July 23, 2006

The combination of Francisco Liriano (10), Pat Neshek (2), Denys Reyes (2), Juan Rincon (1), and Joe Nathan (2) totalled 17 strikeouts against the Cleveland Indians in a Sunday afternoon 3-1 win over the Indians.

The strikeout total tied the team record, originally set May 6, 1966 when Dave Boswell (12) and Al Worthington (5) combined for the feat.

More important at the time, however, was the fact that the win moved the team closer to second-place Chicago in the AL Central race. After play on the 23rd, the Twins were just three game behind the White Sox, but were still 9.5 behind division-leading Detroit. Both numbers had been cut significantly over the last 10 days, a span in which the Twins were 9-1. At the start of play on July 14, the Twins were 9.5 behind Chicago and 12 behind Detroit.

June 25, 1913

In what was truly an unusual occurrence in 1913, Walter Johnson lasted just three innings against the Philadelphia A’s. He left after allowing four runs in the third inning, earning just his fifth loss of the season. The runs came on five hits by the A’s. Johnson also walked one and struck out one.

The A’s won 14-2, and went on to sweep a double header the next day by a count of 11-2 and 10-3. Fortunately for Washington, their ace came back with a vengeance the next day.

Through June 25
21 G  17 GS  15-5  152 IP  25 R  110 H  20 BB  106 K  1.48 RA  0.86 WHIP

July 20, 1969

The Twins and the Seattle Pilots played 16 innings the night before, but were still unable to decide the matter. The game was suspended due to AL curfew after with the score 7-7.

The two teams took the field the next day in Seattle to decide the previous night’s game prior to the regularly scheduled game. Both teams sent their scheduled starters for the day to the mound to complete the game. The Twins had Jim Perry, who was 9-4 with a 3.33 ERA, against Seattle’s John Gelnar.

After a scoreless 17th, the Twins broke the game open with a four-run 18th inning. The winning run was scored by Perry, who had doubled earlier in the inning. He pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts to earn the victory in the game of July 19th that was completed on the 20th.

Also of note in that game was the major league record (since broken) 44 combined runners stranded (23 by the Twins, 21 by the Pilots).

With only two innings pitched a piece, both starters took the hill for the scheduled game of July 20. Once again the Twins scored four runs for Perry, who shut out the Pilots in a complete game victory. He allowed nine hits, but was able to strand eight runners (one was retired on a double play). Perry, of course, earned his second victory of the day to improve his record to 11-4.

Gelnar has the more dubious distinction of losing two games in the same day. His record dropped to 2-7.

The team so far:

C Muddy Ruel

1B Joe Judge

2B Buddy Myer

SS Joe Cronin

3B Buddy Lewis

LF Goose Goslin

CF Clyde Milan

And in right field:

Sam RIce (1915-1933)

1916
RF Sam Rice .299/.352/.386 1 HR 0.4 BFW 8 WS 3 FRAR 1.8 WARP3
Rice also pitched 21.3 innings in 1916, but his pitching career ended there (9 G, 1-1, 2.52 ERA, 1.27 WHIP career). Edgar “Sam” Rice started his ML career at the age of 25 due to a stint in the merchant marines and the US Navy. He saw combat aboard the USS New Hampshire off the coast of Mexico in April 1914. Rice was noticed playing semi-pro ball while on leave that August, and purchased from the Navy by the owner of the Portsmouth Truckers. He was purchased by the Nationals in July of 1915.

1917
RF Sam Rice .302/.360/.309 0 HR 1.5 BFW 24 WS 16 FRAR 6.4 WARP3
This is the year that Rice established himself as one of the better hitters in the league. He will take most of 1918 off to serve in the Army, though he will play in a few games while on furlough.

