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
Baseball was fun to watch at Metropolitan Stadium from 1961-1981 and a lot of MLB and Minnesota Twins “greats” played there. Here is a short list of some of the Twins leaders in some hitting and pitching categories. Keep in mind these are stats accumulated only while playing at Met Stadium.
Games played – Harmon Killebrew-963, Tony Oliva-842, Rod Carew-817
Hits – Rod Carew-1,046, Tony Oliva-935, Harmon Killebrew-844
The Minnesota Twins started play in 1961 after moving from Washington D.C. where they were known as the Washington Senators. In their final year as the Senators in 1960 the team had a 73-81 record. Between 1946 and 1960 they had one, just one, winning season and that was in 1952 when they barely made it over the .500 mark with a 78-76 record.
Nevertheless the baseball fans of Minnesota were excited about getting a major league team (some might disagree with that description) to move to their state. Team owner Calvin Griffith felt he had some good young players that were just starting to make their mark.
The 1961 team was managed by Cookie Lavagetto until he was fired by Griffith after a 23-36 start and replaced by coach Sam Mele. The team went on to finish seventh in the ten team American League with a 70-90 mark and 38 games out of first place. The team won 91 games in both 1962 and 1963 but in 1964 they fell back to a 79-83 record and fans were calling for manager Mele to hit the road. However; Griffith stuck with his man and in 1965 Mele’s Twins won 102 games and found themselves in the World Series playing the Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale led Los Angeles Dodgers. The Twins came out on the short end of that Series losing four games to three but baseball was exciting in Minnesota.
The 1966 Twins were not able to defend their 1965 pennant and finished with a 89 win season but they were nine games behind the Baltimore Orioles. The 1967 season saw the American League with a pennant race like none before it with the Red Sox, Twins, Tigers, White Sox and Angels battling down to the very end of the season. The Twins started the season at just 25-25 and that was not what the Twins owner was expecting so he fired Mele and brought Cal Ermer to lead his team. The team responded to Ermer and had a one game lead with two games to play with the Red Sox at Fenway Park and they lost both games allowing the Red Sox to win the 1967 AL pennant by one game over Minnesota and Detroit, three games over the White Sox and 7.5 games over the Angels.
The Twins started the 1968 season with six straight wins, five of them on the road but that was their high-water mark for the season and when the season ended so did the managing career of Cal Ermer. Less than two weeks later Calvin Griffith hired Billy Martin as his new manager.
1969 saw the AL break in two divisions with the Twins being part of the six team AL West along with the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Seattle Pilots, and the Kansas City Royals. 1969 was also the first season that had a best of five ALCS. In this case the West Division winning Twins played the East Division winning Baltimore Orioles and the Twins lost all three games. They lost the first game in Baltimore in 12 innings 4 to 3, the lost game two again in Baltimore in 11 innings 1 to 0 and their third and final game was a blowout 11-2 loss at the Met when Billy Martin went on a hunch and started Bob Miller, a part-time starter/reliever and he lasted just 1.2 innings. Martin’s decision to start Miller turned out to be one of the key reasons he would be fired by Griffith after just one season.
The Twins played winning baseball (.542) in the 60’s and had a record of 789-666. So who were the key Twins hitters and pitchers in the Twins first decade of baseball in the Minnesota? It is difficult to determine the value that a player brings to the team without being arbitrary so the best way that I know of to measure a players worth is WAR. I know of lot of you either don’t like it and don’t know how it is calculated exactly (either do I), but if we apply the same measurement to everyone it will serve our purpose here. The position player with the highest WAR for the period of 1961-1969 probably is no surprise to anyone, it is Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew and the pitcher for that same time period is Jim Kaat.
I recently finished a baseball book called “The Baseball Codes” written by Jason Turbow with Michael Duca. This is not a new book, it was published back in 2011 and I ran across it at a book sale that I attend on a regular basis put on by a group called Friends of the Library of Hennepin County in Plymouth, Minnesota. Anyway, I ran across this hardcover book and bought it for the price of one dollar.
This book should not be confused with a book called “The Code” written by Ross Bernstein back in 2008 that covers the same subject matter that I also have in my library. Oddly enough, “The Code” has an image on the cover of Nolan Ryan fighting with Robin Ventura and the book that I wanted to bring to your attention “The Baseball Codes” starts out by the author saying in his introduction that his most memorable moment of the 1993 season was the Ryan/Ventura fight. A strange coincidence.
