Target Field Archives - Page 3 of 8

Where does Dozier’s hitting streak sit as compared to Twins history

With a few exceptions the Minnesota Twins appear to have gone belly up and are just walking through the motions as they continue their march to 100 or more losses. There isn’t much good news coming out of Target Field lately so we have to search for some to watch and cheer for and one of those items is Brian Dozier‘s hitting streak which has now hit 22 games. The Twins have a dozen games left to play in 2016, the first six are at home against the Tigers and the Mariners and the next six are on the road at Kansas City and in Chicago against the the White Sox.

If Dozier plays in every game and his hitting streak continues he could tie the Twins hitting streak record of 31 in Kansas City and then go for the record in Chicago. That would be pretty awesome since we plan to be in Chicago that final baseball week-end of the season catching a few Twins games at US Cellular Field which is a field I have never been at, but I have watched a game at White Sox Park back in 1965.

Rk	Name	Strk Start	End	Games	AB	H	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	OPS
1	Ken Landreaux	1980-04-23	1980-05-30	31	125	49	2	19	.392	.441	.937
2	Brian Harper	1990-07-06	1990-08-04	25	99	38	2	16	.384	.415	.981
3	Lenny Green	1961-05-01	1961-05-28	24	94	34	0	11	.362	.455	.955
4	Torii Hunter	2007-04-11	2007-05-09	23	94	35	5	19	.372	.394	1.054
5	Cristian Guzman	2002-08-01	2002-08-25	23	97	35	2	12	.361	.366	.841
6	Marty Cordova	1996-06-05	1996-06-29	23	91	35	2	18	.385	.447	1.007
7	Kirby Puckett	1993-09-26	1994-04-20	23	97	34	2	21	.351	.400	.895
8	Kent Hrbek	1982-04-17	1982-05-13	23	91	28	5	17	.308	.366	.949
9	Brian Dozier	2016-08-27	2016-09-18	22	94	33	11	22	.351	.425	1.190
10	Shane Mack	1992-07-26	1992-08-18	22	88	40	1	9	.455	.500	1.057

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/19/2016.

Keep it up Brian Dozier, we need something exciting to watch and the 2016 season winds down for us Twins fans.

UPDATE: September 21, 2016 – Dozier’s hit streak now stands at 23.

UPDATE: September 23, 2016 – Dozier’s hit streak comes to an end at 24 games in game 2 of a DH against the Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander on 9/22/2016. Nice run by Mr. Dozier.

Way to go Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins will honor Jacob Wetterling and show support for his family by wearing a No. 11 patch on their red jerseys Friday night against the Indians. Twins officials said Cleveland players will also wear the patch in support of Jacob.

Jacob Wetterling was a fan of all sports and wore the No. 11 jersey as a child. The Wetterling family has asked people to use the number 11 as a symbol of hope to honor their son and show a commitment to making the world better for kids. Wetterling was kidnapped in October of 1989, and it was learned earlier this week that Danny Heinrich admitted to his abduction and murder.

The Twins will also have a moment of remembrance before Friday night’s game, and there will be a tribute graphic to Wetterling on an outfield wall the rest of the season.

Twins newest outfield wall sign is up and will remain there for the rest of the season as of 9/9/2016.

Nice tribute by the Minnesota Twins.

According to ELIAS – 3 home run games

Dozier dazzles in defeat

Brian Dozier slammed three homers, his 36th, 37th and 38th of the season in a Labor Day afternoon game at Target Field, though the Royals came away the 11-5 victors in Minneapolis. Dozier has now hit 21 homers in his last 35 games, and he became the first major-leaguer to connect for that many homers over a 35-game span since Shawn Green connected for 22 round-trippers over a 35-game span (including four in one game) for the Dodgers in 2002. Dozier has hit 24 homers in 50 games since the All-Star break, with 22 of them coming while in the game as a second baseman (the other two came in a game in which he was the designated hitter). Dozier broke the American League record for homers by a second baseman after the break; the old mark had belonged to Hall-of-Famer Joe Gordon since 1940, when he hit 21 post-break homers with the Yankees.

