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
Jay Thomas Kelly will have his number 10 retired on Saturday and we here at Twins Trivia would like to add our congratulations for a well deserved honor. Kelly was originally drafted by the Seattle Pilots in round 8 of the 1968 amateur draft but the Seattle Pilots relocated after just one season in the Emerald city and moved to Milwaukee where they became the Brewers. Within days of being released by the Brewers in April of 1971, Kelly signed as a free agent with Minnesota. With the exception of 1976, Kelly has been in the Twins organization since 1971. Kelly has played for, coached and managed the Minnesota Twins and on occasion has even taken his turn at the microphone to describe Twins action on television.
Actually, over the years Tom Kelly has worn several different numbers with the Minnesota Twins. When he played 49 games for the Twins in 1975 he wore the number 16. When he coached the Twins from 1983-1986 he wore the number 41 and he wore that same number for the remainder of the 1986 season after being named as the Twins interim manager replacing Ray Miller who was relieved of his duties on September 12, 1986. Kelly then switched to the number 10 prior to the 1987 season and wore that number for the remainder of his Twins managing career through the 2001 season.
Who else has worn the Twins number 10 you ask? Here is the complete list now that no other Minnesota Twin will wear that number again.
1961-1967 – catcher Earl Battey
1968 – catcher John Roseboro
1868-1972 – 3B/OF Rick Renick
1973-1974 – 1B Joe Lis
1974 – 1B Pat Bourque
1975-1977 – OF Lyman Bostock
1978-1981 – OF Hosken Powell
1982-1983 – OF Bobby Mitchell
1984-1986 – catcher Jeff Reed
Since Tom Kelly last wore the number 10 in 2001, no other Twins have ever that number.
In game 1 of a double-header at Met Stadium against the Milwaukee Brewers, outfielder Brant Alyea goes 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 home runs and knocks in all 7 Twins runs in a 7-6 Twins win. Alyea sets a Twins team RBI record in the process that has since been broken by Glenn Adams in 1977 and Randy Bush in 1989.
Hal Haydel
In game 2 of the double-header Twins rookie pitcher Hal Haydel hits a home run in his first major league game when he hits one out against Milwaukee Brewers hurler Al Downing at Met Stadium in his second at bat, Haydel had doubled in his first at bat and the Twins won the game 8-3 and swept the double-header. Haydel remains the only Twins pitcher in history to hit a home run in his first ML game. Haydel had relieved Luis Tiant who was taken out of the game after one inning, and pitched 5 innings to get his first major league victory. Brant Alyea had two more RBI’s in the second game.
8/30/1983 – With the Twins trailing the Tigers 4-3 in the top of the 8th inning at Tiger Stadium, Tiger pitcher Dan Petry hits Twins outfielder Gary Ward in the face with a fastball. Gary Gaetti was quoted as saying ” I’ve been hit in the head, but I’d never seen anything like that before. His face was broken”. Battered and bruised, Ward returns to the lineup just six days later and goes 4 for 4 against the Rangers at Arlington Stadium. But for the rest of the season Ward struggled mightily, hitting no home runs and driving in only seven runs in his 84 at bats. After the 1983 season ended the Twins traded Ward to the Texas Rangers.Then, one July night in Baltimore in 1984 Ward turned off all the lights in his hotel room after a game and told himself to get past the fear or his career was over. Ward went on to play for 8 more seasons in the big leagues.
(Photo by: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
8/30/1987 – Kirby Puckett goes 6-for-6 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, and 2 singles in Minnesota’s 10-6 win over Milwaukee, tying the AL record for hits in a 9-inning game. His 14 total bases are most in club history. Combined with the previous day’s 4-for-5, two-HR performance, Puckett has a ML-record-tying 10 hits in 2 games.
That going into Sunday’s finale against the Boston Red Sox that the Minnesota Twins are 24-28 on the road this season?