The Washington Senators franchise moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. From 1961 through 1969 the Twins had a record of 789-666 and played .542 baseball.
During that time period the Minnesota Twins worst season was their first when the team went 70-90. In 1962 the team improved dramatically and won 91 games but finished second, five games behind the New York Yankees. In 1963 the team won 91 games again but this time finished in third behind the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. In 1964 dropped off dramatically and finished in 6th place with a 79-83 record and as usual the Yankees won the AL Pennant. In 1965 the Twins roared back with 102 wins, a franchise high that stands to this day and they played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series but lost in seven games. 1966 found Minnesota winning 89 games while losing 73 but that was only good enough for second place, nine games behind the Baltimore Orioles. 1967 is remembered as one of the greatest pennant races in baseball history and the Twins came up short when the lost their final two games of the season to the Boston Red Sox and finished one game out with a record of 91-71 and tied the Detroit Tigers for second place behind the pennant winning Red Sox. The following season, 1968, saw the Twins fall back to a 79-83 record and seventh place as the Tigers hoisted the AL pennant in Detroit. 1969 saw expansion and the first time that the AL was split into two Divisions. The Twins won the West Division with a 97-65 mark and played the East Division winning Baltimore Orioles who were 109-53 and the Twins came up short in the ALCS losing 3 games to zip. So in nine seasons of play in the 60’s, the Twins had just three losing seasons. During this era pitchers were also hitters, the DH did not come into play until 1973.
So who were the best Twins position players in that era? Let’s look back and see who they were by position.
C – Earl Battey with a WAR of 14.3
1B – Harmon Killebrew with a WAR of 42.7
2B – Rod Carew with a WAR of 10.1
3B – Rich Rollins with a WAR of 11.9
SS – Zoilo Versalles with a WAR of 15.2
LF – Bob Allison with a WAR of 30.3
CF – Cesar Tovar with a WAR of 15.1 (why is this guy not in the Twins Hall of Fame?)
RF – Tony Oliva with a WAR of 31.9
P – Jim Kaat with a hitting/fielding WAR of 4.3
Let’s take a look at Twins pitching in the 60’s. The biggest surprise on this list is Jim Merritt who I always liked but his numbers are better than I remember.
SP – Jim Kaat with a WAR of 23.7
SP – Jim Perry with a WAR of 20.5
SP – Camilo Pascual with a WAR of 18.4
SP – Dean Chance with a WAR of 13.0
SP – Dave Boswell with a WAR of 12.8
SP – Jim Merritt with a WAR of 11.2
RP – Al Worthington with a WAR of 10.0
For more information about Minnesota Twins from the 1960’s, please go to Twins Heroes
The Twins called Met Stadium home from 1961 through 1981 before moving into the HHH Metrodome in 1982. Today we are going to look at the starting pitchers that pitched at the Met for the Minnesota Twins and for their opponents and determine who won the most games.
The opposing pitcher that won the most games at Met Stadium pitched for the Yankees his entire career from 1964 to 1974 and it is Mel Stottlemyre. Not many people remember Mel Stottlemyre but he was what we would consider “a horse” today but his big league career ended way too early due to injury. Here is how his SABR Bio starts out:
A baseball lifer, Mel Stottlemyre burst on the scene as a midseason call-up for the New York Yankees in 1964, helping the club win its fifth consecutive pennant and starting three games in the World Series. One of the most underrated and overlooked pitchers of his generation, Stottlemyre won 149 games and averaged 272 innings per season over a nine-year stretch (1965-1973) that corresponded with the nadir of Yankees history. Only Bob Gibson (166 victories), Gaylord Perry (161), Mickey Lolich (156), and Juan Marichal (155) won more during that period; only Perry tossed more innings, and only Gibson fired more shutouts (43) than Stottlemyre’s 38. Stottlemyre was the “epitome of Yankee class and dignity,” wrote longtime New York sportswriter Phil Pepe. “[He was] a throwback to a winning tradition in those years of mediocrity.” After a torn rotator cuff ended his playing career at the age of 32 in 1974, Stottlemyre embarked on a storied career as a big-league pitching coach.
You can read the rest of his SABR Bio by going here. No opposing pitcher won more games than the 13 that Mel Stottlemyre did at the Met.
