Tag: Mets

One of the original Minnesota Twins, Jack Kralick passes away at 77

Jack Kralick

One of the original Minnesota Twins, pitcher John Francis (Jack) Kralick who was born on June 1, 1935 in Youngstown, Ohio passed away at his home in San Blas, Mexico on September 18 at the age of 77. The Chicago White Sox signed Jack Kralick prior to the 1955 season after Kralick had played baseball for one season at Michigan State but released him in June of 1958. The Washington Senators signed Kralick in September of 1958 and he made his major league debut with the Senators on April 15, 1959 at Fenway Park throwing one inning of relief in a 7-3 loss to the Red Sox after having never pitched above single A ball in the minor leagues. Kralick ended up spending most of his 1959 season in double AA Chattanooga before making the Senators starting staff in 1960 and then became a Minnesota Twin when the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season.

The left-handed Kralick is best known for throwing the Twins first no-hitter on Sunday, August 26, 1962. There were five no-hitters thrown in 1962, others that threw a “no-no” that season were Bo Belinsky of the Angels, the Red Sox Earl Wilson became the first African-American to throw an American league no-hitter, the Dodgers Sandy Koufax threw the first of his four no-hitters, and the Red Sox Bill Momboquette also threw a no-hitter.  Kralick had a perfect game going with one out in the 9th inning at Met Stadium before walking pinch-hitter George Alusik  on a 3-2 count. Kralick then retired pinch-hitter Billy Consolo and lead off hitter Bobby Del Greco on foul pop-ups to 1B Vic Power to complete the no-hitter and notch a 1-0 win in 1 hour and 57 minutes. “It doesn’t make any difference to me – a no-hitter or a perfect game.” With that statement the Twins southpaw shook off any disappointment of losing a perfect game. “I suppose its a little nicer to be a perfect game”, Kralick added, “but it really makes no difference to me”. According to Kralick, his curveball was not working so he relied mainly on fastballs and sliders with a couple of change-ups thrown in. Kralick was not a pitcher that you would think would throw a no-hitter but he also threw two seven inning no-hitters in the minor leagues. It was the first no-hitter caught by catcher Earl Battey and he said that “my hands were really shaking in that ninth inning.” Kralick’s time in a Twins uniform was cut short when the Twins traded Kralick to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jim Perry on May 2, 1963. Kralick finished his Twins career with a 26-26 record and 3.74 ERA in 75 starts while throwing 510+ innings. Kralick had a little pop in his bat too as he hit 3 home runs in 200 plate appearances in a Twins uniform. As a matter of fact, on August 20, 1961, he was part of a rare feat as he and teammate Al Schroll both homered; it is one of only six times that two pitchers have hit a home run in one game for the same team, and the last time the feat has been performed. Kralick was nicknamed “Jittery Jack” for his constant fidgeting on the mound. He would play with practically everything, between his uniform, cap and the rosin bag. By several accounts, he seemed to like spending time by himself and wasn’t easy to get along with. A chain smoker, teammates and sportswriters described him as “a loner,” “reclusive,” and at times, “abrasive.” Rich Rollins said, however, “While he was kind of a loner, I thought most of the guys got along with him when we were teammates in Minnesota.”

Kralick went on to pitch for the Indians from 1963-1967 putting up a 33-33 mark and making the 1964 All-Star team. It has been reported that Kralick was difficult to get along with at times and in August 1965 he and Indians pitcher and roommate Gary Bell got into a short one punch each fight in Washington D.C. hotel room and Kralick ended up on the short end of the stick with a broken tooth and required 9 stitches. The Indians sold Kralick to the New York Mets on May 1, 1967 but he never pitched for his new team as he was involved in a car accident shortly after the transaction which left him with a cracked rib and double vision. His vision only cleared up at the end of the year, at which point Kralick had lost the desire to pitch again. At the age of 33 Jack Kralick walked away from baseball and never looked back. According to a 1971 article, he had moved to Watertown, South Dakota, enjoying a life of fishing and hunting, while working for a school supply company. Kralick enjoyed the outdoors and ended up living in Alaska and San Blas, Mexico.

I, like many others had tried to get in contact with Kralick over the years to see if he was doing an interview for Twins Trivia but like everyone else we never received a reply. According to his son, Lee Kralick, “He didn’t want the fame, didn’t want the notoriety,” Lee said. “That’s just who he was.”

