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
After blowing a 4-1 lead by allowing the Baltimore Orioles to score three runs in the top of the ninth on a 3-run home by Earl Robinson off Jack Kralick, the Twins come to bat in their half of the ninth inning. With the score tied 4-4, Julio Becquer is called upon by manager Sam Mele to lead off the bottom of the ninth as a pinch-hitter for Chuck Stobbs against Jack Fisher and Julio proceeds to hit a home run and become not only the first Twin to pinch hit a home run but also becomes the first Twins player in history to hit a walk-off home run as the Twins win 5-4 and 17, 851 Twins fans go home happy..
Becquer, born in Havana, Cuba on December 20, 1931 was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1952 and played for the Senators in 1955 and 1957-1960. Primarily a utility player, Becquer was a left-handed pull hitter and was noted for his good glove at first base. Becquer played first base and some outfield during his career and he even took the mound when that was called for making him the only position player to pitch for both the Senators and the Twins. Although he played for the Senators in 1960 in their final season in Washington prior to relocating to Minnesota, he was not one of the original Minnesota Twins because on December 14, 1960 the Los Angeles Angels made Becquer the 55th selection in the 1960 expansion draft. Julio appeared in 11 games for the Angels going hitless in just 8 at bats before the Angels sold him to the Philadelphia Phillies. Becquer spent several weeks with the Phillies AAA Buffalo team before being sold again on June 2, 1960, this time to the Minnesota Twins. Julio only had 84 at bats for the 1961 Twins but a number of them were key pinch hits. As a matter of fact, Becquer was such a good pinch-hitter that he led the AL in that category in 1957 and again in 1959 as a Washington Senator. In 1962 Becquer played in Mexico and was there again in 1963 when Twins owner Calvin Griffith was informed that Becquer needed just a few weeks of big league time to qualify for a pension so Griffith re-signed Julio so that could qualify for that major league pension. Becquer appeared in just one big league game in 1963 (September 18) at Met Stadium in a 10-0 Twins win over the Detroit Tigers appearing as a pinch-runner for Earl Battey and scoring on a Bernie Allen double.
Julio Becquer lives in the Minneapolis area and can be seen frequently at Twins games at Target Field. Becquer was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. I did an interview with Julio on May 2010 that you can listen to at http://wp.me/P1YQUj-dE .
On May 15, 1918 the Washington Senators’ pitcher Walter “Big Train” Johnson pitched a Major League Baseball record 18-inning complete game shutout, to defeat Claude “Lefty” T. Williams and the Chicago White Sox 1-0. The fans at Griffith Stadium were treated to one of the greatest pitching duels in baseball history. Check out the original posting at D.C. Baseball History and take note of the amazing time that it took to play this game.
As a Minnesota Twins fan and a fan of baseball history I can’t help but enjoy a site over at www.dcbaseballhistory where the early years of the Minnesota Twins are covered in detail. Back then, the team was called the Washington Senators and they played in Washington D.C. from 1901-1960. Today they ran a piece called “This Day in D.C. Baseball History – Wounded Veteran gets a Try Out” (March 5, 1945) that they have allowed me to repost here. Bert Shepard was a real World War II hero, a POW, and a winner of the Distinguished Flying Cross. He may have only played in one big league game but think about the will, courage and pain that he must have had to achieve his goal. You also have to be impressed by Clark Griffith who gave Shepard an opportunity to be in baseball. Cool story, it kind of makes you feel good to read about these kinds of things happening in a game that can at times be tough and cold. Shepard died in Highland, California on June 16, 2008
Bert Shepard, a one-legged veteran of World War II, tries out as a pitcher for the Washington Senators. The Senators owner Clark Griffith was so impressed with Shepard that he hired him as the team’s pitching coach. During the 1945 spring training Shepard with his artificial leg pitched in three games. For the rest training camp his main job was to pitch batting practice.
