TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
In their final July game the Twins were helpless against Lee Stange, a former Twins pitcher and current Red Sox starter. Stange had a perfect game going until Harmon Killebrew singled with two out in the seventh inning at Fenway Park. The Twins final two hits took place in the ninth but Stange retired Tony Oliva and Killebrew on fly balls and he and the Red Sox closed out the 4-0 win. The Boston crew had only 4 hits themselves but three of them including a 3 run home run belonged to Carl Yastrzemski and Stange had the other Boston hit. Even though the Sox lost the five game series three games to two they held on to second place just 2 games out of the lead.
With 2/3 of the 1967 season in their rear-view mirror the Twins find themselves with a 53-47 record, good enough for fourth place tie and 5 games behind the league leading White Sox. With 17 wins and 13 losses in July the Twins scored 122 runs and held the opposition to just 94 runs.
The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.
Chris Sale struck out 10 batters in 6 innings yesterday, improving to 3–2 in the Red Sox’ 17–6 win at Minnesota. Sale’s MLB-leading total of 73 strikeouts this season is the highest in a pitcher’s first seven appearances of a season since 2002, when Curt Schilling, pitching for the Diamondbacks, struck out 75 batters in his first seven starts.
Impressive as Sale’s achievement is, we don’t want to overlook the rarity of Boston’s 10-run ninth inning. It was the latest double-digit inning by the Red Sox or against the Twins in the history of either franchise. That includes 60 seasons by the Washington Senators before they moved to Minnesota.
Fifty years ago the Boston Red Sox won the American League pennant in 1967 in what many think is one of the most if not thee most exciting AL pennant races ever. The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins finished one game back and the Chicago White Sox finished 3 games behind the Red Sox. My plan is to do some postings as the year goes along about the 1967 AL pennant race. I found an article in the April 17, 1967 Sports Illustrated called “RISING DYNASTY FOR THE BIRDS?” that does a recap on each AL team and predicts their chances for the 1967 season. Kind of a fun read. The Boston Red Sox of course played the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series and lost 4 games to 3.
Carl Yastrzemski won the triple crown in 1967 although he and Twins 1B Harmon Killebrew each had 44 home runs that year. Even though you know how the story ends, it will still be fun reliving it.
I was the Boston Red Sox 18th round selection in 1991 as an outfielder. In the spring of 1995 circumstances dictated that I become a replacement player. I made my major league debut as the Red Sox starting center-fielder on May 21, 1995 in Fenway Park and I had two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Just two years later I was a relief pitcher and appeared in 28 games for the Red Sox and posted a 3-0 record. After leaving Boston I pitched for the A’s, Marlins, Cubs, Rangers, Braves, Royals and finally for the Twins where my 14 year big league career ended. I once spent the off-season working as an extra on “All my Children”. My legacy, right or wrong, is that I am the last replacement player to retire from major league baseball. Who is this guy?
If you have no clue who it is but what to know, you can read the article below.
For some reason this was one of my favorite Twins baseball cards back when I was a kid collecting baseball cards for a nickel a pack.
Russ Nixon was born in Cleves, Ohio on February 19, 1935 and passed away on November 9*, 2016 at the age of 81 in the same city that he was born. Nixon, a left-handed hitting catcher played in the big leagues for all or part of 12 seasons between 1957-1968 with the Indians, Red Sox, and the Minnesota Twins.
Russ Nixon attended Western Hills High School in Cleves and went on to attend the University of Cincinnati where he studied mechanical engineering. In 1952 Russ Nixon was selected as the American Legion ball “Player of the Year. Russ Nixon had a twin brother, Roy, a first baseman and each signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1953. Roy however; never played above class A ball and did not get to wear a major league uniform.
Russ Nixon in 1957
Russ Nixon made his major league debut with the Indians on April 20, 1957 at Briggs Stadium when he replaced starting catcher Hal Naragon in the seventh inning with the tribe trailing the Tigers 6-0. Nixon had one at bat in that game and he singled to right field off Tiger hurler Frank Lary and then was lifted for a pinch-runner. Russ was a good hitter and had a .268 average in 906 games but most of his career was spent as a back-up catcher and he only appeared on 100 or more games in 1958 and 1960 and never reached 400 at bats in any season.