Dozier’s season total of 38 home runs has been reached by only one other player since the Twins moved from Washington to Minnesota in 1961. The Hall-of-Famer Harmon Killebrew reached that level in eight different seasons in Minnesota (he had also done it once while the team still played in the nation’s capital), knocking out a team-record of 49 homers in 1964 and 1969.

Minnesota Twins 3 home run games

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BOP	Pos Summary
1	Brian Dozier	2016-09-05	MIN	KCR	L 5-11	5	5	3	3	3	4	1	2B
2	Max Kepler	2016-08-01	MIN	CLE	W 12-5	6	6	3	4	3	6	3	RF
3	Justin Morneau	2007-07-06 (2)	MIN	CHW	W 12-0	5	5	3	3	3	6	5	1B
4	Tony Oliva	1973-07-03	MIN	KCR	L 6-7	5	5	3	3	3	3	3	DH
5	Harmon Killebrew	1963-09-21 (1)	MIN	BOS	W 13-4	5	5	3	3	3	5	4	LF
6	Bob Allison	1963-05-17	MIN	CLE	W 11-4	5	5	3	3	3	6	4	RF

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/6/2016.

Opponents 3 home run games

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BOP	Pos Summary
1	Josh Donaldson	2016-08-28	TOR	MIN	W 9-6	5	4	3	3	3	4	2	3B
2	Alex Rodriguez	2015-07-25	NYY	MIN	W 8-5	4	4	3	3	3	4	3	DH
3	Curtis Granderson	2012-04-19	NYY	MIN	W 7-6	5	5	3	5	3	4	2	CF
4	Jose Bautista	2011-05-15	TOR	MIN	W 11-3	5	5	3	3	3	4	3	RF
5	Evan Longoria	2008-09-18	TBR	MIN	L 8-11	5	5	3	3	3	4	4	3B
6	Nick Markakis	2006-08-22	BAL	MIN	W 6-3	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	RF
7	Hee-Seop Choi	2005-06-12	LAD	MIN	W 4-3	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	1B
8	Ellis Burks	2001-06-19	CLE	MIN	L 9-10	7	7	3	5	3	3	2	DH
9	Edgar Martinez	1999-05-18	SEA	MIN	W 10-1	5	5	3	3	3	4	4	DH
10	Ivan Rodriguez	1997-09-11	TEX	MIN	W 7-0	4	4	3	3	3	5	2	C
11	Geronimo Berroa	1996-08-12	OAK	MIN	W 11-1	5	5	3	4	3	5	5	RF LF
12	Ernie Young	1996-05-10	OAK	MIN	W 15-5	6	5	4	4	3	6	1	CF
13	Darnell Coles	1994-07-05	TOR	MIN	W 14-3	5	5	3	3	3	4	7	3B
14	Juan Gonzalez	1992-06-07	TEX	MIN	W 5-4	4	4	3	3	3	4	6	CF
15	Dave Henderson	1991-08-03	OAK	MIN	L 6-8	5	5	3	3	3	3	2	CF
16	Dave Winfield	1991-04-13	CAL	MIN	W 15-9	6	6	4	5	3	6	4	RF
17	Joe Carter	1989-07-19	CLE	MIN	W 10-1	5	3	3	3	3	6	4	LF
18	Cory Snyder	1987-05-21	CLE	MIN	W 6-3	4	4	3	3	3	3	7	RF
19	Harold Baines	1984-09-17	CHW	MIN	W 7-3	5	4	3	3	3	4	3	RF
20	Doug DeCinces	1982-08-03	CAL	MIN	L 4-5	5	5	3	3	3	4	2	3B
21	Jeff Burroughs	1981-08-14 (2)	SEA	MIN	W 13-3	5	4	3	3	3	6	6	RF
22	Eddie Murray	1979-08-29 (2)	BAL	MIN	W 7-4	5	5	3	3	3	7	4	1B
23	Al Oliver	1979-05-23	TEX	MIN	W 7-2	4	4	3	3	3	4	3	CF
24	Bobby Grich	1974-06-18	BAL	MIN	W 10-1	5	5	3	3	3	6	3	2B
25	Joe Lahoud	1969-06-11	BOS	MIN	W 13-5	5	5	3	3	3	4	6	RF
26	Tommy McCraw	1967-05-24	CHW	MIN	W 14-1	6	6	3	3	3	8	4	1B

