May 22, 2023
Twins drop another series as team can’t score, bullpen doesn’t help
The Twins wrapped up their West Coast road trip with a losing record after they dropped both series to the Dodgers and Angels, including Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Halos. And once again a familiar pattern reared its head for the Twins: Great starting pitching, terrible situational hitting (the Twins again could not score with... Continue Reading »
November 28, 2022
The day the Twins’ Earl Battey met President Kennedy
In 1962, a year when major league baseball still played two All-Star games, the first of those games was played before 45,000 fans at D.C. Stadium on July 10. Among the fans that day, if one can call him that, was President John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy was assassinated 59 years ago today. Here's a... Continue Reading »
August 8, 2022
About what I expected: Twins split 4-game series with Blue Jays
At least the Twins went a long way in erasing the memory of Thursday’s terrible 9-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. They won on Friday and Saturday and then dropped a close one Sunday, losing 3-2 on a controversial call at home plate. In the top of the 10th inning, Twins left fielder Tim... Continue Reading »
December 13, 2021
A stroll down memory lane with Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Kaat
It never fails: A current or former Twins player is in the news and before long I have stumbled across something online that is entirely new to me. Who has been in the news? Former Twins Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva, both of whom were recently elected to the Class of 2022 of the National... Continue Reading »
May 31, 2021
Signs of life give way to reality: The Twins aren’t very good
The four-game winning streak and the sweep of the Baltimore Orioles got me fired up, thinking that the Twins were beginning to work their way out of a deep hole and were on to better times. And then they went and dropped two of three games (at home no less) to the Kansas City Royals,... Continue Reading »
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 »