TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
Again just one player made his big league debut as a Minnesota Twin on July 14
Bill Campbell (P) – July 14, 1973 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in September 1970. Finished the game with an inning of one hit relief in a 3-0 loss to the Indians at Met Stadium.
The Dodgers and Astros reside in the top spots of their respective leagues entering play today. Los Angeles owns the best record in the majors at 61–29, while Houston, at 60–29, holds a 16.5-game lead in the AL West, the largest divisional lead of any team currently in first place. No team in the wild-card era has failed to qualify for the postseason after winning at least 60 of their first 90 decisions of a season. The last team to fall short of the postseason after such a start was the 1993 Giants, who started the season 60–30 and finished 103–59, one game behind the Braves in the NL West.
The Dodgers and Astros are two of five teams that did not suffer a losing streak of four or more games before the All-Star break, along with the Diamondbacks, Indians, and Red Sox. It has been 60 years since the last time multiple teams finished a season with no four-game losing streaks. In 1957, the Milwaukee Braves and the New York Yankees, who opposed each other in that year’s World Series, both finished the regular season with no losing streaks of four or more games.
The All-Star game is now over and the Twins resume play on Friday against the 60-20 Houston Astros. The rumors are flying around that the Twins are looking for controllable pitching, both from a starting perspective and the bullpen. Will the Twins make any moves? Historically the organization has stood pat at the trade deadline but the Twins have a new captain at the helm so it will be very interesting to see what transpires there.
Another item not talked about much at all but that I think is very interesting and important is what will happen with manager Paul Molitor. Molitor is in year three of a three-year deal.
When Derek Falvey and Thad Levine moved to town it was apparently with the understanding that Molitor would stay on as the Twins manager in 2017. Well, 2017 is half over and the only mention I have heard about Molitor staying or leaving was a quick blurb that his situation would be resolved after the season ends.
I have stated here previously that I am not a big fan of Molitor as a MLB manager and to my way of thinking I have seen nothing after 2 1/2 years to change my mind. I see Molitor as a “Gene Mauch” type of manager, technically very bright but not a manager who can motivate today’s players, manage a winning team and sell his brand of baseball to the fans of Minnesota. To me he seems like a manager who thinks he can win with his managing skills versus letting the players play. He has to be one of the worst managers the team has ever had in terms of bullpen management and use and his line-ups have often wonder what the man is thinking . I have never heard anyone complain as much as he does about his bullpen being over worked.
I know that Molitor has worked with most of the Twins young players in the minors but what has he done in his term as the Twins skipper to take them to the next level and become big league caliber? Do the players respect him? I would have to guess the young players do but the older players, not so much. How do you explain the recent situation with Hector Santiago deciding to pitch the way he wanted versus following the game plan?
Does Molitor help sell tickets? I say no, most of the time he is unapproachable and ducks fans when ever he can, he is not one to talk baseball with the average fan. Baseball is entertainment and should be fun, Molitor makes every game look like a war.
I can’t help but wonder also how Molitor is enjoying his managing gig under Falvey and Levine. Every time I see him on TV he looks older and older and more stressed out. Does the man ever smile or laugh?
Molitor’s future may well depend on how the Twins fare during the rest of this season, it would be very difficult for Falvey and Levine to let Molitor go regardless of what they may think of him as the Twins manager if the Twins make the playoffs in 2017 although the odds of that happening are long. If you think you know what the future holds, you should be aware that baseball odds for the MLB are available at William Hill where you can put a few dollars down on your favorite team to win it all.
I think Molitor’s days as the Minnesota Twins manager are numbered and that at the end of the season he will walk away from his current job and both sides will be happier for it. But stranger things have happened in baseball and if you think
What do you think? Does Paul Molitor deserve to be the Twins go-forward manager?
At the 2017 All-Star break the Twins record from 1961 to current stands at 4,461 wins and 4,560 losses. The Twins have won a total of 410 games in walk-off fashion and lost 412 games via the walk-off. The means that 09.11% of the Twins games end via a walk-off in one fashion or another.
