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
The first three month of 2025 the Detroit Tigers got off to a 53-32 start but then in the back half of the season they played 34-43 baseball. From April 1 through September 27 they were in first place for all but two days, then they lost their final game of the season and finished in second place one game out of first behind the Cleveland Guardians. That isn’t going to happen again and the Tigers are going to be the American Leagues Central Division Champions with 91 wins.
The Kansas City Royals are going to get their starting pitching rolling again in 2026 and will give the Tigers a run for their money but in the end the Tigers with ace pitchers Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez will prevail and the Royals will finish second with a 86-76 record.
A Durable Bullpen Workhorse Whose Lone Minnesota Season Still Resonates
Wayne Allan Granger, one of baseball’s earliest true relief specialists and a model of late 1960s durability, passed away on February 25, 2026, at age 81. A veteran of nine big-league seasons and 451 appearances, Granger pitched for seven organizations, but his single season with the Minnesota Twins remains a compelling chapter in both his career and the franchise’s early 1970s story.
Early Life and Rise to the Majors
Born March 15, 1944, in Springfield, Massachusetts, Granger grew up in the small town of Huntington, where he became a multi-sport standout and a dominant high-school pitcher. After attending Springfield College, he signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965 and converted to relief shortly afterward. His low three-quarters delivery and heavy sinker became his signature.
Granger broke into the majors in 1968 with St. Louis and quickly became one of the most heavily used relievers in baseball. His 1969 season with Cincinnati—90 appearances, setting a major-league record—cemented his reputation as a durable, trusted bullpen arm. He followed that with a league leading 35 saves in 1970, earning back-to-back Sporting News NL Fireman of the Year awards.
Minnesota Twins: A Promising Start and a Tumultuous Summer (1972)
The Twins acquired Granger from Cincinnati on December 3, 1971, sending left-hander Tom Hall to the Reds. Minnesota believed it was adding a proven late-inning stabilizer to pair with Dave LaRoche. For the first two months of 1972, Granger looked like the All-Star caliber reliever he had been in Cincinnati. He retired 19 of the first 22 left-handed batters he faced and posted a 0.85 ERA through the end of June, collecting five saves in his first seven appearances. His sinker was crisp, and his command sharp.
Joe Nossek, a versatile outfielder and trusted baseball mind whose career touched six major?league seasons and spanned decades in coaching and scouting, passed away on February 12, 2026. He was 85.
Joseph Rudolph Nossek born November 8, 1940, in Cleveland, Ohio, Nossek was a standout long before he ever wore a professional uniform. At Ohio University, he became a first?team All?American outfielder in 1961, one of the most decorated players in program history. His excellence across every level of competition eventually earned him enshrinement in the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame, the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame, and the Euclid High School Sports Hall of Fame — a testament to the breadth of his impact from hometown fields to the national stage.
When the Minnesota Twins signed him before the 1961 season, they backed their belief with a $45,000 signing bonus, an extraordinary figure for the era. For a young franchise still defining itself after the move from Washington, Nossek represented a premium investment in talent, projection, and character.
He made his major?league debut with Minnesota in 1964, but it was the following year that cemented his place in Twins history. Appearing in 87 games for the 1965 American League champions, Nossek played all three outfield positions and even logged time at third base, giving manager Sam Mele a defensive option he trusted. He hit .218 that season, but his value was never measured in batting average. He was a glove?first role player on a roster loaded with stars — Killebrew, Oliva, Allison, Grant — and he carved out his niche by doing the little things right.
His most memorable moments came on the biggest stage. In the 1965 World Series against the Dodgers, Nossek started four games in center field and collected four hits, including two singles off Sandy Koufax — a small but proud footnote in a series dominated by pitching greatness. Nossek was also involved in a some-what controversial play in game 7 and if you don’t about it or don’t remember it you can read about it in Nossek’s SABR Bio to which you will find a link below.
After the 1966 season began, the Twins sold his contract to the Kansas City Athletics, where he enjoyed his most productive year, hitting .261 across 87 games. He later spent time with the Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals, finishing his playing career in 1970. Across six seasons, Nossek appeared in 295 major?league games, collecting 132 hits and posting a .228 career average.
Jeffrey Bittiger, of Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully at his home on July 19, 2025, at the age of 63, surrounded by the love of his family. Born on April 13, 1962, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Gary and Lois Bittiger, Jeff lived a life marked by determination, athleticism, and unwavering devotion to the game of baseball.
A gifted three-sport athlete at Secaucus High School, Jeff earned all-state honors in baseball, basketball, and football—achievements later recognized with his induction into the Hudson County Hall of Fame. His prowess on the diamond caught the attention of Major League scouts, and in 1980 he was selected in the seventh round of the MLB Draft by the New York Mets. Regarded as a rare two-way prospect, Jeff possessed both a powerful fastball—topping out at 93 MPH—and the ability to swing the bat with authority.
Charles “Cotton” Nash, a three-time All-American men’s basketball player and a University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Famer, died May 23, 2023 in Lexington, Kentucky at the age of 80. Nash was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 24, 1942.
