Category: Washington Senators 1901-1960

Who am I?

 

I was born in Cuba and signed by super scout Joe Cambria and the Washington Senators as a amateur free agent prior to the 1960 season but I never played for the Washington Senators big league ballclub.  I finally made the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins but I appeared in only 37 games in a Twins uniform. I then went on to play for the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Oakland A’s, and the Texas Rangers. I was in the majors for parts of seven seasons and I played in 436 games. I had 1,038 plate appearances in the big leagues but I was not what you called a power hitter as I never hit a big league home run. I did however, play all nine positions in the big leagues. After my playing career ended, I spent many years in the Seattle Mariners organization performing numerous duties. One of my duties for the Mariners was in scouting and I am credited with signing Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel. Who am I?

UPDATE: The answer is shortstop Marty Martinez.

Camilo Pascual elected to Twins Hall of Fame

The Minnesota Twins announced yesterday that former pitcher and five-time All-Star Camilo Pascual has been elected to the club’s Hall of Fame. Pascual will become the 24th member of the Twins Hall of Fame when he is inducted during a special on field pre-game ceremony July 14, when the Twins host the Oakland Athletics at Target Field.

Pascual, one of the “Twins 50 Greatest Players” made his major league debut on April 15, 1954 as a Washington Senator with 3 innings of scoreless relief at Fenway Park in a 6-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Pascual went on to pitch in 529 big league games over 18 seasons and posted a 174-170 won/lost record while pitching for the Washington Senators from 1954-1960, The Minnesota Twins from 1961-1966, the Washington Senators from 1967-1969, the Cincinnati Reds in 1969, the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970 and the Cleveland Indians in 1971.

1955 Topps card

Camilo was the first ever Twins All-Star in 1961 and has appeared in more All-Star games than any pitcher in franchise history since 1950, playing in five of six games from 1959-64 and in four straight from 1959-61. He went 145-141 with a 3.66 ERA during his time with the Twins and Senators, ranking second on the franchise All-Time list in shutouts (31), third in strikeouts (1,885), fourth in innings pitched (2,465.0) and fifth in wins (145) and starts (331). He went 88-57 with a 3.31 ERA in six seasons in a Twins uniform from 1961-66, ranking third in shutouts (18), seventh in strikeouts (994), and eighth in wins (88), innings pitched (1284.2) and starts (179). He was the Twins first ever 20-game winner, recording 20 victories in 1962 and 21 in 1963, while leading the American League in complete games, shutouts and strikeouts in nearly every season from 1959-63.

Camilo Pascual is the younger brother of former major league pitcher Carlos Pascual, whose nickname of “Potato” earned Camilo the nickname of “Little Potato”. The “Little Potato” was a workhorse pitcher for the Washington/Minnesota pitching staffs and he possessed good control with an excellent fastball but it was his outstanding curveball that was his signature pitch. Ted Williams was quoted as saying that it was easily the best curveball in baseball at the time. Although Pascual was a workhorse, stories have been told that Camilo enjoyed taking an annual “mini vacation” via the DL each season. Pascual also served as the Minnesota Twins pitching coach from 1978-1980. Pascual has lived in Miami since 1960 and since 1989 he has worked as international scout for the Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he currently scouts Venezuela. Among the major leaguers Pascual has signed are Jose Canseco, Alex Cora, Omar Daal, Miguel Cairo, and Franklin Gutierrez.

Pascual is one of only five players to have played against the Athletics in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland. Harmon Killebrew is another member of that select group. Camilo is also one of only seven players to play for both the original and expansion Washington Senators teams. The others were Don Mincher, Pedro Ramos, Johnny Schaive, Roy Sievers, Zoilo Versalles, and Hal Woodeshick.

The Havana-native ranks 55th on baseball’s All-Time wins list and is a member of the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame and Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame, ranking second to only Luis Tiant in strikeouts among Cuban born major leaguers. In addition to being selected as a member of the Twins 50 Greatest Players in 2010, Camilo was also selected to the Twins 25th anniversary team in 1986 and the 40th anniversary team in 2000. At 74, Pascual, one of the original Minnesota Twins becomes the oldest living member of the Twins Hall of Fame. The Twins Hall of Fame membership is permanently displayed in the Hall of Fame Gallery on the Target Field Suite Level as well as on Target Plaza.

This selection of Pascual to the Twins Hall of Fame is well deserved and it should have taken place a long time ago. We at Twins Trivia would like to add our congratulations to Camilo on this great honor. Good things come to those who wait but Camilo should not have had to wait this long. You can check out the entire Twins Hall of Fame here.