Rest in peace Jack Kralick, and thank you for the memories. We at Twins Trivia would like to pass on our condolences to the family and friends of Jack Kralick. Only 9 of the 23 original players that played for the Washington Senators in 1960 and moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season remain alive today.

Twins & Red Sox to have company in Fort Myers?

A story in the Fort Myers News-Press states that the Washington Nationals have extended negotiations with Lee County to relocate their spring training home from Viera to City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. I think it would be fun to see another big league team train in Fort Myers and you have to think the Minnesota Twins would also like to have another team training in the area if for no other reason then just having another team to play with little to no travel time. However, the implications of such a move of another big league team from the Florida east coast to the gulf coast might not be good for the Florida Grapefruit League circuit in general. If the Nats were to move their spring training site, the only team left on the east coast would be the Marlins, Mets, and the Cardinals. You can read the story here.

Did you know?

Francisco Liriano

That former Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano who frustrated Twins management and a lot of Twins fans and is now pitching for the Chicago White Sox holds the second longest streak in MLB of games started since 1990 without giving up a home run? You better believe it, between May 26 and August 12 of 2010  Frankie started 15 games, won 7, lost 4 and had a no decision in 4 games. During these 15 games, Liriano faced 397 batters, pitched 93.2 innings, gave up 88 hits and struck out 108 while walking 29 batters and had a 3.27 ERA. Good numbers to be sure but not spectacular and I guess it tells us when a starter gives up a home run it is not the end of the world. Liriano’s streak ended when he gave up a long ball to the White Sox Andruw Jones on August 18. Liriano only gave up 9 home runs in 31 starts in 2010 with 3 of those coming on his last start of the season on September 30th.

The longest homer less streak since 1990 belongs to the Mets Sid Fernandez who started 16 games in 1992 between June 22 – September 20 without giving up a 4 bagger. Actually, if Liriano had not given up 2 home runs to the Red Sox (Beltre and Youkilis) on May 20, 2010 he would have had a streak of 25 homerless games going back to September 27, 2009 when he gave up a long shot to the Royals Yuniesky Betancourt of all people.

Moving on to another subject, hitting home runs. Through August 9th the Twins have scored 499 runs and hit 99 home runs. Only 152 of the runs scored or 30.46% occurred because of the home runs, the fifth worst in all of baseball. Only the Padres, Giants, Dodgers, and Royals have scored a lower percentage of their runs via the long ball. The Yankess have the highest percentage of runs scored via the home run with 50.56% and the Padres have the lowest at 26.12%.

Sam Perlozzo – Twins 2B and baseball lifer

Sam Perlozzo played 2B for the Twins in 1977.

Samuel Benedict Perlozzo was born in Cumberland, Maryland on March 4, 1951. Growing up in Maryland, Sam enjoyed playing football and baseball and was probably better known as a football player playing running back and safety but his lack of size kept him from pursing the gridiron. Sam earned a baseball scholarship to George Washington University where he played for three seasons from 1970 to 1972. In his final year, Sam was the star of the team hitting .345, leading the nation in stolen bases and getting named as an Academic All-American. Sam ended up signing a free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins on August 15, 1972. Perlozzo started his professional career in “A” ball with Fort Lauderdale in 1973 and played in Dubuque in 1974 and Reno in 1975. Back in those days some of the big league clubs had co-op teams where a team was made up of players for several big league clubs so even though Sam was signed as a Minnesota Twin, he did not get to play on a team of Twins minor leaguers until he joined the Orlando team in 1976. Sam Perlozzo made his major league debut on September 13, 1977 at Comiskey Park replacing Bob Randall at 2B in the seventh inning but he did not get an at bat that day. Sam ended up playing in 10 games for the Twins in 1977 going 7 for 24 (.292 average) and scoring 6 runs. As it turned out, those 10 games would be the only games that Sam played in a Minnesota Twins uniform as he spent 1978 in AAA Toledo. In the spring of 1979 Perlozzo and the Twins had reached an agreement that if Sam did not make the Twins ballclub coming out of spring training he would be granted his release and that took place on March 30, 1979. Perlozzo signed with the San Diego Padres and spent the season playing in Hawaii before getting a September call-up. Unfortunately for Sam he was suffering from a groin injury at the time and only got two at bats with the Padres before being carted off the field after he reinjured his groin. That my friends marked the end of Sam Perlozzo’s big league playing career. In January of 1980 the Padres sold Perlozzo to the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese League and Sam played ball there in 1980 hitting .281 with 15 home runs and 43 RBI’s in 118 games. In 1981 Sam joined the New York Mets as a player/coach in AAA Tidewater but after that season, Sam, who was 30 at the time, walked away from his playing days and moved into coaching and managing.

