Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Chargois & Anderson on June 11

The big league debuts as Minnesota Twins on June 11th. These two guys debuts were 30 years apart in more ways than one.

 

J.T. Chargois

J.T. Chargois (P) – June 11, 2016 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft. Pitching in the ‘bigs” isn’t easy as J.T. found out in his big league debut.

Allan Anderson (P) – June 11, 1986 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 1982 amateur draft. Anderson’s debut was very interesting, he started for the Twins in the Metrodome against Charlie Hough and the Texas Rangers. The Rangers scored single runs in the first and third innings and the Twins scored single runs in the fourth and fifth inning and the game turned into a pitchers duel. Allan Anderson was pulled after 10 innings with the score still tied at 2-2. Anderson had allowed 8 hits and 4 walks and struck out three while allowing the 2 earned runs. The game remained scoreless until the top of the 16th inning when the Rangers broke through for 4 runs off Roy Lee Jackson and the Twins ended up losing 6-2. Texas starter Charlie Hough went 13 inning but he too left with a no decision and Texas reliever Mitch Williams pitched the last three innings to get the win.

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According to ELIAS – Brian Dozier

Dozier delivers

Dozier does damage

Brian Dozier came to the plate yesterday with a runner on second base and two outs in the fifth inning and delivered a two-run homer, the key hit in the Twins’ 3–2 triumph over the Giants. Dozier is batting .348 (8 for 23) this season with two outs and men in scoring position, compared to a .230 average in all other at-bats.

 

Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Justin Morneau

Another one of my all-time favorite Twins debuted on June 10th a few years back.

Justin Morneau

Justin Morneau (1B) – June 10, 2003 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1999 MLB June Amateur Draft as a catcher. Morneau debuted at the Dome in a 5-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Rockies starter Jason Jennings pitched 7.2 innings against the Twins that day and allowed just three hits, Mr. Morneau had two of them. Morneau hit clean-up in his big league debut and was the DH. Hard to believe it has been 14 years.

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According to ELIAS – Ervin Santana

Santana’s 3rd shutout in 13 starts

Ervin Santana

Ervin Santana, for the third straight month, threw a complete-game shutout, limiting the Giants to four hits in the Twins’ 4-0 victory in San Francisco. Santana had thrown a one-hitter against the White Sox on April 15 and a two-hitter at Baltimore on May 23; no other major-leaguer has thrown as many as two shutouts this season. Santana’s total of 91 pitches against the Giants was the lowest in any of the 22 nine-inning complete games in the majors this season, and it was the lowest in a complete-game shutout since Jeff Samardzija used 88 pitches in a one-hit shutout for the White Sox at Detroit on Sept. 21, 2015. 

Rich Robertson

It has been more than 20 years since the last time that a Twins pitcher threw as many as three shutouts in an entire season. Rich Robertson was the last three-timer, back in  in 1996. And to find the last Minnesota pitcher who shut out three opponents within his first 13 starts of a season—which is what Santana has done—you have to go back to 1971, when Bert Blyleven blanked three opponents in his first eight starts.

BONUS: Here is what todays’ Twins Game Notes had to say:

Ervin Santana tossed his third complete game shutout of the season last night against the Giants. He is the first Twin to toss three complete games in a single season since Carl Pavano had seven in 2011 and he is also the first Twin to toss three shutouts
in a single season since Rich Robertson had three in 1996. 

The shutout in Interleague play was the ninth in Twins history (last: Pavano in 2010). Ervin also had a career night at the plate, doubling his career RBI total with three RBI (bases loaded double). He is the first Twins pitcher with three-plus RBI in a single game since Luis Tiant had three on May 28, 1970 vs. Milwaukee, in fact, his three RBI on the season are the most by a Twins pitcher since Jim Kaat (4) and Bert Blyleven (7) in 1972.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 13 – Twins fire manager Sam Mele, hire Cal Ermer

Sam Mele is fired as the Minnesota Twins manager by owner Calvin Griffith and replaced by 43-year old Cal Ermer. Ermer played just one game in the major leagues for the Washington Senators as a 23-year old in 1947 and has no major league managing experience.

According to reports team owner Griffith felt that Mele had “lost control of his players”. Mele had managed the Twins since June of 1961 when he replaced Cookie Lavagetto and has compiled a 524-436 record and directed the team to the 1965 AL Pennant. 

 

Twins skipper in 1967-1968

Cal Ermer whose given name was Calvin Coolidge Ermer was born 3 months after Coolidge became President. Ermer was appointed as the Twins skipper over coach Billy Martin who many had expected to take over when Mele moved on.