That in their last 9 games the Twins starters have posted a 2.20 ERA while allowing just three home runs and holding opponents to a .204 (46-for-225) batting average against? Starters have pitched 6 or more innings in eight of their last nine starts while getting 8 quality starts. The team has gone 7-2 over that stretch.
That Ben Revere has hit safely in a career-high 18 straight games since July 16, batting .364 (28-for-77) with five doubles, one triple, 10 RBI’s, 13 runs scored and just seven strikeouts? The 18-game streak is the longest since Torii Hunter hit in 23 straight games in 2007.
That the Twins have had four different 15-game hitting streaks this season: Josh Willingham has had two 15-game streaks and Trevor Plouffe had a 17-game streak. The four streaks of 15-plus are the most in baseball so far this season.
That Nick Blackburn is 17-34 in 70 career road starts with a 5.66 ERA in 402 innings?
That catchers Sal and Drew Butera are the first father-son position players to pitch in a major league game? Sal Butera pitched a scoreless inning for Montreal in 1985 and again for Cincinnati in 1986 while Drew Butera tossed a scoreless inning in Milwaukee earlier this season.
That Joe Mauer played in his 1,000th career game earlier this season becoming 17th member of the Twins to accomplish the feat?
That the Twins have not had complete game back to back victories since Joe Mays and Carlos Silva accomplished that feat back on May 19-20, 2005?
That the last Twins player to steal Home was Torii Hunter in Detroit back on May 4, 2002?
That Joe Mauer’s three-run ninth-inning home run off Alfredo Aceves yesterday was Mauer’s first career game-winning homer in the ninth inning or later? The last Minnesota player to hit such a blast at Fenway Park was Ron Washington on May 22, 1983.
1970 – In the fourth inning of the Twins game against the Milwaukee Brewers in County Stadium, Rod Carew suffers a serious knee injury with torn cartilage and torn ligaments when Brewers 1B Mike Hegan rolls in to Carew at 2B trying to break up a double play. According to Rod Carew in his book “Carew”, my leg snapped back and went crack! He goes on to say that 2B umpire Jake O’Donnell had heard the crack and vomited. Carew was hitting .376 at the time, underwent surgery and ended up in essence missing the rest of the season. Rod did return for 5 at bats late in September but did not get a hit. Carew had only 2 plate appearances against the Orioles in the ALCS with no hits.
Calvin Griffith
1984 – In a teary home plate ceremony before the Twins-White Sox game at the Metrodome, Calvin Griffith and his sister, Thelma Haynes, sign a letter of intent to sell their 52 percent ownership of the Twins to Minneapolis banker Carl Pohlad for $32 million (some reports state it was $36 million) ending the longest family ownership of a team in baseball history. Griffith and his sister had been involved with the franchise since 1922, when they were adopted by owner Clark Griffith when the team was the Washington Senators.
catcher Matt Walbeck (courtesy of the Minnesota Twins)
Matthew Lovick Walbeck was born on October 2, 1969 in Sacramento, California and grew up playing a variety of sports but baseball was his passion. Walbeck was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 8th round of the 1987 amateur free agent draft out of Sacramento High School as a catcher and signed his first pro contract just a few days later fulfilling a lifetime dream to play professional baseball. Matt worked his way up the Cubs minor league ladder playing and ended up making the Cubs big league club out of spring training in 1993 as the teams 3rd catcher. Walbeck stayed with the Cubs for about a month before being sent down to AAA Iowa where he spent most of 1993 before being called up to the big club again in September.