I grew up listening to WCCO as they broadcast Minnesota Twins games and Camilo Pascual was always one of my favorite players because you knew when Camilo pitched that the Twins had a good chance of winning the game. Back then I could not attend many games in person and hardly any games were on TV so the radio was the place to be if you followed baseball and the Minnesota Twins.

This Day in Twins History – January 16, 1975

Harmon Killebrew as a Kansas City Royal. Courtesy of the Kansas City Royals.

The Minnesota Twins release icon and future Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew who had played for the Washington Senators and Twins since 1954 after Harmon refused an offer by owner Calvin Griffith to be a Minnesota Twins coach and pinch hitter. Killebrew wanted to play one more season as a DH and signs with the Kansas City Royals and plays one final season before hanging up his spikes for good.

It just does not seem right to see Harmon Killebrew in a Royals uniform. I wonder if when Harmon looked back on his career if he wished that he had decided to pass up that final year.

Can Twins bounce back in 2012? What does history tell us?

Our Minnesota Twins are coming off an atrocious 2011 where the team finished 63-99, a full 32 games behind the AL Central Division winning Detroit Tigers and in the process posting the second worst record in all of baseball. But 2011 is behind us now and we look forward to spring and a brand new season of baseball which hopefully will see the Twins back in winning form. In just a little over a month, Twins players from all over the globe will start to congregate in Ft. Myers, Florida to get into baseball shape which I think really means that they will get in a little stretching, jog a little, catch up on the off-season gossip and  start throwing the baseball around and take a few swings with those shiny new bats they just received during the off-season. When a bad season of baseball ends, there is always “next year” and that next year is just about upon us.

Long before baseball was played, back sometime between 1688-1744 the English poet Alexander Pope said “hope springs eternal in the human breast” and no truer words could be said about how baseball fans look at their favorite baseball teams. Forgotten are the numerous injuries, be they real or perceived, the dropped balls, the hitters that couldn’t run out a ground ball, the runners that had brain farts and stood there and watched as the hit and run unfolded in front of them, the fielders that couldn’t throw straight, the pitchers that keep hitting opponent bats, the perplexed pitching coach who wondered why his pitchers couldn’t find home plate even though it was always in the same spot, the manager who had to make up numerous line-ups each day because he didn’t know which of his players were in the mood to play that day, and of course the owner who was left to wonder what happened to his $113 million.

The injuries that plagued the team in 2011 are hopefully healed and with another year of experience under their belts, we all hope the Twins are back and playing baseball the way that Twins fans of today expect. We are not interested in seeing the Twins play ball as they did say between 1971-1986 when they never won more than 85 games and finished as high as second only once, we expect to see a winning team on the field or at least a team that is playing like they want to win versus the 2011 bunch that quit early and often.

So, what does history tell us will happen to the Twins in 2012? I want you to keep reading, but the bottom line is that while miracles can happen, it sure does not look good. The Twins were 31 games worse in 2011 than they were in 2010, 31 games, only once in franchise history had a Senators/Twins team played so much worse than they had the previous season and those were the Washington Senators of 1934 who finished the season 33 games worse with a 66-86 mark after advancing to the World Series in 1933 with a 99-53 record. The following season (1935) they won 67 games, one more than the year before.

So how have Senators and Twins teams bounced back from such dismal seasons? The best the Senators could ever do was improve by 27 games back between 1911-1912 and the best the Twins have done since 1961 is improve by 23 games as the 1965 Twins did when they won 102 games coming off a 79 win season in 1964.

But let’s look at more modern times so we will look at the seasons between 1997 and 2011 because it probably makes for a fairer comparison based on free agency and player movement of today. In the last 15 seasons here is what has happened in the AL Central Division.

The Kansas City Royals worst drop-off was in 2004 when the team finished 25 games worse than they did in 2003. The following season, 2005, the Royals finished 2 games worse. The best improvement that the Royals have shown their fans was when they finished 21 games better in 2003 than they had shown in 2002.

The Chicago White Sox worst drop-off was in 2007 when the team finished 18 games worse than they did in 2006. The following season, 2008, the mighty whitey’s finished 17 games better. The best improvement that the White Sox fans have seen was when they finished 20 games better in 2000 than they had shown in 1999.

The Cleveland Indians worst drop-off was in 2002 when the team finished 17 games worse than they did in 2001. The following season, 2003, the Indians finished 6 games worse. The best improvement that the Indians fans have seen was when they finished 18 games better in 2007 than they had shown in 2006.