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

1920
CF Sam Rice .338/.381/.428 3 HR 2.3 BFW 23 WS 20 FRAR 7.1 WARP3
Rice replaced Milan in center field for the 1920 season, and would stay there for three seasons before moving back to right in 1923. He had a 28-game hitting streak that was finally stopped on July 16. Arguably Washington’s most valuable player in 1920.

1921
CF Sam Rice .332/.382/.467 4 HR 1.7 BFW 23 WS 12 FRAR 5.2 WARP3
Another very good season for Sam Rice, who, at the age of 31, was still the most dependable bat in the Washington lineup.

1922
CF Sam Rice .295/.347/.423 6 HR 0.0 BFW 20 WS 6 FRAR 4.0 WARP3
1922 was a bit of a down year for Rice. His .347 OBP was a career low (he would have lower OBP, but not until the age of 37). He would return to his normal .380 range by 1923.

1923
RF Sam Rice .316/.381/.450 3 HR 1.6 BFW 24 WS 18 FRAR 7.2 WARP3
At the age of 33, Rice may have had his finest season in 1923. He had career highs in a number of offensive categories, though he would surpass most of them later in his career. Rice’s 7.2 WARP3 stands as the highest in his career. Though most careers wind down at Rice’s age, he still had a number of very good seasons ahead of him.

1924
RF Sam Rice .334/.382/.443 1 HR 0.4 BFW 24 WS 18 FRAR 6.2 WARP3
Rice had a 31-game hitting streak that occurred mostly in September. His play down the stretch was a key reason that the Nats were able to hold off the Yankees.

1925
RF Sam Rice .350/.388/.442 1 HR 0.7 BFW 24 WS 14 FRAR 5.6 WARP3
Rice hit 182 singles in 1925, an AL record that will stand until 1980. The most famous play of Rice’s career occurred in Game 3 of the World Series, when he appeared to make a tumbling catch of an Earl Smith line drive to the right field corner. Rice disappeared from view for about 15 seconds, prompting speculation that a fan had helped him recover the ball. Sam would dodge questions about the play for many years, finally offering the answer in a sealed envelope to be opened upon his death. In 1974, the Hall of Fame opened the message, which stated “At no time did I lose possession of the ball.”

1926
RF Sam Rice .337/.380/.445 3 HR 1.0 BFW 23 WS 11 FRAR 5.6 WARP3
At the age of 36, Rice continued to be one of the premier singles hitters in baseball. He finished fourth in AL MVP voting, and led the league in at-bats (641), hits (216), and singles (167).

1927
RF Sam Rice .297/.336/.408 2 HR -1.8 BFW 17 WS 18 FRAR 4.0 WARP3
37-year-old Sam Rice had his worst season in 1927. For the first (and only) time in his Washington career he was a below-average hitter. Rice’s problems were primarily a product of a horrible start. It was so bad during the season that Bucky Harris was quoted as saying that his prospects for starting in 1928 “were not very bright.” There were even some rumors that Griffith was shopping the star hitter for a trade. Though he showed that he could still hit by turning his season around in the summer, Rice still had to fight for his job the next season. Rice stayed with the team and rebounded in 1928, indicating that his poor play early in the 1927 season was likely caused by health problems he had in the spring, not by a decline in skills.

1928
RF Sam Rice .328/.379/.438 2 HR -0.6 BFW 19 WS 3 FRAR 4.5 WARP3
Rice rebounded at 38-years-old to his typical career numbers. Age did not seem to catch up with Rice, who would remain a regular into his 40’s.

1929
RF Sam Rice .323/.382/.424 1 HR -0.1 BFW 20 WS 10 FRAR 4.7 WARP3
Once again Rice had a typical season for his career. What made it different was that he did at at the age of 39.

1930
RF Sam Rice .349/.407/.457 1 HR 0.9 BFW 23 WS 18 FRAR 6.0 WARP3
At the age of 40 Sam Rice showed that he wasn’t ready to retire quite yet. Interestingly, Rice was only the sixth oldest player in the league in 1930.

