options at third better.

2B Rod Carew (1967-1970) 18.4 WARP3
The Twins had a rough time getting production from second base until Carew came along in 1970. This, of course, was just the beginning.

SS Zoilo Versalles (1961-1967) 36.1 WARP3
The Twins had a good decade at shortstop with Leo Cardenas taking over for the latter part of the decade.

3B Rich Rollins (1961-1968) 18.7 WARP3
The other option here would have been Killebrew, but I put him at first base.

LF Bob Allison (1961-1970) 46.5 WARP3
Again, Killebrew was an option here but Allison was the easy choice among the rest of the left fielders.

CF Jimmie Hall (1963-1966) 19.6 WARP3
Hall’s time with the Twins was short, but he made enough of an impact to beat out Lenny Green and Ted Uhlaender for the center field position.

RF Tony Oliva (1962-1970) 54.9 WARP3
This turned out to be Oliva’s prime. He hung around until the mid-1970’s but his production was way down due to injuries.

SP Jim Kaat (1961-1970) 56.9 WARP3
SP Camilo Pascual (1961-1966) 34.2 WARP3
SP Jim Perry (1963-1970) 40.1 WARP3
SP Mudcat Grant (1964-1967) 13.4 WARP3
The top three were easy choices. Other options for the fourth spot include Dave Boswell, Dean Chance, Jim Merritt, and Dick Stigman.

RP Al Worthington (1964-1969) 24.7 WARP3
What is perhaps most remarkable about Worthington’s run as the Twins’ closer was that he put up such great numbers between the ages of 35 and 40.

The Franchise 1970

1970 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Bill Rigney 15th Season (1st with Minnesota 98-64)
98 W 64 L 744 RS 605 RA 1st AL West 9.0 GA (Oakland 89-73)
4.59 RPG (AL = 4.17) 3.23 ERA (AL = 3.71)
.715 DER (5th AL)

All Stars (4) Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry

Franchise (1901-1970) 5101-5594-109; 11-21 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1970) 887-730-5; 3-10 Post Season; 3-4 WS

The Griffiths rarely looked outside of their own organization when hiring managers, so it came as a bit of a surprise when Rigney was named to take over for Martin after the 1969 season. Rigney started his managing career with the Minneapolis Millers. He took over for Leo Durocher as manager of the Giants in 1956, his first major league managing job. Rigney was also the first manager of the Angels, a job he held for nine seasons. Griffith liked the experience that Rigney brought and thought he would handle the players well in a clubhouse that was a little uneasy after the Martin firing.

Rigney didn’t miss a beat from the AL West championship the year before. He led the Twins to their second consecutive title, accomplished with one more win than in the previous season. Unfortunately, the extra win did not help in the ALCS. For the second straight season the Twins were swept by the Baltimore Orioles.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1970

C George Mitterwald .222/.291/.388 15 HR 2.1 BFW 13 WS 42 FRAR 4.7 WARP3
Mitterwald was the backup to Johnny Roseboro in 1969, and even played some in left field, but got his first chance as a regular at the age of 24 when the Twins released the veteran Roseboro prior to the start of the season. Mitterwald set a goal before the season to hit 15-20 home runs. As it turned out, he reached his goal, but always had the attitude that if he hit well in the majors, it was icing on the cake. Catching was his focus, and he did it very well. Mitterwald added an extra bit of icing in the ALCS, however, when he hit .500/.500/.625 with two RBI.

1B Rich Reese .261/.332/.371 10 HR -1.9 BFW 14 WS 8 FRAR 2.0 WARP3
For the first time in three years Reese did not go under the surgeon’s knife in the offseason, and was looking forward to playing full time at first base for the first time in his career. Reese had been platooned in 1969, but in 99 PA’s against left-handed pitching he batted .322/.367/.600 (compared with .322/.360/.489 in 352 PA’s against righties). He played more in 1970, with the following splits: vs LH pitchers – .266/.364/.323 in 145 PA’s, vs RH pitchers – .260/.321/.387 in 419 PA’s. Reese fought through a first half slump to salvage a decent season, though it was not near his impressive 1969 numbers.

