Tag: Kansas City A’s

1961 Twins pitcher Gary Dotter passes away

Gary Richard Dotter was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 7, 1942, to Florence Hassing Dotter and Richard N. Dotter and died on Saturday, July 27, 2024, from complications of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 81. 

Gary Dotter grew up playing sports, especially baseball. He graduated from Normandy High School and immediately signed with the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Club at the age of 17 for a sizable bonus. Dotter spent his first season of pro ball with class D Keokuk in the Midwest League. Control was not his strong suite during his first season as he struck out 50 in 45 innings but also walked 31.

According to the 1961 Minnesota Twins media guide the Washington Senators lost the bidding duel for this promising southpaw with a good fastball and curveball in June of 1960 but succeeded in nabbing him for the $25,000 draft price from the Cardinals chain in December. The Twins sent him to the class B Wilson Tobs in the Carolina League. There in 25 starts, Dotter was 14-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 180.2 innings after throwing just 45 innings in his first pro season. The Twins were so impressed that they called him up in September. In his major league debut on September 10, 1961, the 19 year-old Dotter was called on the relieve Jack Kralick at Municipal Stadium against the Kansas City Athletics. Dotter entered the game in the third inning and pitched well but ran out of gas in the seventh and his line on the day was 4 innings pitched, six earned runs on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts. He pitched one more time in 1961 throwing two scoreless innings at Met Stadium in a Twins 12-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Pedro Ramos started that game and lost his 20th game of the season.

Dotter spent 1962 with class A Charlotte Hornets in the South Atlantic League and pitched well enough for the Twins to send him to triple-A Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers as a 20-year old. There Dotter pitched in 42 games with 21 starts throwing 166 innings. That September he was called up again appearing in two games throwing two innings with no hits and no runs allowed. Dotter made great strides in 1963 but in January 1964 the United States Army came calling and he was inducted on January 28, 1964 and missed a good part of the baseball season serving in the Army’s 6-month program. Dotter served in the Army reserves for six years. He made three appearances for the Twins late in the season and it turned out to be the last time that he would pitch in the major leagues.

How Dotter ended up in the Houston Astros organization in 1965 is unknown but he spent the rest of his pro ball career with the Astros in the minor leagues before calling it a career after the 1967 season.

In his big league career Gary Dotter appeared in 7 games, all in relief and pitched a total of 12.1 innings allowing 9 hits while striking out 10 and walking 7 and posted a 5.11 ERA. After retiring from baseball Gary moved to Wichita Falls, Texas where he owned racehorses with Carter McGregor. He was a graduate of Midwestern State University from which he received a business degree.
On June 20, 1970, Gary married Christi White in Wichita Falls. Their marriage lasted 54 years.

Gary’s business career was in the computer/bookkeeping/accounting fields. In 2001 the couple moved to Trophy Club, Texas. Gary retired from Perot Systems in 2007. The couple then moved to Pecan Plantation south of Granbury, Texas. Through the years, Gary enjoyed cycling, working cattle on his land near Henrietta, Texas, and later, golfing after retirement. He also was a long-time member of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.

Gary is survived by his wife, Christi Dotter, sons David (Vi) of Alpine, Texas, Will of Austin, Texas and grandchildren, Jessie, Liem, Danh, and surrogate granddaughter Trang Pham, his sister, Linda Kamler, nephew Brian Kamler (Suzanne), niece Tricia Palmer (Jason), and several great-nieces and nephews.

Twinstrivia.com would like to pass on our condolences to the Dotter family, friends and fans.

Gary Richard Dotter obituary

Former Twins pitcher Fred Lasher passes away at 80

Fred Lasher was born in Poughkeepsie, New York on August 19, 1941 and passed away in Altoona, Wisconsin at the age of 80 on February 27, 2022. Lasher grew up playing basketball and baseball for Poughkeepsie High School and the local Poughkeepsie YMCA. As a high school senior, Lasher had a 7-0 record and threw a no-hitter.