1931
RF Sam Rice .310/.365/.400 0 HR -0.4 BFW 13 WS 13 FRAR 3.0 WARP3
If Sam Rice played in 2007, he would likely be under suspicion for some kind of performance-enhancing drug. At age 41 he still played every day for Washington, maintained 100 OPS+, and was still an above-average fielder. When Rice did need a rest, Dave Harris filled in well. Harris also backed up the other outfield positions, and served as the team’s go to pinch-hitter.

1932
OF Sam Rice .323/.391/.438 1 HR 0.5 BFW 11 WS 6 FRAR 2.6 WARP3
Rice was used as a back up, but still put up some pretty good numbers at the age of 42.

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.

Now that all of the All-Star festivities have passed, I thought I would take a look at some of the interesting things about the first half of the season for the Minnesota Twins.

In terms of the standings, it has been a pretty good season so far, certainly better than expected.

The AL Central standings as of the break:

CHW 54-40 -
MIN 53-42 1.5 GB
DET 47-47 7.0 GB
KCR 43-53 12.0 GB
CLE 41-53 13.0 GB

I’ve talked about Pythagorean records before, basically the record a team is expected to have given their runs scored and allowed. The AL Central looks a little bit different according to Pyth. W-L record (though the White Sox are still at the top):

CHW 56-38 -
MIN 49-46 7.5 GB
DET 48-46 8.0 GB
CLE 48-46 8.0 GB
KCR 41-55 16.0 GB

What this tells me is that the Twins have been better than expected, but not by as much as the real records might suggest. Based on the formula used at baseball-reference.com, the Twins have outperformed expectations by about four games. Cleveland, on the other hand, has underperformed by seven games. I would have expected to see that the White Sox were outperforming expectations, but it turns out they have won two fewer games than expected.

As the season moves on, it is more likely than not that teams will move towards their Pythagorean expectation, which is good news for the Indians. It also means that the White Sox appear to be the real deal at this point.

The Twins, of course, are scoring runs at a pace that we haven’t seen in Minnesota since 1992 (at least relative to other teams in the league - Aaron Gleeman recently pointed out that it has been 15 years since the Twins have been in the top five in league scoring). WIth 4.88 runs per game, the Twins are fourth in AL run scoring. In the same article Gleeman suggest, accurately, that the Twins are scoring their runs primarily due to a high rate of success with runners in scoring position, something that is not likely to continue.

All this is to say that it will be fun to have a bit of a pennant race in the second half of 2008, particularly since this was so unexpected heading into the season. On the other hand, it may not last. Either way, meaningful baseball in late July will be a surprising bonus for this season.

And, since it has been a while since I have posted a picture, here is my son at about 17 months on vacation a couple of weeks ago.

July 18, 1990

A day earlier, the Twins and Red Sox competed in a game that has since gone down in Twins’ lore. That, of course, was the game in which the Twins set a major league record by turning two triple plays in the same game.

What might be forgotten, however, is that the same two teams worked together the next day to pull of a feat that was almost equally as impressive.

It started innocently enough. After Shane Mack homered in the top of the first, Kirby Puckett reached when he was hit by a Mike Boddicker pitch. Kent Hrbek then lined into a double play, unassisted by the first baseman, to end the inning.

In the bottom of the frame, Wade Boggs led off with a single off of David West. The next batter, Jody Reed, hit a sharp grounder to Al Newman at short stop, starting a 6-4-3 double play.

With two on and nobody out in the bottom of the second inning, Kevin Romine grounded out to Twins’ second baseman Fred Manrique who started a 4-3 double play.

Dan Gladden’s third inning lead off single was erased when Shane Mack grounded into a double play. And so it went. The Red Sox grounded into a double play in each of the first five innings. There were 17 half-innings of baseball played that evening, 51 outs recorded. On only 31 occasions was an out recorded on its own.