Bert Shepard was a World War II fighter pilot who lost his right leg on May 21, 1944 when his plane was shot down while he was flying a mission over Germany. This heroic man survived his plane crash and a gunshot wound to his chin. Afterward Shepard was taken to a German hospital where they amputated most of his right leg. During the next few months he was in POW camp in Germany. After returning home from the war in February, 1945 Shepard was sent to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C. where he was fitted for an artificial leg. As amazing as it is one month later this heroic American was trying out for a major league baseball team.
What is more amazing was that on August 4, 1945 the Senators’ manager Ossie Bluege called on Bert Shepard to come in and pitch a few innings of a game that the Senators were trailing by quite a few runs. The left hander ended up pitching five and a third innings and only gave up one run and three base hits. That one game will be the first and last game for the war hero as the Senators released him on September 30, 1945.
Cookie Lavagetto was the Washington Senators manager when they became the Minnesota Twins but he lasted just 66 games and finished with a 25-41 record in 1961.
Harry Arthur “Cookie” Lavagetto was born December 1, 1912 in Oakland, California and died in his sleep on August 10, 1990 in Orinda, California at the age of 77. He acquired his nickname from his Oakland Oaks teammates, who called him “Cookie’s boy,” because he had been hired by Oaks’ president Victor “Cookie” Devincenzi. Lavagetto played 3B and 2B in the major leagues for 10 seasons and played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1934-1936 and was a four-time All-Star while with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1937 -1947. Cookie did not play ball in the majors from 1942-1945 due to serving his country in the military during World War II. Cookie enlisted in the US Navy in February 1942 even though he was classified 3-A and was sworn in as Aviation Machinist Mate 1st class. He is most widely known as the pinch hitter whose double with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning ruined Bill Bevens’ bid for the first World Series no-hitter in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series and gave his Brooklyn Dodgers a breathtaking victory over the New York Yankees, a game known as The Cookie Game. You can listen to a broadcast clip of that play here. The Dodgers went on to lose the 1947 World Series to the New York Yankees 4 games to 3.
Cookie Lavagetto
After being released by the Dodgers following the 1947 Series, Lavagetto returned to Oakland to finish his playing career with the Oaks (1948–50). When Oakland manager Chuck Dressen was named leader of the Dodgers in 1951, Lavagetto accompanied him as one of his coaches. He was a loyal aide to Dressen with Brooklyn (1951–53) and the PCL Oaks (1954) and followed him to the Washington Senators when Dressen became their manager in 1955.
But on May 7, 1957, with the Senators languishing in last place, Dressen was fired and Lavagetto was named his successor. Little changed under Lavagetto’s reign and the Senators finished last in 1957, 1958 and 1959. Finally, in 1960, Lavagetto’s Senators rose to fifth place in the eight-team American League, but the Senators’ promising 1960 season was too little and too late to keep the franchise in Washington; owner Calvin Griffith moved the club to Minnesota where it became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.
Yankee manager Ralph Houk inspects the jacket of Twins manager Cookie Lavagetto prior to the Twins first ever game, played April 11, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. Twins win 6-0. Courtesy of the Minnesota Twins
Lavagetto was the first manager in Twins’ history, but he did not finish the 1961 season. With the Twins mired in ninth place having lost 11 in a row and 16 out of their last 17 games in the new ten-team AL, owner Calvin Griffith asked Lavagetto to take a vacation and go fishing to get away from the everyday pressure of major league baseball. Cookie took a seven-game leave of absence starting on June 6th while coach Sam Mele took over as the Twins skipper and then returned to the helm on June 13th but he was fired June 23 with the club still in ninth place. He was replaced by Sam Mele, under whom the Twins became pennant contenders the following season. Lavagetto’s major league managing record was 271 wins and 384 defeats (.414) and he was 25-41 as the Twins first skipper.
Cookie Lavagetto then returned to the coaching ranks with the New York Mets form 1962-1963 and then back home in the Bay area with the San Francisco Giants from 1964-1967 before stepping away from baseball.