2B Danny Thompson .219/.234/.248 0 HR -2.4 BFW 3 WS 21 FRAR -0.1 WARP3
2B Rod Carew .366/.407/.524 4 HR 1.0 BFW 11 WS 10 FRAR 3.0 WARP3
Carew was batting .376/.417/.538 on June 22, and had already become the first member of the Minnesota Twins to hit for the cycle when he did it on May 20 (fifth in franchise history), when he was hit by Mike Hegan of the Brewers while attempting to turn a double play. Carew wouldn’t return to the lineup until the end of September. Carew harbored no ill will towards Hegan, saying “it’s his job to take me out on that play.” In Carew’s absence, Rigney turned to 23-year-old rookie Danny Thompson. Though Thompson was the 18th overall pick in the amateur draft two years earlier, he looked over matched in his first major league season.

SS Leo Cardenas .247/.300/.374 11 HR 0.9 BFW 19 WS 61 FRAR 6.9 WARP3
Cardenas’ offensive numbers fell off quite a bit from his first season as a Twin, but his value came as one of the best fielding shortstops in baseball. Cardenas did have his moments at the plate, including a five-hit game on September 29.

3B Harmon Killebrew .271/.411/.546 41 HR 2.2 BFW 30 WS 0 FRAR 7.1 WARP3
Killebrew “only” hit 41 home runs with a 159 OPS+ in 1970. A year after winning the AL MVP award, he finished third in the voting behind Boog Powell and teammate Tony Oliva. Killebrew had an excellent series in the Twins’ losing effort in the ALCS. He batted .273/.385/.818 and hit two home runs in his best post season performance.

LF Brant Alyea .291/.366/.531 16 HR 1.0 BFW 12 WS -2 FRAR 2.3 WARP3
LF Jim Holt .266/.300/.342 3 HR -1.4 BFW 7 WS 9 FRAR 0.7 WARP3
The Twins acquired Alyea in a trade that sent Charlie Walters and Joe Grzenda east. It was a good deal for the Twins, and looked even better when Alyea started the season hitting .429/.474/.857 with four home runs in his first 11 games as a Twin. It was originally planned for Jim Holt to platoon in left field, but he became more of a back up outfielder for the Twins due to Alyea’s hot start. Alyea was involved in one of the most unusual fielding plays in team history. WIth two outs in the seventh inning on April 29, Jim Kaat struck out Earl Wilson to apparently end the inning. Catcher Paul Ratliff, however, had trapped the ball in the dirt, so the play was still live. Ratliff was unaware and rolled the ball to the pitching mound as he walked towards the dugout. WIth Wilson running, Alyea recovered the ball and threw to Leo Cardenas who was standing by home plate, forcing a run down that resulted in the following line at baseball-reference.com:

E Wilson        Strikeout, E2; Wilson out at 3B/LF-SS-LF

CF Cesar Tovar .300/.356/.442 10 HR 1.4 BFW 28 WS 8 FRAR 5.0 WARP3
Tovar, typically a wanderer in terms of defensive positioning for the Twins, had a home in center field for the 1970 season. He appeared in 132 games as a centerfielder, the most he would play at any single position in a season through his entire career. It might not have been a coincidence that Tovar also had his best offensive season. Tovar added a fifth career game in which he recorded the Twins only hit on August 13th.

RF Tony Oliva .325/.364/.514 23 HR 3.6 BFW 30 WS 27 FRAR 8.3 WARP3
Oliva had another great season, something that had became typical for the 30-year-old. Through his first seven full seasons, Oliva posted a .311/.363/.502 line. Oliva’s goal at the end of 1969 was to get a raise to make him a $100,000 player. Instead, he signed for $70,000. Aside from simple frugality, some of the internal criticism towards Oliva came as a result of his low walk rate (only 38 in 674 PA’s). A unamed team official told TSN that if Oliva “would swing only at strikes he might hit .400.”

SP Jim Perry 24-12 3.04 ERA 1.13 WHIP 3.1 PW 21 WS 7.7 WARP3
Jim Perry, the man who couldn’t crack the Twins’ starting rotation for years, won the AL Cy Young award in his second full year as a regular starter. He led the league in starts (40) and wins, and was second in WHIP. While Perry was considered the best pitcher in the American League in 1970, he still wasn’t even the thought of as the best pitcher in his own family. Brother Gaylord went 23-13 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.14 WHIP for the Giants. He finished second behind Bob Gibson in NL Cy Young voting.