Perlozzo managed various teams in the Mets minor league system from 1982-1986 winning three league titles while never having a losing season. Perlozzo ended his minor managing league career with a 364-263 (.581) record in five seasons. The following season (1987), Sam was promoted to the New York Mets as a third base coach and he stayed in that role through the 1989 season. Perlozzo then went on to coach for the Cincinnati Reds from 1990-1992, the Seattle Mariners from 1993-1995, and the Baltimore Orioles from 1996-2005. In August of 2005 Perlozzo was named as the Baltimore Orioles manager after Lee Mazzilli was let go. After nearly two years at the helm, Perlozzo could not get the Orioles over the hump and on June 18, 2007 Sam was replaced by Dave Tremblay as the O’s skipper. Sam then returned to coaching with the Seattle Mariners from 2008-2009 before joining the Philadelphia Phillies as a coach in 2009. Perlozzo is still coaching with the Phillies and has now been a big league coach or manager for 25 straight seasons. Sam obviously loves the game of baseball. In the off season, Sam lives in Tampa, Florida and enjoys playing golf and spending time with family and friends. Sam’s son Eric was drafted by the Orioles in the 2007 amateur draft.

You can listen to the Sam Perlozzo interview by clicking here. Be sure to check out our other interviews with former Twins players by going to the Interview Archives page, there are 35 different interviews you can check out.

According to Elias

The Twins, who lost their home opener on Monday to the Angels, 5-1, became only the third major-league team in the past 40 years to begin a season with four consecutive losses while scoring two or fewer runs in each game. The other teams to do that over the last four decades were the 1988 Orioles (who started the season with 21 consecutive losses on the way to a 54-107 record) and the 2003 Tigers (who finished 43-119, the worst record for any major-league team since the 1962 Mets).

With the Atlanta Braves beating the Houston Astros 6-4 on Tuesday night, the Twins are now the only team in major league baseball without a win.

Season opener in Tokyo? Just plain wrong

I don’t understand, why major league baseball is opening the 2012 baseball season in Japan? The Oakland A’s and the Seattle Mariners will open the season by playing two games in the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and because of the time difference if any A’s or Mariners fans want to watch their teams play the first two games of 2012 they have to tune in at Midnight on the west coast. Then, after playing a couple of games that count, both of these teams play several exhibition games in Japan and then come home and play more exhibition games before once again playing some games that count in the standings.

What is MLB thinking? Why deprive fans of Oakland or Seattle the right to open the season at home or for that matter why should baseball fans in general not get to watch the first games of the 2012 season unless they are willing to trade a nights sleep? Baseball is America’s pastime and opening the season after the long winter away from baseball in a foreign country is just plain wrong. This will be the fourth time that MLB has played the opener in Japan, following the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs (2000), the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay (2004), and Boston and Oakland (2008) and I can’t for the life of me figure why. I am sure there is some financial benefit to somebody but I don’t know who. Why in Japan, why not in the Dominican, Puerto Rico, Australia, or even Cuba. Is MLB looking to put a big league team in Tokyo? That is years away at best.

What is the point of sending two teams over 6,000 miles one way to Japan to show off Americ’a great game by sending teams like the Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners who last year lost 183 games between them. I know Ichiro plays for Seattle but MLB has a number of players that are better than Ichiro is right now. If MLB tried to send the some contending teams to Japan on a schedule like this there would be all kinds of h*^# raised. Then after playing two games in Japan the rest of the MLB season does not open until April 4th, a week after Oakland plays Seattle in game one, how dumb is that?

MLB should be ashamed of themselves for not playing the first games of 2012 in the United States, this is America’s pastime for God’s sake and not playing that first game here is a major error on the part of MLB. I have scored it as E-CS, error on Commissioner Selig.

Here is an article in the Daily Yomiuri on how they look at the up-coming Mariners-A’s series.