The Minnesota Twins and Russ Nixon crossed paths when the Twins acquired Nixon and second baseman Chuck Schilling from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Dick Stigman and minor league infielder Jose Calero on April 6, 1966. Calvin Griffith was hoping to strengthen his team by acquiring Schilling and Nixon but many wondered how acquiring two players from the ninth place Red Sox was going to help the defending American League champions. Both Nixon and Schilling were excited about being acquired by a club as good as Minnesota and looked forward to the 1966 season. Schilling was one of the final cuts before the 1966 final 25 man squad was finalized and refused his assignment to the minors and decided to quit pro ball at the age of 28 with five seasons in the big leagues under his belt rather than play in the minor leagues. Nixon, now at the tail end of his career played for the Twins in 1966 and 1967 and hit .244 in 125 games with one home run and that ironically was at Fenway Park off Red Sox starter Billy Rohr in a Twins 4-0 win. The Twins released Russ Nixon in April of 1968 and he signed with the Red Sox again and played one final season in the big leagues before hanging up his catching gear for the final time. But Russ Nixon couldn’t leave baseball, he went on to scout, coach and manage both in the minor leagues and the major leagues through 2008. Russ Nixon had a 231-347 record as a manager in the major leagues with the Cincinnati Reds in 1982-1983 and the Atlanta Braves from 1988-1990. Nixon called it quits after the 2008 season which was year number 56 in pro ball. Russ Nixon has the distinction of being active in Major League Baseball for 56 consecutive years in various roles.
Away from baseball in the off-season Nixon bred Arabian horses on his ranch. Here is a bit of baseball trivia that involves Russ Nixon that you may not know. Russ Nixon played in more (906) major leagues games than any other player and yet was never able to steal a single base, he did get caught stealing seven times.
The photo’s below are provided courtesy of Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can click on the pictures to make them larger.
Not sure who is Russ and who is Ray in this photoRuss Nixon
We at Twins Trivia would like to pass on our condolences to Russ Nixon’s family and friends and to thank them all for the great memories.
* = Some sources and obituary’s list date of death as 11/9/2016 while others had 11/8/2016, still doing some checking as I want to get it correct. UPDATE – I have confirmation from the family that Russ Nixon passed away on 11/9/2016.
After having a career year with the 1976 Minnesota Twins, reliever Bill Campbell becomes one of the first players to cash in on the new free-agent system. The reliever signs a big money (a four-year one-million dollar deal) contract with the Boston Red Sox after making just $23,000 this past season in Minnesota. I did a blog on this back on November 6, 2012 that you can read here. I also did an interview with Bill that you can listen to here.
This is one of those rare times when we delve back into the Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins franchise history because Carlos Paula played a key role and he should not be forgotten.
September 6, 1954 – On this day 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 hit fifth in the Senators batting order and went 2 for 5 with a double and knocked in 2 runs in a 8-1 win in game 1 of a double-header 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. Box Score.
I recently ran across a very nice write-up on Carlos Paula and his time with the Washington Senators on the National Basball Hall of fame web site called: #GOINGDEEP: CARLOS PAULA, THE MAN WHO INTEGRATED THE WASHINGTON SENATORS. Take the time to read it and to enjoy the wonderful pictures. According to the story, Carlos Paula had ties to Minnesota Twins 1965 MVP Zoilo Versalles.
The weather has been cool, wet and windy here in SW Florida since the calendar rolled over to 2016 but the last few days have been sunny and in the mid 70’s here and the population of Twins players and Twins wannabees is growing by the day. I stopped by the CenturyLink Sports Complex again yesterday and was surprised at how many players had already shown up and how many fans were out watching the players go through their paces.
Max Kepler
The players that show up this early come and go, some show up every day and others show up now and then. Miguel Sano was out here on my first visit but I have not seen him the last two times I have been out here. Yesterday I saw Max Kepler for the first time this spring and he said that he just arrived the day before. I was shocked when I first saw Max because he was not the baby-faced player I had gotten used to seeing, he was sporting a beard and mustache or maybe I should say he was trying to grow a beard.
