Once again the gift that keeps on giving, otherwise known as the internet, delivered something of interest for this Twins-focused blog.
Crosley Field, Cincinnati, July 30, 1967 – Pete Rose in LF under the shadow of one of the most majestic scoreboards ever with a 7-foot Longines clock perched on top. It was built in 1957 standing 58-feet tall and it took 5 people to man it. Note the slope of the field pic.twitter.com/WtLH8P8MVW
— Old-Time Baseball Photos (@OTBaseballPhoto) July 7, 2022
What was it? A July 30, 1967 image of the baseball scoreboard at Crosley Field, the onetime home of the Cincinnati Reds. The board stood 58 feet tall and took five people to operate it, according to the information included in the tweet. As with all scoreboards, other scores can be seen as well, including a 7-5 Twins win over the Boston Red Sox.
The year 1967 was a good one for the Twins, a team that was among the league leaders all season. But July saw them waver a bit with a seven-game losing streak, the longest of the ’67 campaign. And it was a strange streak: Of the seven games, three of them were 2-1 losses to the California Angels, and one of them wasn’t a win or a loss, but a 1-1 tie at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees. A torrential rain storm finally delayed the game in the ninth inning. The game was later made up as part of a doubleheader, although the tie was still treated as a tie, according to the Minneapolis Tribune.
“All records of the game count in the official American League statistics as they did in the Twins other tie this season — 5-5 at Detroit,” the newspaper reported.
Meanwhile, once the losing streak was out of the Twins’ system, the winning started again with the 7-5 victory over Boston.
Twins starter Jim Merritt allowed one run over eight innings, while the Twins countered with seven runs, courtesy of a 4-for-5 day from rookie Rod Carew, who also hit a home run. Still, the Twins coughed up four runs in the bottom of the ninth (sound familiar?) before first baseman Rich Reese got the final out in acrobatic fashion.
“(Cesar) Tovar and Reese collided, the ball popped free,” the Tribune reported. “However, Reese caught the ball as he fell to the ground for the game-ending out.”
Beating the Red Sox was old hat for the Twins in the 1960s. From 1964 through 1967, the Twins went 64-26 against Beantown, including 17-1 in 1965. But 1967 was also the “impossible dream” season for the Sox, the year when Carl Yastrzemski almost single-handedly powered Boston to an AL pennant. The season came down to the wire, but the Red Sox finally beat the Twins when it mattered most, leaving the Twins a game out of first place when the season ended.
Including the tie games, the Twins played 164 games in 1967, finishing with a record of 91-71-2.
Extra innings…
-The Twins suddenly find themselves with a three-game losing streak. They are getting plenty of offense, but little in the way of quality starting pitching or relief.
All three losses have been slugfests: They lost 9-8 to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, and 6-5 and 9-7 to the Texas Rangers on Friday and Saturday.
The Twins meet the Rangers again on Sunday. Dylan Bundy gets the ball.
Sources: The twitter account of Old-time Baseball Photos, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com, MLB.com.