Remembering the Twins first season from 1961 – Week 15

I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week fifteen.

The 38-54 Twins are mired in ninth place 21 games out of the lead behind the New York Yankees who have a three percentage point lead over the Detroit Tigers. The embarrassing part is that both expansion teams (Senators and Angels) are ahead of them in the standings.

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Remembering the Twins first season from 1961 – Week 14

I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week fourteen.

The Twins are now 34-50 and mired in ninth place 20.5 games behind the AL leading Detroit Tigers who have the New York Yankees nipping at their heels just a 1/2 game back.

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Remembering the Twins first season from 1961 – Week 13

I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week thirteen.

The Twins, now 33-47 were 5-3 this past week and moved up one spot in the standings to eighth place just a half game ahead of the Angels and one game up on the last place Kansas City Athletics. The 51-29 Tigers are still hanging on to first place with a half game lead on the New York Yankees. Over in the National League the Cincinnati Reds have a three game cushion over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Twins pitching leaders in complete games by decade

A complete game in baseball is about as rare nowadays as finding a pay phone at your local corner service station. The complete game has gone by the wayside and this year with what is going on in baseball with the COVID-19 situation it will be even more of a rare occurrence.

The top ten MLB pitchers in complete games from 1961 to 2019 are all in the Hall of Fame. The leader is Gaylord Perry with 303 complete games and tenth on the list is Jim Palmer with 211. The Twins Bert Blyleven is number six on that list with 242 complete games.

If you only look at the American League from 1961 through 2019 the leader is Bert Blyleven with 222. Bert is also the all-time Twins leader in complete games with 141 followed by Jim Kaat with 133. So now you know why Bert always brags on TV about pitching complete games.

If we look at Twins complete game leaders by decade you get a list that looks like this:

Remembering the Twins first season from 1961 – Week 12

I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week twelve.

The Twins once again had a 3 win and 4 loss week and remain in ninth place with a 28-44 record, a full 18 games out of first place and they haven’t gotten to the All-Star break yet. The 46-26 Detroit Tigers have a 1.5 game lead on the Bronx Bombers.

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MLB highlights unique features for 2020 season

This is a copy of a MLB press Release dated June 29, 2020. I put a copy of it here so that everyone is aware of the rules and regulations that will be used by MLB in 2020.

First Workouts of 2020 Summer Camp presented by Camping World to Be Held

Major League Baseball today announced some of the unique features that will be a part of the 2020 regular season, including health and safety protocols that will impact play on the field as well as revised operating procedures away from it. Summer Camp presented by Camping World begins on Wednesday, July 1st, the mandatory reporting date. All Players and Club staff will be required to go through medical testing and screening processes before entering Club facilities. Full baseball activities and first workouts will be allowed on Friday, July 3rd and each Club’s Opening Day will be held on either Thursday, July 23rd or Friday, July 24th. A sampling of the modifications for the 2020 season, which are documented in the comprehensive Operations Manual that has been distributed to the 30 Major League Clubs, includes:

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2020 Twins and MLB coming to life in spite of COVID-19

Bob McClure
Bill Evers
Bill Evers
Photo credit to Carlos Gonzalez of Star Tribune

Star Tribune Twins beat writer La Velle E. Neal III must have been up bright and early this morning as he posted that the Minnesota Twins will not allow their two oldest coaches, bullpen coach Bob McClure, 68,  and major league coach Bill Evers, 66, to work games this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pete Maki, the minor league pitching coordinator, is in line to step in as the new bullpen coach, while Evers’ role is expected to be filled in the near future. McClure is on the left and Evers is on the right in the images above.

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Remembering the Twins first season from 1961 – Week 11

I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week eleven.

Starting a new week the ninth place Minnesota Twins are 25-40 on the season and 16.5 games behind the league leading Detroit Tigers.

Rain check from July 3 game against the White Sox.
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Remembering the Twins first season from 1961 – Week 10

I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week ten.

The ninth place Twins are 22-36 on the season and 15.5 games behind the league leaders. The Tigers and Indians are tied for first place with 38-21 marks and the Yankees are just a game back nipping at their heels.

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Remembering the Twins first season from 1961 – Week 9

I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week 9.

The Twins start the week with a record of 19-32, a whopping 14.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians who have taken over first place by a 1/2 game over the Detroit Tigers.

Jim Kaat

June 8 – The Twins finally snap their 13 game losing streak when they beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 in Memorial Stadium. It is their first win since May 25th and their first road victory in this road trip that started in Washington on the 26th of May. The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Jim Kaat led off the inning with a single and Twins lead-off hitter Billy Martin hit his first home run wearing a Twins uniform. The Twins were out hit 10 to 7 but starter Jim Kaat kept the Orioles off the board for 7 innings before running into a bit of trouble in the eighth inning after retiring the first batter. The O’s followed with a double, walk and a single that scored a run and sent Kaat to the showers. Don Lee came in to retire Brooks Robinson and then Chuck Stobbs was brought in and he retired Jim Gentile. Stobbs picked up his second save when he kept the Orioles from scoring in the ninth. It turns out  that it would be his final big league save. Kaat picked up the win, upping his record to 2-5 and he also had a good day with the bat going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored. Martin also had two hits for Minnesota. The win got the Twins out of the cellar and put their record at 20-32 and in the process gave interim manager Sam Mele his first win as a manager. As an aside, the win also ends the Twins longest losing streak of the season. Box Score

Off the field owner Calvin Griffith was busy also signing Jim Roland to a $50,000 bonus and sending him to Wilson in the class B Carolina League. Jim Roland picture credit to Denver Post via Getty Images.

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