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/6/2016.

According to ELIAS

Twins blow out White Sox early

The Minnesota Twins did all of their scoring in the first three innings of their 11-3 win over the visiting White Sox yesterday. It was the second time this season that Minnesota scored 11 runs through the first three innings of a game at Target Field; they also did that in a 17-5 win over the Rangers on July 2. Before 2016, the Twins hadn’t scored 11 times before the fourth inning of a home game since August 15, 1987, against the Mariners at the Metrodome.

Twins inside-the-park home runs are a rarity

From the time the Twins started play in 1961 through yesterday June 14 (2016) the Minnesota Twins have hit 7,462 home runs, 3,746 have been hit on the road and 3,716 have been hit at home. The Twins hit 1,872 home runs at the Metrodome, 1,424 at Met Stadium and 420 at Target Field. The most home runs the Twins have hit on the road have been at the Angels home park where they have hit 257.

Of the Twins 7,462 round-trippers only 50 of them have been inside-the-park home runs. Inside-the-park home runs are relatively rare so I am a bit surprised that when Eduardo Nunez hit the latest one back on June 2 that no one mentioned that it was number 50 in Minnesota Twins history. How rare are they? Only .0067% of Twins home runs are of the inside-the-park variety. So what Twins have hit IPHR’s? We have put together a complete list here for you with the help of Baseball-Reference.