SP Jim Kaat 14-10 3.56 ERA 1.31 WHIP 0.7 PW 12 WS 4.0 WARP3
Kaat was nothing if not consistent in the late 60’s and early 70’s:

1968 14-12 1.3 BB/9 5.5 K/9 9.0 H/9 106 ERA+
1969 14-13 2.2 BB/9 5.1 K/9 10.0 H/9 106 ERA+
1970 14-10 1.7 BB/9 4.5 K/9 10.0 H/9 107 ERA+
1971 13-14 1.3 BB/9 4.8 K/9 9.9 H/9 107 ERA+

The numbers, incidentally, match up pretty closely with his career line.

12-10 (162 game average) 1.8 BB/9 5.1 K/9 9.7 H/9 107 ERA+

SP Bert Blyleven 10-9 3.18 ERA 1.16 WHIP 0.9 PW 10 WS 3.9 WARP3
The Twins drafted Blyleven in the third round of the 1969 amateur draft. Born in the Netherlands, Blyleven was raised in Southern California and learned to love baseball watching Sandy Koufax pitch for the Dodgers. In the spring of 1970, manager Rigney jokingly walked away from Blyleven when he first saw him on the mound, saying that he didn’t want to fall in love the at first sight. After just 21 starts in the minor leagues, Blyleven made his major league debut on June 5 against Washington. He was only 19 at the time, the youngest player in the majors. Blyleven looked as though he might have a rough outing, allowing a home run to the very first batter he faced, but he held the Senators scoreless for the next seven innings to record his first major league win. Even at the age of 19, Blyleven threw a curveball that was being compared to the best in the game’s history.

SP Luis Tiant 7-3 3.40 ERA 1.35 WHIP 1.2 PW 8 WS 3.1 WARP3
It was Tiant’s shoulder injury that cleared the way for Blyleven to get his opportunity. Tiant had some flashes of brilliance with the Indians in the 1960’s, particularly a 21-9 record and 1.60 ERA in 1968, but seemed to be moving in the wrong direction with a 9-20 season in 1969 and was considered out of shape by management. His struggles in Cleveland made him available on the trading block, and the Twins picked him up as the centerpiece of the trade that sent four players to the Indians. Prior to the injury, Tiant was 6-0 with a 3.12 ERA in his first two months with the Twins. He returned to the mound two months later, but didn’t have near the success he had at the beginning of the season. Tiant continued to struggle with injuries, and it became too much for Calvin Griffith who released him before the 1971 season started after and injury-plagued spring training. Tiant landed with the Red Sox and, after some struggle, became one of the AL’s best pitchers in the mid-1970’s.

SP Dave Boswell 3-7 6.42 ERA 1.81 WHIP -2.6 PW 0 WS -1.0 WARP3
Back troubles made Boswell’s final season with Minnesota a forgettable one. He pitched a few innings for Detroit and Baltimore in 1971, but did not return to the major leagues after that.

SP/RP Bill Zepp 9-4 3.22 ERA 1.36 WHIP 0.4 PW 9 WS 2.6 WARP3
Zepp was a top prospect for the Twins. He had a fairly good season but was traded to Detroit before the 1971 season.

RP Ron Perranoski 7-8 2.43 ERA 1.35 WHIP 2.4 PW 15 WS 5.4 WARP3
RP Stan Williams 10-1 1.99 ERA 1.03 WHIP 2.0 PW 16 WS 4.7 WARP3
RP Tom Hall 11-6 2.55 ERA 1.03 WHIP 2.3 PW 14 WS 6.5 WARP3
RIgney had developed a reputation as a manager who went to his bullpen often. He was able to do that very comfortably in his first year as manager of the Twins. Perranoski was, once again, one of the best closers in baseball. Williams, acquired in the Luis Tiant trade, turned out to be the most valuable part of that trade to the Twins. Hall had his best season. None of the three would be with the Twins on opening day in 1972.