The Detroit Tigers worst drop-off was 14 games and it happened twice, once between 1997 and 1998 and again from 2007 to 2008. The following season in 1999 the team improved by 4 games and in 2009 the team improved by 12 games. The best improvement that the Tigers have seen was when they finished 29 games better in 2004 (to a 72-90 season) than they had shown in 2003, but, 2003 was the season the Tigers put up a pathetic 43-119 record.

That brings us to the Twins, whose worst drop-off was 31 games in 2011 from their 2010 season. The biggest improvement the Twins have shown during this 15 year period was in 2001 (TK’s last season as manager) when they finished 16 games better than what they showed us in 2000. In the past 15 years the Twins have improved their record from the previous season 8 times for an average improvement in games won over the previous season of 8 games. On the minus side their record has gotten worse from the previous season 7 times for an average of -11.29 but that is obviously skewed by the big -31 of 2011. If the 2012 Twins could match their biggest improvement of say 16 games as they did in 2001, that still only moves the Twins 2012 record up to 79-83. The Twins have to improve by 18 games just to reach the .500 mark and would have to improve by 27 games to reach the 90 win mark. It does not look promising.

The Twins have improved their previous years mark by 18 games or better on 4 occassions. The feat was accomplished by the 1991 team that improved by 21 games, the 1969 team that improved by 18 games, the 1965 team that improved by 23 games and the 1962 team that was 21 games better than the 1961 team. Four times in 50 seasons, not good odds for sure and remember, an 18 game improvement only takes the team to an 81-81 record, or .500 baseball. The team has lost Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Jose Mijares, Kevin Slowey and a number of bit players but then again, they lost 99 games when they had these guys. I know they added Ryan Doumit, Jason Marquis, Josh Willingham, Jamey Carroll and brought back Matt Capps but how many wins will these guys put in the “W” column?

What this team needs in order to play respectable baseball is for Joe Mauer to step back to earth from the “Twilight Zone” that he was in most of last year and catch 130 games and play 1B and DH for 10-15 more. I see no reason why this can’t happen, Mauer should come out of the gate madder than hell and show everyone that 2011 was a fluke. I will believe that when I see it. The next issue is Justin Morneau, here I am not nearly as optimistic. Justin was just a shell of himself in 2011 and I worry that Justin Morneau’s baseball career is coming to a premature end. That would be so sad as Justin should have many more years in him as a productive Twins first baseman. I hope I am totally wrong about Morneau, but if I was a betting man I would say “show me you still got it” Justin. I hope that Danny Valencia thought long and hard about his baseball career since the 2011 season ended because if he continues to play in 2012 like he did in 2011, he will be receiving his fan mail in Rochester come the middle of May. Valencia might not be the .311 hitter he was in 2010 but he sure better not be the .246 hitter he was in 2011 either. A little more work with the glove wouldn’t hurt Danny either. The Twins outfield is a mess, Willingham is a left fielder and the Twins need him to play right because Ben Revere can’t throw out his grandmother. So that forces the team to play Revere in center which is OK in itself but that means you need to move Span to right field but Span says he wants to play center. In my humble opinion, any outfield with Revere and Span both playing at the same time is a bad thing. I am not sure how things are going to shake out but come the second half of 2012, Joe Benson will be playing in the Twins outfield some where. The Twins signed Jamey Carroll to play short but the man has never had a full-time job in 10 big league seasons and he will be 38 before the Twins open the exhibition season. Is that a move that a contending team makes? We can hope that Tsuyoshi Nishioka comes back to life and show us that he really is a professional baseball player……come on, really, there is a chance. Alexi Casilla at 2B is an enigma but I still have hope for this 27-year-old with parts of six big league season under his belt. The bullpen is a couple of sharp knives short of a complete set and the starting staff of Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, and Jason Marquis would make any manager nervous.

So here it is, you make up your mind, can the Twins compete or will they have to fight and scratch like hell just to reach the .500 mark? Me? Come October, I think we should all be dancing on Target Plaza celebrating manager Ron Gardenhire’s second manager of the year award with a cold drink in our hand if this collection of Twins can win half of their games in 2012. However; if this this team wins 70 or fewer games in 2012, manager Ron Gardenhire may be looking for a job.

This Day in Twins History – January 6, 1967

Joseph Haynes, who had been an all-star American League pitcher, brother-in-law of Twins owner Calvin Griffith and Twins vice-president passed away of a heart attack after shoveling snow at his Hopkins, Minnesota home at the age of 49.

