Category: General Blogging

This is a general blogging category.

No-hitters and near no-hitters in Twins history

No-hitterSince the Twins started play in April of 1961 there have been 148 complete game no-hitters thrown in the majors, Minnesota Twins pitchers have thrown five of them.

Rk Player Date Opp Rslt App,Dec IP R BB SO Pit BF
1 Francisco Liriano 2011-05-03 CHW W 1-0 SHO9, W 9.0 0 6 2 123 30
2 Eric Milton 1999-09-11 ANA W 7-0 SHO9, W 9.0 0 2 13 122 28
3 Scott Erickson 1994-04-27 MIL W 6-0 SHO9, W 9.0 0 4 5 128 31
4 Dean Chance 1967-08-25 (2) CLE W 2-1 CG 9, W 9.0 1 5 8 31
6 Jack Kralick 1962-08-26 KCA W 1-0 SHO9, W 9.0 0 1 3 28

During that same time frame (1961-present) MLB pitchers have thrown 534 complete game one-hitters and came with-in spitting distance of getting their name on the no-hitter list. Eleven different Twins pitchers accomplished that feat and Bert Blyleven did it three times in a Twins uniform.

Bert Blyleven
Bert Blyleven
Rk Player Date Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R BB SO Pit BF
1 Scott Baker 2007-08-31 (2) KCR W 5-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 1 9 111 29
2 Scott Erickson 1992-07-24 (1) BOS W 5-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 2 3 106 30
3 Ken Schrom 1985-06-26 KCR W 2-1 CG 9, W 9.0 1 1 5 4 32
4 Geoff Zahn 1980-06-06 TOR W 5-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 3 6 32
5 Dave Goltz 1977-08-23 BOS W 7-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 3 10 32
6 Bert Blyleven 1974-07-04 TEX W 3-1 CG 9, W 9.0 1 1 4 6 32
7 Bert Blyleven 1973-09-26 OAK W 4-1 CG 9, W 9.0 1 1 1 8 29
8 Jim Kaat 1973-07-01 CAL W 2-1 CG 9, W 9.0 1 1 0 7 29
9 Bert Blyleven 1973-05-24 KCR W 2-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 2 7 30
10 Dean Chance 1967-05-11 KCA W 8-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 6 8 34
11 Dave Boswell 1966-07-30 BAL W 7-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 1 11 30
12 Mudcat Grant 1965-09-25 (1) WSA W 5-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 2 7 30
13 Gerry Arrigo 1964-06-26 (1) CHW W 2-0 SHO9, W 9.0 1 0 1 8 31

In 55 seasons of play the Twins have had one or fewer hits in a game 36 times and on five of those occasions they were not able to muster even a single hit. This past season the Twins had only a single hit in a game three times which tied them with 1980 when they also were one-hit three times.