The Franchise 1969

1969 Minnesota Twins

Manager: Billy Martin 1st Season (1st with Minnesota 97-65)
97 W 65 L 790 RS 618 RA 1st AL West 9.0 GA (Oakland 88-74)
4.88 RPG (AL = 4.09) 3.24 ERA (AL = 3.62)
.708 DER (8th AL)

All Stars (4) Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, John Roseboro

Franchise (1901-1969) 5003-5530-109; 11-18 Post Season; 11-15 WS
Washington (1901-1960) 4214-4864-104; 8-11 WS
Minnesota (1961-1969) 789-666-5; 3-7 Post Season; 3-4 WS

With Billy Martin managing the Twins looked like a different team from the Ermer-led squads of the previous years. Martin preached aggressiveness, particularly on the basepaths. That attitude, combined with career seasons by a few players and the addition of Leo Cardenas at shortstop, a position that had been a weakness for the Twins since 1965, added up to an AL West Division championship.

The Twins’ season was somewhat tarnished by the way it ended. Minnesota was swept by the Orioles in the first ALCS and were outscored 16-5.

While Martin’s fiery personality and take-charge attitude were a welcome change among many Twins observers, he wore out his welcome with Calvin Griffith very quickly. The owner announced on October 13 that Martin’s time with the club had come to an end due to the manager’s tendency to “completely ignore” team policies.

Though not specifically sited by Griffith, and incident earlier in the season probably had a lot to do with the decision to let the popular manager go. On August 9 Martin had gotten into a physical fight with one of his players, pitcher Dave Boswell. Martin and Boswell continued to spar through the newspapers for the next few weeks before Griffith, much like a father separating two young brothers, put the speculation to end with a statement that the matter was closed.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to WAS/MIN in 1969

C John Roseboro .263/.333/.321 3 HR -0.1 BFW 10 WS 23 FRAR 2.6 WARP3
After a rough season in 1968, Calvin Griffith wanted Roseboro to take a pay cut. The 36-year-old veteran held out until early March. One day, seemingly out of the blue, he simply walked into the Twins’ Orlando office with a signed copy of the contract, a $12,000 pay cut from the previous season, left it with Howard Fox and walked into the clubhouse to put his uniform on. Roseboro’s numbers seemed to improve, though it was pretty much in line with the new offensive environment in major league baseball. Though his line went from .216/.300/.311 a year earlier, his adjusted OPS+ was identical (81) for both seasons. Roseboro was released by the club after the season due to his “large” salary ($48,000 in 1969). He signed as a free agent with Washington serving as a back up before retiring after the 1970 season.

1B Rich Reese .322/.362/.513 16 HR 0.7 BFW 17 WS 7 FRAR 4.4 WARP3
Since Reese made his debut in the majors in 1964 he was considered primarily a “glove man.” That changed in 1969 when he turned in a monster offensive season. At age 27 Reese set offensive marks that he had never seen before, nor would he see again. On August 3, his pinch-hit grand slam off of Dave McNally in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Twins a 4-1 lead and handed the Orioles’ ace his first loss of the season.

2B Rod Carew .332/.386/.467 8 HR 2.5 BFW 21 WS 24 FRAR 6.8 WARP3
In the spring, Carew worked with manager Billy Martin on a play in which the 23-year-old would steal home. He tried successfully in two attempts during spring training, and stole home for the first time in his career on April 9. In the third inning of a May 18 game, Carew stole three bases in the same inning, including another steal of home. His steal of home on June 16 was his sixth successful attempt in six tries. A month later, he stole home for the seventh time which, at the time, was considered tied for Pete Reiser’s major league record (though it was since discovered that Ty Cobb stole home eight times in 1912). Carew should have had his eighth swipe of home on September 26, but the umpire erroneously called him out. Interestingly, Carew only stole 19 bases total in 1969 (he was caught eight times).

SS Leo Cardenas .280/.353/.388 10 HR 4.9 BFW 23 WS 60 FRAR 9.1 WARP3
The Twins, who tried six different short stops the year before, finally got their guy in a trade with Cincinnati. Griffith sent pitcher Jim Merritt to the Reds in exchange for the 30-year-old Cuban. Cardenas was quickly dubbed the best short stop in Minnesota since fellow Cuban Zoilo Versalles. Cardenas, who was known primarily for his glove work, also had one of his better offensive seasons in his first year as a Twin. Still, when people talked about Leo, they were usually talking about his defense. He was credited as the main reason the Twins had a much better team defense than they had the year before, particularly when it came to turning the double play. In 1968, the Twins were dead last in AL double plays with 117. The improved to second in the league with 177 in 1969 – a fact most on the team attributed to Cardenas’ presence. Cardenas finished 12th in the AL MVP voting after the season.

