Tag: Dean Chance

A hit, a hit, I would do anything for a hit

Oswaldo Arcia
Oswaldo Arcia

Outfielder Oswaldo Arcia is quickly climbing up the leader board on a list he would rather not be a part of. Saying that Arcia is in a slump is an understatement as he battles through an 0 for his last 29 at bats streak. The last time Arcia had a knock that counted was back on June 5th when he had a double off Brewer reliever Rob Wooten at Target Field and that was almost three weeks ago. A couple of more “ofer” games and he could become the Twins (and franchise leader going back to 1914) in at bats without a hit for a position player.  The current leader on the Twins hitless at bats leader board is former catcher Butch Wynegar who had a pretty bad September himself back in 1978 when he went 0 for 38.

UPDATE – Arcia hit a home run in his first at bat against the Angels Garrett Richards on June 25th and his hitless streak finally came to an end at 29 at bats.

Twins position players with hitless streaks lasting 25 at bats or more

Butch Wynegar
Butch Wynegar
Rk Name Strk Start End Games AB ? R H SO BB
1 Butch Wynegar 1978-09-04 1978-09-23 12 38 1 0 8 6
2 Charlie Manuel 1969-07-20 1970-04-09 27 36 1 0 12 6
3 Jerry Zimmerman 1967-05-26 1967-06-11 12 35 0 0 10 2
4 Tom Nieto 1987-09-11 1988-04-13 11 32 1 0 8 4
5 Bobby Mitchell 1982-04-27 1982-05-10 12 31 0 0 3 7
6 Gene Larkin 1988-09-17 1988-09-28 10 30 0 0 5 5
7 Randy Bush 1984-08-17 1984-09-07 14 29 2 0 7 6
8 Oswaldo Arcia 2014-06-13 2014-06-22 8 29 1 0 12 2
9 Greg Gagne 1991-06-21 1991-07-02 9 28 1 0 7 1
10 Mike Ryan 2005-07-17 2005-08-13 10 27 1 0 7 3
11 Steve Lombardozzi 1988-08-27 1988-09-24 10 27 0 0 3 0
12 Greg Gagne 1987-09-01 1987-09-11 9 27 1 0 8 2
13 John Roseboro 1968-04-18 1968-04-28 9 27 1 0 3 4
14 Marty Cordova 1998-09-01 1998-09-12 8 27 1 0 5 4
15 Rich Becker 1996-04-07 1996-04-29 11 26 2 0 7 6
16 Jason Kubel 2014-05-20 2014-06-06 9 26 0 0 12 5
17 Torii Hunter 2000-05-20 2000-08-01 9 25 0 0 6 1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/25/2014.

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"<strongTwins Hall of Fame shortstop Greg Gagne made the list twice, ouch. If you included pitchers on the list you would find the hitting challenged Twins starter Dean Chance sitting at number one on the list with a hitless 0 for 52 streak that lasted 23 games from April 13 to July 23, 1967.

Come on Oswaldo, get a hit because this is not a record I want to see get broken!

Former Twins OF Revere finally gets off the home run schneid

Ben RevereBen Revere hit his first major-league home run in his 1466th at-bat in the Phillies’ home loss to the Rockies. That was the longest start-of-career homer-less streak by any player since the Pirates’ Frank Taveras connected for an inside-the park grand slam at Cincinnati on August 5, 1977 in his 1594th at-bat.

 

Twins batters with 100 or more at bats and zero home runs

Rk Player AB HR From To G PA H 2B 3B RBI BA
1 Al Newman 1647 0 1987 1991 618 1876 380 59 7 135 .231
2 Ben Revere 989 0 2010 2012 254 1064 275 22 11 64 .278
3 Houston Jimenez 384 0 1983 1984 144 409 75 16 2 28 .195
4 Luis Gomez 362 0 1974 1977 241 403 72 6 2 22 .199
5 Junior Ortiz 304 0 1990 1991 132 338 85 12 2 29 .280
6 Mudcat Grant 263 0 1964 1967 151 298 45 10 2 23 .171
7 Bert Blyleven 235 0 1970 1988 348 265 34 3 0 9 .145
8 Tsuyoshi Nishioka 233 0 2011 2012 71 254 50 5 0 20 .215
9 Dick Stigman 213 0 1962 1965 138 233 20 4 0 6 .094
10 Dean Chance 209 0 1967 1969 104 246 9 0 0 4 .043
11 Jim Merritt 206 0 1965 1968 122 236 27 6 0 7 .131
12 Nelson Liriano 185 0 1990 1990 53 211 47 5 7 13 .254
13 Jose Morales 158 0 2007 2010 74 181 47 9 0 14 .297
14 Sergio Ferrer 138 0 1974 1975 56 157 36 3 3 2 .261
15 Dan Monzon 131 0 1972 1973 94 154 32 2 1 9 .244
16 Tom Hall 130 0 1968 1971 145 146 25 2 0 2 .192
17 Bruce Look 118 0 1968 1968 59 139 29 4 0 9 .246
18 Dick Woodson 117 0 1969 1974 129 129 9 0 0 2 .077
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/28/2014.

This, that, and the other thing

IMGP7217When I visited Hammond Stadium on Friday it was position player reporting day but a large contingent of the Twins position players were already on hand and going through some early work on their own. The real work started this morning. I took a number of pictures as I do every time I visit and posted them in my 2014 Spring Training link. I didn’t really see anything unusual and the highlight of my day was spending a few minutes after practice talking with Twins Hall of Fame member Eddie Guardado. Eddie looks the same as I remember him as an active player when he charged out to the mound and slammed the rosin bag to the turf before he took the mound to close out another Twins win. After spending some time talking with Eddie, I don’t know if there is a more humble former Twins player out there. I really enjoyed my short chat with “Every Day Eddie” and I hope I can set up a longer interview with him down the line.