Rk Date Opp Rslt PA R H BB SO LOB GmLen
1 2015-08-14 CLE L 1-6 28 1 1 1 7 0 146
2 2015-07-31 SEA L 1-6 30 1 1 1 11 2 143
3 2015-06-09 KCR L 0-2 31 0 1 4 5 4 170
4 2013-05-24 DET L 0-6 31 0 1 3 12 4 155
5 2012-05-05 SEA L 0-7 30 0 1 2 10 3 153
6 2012-05-02 LAA L 0-9 29 0 0 1 9 2 148
7 2011-09-05 (2) CHW L 0-4 28 0 1 0 9 1 146
8 2011-04-02 TOR L 1-6 30 1 1 4 7 2 150
9 2010-08-23 TEX L 0-4 32 0 1 6 9 5 160
10 2008-05-06 CHW L 1-7 32 1 1 3 5 4 147
11 2005-08-23 CHW W 1-0 27 1 1 2 3 2 128
12 2000-08-01 BAL L 0-10 32 0 1 2 15 5 173
13 1998-07-16 SEA L 0-3 31 0 1 3 11 4 151
14 1998-05-17 NYY L 0-4 27 0 0 0 11 0 160
15 1988-05-21 TEX L 0-3 30 0 1 2 2 3 139
16 1987-06-26 TEX L 0-1 31 0 1 6 7 4 146
17 1985-08-19 MIL L 1-4 29 1 1 0 8 1 138
18 1985-07-14 DET L 0-8 31 0 1 3 7 4 148
19 1982-09-28 (1) TOR L 0-3 28 0 1 1 2 1 93
20 1982-09-04 BAL L 0-3 30 0 1 2 7 3 123
21 1980-10-05 KCR L 0-4 32 0 1 3 2 5 125
22 1980-08-21 (2) DET L 2-4 31 2 1 3 6 2 127
23 1980-04-23 CAL L 0-17 33 0 1 4 1 6 161
24 1976-08-10 BAL L 0-2 29 0 1 1 5 2 127
25 1976-06-14 BOS L 0-5 30 0 1 4 2 3 140
26 1974-09-28 CAL L 0-4 35 0 0 8 15 8 142
27 1970-09-21 OAK L 0-6 28 0 0 1 9 1 141
28 1970-08-13 WSA L 0-1 28 0 1 1 7 1 122
29 1969-08-10 BAL L 0-2 31 0 1 3 8 4 118
30 1969-05-15 BAL L 0-5 29 0 1 2 6 2 141
31 1968-05-08 OAK L 0-4 27 0 0 0 11 0 148
32 1967-04-30 (2) WSA L 0-3 29 0 1 2 0 2 120
33 1964-09-06 BOS W 2-1 27 2 1 1 4 1 125
34 1964-09-02 BAL L 0-2 29 0 1 1 10 2 134
35 1962-09-10 LAA L 0-5 31 0 1 2 9 4 128
36 1961-09-24 WSA L 1-4 30 1 1 2 6 2 140
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 11/20/2015.

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A great summary of near no-hitters by Stew Thornley called Lost in the Ninth.

10th Annual Fall Stars Game to be televised and played on Saturday

AFL logoThe Arizona Fall League’s 10th annual Fall Stars Game presented by Bowman Baseball Cards will be played at 6:08 p.m. AZ (7:08 p.m. CT) this Saturday, November 7 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. MLB Network and MLB.com plan to televise the game.

Burdi, Nick 2Walker, Adam Brett 2015 AFLTwo players from the Twins system, outfielder Adam Brett Walker and pitcher Nick Burdi have been selected to represent the Minnesota Twins in 2015. Last year outfielder Eddie Rosario was the Twins representative.

 

2015 AFL Fall Stars Game Rosters

Birth of the Twins: Here’s the Real Story

The 2015 baseball season is over and the Kansas City Royals won the World Series over the New York Mets last night. The Minnesota Twins finished their 2015 season and 55th season in Minnesota with a 83-79 record and 12.5 games behind the AL Central Division champion Royals and missed getting in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

Griffith, Calvin 5Just for fun let’s revisit October of 1960 and get the low down from Minneapolis Tribune writer and sports editor Charles O. Johnson (who was there and in the thick of things) on the demands that Senators owner Calvin Griffith put in place before the Washington Senators could move to Minnesota and become the Minnesota Twins.  According to his article in the October 30, 1965 Sporting News, here is what happened.

Sporting News Oct 30, 1965 P5

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all you ghosts and goblins out there. We hope you have a great day and don’t over indulge in all that candy. By the way, we switch back to standard time tonight so don’t forget to turn your clocks back an hour tonight.

Pumpkin Twins 1

The “Old Fart” Twins

old fart hatWith all the discussion since the season ended about what to do with free agent outfielder Torii Hunter I thought it might be interesting to see who some of the “old farts” were that put on a Minnesota Twins uniforms over the years.

Torii Hunter 2015Hunter is on the list below because he turned 40 on July 18, 2015 and this kind of search only takes into account your age as of June 30th and Torii turned 40 on July 18, 2015. I heard that the Twins are interested in bring Hunter back but not as a full-time player and Torii has not made up his made as yet what he wants to do. Having said that, Hunter’s 2015 season looks pretty good stat wise on the list below.