3B Harmon Killebrew .276/.427/.584 49 HR 4.6 BFW 34 WS 1 FRAR 9.4 WARP3
Early on in his signature season, Harmon Killebrew his his 400th career home run. He was the 14th player in major league history to reach that mark. At that point in his career, Killebrew was hitting a home run once in every 13.25 at-bats. With that career milestone in his rearview mirror, Killer went on to have his best season. He posted career highs in most offensive categories, including matching his previous high of 49 home runs set in 1964. Killebrew also set a career mark in a more unlikely category: the stolen base. The man TSN described as “fire-hydrant shaped” set a career mark with eight steals in 1969, five more than his previous mark of three set in 1959. Eight stolen bases is even more remarkable considering that Killebrew only stole once successfully between 1963 and 1968. At the end of the season, Killebrew beat out Boog Powell to win his only career MVP award.

LF Bob Allison .228/.333/.418 8 HR -0.4 BFW 5 WS 1 FRAR 0.8 WARP3
LF Graig Nettles .222/.319/.373 7 HR -0.4 BFW 5 WS 4 FRAR 0.9 WARP3
Allison and Nettles, on different ends of their respective careers, basically platooned in left field for the Twins. Nettles had a small amount of major league experience with the Twins, while Allison was just a year away from retirement. Neither would play much for the Twins following the 1969 season. Nettles was traded to Cleveland after the season. He stayed there for two years before going on to fame in New York. Allison played sparingly in 1970 before retiring following the season. Allison spent his entire 13-year-career with the franchise. His career numbers: .255/.358/.471 256 HR 127 OPS+ 55.3 WARP3.

CF Ted Uhlaender .273/.328/.356 8 HR -2.2 BFW 14 WS -2 FRAR 0.8 WARP3
OF Cesar Tovar .288/.342/.415 11 HR 1.3 BFW 19 WS 22 FRAR 5.7 WARP3
Tovar was a super utlity man once again in 1969, though most of his playing time came in center field in a platoon role with Uhlaender. In 1969 Tovar broke up prospective no-hitters in games where he had the only hit for the Twins twice. On both occasions, he did it against Orioles’ pitcher. The first came on May 15 against Dave McNally, the second on August 10 against Mike Cuellar. Uhlaender found out he was traded to Cleveland when a reporter called him for his reaction. He didn’t hold back, saying that it was just like the Twins not to call him but he was happy to leave since Martin was on his way out as well.

RF Tony Oliva .309/.355/.496 24 HR 2.2 BFW 25 WS 26 FRAR 7.7 WARP3
As part of a June 29 doubleheader against Kansas City, Oliva collected eight consecutive hits. His three singles in the last three at-bats of game one were followed by a 5-for-5 outing in the second game. 1969 was a typical very good season for Oliva, who said that he could hit more home runs if he wanted to, but that would cause his batting average to be “about .220.”

SP Jim Perry 20-6 2.82 ERA 1.19 WHIP 2.6 PW 20 WS 7.9 WARP3
Coming into the season, Jim Perry had the highest winning percentage on the Twins’ active roster. Despite his success, he had been relegated to bullpen duty, making only occasional starts when injuries forced the manager’s hand. Billy Martin is often given credit for finally giving Jim Perry the opportunity to be a regular starting pitcher. The reality is that injuries forced Perry into the rotation in 1969. Martin had him set to take over the closer role from Al Worthington before the season started. The injury bug hit the Twins rotation early and often, with Boswell, Kaat, and Chance all missing time early in the season. Perry came out of the bullpen for much of the month of April. He finally became a regular starter at the end of May. The only real difference between his numbers in 1969 and those of the previous five years was that he had more innings pitched (and more opportunities to win games).

