The Twins Almanac is a website and active twitter feed that reports on the history of the team, its players and those athletes with a connection to Minnesota.
An old Twins Almanac tweet showed up in my own twitter feed last week, reminding me of a time when the Twins turned two triple plays against the Boston Red Sox in July 1990. I am familiar with that moment, but I was totally unfamiliar with what happened the following day: The Twins and Red Sox turned 10 double plays to tie a major league record.
Even better: Who remembers Twins infielder Fred Manrique?
July 17, 1990: Gary Gaetti, Al Newman, and @Hrbie14 turn an unprecedented two triple plays at Fenway Park, with Tom Brunansky hitting into the first one. The #MNTwins still lose 1-0.
The next night the two teams tied a major league record by turning a combined 10 double plays. pic.twitter.com/ZsTipTwiu3
— The Twins Almanac (@TwinsAlmanac) July 17, 2018
The Twins won the World Series in 1987, then won 91 games the following season before slipping a bit in ‘89 and ‘90. The Twins were 42-46 heading into a three-game series at Fenway Park on July 16-18, 1990.
The Twins won the opener 3-2, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth inning to earn the victory. Senor Smoke got the win to improve to 7-2 and closer Rick Aguilera picked up his 22nd save.
The next game they lost, shut out 1-0 by Boston starter Tom Bolton and Ex-Twin Jeff Reardon. The Twins, though, still grabbed headlines by turning two triple plays, Gary Gaetti to Al Newman to Kent Hrbek.
In the final game of the series, both teams combined for 26 hits, but Boston scored only a 5-4 win, likely because of the Twins’ defense.
The six double plays for the Twins, according to Baseball-Reference.com:
–Al Newman-Fred Manrique-Kent Hrbek (three times).
-Fred Manrique-Al Newman-Kent Hrbek.
-Kent Hrbek-Al Newman-Kent Hrbek.
-Fred Manrique-Kent Hrbek.
The four double plays for the Red Sox:
-Jody Reed-Tim Naehring-Carlos Quintana.
-Carlos Quintana (Unassisted, apparently).
-Jody Reed-Carlos Quintana.
-Tim Naehring-Jody Reed-Carlos Quintana.
Manrique spent one season with the Twins in 1990. He appeared in 69 games and hit .237.
Although the defense did its best to preserve the win, Senor Smoke took the loss and fell to 7-3. Reliever Dennis Lamp got the win for the Red Sox and Reardon his 17th save.
The record for most double plays in one game by one team is seven.
Extra innings…
-Rest in peace, Frank Robinson. Hall of Famer Robinson, who slugged 586 home runs, died last week at the age of 83. Robinson started his career in the National League where he became a star for the Cincinnati Reds. He won the NL MVP in 1961. But later, thinking that Robinson’s best years were behind him, the Reds traded him to the Baltimore Orioles. In l966, his first season in the American League, Robinson hit .316 with 49 home runs and 122 RBI and was named AL MVP. It was also the beginning of a dynasty for the Orioles, a team that had power, pitching and a great defense. They won the World Series in 1966, followed by wins or appearances in the World Series in ’69, ’70, ’71, ’79 and ’83.