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

 

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Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Jacque Jones & Tommy Hall

We have two players that had their big league debuts wearing the colors of the Minnesota Twins on June 9th.

Jacque Jones (OF) – June 9, 1999 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 1996 amateur draft. Jacques debut was nothing special going 0-4 and making the final out of the game but he went on to have a nice career in Minnesota playing for seven seasons and playing in 978 games.

 

Tommy Hall

Tom Hall (P) – June 9, 1968 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1966 amateur draft (January). Debuted in relief in a losing cause (7-4) at D.C. Stadium against the Senators going 2 innings, striking out 2, walking 2 and allowing 2 hits but no runs. I always liked Tommy Hall, what amazed me most about him was that in his 10 year career (only 4 in Minnesota) he allowed just 656 hits and struck out 797 in 852.2 innings pitched.

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Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Dan Graham

The only player in Twins history to make his major league debut on this day as a Twins player was…

Dan Graham (C/3B) – June 8, 1979 – Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 1975 amateur draft. Was first drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1973, and by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1974 before being drafted by the Twins in 1975. Appeared in just 2 games with Minnesota before being traded to Baltimore.

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Major League Debuts as Minnesota Twins – Williams, Nakamura and Rincon

We had three Twins players make their big league debut in a Twins uniform on June 7.

Glenn Williams

Glenn Williams (3B) – June 7, 2005 – Signed as a Free Agent with the Minnesota Twins on December 14, 2004. This Aussie was originally signed in 1993 for a signing bonus of $925,000 by Atlanta. His career batting average in the big leagues is .425 but no one talks about him. The reason is that his big league career was cut short by a shoulder injury after just 13 games, all with Minnesota and Williams had a hit in every one of those games. 

Micheal Nakamura – (Credit: Getty Images -Ezra Shaw)

Micheal Nakamura (P) – June 7, 2003 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent on December 24, 1997. The dual-citizen (Australia & Japan) Nakamura had a nice big league debut at Qualcomm Stadium in a Twins 6-2 win over the Padres when he pitched 1.1 innings allowing one hit, no runs and striking out two.

Juan Rincon

Juan Rincon (P) – June 7, 2001 – Signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent on November 4, 1996. Slick big league debut with an inning pitched and two strikeouts with no hits or walks allowed. albeit in a 6-2 loss to the Indians at the Dome.

How odd is it that both Glenn Williams and Micheal Nakamura who both debuted in the big leagues on June 7 (albeit two years apart)  are both in the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame?

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The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 12 – Dean Chance and the no-hitter that wasn’t and the 1967 draft

Dean Chance is perfect for five innings

Dean Chance

The following story that was written for the SABR Games Project about Dean Chance’s five inning no-hitter that turned out not to be a no-hitter after the fact was written by local sports historian and Minnesota Twins official score-keeper Stew Thornley. 

Dean Chance is perfect for five innings – August 6, 1967

Close, but no cigar: No-hitters not officially recognized

 

 

The Twins drafted Oakland high school star third baseman Steve Brye on June 6, 1967 in round 1 and 17 overall. Over 7 seasons with Minnesota Brye appeared in just 537 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter or back-up outfielder.

Later in the 1967 draft the Twins selected and signed RHP Dave Goltz in round 5, RHP Steve Luebber in round 13, and catcher Rick Dempsey in round 15. The Twins drafted LHP Al Hrabosky in round 11 but did not sign him.

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 11 – Back-to-back walk-off victories & Bob Allison

LF Bob Allison played for the Senators/Twins from 1958-1970

June 4 – Bob Allison drove in Ted Uhlaender from third base with a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the 10th inning in an 8-7 win over the Angels after blowing a 7-3 lead in the seventh inning. Jim Perry got his first win of the season and Minnie Rojas took the defeat. Box Score

June 5 – Bob Allison is again the star as the Twins have their second walk-off win in two days, this time the victim is the Cleveland Indians. With the score tied at 4-4 since the sixth inning the Twins face Indians reliever Steve Bailey in the bottom of the ninth. Bailey gets pinch-hitter Ted Uhlaender to ground out but then walks Cesar Tovar, Rod Carew singles with Tovar advancing to second bring up Rich Rollins to advances both runners by getting thrown out C-1B. With two runners on and two out Tribe manager Joe Adcock decides to give Harmon Killebrew a free pass to first bringing up Bob Allison. Bailey throws a wild pitch past catcher Duke Sims and the Twins win game number 24 putting them one game over the .500 mark. Al Worthington gets the win in relief. At the end of the day the Twins find themselves in 5th place and five games behind the league leading Detroit Tigers. Box Score 

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.