Tag: Griffith Stadium

According to ELIAS – Byron Buxton

Buxton’s own kind of triple double, adding inside-the-park HR

 

Byron Buxton

Byron Buxton’s contributions to the Twins’ 10-3 victory yesterday over the visiting Diamondbacks included a double, a triple and an inside-the-park home run. Buxton became only the fifth major-leaguer in the 70-plus years since the end of World War II, and the first in 41 years, to squeeze those three types of hits into the same game. Jerry Snyder did it for the Washington Senators in 1956, a young Roger Maris for the Kansas City A’s in 1958, George Altman for the Cubs in 1961, and Al Bumbry for the Orioles at Chicago’s Comiskey Park on Aug. 21, 1976.

According to Phil Miller in the Star Tribune this morning, MLB announced that Buxton’s trip around the bases took a mere 13.85 seconds, the fastest that its StatCast system that was installed in 2015 had ever recorded.

In all, the Twins smashed six home runs in their victory, tying the most home runs in a home game in the history of the franchise, dating to 1901 when the team played in Washington. The Twins connected for six circuit clouts twice at Metropolitan Stadium (in 1964 and 1966) and once earlier this year at Target Field (May 2 against the A’s). Actually, it’s not a surprise that it never happened at Griffith Stadium, the longtime home to the Washington Senators. The field dimensions at old Griffith were so huge that in 1945—a season in which Washington uncharacteristically finished just a game and a half behind the pennant-winning Tigers—the Senators hit exactly one home run—one!—in their 78 home games. And that lone home homer was an inside-the-parker, hit by Joe Kuhel on September 7.

Games when the Twins turned on the power

Results
Rk Date Tm Opp Rslt PA HR
1 1963-08-29 (1) MIN WSA W 14-2 49 8
2 2001-07-12 MIN MIL W 13-5 46 7
3 2017-08-18 MIN ARI W 10-3 41 6
4 2017-05-02 MIN OAK W 9-1 38 6
5 2016-06-26 MIN NYY W 7-1 37 6
6 2007-07-06 (2) MIN CHW W 12-0 48 6
7 2004-04-10 MIN DET W 10-5 47 6
8 2000-04-09 MIN KCR W 13-7 43 6
9 1993-08-15 MIN OAK W 12-5 44 6
10 1966-06-09 MIN KCA W 9-4 38 6
11 1964-05-14 MIN CHW W 15-7 44 6
12 1962-04-29 (2) MIN CLE W 7-3 41 6
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 8/19/2017.

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58 home runs in one day

Major-league players combined to hit 58 home runs in the 15 games played on Friday, the second-highest total of home runs ever hit on one day in the 142-year history of Major League Baseball. There were 62 home runs hit on July 2, 2002, a day on which 16 games were played. The 58 homers set a record for the most longballs on a day on which 15-or-fewer games were played; the previous record of 57 was set in the 15 games played on April 7, 2000.

This season, there has been an average of 2.54 home runs per game (for both teams combined), which is on target to surpass, rather handily, the all-time record high of 2.34 homers per game, set in 2000.

This Day in Twins History – September 6, 1954

Carlos PaulaSixty years ago today, in 1954 the Washington Senators played a black ballplayer for the first time. His name was Carlos Paula and he was from Havana, Cuba. The 26 year-old Paula started in left field for the Senators seven years after Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut. Paula went 2 for 5 with a double and knocked in 2 runs in a 8-1 win in game 1 of a DH against the Philadelphia A’s. The Senators lost game 2 by a 3-2 score at Griffith Stadium. Only the Yankees in 1955, the Phillies in 1957, the Tigers in 1958 and the Red Sox in 1959 broke the color-line later than did the Senators/Twins franchise. Paula died on April 25, 1983 in Miami, Florida.

Carlos Paula
Carlos Paula

I think that theatlantic.com always is an interesting read and if you saw the movie “42” here is something you might also enjoy reading that they published in April 2013.

An interesting post done back in 2007 by MNGAMEDAY that is worth your time.