Tokyo Dome baseball

This Day in Twins History – February 2, 2008

Johan Santana pitched for Minnesota from 2000 -2007. Santana is tied for third most wins in Dome history (46) and second-most strikeouts (754). Johan was a three-time All-Star and won Cy Young Awards in 2004 and 2006. Won 17 consecutive games in the Dome from 2005-2007.

Where does the time go, it hardly seems like this took place 4 years ago. In a blockbuster deal, Minnesota gets outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Kevin Mulvey, Philip Humber and Deolis Guerra but have to part with former Cy Young winner Johan Santana whom they could not afford to sign.

As part of the deal, Johan Santana and the New York Mets agreed on the terms for a guaranteed $137.5 million six-year contract that could possibly be worth up to $151 million over seven years. At the time, the deal was the biggest ever for a pitcher. Since the trade, Santana has a 40-25 record with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 600 innings. Johan had shoulder surgery in September of 2010 and had to miss the entire 2011 season and now there are reports he may not be ready for opening day 2012.

Carlos Gomez

From a Twins perspective the crown jewel of the trade was outfielder Carlos Gomez who played in Minnesota for just two seasons appearing in 290 games hitting .248 with a .293 OBP while hitting 10 home runs and stealing 47 bases. After the 2009 season the Twins traded Gomez to the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop JJ Hardy who played in Minnesota for one season before the Twins traded him and infielder Brendan Harris to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. Hoey has since been claimed on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays and Jacobson was in AA New Britain in 2011. Gomez is still with the Brewers.

Kevin Mulvey appeared in a Twins uniform in just two games before he was moved to Arizona in the Jon Rauch trade. Rauch pitched in Minnesota in 2009 and 2010 before he left due to free agency. Mulvey is currently in the D-Backs minor league system.

 

Philip Humber

Philip Humber pitched a total of 20.2 inning for the Twins in 2008 and 2009 before he too left via the free agent route after the 2009 season. Humber is currently a starter with the Chicago White Sox.

Deolis Guerra

Deolis Guerra is still in the Twins minor league system and spent 2011 in AA New Britain after spending a handful of games at AAA Rochester in 2010. Guerra has a shot at finally joining the Twins at some point in 2012 in the bullpen.

 

 

Camilo Pascual elected to Twins Hall of Fame

The Minnesota Twins announced yesterday that former pitcher and five-time All-Star Camilo Pascual has been elected to the club’s Hall of Fame. Pascual will become the 24th member of the Twins Hall of Fame when he is inducted during a special on field pre-game ceremony July 14, when the Twins host the Oakland Athletics at Target Field.

Pascual, one of the “Twins 50 Greatest Players” made his major league debut on April 15, 1954 as a Washington Senator with 3 innings of scoreless relief at Fenway Park in a 6-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Pascual went on to pitch in 529 big league games over 18 seasons and posted a 174-170 won/lost record while pitching for the Washington Senators from 1954-1960, The Minnesota Twins from 1961-1966, the Washington Senators from 1967-1969, the Cincinnati Reds in 1969, the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970 and the Cleveland Indians in 1971.

1955 Topps card

Camilo was the first ever Twins All-Star in 1961 and has appeared in more All-Star games than any pitcher in franchise history since 1950, playing in five of six games from 1959-64 and in four straight from 1959-61. He went 145-141 with a 3.66 ERA during his time with the Twins and Senators, ranking second on the franchise All-Time list in shutouts (31), third in strikeouts (1,885), fourth in innings pitched (2,465.0) and fifth in wins (145) and starts (331). He went 88-57 with a 3.31 ERA in six seasons in a Twins uniform from 1961-66, ranking third in shutouts (18), seventh in strikeouts (994), and eighth in wins (88), innings pitched (1284.2) and starts (179). He was the Twins first ever 20-game winner, recording 20 victories in 1962 and 21 in 1963, while leading the American League in complete games, shutouts and strikeouts in nearly every season from 1959-63.

Camilo Pascual is the younger brother of former major league pitcher Carlos Pascual, whose nickname of “Potato” earned Camilo the nickname of “Little Potato”. The “Little Potato” was a workhorse pitcher for the Washington/Minnesota pitching staffs and he possessed good control with an excellent fastball but it was his outstanding curveball that was his signature pitch. Ted Williams was quoted as saying that it was easily the best curveball in baseball at the time. Although Pascual was a workhorse, stories have been told that Camilo enjoyed taking an annual “mini vacation” via the DL each season. Pascual also served as the Minnesota Twins pitching coach from 1978-1980. Pascual has lived in Miami since 1960 and since 1989 he has worked as international scout for the Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he currently scouts Venezuela. Among the major leaguers Pascual has signed are Jose Canseco, Alex Cora, Omar Daal, Miguel Cairo, and Franklin Gutierrez.

