December 7, 2020
Ol’ Ike didn’t bring much luck to Camilo on Opening Day
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when presidents still did such things, threw out the first pitch or attended a number of Washington Senators games during his time in office. And pitcher Camilo Pascual often was on the bump for an Opening Day start, according to Baseball Almanac and Baseball-Reference.com. Pascual, who won 174 games over 18... Continue Reading »
November 8, 2020
A magnanimous Calvin Griffith? Maybe
Julio Becquer, a former pinch hitter for the Twins, died this month, generating remembrances from Minnesota-based sports media. He was 88. Becquer also was Cuban, and one of a long line of Cuban ballplayers who made their way to the Washington Senators and Twins. You know the names: Pedro Ramos, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual and... Continue Reading »
June 15, 2020
The day the Twins became the first AL team to hit 5 home runs in an inning
A season after the Twins went to the World Series in 1965, they got off to a slow start and played mostly .500 ball. But there were signs the second half of the season might be different, particularly on June 9, 1966, when the Twins hosted the Kansas City A’s before only 9,600 fans. Curveballer... Continue Reading »
March 30, 2020
The day Camilo Pascual struck out 15 on opening day, 1960
A season before the Washington Senators picked up stakes and moved to Minnesota, the Washington team kicked off its final season in D.C. in style, courtesy of a 26-year-old Cuban curveballer named, Camilo Pascual. Pascual’s pitching that day was good enough for inclusion on Baseball-Reference.com’s top opening day pitching performances. He won 17 games the... Continue Reading »
July 21, 2019
The day Tony Oliva hit the deck, then hit a triple
The Twins lost again Saturday to the Oakland A’s, so let’s forget about the 2019 team for the moment and turn back the clock. During the recent Twins/Mets series, Strib columnist, Patrick Reusse, tweeted about seeing Mets pitching coach, Phil Regan, visit the mound at Target Field. And yet nobody booed him, which led Reusse... Continue Reading »
December 24, 2018
Remembering Cookie Lavagetto, baseball manager
A decade after Cookie Lavagetto suspected the New York Giants were up to no good during the 1951 season — and was later famously captured on film sitting next to a bawling Ralph Branca after that history-making October loss — Lavagetto found himself in Minnesota, manager of a newly relocated team called the Twins. During... Continue Reading »
January 18, 2016
Sam Mele, who guided Twins to 1965 World Series appearance, turns 94 this week
Sam Mele, who won 524 games as manager of the Twins from 1961 to 1967, will celebrate his 94th birthday on Thursday. Mele’s tenure with the Twins wasn’t long, but after the Washington Senators relocated to Minnesota for the 1961 season, it also wasn’t long before the Twins showed improvement. Under Mele, the Twins won... Continue Reading »