Only two players on this list were actually signed by Minnesota to begin their professional careers, and they are Hunter and Jesse Orosco. The others were traded for, purchased, acquired on waivers or signed as free agents. Oddly enough Orosco was a second round selection in the 1978 draft and was traded by the Twins to the Mets as the PTBNL in the Jerry Koosman deal before he made his major league debut and did not pitch for Minnesota until his 24th and final season. Hunter as you all know was the Twins number one draft pick (20th overall) in 1993 and left as a free agent after the 2007 season only to return again in 2015 after stints with the Angels and Tigers.

Jesse Orosco
Jesse Orosco
Rk Name Year Age G PA R H HR RBI SB BA OPS Pos
1 Jesse Orosco 2003 46 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
2 Steve Carlton 1988 43 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
3 Joe Niekro 1988 43 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
4 Joe Niekro 1987 42 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 *1
5 Terry Mulholland 2005 42 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 *1
6 Dave Winfield 1994 42 77 328 35 74 10 43 2 .252 .746 *D/9
7 Steve Carlton 1987 42 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 /*1
8 Dave Winfield 1993 41 143 594 72 148 21 76 2 .271 .767 *D9/H3
9 Pat Borders 2004 41 19 44 3 12 0 5 2 .286 .683 *2/H
10 Terry Mulholland 2004 41 39 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 *1
11 Paul Molitor 1998 41 126 559 75 141 4 69 9 .281 .718 *D/3H
12 Paul Molitor 1997 40 135 597 63 164 10 89 11 .305 .786 *D3/H
13 Elmer Valo 1961 40 33 36 0 5 0 4 0 .156 .469 *H/7
14 Jim Thome 2011 40 71 242 21 50 12 40 0 .243 .827 *DH
15 Al Worthington 1969 40 46 6 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 *1
16 Ruben Sierra 2006 40 14 33 3 5 0 4 0 .179 .487 /*H*D
17 Jim Dwyer 1990 40 37 75 7 12 1 5 0 .190 .558 *H*D/79
18 Torii Hunter 2015 39 139 567 67 125 22 81 2 .240 .702 *9D/H
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/23/2015.

Dean Chance passes away at the age of 74

Dean Chance It has been reported that Dean Chance died of a heart attack at the age of 74 yesterday in his hometown of Wooster, Ohio. Chance was born in Wooster on June 1, 1941 and went on to attend Northwestern High School in Wayne, Ohio where he became a sports legend. Chance was considered by many to be the best high school pitcher in Ohio history, throwing 17 no-hitters (eight in one season) and posting a 52-1 record in high school, including 32 consecutive victories. The Baltimore Orioles signed Chance out of high school for $30,000. After two season in the Orioles organization the team exposed him to the 196o expansion draft and he was taken by the Washington Senators in the 48th round but his stay as a Senator was short-lived as they traded him to the Los Angeles Angels that same day for Joe Hicks in one of several forced trades by AL President Joe Cronin.

Dean Chance who would go on to become a two-time All-Star and Cy Young winner made his big league debut against the Minnesota Twins on September 14, 1961 at Met Stadium and lost 5-2 to Jim Kaat. Chance pitched well going 7.1 innings allowing 10 hits and 3 earned runs and two strike outs. Dean Chance blossomed the following year for the Angels and was 14-10 with a 2.96 ERA 206 plus innings.

Dean Chance met Bo Belinsky for the first time in spring training in Clearwater, Florida, in 1959. When the Angels selected Belinsky from the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft on November 27, 1961, and the two subsequently made the Angels in 1962, they became teammates and then roomed together during the 1963 and 1964 seasons. Belinsky and the already married Chance made the rounds in Hollywood, and probably became more famous for their off-the-field exploits than they did on a pitching mound.

After the season 1964 season in which Chance led the American League in wins with 20, ERA with 1.65, 15 complete games, 11 shutouts, and 278.1 innings pitched, Chance was rewarded with the Cy Young Award, at the time given out to only one pitcher in baseball. Chance also finished fifth in MVP voting behind Brooks Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Elston Howard and Tony Oliva. Chance pitched for the Angels from 1961-1966 before the Angels traded him along with shortstop Jackie Hernandez to the Minnesota Twins for 1B Don Mincher, outfielder Jimmie Hall and RHP Pete Cimino in December 1966.