Lasher was invited to participate in a local All-Star game against some New York Yankee rookies that was attended by major league scouts. Joe Gall a scout for the Washington Senators liked what he saw and signed Lasher to his first pro contract in January of 1960 and Lasher was assigned to Wytheville Senators of the Appalachian League. He was known for a sidearm/submarine pitching delivery that earned him the nickname “The Whip,” and he picked up that delivery as a child by throwing rocks at his parents’ house.

Fred Lasher

Lasher attended his first big league spring training in 1963 as a talented but very raw pitcher, with a sidearm fastball but no curveball, and occasional control problems. The coaches taught him a three-quarters overhand delivery for his curve. After putting up good numbers in the spring, Lasher became a surprise addition to the Twins’ pitching staff.

Continue reading Former Twins pitcher Fred Lasher passes away at 80

Jim Holt gone at the age of 74

Jim Holt

James William Holt was born on May 27, 1944 in Graham, NC and passed away at the age of 74 on March 29, 2019 in Burlington, NC. The youngest of six children, Jim Holt learned to play baseball in high school and after graduation had tryouts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians. When these tryouts didn’t attract any pro ball offers and opportunities in Graham pretty much limited to working in a flour or timber mill, Holt decided to join the Army in 1963 and intended to make it a career.

Continue reading Jim Holt gone at the age of 74

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 26 – Twins commit five errors while bullpen falters

The Twins had a 6-4 lead at Municipal Stadium over the last place Kansas City A’s going into the bottom of the 8th inning but the home town A’s plated 5 runs on 4 hits, an error and an IBB and held on for a 9-6 win. The Twins committed five errors while their pitching staff allowed nine hits and five walks and had their losing streak extended to three games, fortunately they remained just one game out of first place. Cesar Tovar was 2 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBI. Al Worthington took the loss in relief of Dean Chance. Box Score

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 25 – Twins KO the Kansas City A’s 3-2 – just 1 1/2 games out of the lead

The Minnesota Twins allowed the Athletics to steal a record-breaking seven bases but yet found a way to beat the last place bunch from Kansas City. The Twins proved that at least in this game, that power beats speed. 

In the first inning the A’s scored two runs on a single hit, an error, a walk and four stolen bases. The Twins came back on a home run in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 2-1. The score remained 2-1 until Jack Aker relieved A’s starter Lew Krausse in the ninth inning. Harmon Killebrew greeted Aker with a game tying home run, his second of the game. Tony Oliva followed with another home run off Aker and the Twins walked off the running A’s 3-2. The Twins had but six hits but three were home runs and one was a double. Box Score

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Twins_walk_off_A__039_s___2

By the way, do you what a KO line-up is versus an OK line-up in Twins history?

 

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

These players were born in the 1920’s and yet played for the Twins

Elmer Valo
Elmer Valo

The Minnesota Twins started play in 1961 after leaving Washington D.C. where they were known as the Washington Senators. Even though Calvin Griffith’s team started playing in Met Stadium in 1961 the team had a player on the roster that made his major league debut in game one of a doubleheader on September 22, 1940 in Shibe Park as the starting left fielder for the Philadelphia Athletics in a 5-4 loss to the Washington Senators. Valo went on to play for the Kansas City A’s, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and the Washington Senators in 1960 before playing for the Twins. When Valo appeared in his first game in a Twins uniform on April 21, 1961 at Met Stadium against who else but the Washington Senators he was playing in his 1,724th game. Elmer Valo appeared in just 33 games for Minnesota and only had 36 plate appearances. Valo was used strictly as a pinch-hitter except for one blow out game in which he pinch-hit and then stayed in the game as a left fielder and had four PA’s. The Twins released Valo on June 17, 1961 and he signed on with the Phillies again where he played out the 1961 season and then retired from baseball. An oddity about Elmer Valo is that he played for Philly when the Athletics moved to Kansas City, he was a Brooklyn Dodger when they moved to Los Angeles and he was with the Washington Senators when they moved to Minnesota to become our Twins. Elmer Valo SABR Bio.

