Tony, the Killer, and Carew

In honor of February being Black History month, I’d like to do a few posts on black players for the Twins and their contributions to the team and MLB. The first player I’d like to take a look at is Jim “Mudcat” Grant.

Grant’s career spanned from 1958-1971 while making a stop in Minnesota from 1964-1966.  Besides pithing for the Twins, Grant saw time with the Cleveland Indians (1958-1964), LA Dodgers (1968), Montreal Expos (1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1969), Oakland A’s (1970-1971) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1971).

Grant found sporadic success during his career, but managed to become the first black to win 20 games in the American League during his 21-7 campaign with the 1965 Twins. Grant’s success helped the Twins win the 1965 American League pennant.

Grant pitched a complete game in Game 1, out dueling Dodger Don Drysdale in a 8-2 Twins victory.  In Game 4, Drysdale turned the same trick on Grant by tossing a complete game and beating Mudcat 7-2. Grant came back on short rest to pitch Game 6 of the series and again turned in a complete game gem by beating back the N.L champs 5-1. This gave Mudcat a 2-1 record in the series with 2 complete game gems. Had the Twins pulled out Game 7, a good case could have been made for Mudcat winning the series MVP. Giving even more fuel to his case was what happened in Game 6 by Grant at the plate. With the Twins up 2-0 in the 6th inning, Grant came up and blasted only the second HR by a pitcher in Worrld Series history. With 2 outs and Bob Allison and Frank Quilici on base, Grant went deep off of Howie Reed to give the Twins a 5-1 lead.

Grant’s baseball cards don’t offer anything special, but I’d like to focus on his card in the 1965 Trade Bloc set. According to the 2006 Standard Catalog of Baseball cards, “These cards were produced as part of a baseball game which was marketed at Metropolitan Stadium for $1. The blank-backed cards measure 2-1/4″ x 3-1/2″ and are brinted in either blue or sepia tones. Besides Twins players and staff, the set includes cards of various team souvenir items as well as old Met Stadium. Besides the player photo, cards include a facsimile autograph, stats, and personal data.”

The set is a very sought after treasure for Twins fans. While the cards themselves don’t really light the collecting world on fire, it simply a matter of supply and demand. I’m sure many of these sets exist in the basements and attics of the Twin Cities area, I’ve only run across a few people that have had the cards and the game. Until today, I hadn’t seen anything but the cards, but a luckily timed search on eBay has turned up a complete set…still in the box!

While completely out of my price range, the auction shares some awesome shots of the game and I’d like to share those with you here. I am especially psyched about the back side of the box and game instructions. They’re a little difficult to read, but if this blind bat can manage to make most of out, maybe you can too. It certainly isn’t Strat-O-Matic or APBA but I’m sure young Twins fans enjoyed it just the same.

If anyone had this game or remembers playing it, I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts and memories about the game and the cards.

After a long hiatus, “Tony, the Killer and Carew” is back. I can’t promise to be as prolific as some of the other card bloggers out there, but I do promise to blog about Twins cards…and Twins history, Twins trivia and anything else Twins I can think of.

First off, welcome to the new, improved TwinsCards. We are now linked to the largest baseball card database on the web. Okay, maybe Beckett has a bigger database, but not with images! You will also notice that we have maintained the services of blogger Scot Johnson who writes the superbly informative franchise history blog, Coffeyville Whirlwind. Scot will continue to share his posts with us here at TwinsCards as well under the blog link to the left. We also invite other “would

Senor Smoke...at his worst!

be” bloggers to join the team. It has to be Twins and/or collecting related, but we are trying to cultivate a user community here and are always looking for others to share their passion with the rest of us.

Okay…enough with the pleasantries…on with the card blogging.

I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about Jack Morris. You see, my friend is a die-hard Tigers fan and we were reminiscing about past players and he was whining because Morris left the Tigers to win a championship in Minnesota. Once we got past Morris, I started listing all the other past Tigers who played for the Twins…okay, it was a short list….in fact, the only other player I could think of besides Jack Morris was Senor Smoke, Juan Berenguer.

Senor Smoke

This is Berenguer’s 1989 Bowman card and is my favorite “non-action” shot and exactly how I remember him…flowing locks, an intimidating stare and a nasty forkball! Berenguer played with the Twins from 1987-1990 and had a 33-13 record with 9 saves. Berenguer started 6 games in 1987 but was used primarily as a set-up and late inning guy for Jeff Reardon and Rick Aguilera.

