June 9, 2021

Twins lose to Yankees, surprising no one

Superman calls it kryptonite. The Minnesota Twins call it the New York Yankees. And the Yanks did what they always do when they play the Twins, they beat them, 8-4, on Tuesday before nearly 18,000 fans at Target Field.

Moving on…

I’m just about finished with Thom Henninger’s latest book on the Twins. It’s called “The Pride of Minnesota: The Twins in the Turbulent 1960s.”

It has been an enjoyable read, but it doesn’t break any new ground on the Twins or the 1960s, the book touching mostly on the major and familiar events of the decade.

However, the book really comes alive when the author writes about how the 1960s played out in Minnesota, such as the homegrown music scene that emerged during the period and the protests along Plymouth Avenue in north Minneapolis. That was interesting, and it made me wish the author had focused not on the national events of the 1960s, but had looked exclusively at the state in the 1960s.

As for the Twins, the author does reveal some interesting games, including a 1969 contest between the Twins and the expansion Seattle Pilots.

On July 19, before 12,000 fans at Seattle’s Sick’s Stadium, the Twins and Pilots tangled for 18 innings. The game was suspended in the top of the 17th with the score tied at 7-7, then play resumed on July 20 with the Twins winning, 11-7, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

The game produced some crazy numbers, including 18 walks issued by Seattle pitching. The biggest offender was Seattle reliever, Gene Brabender, who walked seven over seven innings. Jim Bouton got the start for the Pilots, but was gone after three-plus innings. The loss went to Seattle reliever John Gelnar, who fell to 2-6 on the season, and the win to the Twins’ Jim Perry, who improved to 10-4.

The start went to virtual unknown, Jerry Crider, but eventually Twins manager Billy Martin called on Ron Perranoski, Jim Kaat and Perry to pitch the game.

The Twins were 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position and left 23 men on base. The Pilots were 5-for-19 and stranded 21.

And then there was this…

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.