Chance, Dean 3The Twins just missed winning the pennant in 1967 but Dean Chance could not blamed for that as he went 20-14 and had a 2.73 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in a league leading 283.2 innings with a league leading 18 complete games in 39 starts, again league leading. He had two no-hitters that season: a 5-inning perfect game (that’s no longer an official no-hitter) and then a 2-1 no-hitter over Cleveland on August 25th. In 1968 Chance was 14-14 but had a stellar ERA 2.53 and a 0.98 WHIP in 292 innings. The 1969 Twins under Billy Martin won the AL Western Division with 97 wins but Dean Chance was only 5-4 in 15 starts due to a back injury and he missed all of June and July and this was the beginning of the end of Chance’s baseball career. Chance’s only playoff experience took place in game 3 of the 1969 ALCS in a mop-up role when he pitched 2 innings in a 11-2 Orioles win.

In December of 1969 the Twins traded Chance,RHP Bob Miller, 3B Graig Nettles, and OF Ted Uhlaender  to the Cleveland Indians for RHP’s Luis Tiant and Stan Williams. Chance was 9-8 for the Indians in 1970 before being sold to the New York Mets in September where he finished the season. The Mets then traded Chance to the Tigers in March of 1971 where he pitched in 31 games going 4-6 with a 3.51 ERA. The Tigers released Chance in October 1971 and the baseball career of Dean Chance was in the books.

Chance was known for getting his sign from the catcher and then turning his back to the batter until he threw the ball, that motion Chance said, shortened his career according to him, he felt he was lucky to last in the majors the 11 years that he did. As good a pitcher as Chance was, hitting was not his forte, he was a terrible hitter, batting a mere .066 in 662 at-bats for his career, striking out 420 times for one of the highest strikeout rates in history. Chance still holds the Minnesota Twins record for most consecutive at bats without a hit, in 1967 between April 19 and July 23 Chance was 0 for 52 with 35 strikeouts.

Dean Chance was tough on the New York Yankees and Mickey Mantle in particular although Mantle did hit .242 off Chance with three home runs. “Every time I see his name on a lineup card, I feel like throwing up” – Mickey Mantle. Mantle once uttered this memorable quote during Chance’s remarkable 1964 season. As sportswriter Phil Pepe wrote that year, “It’s Chance, not CBS, who owns the New York Yankees. Lock, stock and barrel.” Chance pitched 50 innings against the Yankees that year, allowing only 14 hits and one run, a homer by Mantle. In five starts he threw four complete games and three shutouts, going 4-0 with a 0.18 ERA.

After his baseball ended at the age of 30 Dean Chance did not move to a rocking chair, he went into the carnival business where he owned numerous games “where you can win an item off the top shelf” and traveled all over the country. He was a boxing promoter for a while and he started and was still president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) when he died. Chance also invested in real estate, played Gin Rummy on a professional level and attended many sports memorabilia shows. It is ironic to me that he attended so many memorabilia shows because I mailed him numerous baseball cards over the  years asking for his autograph but I never got a single card back, with or without an autograph. The man was one of baseball’s great characters.

Rest in Peace Dean Chance and thank you for all the great memories.

Dean Chance SABR BioProject

Dean Chance Obit – Star Tribune

Los Angeles Times Obit

Dean Chance: baseball, carnies, boxing. He was worthy of a book.

Bo and Dean: A Lifetime of Fun and Friendship

Chance of a lifetime: Area legend was one of a kind

Mis-Management 101: The American League Expansion for 1961

Remembering 1965 – Part 25 – “A Pennant for the Twins Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins”

A Pennant for the Twin CitiesThe Twins chances for a 2015 wild card spot are “slim and none” as they prepare to play their final two games of 2015 at Target Field. Yes, mathematically they still have a chance but the odds are stacked against them. The Twins have had a wonderful season and stranger things have happened so there is still hope.