The Bronx, New York 8/25/1968
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| Rk | Player | #Matching | W ? |
L | W-L% | ERA | GS | IP | HR | Tm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mel Stottlemyre | 21 | Ind. Games | 13 | 5 | .722 | 3.77 | 21 | 145.2 | 9 | NYY |
| 2 | Wilbur Wood | 32 | Ind. Games | 10 | 5 | .667 | 2.68 | 16 | 147.2 | 15 | CHW |
| 3 | Jim Palmer | 18 | Ind. Games | 10 | 5 | .667 | 2.97 | 15 | 115.1 | 10 | BAL |
| 4 | Luis Tiant | 22 | Ind. Games | 9 | 9 | .500 | 4.65 | 20 | 127.2 | 12 | CLE,BOS,NYY |
| 5 | Dave Wickersham | 21 | Ind. Games | 9 | 5 | .643 | 3.58 | 13 | 105.2 | 7 | KCA,DET,KCR |
| 6 | Paul Splittorff | 24 | Ind. Games | 8 | 7 | .533 | 5.66 | 22 | 119.1 | 10 | KCR |
| 7 | Clyde Wright | 17 | Ind. Games | 8 | 5 | .615 | 3.02 | 15 | 107.1 | 9 | CAL,MIL,TEX |
| 8 | Nolan Ryan | 14 | Ind. Games | 8 | 5 | .615 | 3.27 | 14 | 118.1 | 5 | CAL |
| 9 | Mike Cuellar | 14 | Ind. Games | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4.41 | 14 | 98.0 | 16 | BAL |
| Rk | Player | #Matching | W ? |
L | W-L% | ERA | GS | IP | HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Kaat | 235 | Ind. Games | 93 | 76 | .550 | 3.53 | 217 | 1508.0 | 151 |
| 2 | Jim Perry | 189 | Ind. Games | 74 | 35 | .679 | 2.74 | 128 | 1020.0 | 83 |
| 3 | Dave Goltz | 124 | Ind. Games | 54 | 40 | .574 | 3.11 | 106 | 861.2 | 65 |
| 4 | Bert Blyleven | 112 | Ind. Games | 49 | 40 | .551 | 2.69 | 111 | 864.2 | 58 |
| 5 | Camilo Pascual | 89 | Ind. Games | 40 | 30 | .571 | 3.39 | 85 | 624.2 | 62 |
| 6 | Dave Boswell | 89 | Ind. Games | 34 | 23 | .596 | 3.34 | 69 | 509.0 | 60 |
| 7 | Geoff Zahn | 70 | Ind. Games | 26 | 28 | .481 | 3.97 | 65 | 459.2 | 37 |
| 8 | Mudcat Grant | 68 | Ind. Games | 24 | 22 | .522 | 3.61 | 59 | 409.1 | 50 |
| 9 | Al Worthington | 164 | Ind. Games | 23 | 13 | .639 | 2.67 | 0 | 252.2 | 13 |
| 10 | Dean Chance | 48 | Ind. Games | 21 | 16 | .568 | 2.79 | 44 | 326.0 | 21 |
| 11 | Dick Stigman | 68 | Ind. Games | 21 | 19 | .525 | 3.54 | 44 | 345.2 | 57 |
| 12 | Pete Redfern | 73 | Ind. Games | 20 | 17 | .541 | 4.00 | 49 | 335.0 | 23 |
The Twins had a long day at the Met on August 9, 1967 but after 5 hours and 40 minutes and 20 innings all they had to show for their efforts was a 9-7 loss at the hands of the Washington Senators. I have attached the first page of the sports page for the day after but there is no box score, must have been too late for that edition. I am including the Box Score link at B-R that you should check out.
No home runs for the Twins but the Senators Frank Howard and Ken McMullen each hit one out at the Met. But it is the relief pitching that is amazing, Senators reliever Darold Knowles went 10 scoreless innings allowing just 3 hits and striking out 10. Twins reliever Al Worthington went 8.2 scoreless innings allowing 2 hits and striking out 8 Senator batters. Interestingly enough, Worthington had pitched the final 2 innings of the game the previous day also. The Twins gave Worthington the next 4 days off….
After all was said and done the Twins were in fourth place and 2.5 games behind the lead leading White Sox. The Red Sox were 1.5 out and the Tigers 2 games out. The California Angels were just one back of Minnesota.
Star_Tribune_Thu__Aug_10__1967_
The rest of the stories I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
According to manager Cal Ermer about 1/3 of the Twins roster was a bit lighter in the wallet after Ermer fined them for curfew violations. The Twins who took on the Yankees in a scheduled doubleheader today were on a 8 game winless streak which included yesterdays tie game.