 

Glen Perkins
Glen Perkins

After practice was over I wandered back to the minor league fields and complex to see what was happening back there. Some of the Twins major league players also spend time in the minor league complex working out or doing what ever they have to do back there. It was about 11:30 A.M. and most of the autograph seekers were gone and there was just two guys standing there waiting for autographs. I asked them who they were waiting for and they said they were waiting for closer Glen Perkins. I kind of laughed and wished them luck because Perkins has a reputation as one of the toughest Twins to get an autograph from. They were well aware of that since they had a couple of balls with all the others Twins autographs and they were just missing Perkins. We chatted for a while and I left to walk back over to the big league side. About 15 minutes later I saw both of the autograph seekers walking in my direction so I walked up to them and asked them if they finally got Perkins signature. “Hell no”, they said, the p&%k peeked out the door a couple of times to see if we were still there and then finally left quickly with a towel over his head. These guys were not happy and I don’t know if Perkins had seen them out there getting autographs day after day or what but these two guys were pretty disgusted. I know that players get mad when the same people get autographs day after day and sell them and make a few bucks but what is the big deal? If somebody makes a few dollars off a players signature is that really such a bad thing? Players like Perkins make plenty of money so why should they begrudge if someone sells his autograph for a few dollars. No one gets hurt and the economy keeps chugging along, it’s the American way. Here we have two guys that are upset because they didn’t get an autograph and Perkins further cements his reputation with some Twins fans as a greedy and sometimes surly egomaniac. I sure wish I would have been around to get a picture of Glen Perkins sneaking out with a towel over his head, I could have had some real fun with that.

Everybody is bemoaning the lack of strikeouts by the Twins starting pitchers. The last Twins pitcher to strike out at least 200 batters in a season was in 2010 when Francisco Liriano struck out 201 batters and since then no Twins starter has struck out more than 123 (Scott Baker in 2011) batters. In 2013 Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey tied for the strikeout lead on the club with 101. Those are pathetic numbers indeed. In the Minnesota Twins 53 year history there have been only seven Twins pitchers that have struck out 200 or more batters in a single season and between them they have done it a total of 20 times. Can you name those seven pitchers? I already told you who four of them are.

But here is an interesting “did you know that?” fact. Did you know that the 1967 Minnesota Twins were the first team in major league history to have three pitchers on their staff to record 200 or more strikeouts in a single season. In 1967 Dean Chance had 220, Jim Kaat had 211 and Dave Boswell had 204? Since then it was matched by the National League 1969 Houston Astros Don Wilson with 235, Larry Dierker with 222, and Tom Griffin with 200. The 2013 Detroit Tigers joined this list when Max Scherzer had 240, Justin Verlander had 217, and Anibal Sanchez had 202. I wonder if the Tigers can be the first team to do it in back-to-back seasons? It is tough to do once much less twice.

20 Game Winners

twentyOne of the most frequent requests that I receive on this web site is from folks that are looking to find the names of the Twins pitchers that have won 20 or more games in a season so I have decided to publish the list in a post for easy look-up.

Thirteen different Twins pitchers have won 20 or more games in a season on just 15 occasions and no pitcher has won 20 games since Johan Santana did it back in 2004. Two pitchers have done it twice, Camilo Pascual and Jim Perry. Camilo and Jim Perry are the only Minnesota pitchers to win 20 or more in back-to-back seasons. 1969 is the only season that the Twins had multiple 20 game winners when Boswell and Perry each had 20 victories. A big part of the reason for not winning 20 games no days is that with the five man rotation starters only get 32 to 34 starts and the other big reason is that managers today bring in relievers at the drop of a hat or the sight of a baserunner late in the game. 20 game winners are getting as rare as hens teeth, since 1980 the Twins have had four 20 game winners and three no-hitters.

Rk Player Year W Age G GS CG SHO L IP SO ERA BA
1 Johan Santana 2004 20 25 34 34 1 1 6 228.0 265 2.61 .192
2 Brad Radke 1997 20 24 35 35 4 1 10 239.2 174 3.87 .257
3 Scott Erickson 1991 20 23 32 32 5 3 8 204.0 108 3.18 .248
4 Frank Viola 1988 24 28 35 35 7 2 7 255.1 193 2.64 .245
5 Jerry Koosman 1979 20 36 37 36 10 2 13 263.2 157 3.38 .268
6 Dave Goltz 1977 20 28 39 39 19 2 11 303.0 186 3.36 .247
7 Bert Blyleven 1973 20 22 40 40 25 9 17 325.0 258 2.52 .242
8 Jim Perry 1970 24 34 40 40 13 4 12 278.2 168 3.04 .243
9 Dave Boswell 1969 20 24 39 38 10 0 12 256.1 190 3.23 .226
10 Jim Perry 1969 20 33 46 36 12 3 6 261.2 153 2.82 .247
11 Dean Chance 1967 20 26 41 39 18 5 14 283.2 220 2.73 .229
12 Jim Kaat 1966 25 27 41 41 19 3 13 304.2 205 2.75 .235
13 Mudcat Grant 1965 21 29 41 39 14 6 7 270.1 142 3.30 .247
14 Camilo Pascual 1963 21 29 31 31 18 3 9 248.1 202 2.46 .224
15 Camilo Pascual 1962 20 28 34 33 18 5 11 257.2 206 3.32 .241
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/16/2014.

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You would think that over the years there would have been a number of Twins pitchers that came up just short of joning the 20 game winners list by winning 19 games but that is not the case. Since 1961 the Twins have had one pitcher, Johan Santana in 2006 tht ended the season with 19 games in the win column.

Twins career ERA leaders

A list of Minnesota Twins pitchers with the best Twins career ERA’s with a requirement of having pitched at leat 500 innings in a Twins uniform. Only Dean Chance has an Twin career ERA of under 3.00 and only 18 Twins pitchers have thrown 500 or more innings and have an ERA under 4.00. It just goes to show the state of Twins pitching over the years. But how do the Twins compare to the rest of the American League?