There are a couple of nice stories about Cookie Lavagetto in the Baseball in Wartime Blog and you can read the stories by clicking here and here.
There are some nice photo’s of Lavagetto at this New York Mets blog called Centerfield Maz.
Tom Verducci wrote a piece called A Game for Unlikely Heroes for Sports Illustrated back on November 29, 1999 that you might enjoy reading.
Lavagetto made the cover of Sports Illustrated as the Twins skipper on May 15, 1961 and Walter Bingham did a nice article about Cookie in that issue he called “Not Such a Tough Cookie.”
The Twins and Terry Ryan have put in a lot of time this off-season to try to round up some pitchers that they can put in the starting rotation so that manager Gardenhire can hopefully call on each of them to start 30-35 games each. That will be no easy task as last season the team leader in pitching starts was Scott Diamond with 27 and he didn’t even join the starting rotation until May 8th.
If you look back through franchise history you will find that the great Hall of Fame pitcher Walter (The Big Train) Johnson pitched for the Wasinhton Senators for 21 seasons from 1907-1927 and he started 666 games, that is an average of 31.71 starts each year for 21 years. He set the the franchise games started in a season record with 42 in 1910. Twins lefty Jim Kaat equalled that mark of 42 starts in the Twins 1965 AL Championship season and followed that up with 41 starts in 1966 making him the only pitcher in franchise history to have back-to-back 40+ starts seasons.
I thought it would be interesting to review the Gardenhire era from 2002 through 2012 to see how many pitchers he has had that have started 30 or more games in a season for the Twins.
2002 – Rick Reed and Kyle Lohse
2003 – Brad Radke, Kyle Lohse, Kenny Rogers, Joe Mays (and Rick Reed chipped in 27 starts)
2004 – Johan Santana, Carlos Silva, Brad Radke, and Kyle Lohse
2005 – Johan Santana and Brad Radke
2006 – Johan Santana and Carlos Silva
2007 – Johan Santana, Carlos Silva, and Boof Bonser
2008 – Nick Blackburn
2009 – Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker
2010 – Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano
2011 – Carl Pavano
2012 – None, Scott Diamond led the pack with 27
In this 11 year time frame the Twins have had 12 different pitchers provide 30 or more starts in a single season and only three of them were actually drafted by the Twins, the rest were acquired in another manner. Radke was an 8th round pick in 1991, Blackburn was a 29th round pick in 2001, and Scott Baker was a 2nd round pick in 2003.
Chart showing numbers of pitchers with 30 or more starts
(Central Division champs marked with an *)
YEAR
Twins
Tigers
Indians
WSox
Royals
Totals
2002
2*
2
1
3
2
10
2003
4*
2
1
4
1
12
2004
4*
4
3
2
1
14
2005
2
3
5
4*
2
16
2006
2*
4
3
5
0
14
2007
3
2
3*
4
1
13
2008
1
2
1
4*
3
11
2009
2*
3
0
3
1
9
2010
2*
2
1
3
2
10
2011
1
4*
2
2
2
11
2012
0
3*
2
1
2
8
Totals
23
31
22
35
17
128
How big a deal is it to get 30 or more starts out of your starting pitchers? I will let you be the judge of that but the chart seems to indicate that the numbers of pitchers you have starting on a consistent basis will determine where you finish in the standings. The Twins seem to buck the trend a bit as they are the only team to win the Central Division title with fewer than 3 starters taking the mound 30 or more times and they did it 3 times with just 2 starters taking the mound 30 or more times.
LHP Jim Kaat
All this research made me curious as to who the Twins pitchers were over the years with the most starts in a Minnesota Twins uniform and here is what I dug up. There have only been 14 Twins pitchers that have toed the pitching rubber in the first inning in a Twins uniform 150 or more times. Some of these pitchers may have started a number of games in different uniforms including the Washington Senators prior to becoming the Twins but I am only looking for starts while wearing “Minnesota” on their chest. Of these 14 pitchers, only six (Blyleven, Viola, Goltz, Baker, Erickson, and Boswell) were actually drafted by the Minnesota Twins. The only pitcher on the list to spend his entire career as a Minnesota Twin? Brad Radke.