According to Elias

Trevor Plouffe
Trevor Plouffe

Trevor Plouffe‘s solo home run in the seventh inning would not appear to be notable at first glance, especially since the Twins would muster no more offense in their 9-1 loss at Oriole Park at Camden Yards last night. That long ball however was indeed historic – it was the 10,000th home run hit by the Twins/Senators franchise. They were the last of the 16 pre-expansion franchises to reach 10,000 home runs. The Twins have contributed 7,214 of those homers while the Senators hit 2,786. By the way, Plouffe also hit Twins home run numbers 9,999 and 10,001.

Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium

The Washington Senators’ longtime home field, Griffith Stadium, had very distant fences and high outfield walls. One of the most remarkable statistics in baseball history: In 1945, the Senators went through the entire season of 78 home games hitting exactly one home run in their own park – and that one was an inside-the-park four-bagger! This wasn’t in 1845; it was 1945! And that 1945 team was pretty good – finishing second, one and one-half games behind the Tigers, who would go on to win the World Series.

On This Day in Twins History – September 6, 1954

Carlos Paula
Carlos Paula

On this day in 1954 the Washington Senators played a black ballplayer for the first time. His name was Carlos Paula and he was not African American, he was from La Habana, Cuba. The 26 year-old Paula started in left field for the Senators seven years after Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Paula went 2 for 5 with a double and knocked in 2 runs in a 8-1 win in game one of a DH against the Philadelphia A’s. The Senators lost game two by a 3-2 score at Griffith Stadium. Only 4,865 fans were on hand to witness this historic occasion.

Paula was acquired by the Washington Senators from the Paris Indians of the Big State League in an unknown transaction after the 1953 season. Paula’s major league career lasted just three seasons and 157 games, all with the Senators from 1954-1956. Paula played in the minors after that from 1957-1959 for the Philadelphia A’s, New York Yankees, New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Braves organizations but never again had a chance to play in the majors. Paula played his final season (1960) in Mexico City. Carlos Paula had a career batting average of .271 in 457 at-bats with 9 home runs and 60 RBI.

According to the SABR bio on Zoilo Versalles the Twins shortstop who was the 1965 AL MVP both he and Carlos Paula lived in the same neighborhood. As a youngster Versalles patterned his play after flashy Almendares star shortstop and active major leaguer Willy Miranda who many consider to have been the slickest fielding shortstop ever born in Cuba. Versalles also received encouragement and inspiration from another neighborhood big-leaguer, Carlos Paula, who once gave the young hopeful one of his tattered and discarded fielder’s mitts.

Only the Yankees in 1955, the Phillies in 1957, the Tigers in 1958 and the Red Sox in 1959 broke the color-line later than did the Senators/Twins franchise.

Box score game one

Box score game two

This Day in Twins History – June 24

6/24/1955 – Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league homer, off Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators 18-7. Here is what dcbaseballhistory.com wrote about this event. “The visiting Tigers pounce to a 13-0 lead in the top of the 5th, when 3B Harmon Killebrew boots a grounder. In the bottom of the frame, Killebrew would bat and work a 2-2 count against Detroit southpaw Billy Hoeft. Tigers catcher Frank House tells Killebrew that Hoeft’s next offering would be a fastball. Hoeft delivered that fastball and Killebrew rocketed the ball out of the park for his first major league home run. Killebrew would later say that, of all the home runs he hit at Griffith Stadium, the home run off Hoeft was the longest he ever hit in Griffith.”

6/24/1968 – In a one game series, the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in County Stadium in Milwaukee in a game called after 5 innings due to rain. The reason the game was played in Milwaukee was that in 1968, Bud Selig, a former minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves who had been unable to stop the relocation of his team three years earlier, contracted with the Allyn brothers who owned the White Sox to host nine home games (one against each of the other American League clubs) at Milwaukee County Stadium as part of an attempt to attract an expansion franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Frank Jackson of The Hardball Times did a nice blog earlier this year on the Milwaukee White Sox that is well worth your read.

6/24/1977 – Ralph Garr of the White Sox homered off Minnesota’s Paul Thormodsgard in Minneapolis. It came in the third inning with two men on and no one out. Jim Essian, the runner on first, thought the ball might be caught by the Twins’ right fielder, Dan Ford, so he retreated towards first base. Garr was watching the flight of the ball and passed Essian after rounding the bag. He was credited with a single and two runs batted in.