But 50 years ago the 1965 Minnesota Twins were playing their final game of the season at their home park (Metropolitan Stadium) too and they would go on to beat the California Angels 3-2 to post win number 102, the most ever wins in the Senators/Twins franchise history. Just a few days later this great team would take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1965 World Series.

A new book about that team and its players has just hit the market and if you are a fan of Minnesota Twins baseball you have to get your hands on that book. I have my book on order and can’t wait to start reading it. The book is called “A Pennant for the Twins Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins” and the author is Gregory H. Wolf.

Here is a portion of how the book is described on Amazon.com: “Included are the life and baseball stories of all 35 roster players, the coaches, and manager of the 1965 Twins, plus team owner Calvin Griffith; broadcasters Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, and Ray Scott; and sportswriters Dick Gordon and Max Nichols. A comprehensive summary of the regular season, as well as meticulous essays highlighting important games and the All-Star Game played in Minnesota, an overview of the 1965 Dodgers, and thorough summaries the World Series games are included. Chapters about how the Griffith family built its pennant winner, the fate of the Twins after 1965, Metropolitan Stadium, and the 1965 season “by the numbers” round out the book. Members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) researched and wrote all of the biographies and essays in this book“.

I am proud to say that I played a small part in this book by contributing the BIO on Twins catcher John Sevcik and as I said earlier, I can’t wait to get my hands on this book to read the rest of the story. The is definitely a book that you want on your book shelf and it will make a great gift for any Minnesota Twins fan.

Congratulations to Pete Mackanin on being named as Phillies skipper

Pete MackaninFormer Twins infielder and baseball lifer Pete Mackanin has been named as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies for 2016 and a team option for 2017. Mackanin served as the Phillies interim manager since June and has also been an interim manager for the Pirates and the Reds but this will be his first full-time gig as a big league skipper.

“The Phillies are pleased that Pete has accepted the position of manager for the 2016 season,” team president (and former Twins GM) Andy MacPhail said in a statement. “We believe that Pete is the best fit for the role. Since assuming the interim manager position in June, Pete has developed an excellent rapport with our players and has also connected well with the media and our fans. Equally as important is his eagerness to take on the challenge of rebuilding the team and further developing our players. We look forward to his contributions.”

Mackanin, PeteMackanin was a fourth round selection by the Washington Senators in 1969 and  played in 548 games in the majors from 1973 to 1981 with the Rangers, Expos, Phillies and Twins. The Twins acquired Mackanin from the Phillies on December 7, 1979 for pitcher Paul Thormodsgard. Mackanin played in 185 games in a Twins uniform hitting .252 before leaving the team as a free agent after the 1981 season. Mackanin did not play in the majors again after leaving Minnesota. Mackanin’s tie to Minnesota Twins history is that he hit the last Twins home run in Met Stadium and also scored the last Twins run there.

Max Kepler deserves call-up in 2015

Max Kepler
Max Kepler

Twins 1B/OF Max Kepler deserves to be called up by the Minnesota Twins as soon as the Chattanooga Lookouts playoff run is completed. The 22 year-old Kepler is having a huge breakout season in his sixth year of pro ball. Kepler started the season playing a handful of games at Ft. Myers due to an injury but quickly was sent to Chattanooga where he has been a hitting machine and was selected as the Southern League MVP which is a league loaded with top prospects.

I know the Twins are in the chase for a wildcard spot but they need to call Kepler up to Minnesota where he can get a taste of big league life and be rewarded for his play this season. I know that first base and the outfield are crowded at Target Field but Kepler has earned his shot at putting on a Twins uniform and showing fans here in Minnesota another of their highly regarded prospects. Don’t let me down Mr. Ryan!

Kepler homers twice to even SL Final

Chattanooga Lookouts Even Southern League Championship Series

The Twins longest games in terms of innings played

The Minnesota Twins have played a lot of games in the 55 years that they have called Minnesota home but only 33 of those games have gone 15 innings or longer. In those 33 games they have a 17-16 record. The three longest games that have lasted 20 inning or more have all been played at home, either at the Met or the Metrodome. I am sure you got your money’s worth if you attended any of those games.