In game one,Twins left fielder Bob Allison batting lead-off, hit a home run off Yankee starter Steve Barber but it turned out to be the only run the Twins would score, it was the fifth consecutive game, all losses, that the Twins would score just the one run. The Yankees won the game 6-1 with Joe Pepitone hitting two home runs and Steve Whitaker contributing another. Twins starter Jim Perry took the defeat.
Game two however; had a happier ending but the Twins had to play 18 innings before they could finally say their eight game losing streak was over with a 3-2 win over the Bronx bombers.
The Yankees scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth inning off Twins starter Jim Merritt and the Twins scored one in the second and one in the sixth of Yankee starter Fred Talbot and no one crossed home plate after that until the top of the 18th inning when Rich Rollins singled off Yankee reliever Thad Tillotson to score Rod Carew with an unearned run on the Yankees third error of the game.
Twins starter Jim Merritt pitched the first 13 innings for the Twins and came away with a ND. Al Worthington was credited with the win and Jim Roland notched his first save of the season.
The 18 inning game was the longest the Twins had ever played to that point in their history. In terms of time the game only lasted 4 hours and 24 minutes.
The 8 game winless streak which included a tie game would be the longest the Twins would encounter in 1967.
The Yankees second pitcher of the game Bill Monbouquette pitched 9 innings of scoreless relief allowing just 3 hits and a walk.
Cesar Tovar and Yankee Roy White who both went 0 for 8 would just as soon forget this game was ever played.
Star_Tribune_Thu__Jul_27__1967_
Star_Tribune_Thu__Jul_27__1967_ (1)
The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
The Twins had a 6-4 lead at Municipal Stadium over the last place Kansas City A’s going into the bottom of the 8th inning but the home town A’s plated 5 runs on 4 hits, an error and an IBB and held on for a 9-6 win. The Twins committed five errors while their pitching staff allowed nine hits and five walks and had their losing streak extended to three games, fortunately they remained just one game out of first place. Cesar Tovar was 2 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBI. Al Worthington took the loss in relief of Dean Chance. Box Score
The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
After the White Sox took the first two games from the Minnesota Twins, 31, 141 fans packed White Sox Park to see the home town nine take two more from the visiting Twins. But, it was not to be, after spotting the Whitey’s a one run lead the Twins tied it in the fourth inning and then scored 2 in the 5th, 6th, and 8th innings and held on for a 7-4 win in game one. Jim Kaat hit his first home run of the season. Zoilo Versalles had 3 hits and Rich Rollins, Bob Allison and Jim Kaat each had 2 hits. Jim Kaat took home the win and Ron Kline registered the save. Box Score
In game two the Twins were out hit 8 to 6 but managed to out score the White Sox 5 to 1 and a double-header sweep was in the books. Dave Boswell was credited with the victory to even his record at 8-8 and Al Worthington notched his 12th save of the season. When the day was done the Twins still found themselves in third place but now only 2.5 games behind the league leading WSox but only a half game behind the Tigers at the All-Star break. Box Score
Pitcher Dean Chance along with Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva and Rod Carew (who missed the week-end series due to military obligations) left for the All-Star game in Anaheim after the DH was complete and were accompanied by manager Cal Ermer and owner Calvin Griffith.
The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
The Twins eight game winning streak came to an abrupt end at White Sox Park when the Mighty Whities walked off the Twins 2-1. The Twins scored one run in the first inning when Cesar Tovar led off the game with a double and Tony Oliva doubled him home with two out. These would be the only hits the Twins would get. Starters Gary Peters and the Twins Dean Chance dueled and after 8 innings it was still one to nothing Twins. But here the game seemed to take a turn in favor of the White Sox.
In the 8th inning Sox coach Kerby Farrell seemed to notice “a black substance on Dean Chance’s pitching hand” and Eddie Stanky complained to umpire Al Salerno who told Chance to wipe his hands clean. Chance stated that it was just resin build-up but all of a sudden Chance seemed to lose his control. After walking none through 7 innings Chance walked one in the 8th and 2 in the ninth before being lifted for reliever Al Worthington who inherited a bases-loaded one out situation. Worthington retired Don Buford on a foul pop-up to third but then Ron Hansen hit a ground ball to the left of second base but shortstop Zoilo Versalles was playing deep in the hole and the ball bounced off of Versalles glove and bounced into right field allowing two runs to score. Box Score.
The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