6/24/1984 – 2B Tim Teufel gives the Twins a 3-2 win over the White Sox with a three-run inside-the-park walk off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth at the Metrodome.

6/24/1989 – Twins outfielder John Moses is asked to pitch at Fenway Park in an 11-2 loss to the Red Sox. John threw one scoreless inning giving up a walk but only faced 3 batters with the team turned a double play behind him. John is the fourth Twins position player to pitch and this is the fifth occurrence of a Twins position player pitching for the Twins.

 

This Day in Twins/Senators History – September 6, 1954

Outfielder Carlos Paula

On this day back in 1954 the Washington Senators played a black ballplayer for the first time. His name was Carlos Paula and he was from Havana, Cuba. The 6’3″ 26 year-old Paula was a right-handed hitter and started in left field for the Senators seven years after Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut. Only the Yankees in 1955, the Phillies in 1957, the Tigers in 1958 and the Red Sox in 1959 broke the color-line later than did the Senators/Twins franchise.

Carlos Paula was acquired by the Washington Senators prior to the 1954 season from Paris, Texas of the class “B” Big State league. Paula spent most of the 1954 season in class “A” Charlotte before being called up by the Senators late in the season. In his first big league game, Paula started in left field in the first game of a double-header at Griffith Stadium against the Philadelphia Athletics and struck out in his first at bat but finished the game 2 for 5 (double and a single) with 2 RBI’s and helped his team to an 8-1 win. Paula played in 115 games for the Washington Senators in 1955 and hit .299 with 6 home runs and had 45 RBI’s while stealing 2 bases. Carlos got off to a slow start in 1956 and with Jim Lemon having a breakout year and the addition of rookie center fielder Whitey Herzog, there was no room for the struggling Paula in the Senators’ outfield and after 33 games the Senators sent him to the minors and Paula never again played in a big league game. Paula spent 1957-1960 in the minors playing for various organizations before ending his career in Mexico in 1960. One of his minor league stops was with the Minneapolis Millers in 1957 where he played in 104 games. Carlos Paula passed away on April 25, 1983 in Miami, Florida at the age of 55.

Baseball integration time-line

Be sure to check out what else happened to the Minnesota Twins today on our Today in Twins History  page.

This Day in Twins History – June 24

June 24th has been an interesting day in Minnesota Twins history over the years, here are some of the events that occurred on this day.

1955– Harmon Killebrew hit his first major league homer, off lefty Billy Hoeft at Griffith Stadium, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators 18-7. Killebrew would later say that, of all the home runs he hit at Griffith Stadium, the home run off Hoeft was the longest he ever hit in Griffith. Twenty years later, on September 18, 1975 Harmon, wearing a KC Royals uniform hit his last career home run, a blast to left field off Twins hurler Eddie Bane in a Royals 4-3 victory at Met Stadium over the home town Minnesota Twins. In his career, Killebrew smashed 246 home runs at Met Stadium.

1968 – In a one game series, the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in County Stadium in Milwaukee in a game called after 5 innings due to rain. The reason the game was played in Milwaukee was that in 1968, Bud Selig, a former minority owner of the Milwaukee Braves who had been unable to stop the relocation of his team three years earlier, contracted with the Allyn brothers who owned the White Sox to host nine home games (one against each of the other American League clubs) at Milwaukee County Stadium as part of an attempt to attract an expansion franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1977 – Ralph Garr of the White Sox homered off Minnesota’s Paul Thormodsgard in Minneapolis. It came in the third inning with two men on and no one out. Jim Essian, the runner on first, thought the ball might be caught by the Twins’ right fielder, Dan Ford, so he retreated towards first base. Garr was watching the flight of the ball and passed Essian after rounding the bag. He was credited with a single and two runs batted in.

1984 – 2B Tim Teufel gives the Twins a 3-2 win over the White Sox with a three-run inside-the-park walk off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth at the Metrodome.

1989 – Twins outfielder John Moses is asked to pitch at Fenway Park in an 11-2 loss to the Red Sox. John threw one scoreless inning giving up a walk but only faced 3 batters with the team turned a double play behind him. John is the fourth Twins position player to pitch and this is the fifth occurrence of a Twins position player pitching for the Twins.

Don’t forget to check out This Day in Twins History each and every day.