Berenguer was a fan favorite during his time in Minnesota and ventured into the music video industry. Capatilizing on the success of past celebrity sports videos (The Chicago Bears and the Super Bowl Shuffle), Berenguer created the regrettable, but hilarious Berenguer Boogie.

The video is probably one of the worse things ever created, but it’s like a trainwreck waiting to happen. You don’t really want to watch, but you just can’t look away!

Hey…it’s been a while, but we’re still here. While real life has taken precedence over the site for a while, we have still been working behind the scenes to make improvements to the site. You might notice that their are now two blogs listed on the site…a history blog and a card blog.

While TwinsCards.com was created as a team baseball card site, we have morphed into much more than that over the years. When we brought Scot Johnson on board last year as our lead blogger, we dove directly into Twins history with frequent posts by Scot and an occasional post by myself. All that time, Scot was pulling double duty at his own blog, Coffeyville Whirlwind. Scot’s blog deals with franchise history while his posts here at TwinsCards dealt strictly with Twins history. Needless to say, pulling double duty between two blogs that have overlapping content seemed a waste of time and energy. With that said, Scott will now be publishing the same content on both blogs. We welcome Scot’s content that covers both the Twins (post-1961) and the Senators (pre-1961) and look forward to uncovering the rich history behind a franchise that has much more to offer than just Tony…the Killer and Carew.

The new blog will have it’s own page and keep Scot’s original blog title, Coffeyville Whirlwind, while our current blog, Tony…the Killer and Carew will focus on the collecting aspect of the site. While I do not claim to be an expert on baseball cards, I do share an interest in the collecting side of things and will try and post relevant content relating to such. In addition, Joel Thingvall (aka Twinkie, Rosterman) has promised some insight into the autograph collecting hobby with tips, insights and stories relating to his years pursuing every single Twins’ autograph.

Content on the “card blog” may still be light for a few weeks. I’m in the process of moving homes (also countries) and have to concentrate on making that a smooth transition, but have no fear…we will have it and running soon. If you have an interest in possibly contributing to the “card blog”, please drop me a line at info@twinscards.com.

Quite a list of sevens:

Lenny Green, 1961-64
Jimmie Hall, 1964-66
Frank Quilici, 1967-70
Paul Ray Powell, 1971
Jim Nettles, 1971-72
Jerry Terrell, 1973-74
Danny Walton, 1975
Dave McKay, 1975-76
Rob Wilfong, 1977-82
Larry Milbourne, 1982
Boomer Wells, 1982
Scott Ullger, 1983
Dave Meier, 1984-85
Greg Gagne, 1987-92
Denny Hocking, 1993-2003
Joe Mauer, 2004-08

It looks like at least one person has worn Twins #7 every season except 1986.

Scotty Ullger also has a birthday this week. He’s one of only two Twins players whose last name starts with the letter “U” - can you name the other?

Other sevens:

The Twins are 2-1 in post season Game 7’s - all of the games came in the World Series.

Chip Hale had seven home runs in his Twins career.

Eddie Bane had seven wins in his Twins career.

Joe Grzenda - 6/8/1937: 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA for the Twins in 48 2/3 IP all in the 1969 season.

 
Carmen Castillo - 6/8/1958: Utility player from 1989-1991.

Lamar Jacobs - 6/9/1937: Four games with the Twins in 1961.

 
Bruce Look - 6/9/1943: The catcher’s only major league season was in 1968.

Tom Edens - 6/9/1961: Relief pitcher for the Twins in 1991 and 1992.

 
Ed Plamquist - 6/10/1933: Appeared in nine games and started a couple for the Twins in 1961.

Bob Randall - 6/10/1948: His career spanned five seasons with the Twins, mostly as a second baseman.

Scott Ullger - 6/10/1955: Probably will be the team’s next manager.

Danny Morris - 6/11/1946: Pitched in six games for the Twins over the span of two seasons in the late 1960’s.

Gerry Arrigo - 6/12/1941: Almost pitched a no-hitter in 1964.

 
Jim Strickland - 6/12/1946: Left-handed reliever for the Twins in the early 1970’s.

 
Scott Aldred - 6/12/1968: Minnesota was the fifth stop for the journeyman reliever/starting pitcher in the mid-1990’s.

George Tsamis - 6/14/1967: 41 relief appearances for the Twins in 1993.

