Category: Major League debuts as Twins

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Mejia, Abbott, McKay, Ryan, Hrbek, Gabino, Miller, Wimmers, Cressend and Siebler

I know, I know, I have neglected this the last few days so we will try to get caught up here today by getting the August 20-26 debuts out here.

 

Adalberto Mejia

Adalberto Mejia (P) – August 20, 2016 – Traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Minnesota Twins for Eduardo Nunez on July 28, 2016. It is never easy to make your debut when your team is down 8 to zip in the fifth inning but that was Mejia’s task at Kauffmann Stadium. Mejia went 2.1 innings allowing 5 hits, 1 walk and 2 earned runs in his first time on a big league mound.

Paul Abbott (P) – August 21, 1990 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1985 amateur draft. A tough start for Mr. Abbott against the Kansas City Royals at Royals Stadium when he is pinned with the loss after giving up 7 earned runs in 3 innings on 6 hits and 5 walks in his 84 pitches that day.

Dave McKay

Dave McKay (3B/2B/SS) – August 22, 1975 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1971. McKay was the starting third baseman against the Tigers at the Met. Started a Twins four run rally by leading off the bottom of the third inning with a home run off Tiger pitcher Vern Ruhle in his first big league at bat. Ended up 1 for 3 with a RBI and run scored.

Jason Ryan (P) – August 24, 1999 – Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Kyle Lohse to the Minnesota Twins for Rick Aguilera and Scott Downs. Probably drew the short straw when his big league debut was at the Met against the Red Sox and Pedro Martinez. Ryan lasted 4.1 innings giving up 4 earned runs on 4 hits and 6 walks and getting the loss in a 7-1 Red Sox victory.

Kent Hrbek (1B) – August 24, 1981 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 17th round of the 1978 amateur draft. First big league action was a start at first base in Yankee Stadium II against Tommy John in the 8 hole in the batting order. Hrbek went 2 for 5 with a run scored and 2 RBI. One of his 2 hits was a home run off George Frazier leading off the top of the 12th inning which provided the winning run in a Twins 3-2 victory over the Bronx Bombers.

Armando Gabino

Armando Gabino (P) – August 25, 2009 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins from the Cleveland Indians in the 2004 minor league draft on December 13, 2004. Gabino started his big league career with a start at the Dome against the Orioles. Gabino unfortunately lasted just 2.2 innings when he gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks but the Twins came back to win the game 7-6.

Travis Miller (P) – August 25, 1996 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (34th pick) of the 1994 amateur draft. Travis Miller kind of showed right away that starting was not his thing when he started against the Texas Rangers at the Dome and was lifted after throwing 48 pitches in his first and only inning when he gave up 5 hits and 2 walks while allowing 7 Rangers runs. Two of the five hits were home runs. Oh, he did get the loss.

Alex Wimmers

Alex Wimmers (P) –  August 26, 2016 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (21st) of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft. Debuted at Rogers Centre in relief and pitched a slick 1 inning striking out 2 batters in a 15-8 Twins loss to the Bluejays.

Jack Cressend

Jack Cressend (P) – August 26, 2000 – Selected off waivers by the Minnesota Twins from the Boston Red Sox on April 22, 1999. The Twins were down 6-2 to the Tigers when Cressend entered the game in relief and pitched 1 inning giving up one run on two hits. The Twins eventually lost the game 8-2.

Dwight Siebler

Dwight Siebler (P) – August 26, 1963 – Purchased by the Minnesota Twins from the Philadelphia Phillies on August 24, 1963. Siebler entered the game in relief of Jim Kaat with runners on first and second and one out. Siebler got the first batter on a weak foul popup to the third baseman, but then he issued a bases filling walk before hitting the next batter to force in a run, walked the next guy to force in another run before retiring the next batter for the final out of the inning. It all sounds bad but his line was 2/3 of an inning with 2 walks, a HBP and zero runs on his record.

You can check out other Major League Debuts as Twins that I have done by going here.

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Mike Trombley

August 19 had one player making his major league debut as a Minnesota Twin.

Mike Trombley (Credit Getty Images)

Mike Trombley (P) – August 19, 1992 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 1989 amateur draft. Debut in Cleveland Stadium was one scoreless inning of relief with a strike out and a hit in a Twins 5-1 defeat.

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Kinney & Fife

Two players today, August 18, that made their big league debuts as Minnesota Twins.

Matt Kinney (P) – August 18, 2000 – Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Joe Thomas (minors) and John Barnes to the Minnesota Twins for Orlando Merced and Greg Swindell on July 31, 1998. Debuted at the Skydome against the Blue Jays and took the loss in a 3-2 game but he pitched well going 6.1 innings and allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks and was lifted trailing 2-0.