Hollywood handsome with a distinctive thatch of blonde hair (the inspiration for his nickname), Nash was a star from the moment he joined Adolph Rupp’s varsity in 1961-62. Nash (1962-64) appeared in 78 for the Wildcats and averaged 22.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He was a member of two Southeastern Conference championship squads and was tabbed an All-American during all three seasons of his basketball career. Nash earned All-SEC Eastern Division honors as a member of the baseball team, and also participated in track and field as a discus thrower.
The Twins have been playing baseball in Minnesota for 62 seasons and have played 9,803 games, winning 4,867 games and losing 4,936 games for a winning percentage of .496 and have advanced to the playoffs 14 times or 22.6% of the time.
Maybe we should not be that surprised, the Washington Senators who moved from Washington D.C. after the 1960 season and became the Minnesota Twins had a .465 winning percentage. Year after year, the Senators were a laughingly bad team, prompting famed sportswriter Charley Dryden to joke: “Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League.” The Senators played in Washington for 60 seasons and won 3 pennants (1924, 1925, & 1933) and won one World Series title in 1924. In that regard the Twins it seems are not much better having played for 62 seasons and won 3 pennants (1965, 1987, & 1991) but they have won two World Series titles, in 1987 and again 1991.
The hapless 2021 Minnesota Twins finished with 73-89 record and were dead last in the AL central Division finishing one game worse than the Kansas City Royals and four games worse than the Detroit Tigers.
Today’s baseball is so different than the baseball I grew up watching over the years. In the old days you had better be a big time slugger if you were strikeout prone or you would find yourself looking for work in the real world. Today’s baseball seems to have no issue with players with high strikeout rates.
In the short 60-game season in 2020 the Minnesota Twins were tenth in runs scored in the American League but thanks to their good pitching (ranked second in the league) they were able to win the division title on the last day when the Chicago White Sox choked coughing up a three game lead with just eight to play by losing seven out of their last eight games.
Justin Upton flung the ball into the air and the bat out of his hands as his second walk-off homer of the year lifted the Detroit Tigers to a 12-11 win over Minnesota at Comerica Park last night. The home run was part of a six-run comeback Detroit compiled over the final three innings to stun the hot-hitting Twins and snap their season-high six-game winning streak.
Matt Belisle
The Tigers jumped on Jose Berrios and the Twins for a 5-0 lead after just one inning of play but then Paul Molitor‘s boys came back with all their bats blazing and put up 11 of the next 12 runs between the third and sixth innings to take a commanding 11-6 lead. Matt Belisle gave up the walk-off blast by Upton but the relievers before him, Trevor Hildenberger gave up 1 run and Dillon Gee gave up 4 runs of which 3 were earned. Only Ryan Pressly went unscathed in his 2/3 of an inning.
The hitters had a night to remember, 11 runs on 19 hits and a walk, a HBP and an error thrown in for good measure. Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler and Joe Mauer all hit home runs. Everyone that stepped to the plate for Minnesota had at least one hit and Brian Dozier and Jason Castro had 3 apiece.
It is tough to lose a nine inning game when you get 19 hits and score 11 runs, how tough is it? Not counting tie games the Twins have played 9,048 games since they started play in 1061. In those 9,048 the Twins have played 66 nine inning games when they have had at least 11 hits and scored 19 or more runs, their record in those kinds of games is now 64-2.
Willie Banks
Prior to last night the only time the Twins lost a game like this was on August 4, 1992 at Comiskey Park II. The Twins must like hitting against the pitchers from Chicago’s south side as the Twins have had 12 games like this against the White Sox and won 11 of them. The one loss was that game in 1992 when the White Sox blew out the Twins 19-11. This is a game that Willie Banks will never forget, Banks pitched 1.2 inning of relief and gave up 10 earned runs after relieving Twins starter Bill Krueger who lasted just 2 innings giving up 7 earned runs. This game was a blow out from the get-go and last night game was a back and forth affair that was won with a walk-off home run. Either way you have to put a game like this in the “bad beat” category.
The Twins lose to the California Angels on the road again and it is the same old story, they lose 2-1 for the third day in a row and they have lost all five game on this current road trip and six in a row. Ermer’s boys find themselves in fifth place 3 1/2 games behind the leaders and 4-7 since the All-Star break.
The Twins could only muster three hits off Angels spitballer Jack Hamilton who is 5-1 since being acquired from the Mets and Minnie Rojas who earned the save with 3 innings of scoreless relief while allowing just 1 hit. Dean Chance pitched well enough to win for Minnesota but allowed 2 unearned runs in the third. Bobby Knoop reached on a Rod Carew error, Hamilton sacrificed Knoop to second. Jose Cardenal singled scoring Knoop from second. Cardenal then stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Chance then struck out Roger Repoz for the second out and that brought Woodie Held to the plate who was batting when Cardenal stole home and Chance then struck out Held but it was too late, the run would turn out to be the winner.
With their tails between their legs the Twins now have to fly from California to New York to play the New York Yankees but first they need to make a detour to Milwaukee to play the Chicago White Sox in a meaningless exhibition game before continuing their road trip and pennant race. No way the players union would allow something like that now days but that is the way it was back then.