Twins inside-the-park home runs from 1961-June 2, 2016

Date	Batter	Opp	Pitcher	Play Description
1961-07-04 (2)	Harmon Killebrew	CHW	Cal McLish	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1962-04-27	Zoilo Versalles	@CLE	Dick Donovan	Home Run
1963-09-22	Jimmie Hall	@BOS	Bob Heffner	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1963-09-28	Vic Power	@NYY	Whitey Ford	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1964-07-04 (1)	Tony Oliva	@NYY	Jim Bouton	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1964-08-04	Rich Rollins	BOS	Bill Monbouquette	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1964-09-04	Tony Oliva	BOS	Dave Gray	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1965-04-22	Zoilo Versalles	@NYY	Pedro Ramos	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1965-06-04	Jimmie Hall	WSA	Howie Koplitz	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1965-06-18	Rich Rollins	@NYY	Bill Stafford	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1966-06-04	Tony Oliva	CLE	Tom Kelley	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1967-05-08	Ted Uhlaender	WSA	Phil Ortega	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1969-05-13	Rod Carew	BAL	Mike Cuellar	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1971-07-22	Jim Nettles	@NYY	Fritz Peterson	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1972-10-04	Eric Soderholm	CHW	Ken Frailing	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1974-06-24	Danny Thompson	@TEX	David Clyde	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1975-06-17 (1)	Dan Ford	OAK	Vida Blue	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1975-09-07	Steve Brye	@CHW	Claude Osteen	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1979-05-08	Ken Landreaux	TOR	Balor Moore	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1979-05-15	John Castino	TEX	Sparky Lyle	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1980-07-11	Rick Sofield	@SEA	Glenn Abbott	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1980-08-20	Mike Cubbage	TOR	Jackson Todd	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1982-05-28	Tom Brunansky	NYY	Ron Guidry	Home Run
1982-07-19	Tom Brunansky	MIL	Jerry Augustine	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1982-09-10	Gary Ward	@KCR	Larry Gura	Home Run
1982-09-30	Kent Hrbek	@TOR	Luis Leal	Home Run
1983-09-25	Tom Brunansky	@KCR	Keith Creel	Inside-the-park Home Run
1984-06-23	Randy Bush	CHW	Tom Seaver	Home Run
1984-06-24	Tim Teufel	CHW	Richard Dotson	WALK-OFF:ENDED GAME:Home Run
1984-09-11	Kent Hrbek	KCR	Charlie Leibrandt	Home Run
1985-07-03	Dave Engle	CLE	Neal Heaton	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1986-07-03	Ron Washington	BAL	Mike Boddicker	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1986-10-04	Greg Gagne	CHW	Floyd Bannister	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1986-10-04	Greg Gagne	CHW	Floyd Bannister	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1987-05-31 (1)	Gary Gaetti	@DET	Jeff Robinson	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1987-09-24	Greg Gagne	TEX	Charlie Hough	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1988-07-08	Steve Lombardozzi	MIL	Bill Wegman	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1988-09-28	Steve Lombardozzi	OAK	Todd Burns	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1990-05-26	Gene Larkin	BOS	Mike Boddicker	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1991-05-19	Mike Pagliarulo	@DET	Dan Petry	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
1994-05-17	Shane Mack	NYY	Jimmy Key	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF
1997-04-26	Rich Becker	TEX	Bobby Witt	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1997-05-25	Pat Meares	OAK	Ariel Prieto	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1997-08-08	Roberto Kelly	NYY	Dwight Gooden	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
1999-09-05	Todd Walker	@TBD	Ryan Rupe	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
2000-07-29	Chad Moeller	NYY	Ramiro Mendoza	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
2001-07-26	Torii Hunter	@OAK	Mark Guthrie	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
2007-07-21	Joe Mauer	LAA	Scot Shields	Inside-the-park Home Run to LF
2014-05-20	Kurt Suzuki	@SDP	Nick Vincent	Inside-the-park Home Run to CF
2016-06-02	Eduardo Nunez	TBR	Matt Moore	Inside-the-park Home Run to RF

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/14/2016.

What changes can you expect to find at Target Field

The Twins will open their seventh season in Target Field on Monday and the biggest changes are noted here.

Minnie & Paul’s

The newest renovation is the replacement of seating in the centerfield area, below the Minnie & Paul Celebration sign and above the “batters-eye”. The upper level (Club Level) will be named Minnie & Paul’s and will be open to all fans. Minnie & Paul’s, a Twins-themed pub will feature Minnesota-branded food options while serving as a stylish gathering space for fans of all ages.

CATCH

The lower tier (Mezzanine Level) will be known as CATCH, an intimate all-inclusive club with limited access for approximately 120 season ticket members. This new premium space will be all-inclusive with beverages and a variety of tapas-style foods included in the season ticket price.

Safety Netting

New safety netting to comply with Major League Baseball’s Fan Safety Recommendations. Target Field’s current backstop net is in compliance with the stated MLB recommendations, which call for netting to protect seats between the dugouts within 70-feet of home plate. In contrast to other MLB ballparks, Target Field’s dugouts are the closest to home plate of any in the league, because of the proximity of seats within the dugout box seating sections (sections 3 through 6 and sections 11 through 14), the Twins will add protective netting above the dugouts in advance of the 2016 season. This new safety netting will extend approximately seven-feet high and run the length of the first and third base dugouts.

Twins bonus baseball – long extra inning games

Starting with the 1961 season the Minnesota Twins have been scheduled to play about 8,912 games give or take a couple and only 33 of those games went 15 or more innings, a pretty small (less than 4 tenths of 1 percent) percentage. So if you attended one of these games you were a lucky son of gun. The Twins record in these games is 17-16 and as it turns out 17 games were at home and 16 on the road. Seven took place at Met Stadium, 9 took place at the Metrodome and 1 has taken place at Target Field. If you enjoy baseball you can’t help but enjoy bonus baseball, here is a chance to relive those games. Those pesky Cleveland Indians participated in their share of these games.