The number six is hanging on the curtain in the upper deck of the Metrodome. Three guesses as to which player’s picture it accompanies (no, not Ted Lepcio - two more guesses). Interestingly enough, the number “6″ is one of six retired numbers for the Twins (3, 6, 14, 29, 34, 42).

Billy Consolo, 1961
Ted Lepcio, 1961
Jim Snyder, 1962
Vic Wertz, 1963
Tony Oliva, 1964-75
Tony Oliva, 1976 (Player-Coach)
Tony Oliva, 1977-78, 1985-91 (Coach)

Speaking of great players, there are six members of the Baseball Hall of Fame who have worn a Twins uniform. Unfortunately, Tony Oliva is not one of them.

The Twins have never lost a post season Game 6. They are 3-0, with all of the wins coming in the World Series.

There are the six Twins with more than 2000 plate appearances that have a career batting average over .300 - Rod Carew .334, Kirby Puckett .318, Shane Mack .309, Brian Harper .306, Chuck Knoblauch .304, and #6 himself with .304.

On April 11, 1961 the team took the field as the Minnesota Twins for the first time. The very first double play in Twins history came in the fifth inning of that game. It went 5-4-3 from Bertoia to Gardner to Killebrew. In all, the 1961 team turned 150 double plays, about in the middle of the pack in the American League. The main double play combo that year was Zoilo Versalles to Billy Martin to Harmon Killebrew. Versalles was a 21-year-old rookie at the time while Martin was playing out his last season as a player.

The 1962 version of the Twins led the league in double plays turned with 173. Rookie Bernie Allen took over at second base for Martin while Versalles’ defense improved in his sophomore season. It didn’t hurt that the first baseman was Vic Power, considered one of the best glove men in the league. Versalles continued to sparkle at short stop for most of the 1960’s. He played primarily with Allen at second and a variety of different first basemen including Killebrew, Power, Bob Allison, and Don Mincher.

In 1967, a young Rod Carew took over at second base. He joined short stop Leo Cardenas, who came to the Twins after the 1968 season, to form one of the more potent combinations in the league during the 1969 season. On the receiving end of most of the double plays was converted third baseman Rich Reese.

The Twins were again on top of the league in terms of double plays in 1976 with 182 turned. That year was Roy Smalley’s first at short stop for the Twins and Bob Randall’s rookie season at second. Carew was the regular first baseman that year. The same combo led the league again in 1977 (184) and was among the leaders in 1978 (171). Smalley to Rob Wilfong to Ron Jackson continued to be among the league leaders heading into the 1980’s, and Smalley set a major league record for double plays by a short stop in 1979 when he had 144 (he is still second on that list).

Greg Gagne and Kent Hrbek were the bookends of the double play team from 1985-1992. Second base was a bit of a revolving door during that time, including names like Teufel, Backman, Herr, and Newman. The Twins won their World Series championships with the combination of Gagne to Lombardozzi to Hrbek in 1987 and Gagne to Knoblauch to Hrbek in 1991.

For four seasons in the early part of this decade, the Twins infield looked the same. The get to know ‘ems boasted Guzman to Rivas to Mientkiewicz, a group that was known more for its defensive contributions than its offense. In 2008, the double play group is Everett to Harris to Morneau. Through Saturday’s games they had turned 35 double plays, last in the American League.

5/18/1933 - Carroll Hardy (9 plate appearances in 11 games for the Twins in 1967)
5/18/1958 - Andre David (appeared in 38 games for the Twins from 1984-1986)
5/18/1971
Rich Garces - Originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Twins in 1987, Garces got a few chances to pitch in the majors but was released during the strike of 1994. He went on to have a decent career as a relief pitcher.

5/19/1952
Dan Ford - Darnell “Disco Dan” Glen Ford patrolled the outfield at the Met from 1975 to 1978. Though his defense was far from legendary, he had some good seasons at the plate. His best season, however, probably came in 1979 after he was traded to the Angels. His production tailed off quickly after that, but he hung around the league as a utility player until he retired after the 1985 season. Ford’s career highlights also include hitting for the cycle as a member of the Angels and playing in the 1983 World Series as a member of the Orioles.

5/21/1924
Ed Fitz Gerald - Fitz Gerald was a catcher for the ‘Nats from 1953 to 1959. He was a coach for the Twins from 1962-1964.

