Tag: Minnesota Twins

SEP 6: The AL race of ’67

SEPTEMBER 6, 1967 | CHICAGO, DETROIT, BOSTON, MINNEAPOLIS – Splitting the National and American Leagues into divisions in 1969 brought more teams into the postseason, but it pre-empted some great pennant races, one of those was the American League race of 1967.

The “Pennant” winner, do they even use that term anymore, used to be decided by regular season games.There were no division champions or wildcard teams. The only postseason was the World Series and only two teams made it. Every regular season game was crucial.

On this date in ’67 4 teams were tied for 1st place – not to get to the American League Divisional Series (ALDS) or American League Championship Series (ALCS) – to get to the World Series. This is what the American League standings looked like at the end of the day – September 6, 1967:

American League
—————–W–L– -Pct.–G.B.
Minnesota……78  61  .561    –
Chicago……….78  61  .561    –
Boston…………79  62  .560    –
Detroit…………79  62  .560   –
California……72   67 .518   6
Washington….66  74  471  12
Cleveland…….65  76  .461  14
Baltimore……..62 75  .453  15
New York……..62 78  .443  16
Kansas City…..57 82 .410  21

The Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers all went down to the last weekend of the season to decide the pennant. From August 19th on none of the four teams was ever more than 3 games out. Minnesota and Boston were still tied for the lead on the last day of the season and were playing each other. The Red Sox won 5-3. They went on to play St. Louis in the World Series.

If the original divisional alignment had been in play that year there would have been two 2-team races in the Eastern Division (Boston and Detroit) and the Western Division (Minnesota and Chicago). Four teams is a little more dramatic.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
1967 AL pennant race
Red Sox-Twins final game of the season

A STORY FROM MARCH 6 IN BASEBALL HISTORY – KIRBY PUCKETT DIES MUCH TOO YOUNG

TODAY IN BASEBALL TAKES US BACK TO MARCH 6, 2006 IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA. Kirby Puckett always tried to look on the bright side, which would have helped his family, friends and fans when he died on this date in 2006. The former Minnesota Twins outfielder and member of the Hall of Fame suffered a massive brain hemorrhage the previous day, and died after surgery to relieve the pressure.

Puckett probably would have said something like, “It was a short life (45 years), but a fulfilling one.” This is what Puckett (5′ 8″ 210 lbs) actually did say when he was forced to retire in 1996 after waking up one morning blind in one eye, “I was told I would never make it because I’m too short. Well, I’m still too short, but I’ve got 10 All-Star Games, two World Series championships, and I’m a very happy and contented guy.

It doesn't matter what your height is, it's what's in your heart."

Kirby Puckett was born Chicago and raised in the Robert Taylor Homes, at the time, the largest public housing project in the country and one of the most notorious; infested with drugs, gangs and crime. But Kirby make it out, attending Bradley University for a short time where he was an all-conference outfielder as a freshman. He transferred to Triton Junior College outside Chicago and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1982 draft, after his hometown Cubs passed him up. He finished his 12-year career with a lifetime .318 average, and despite a shortened career finished with over 2,000 hits and 1,000 RBI’s.

Puckett’s pristine, community-conscious image took hit after he was forced to retire. His former wife accused him of threatening her, and he was accused (and acquitted) of groping a woman in a Twin Cities restaurant. As time went on he gained a tremendous amount of weight, ballooning to well over 300 lbs, which likely lead to his hypertension and contributed to his death.

Contributing sources:
Kirby Puckett – Baseball-Almanac
1982 Amateur Draft – mlb.com

JAN 4 IN BASEBALL HISTORY – MINNESOTA GETS MANAGER, WILL THERE BE A TEAM?

JANUARY 4, 2002 | MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA • The Minnesota Twins hired a new manager on this date in 2002 without knowing if there would be a team to manage. Ron Gardenhire was chosen to replace former manager Tom Kelly who retired.

The fate of the Twins and the National League’s Montreal Expos was in question because of contraction. Major League Baseball owners voted after the 2001 season to eliminate two franchises that weren’t making enough money and had lousy stadium deals. The owners didn’t say which two teams those were, but the Twins and Expos fit the criteria.

As it turned out the Minnesota Twins got a new stadium deal and remain in Minneapolis. Minnesota has a new manager and a team to manage. Montreal did not get a stadium deal. The Expos franchise moved to Washington, D. C. in 2005 and became the Washington Nationals.

Contributing Sources:
ESPN, (AP-Associated Press), “Twins spared through 2003 in lawsuit settlement“
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), January 5, 2002

NOV 22 IN BASEBALL HISTORY-Rod Carew in a runaway

NOVEMBER 22, 1967 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK • Rod Carew ran away with the American League Rookie of the Year award on this date in 1967. Carew would go on to a 19-year Hall of Fame career, mostly with the Minnesota Twins and mostly as a second baseman. He played 5 seasons for the California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).

Carew was an all-star every year of his career except his last.

He was named AL Most Valuable Player in 1977 when he hit .388, drove in 100 runs and scored 128. He finished with a lifetime batting average of .328.

Carew was born on a train October 1, 1945 in what was then known as The Panama Canal Zone. When his mother went into labor she was assisted by a doctor by the name of Rodney Cline. In an expression of gratitude, the child was officially named Rodney Cline Carew.

The family emigrated to the United States when Rodney was 14. They settled in the Washington Heights section of New York City.

Contributing sources:
1967 post-season awards

October 26: Puckett carries Twins

cropped-ball-2.jpgOCTOBER 26, 1991 | MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – Minnesota Twins center fielder Kirby Puckett was not having a good World Series against the Atlanta Braves. The Twins were facing elimination in game 6 of the 1991 fall classic. It all changed on this date. The best way to describe it; ‘Puckett carries Twins to promised land.’

Kirby Puckett hit a triple in the first inning to drive in a run and later scored. In the third he robbed the Braves’ Ron Gant of extra bases by seeming to hang in mid-air to snag a 400-foot drive off the Plexiglas in left-center field. The future Hall-of-Famer broke a tie in the fifth with a sacrifice fly to deep center. After the Braves tied it up in the 8th, Puckett singled and stole second, but didn’t score.

Puckett’s real heroics came when the game went into extra innings. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis was packed with 51,155 frenzied fans. Puckett led off the 11th. He was facing the Braves’ Charlie Leibrandt. The count was 2-balls and 1-strike. Puckett hit the next pitch over the left field fence prompting television play-by-play man Jack Buck to say, simply, “And we’ll see you tomorrow night.”

The Twins won that game too, and won a thrilling 1991 World Series.

Contributing sources:
Still a Series to Savor