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	IP	H	R	SO	HR	Pit	BF	#	Attendance	GmLen
1	1993-08-31	MIN	CLE	W 5-4	22.0	16	4	8	0	288	85	7	17,968	377
2	1972-05-12	MIN	MIL	L 3-4	22.0	13	4	13	0		86	7	8,628	347
3	1967-08-09	MIN	WSA	L 7-9	20.0	14	9	16	2		79	5	16,901	340
4	1976-08-25	MIN	NYY	L 4-5	18.2	16	5	5	1		73	4	24,351	326
5	2004-08-08	MIN	OAK	L 5-6	18.0	16	6	13	0	251	71	7	25,976	297
6	1969-09-06	MIN	OAK	W 8-6	18.0	16	6	12	1		78	4	17,599	317
7	1969-07-19	MIN	SEP	W 11-7	18.0	20	7	9	1		82	5	12,069	341
8	1967-07-26 (2)	MIN	NYY	W 3-2	18.0	10	2	7	0		65	4	21,927	264
9	1976-08-28	MIN	CLE	L 3-4	16.2	13	4	6	0		62	6	6,071	295
10	1969-04-09	MIN	KCR	L 3-4	16.2	11	4	8	0		64	5	13,731	272
11	1995-05-07	MIN	CLE	L 9-10	16.1	26	10	9	3	322	82	9	39,431	396
12	2009-07-03	MIN	DET	L 9-11	16.0	17	11	12	2	218	69	7	33,368	307
13	2005-08-16	MIN	CHW	W 9-4	16.0	12	4	12	1	204	63	6	34,533	309
14	1986-06-11	MIN	TEX	L 2-6	16.0	16	6	7	1		66	5	11,506	272
15	1977-09-17	MIN	TEX	L 4-5	16.0	12	5	10	2		65	5	13,163	312
16	1969-07-25	MIN	CLE	W 4-2	16.0	8	2	14	1		57	3	8,959	266
17	1982-04-20	MIN	OAK	L 3-4	15.2	14	4	10	0		66	3	12,488	303
18	1975-07-12	MIN	NYY	L 7-8	15.2	18	8	7	1		70	5	13,573	311
19	2012-06-17	MIN	MIL	W 5-4	15.0	15	4	7	1	250	66	7	39,206	290
20	2004-06-10	MIN	NYM	W 3-2	15.0	8	2	13	1	231	59	6	16,706	246
21	2004-05-04	MIN	SEA	L 3-4	15.0	13	4	14	1	245	65	8	32,727	288
22	2004-04-06	MIN	CLE	W 7-6	15.0	12	6	10	1	223	59	8	19,832	300
23	2002-06-10	MIN	ATL	W 6-5	15.0	11	5	6	1	209	58	5	24,534	263
24	1999-05-21	MIN	OAK	W 2-1	15.0	8	1	9	0	225	59	5	14,433	295
25	1992-07-04	MIN	BAL	W 3-2	15.0	12	2	8	0	250	64	6	48,028	280
26	1980-08-28	MIN	TOR	W 7-5	15.0	13	5	9	1		60	4	14,035	264
27	1980-06-20	MIN	CLE	L 3-4	15.0	14	4	6	1		63	6	7,668	268
28	1974-09-10	MIN	CHW	W 8-7	15.0	19	7	9	1		62	4	3,285	247
29	1973-06-06 (1)	MIN	CLE	W 7-3	15.0	10	3	8	1		66	3		254
30	1972-06-06	MIN	BAL	W 5-4	15.0	11	4	14	0		63	4	6,203	265
31	1972-05-13	MIN	MIL	W 5-4	15.0	10	4	12	2		54	3	7,871	216
32	1964-09-29	MIN	KCA	L 6-7	15.0	10	7	13	3		61	8	2,999	290
33	1961-05-22	MIN	CLE	L 5-7	15.0	17	7	7	2		63	4	5,425	248

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/9/2016.