Dean Chance
Dean Chance
Rk Player ERA IP G GS CG SHO W L SV SO BA
1 Dean Chance 2.67 664.0 104 93 34 11 41 34 2 504 .221
2 Jim Merritt 3.03 686.2 122 89 28 6 37 41 6 527 .228
3 Jim Perry 3.15 1883.1 376 249 61 17 128 90 5 1025 .242
4 Johan Santana 3.22 1308.2 251 175 6 4 93 44 1 1381 .221
5 Bert Blyleven 3.28 2566.2 348 345 141 29 149 138 0 2035 .246
6 Jim Kaat 3.28 2959.1 468 422 133 23 189 152 6 1824 .256
7 Camilo Pascual 3.31 1284.2 184 179 72 18 88 57 0 994 .233
8 Dick Woodson 3.35 561.0 129 73 15 5 33 30 2 303 .233
9 Mudcat Grant 3.35 780.2 129 111 36 10 50 35 1 377 .260
10 Dave Goltz 3.48 1638.0 247 215 80 11 96 79 3 887 .264
11 Dave Boswell 3.49 1036.1 187 150 37 6 67 54 0 865 .217
12 Rick Aguilera 3.50 694.0 490 30 5 0 40 47 254 586 .243
13 Dick Stigman 3.69 643.2 138 85 26 4 37 37 7 538 .229
14 Jack Kralick 3.74 510.1 77 75 19 4 26 26 0 289 .267
15 Jerry Koosman 3.77 601.1 94 83 20 3 39 35 7 361 .271
16 Ray Corbin 3.84 652.1 181 63 12 3 36 38 17 348 .258
17 Frank Viola 3.86 1772.2 260 259 54 10 112 93 0 1214 .260
18 Geoff Zahn 3.90 852.0 133 126 36 7 53 53 0 348 .289
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/13/2014.

Let’s take a look at how the Twins compare to the rest of the American League from 1961 to current again with the requirement of 500 innings.

Team ERA under 2.00 ERA under 3.00 ERA under 4.00
Angels 0 3 30
Yankees 0 7 29
Orioles 0 6 26
Whie Sox 1 4 25
A’s 0 5 25
Red Sox 0 2 22
Tigers 0 1 20
Rangers 0 0 20
Indians 0 4 19
Royals 0 1 19
Twins 0 1 18
Blue Jays 0 1 11
Mariners 0 0 7
Rays 0 0 5

The only ERA under 2.00 belongs to Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm who had a 1.92 ERA for the Pale Hose in 675.2 innings but he only had 3 starts in those 361 games between 1963-1968.

This Day in Twins History – December 12, 1969

Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles

In a major deal the Minnesota Twins trade pitchers Dean Chance and Bob Miller, outfielder Ted Uhlaender, and 3B Graig Nettles to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Luis Tiant and Stan Williams.

The Twins were fresh off a 97-65 season but had lost the ALCS to the Baltimore Orioles 3 games to none in the first year that the ALCS was played. Owner Calvin Griffith fired his feisty manager Billy Martin shortly after the playoffs and hired veteran baseball manager Bill Rigney to take over.

The Twins gave up a lot to acquire Luis “El Tiante” Tiant and Stan “Big Daddy” Williams. The 33 year-old Williams had a phenomenal season in 1970 out of the pen when he went 10-1 with a 1.99 ERA in 68 games while pitching 113.1 innings. 1971 was anther story with Williams going 4-5 with a 4.15 ERA and the Twins traded hin to the Cardinals in September.

Luis Tiant
Luis Tiant

Tiant was only 9-20 in 1969 but he was 21-9 in 1968 and the Twins had high hopes for Tiant. He pitched very well at the start of the 1970 season, and by the end of May was 6-0 with a 3.12 ERA when he went on the disabled list with arm troubles. He came back in early August, but only won one more game the rest of the way and finished the season with a 7-3 record and a 3.40 ERA. Tiant’s arm problems only got worse in the off-season, and the Twins released him at the end of spring training in 1971. The Atlanta Braves signed Tiant but within a month they too let him go and Tiant signed with the Boston Red Sox in May of 1971. With his fastball apparently gone it appeared that Tiant was done. However; Tiant began a remarkable comeback in 1972, reinventing himself as a junkballer, throwing an incredible variety of pitches from all sorts of arm angles. All of these came off a bizarre motion that had him looking straight at second base in the middle of his wind-up. Between 1972-1978, Tiant put up a 121-74 record for the Red Sox with a 3.30 ERA while averaging 243 innings per year. After leaving the Red Sox, Tiant pitched for the Yankees, Pirates and the Angels and left the major leagues in his rear view mirror after the 1982 season and 19 seasons and went on to pitch in Mexico at the age of 42.

Probably not one of the Twins best trades if you consider the wonderful career that Graig Nettles went to have. You just never know for years sometimes how trades really turned out. There was a nice article done by the Cleveland Plain Dealer back in 2009 about Dean Chance that you might enjoy checking out here. I have been trying to get in touch with Chance for an interview for years with no luck what so ever.

Twins pitchers that went the extra mile

The Twins have been in Minnesota for 53 years and have played 8,455 games winning 4,204 and losing 4,243. (just a FYI, the Angels who also started play in 1961 have won 4,220 games). Over the 53 years and 8,455 games Twins starters have pitched 9 innings or more in a start exactly 300 times (3.55%). Keep in mind that I am talking 9 innings or more pitched in a start, not complete games.

But sometimes just going 9 innings does not get the job done as you can see in the table below. In these 71 games the Twins starter took the mound in inning number 10 and sometimes even innings 11 and 12. The last Twins starter to hurl more than 9 innings in a start was Brad Radke in 1997.

But only one starting pitcher for the Twins, Jim Merritt has gone 13 innings and that remains a team record that in today’s pitch count world will probably never be broken. The franchise record is 18 innings held by Hall of Famer Walter Johnson who went the distance in a 1-0 Washington Senators win over the Chicago White Sox at Griffith Stadium in just 2 hours and 50 minutes on May 15, 1918.

