“I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.” — The Pride of Nashville, Tennessee.
Actually, for me, it was Saturday morning after a Friday night at The Cell in Chicago. In the company of half of our fantasy league and other serious degenerates.
Having nothing to do the rest of the weekend, I drove up to Minneapolis to see the Mariners and the Twins. Almost exactly 400 miles. Games were Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. This was my first trip to the MetroDome, and my first “inside baseball,” other than when the roof is closed at Miller Park. I have now been to 20 major league parks. Only 10 of them are still open.
Saturday night’s game featured young Felix Hernandez. This kid is going to be pretty good. He hit 97 on the gun, and his change-up was a consistent 82. The Twins had 5 singles in 8 innings. Two were infield hits. One walk.
The Handsome Man hit two LONG home runs, one a Grand Slam in the 10th inning, as the Mariners posted an 8-3 win.
The Twins came alive to take the Sunday game.
Saturday night, they honored the 1965 Twins, who lost to the Dodgers in the World Series. The only living Twin who was a “no-show” was Jimmie Hall. I think I remember reading years ago that he never forgave the Twins for trading him to the Angels for Dean Chance. Mudcat Grant and Jim Kaat said a few words. Earl Battey, Bob Allison and Zoilo Versalles are no longer with us; I think everyone else was there. Some on crutches, one in a wheel chair, but they all looked GREAT to me. At my age, I get emotional at settings like that. I was in high school in 1965; what an avalanche of memories for me. Worth the trip.
Quick Trivia Question: Who is the only man in Twins history who was a Twins PLAYER, a Twins MANAGER and a Twins RADIO COLOR MAN? Answer later.
I’ll take a stab and say Jim Kaat..
Speaking of Kaat, am I the only one who thinks that he belongs in the HOF?
He won close to 300 games (283), had a 3.45 ERA over 4500 innings, and had bufu Gold Gloves to top it off.
Granted, he falls in the longevity category as opposed to the Sandy Koufax, Dizzy Dean 5 or 6 incredible years category.
That said, he DID win 25 games one year.
Comments?
Trivia Answer: Frank Quilici.
Kaat in the HOF? Who knows, anymore? I think Jim Kaat is “A Poor Man’s Tommy John.” I think Tommy John is “A Poor Man’s Don Sutton.” So whether you think Sutton and John should be in, probably determines whether you think Jim Kaat should be in.
I hate to be wishy-washy, but the day they let Bill Mazeroski in was the day they lost a boatload of credibility and made it A LOT HARDER to definitely exclude guys. Thus: Who knows?
BTW: Those Gold Gloves are meaningless to me. Gold Gloves are arbitrary and subjective awards (ask Palermo) at any position. For pitchers, I think they mean NOTHING.
Can you tell by my mood that the Angels are struggling?
WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?
DonS.
I’ll agree with you about the GG for the most part… but they dont hurt either.
You’re really baiting a certain Pirate fan I know. I guess it’s time to test that vulgarity filter on this blog :)