The day the Twins lost number 102 back in 1982

The 1982 Minnesota Twins 60-102 season has been on the books for a long time as the Twins team with the most losses but that does not necessarily make them the worst team in Twins history. The Twins 2016 team is almost a cinch to break the record of 102 losses in a single season but like the 1982 team that does not mean they are the worst Twins team ever. Both teams had some very good players but in both cases their pitching staff was substandard or young and the position players were just starting to come into their own as major league players. The average age of the 1982 team was just barely over 25 years of age, the 2016 team by comparison has the youngest average position players in the league  at 27 but the pitching staff is middle of the pack with and average age of just over 28.

Tonight the Twins are in Kansas City to play the Royals and they have a chance to lose game number 102 but the Twins will send their best pitcher (Ervin Santana) to the mound so they can put off the inevitable for another day.

The Twins loss number 102 back in ’82 took place on the final day of the season, Sunday, October 3 with White Sox starter LaMarr Hoyt facing off against Twins starter Brad Havens. The Chicago White Sox were in third place and the Twins occupied the cellar of the AL West a full 32 games out of first. Only 5,085 Twins fans paid t0 enter the Metrodome that day to watch this meaningless game but how many were actually there is probably another story.

Brad HavensThe game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning when the Tony La Russa led mighty whities put three runs on the board against the lefty Brad Havens on a home run by Tom Paciorek and a single by Marc Hill that scored two more. Havens day ended in the top of the sixth after he gave up a walk, a double and a ground out that scored the fourth run for the Sox. Twins manager Billy Gardner had seen enough and brought in reliever Paul Boris who got of the inning but allowed another run to score on a ground out and going into the bottom of the sixth inning the home town Twins were down 5 to zip. The Twins finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning when Gary Ward had an infield single that scored Bobby Mitchell who had singled to lead off the inning. The White Sox added a run in the top of the eighth inning when Twins killer Harold Baines took Paul Boris deep to lead off the inning. Hoyt who would go on to pitch a complete game and win his league leading 19th game retired the first two Twins in the ninth before Greg Wells tripled bringing DH Randy Bush to the plate but he grounded out to the second baseman and Brad Havens and the Twins took the defeat. The game lasted all of 2 hours and 5 minutes and it was “wait until next year” for the Twins and their fans.

LaMarr Hoyt
LaMarr Hoyt

The bearded LaMarr Hoyt was an interesting player to be sure, the following season he went on to win a league leading 24 games and take home the 1983 Cy Young award. In 1985 he found himself in San Diego where he was named the NL starting pitcher in the 1985 All-Star game at the Metrodome that the NL won by a 6-1 score and Hoyt was credited with the victory by allowing no earned run in 3 innings. By 1987 the 32-year old Hoyt was out of professional baseball due to problems with drugs. More info on Hoyt.

Rusty Kuntz who was the White Sox center fielder that day went on to play for the Twins in 1983 and tonight you will find him in Kansas City coaching for the Royals, I wonder if he remembers this day from back in 1982?

Box score of the game

By the way, September 28 has been a very interesting day in Minnesota Twins history so please don’t forget to check it out on our This Day in Twins History page before you leave.

 

Twins tall drinks of water

The Minnesota Twins have had 53 players (41 pitchers (nine lefties) and 12 position players) that stood at least 6’5″ tall. The Twins have spent the last few years accumulating tall pitchers but so far the fruits of their labors have not been all that eveident.

The tallest player in major league history, Jon Rauch, played for 11 years with seven different major league teams including a stop in Minnesota from 2009-2010. The right-handed Rauch won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The same year, he was also named Baseball America and The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year. Keith Hernandez referred to Rauch as “The Wookiee” during SNY broadcasts in 2006.

Rauch wasn’t exactly the friendliest baseball player around and his grumpy, grouchy, surly and testy personality along with his intimidating size and inked body caused most fans that wanted an autograph to pass and look for the next player to come by.

Here I have put  together a list of Minnesota Twins players that stood at least 6’5″ tall.