According to Wikipedia

The longest game by innings in Major League Baseball was a 1-1 tie in the National League between the Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 26 innings, at Braves Field in Boston on May 1, 1920. It had become too dark to see the ball (fields did not have lights yet and the sun was setting), and the game was considered a draw. Played rapidly by modern standards, those 26 innings were completed in 3 hours and 50 minutes.

The longest American League game, and tied for the longest major league game by innings which ended with one team winning, was a 7-6 victory by the Chicago White Sox over the Milwaukee Brewers in 25 innings, at Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1984. The game began at 7:30 p.m. on the evening of May 8, 1984, and after scoring early runs both teams scored twice in the 8th inning; but the game was suspended after 17 innings with the score tied 3-3 due to a league curfew rule prohibiting an inning from beginning after 12:59 a.m. The game was continued the following evening, May 9, 1984, and both teams scored three times in the 21st inning to make the score 6-6; finally, in the bottom of the 25th, the White Sox’ Harold Baines hit a home run to end the contest. Tom Seaver was the winning pitcher in relief.^[5] A regularly scheduled game followed, meaning both nights saw 17 innings played; Seaver also started, and won, the second game. The official time of the entire 25-inning game was 8 hours, 6 minutes, also a major league record

Just a single short of the cycle

Hitting for the cycle is a rare occurrence and only ten Twins players can say that they have one on their resume. The only Twin to hit for the so-called natural cycle (1B, 2B, 3B, and HR in that order) was Carlos Gomez in 2008. The first Twins cycle was hit by Rod Carew in 1970 and the Minnesota Twins as you know started play back in 1961. Two Twins players hit for the cycle at Met Stadium and two Twins players hit for the cycle at the Metrodome, so far the only cycle at Target Field is by Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers.

Many players came up just a hit short, 119 came up a home run short, 288 came up a triple short, 44 players came up a double short. Twelve different Twins players had the misfortune of just missing the cycle by coming up a single short, missed it by just this much…… Eddie Rosario is in this group and he missed his last year at Target Field.

Rk	Player	Date	Rslt	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB
1	Eddie Rosario	2015-07-30	W 9-5	5	5	3	3	1	1	1	3	0
2	Luis Rivas	2004-08-25	W 8-5	5	5	2	3	1	1	1	1	0
3	Corey Koskie	2001-07-05	W 12-2	5	5	2	3	1	1	1	5	0
4	Marty Cordova	1999-08-28	W 4-3	5	4	1	3	1	1	1	2	1
5	Javier Valentin	1999-06-06	W 13-6	5	5	2	3	1	1	1	2	0
6	Rich Becker	1996-07-13	L 11-19	6	6	3	4	1	1	2	6	0
7	Pat Meares	1996-04-02	L 6-10	5	5	1	3	1	1	1	4	0
8	Gary Gaetti	1983-07-27	L 9-13	5	5	3	3	1	1	1	4	0
9	Ken Landreaux	1979-08-20	W 10-5	5	5	3	3	1	1	1	6	0
10	Mike Cubbage	1977-08-07	W 11-1	5	5	2	3	1	1	1	5	0
11	George Mitterwald	1970-05-24	L 5-6	4	4	1	3	1	1	1	2	0
12	Bob Allison	1968-07-21 (2)	W 10-0	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	3	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/26/2016.

Remembering 1965 – Part 25 – “A Pennant for the Twins Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins”

The Twins chances for a 2015 wild card spot are “slim and none” as they prepare to play their final two games of 2015 at Target Field. Yes, mathematically they still have a chance but the odds are stacked against them. The Twins have had a wonderful season and stranger things have happened so there is still hope.