The best season the Twins have ever had for walk-off wins was 1987 when they had 16 walk-off victories. The fewest walk-off wins occurred in 1982 when they had just two. So far in 2017 they have also had just two walk-off wins.
Naturally there is the other side of the coin and the Minnesota Twins suffered 15 walk-off defeats in 1964 but only had three in 1993 and 2006. So far this season they have just one walk-off loss.
So who is the Twins walk-off king? That would be non other than Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett who had 12 walk-off hits in his Twins career, Kent Hrbek was not far behind with 11.
There have been 3343 home runs hit in the 1326 major-league games this season, an average of 2.52 per game. That’s the second-highest homers-per-game average at the All-Star break in MLB history. (That figure was at 2.56 in 2000, before falling off to 2.34 at season’s end, which still stands as the all-time record.) The average of 16.48 strikeouts per game this year is the highest at the break in MLB history.
One player made his big league debut as a Minnesota Twin on July 12
Steve Lombardozzi (2B) – July 12, 1985 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 9th round of the 1981 amateur draft. Lombardozzi debuted in the big leagues as a pinch-hitter for Kent Hrbek and went 0 for 1 with a strike out in a Twins 3-2 win at Tiger Stadium.
Two major league debuts in a Twins uniform on July 11.
Michael Tonkin (P) – July 11, 2013 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 30th round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft. A nice 1.1 inning debut in a Twins 4-3 loss to Tampa at Tropicana Field.
Rick Renick – (3B/OF/SS) – July 11, 1968 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1965. Debuted at Met Stadium as the starting shortstop and in his first at bat hit a home run off Tigers starter Mickey Lolich off a high fastball into the left field stands. Renick became the first Minnesota Twins player to hit a home run in his first at bat.
Cedar Rapids Kernels left-handed pitcher Alex Robinson has been named Twins minor league Player of the Week. The 22-year-old Robinson appeared in three games for the Kernels, pitching 4.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts, no hits allowed, no walks and one save. In his third season of pro ball Robinson has had more innings pitched than hits allowed and more strikeouts than innings pitched.
The Queens, NY native was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Maryland.
After the White Sox took the first two games from the Minnesota Twins, 31, 141 fans packed White Sox Park to see the home town nine take two more from the visiting Twins. But, it was not to be, after spotting the Whitey’s a one run lead the Twins tied it in the fourth inning and then scored 2 in the 5th, 6th, and 8th innings and held on for a 7-4 win in game one. Jim Kaat hit his first home run of the season. Zoilo Versalles had 3 hits and Rich Rollins, Bob Allison and Jim Kaat each had 2 hits. Jim Kaat took home the win and Ron Kline registered the save. Box Score
In game two the Twins were out hit 8 to 6 but managed to out score the White Sox 5 to 1 and a double-header sweep was in the books. Dave Boswell was credited with the victory to even his record at 8-8 and Al Worthington notched his 12th save of the season. When the day was done the Twins still found themselves in third place but now only 2.5 games behind the league leading WSox but only a half game behind the Tigers at the All-Star break. Box Score
Pitcher Dean Chance along with Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva and Rod Carew (who missed the week-end series due to military obligations) left for the All-Star game in Anaheim after the DH was complete and were accompanied by manager Cal Ermer and owner Calvin Griffith.
The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
Only the one player made his major league debut as a Minnesota Twin on July the 9th. This debut is extra special however; because Ron Keller was the first player to be drafted and signed by the Minnesota Twins and make his big league debut wearing the colors of the Minnesota Twins.
Ron Keller (P) – July 9, 1966 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 8th round of the 1965 amateur draft. The Twins were already down 5-0 when Ron Keller was called upon by Sam Mele to relieve Jim Merritt. Keller had a clean first inning on the Met Stadium mound but then allowed 3 runs in the next inning including a home run by future Hall of Famer Al Kaline and kept the Tigers off the board in his third inning of relief.