Twins Executive Vice President Joe Haynes suffered a heart attack while shoveling snow at his Hopkins , Minnesota home on January 6, 1967 and died at the age of 49. Haynes was signed by the Washington Senators as a free agent in 1937. During spring training in 1938 Haynes met and became smitten with Thelma Griffith who was at the time Clark Griffith’s personal secretary and was the daughter of Bruce Robertson whose sister Addie was Senator owners Clark Griffith’s wife. Although Thelma and Calvin were never formally adopted by the Clark and Addie Griffith, they were raised by the Griffith’s as their own children.
After just 2 years in the low minors Haynes made his major league debut as a reliever for the Washington Senators on April 24, 1939 at Fenway Park and picked up his first big league win while allowing 1 earned run in 2.2 innings in a 10-9 Washington victory in 10 innings. Haynes pitched for the Senators in 1939 and 1940 before hurting his arm and was sold to the Chicago White Sox in January 1941 by his future father-in-law. Haynes ended up marrying Thelma Griffith in 1941 and pitched for the White Sox for eight years from 1941-1948. Haynes led the league in pitching appearances in 1942 and in 1947 Haynes had a league leading 2.42 ERA. In 1948 Haynes was selected to the AL All-Star team although he did not make an appearance in the game. Haynes continued to have off and on arm issues and was traded to the Cleveland Indians in November 1948 who then flipped him a month later back to the Washington Senators where he again pitched through the 1952 season before being released.
Haynes pitched in the majors for 14 seasons putting up a 76-82 won/lost record with a 4.01 ERA in 379 games with 147 of them being starts. Haynes was a pitch to contact pitcher giving up more hits than innings pitched but he had an HR/9 mark of 0.5 which was pretty darn impressive. Haynes served as the Senators minor league pitching instructor in 1955 and moved into the front office in 1956 and kept his position when the team moved to Minnesota in 1961. After Haynes passed away in 1967, his widow, Thelma Griffith Haynes, continued to serve as an executive vice president, assistant treasurer, and part owner of the Twins until they were sold to Carl Pohlad in 1985.
The Washington Senators played in Washington D.C. from 1901 through 1960. During those 60 years the team played 9,188 games and had 4,223 wins, 4,864 losses and 101 ties to show for their efforts. Excluding the tie games the Senators had a .460 winning percentage.
Since the Minnesota Twins took the field for the first time as a major league team back on April 11, 1961 against the New York Yankees the Minnesota Twins have played 8,293 games and have 4,138 wins, 4,147 losses and 8 ties for a .499 winning percentage. Their home record stands at 2,241-1,913 for a .539 win percentage and on the road they have 1,897 wins and 2,234 losses for a .459 winning percentage.
I have put together a chart that shows how the Twins have fared against their American League brethren from 1961-2012 under Gardy, under TK, and the other 10 Twins managers combined that preceded TK and Gardy from 1961-1986, I know that TK managed briefly in 1986 but I have not included those few games in TK’s stats.
It comes as no surprise that the Kansas City Royals have been Twins patsies for a long time or that the New York Yankees have caused the Twins to get into a fetal position in the corner and cry. But a .276 winning percentage against the Bronx Bombers since Gardy took over as the Twins skipper is just plain atrocious, how can one team be so dominant? That number truly amazes me. You have to understand, I like Gardy as a manager but a .276 winning percentage means that if the Twins played the Yankees under Gardy in every game of a 162 game schedule, the Twins would end up with a 45-117 record under Gardy’s leadership. There is an old baseball axiom that states that if you play 162 games, odds are that you will win at least 60 games and lose at least 60 games, at that rate even if you lost all of the remaining 42 games you would sill have a .370 winning percentage. YIKES!
The only Central division team to hold a winning record over the Twins is the Cleveland Indians. The Twins have beat 8 teams more often than they have lost and 6 teams hold a winning percentage over Minnesota.