The two teams combined for 10 double plays. The Red Sox hit into six, the Twins into four. 10 combined double plays was a new major league record for both teams in a nine-inning game. The six double plays recorded by the Twins tied an American League record for DP’s recorded by a single team.

Unfortunately, the lead in double plays turned during the game did not translate into a lead on the scoreboard. The Twins lost the game 5-4.

June 21, 1913

Before Walter Johnson even took the mound in the second game of a double header against the Yankees, he had a 4-0 lead. Howie Shanks cleared the loaded bases with a double, and eventually scored himself when Frank LaPorte tripled.

As it turned out, four runs was more than enough. Johnson shut out the Yankees, allowing just two base runners as far as second base. He allowed two hits that afternoon, though uncharacterstically walked four batters. Johnson also struck out seven Yankees in the 6-0 Washington win.

Through June 21
20 G  16 GS  15-4  148 IP  21 R  19 ER  105 H  19 BB  105 K  1.16 ERA  1.28 RA  0.84 WHIP

July 17, 2002

LEN3’s story from the next day’s Strib:

And the Twins’ 8-5 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday night at Jacobs Field offered an event that players might have previously pondered but never tried. The concept of hitters drilling pitchers.

Different, but unfortunately for the Twins an act that might land outfielder Torii Hunter in the cross hairs of league disciplinarian Bob Watson.

In a moment of anger after being hit by Cleveland’s Danys Baez in the fifth inning, Hunter took the ball and fired it back at Baez. The ball glanced off Baez’s glove before striking him in the hip.

“As soon as I did it, I wanted to take it back,” Hunter said.

Baez began to approach Hunter, but Twins third base coach Al Newman stopped him as players left their dugouts and bullpens. Hunter was ejected and replaced by Bobby Kielty, and after a few moments play resumed.

Hunter has been hit in the rib-cage area two other times this season: on June 26 facing the Chicago White Sox’s Bob Howry, and on July 11 facing Texas’ Chan Ho Park.

“I thought he was just trying to give the ball back to him,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Baez (7-7) said it was unintentional. He walked into the Twins clubhouse later in the game to tell that to Hunter, who was caught off-guard by the visit.

“What are you doing in here?” Hunter said.

The two had a cordial chat before Baez left.

“That was a surprise,”Hunter said. “He was all innocent about it. I apologized to him, too.”

Said Baez: “I wasn’t trying hit him. I throw inside all the time. When he threw the ball at me, it was a surprise. He threw very hard.”

I was one of those who Torii Hunter started to wear towards the later years of his time in Minnesota, but this is back when he was still one of my favorites. At the time, I thought it was a novel way to get back at the pitcher, much more fair than, say, charging the mound with fists flying or throwing at the other team’s star player.

It wouldn’t be a true beanball war, however, without Gardy getting a little fired up:

Both benches were warned about further beanballs, which is old hat to the Twins, who have been warned at least six times this season.

That’s a touchy subject with Gardenhire, who played when justice was carried out on the field. If a batter dug in at the plate too much or homered in his previous at-bat, he’d get plunked and tip his cap. These days, players are more sensitive and umpires more aggressive in avoiding brawls.

“What they should do is stop the game, have the pitcher get a bat and go to the plate and have the hitter go to the mound and throw a pitch at him,” Gardenhire said.

Here’s the boxscore from the Twins’ 8-5 win that night.

June 16, 1913

Johnson made a pinch-hitting appearance in the eighth inning of a 4-1 loss against Chicago. He singled and was immediately replaced by a pinch-runner.

June 18, 1913

The Big Train had another poor outing against Cleveland, this time a 4-0 complete game loss. Johnson allowed a run in the first, but the bulk of the scoring for Cleveland came late in the game. Johnson allowed four runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Through 6/18
19 G  15 GS  14-4  139 IP  21 R  19 ER  103 H  15 BB  98 K  1.23 ERA  1.36 RA  0.85 WHIP