"Harmon Killebrew joins the 200 Home Run club on Sept. 15, 1963. He is joined by teammates Wally Post, left and Vic Wertz. (Pioneer Press file)"
“Harmon Killebrew joins the 200 Home Run club on Sept. 15, 1963. He is joined by teammates Wally Post, left and Vic Wertz. (Pioneer Press file)”

Vic Wertz who debuted for the Detroit Tigers on April 15, 1947 against the St. Louis Browns played 35 games for the Twins in 1963 before retiring from the game. Vic Wertz SABR Bio.

Wally Post also played briefly for Minnesota in 1963 appearing in just 21 games after being purchased by the Twins from the Cincinnati Reds. The Twins released Post after the 1963 season and Post went on to play one more year, this time in Cleveland. Wally Post SABR Bio.

Rk Player Year From ? From To Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA Pos
1 Elmer Valo 1961 1940 1961 1961 40-40 33 36 32 0 5 2 0 0 4 .156 /*H7
2 Vic Wertz 1963 1947 1963 1963 38-38 35 50 44 3 6 0 0 3 7 .136 /*H3
3 Wally Post 1963 1949 1963 1963 33-33 21 49 47 6 9 0 1 2 6 .191 /9H7
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/23/2016.

All three of these players were born in the 1920’s which is just around the corner. It is hard to believe that in the next few years we will have future Twins players born 100 or more years after the “old time” Twins were born. Elmer Valo, Vic Wertz and Wally Post are all deceased and though they were not All-Stars in Minnesota they each had long baseball careers and played a part in the history of the Minnesota Twins and deserve to be remembered for their contributions to Twins lore.

According to ELIAS

Royals allow one run, on Dozier’s homer

For the fourth straight game, the Royals allowed only one run, and it came on a solo homer. No other team in major-league history has had a streak like that, allowing only one run, on a solo homer, in four straight games.

Dozier
Dozier

Yesterday’s homer came off the bat of Brian Dozier, who has a six-game homer streak against the Royals. (Dozier did have a game during the streak with only a pinch-hit walk, but we’re going by the hitting streak rules here.) The only other player to have a six-game homer streak against the defending World Series winner was Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves. He homered in nine straight games against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. The Twins longest streak of this kind belongs to Harmon Killebrew who homered against the Kansas City Athletics in 9 straight games in 1961. The longest streak of this kind for an opponent belongs to Seattle Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. who hit six against the Twins in 1999 and Jim Thome who also hit six against the Twins while with the White Sox in 2007.

These guys were Twins players too

CoffeeAccording to Wikipedia, a “cup of coffee” is a North American sports idiom for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before being returned to the minors, or simply to describe a brief stint served with a professional team. The term originated in baseball and is extensively used in ice hockey,

The 52 players listed below appeared in five or fewer games wearing a Twins uniform. Some of them ended up playing for other major league teams and had long big league careers and others did not. Those that did not play in major league games other than the games mentioned here still achieved their dream of playing in a major league game, a wish that most of us reading this can only dream about. Some of these players had very short big league careers but they climbed the ladder and reached the top, their stay may not have been long but they touched the star they fought so long and hard to achieve.

The reasons that their stays in ‘the show” were not as long as they had hoped were many, some careers ended due to injury, others due to rumors and or politics, personal reasons, maybe they couldn’t stay sober or drug free, some heard the call from their country and other just were not good enough to play in the major leagues. But the bottom line is that they were one of the 758 players that appeared in a Minnesota Twins game so they should not be forgotten.

Although the list below has all the positions covered, most of the players on this list are pitchers. Some of the players on this list like Max Kepler and Alex Meyer will probably drop off this list in the near future but for now they find their names on this list of Twins players that many Minnesota Twins fans have never heard of.