One of the original Minnesota Twins, pitcher John Francis (Jack) Kralick who was born on June 1, 1935 in Youngstown, Ohio passed away at his home in San Blas, Mexico on September 18 at the age of 77. The Chicago White Sox signed Jack Kralick prior to the 1955 season after Kralick had played baseball for one season at Michigan State but released him in June of 1958. The Washington Senators signed Kralick in September of 1958 and he made his major league debut with the Senators on April 15, 1959 at Fenway Park throwing one inning of relief in a 7-3 loss to the Red Sox after having never pitched above single A ball in the minor leagues. Kralick ended up spending most of his 1959 season in double AA Chattanooga before making the Senators starting staff in 1960 and then became a Minnesota Twin when the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season.
The left-handed Kralick is best known for throwing the Twins first no-hitter on Sunday, August 26, 1962. There were five no-hitters thrown in 1962, others that threw a “no-no” that season were Bo Belinsky of the Angels, the Red Sox Earl Wilson became the first African-American to throw an American league no-hitter, the Dodgers Sandy Koufax threw the first of his four no-hitters, and the Red Sox Bill Momboquette also threw a no-hitter. Kralick had a perfect game going with one out in the 9th inning at Met Stadium before walking pinch-hitter George Alusik on a 3-2 count. Kralick then retired pinch-hitter Billy Consolo and lead off hitter Bobby Del Greco on foul pop-ups to 1B Vic Power to complete the no-hitter and notch a 1-0 win in 1 hour and 57 minutes. “It doesn’t make any difference to me – a no-hitter or a perfect game.” With that statement the Twins southpaw shook off any disappointment of losing a perfect game. “I suppose its a little nicer to be a perfect game”, Kralick added, “but it really makes no difference to me”. According to Kralick, his curveball was not working so he relied mainly on fastballs and sliders with a couple of change-ups thrown in. Kralick was not a pitcher that you would think would throw a no-hitter but he also threw two seven inning no-hitters in the minor leagues. It was the first no-hitter caught by catcher Earl Battey and he said that “my hands were really shaking in that ninth inning.” Kralick’s time in a Twins uniform was cut short when the Twins traded Kralick to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jim Perry on May 2, 1963. Kralick finished his Twins career with a 26-26 record and 3.74 ERA in 75 starts while throwing 510+ innings. Kralick had a little pop in his bat too as he hit 3 home runs in 200 plate appearances in a Twins uniform. As a matter of fact, on August 20, 1961, he was part of a rare feat as he and teammate Al Schroll both homered; it is one of only six times that two pitchers have hit a home run in one game for the same team, and the last time the feat has been performed. Kralick was nicknamed “Jittery Jack” for his constant fidgeting on the mound. He would play with practically everything, between his uniform, cap and the rosin bag. By several accounts, he seemed to like spending time by himself and wasn’t easy to get along with. A chain smoker, teammates and sportswriters described him as “a loner,” “reclusive,” and at times, “abrasive.” Rich Rollins said, however, “While he was kind of a loner, I thought most of the guys got along with him when we were teammates in Minnesota.”
Kralick went on to pitch for the Indians from 1963-1967 putting up a 33-33 mark and making the 1964 All-Star team. It has been reported that Kralick was difficult to get along with at times and in August 1965 he and Indians pitcher and roommate Gary Bell got into a short one punch each fight in Washington D.C. hotel room and Kralick ended up on the short end of the stick with a broken tooth and required 9 stitches. The Indians sold Kralick to the New York Mets on May 1, 1967 but he never pitched for his new team as he was involved in a car accident shortly after the transaction which left him with a cracked rib and double vision. His vision only cleared up at the end of the year, at which point Kralick had lost the desire to pitch again. At the age of 33 Jack Kralick walked away from baseball and never looked back. According to a 1971 article, he had moved to Watertown, South Dakota, enjoying a life of fishing and hunting, while working for a school supply company. Kralick enjoyed the outdoors and ended up living in Alaska and San Blas, Mexico.