Pascual is one of only five players to have played against the Athletics in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland. Harmon Killebrew is another member of that select group. Camilo is also one of only seven players to play for both the original and expansion Washington Senators teams. The others were Don Mincher, Pedro Ramos, Johnny Schaive, Roy Sievers, Zoilo Versalles, and Hal Woodeshick.

The Havana-native ranks 55th on baseball’s All-Time wins list and is a member of the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame and Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame, ranking second to only Luis Tiant in strikeouts among Cuban born major leaguers. In addition to being selected as a member of the Twins 50 Greatest Players in 2010, Camilo was also selected to the Twins 25th anniversary team in 1986 and the 40th anniversary team in 2000. At 74, Pascual, one of the original Minnesota Twins becomes the oldest living member of the Twins Hall of Fame. The Twins Hall of Fame membership is permanently displayed in the Hall of Fame Gallery on the Target Field Suite Level as well as on Target Plaza.

This selection of Pascual to the Twins Hall of Fame is well deserved and it should have taken place a long time ago. We at Twins Trivia would like to add our congratulations to Camilo on this great honor. Good things come to those who wait but Camilo should not have had to wait this long. You can check out the entire Twins Hall of Fame here.

I grew up listening to WCCO as they broadcast Minnesota Twins games and Camilo Pascual was always one of my favorite players because you knew when Camilo pitched that the Twins had a good chance of winning the game. Back then I could not attend many games in person and hardly any games were on TV so the radio was the place to be if you followed baseball and the Minnesota Twins.

This Day in Twins History – January 16, 1986

The Twins trade 2B Tim Teufel and outfielder Pat Crosby to the New York Mets for outfielder Billy Beane and pitchers Bill Latham and Joe Klink.

Billy Beane, yes the same Billy Beane who went on to become the Oakland A's GM and main character in the movie Moneyball.

They also trade catcher Dave Engle to the Tigers for infielder Chris Pittaro and outfielder Alex Sanchez.  Engle, a .305 hitter as a 26-year-old catcher for the Twins in 1983 and an AL All-Star the following season. Engle came up as an outfielder but was converted to a catcher.

Engle started having throwing issues and his troubles appeared to have begun during batting practice one day when one of his throws glanced off the top of the protective screen and broke his pitcher’s nose. Engle then began lobbing his throws with a pronounced arc. Engle had the misfortune of having a base runner (Alfredo Griffin) stealing a base on one of his tosses back to the mound. He remained in the majors from 1985-89 but caught just 38 more games.

This Day in Twins History – January 4, 2002

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire

In spite of the Minnesota Twins franchise uncertain future due to possible contraction, Ron Gardenhire is named as the Minnesota Twins 12th manager. Gardenhire, 44, replaces the Twins winningest manager, Tom Kelly who had resigned earlier saying that it was time for him to move on.

Ron Gardenhire was originally a New York Mets sixth round pick in 1979 and debuted with the Mets on September 1, 1981. Gardenhire played in 285 games for the Mets between 1981 – 1985, primarily at shortstop although he also played some 2B and 3B too. The Mets traded Gardenhire to the Twins on November 12, 1966 for the PTBNL and that turned out to be Dominic Iasparro. While the Twins were winning the World Series in 1987, Gardenhire spent the entire season at AAA Portland playing all four infield positions and even taking the pitching mound in two games.

Gardenhire retired as an active player after the 1987 season and started his managing career in 1988 with the A ball Kenosha Twins who finished fourth but had a 81-59 record. Gardenhire then moved up the ladder to the AA Orlando Twins affiliate where he managed for two seasons. Gardy’s teams finished third in 1989 with an 79-65 mark and first the next season, 1990 with an 85-59 record. The Twins then moved Gardenhire up to the big league team where he coached from 1991 – 2001.

Gardenhire has managed the Twins since 2002 and in his 10 big league seasons and 1,621 games as the Twins skipper, Gardy has posted a record of 866-755 (.534) and had led his team to six first place finishes, one second place, two third place and one last place finish (2011).