Jim Merritt
Jim Merritt
Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO BF
1 Jim Merritt 1967-07-26 (2) MIN NYY W 3-2 GS-13 13.0 7 2 2 1 7 46
2 Camilo Pascual 1963-07-23 MIN CLE L 2-3 CG 13 ,L 12.2 7 3 3 2 11 46
3 Dave Boswell 1969-07-14 MIN CHW W 4-3 GS-12 12.0 10 3 2 0 7 46
4 Jim Kaat 1969-05-20 MIN BAL W 3-2 GS-13 ,W 12.0 8 2 1 4 4 47
5 Camilo Pascual 1964-10-01 MIN KCA L 4-5 CG 12 ,L 12.0 12 5 1 3 14 52
6 Jim Roland 1964-05-19 MIN NYY W 7-2 GS-12 ,W 12.0 7 2 2 6 8 50
7 Camilo Pascual 1962-09-12 MIN CHW L 1-2 CG 12 ,L 12.0 12 2 2 2 7 47
8 Dave Goltz 1977-07-25 MIN OAK W 2-1 CG 11 ,W 11.0 8 1 1 1 14 41
9 Bill Singer 1976-09-01 MIN MIL W 3-2 GS-11 11.0 6 2 2 6 3 43
10 Dave Goltz 1976-05-18 MIN OAK W 4-3 CG 11 ,W 11.0 7 3 3 3 7 43
11 Bert Blyleven 1975-08-27 MIN MIL W 1-0 SHO11 ,W 11.0 6 0 0 1 13 39
12 Jim Kaat 1973-06-23 MIN CAL L 1-3 CG 11 ,L 11.0 11 3 3 4 6 46
13 Jim Kaat 1972-05-24 MIN KCR W 1-0 GS-11 ,W 11.0 5 0 0 3 7 40
14 Jim Perry 1970-08-07 MIN OAK W 2-1 CG 11 ,W 11.0 5 1 1 3 7 41
15 Jim Kaat 1969-04-09 MIN KCR L 3-4 GS-12 11.0 8 3 2 5 4 42
16 Jim Kaat 1964-04-26 MIN DET W 3-2 CG 11 ,W 11.0 7 2 2 3 11 43
17 Jim Kaat 1962-08-01 MIN BAL W 3-1 CG 11 ,W 11.0 9 1 1 4 12 47
18 Pedro Ramos 1961-04-28 MIN LAA L 5-6 GS-11 11.0 6 4 4 4 10 43
19 Mudcat Grant 1966-08-28 (1) MIN CHW L 3-4 GS-11 10.2 9 3 3 4 2 44
20 Jack Kralick 1961-04-30 MIN CHW L 3-5 GS-11 ,L 10.2 12 5 5 6 6 50
21 Bert Blyleven 1972-09-27 (1) MIN OAK L 0-1 CG 11 ,L 10.1 7 1 1 2 9 39
22 Jim Kaat 1962-08-10 MIN LAA L 0-1 CG 11 ,L 10.1 6 1 1 4 8 42
23 Brad Radke 1997-09-21 MIN MIL W 2-1 CG 10 ,W 10.0 6 1 1 0 9 36
24 Allan Anderson 1986-06-11 MIN TEX L 2-6 GS-10 10.0 8 2 2 4 3 37
25 John Butcher 1985-05-15 MIN DET W 5-4 GS-10 10.0 12 4 4 2 7 45
26 Frank Viola 1984-09-20 MIN CHW W 5-4 GS-10 10.0 4 4 4 2 6 36
27 Darrell Jackson 1980-08-14 MIN OAK L 1-2 GS-10 10.0 6 1 1 3 4 38
28 Jerry Koosman 1980-07-30 MIN NYY W 2-1 CG 10 ,W 10.0 3 1 1 5 4 38
29 Darrell Jackson 1980-05-10 MIN NYY W 1-0 GS-10 ,W 10.0 5 0 0 1 2 35
30 Dave Goltz 1979-09-27 MIN CHW L 2-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 12 4 4 1 5 42
31 Paul Hartzell 1979-07-01 MIN CHW W 2-1 CG 10 ,W 10.0 8 1 1 2 1 38
32 Dave Goltz 1978-08-24 MIN TEX L 1-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 6 4 4 1 4 36
33 Roger Erickson 1978-08-17 MIN KCR W 6-5 CG 10 ,W 10.0 8 5 5 4 3 41
34 Dave Goltz 1976-06-29 MIN KCR L 0-1 CG 10 ,L 10.0 3 1 0 4 2 36
35 Bert Blyleven 1975-09-15 MIN CAL W 7-6 GS-10 10.0 12 6 5 3 12 42
36 Bert Blyleven 1975-07-17 MIN BAL L 3-6 GS-10 10.0 8 3 3 5 7 42
37 Vic Albury 1974-06-22 MIN CHW L 1-3 CG 10 ,L 10.0 5 3 3 4 5 40
38 Ray Corbin 1973-09-29 MIN CAL L 3-4 GS-10 10.0 7 3 3 3 5 39
39 Bert Blyleven 1973-08-30 MIN TEX W 5-2 GS-11 ,W 10.0 12 2 2 2 7 43
40 Dick Woodson 1973-07-17 (1) MIN NYY L 3-4 GS-10 10.0 5 3 2 4 2 37
41 Ray Corbin 1972-08-27 (2) MIN DET L 0-1 GS-10 10.0 5 0 0 3 2 36
42 Ray Corbin 1972-08-06 (1) MIN OAK L 3-6 GS-10 10.0 8 3 1 2 4 43
43 Bert Blyleven 1972-07-08 MIN NYY L 0-1 GS-10 10.0 7 0 0 6 10 41
44 Bert Blyleven 1971-09-01 MIN CHW L 0-2 GS-10 10.0 5 0 0 1 6 36
45 Jim Perry 1971-07-15 MIN BOS L 0-3 GS-10 10.0 3 0 0 4 5 36
46 Jim Perry 1968-09-11 MIN CLE L 0-1 GS-10 10.0 8 0 0 0 5 37
47 Jim Merritt 1968-04-22 MIN BAL L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 10.0 6 2 2 2 6 36
48 Jim Kaat 1967-09-18 MIN KCA W 2-0 SHO10 ,W 10.0 6 0 0 0 12 36
49 Dean Chance 1967-08-30 MIN BAL L 2-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 9 4 3 1 7 41
50 Jim Kaat 1964-09-10 MIN CHW L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 10.0 8 2 2 2 5 40
51 Dick Stigman 1964-07-03 MIN NYY W 1-0 SHO10 ,W 10.0 4 0 0 2 5 32
52 Camilo Pascual 1963-08-25 MIN BAL W 5-3 CG 10 ,W 10.0 10 3 1 7 8 45
53 Dick Stigman 1963-05-03 MIN NYY L 3-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 8 4 4 2 8 39
54 Jim Kaat 1962-08-05 (1) MIN DET W 8-3 GS-10 ,W 10.0 7 2 2 1 5 37
55 Camilo Pascual 1961-09-06 (2) MIN CHW L 2-4 CG 10 ,L 10.0 10 4 2 4 3 47
56 Jim Hughes 1975-06-19 MIN OAK L 2-5 GS-10 ,L 9.2 9 5 5 6 5 43
57 Jim Kaat 1971-06-09 MIN BAL L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.2 11 2 1 0 6 40
58 Jim Merritt 1968-05-20 MIN DET L 3-4 GS-10 ,L 9.2 6 4 1 2 6 39
59 Camilo Pascual 1961-05-02 MIN NYY L 4-6 GS-10 ,L 9.2 7 6 6 5 7 41
60 Kevin Tapani 1992-08-20 MIN CLE L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.1 3 2 2 2 4 32
61 Neal Heaton 1986-10-02 MIN CHW L 4-8 GS-10 ,L 9.1 7 6 5 1 6 35
62 Brad Havens 1982-09-22 MIN TOR L 2-3 GS-10 ,L 9.1 6 3 2 1 8 33
63 Roger Erickson 1981-05-23 MIN KCR L 0-1 GS-10 9.1 7 0 0 1 7 34
64 Pete Redfern 1981-05-09 MIN CLE L 1-2 GS-10 ,L 9.1 10 2 1 3 7 39
65 Jerry Koosman 1981-05-04 MIN BAL L 3-4 GS-10 ,L 9.1 10 4 3 4 6 41
66 Roger Erickson 1980-07-18 MIN BOS L 0-1 CG 10 ,L 9.1 8 1 1 2 3 38
67 Jerry Koosman 1980-07-02 MIN KCR L 3-4 GS-10 ,L 9.1 10 4 4 2 5 38
68 Dave Goltz 1976-06-21 MIN CAL L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.1 8 2 2 2 1 36
69 Ray Corbin 1972-09-27 (2) MIN OAK L 1-2 CG 10 ,L 9.1 9 2 2 1 5 39
70 Jim Kaat 1962-05-20 (2) MIN NYY W 4-2 GS-10 9.1 4 2 1 7 7 38
71 Camilo Pascual 1961-09-29 MIN DET L 4-6 GS-10 ,L 9.1 12 6 6 4 7 43
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/25/2013.