The Twins longest road game was at Yankee Stadium back in 1976 and this might shock you I know but the Twins lost 5-4 on a walk-off single by Mickey Rivers. Just hearing the name Mickey Rivers brings back all kinds of memories, what a character he was.

Twins longest games by innings played

(The right-hand column tell you how long the game lasted in terms of minutes)

Rk Date Opp Rslt IP H R d I might ER BB SO HR UER Pit BF AB min.
1 1993-08-31 CLE W 5-4 22.0 16 4 2 7 8 0 2 288 85 76 377
2 1972-05-12 MIL L 3-4 22.0 13 4 4 8 13 0 0   86 76 347
3 1967-08-09 WSA L 7-9 20.0 14 9 9 6 16 2 0   79 69 340
4 1976-08-25 NYY L 4-5 18.2 16 5 5 7 5 1 0   73 64 326
5 2004-08-08 OAK L 5-6 18.0 16 6 6 3 13 0 0 251 71 67 297
6 1969-09-06 OAK W 8-6 18.0 16 6 2 6 12 1 4   78 69 317
7 1969-07-19 SEP W 11-7 18.0 20 7 6 4 9 1 1   82 76 341
8 1967-07-26 (2) NYY W 3-2 18.0 10 2 2 2 7 0 0   65 62 264
9 1976-08-28 CLE L 3-4 16.2 13 4 4 2 6 0 0   62 59 295
10 1969-04-09 KCR L 3-4 16.2 11 4 3 9 8 0 1   64 54 272
11 1995-05-07 CLE L 9-10 16.1 26 10 8 8 9 3 2 322 82 71 396
12 2009-07-03 DET L 9-11 16.0 17 11 11 2 12 2 0 218 69 63 307
13 2005-08-16 CHW W 9-4 16.0 12 4 4 4 12 1 0 204 63 58 309
14 1986-06-11 TEX L 2-6 16.0 16 6 6 8 7 1 0   66 57 272
15 1977-09-17 TEX L 4-5 16.0 12 5 3 6 10 2 2   65 55 312
16 1969-07-25 CLE W 4-2 16.0 8 2 2 2 14 1 0   57 55 266
17 1982-04-20 OAK L 3-4 15.2 14 4 4 6 10 0 0   66 57 303
18 1975-07-12 NYY L 7-8 15.2 18 8 8 7 7 1 0   70 61 311
19 2012-06-17 MIL W 5-4 15.0 15 4 4 5 7 1 0 250 66 61 290
20 2004-06-10 NYM W 3-2 15.0 8 2 2 5 13 1 0 231 59 51 246
21 2004-05-04 SEA L 3-4 15.0 13 4 4 7 14 1 0 245 65 55 288
22 2004-04-06 CLE W 7-6 15.0 12 6 6 4 10 1 0 223 59 55 300
23 2002-06-10 ATL W 6-5 15.0 11 5 5 5 6 1 0 209 58 52 263
24 1999-05-21 OAK W 2-1 15.0 8 1 1 8 9 0 0 225 59 51 295
25 1992-07-04 BAL W 3-2 15.0 12 2 2 8 8 0 0 250 64 54 280
26 1980-08-28 TOR W 7-5 15.0 13 5 5 7 9 1 0   60 51 264
27 1980-06-20 CLE L 3-4 15.0 14 4 4 8 6 1 0   63 55 268
28 1974-09-10 CHW W 8-7 15.0 19 7 6 1 9 1 1   62 60 247
29 1973-06-06 (1) CLE W 7-3 15.0 10 3 1 8 8 1 2   66 56 254
30 1972-06-06 BAL W 5-4 15.0 11 4 3 9 14 0 1   63 53 265
31 1972-05-13 MIL W 5-4 15.0 10 4 4 2 12 2 0   54 50 216
32 1964-09-29 KCA L 6-7 15.0 10 7 7 8 13 3 0   61 53 290
33 1961-05-22 CLE L 5-7 15.0 17 7 7 3 7 2 0   63 58 248
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/17/2015.

Please take some time to check out our Length of games including longest Twins game page.