But 50 years ago the 1965 Minnesota Twins were playing their final game of the season at their home park (Metropolitan Stadium) too and they would go on to beat the California Angels 3-2 to post win number 102, the most ever wins in the Senators/Twins franchise history. Just a few days later this great team would take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1965 World Series.

A new book about that team and its players has just hit the market and if you are a fan of Minnesota Twins baseball you have to get your hands on that book. I have my book on order and can’t wait to start reading it. The book is called “A Pennant for the Twins Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins” and the author is Gregory H. Wolf.

Here is a portion of how the book is described on Amazon.com: “Included are the life and baseball stories of all 35 roster players, the coaches, and manager of the 1965 Twins, plus team owner Calvin Griffith; broadcasters Herb Carneal, Halsey Hall, and Ray Scott; and sportswriters Dick Gordon and Max Nichols. A comprehensive summary of the regular season, as well as meticulous essays highlighting important games and the All-Star Game played in Minnesota, an overview of the 1965 Dodgers, and thorough summaries the World Series games are included. Chapters about how the Griffith family built its pennant winner, the fate of the Twins after 1965, Metropolitan Stadium, and the 1965 season “by the numbers” round out the book. Members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) researched and wrote all of the biographies and essays in this book“.

I am proud to say that I played a small part in this book by contributing the BIO on Twins catcher John Sevcik and as I said earlier, I can’t wait to get my hands on this book to read the rest of the story. The is definitely a book that you want on your book shelf and it will make a great gift for any Minnesota Twins fan.

Remembering 1965 – Part 19 – 50th anniversary celebration pictures and video

The Minnesota Twins hosted a 59th anniversary celebration on July 31 and August 1 for the 1965 American League champions. On July 31st the organization put on a “Championship Breakfast” that was attended by about 250 Twins fans and 11 players from the 1965 championship team that won a Twins record 102 games. Twins TV broadcaster Dick Bremer served as the master of ceremonies.

I was able to attend the breakfast which was held in the Metropolitan Club at Target Field and had a great time meeting other Twins fans and chatting briefly with some of the players. The cost of the breakfast was $75 for season ticket holders and $100 if you were not a Twins season ticket holder with the proceeds going to the Twins Community Fund.

There were 35 players that appeared in a Minnesota Twins uniform in 1965 and 20 of them were in town for the 50 year anniversary celebration. Bernie Allen, Jerry Fosnow, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, Jim Kaat, Jerry Kindall, Andy Kosco, Frank Kostro, Jim Merritt, Mel Nelson, Joe Nossek, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual, Jim Perry, Frank Quilici, Rich Reese, Garry Roggenburk, Rich Rollins, Dick Stigman, Sandy Valdespino, and Al Worthington. Coach Hal Naragon was also in attendance.

The ten player’s have passed on are Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Dave Boswell, Harmon Killebrew, Johnny Klippstein, Don Mincher, Cesar Tovar, Ted Uhlaender, Zoilo Versalles, and Jerry Zimmerman. RIP gentlemen and thank you for all the wonderful memories.

John Sevcik and Bill Pleis were unable to attend due to family health issues. Jimmie Hall also was invited but was not in attendance. Why he was not here is unclear, I saw some where that he was not able to change his schedule in time to attend and the other reason that has floated around for a long time is that Hall likes to stay close to home and that he is not a huge fan of the Twins organization due to some conflicts that have arisen in the past over medical claims. I have no idea why Dwight Siebler or Pete Cimino were not in attendance other than Siebler only appeared in seven games and Cimino only appeared in one game.As nored earlier, coach Hal Naragon was in attendance.

Manager Sam Mele who is 93 was not able to attend due to health concerns but he did make a short video that was played for the crowd. Coaches Billy Martin, Johnny Sain, and Jim Lemon have also passed on. Coach Hal Naragon as mentioned earlier was in attendance.

I took a few pictures at the championship breakfast that I will share with you here. Just click on the first thumbnail image to get started.