In November of 1993 Walbeck was traded by the Cubs to the Minnesota Twins along with pitcher Dave Stevens for the Twins 1987 first round pick (3rd overall) pitcher Willie Banks. Walbeck was the Twins primary catcher in the Twins strike shortened 1994 season but the highlight of Matt’s big league career occurred on April 27th at the Metrodome when Matt caught Scott Erickson’s no-hitter, a 6-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. In 1995 Walbeck played in a career high of 115 games and hit for a .257 average. In spring training of 1996 Matt had a sore wrist and a couple of days before the season started, Walbeck was diagnosed with a broken Hamate bone and had to undergo surgery. The recovery from the surgery was slower than expected and Walbeck did not play his first game in 1996 until June 18th. Former Oakland A’s catcher and Minnesota native Terry Steinbach signed with the Twins as a free agent in December of 1996 and just a few days later Walbeck was traded to the Detroit Tigers for minor league pitcher Brian Stentz. Stentz as it turned out never appeared in a big league ball game. Walbeck ended his Twins career having played in Minnesota for 3 years. During his time in Minnesota, Walbeck better known for his catching skills then his bat, caught in 275 games and had 1,008 plate appearances in which he hit 8 home runs, knocked in 103, stole 7 bases and posted a .230 batting average.
Walbeck played for the Detroit Tigers in 1997 before being traded to the Anaheim Angels where he played from 1998-2000. Walbeck then played in the minors for the Reds and the Phillies getting only one big league at bat with the Phillies in 2001 before finishing his career in Detroit in 2002-2003 at the age of 33 and 11 years of big league baseball.
Immediately after ending his playing career, Matt move into a manager role in the Tigers system in 2004 and managed their A ball team to two championships between 2004 and 2006. Walbeck then moved up to manage in AA ball where he again took the team to the playoffs and was rewarded by getting the 3rd base coaching job for the Texas Rangers and manager Ron Washington in 2008. Walbeck was let go after one season and returned to managing in the Pirates system in 2009 and by 2010 he had led his team to yet another championship season and was named manager of the year in the Eastern League but was let go by the Pirates. In 2011 Walbeck took over as manager for the A ball Rome Braves in the Atlanta organization but the team played poorly and Walbeck was fired mid season for philosophical differences.
Matt Walbeck today
Since then, Matt has started the Walbeck Baseball Academy in Sacramento, California where he gets to work with youngsters and their parents teaching some life skills and baseball while spending time at home with his wife and 3 children. I think that Matt is enjoying his life at home right now but who knows what the future may hold for this former catcher and proven minor league winning manager if another big league opportunity should present itself. In his free time, Matt enjoys coaching his son’s baseball team, exercising and doing some fly fishing.
Want to know how and why Matt became a switch-hitter? You can listen to Matt tell you by clicking here. Be sure to check out our other interviews with former Twins players by going to the Interview Archives page, there are 36 different interviews you can check out.
1972 – Twins starter Jim Kaat hits a 2 run home run off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Skip Lockwood in the third inning at Met Stadium in a Twins 4-2 victory. It turns out that this is the last home run that a Twins pitcher has hit in a home game.
Matt LeCroy
2003 – Matthew LeCroy suffers a broken nose after being hit by a pitch from Kansas City’s Runelvys Hernandez in the 4th inning of a game at the Metrodome. Rick Reed pitches a shutout and the Twins win 7-0. LeCroy asked Twins manager Ron Gardenhire to put him back in the lineup as soon as possible, so he wouldn’t have time to develop any insecurity. LeCroy returned after one game and swung at the first pitch he saw.
2006 – On a Mother’s Day nationally ESPN broadcast game from the Metrodome the Twins lose 9-7 to the White Sox in a crazy game after scoring 7 runs in the bottom of the first inning and taking a 7-3 lead. White Sox Mark Buehrle became only the second ML pitcher to win a game after giving up 7 runs in the first inning. In the sixth inning, Twins 2B Luis Castillo hit into a triple play.