I, like many others had tried to get in contact with Kralick over the years to see if he was doing an interview for Twins Trivia but like everyone else we never received a reply. According to his son, Lee Kralick, “He didn’t want the fame, didn’t want the notoriety,” Lee said. “That’s just who he was.”
Rest in peace Jack Kralick, and thank you for the memories. We at Twins Trivia would like to pass on our condolences to the family and friends of Jack Kralick. Only 9 of the 23 original players that played for the Washington Senators in 1960 and moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season remain alive today.
On this day back in 1954 the Washington Senators played a black ballplayer for the first time. His name was Carlos Paula and he was from Havana, Cuba. The 6’3″ 26 year-old Paula was a right-handed hitter and started in left field for the Senators seven years after Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut. Only the Yankees in 1955, the Phillies in 1957, the Tigers in 1958 and the Red Sox in 1959 broke the color-line later than did the Senators/Twins franchise.
Carlos Paula was acquired by the Washington Senators prior to the 1954 season from Paris, Texas of the class “B” Big State league. Paula spent most of the 1954 season in class “A” Charlotte before being called up by the Senators late in the season. In his first big league game, Paula started in left field in the first game of a double-header at Griffith Stadium against the Philadelphia Athletics and struck out in his first at bat but finished the game 2 for 5 (double and a single) with 2 RBI’s and helped his team to an 8-1 win. Paula played in 115 games for the Washington Senators in 1955 and hit .299 with 6 home runs and had 45 RBI’s while stealing 2 bases. Carlos got off to a slow start in 1956 and with Jim Lemon having a breakout year and the addition of rookie center fielder Whitey Herzog, there was no room for the struggling Paula in the Senators’ outfield and after 33 games the Senators sent him to the minors and Paula never again played in a big league game. Paula spent 1957-1960 in the minors playing for various organizations before ending his career in Mexico in 1960. One of his minor league stops was with the Minneapolis Millers in 1957 where he played in 104 games. Carlos Paula passed away on April 25, 1983 in Miami, Florida at the age of 55.
Donald Ray Mincher a former Minnesota Twin and baseball lifer in every sense of the word passed away yesterday in Huntsville, Alabama after a lengthy illness at the age of 73. Mincher was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent prior to the 1956 season and in the process passed up a football scholarship to the University of Alabama and started his pro career by playing for the Duluth-Superior White Sox in the class C Northern League as he started climbing the minor league ladder towards a big league career. Mincher who threw right-handed was a slugging left-handed hitting first baseman who stood 6’3″, weighed about 205. Before Don could put on a White Sox uniform in a big league game, he along with catcher Earl Battey and $150,000 were sent to the Washington Senators for 1B Roy Sievers in April of 1960. Don Mincher made his big league debut on April 18, 1960 at Griffith Stadium in a 10-1 Senators win over the Boston Red Sox. Mincher became one of the “original” Minnesota Twins when owner Calvin Griffith moved the Washington Senators to Minnesota after the 1960 season. Mincher went on to play for the Twins through the 1966 season playing in 617 games and hitting 92 home runs while hitting .244. Mincher was good enough to have been a regular on many other teams but with the power hitting Twins of the 60’s, Mincher could not crack the everyday starting line-up. Although not a regular, Mincher was never-the-less a feared slugger as his league leading 15 intentional bases on balls during the Twins pennant winning 1965 season will attest. Don played in all seven games of the 1965 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers hitting only .130 in 25 plate appearances but he did hit a home run in-game 1 off of HOF and Dodger great Don Drysdale. In the seventh inning of a game against the Kansas City Athletics at Metropolitan Stadium on June 9, 1966, Mincher was one of five Minnesota players to hit home runs (the others were Rich Rollins, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew, and Zoilo Versalles). This still stands as the major league record of homers in an inning. Three of the home runs were hit off starter A’s starter and future Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter, the other two off of reliever Paul Lindblad. After the 1966 season the Twins traded Mincher, outfielder Jimmie Hall and pitcher Pete Cimino to the California Angels for pitcher Dean Chance and a PTBNL that turned out to be infielder Jackie Hernandez. Mincher ended up making the American League All-Star team in his first season as an Angel and played in California for two years before the Seattle Pilots drafted him in the second round of the 1968 expansion draft. Don again made the All-Star team in 1969 as a Pilot and finished that season hitting 25 home runs and he also stole 10 bases that season at the age of 31. In January on 1970, the Pilots had turned into the Milwaukee Brewers and the Brew Crew traded Mincher to the Oakland A’s where he hit a career high 27 home runs. In 1971 Mincher was traded to the Washington Senators who became the Texas Rangers in 1972. The Rangers then traded Mincher back to the Oakland A’s where Don played the final 47 games of his big league career. Mincher appeared in the 1972 ALCS and the Oakland A’s 1972 World Series earning his championship ring.