What about the relievers?

But it is not just starting pitchers that have toiled long and hard to win a game. Here I look at relievers who have pitched 7 or more innings of relief in a game and Ray Corbin holds the team record for pitching 10.1 innings of relief against the Tigers in 1975. Corbin who was a starter/reliever during his five years in Minnesota pitched in just 11 more big league games after this long relief outing allowing at least one earned run in each appearance and never again pitched in a big league game.

Ray Corbin
Ray Corbin
Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO BF
1 Ray Corbin 1975-05-21 MIN DET W 6-5 1-11f,W 10.1 7 2 1 4 4 42
2 Jim Kaat 1969-09-06 MIN OAK W 8-6 9-18 ,W 9.1 8 1 1 5 10 44
3 John Sutton 1978-08-07 MIN SEA L 5-6 5-13 9.0 5 0 0 3 4 34
4 Vic Albury 1975-06-30 MIN CAL L 3-10 1-9f 9.0 6 4 1 7 4 38
5 John Verhoeven 1980-07-21 (1) MIN BAL W 8-7 3-11f,W 8.2 7 2 2 2 2 34
6 Tom Burgmeier 1976-08-30 MIN MIL W 10-3 1-9f ,W 8.2 3 1 1 0 4 29
7 Tom Burgmeier 1976-04-25 MIN BAL W 7-2 1-9f ,W 8.2 5 1 1 1 1 30
8 Al Worthington 1967-08-09 MIN WSA L 7-9 8-16 8.2 2 0 0 2 8 30
9 Tom Johnson 1976-09-02 MIN MIL W 8-4 1-9f ,W 8.1 6 1 1 0 6 31
10 Bill Campbell 1975-06-10 MIN CLE W 5-3 1-10 8.1 7 1 1 1 3 32
11 Tom Hall 1969-08-17 MIN WSA W 4-3 3-11 8.0 2 1 1 3 5 30
12 Pedro Ramos 1961-06-16 MIN CHW W 6-1 2-9f ,W 8.0 4 0 0 1 4 28
13 Dennis Burtt 1985-10-04 MIN CLE L 6-8 1-8 ,L 7.2 6 3 3 0 2 28
14 Pete Filson 1985-05-19 MIN TOR W 8-2 2-9f ,W 7.2 3 1 1 1 2 27
15 Mac Scarce 1978-06-07 MIN CHW L 3-8 2-9f 7.2 6 1 1 2 4 27
16 Tom Burgmeier 1976-08-25 MIN NYY L 4-5 12-19f,L 7.2 3 1 1 2 1 25
17 Vic Albury 1975-06-24 MIN OAK L 4-6 1-8f 7.2 6 2 2 7 4 34
18 Bill Butler 1974-09-13 MIN KCR W 6-5 2-9 7.2 2 0 0 4 3 28
19 Jim Kaat 1962-05-12 MIN KCA W 5-4 2-9f ,W 7.2 2 0 0 1 4 25
20 Dave Goltz 1974-07-19 MIN DET W 7-5 1-8 ,W 7.1 7 2 2 1 4 29
21 Danny Fife 1973-08-22 MIN BAL L 3-4 1-8f ,L 7.1 3 1 1 4 3 28
22 Dave Boswell 1965-05-11 MIN CAL W 3-2 1-8 7.1 4 1 0 2 9 28
23 Lee Stange 1962-08-04 MIN DET W 4-3 2-9f ,W 7.1 6 0 0 1 3 27
24 Bill Pleis 1962-07-04 (1) MIN BOS W 8-4 2-9f ,W 7.1 5 2 2 1 2 28
25 Jack O’Connor 1982-06-26 MIN TOR W 4-3 1-8 7.0 6 1 1 0 5 27
26 Jeff Holly 1977-05-01 MIN DET W 6-5 3-9f ,W 7.0 2 0 0 1 6 23
27 Tom Johnson 1975-08-11 MIN MIL W 8-7 3-9f ,W 7.0 5 1 1 2 4 28
28 Ray Corbin 1975-07-24 MIN BOS L 2-6 3-9f 7.0 5 3 2 4 1 29
29 Jim Hughes 1975-05-04 MIN KCR W 6-3 3-9f ,W 7.0 4 0 0 4 5 30
30 Bill Campbell 1974-08-08 MIN KCR W 3-2 8-14f,W 7.0 5 1 0 6 2 31
31 Bill Hands 1973-09-01 MIN TEX W 10-7 3-9f ,W 7.0 6 1 0 1 6 28
32 Ray Corbin 1971-07-17 MIN WSA W 5-3 3-9f ,W 7.0 4 0 0 1 4 25
33 Jim Perry 1964-08-06 MIN BOS W 6-5 1-7 ,W 7.0 7 1 1 4 6 31
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/25/2013.