Bruckbauer, Fred 2Probably the most famous or infamous player on this list is the now deceased pitcher Fred Bruckbauer. Born in New Ulm, Minnesota Bruckbauer pitched for the University of Minnesota and appeared in one game for the Minnesota Twins on April 25, 1961. The Twins were trailing the Kansas City A’s 7-2 at Municipal Stadium when Fred took the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning. A double by Dick Howser, a single by Jay Hankins, a walk to Jerry Lumpe and a double by Lou Klimchock and Twins manager Cookie Lavagetto had seen enough and brought in Chuck Stobbs, and Bruckbauer’s big league pitching career ended then and there. Fred Bruckbauer’s pitching line for the game and his career was three hits, one walk and four earned runs in zero innings pitched giving him an ERA of infinity. Bruckbauer never again pitched in a major league game, but remember, he pitched in a big league game.

 Players who appeared in five or fewer Twins games in their career

Rk Player G From To Age PA AB H BA Pos
1 Corky Miller 5 2005 2005 29-29 12 12 0 .000 /*2HD
2 Mike Fetters 5 2003 2003 38-38 0 0 0 /*1
3 Gary Rath 5 1999 1999 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
4 Shane Bowers 5 1997 1997 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
5 Greg Brummett 5 1993 1993 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
6 Mike Maksudian 5 1993 1993 27-27 17 12 2 .167 /*3H5
7 Rich Yett 5 1985 1990 22-27 0 0 0 /*1
8 Mike Mason 5 1988 1988 29-29 0 0 0 /*1
9 Tack Wilson 5 1983 1983 27-27 4 4 1 .250 /*HD8
10 Jim Shellenback 5 1977 1977 33-33 0 0 0 /*1
11 Jim Manning 5 1962 1962 18-18 1 1 0 .000 /*1
12 Howie Clark 4 2008 2008 34-34 8 8 2 .250 /*345
13 Darnell McDonald 4 2007 2007 28-28 11 10 1 .100 /*9HD
14 Jason Miller 4 2007 2007 24-24 0 0 0 /*1
15 J.D. Durbin 4 2004 2004 22-22 0 0 0 /*1
16 Warren Morris 4 2002 2002 28-28 7 7 0 .000 /*4H
17 Jose Rodriguez 4 2002 2002 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
18 Danny Mota 4 2000 2000 24-24 0 0 0 /*1
19 Tom Quinlan 4 1996 1996 28-28 6 6 0 .000 /*5H
20 Riccardo Ingram 4 1995 1995 28-28 10 8 1 .125 /*D*H
21 Keith Comstock 4 1984 1984 28-28 0 0 0 /*1
22 Jay Pettibone 4 1983 1983 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
23 John Hobbs 4 1981 1981 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
24 Bill Whitby 4 1964 1964 20-20 1 1 0 .000 /*1
25 Jake Jacobs 4 1961 1961 24-24 8 8 2 .250 /*8H
26 Max Kepler 3 2015 2015 22-22 7 7 1 .143 /*H*9
27 Kris Johnson 3 2014 2014 29-29 1 1 0 .000 /*1
28 Juan Morillo 3 2009 2009 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
29 Joe Beimel 3 2004 2004 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
30 Luis Quinones 3 1992 1992 30-30 6 5 1 .200 /*H6D5
31 Greg Olson 3 1989 1989 28-28 2 2 1 .500 /*2
32 Tippy Martinez 3 1988 1988 38-38 0 0 0 /*1
33 Jeff Bittiger 3 1987 1987 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
34 Kevin Stanfield 3 1979 1979 23-23 0 0 0 /*1
35 Bucky Guth 3 1972 1972 24-24 3 3 0 .000 /*H6
36 Bucky Brandon 3 1969 1969 28-28 2 1 0 .000 /*1
37 Don Williams 3 1963 1963 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
38 Alex Meyer 2 2015 2015 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
39 Eric Hacker 2 2011 2011 28-28 0 0 0 /*1
40 Armando Gabino 2 2009 2009 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
41 Kevin Mulvey 2 2009 2009 24-24 0 0 0 /*1
42 Ryan Jorgensen 2 2008 2008 29-29 1 1 0 .000 /*2
43 Dave Gassner 2 2005 2005 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
44 Mauro Gozzo 2 1992 1992 26-26 0 0 0 /*1
45 Dan Graham 2 1979 1979 24-24 4 4 0 .000 /*H*D
46 Buzz Stephen 2 1968 1968 23-23 4 3 0 .000 /*1
47 Chuck Nieson 2 1964 1964 21-21 0 0 0 /*1
48 Rob Delaney 1 2010 2010 25-25 0 0 0 /*1
49 Matt Fox 1 2010 2010 27-27 0 0 0 /*1
50 Justin Huber 1 2009 2009 26-26 2 2 1 .500 /*3
51 Mike Smith 1 2006 2006 28-28 0 0 0 /*1
52 Fred Bruckbauer 1 1961 1961 23-23 0 0 0 /*1
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/1/2015.