When you look at Mincher’s 13 year big league career you will find that he hit 200 home runs (with five 20+ home runs seasons) and hit .249 and had a .798 OBP in 4,725 plate appearances. Don Mincher is the only player to play for both the original Washington Senators and the expansion Washington Senators, as well as both teams that they moved to become, the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. Additionally, he played for a third team, the Seattle Pilots, in its first and final season before relocating to a new city (but was traded before playing a game for the Milwaukee Brewers).
Don Mincher as President of the Southern League
After his playing days, Mincher returned to his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama and managed a sporting goods store for about a decade before becoming General Manager of the Huntsville Stars in 1984. He then led a group that owned the club from 1994 to 2001. In 2000, he became President of the Southern League, a position he held until retiring in late 2011 due to health issues, at which point the league named him President-Emerius.
Mincher was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Though he never played for the team, the Huntsville Stars retired his number 5 in an on-field ceremony on June 6, 2008. In 2010, he was presented with the “King of Baseball” award, the highest honor bestowed by Minor League Baseball.
Mincher is survived by his wife Pat, son Mark, daughters Lori Lumpkin and Donna Hopper and six grandchildren. Funeral services are pending. We at Twins Trivia want to extend our heart-felt condolences to Don Mincher’s family, friends and fans.
Updates as of March 6
I asked Mincher’s teammate and long-time friend pitcher Jim Kaat for his memories of Don and here is what Jim had to say: “Minch” or “Mule” as we called him was a great teammate….when we needed a big hit and he was at the plate our cry from the dugout was ”Kick Mule!!” we had a great relationship…one of the few 1st basemen that could play deep and well off the line when I pitched and trust that I would get to 1st to cover the base…he prevented a lot of would be hits off me by doing that. He and Jerry Zimmerman were close buddies and roommates, they could usually come up with some good pranks…[i.e. the day after I gave up back to back to back hr’s in Baltimore they hung a 45 rpm record of the 5th Dimension’s “up up and away” in my locker] I knew immediately it was them…..Don had a great sense of humor, developed into a real good power hitter after they quit telling him to pull everything. He and Pat had a great 50 plus years together. I really enjoyed his company on and off the field.. He had a great life as a player and later a club owner and president of the southern league…. Time marches on..as I look at the box score of game 2 of the ’65 series on my office wall I am reminded of that. Don is the 11th player out of 22 that played in that game that have passed on….. Thanks for the memories “Mule”!!
Kitty
Here is a very nice note that I received from Lori Webb (VP – Operations) of the Southern League.
I was first introduced to Don Mincher when I was hired to work at the Southern League office in Marietta, GA in September 1994. At that time, he was owner and General Manager of the Huntsville Stars. When former president Arnold Fielkow resigned in early 2000, Don became Interim President and served in that capacity until he was elected president in October of that year. While Don chose to work out of his home office in Huntsville, I managed the league office from Marietta. We spoke on the phone almost every day until last September when he entered the hospital for surgery.