 

 

Twins “games started” history

The Twins will have three starters that will start 20 or more games during this 2013 season. Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Scott Diamond have all passed that mark and there is no chance of anyone else joining that group. Samuel Deduno had 18 starts but he is done for the season. In 2012 the Twins had just one starter with 20 or more starts and that was Scott Diamond. 2012 was the first time in Twins history that they had only one starter with 20 or more starts. The Twins had only two starters with 20 or more starts only twice and those were the strike shortened 1981 and 1995 seasons. The Twins have had three starters start 20 or more games 12 times, four starters with 20 or more starts 17 times and five starters with 20 or more starts on eight occasions with the last two being 2010 and 2011. Only 6 teams in AL history have had 6 starters with 20 or more starts in a season and they were the 1937 White Sox, the 1942 Tigers, the 1944 Philadelphia A’s, the 1962 Senators, and the 2001 Rays. The Rays will be joining that group again on Monday when Alex Cobb makes his 20th start of 2013.

Twins starters with 20 or more starts

Year Tm #Matching
2011 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Brian Duensing / Francisco Liriano / Carl Pavano
2010 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Francisco Liriano / Carl Pavano / Kevin Slowey
2008 Minnesota Twins 5 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Livan Hernandez / Glen Perkins / Kevin Slowey
2005 Minnesota Twins 5 Kyle Lohse / Joe Mays / Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2003 Minnesota Twins 5 Kyle Lohse / Joe Mays / Brad Radke / Rick Reed / Kenny Rogers
1990 Minnesota Twins 5 Allan Anderson / Mark Guthrie / Roy Smith / Kevin Tapani / David West
1979 Minnesota Twins 5 Roger Erickson / Dave Goltz / Paul Hartzell / Jerry Koosman / Geoff Zahn
1963 Minnesota Twins 5 Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual / Jim Perry / Lee Stange / Dick Stigman
2007 Minnesota Twins 4 Scott Baker / Boof Bonser / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2004 Minnesota Twins 4 Kyle Lohse / Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2002 Minnesota Twins 4 Kyle Lohse / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Rick Reed
2000 Minnesota Twins 4 Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Mark Redman
1999 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke
1998 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Eric Milton / Brad Radke / Bob Tewksbury
1997 Minnesota Twins 4 LaTroy Hawkins / Brad Radke / Rich Robertson / Bob Tewksbury
1994 Minnesota Twins 4 Jim Deshaies / Scott Erickson / Pat Mahomes / Kevin Tapani
1993 Minnesota Twins 4 Willie Banks / Jim Deshaies / Scott Erickson / Kevin Tapani
1992 Minnesota Twins 4 Scott Erickson / Bill Krueger / John Smiley / Kevin Tapani
1991 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Scott Erickson / Jack Morris / Kevin Tapani
1989 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Shane Rawley / Roy Smith / Frank Viola
1988 Minnesota Twins 4 Allan Anderson / Bert Blyleven / Charlie Lea / Frank Viola
1987 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Mike Smithson / Les Straker / Frank Viola
1985 Minnesota Twins 4 John Butcher / Ken Schrom / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1984 Minnesota Twins 4 John Butcher / Ken Schrom / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1983 Minnesota Twins 4 Bobby Castillo / Ken Schrom / Frank Viola / Albert Williams
1982 Minnesota Twins 4 Bobby Castillo / Brad Havens / Frank Viola / Albert Williams
1980 Minnesota Twins 4 Roger Erickson / Darrell Jackson / Jerry Koosman / Geoff Zahn
1978 Minnesota Twins 4 Roger Erickson / Dave Goltz / Gary Serum / Geoff Zahn
1977 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Goltz / Pete Redfern / Paul Thormodsgard / Geoff Zahn
1976 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Goltz / Jim Hughes / Pete Redfern / Bill Singer
1974 Minnesota Twins 4 Vic Albury / Bert Blyleven / Joe Decker / Dave Goltz
1973 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Joe Decker / Jim Kaat / Dick Woodson
1970 Minnesota Twins 4 Bert Blyleven / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry / Bill Zepp
1968 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Dean Chance / Jim Kaat / Jim Merritt
1967 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Dean Chance / Jim Kaat / Jim Merritt
1966 Minnesota Twins 4 Dave Boswell / Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1964 Minnesota Twins 4 Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual / Dick Stigman
1961 Minnesota Twins 4 Jim Kaat / Jack Kralick / Camilo Pascual / Pedro Ramos
2013 Minnesota Twins 3 Kevin Correia / Scott Diamond / Mike Pelfrey
2009 Minnesota Twins 3 Scott Baker / Nick Blackburn / Francisco Liriano
2006 Minnesota Twins 3 Brad Radke / Johan Santana / Carlos Silva
2001 Minnesota Twins 3 Joe Mays / Eric Milton / Brad Radke
1996 Minnesota Twins 3 Brad Radke / Rich Robertson / Frankie Rodriguez
1986 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Mike Smithson / Frank Viola
1975 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Dave Goltz / Jim Hughes
1972 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Jim Perry / Dick Woodson
1971 Minnesota Twins 3 Bert Blyleven / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1969 Minnesota Twins 3 Dave Boswell / Jim Kaat / Jim Perry
1965 Minnesota Twins 3 Mudcat Grant / Jim Kaat / Camilo Pascual
1962 Minnesota Twins 3 Jim Kaat / Jack Kralick / Camilo Pascual
1995 Minnesota Twins 2 Brad Radke / Kevin Tapani
1981 Minnesota Twins 2 Pete Redfern / Albert Williams
2012 Minnesota Twins 1 Scott Diamond
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2013.
.