Jon Rauch and Joe Mauer
Jon Rauch and Joe Mauer
Rk Player Ht From To Age G Pos
1 Jon Rauch 83 2009 2010 30-31 76 /*1
2 Alex Meyer 81 2015 2016 25-26 4 /*1
3 Mike Smithson 80 1984 1987 29-32 128 *1
4 Michael Tonkin 79 2013 2016 23-26 122 *1
5 Mike Pelfrey 79 2013 2015 29-31 64 /*1
6 John Candelaria 79 1990 1990 36-36 34 /*1
7 Walt Bond 79 1967 1967 29-29 10 /*H7
8 Kyle Gibson 78 2013 2016 25-28 96 /*1
9 Jim Hoey 78 2011 2011 28-28 26 /*1
10 Michael Restovich 78 2002 2004 23-25 61 /H97D
11 Dan Naulty 78 1996 1998 26-28 97 /*1
12 Mo Sanford 78 1995 1995 28-28 11 /*1
13 Dave Winfield 78 1993 1994 41-42 220 *D/9H3
14 David West 78 1989 1992 24-27 63 /*1
15 Greg Booker 78 1989 1989 29-29 6 /*1
16 Jeff Little 78 1982 1982 27-27 33 /*1
17 Mike Poepping 78 1975 1975 24-24 14 /*9H
18 Cotton Nash 78 1969 1970 26-27 10 /*3H7
19 Garry Roggenburk 78 1963 1966 23-26 60 /*1
20 Frank Sullivan 78 1962 1963 32-33 31 /*1
21 Phil Hughes 77 2014 2016 28-30 71 /*1
22 Pat Light 77 2016 2016 25-25 13 /*1
23 Joe Mauer 77 2004 2016 21-33 1589 *23D/H9
24 Trevor May 77 2014 2016 24-26 102 *1
25 Kennys Vargas 77 2014 2016 23-25 147 /*D3H
26 A.J. Achter 77 2014 2015 25-26 18 /*1
27 Jared Burton 77 2012 2014 31-33 203 *1
28 Tyler Robertson 77 2012 2013 24-25 42 /*1
29 Carl Pavano 77 2009 2012 33-36 88 /*1
30 Kyle Waldrop 77 2011 2012 25-26 24 /*1
31 Bobby Keppel 77 2009 2009 27-27 37 /*1
32 Garrett Jones 77 2007 2007 26-26 31 /D3H79
33 LaTroy Hawkins 77 1995 2003 22-30 366 *1
34 Todd Sears 77 2002 2003 26-27 31 /*3HD
35 Matt Kinney 77 2000 2002 23-25 22 /*1
36 Mark Redman 77 1999 2001 25-27 46 /*1
37 Scott Stahoviak 77 1993 1998 23-28 344 *3/H5D9
38 Greg Hansell 77 1996 1996 25-25 50 /*1
39 Dave McCarty 77 1993 1995 23-25 167 /*379H8D
40 Erik Schullstrom 77 1994 1995 25-26 46 /*1
41 Bill Krueger 77 1992 1992 34-34 27 /*1
42 Steve Shields 77 1989 1989 30-30 11 /*1
43 George Frazier 77 1986 1987 31-32 69 /*1
44 Curt Wardle 77 1984 1985 23-24 37 /*1
45 Mike Walters 77 1983 1984 25-26 46 /*1
46 Greg Wells 77 1982 1982 28-28 15 /*3DH
47 John Verhoeven 77 1980 1981 27-28 69 /*1
48 Paul Hartzell 77 1979 1979 25-25 28 /*1
49 Jeff Holly 77 1977 1979 24-26 39 /*1
50 Dick Woodson 77 1969 1974 24-29 129 *1
51 Pete Hamm 77 1970 1971 22-23 23 /*1
52 Stan Williams 77 1970 1971 33-34 114 *1
53 Don Williams 77 1963 1963 27-27 3 /*1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/21/2016.

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