Byung Ho Park
Byung-ho Park is working out every day but he does not seem to have the same crowd of press members following him like Tsuyoshi Nishioka did when he first signed with Minnesota. Park and Nishioka appear to have taken totally different approaches to their integration into the Twins organization, when Nishioka was here and working out prior to spring training he worked out on his own with his interpreter and seldom if ever joined the rest of the players. Parker is just the opposite, he works out with the rest of the players and he is willing to spend time with the fans signing autographs, something Nishioka didn’t seem to be real excited about. I don’t know if Park will make the team but in my eyes he is already way ahead of Nishioka when he joined the Twins and spring training hasn’t even officially started.
I continue to be amazed at how many fans mention how great the CenturyLink Sports Complex and the Minnesota Twins organization is as compared to the Boston Red Sox and JetBlue Park, their spring training home. The Twins allow their fans to wander all over the grounds and inter-act with the players and the Red Sox are all about security and limit access to everything and everybody. It is not just the fans that have this opinion, it is members of the local press here also.
Pitchers and catchers report this week-end, I can’t wait. The Twins were much improved in 2015 so you would think that there would be fewer questions and fewer roster spots up for grabs this year but I don’t think that is the case and it all revolves around Miguel Sano. Can Sano play right field? If not, all kinds of options can come into play. I have all kinds of questions. Is Byung Ho Park ready for MLB? What if Byron Buxton does not win the CF spot? Do you buy he has to prove the job belongs to him or does he have to prove he can’t handle it? What about the bullpen? Are the Twins still looking for a proven left reliever? Is Glen Perkins healthy? Are Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana, and Kennys Vargas still in the Twins plans? Max Kepler and Adam Walker are coming fast, will they start to call Minneapolis home this summer? When will Jose Berrios join the Twins starting rotation? Did the Twins make a good move in giving up Aaron Hicks? So many questions and so little time to get them answered, you can bet that Twins spring training this year will be one of the most exiting ever.
When I was out at the ballpark I once again took some pictures that you view in the 2016 Spring Training pictures link on the right hand side of the page. I hope you enjoy them.
David Ortiz hit two home runs – the 499th and 500th of his major-league career – to lead the Red Sox to victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field yesterday. Ortiz became the 27th player in major-league history to hit 500 homers, and he’s the second of that group to hit his 499th and 500th home run in a single game. Albert Pujols did that on April 22, 2014 at Nationals Park, and just as Ortiz did on Saturday, Pujols hit his 499th in the top of the first inning and his 500th in the top of the fifth.
Ortiz is the fourth player to hit career home run #500 while wearing a Red Sox uniform, and like the previous three, Ortiz hit his milestone homer in a road game. The previous players to do so for Boston are Jimmie Foxx (at Philadelphia in 1940), Ted Williams (at Cleveland in 1960), and Manny Ramirez (at Baltimore in 2008).
Ortiz was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners as a free agent on November 28, 1992 and was traded to the Minnesota Twins as the PTBNL on September 13, 1996 to complete an earlier trade made on August 29, 1996 when the Twins sent Dave Hollins to Seattle. At the time David Ortiz was known as David Arias.Ortiz who became well-known as “Big Papi” spent six years in Minnesota playing in 455 games while hitting for a .266 average.
Ortiz had 1,693 plate appearances while in a Twins uniform and hit his first 58 of his 500 home runs as a Minnesota Twin. The Twins released the big first baseman on December 16, 2002 and Ortiz was signed by the Boston Red Sox as a free agent on January 22, 2003 and the rest is history. Why did the Twins release him you ask? The Twins said he couldn’t play first base, was too much of a pull hitter and couldn’t hit to right field…….
David Ortiz hit his 20th home run this season in the first inning of the Red Sox’ game against the White Sox on Monday. This is the 14th consecutive season with 20 or more home runs for Ortiz (2002-2015) and his 13th straight 20-homer season for the Red Sox (2003-2015). Only one other player hit at least 20 home runs for one American League team in 13 or more consecutive seasons. That was Babe Ruth, who slugged at least 20 homers in each of the 15 seasons he played for the Yankees (1920-1934). Source: ELIAS