Haynes had a 14 year big league career as a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators (1939-1940, 1949-1952) and the Chicago White Sox (1941-1948) posting a 76-82 won/lost record with 21 saves to go with a 4.01 ERA in 379 games, 147 of them in a starting role and 53 complete games. Haynes, primarily a curveball and fastball pitcher, was not a strike out pitcher nor was pin-point control one of Joe’s strength’s as he walked 620 and struck out 475 batters in 1,581 innings.

After his playing career ended after the 1952 season, Haynes became a coach for the Washington Senators for three seasons after which he became the team’s vice-president and general manager in 1955, following the death of his father-in-law, Clark Griffith. 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. Her brothers, Sherry, Jimmy, and Billy, were also part of the organization. The Twins pitcher of the year award is named after Haynes and the Joseph W. Haynes Twins Pitcher of the Year award is given annually to the Twins top pitcher.

A more detailed biography of Joe Haynes completed as part of the SABR Biography project can be found here.

Know your franchise history

Francis "Shag" Shaughnessy

Francis Joseph (Shag) Shaughnessy was born on April 8, 1883 in Amboy, Illinois and died on May 15, 1969 in Montreal, Quebec. Shaughnessy played football, baseball and ran track at the University of Notre Dame from 1901 to 1904, and served as football captain for the Fighting Irish in his senior year. Shaughnessy had a brief major league baseball career playing for the Washington Senators in 1905, all-be-it for only one game and for the Philadelphia A’s in 1908. He managed in the minor leagues from 1909 – 1936 and had a  1,148 – 1,012 record and he often served in a player/manager role. In 1928, he was also a coach for the Detroit Tigers. Shaughnessy was General Manager for the Montreal Royals from 1932 to 1934. As the Royals GM in 1933, Shaughnessy introduced night baseball to the city and a revised playoff system that saw the league’s top four teams advance to the post-season. This format became known as the “Shaughnessy Plan” and was quickly adopted by other minor leagues.

A respected and experienced baseball man, Shaughnessy was named president of the International League in 1936,  a position he held until 1960. It was under his reign that baseball’s color barrier would finally be broken when the Montreal Royals signed Jackie Robinson in 1946. Shag was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1983. In addition to Shaughnessy, other inductees in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame with ties to the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins franchise include Reno Bertoia (1988),  Frank O’Rourke (1996), Dave McKay (2001), Sherry Robertson (2007), and Calvin Griffith (2010).

Shaughnessy was also a widely respected in football and his many innovations in that sport both in the United States and in Canada made him a Canadian Football Hall of Fame charter inductee in 1963.

Welcome to the new site!

Welcome everyone to the new Twinstrivia.com web site. I have worked hard for the last five months to get this site launched. I have all kinds of ideas on things I would like to add in the future but everything takes time and to this point I have had all I can do just to get the basics out here that I had on my old site at Microsoft Office Live. 

This site will continue to be primarily a Minnesota Twins historical web site but will continue to have current Twins info as well. My goal is for this site to be the “go to”  Twins historical web site that everyone can use to find out what they need to know about the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful past. Now and then you will also see posts about the 1901-1960 Washington Senators so you can learn more about the Twins franchise history that goes back to 1901.

I have had Twinstrivia.com up as a site since November 2007 and I transferred as many of my old posts/blogs as I could and you can find most of them in the October archive but a few posts from 2011 can be found in the November archive as well.

I don’t know if you can tell but I am really excited about this WordPress site and I am looking forward to what the future will bring. If you have some ideas on what I can do to make the site better, please let me know. In the mean time, enjoy the site.

Buehrle tough on Twins

Mark Buehrle

August 30, 2011 – Mark Buehrle allowed four hits in seven and two-thirds innings in the White Sox 3-0 victory over the Twins. That lowered Buehrle’s ERA against Minnesota to 0.29 this season. No pitcher has ever finished a season with an ERA that low against the Twins or their predecessor, the Washington Senators (minimum: 3 starts). Buehrle could face Minnesota once more this season, during a four-game series at Target Field next week. Source Elias

That is bad!

August 25, 2011 – The Twins were shut out by the Yankees in Target Field on Sunday and then lost three straight games to the Orioles at Target Field, by scores of 4-1, 8-1 and 6-1. According to Elias it’s the first time in more than a century that the Twins franchise lost four straight games, all at home, while scoring no more than one run in each game. That had last happened in September 1909, when the Washington Senators dropped five straight games of that type. The 1909 Senators finished 42-110, hopefully the 2011 Twins can beat that mark.