Seasons with 20 or more starts

Rk Yrs From To Age
1 Brad Radke 12 1995 2006 22-33 Ind. Seasons
2 Jim Kaat 12 1961 1973 22-34 Ind. Seasons
3 Bert Blyleven 9 1970 1988 19-37 Ind. Seasons
4 Frank Viola 8 1982 1989 22-29 Ind. Seasons
5 Kevin Tapani 6 1990 1995 26-31 Ind. Seasons
6 Dave Goltz 6 1974 1979 25-30 Ind. Seasons
7 Jim Perry 6 1963 1972 27-36 Ind. Seasons
8 Scott Baker 5 2007 2011 25-29 Ind. Seasons
9 Joe Mays 5 1999 2005 23-29 Ind. Seasons
10 Eric Milton 5 1998 2002 22-26 Ind. Seasons
11 Camilo Pascual 5 1961 1965 27-31 Ind. Seasons
12 Nick Blackburn 4 2008 2011 26-29 Ind. Seasons
13 Carlos Silva 4 2004 2007 25-28 Ind. Seasons
14 Johan Santana 4 2004 2007 25-28 Ind. Seasons
15 Kyle Lohse 4 2002 2005 23-26 Ind. Seasons
16 Scott Erickson 4 1991 1994 23-26 Ind. Seasons
17 Allan Anderson 4 1988 1991 24-27 Ind. Seasons
18 Mike Smithson 4 1984 1987 29-32 Ind. Seasons
19 Geoff Zahn 4 1977 1980 31-34 Ind. Seasons
20 Dave Boswell 4 1966 1969 21-24 Ind. Seasons
21 Francisco Liriano 3 2009 2011 25-27 Ind. Seasons
22 LaTroy Hawkins 3 1997 1999 24-26 Ind. Seasons
23 Ken Schrom 3 1983 1985 28-30 Ind. Seasons
24 Albert Williams 3 1981 1983 27-29 Ind. Seasons
25 Roger Erickson 3 1978 1980 21-23 Ind. Seasons
Rk Yrs From To Age
26 Pete Redfern 3 1976 1981 21-26 Ind. Seasons
27 Mudcat Grant 3 1964 1966 28-30 Ind. Seasons
28 Scott Diamond 2 2012 2013 25-26 Ind. Seasons
29 Carl Pavano 2 2010 2011 34-35 Ind. Seasons
30 Kevin Slowey 2 2008 2010 24-26 Ind. Seasons
31 Rick Reed 2 2002 2003 37-38 Ind. Seasons
32 Bob Tewksbury 2 1997 1998 36-37 Ind. Seasons
33 Rich Robertson 2 1996 1997 27-28 Ind. Seasons
34 Jim Deshaies 2 1993 1994 33-34 Ind. Seasons
35 Roy Smith 2 1989 1990 27-28 Ind. Seasons
36 John Butcher 2 1984 1985 27-28 Ind. Seasons
37 Bobby Castillo 2 1982 1983 27-28 Ind. Seasons
38 Jerry Koosman 2 1979 1980 36-37 Ind. Seasons
39 Jim Hughes 2 1975 1976 23-24 Ind. Seasons
40 Joe Decker 2 1973 1974 26-27 Ind. Seasons
41 Dick Woodson 2 1972 1973 27-28 Ind. Seasons
42 Jim Merritt 2 1967 1968 23-24 Ind. Seasons
43 Dean Chance 2 1967 1968 26-27 Ind. Seasons
44 Dick Stigman 2 1963 1964 27-28 Ind. Seasons
45 Jack Kralick 2 1961 1962 26-27 Ind. Seasons
46 Mike Pelfrey 1 2013 2013 29-29 Ind. Seasons
47 Kevin Correia 1 2013 2013 32-32 Ind. Seasons
48 Brian Duensing 1 2011 2011 28-28 Ind. Seasons
49 Glen Perkins 1 2008 2008 25-25 Ind. Seasons
50 Livan Hernandez 1 2008 2008 33-33 Ind. Seasons
Rk Yrs From To Age
51 Boof Bonser 1 2007 2007 25-25 Ind. Seasons
52 Kenny Rogers 1 2003 2003 38-38 Ind. Seasons
53 Mark Redman 1 2000 2000 26-26 Ind. Seasons
54 Frankie Rodriguez 1 1996 1996 23-23 Ind. Seasons
55 Pat Mahomes 1 1994 1994 23-23 Ind. Seasons
56 Willie Banks 1 1993 1993 24-24 Ind. Seasons
57 John Smiley 1 1992 1992 27-27 Ind. Seasons
58 Bill Krueger 1 1992 1992 34-34 Ind. Seasons
59 Jack Morris 1 1991 1991 36-36 Ind. Seasons
60 David West 1 1990 1990 25-25 Ind. Seasons
61 Mark Guthrie 1 1990 1990 24-24 Ind. Seasons
62 Shane Rawley 1 1989 1989 33-33 Ind. Seasons
63 Charlie Lea 1 1988 1988 31-31 Ind. Seasons
64 Les Straker 1 1987 1987 27-27 Ind. Seasons
65 Brad Havens 1 1982 1982 22-22 Ind. Seasons
66 Darrell Jackson 1 1980 1980 24-24 Ind. Seasons
67 Paul Hartzell 1 1979 1979 25-25 Ind. Seasons
68 Gary Serum 1 1978 1978 21-21 Ind. Seasons
69 Paul Thormodsgard 1 1977 1977 23-23 Ind. Seasons
70 Bill Singer 1 1976 1976 32-32 Ind. Seasons
71 Vic Albury 1 1974 1974 27-27 Ind. Seasons
72 Bill Zepp 1 1970 1970 23-23 Ind. Seasons
73 Lee Stange 1 1963 1963 26-26 Ind. Seasons
74 Pedro Ramos 1 1961 1961 26-26 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2013.

