Can you identify these 2017 Minnesota Twins rookies?
What a motley crew this is
Month: September 2017
Did you know?
The 2017 Minnesota Twins became the 13th team — and the first since the 2009 Mariners — to go from losing 100 games to posting a winning record the next season.
According to ELIAS – 2017 Minnesota Twins
Big four-game sweep as Twins tame Tigers in Detroit
The Twins completed a four game sweep in Detroit yesterday with a 10–4 win. They won the first three games of the series 12–1, 7–3, and 10–4, outscoring the Tigers 39–12 in the series. On only one other occasion since moving to Minnesota in 1961, the Twins swept a 4-game series with that high a scoring margin: they outscored the Red Sox 33–6 in a four game sweep at Fenway Park, July 18–21, 1991. Kirby Puckett and Chili Davis combined for 13 RBIs between them in the series. The Twins would go on to defeat the Braves 4–3 in the World Series that season.
The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 40 – Ermer’s thoughts on starters and Twins fan sure the Twins are in
Twins lose 9-2 to California and now share first place with the Bosox
The article below is from the Minneapolis Star Tribune September 26, 1967
Previous 1967 AL Pennant Race blogs can be found here.
1967 AL Pennant Race
Standings and scores of the baseball wars on September 24, 1967
The Twins beat the Yankees as Dean Chance wins number 20. Both of the Sox teams win too but the Tigers lose. The Twins are alone on top with a half game lead on the Red Sox, a one game lead on the WSox and a game and a half on the Tigers. The Red Sox have just 4 games left, the Twins and White Sox each have 5 games left, and the Tigers have 6 left. What a pennant race!
Make sure you follow along in our Today in Twins History.
The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
According to ELIAS – Zack Granite
Rock solid inning for Twins rookie
Zack Granite bookended the scoring for the Twins in their eight-run eighth-inning rally against the Tigers yesterday. The Twins rookie pinch-ran for Joe Mauer and scored the game-tying run for Minnesota, then he blasted his first major-league homer later in the inning to bring home three runs and put the game out of reach. Only one other player in the last 15 seasons homered in an inning after entering the game earlier in that inning as a pinch-runner. On Sept. 5, 2008, Rajai Davis homered with the bases loaded in the eighth inning for the A’s at Baltimore after pinch running earlier in the frame.
Granite became the first Twin in team history (since 1961) to enter the game as a pinch-runner and homer in that same inning. He is the first player in the majors to do so since April 18, 2001 when Boston’s Darren Lewis did so at Tampa Bay.
Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Cuddyer & Dempsey
We have two debuts as Twins for you today, September 23rd, as we approach the finish line. Rick Dempsey played in the big leagues for all or parts of 24 years while Michael Cuddyer played for all or parts of 15 seasons. Those are some good career’s.
Michael Cuddyer (OF/1B/3B) – September 23, 2001 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (9th) of the 1997 MLB June Amateur Draft. Cuddyer debuted at the Dome as the starting DH hitting 8th against the Cleveland Indians. Cuddyer took a walk in his first PA and then went 1 for 2 with a double and a strike out before being lifted for pinch-hitter David Ortiz. At the end of the day the scoreboard shows the Indians with 4 run and the Twins with 2.
Rick Dempsey (C) – September 23, 1969 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 1967 amateur draft. Debuted at Municipal Stadium against the Kansas City Royals when he replaced John Roseboro as the catcher in the fourth inning. Dempsey went 1 for 2 before he was lifted for pinch-runner Herman Hill in a Twins 6-2 win.
You can check out other Major League Debuts as Twins that I have done by going here.
According to ELIAS – Kyle Gibson
Gibson turns it around against Tigers
Kyle Gibson allowed three runs over seven innings to earn the win for the Twins over the Tigers yesterday. Entering Friday, Gibson had struggled mightily in four starts versus Detroit this season. Gibson sported an 8.20 ERA (17 earned runs in 18? innings) with a .289 opponent batting average (22 hits in 76 at-bats).
Gibson made his 100th career start on April 12 at Detroit, all with Minnesota. Gibson is the first pitcher to make 100 starts for the Twins since Francisco Liriano from 2005-11 and is the 25th pitcher in Twins history to make 100-plus starts for the club.
First Football Game at Target Field – Johnnies versus the Tommies
The Twins are on the road playing the Detroit Tigers but that does not mean that Target Field is quietly waiting for the Twins to return. Tomorrow afternoon (September 23) at 1:00 pm the Twins will host a NCAA Division III football game at Target field.
The NCAA Division III match-up, which will be a St. Thomas home game, will be the first-ever football game played at Target Field. The rivalry between the University of St. Thomas and Saint John’s University football teams dates back to 1901, since then, the schools have met 86 times and continually set NCAA Division III record attendance marks. Six of the top 14 all-time Division III attendance marks have involved the St. Thomas-Saint John’s rivalry. The game tomorrow is expected to draw 35,000-plus.
UPDATE: A crowd of 37,355 showed up to see the first football game at Target Field, more than doubling the NCAA Division III record for largest crowd which was set last season when Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wisconsin Whitewater had 17,535 in attendance.
Saturday’s crowd size topped attendance at 20 of the 40 bowl games last season. But Bowl officials shouldn’t weep. The Minnesota Twins, who play at Target Field, have had only one bigger crowd this season. The Twins average only 25,364 fans despite current holding a wild-card playoff spot. Who won the game you ask? St. Thomas 20 and St. John 17.
One time Twins pitcher Jim Donohue passes away
James Thomas Donohue Jr. was born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 31, 1937 and died on September 9, 2017 in the city where he was born. Jim Donohue was a 1956 graduate of CBC (Christian Brothers College), a prominent Catholic high school in the St. Louis area.
Donohue who friends called “Bones”, was signed by the St. Louis Cardinal prior to the 1956 season at the age if 18 and assigned to play for the Class D Gainesville G-Men in the Florida State League where he was 5-6 as a starter/reliever and he posted a very nice 2.08 ERA in 95 innings.
Donohue continued working his way up the Cardinals minor league ladder but in June of 1960 he was traded by St. Louis to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His stay in their system was relatively short because that November the Detroit Tigers snagged him with a Rule 5 pick. Donohue made the 1961 Tigers team and debuted in the majors on April 11, 1961. Used strictly in relief, his stay in Detroit too was destined to be a short one as on June 7, 1961 the Tigers traded him to the Los Angeles Angels. Donohue spent the rest of 1961 with the Angels splitting his time as a starter and as a reliever. Donohue started the 1962 season in LA but on May 29th the Minnesota Twins acquired him in a trade for pitcher Don Lee.
Bones appeared in six games starting one for the Twins in June of 1962 before being sent to the minors never to pitch in the big leagues again. As far as I can determine, Donohue spent 1963 and 1964 in the Twins minor league system without being invited to spring training before leaving baseball behind. In Jim’s brief stay in Minnesota he pitched in just 6 games and had no wins with one loss, and a save in 10.1 innings with a 6.97 ERA.
Jim Donohue is the 78th former Minnesota Twins player to pass away. Although Jim Donohue’s time with the Minnesota Twins was short, he did pitch for the organization and as such is part of the Twins wonderful history forever. Thank you for the memories Jim Donohue. We at Twinstrivia.com want to express our condolences to the Donohue family and all of Jim’s friends and fans.