SP Dave Boswell 20-12 3.23 ERA 1.23 WHIP 1.5 PW 16 WS 6.4 WARP3
Dave Boswell is the other pitcher who won 20 games for the first time in his career in 1969. Prior to the season, it looked as though Boswell was headed for another injury-filled campaign. While cleaning fish, he cut the little finger on his pitching hand, severing two of the tendons. Boswell’s finger was stiff most of the season, but he was able to last almost the entire season, save a small problem with blisters that emerged in May. His career highlight probably came in the first ALCS, when in Game 2 he pitched 10 innings of shut out baseball only to lose in the 11th. Boswell’s 1969 season, however, is probably best remembered for his scuffle with Billy Martin on August 7. Boswell had a horrible year with the Twins in 1970 and was out of baseball by 1971.

SP Jim Kaat 14-13 3.49 ERA 1.35 WHIP 0.7 PW 13 WS 4.4 WARP3
Kaat pitched the 1969 season with what he and doctors thought was calcium deposits on his upper right thigh. The pain was so great that Kaat started to get a shot of painkillers before every start. At the end of the season it was discovered during surgery that in fact Kaat had a piece of his bone lodged in the muscle. The injury is often given as the reason for Kaat’s “down” year. Based on his 14-13 record, Kaat was the only Twins pitcher to receive a pay cut after the 1969 season. Kaat took it in stride “You can look at the record a number of ways, but with the salary they pay me, they expect me to win more than 14 games.”

SP Dean Chance 5-4 2.95 ERA 1.26 WHIP 0.2 PW 5 WS 1.6 WARP3
Chance missed a large chunk of the season due to a sore arm. He pitched well when he got a chance, but only started 15 games. After the season he was traded to his home town team, the Cleveland Indians, in the deal that brought Luis Tiant and Stan Williams to the Twins. The former Cy Young Award winner bounced around between teams until he was released by the Tigers in October of 1971.

SP/RP Tom Hall 8-7 3.70 ERA 1.27 WHIP 0.3 PW 8 WS 2.9 WARP3
21-year-old Hall logged some valuable innings out of the bullpen, but maybe more importantly was able to fill in for starting pitchers who went down with injuries far too often for the Twins. Hall is listed at 6′ tall and 155 pounds, but was considered one of the hardest throwers in baseball.

RP/SP Bob Miller 5-5 3.02 ERA 1.26 WHIP 0.6 PW 8 WS 3.0 WARP3
The 30-year-old’s second season with the Twins was his last. Miller was traded to Cleveland in the same deal that sent Chance, Uhlaender, and Nettles to Ohio.

RP/SP DIck Woodson 7-5 3.67 ERA 1.30 WHIP 0.0 PW 6 WS 2.4 WARP3
Woodson had impressed Billy Martin a year earlier when he was pitching for him in Denver towards the end of the 1968 season. Martin insisted that “Woody” be a part of the team’s 25-man roster out of spring training. The rookie pitched well in relief for the Twins, and even served as a spot-starter on a few occasions. In a game against the A’s on April 24, Woodson ruffled some Oakland feathers when he brushed back Reggie Jackson on two occasions. Jackson had two homers in the game off of starter Dave Boswell, and took exception to the rookie’s inside pitches, touching off a brawl between the two teams. Woodson denied that he was throwing at Jackson intentionally

RP Ron Perranoski 9-10 2.11 ERA 1.15 WHIP 4.3 PW 20 WS 8.4 WARP3
Perranoski set a new Twins record for games pitched with 75. It helped that he was having his best season since he tore up the National League with the Dodgers in 1963, but the main factor in his workload was the new manager. Cal Ermer did not like using his left-handed reliever against right-handed batters, so Perranoski’s outings tended to be shorter under Ermer. Martin used Perranoski as his ace out of the bullpen, so Ron had more opportunities to pitch in 1969.

RP Al Worthington 4-1 4.57 ERA 1.40 WHIP -0.5 PW 3 WS 1.2 WARP3
Worthington retired after the 1968 season but, with a little coaxing from former teammates, came out of retirement in early June to help the under-manned Twins out of the bullpen. Worthington retired for good after the season. In six seasons with the Twins the relief ace posted a 2.62 ERA (133 ERA+), 88 saves, and 24.7 WARP3.