Dan Fife

Danny Fife (P) – August 18, 1973 – Traded by the Detroit Tigers with cash to the Minnesota Twins in March 1973. Debuted in relief pitching 3 innings at Cleveland Stadium allowing no runs, 2 hits and 1 walk and struck out one in a Twins 5-0 loss to the Indians as Gaylord Perry shutout the Twins on 3 hits.

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Jeff Manship

I didn’t get yesterday debut out here so we will do it today since there are no big league debuts as Twins on August 16.

Jeff Manship

Jeff Manship (P) – August 15, 2009 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft. Threw a clean inning of relief in his debut against the Cleveland Indians at the Dome and struck out one albeit in a losing cause..

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Mark Portugal

August 14 big league debuts as Minnesota Twins.

Mark Portugal (P) – August 14, 1985 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent on October 2, 1980. Debuted at the Dome against the Oakland A’s but came away the loser in a 7-4 game.

Check out our previous major league debuts as Minnesota Twins here.

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Bill Zepp

One major league debut in a Minnesota Twins uniform on August 12.

Bill Zepp (P) – August 12, 1969 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1968. A Twins 3-2 lead at Yankee Stadium had suddenly turned into a 10-3 deficit when the Yankees scored 8 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and Bill Zepp made his big league debut in a mop-up role throwing 1.1 scoreless innings allowing no hits or walks while striking out Thurman Munson.

 

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Matt Garza

Today’s big league debut on August 11 just pitched against the Twins a few days ago and was at one time a Twins first round selection.

 

Matt Garza

Matt Garza (P) – August 11, 2006 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1st round (25th) of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft. Garza took it on the chin in his big league debut against the Blue Jays at the Dome. His start lasted just 2.2 innings (67 pitches) allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out two batters and got pinned with the 7-1 loss.

 

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Watkins & Miller

These guys had their big league debuts as Twins on August 10.

Tommy Watkins (3B) – August 10, 2007 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 38th round of the 1998 MLB June Amateur Draft. Debuted in Anaheim as a PH for Jason Kubel and grounded out to second base in a Twins 10-1 loss to the Angels. 

Damian Miller

Damian Miller (C) – August 10, 1997 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round of the 1990 amateur draft. Debuted in a Twins 9-6 loss to the Yankees at the Dome as a PH off Yankee closer Mariano Rivera and hit a flyball to right for an out.

 

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – May & Izquierdo

Two big league debuts as Twins, 47 years apart 

Trevor May

Trevor May (P) – August 9, 2014 – Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Vance Worley to the Minnesota Twins for Ben Revere on December 6, 2012

Hank Izquierdo (C) – August 9, 1967 – Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Twins prior to the 1963 season. Debuted in the 16th inning of a 20 inning 9-7 loss to the Washington Senators at Met Stadium as a PH and went 0 for 2.

J.G. Preston wrote the following about Izquierdo in his blog the J.G. Preston Experience:

“”Another Twins player who debuted at age 36 (and one who, like Mendoza, was also a native of Cuba) was Enrique “Hank” Izquierdo, who had actually retired as a player five years before he finally made the big leagues in 1967. In four seasons with Cincinnati’s Class AAA teams from 1957-60 Izquierdo posted batting averages of .153, .196, .218 and .186. Not exactly encouraging. In 1961 he was a player-coach with the Reds’ AAA team at Jersey City, and in 1962 he stopped playing altogether to be a bullpen catcher for the Cleveland Indians.

But he missed playing, so in 1963 Izquierdo hooked up with the Twins and dropped down to the Class A Florida State League, where he hit .297 and rekindled his career. By 1966 he was back up to AAA, and in ’67 he hit .300 for Denver of the Pacific Coast League to earn another call to the big leagues — this time as part of the active roster, when Earl Battey went on the disabled list with a dislocated thumb. It didn’t hurt that Cal Ermer had replaced Sam Mele as the Twins’ manager; Ermer had started the season at Denver and had also managed Izquierdo in winter ball.

With the Twins in the thick of one of the greatest pennant races in history (they wouldn’t be eliminated until the last day of the season), Izquierdo did just fine when called upon. The Twins went 7-2 in the games he started, and he finished the season with seven hits in 26 at-bats for a .269 batting average.

After the season Izquierdo was drafted by the Houston Astros’ Oklahoma City farm club and spent two years with them. After the 1968 season he was nearly killed while driving a cab in Miami when he was shot during a robbery, then his 1969 season ended prematurely when he was suspended for the rest of the season by American Association president Allie Reynolds after swinging a bat at future major league star Ted Simmons during an on-field argument. Izquierdo went on to manage in Mexico before returning to the Twins as a scout.”