Did you know that 355 (or 46.8%) of the 758 players that wore a Twins uniform played in 49 or fewer games as a Minnesota Twin? Don’t get too attached to that player because he will probably not be around for long.

Do any of these guys bring back a special memory for you? Do you remember seeing them play? Feel free to leave a comment.

According to ELIAS

Tigers McCann hits his first career homer….and it doesn’t leave the park

James McCann‘s two-run inside the park home run, the first home run of his career, tied the game in the seventh innings in a contest the Tigers won, 10-7, over the Twins yesterday afternoon. McCann became just the third catcher in the last 36 years whose first career home run was an inside the parker, joining Minnesota’s Chad Moeller (July 29, 2000) and Pittsburgh’s Angelo Encarnacion (August 19, 1995).

McCann was the first Tigers player whose first career home run was an inside the park homer in over 59 years, since pitcher Frank Lary accounted for Detroit’s only run with a homer that didn’t leave the park in a season-opening loss to the Kansas City Athletics on April 17, 1956. Source: ELIAS

Historical look at how Twins measure up to the rest of the league

I have followed baseball for a long time and it seems like the New York Yankees are always beating the Minnesota Twins. Truth or myth? I decided to check it out with an assist from baseball-reference.com .

It turns that the Yankees are indeed the toughest team to beat for our home town nine. Since 1961 they have played the Yankees 600 times and won just 252 of those match-ups for a .421 winning percentage. Actually I am surprised that the winning percentage is as high as it is because it seems like the Twins always lose to the Yankees.

Who do the Twins beat up on most frequently? That would be the Senators/Rangers franchise whom the Twins have played 696 times and whipped them on 366 occasions for a .527 winning percentage.  I have left the Houston Astros off the list since their time in the American League just started last season and I have included the Brewers/Pilots franchise since the Twins play them every year even though they have been in the National League for many of these years.

Here is how the Minnesota Twins stack up against the rest of the American League since 1961.

FRANCHISE TEAMS GAMES WON LOST WIN %
RANGERS SENATORS,RANGERS 696 366 329 .527
TIGERS 779 409 369 .526
WHITE SOX 844 441 400 .524
ROYALS 714 373 341 .522
BREWERS PILOTS,BREWERS 449 232 217 .517
A’S KC,OAKLAND 707 360 347 .509
RED SOX 596 298 298 .500
RAYS 129 63 66 .488
MARINERS 422 205 216 .487
INDIANS 777 375 401 .483
ANGELS 692 331 361 .478
ORIOLES 600 276 324 .460
BLUE JAYS 362 158 204 .436
YANKEES 600 252 347 .421

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