During the last 12 years we worked together, Don and I forged a strong and mutually respectful working relationship, and we also considered each other friends. Don was always willing to share his knowledge of the game and taught me a lot about baseball. He was “old school” in that respect, and it was always fun to be in his company when other former players were around – to hear their stories, the friendly ribbing back and forth, and to just be in the presence of a former Major Leaguer who had such a love for the game of baseball and such a respect for the sport that turned into a lifelong career for him and his family. I especially remember Don introducing me to his old roommate, Harmon Killebrew, when we attended the annual Rickwood Classic game in Birmingham a couple years ago. I sat and listened as these two old friends reminisced about “the good old days” and you could tell these two guys were cut from the same cloth. Perhaps they will meet up again now in heaven where they will both certainly reside for eternity.
What I will remember most about Don is that he was a family man first and last, and was a true Southern gentleman. He was my boss, but he was also my mentor and friend. I will miss him so much, but will always cherish the advice he gave me and I am so happy I was able to be associated with this very humble, decent, gentle, fair man for so many years. He had a lot of good friends not only in baseball, but in his beloved hometown of Huntsville, AL, as well.
Everyone that met Don Mincher considered him their friend. His dry wit, thoughtful consideration of matters big and small, and his genuine personna will be very greatly missed. It is certainly the end of an era in the Southern League with his passing, but we are all richer for having known him.
Thanks for this opportunity to share my thoughts about Don with you.
Lori M. Webb
VP – Operations
Southern League
David Laurila interview with Don Mincher that ran in Baseball Prospectus in January 2011. The interview is split in two part and well worth your time. Part 1Part 2
Don Mincher was a winner with a great love for life. He worked hard to become a great all-around player and he worked very hard on his defense. The fact that Harmon Killebrew also played 1st base kept Don from being an everyday player with the Twins. Don proved that by becoming an All-Star player when he was traded to other teams. But what I really loved about big Don was his attitude and personality. I was a rookie in 1965 and he played a big part in helping me on defense to position myself according to whom we were playing against. He made it fun.
When we won the American League championship, it was three days later and he (Mincher) approached manager Sam Mele. He said, Sam, could you answer a question I’ve wondered about? Sure Mule, what’s the question. Minch said, when you win a championship, when do you stop celebrating? It broke Mele up and he responded by saying, you’d better be ready for the World Series, or you’ll find out. Minch hit the first home run against the Dodgers in the Series. We’ll miss him as a friend and a great teammate. “Save a place for us up there Mule”
Becquer, born in Havana, Cuba on December 20, 1931 was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1952 and played for the Senators in 1955 and 1957-1960. Primarily a utility player, Becquer was a left-handed pull hitter and was noted for his good glove at first base. Becquer played first base and some outfield during his career and he even took the mound when that was called for making him the only position player to pitch for both the Senators and the Twins. Although he played for the Senators in 1960 in their final season in Washington prior to relocating to Minnesota, he was not one of the original Minnesota Twins because on December 14, 1960 the Los Angeles Angels made Becquer the 55th selection in the 1960 expansion draft. Julio appeared in 11 games for the Angels going hitless in just 8 at bats before the Angels sold him to the Philadelphia Phillies. Becquer spent several weeks with the Phillies AAA Buffalo team before being sold again on June 2, 1960, this time to the Minnesota Twins. Julio only had 84 at bats for the 1961 Twins but a number of them were key pinch hits. As a matter of fact, Becquer was such a good pinch-hitter that he led the AL in that category in 1957 and again in 1959 as a Washington Senator. In 1962 Becquer played in Mexico and was there again in 1963 when Twins owner Calvin Griffith was informed that Becquer needed just a few weeks of big league time to qualify for a pension so Griffith re-signed Julio so that could qualify for that major league pension. Becquer appeared in just one big league game in 1963 (September 18) at Met Stadium in a 10-0 Twins win over the Detroit Tigers appearing as a pinch-runner for Earl Battey and scoring on a Bernie Allen double.