Put me down under the confused column. Why would the Twins pick up Erik Komatsu? I have no problem sending Clete Thomas packing as he had 28 at bats in a Twins uniform and he hit .143 and he struck out 16 times, enough said. But why pick up Komatsu who is a Cardinals Rule 5 pick-up in December of 2011? Komatsu grew up in California and graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School where he was a teammate of Delmon Young. Komatsu was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 8th round in 2008, missed most of 2009 with a concussion and hamstring issues and was traded to the Washington Nationals in July 2011. Komatsu has 348 minor league games under his belt and he hit .302 but he has never played above AA ball. I know he can play all three outfield positions and he has stolen 57 bases in the minors but he also got caught 24 times. It’s not like Komatsu is a corner outfielder with power potential. If the Twins don’t keep Komatsu on the roster they need to offer him back to the Nats. Why would the Twins want a player like this? If you want to replace Thomas why not pick up one of your own minor league players? What kind of message does this send to your own minor leaguers? Do the Twins think so little of their own minor league players that they feel they need to pick up players like Clete Thomas and Erik Komatsu? Put yourself in Ben Revere’s or Rene Tosoni’s shoes, what are they thinking? If the Cardinals thought that Komatsu had potential why didn’t they strike a deal with Washington and keep him? The only reason he made the Cardinals team this year anyway was due to all the injuries the Cardinals outfielders suffered. I would like to know why a player from another organization that hasn’t played AAA ball can play in Minnesota but when it comes to their own players they would prefer they get AAA experience first. Don’t tell me about Parmelee, I know he has no AAA experience but the Twins are hardly playing Parmelee this season anyway. I know this team is playing poorly and need some changes but a fourth/fifth outfielder is hardly the answer here unless………. the Twins know they are going to move some players soon and go into full rebuilding mode sooner than later. If that is the case, then the Twins can keep Komatsu on the roster all season and this move might make some sense. I just don’t know if Terry Ryan and the Twins brain trust knows where they are going, they seem to wander aimlessly so far this season grasping at straws.
When the Minnesota Twins open the 2012 season in Baltimore on Friday, April 6 it will mark the 32nd time in 52 season openers that the team has opened their baseball season as road warriors. As a cold weather team, the Twins have only played the seasons first game at Met Stadium five times (63,65,66,71,81) and fifteen times at the Metrodome. In their short history at Target Field the Twins have never opened the season at home. The Twins have not charged out of the gate on a winning note over the years winning only won 24 and losing 27 season opening games. You can make a strong case that their first ever game as Minnesota Twins on April 11, 1961 in Yankee Stadium when Pedro Ramos shut out the New Yorks Yankees 6-0 on just 3 hits was their greatest season opener ever. The most frequest opening day opponent for the Twins has been the Oakland A’s. The Twins have played the Oakland A’s on opening day ten times (the last time in 1990), eight times in Oakland and twice at home (at the Met in 1981 and at the Metrodome in 1987) and the opening day series between these two teams is tied at five game each. The Twins have drawn the Seattle Mariners as opening day opponents four times, twice at home and twice on the road and the Twins have yet to beat the Mariners on opening day.
Pitcher Brad Radke has taken the mound for the Twins on opening day nine times including seven in a row between 1999 and 2005. Radke’s record on opening day was 4 wins, 2 losses, and 3 no decisions. Kent Hrbek has started 12 games at 1B on opening day, the most games that any Twins player has played at any position on opening day. A number of players have started opening day at their position nine times but Hrbek is still the leader in that category.
The Twins have opened the season in Baltimore only once before and that was back on April 11, 1967 in Memorial Stadium when Jim Kaat took the mound for the Twins but before he retired a single batter, the Orioles plated four runs and held on for a 6-3 win. The Twins only other season opener against the Baltimore Orioles occurred on April 2, 2007 at the Metrodome when the Twins behind starter Johan Sanatana and home runs from Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau won 7-4.
Here is who the Twins have faced and how they have fared on opening day.
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”
Jay Thomas Kelly will have his number 10 retired on Saturday and we here at Twins Trivia would like to add our congratulations for a well deserved honor. Kelly was originally drafted by the Seattle Pilots in round 8 of the 1968 amateur draft but the Seattle Pilots relocated after just one season in the Emerald city and moved to Milwaukee where they became the Brewers. Within days of being released by the Brewers in April of 1971, Kelly signed as a free agent with Minnesota. With the exception of 1976, Kelly has been in the Twins organization since 1971. Kelly has played for, coached and managed the Minnesota Twins and on occasion has even taken his turn at the microphone to describe Twins action on television.