Bonus tidbit

Trivia question for you. How many different Twins pitchers have started at least one game since the Twins came into existence?

Pitch to contact was not in their vocabulary

 

Dave Boswell - Twins pitcher from 1964 - 1970
Dave Boswell – Twins pitcher from 1964 – 1970

Many of us that watch the Twins day in and day out complain about the number of hits that the Twins pitchers allow and bemoan the Twins so-called pitching philosophy of “pitch to contact”. The baseball glossary defines “pitch to contact” as “a pitcher who doesn’t try to strike out batters but instead tries to get them to hit the ball weakly, especially on the ground“. Pitch to contact is probably not the preferred Twins method but you have to work with what you have and the Twins just don’t have the strikeout type pitchers right now but they have had some over the years and here are some of the best.

Looking back at the Twins pitching history there have been numerous Twins pitchers that either never heard of this approach or choose not to embrace it. Here is a list of the Twins pitchers that allowed the fewest hits per inning pitched (minimum of 500 innings) during their time in Minnesota. The Twins career leader here is Dave Boswell and I think that Boswell would have ripped your heart out if you ever asked him to pitch to contact.

 

Rank Name Years Innings pitched Hits per 9 Innings
1. Dave Boswell 64-70 1036.1 7.15
2. Johan Santana 00-07 1308.2 7.35
3. Dean Chance 67-69 664 7.37
4. Jim Merritt 65-68 686.2 7.64
5. Dick Stigman 62-65 643.2 7.70
6. Dick Woodson 69-74 561 7.83
7. Jim Perry 63-72 1883.1 8.18
8. Bert Blyleven 70-76, 85-88 2566.2 8.31
9. Rick Aguilera 89-95, 96-99 694 8.31
10. Francisco Liriano 05-12 783.1 8.35

Interactive Whiteboards by PolyVision

Tommy Hall - Twins pitcher from 1968 - 1971
Tommy Hall – Twins pitcher from 1968 – 1971

The best individual season in franchise history going back to 1901 was Tommy Hall’s 1970 season when he pitched in 52 games starting 11 and allowed just 5.45 hits per 9 innings in 155.1 innings pitched to go with his 184 strikeouts. Hall was 11-6 that season with a 2.55 ERA. During Hall’s 10 year career, he allowed just 656 hits in 852.2 innings. Amazing numbers. Hall didn’t pitch enough innings in Minnesota to make the above list but during his time in Minnesota he allowed 7.78 hits per 9 innings.

This Day in Twins History – August 25

8/25/1967 – Dean Chance pitches the second no-hitter in Twins history and defeats the Indians 2-1 in the second game of a double-header at Cleveland Stadium. The Indians actually scored first in this game when Chance walked Lee Maye and Vic Davalillo in the bottom of the first. Chance then struck out Chuck Hinton but Tony Horton reached on an error by SS Jackie Hernandez to load the bases. With Max Alvis batting, Chance threw a wild pitch and Maye scored the Indians first and only run. Chance then struck out Alvis and Joe Azcue flew out to end the threat. Chance then completed the game without allowing an Indian hit while striking out eight and walking a total of five batters. The Twins went on to score two runs and win this unusual no-hitter.

8/25/1970 – A bomb scare at Met Stadium delayed the Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins game forty-three (43) minutes. According to the Sporting News, a bomb scare forced a 43-minute delay in the fourth inning, but the only bomb that exploded was the homer by Tony Conigliaro off of Tommy Hall in the eighth giving Red Sox 1-0 victory over Twins. A crowd of 17,697 evacuated the stands after announcement over public address system stated that a telephoned warning had been received that bomb was due to go off. The evacuation was orderly and without panic with about 2,000 fans, players, police and vendors gathered in the center-field area. The rest milled about in the parking lot. The bomb was supposed to go off at 10:30 PM so after a 27 minute wait, the game was resumed at 10:57 PM. The Sox end the game with a double play, a 1-6 force at second base, then a throw home to nab Tony Oliva trying to score. Ken Brett is the winner in relief over Tommy Hall.

Bob Casey

Bob Casey who was the Twins public address announcer for a long time and a Minnesota legend was at times a curmudgeon. One of the best anecdotes about him occurred during this bomb threat. “Bob,” a team official told Casey, “there’s a bomb threat, and we need to clear the stadium. So could you make some sort of announcement for people to calmly leave the stadium.” Casey assured them that it would be no problem. Moments later, he grabbed the microphone and shouted, “Ladies and gentlemen, please don’t panic but there’s going to be an EXPLOSION in 15 minutes!”

8/25/1978 – Major League umpires stage a one-day strike in defiance of their union contract. Semipro and amateur umps are pressed into service until a restraining order forces the strikers to return. At Toronto at Exhibition Stadium, the Blue Jays beat the Twins 7 – 3, with two amateur umpires and two coaches officiating: Toronto coach Don Leppert was at 2B and Twins coach Jerry Zimmerman was at 3B. Since 1910, this was just the 5th time this century, and the first time since 1941, that active players or coaches have umpired. The umpires will walk out again at the beginning of the 1979 season

8/25/1998 – The Twins like many teams before them, send pitcher Mike Morgan packing, this time to the Cubs and pitcher Scott Downs heads to Minnesota. Morgan pitched for 12 different ML teams (13 if you count that he was traded to the Cubs twice) between 1978 and 2002 before he finally calls it quits.

8/25/2008 – The Twins make a deal with the Texas Rangers and reacquired relief pitcher Eddie Guardado and send pitcher Mark Hamburger to Texas.

Be sure to bookmark our Today in Twins History page so you can check out events like the ones mentioned above each and every day.