5/21/1960
Kent Hrbek - Hrbie was the fourth Twin to have his number retired when the Twins did so in 1995. He joined Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Rod Carew at the time (he also joined those three in a recent commerical). He played his entire major league career (1981-1994) as a member of his hometown Minnesota Twins. He was, of course, a member of both World Series Championship teams and remains in second on the franchise home run list with 293 (well behind the 559 set by Harmon Killebrew).
5/22/1934 - Jose Valdivieso (played in 76 games for the Twins in 1961)

Twins who have worn uniform number “5″

Jose Valdivielso, 1961
Don Mincher, 1962-66
Russ Nixon, 1967
Bob Oldis, 1968 (Coach)
Leo Cardenas, 1969-70
Danny Thompson, 1970-76
Roy Smalley, 1976-82, 1985-87
Ray Smith, 1983
Houston Jimenez, 1984
Jim Dwyer, 1988-90
Pedro Munoz, 1990-95
Roberto Kelly, 1996-97
Brent Gates, 1998-99
Michael Cuddyer, 2001-08

Roy Smalley is the most accomplished player to wear the number for the Twins, but the most interesting question that pops out of this list to me is who would you rather have as your right fielder: Pedro Munoz or Michael Cuddyer.

Twins career:
Cuddyer: 2445 PA .270/.345/.447 73 HR 107 OPS+
Munoz: 1701 PA .275/.316/.444 61 HR 101 OPS+

Looks like Cuddyer. Munoz’ career was over by the time he was 28, Cuddyer is currently 29 and still has a lot of games ahead of him.

Other fives:

The Twins have had five AL Rookie of the Year award winners: Tony Oliva (1964), Rod Carew (1967), John Castino (1979), Chuck Knoblauch (1991), and Marty Cordova (1995).

Among those Twins and former Twins celebrating birthdays this week is Howard Sinker’s favorite former short stop, Lenny Faedo.

Faedo was a hot prospect in his home town of Tampa, Florida. When he was 18, the Twins made him the 17th overall pick in the 1978 amateur draft. Faedo’s professional career started on a high note in the Appalachian League. The Elizabethton Twins, with Faedo’s help, won the league title in 1978, and Faedo was named to the Appalachian League All-Star team after batting .280 in 55 games. Faedo continued to progress in the organization over the next few years, long considered the Twins’ top prospect. There was even talk of moving Roy Smalley to first base or to a different team to make room for Faedo as the starting short stop for the major league club.

Though 1980 was a down year for Faedo - he batted just .240 for Orlando, he made his major league debut as a September call up at the end of the season. The Twins were said to be happy with his fielding, but felt he had a lot of work to do with his bat. Manager Johnny Goryl characterized Faedo as having a “Bible swing - ‘Thou shalt not pass,’” referring to Faedo’s tendency to swing at just about every pitch he saw.

After his first taste of the majors, it was clear to management that Faedo had not progressed as quickly as had been hoped, and the plans to trade Smalley were temporarily put on hold. Faedo became impatient with the organization, whose stance that he was the heir apparent at short stop had significantly softened after the 1980 season, including a tough stint in the Florida Instructional League that fall. Said Faedo:

They called me up in September and I sat on the bench for 25 days and then they put me in on artificial turf in Kansas City and I made a couple of errors, and now I can’t play.

 

George Brophy was on me during the instructional league, but there were a lot of reasons I didn’t play well, including an injury. Both Brophy and I will be better off if we didn’t talk much to each other. I know this: if they don’t think I am going to be a big league player, the Twins can release me, and I’ll sign with another organization the next day for a lot more money.

 

With talk of Roy Smalley moving to third base for the start of the 1981 season, the regular short stop job was up for grabs in the spring. Instead of having it handed to him, however, Faedo was forced into a spring competition with Johnnie Walker, another young short stop that came from the Dodgers’ organization, though with a lot less fan fare than Faedo had received. After a brief time of open competition, it was announced that Smalley would remain a short stop after all, and that the battle between Faedo, Walker, and new acquisition Chuck Baker would be for the backup job. Faedo ended up starting the season in the minors, but when Smalley went down with an injury in the late summer, Faedo found himself back with the Twins. Though he only batted .195/.209/.244 in 43 plate appearances before succumbing to his own injured heel, Faedo had impressed enough on defense to be penciled in by manager Billy Gardner as the starting short stop for the 1982 season.

After Roy Smalley was finally traded four games into the 1982 season, Faedo finally got his shot as a part of the Twins’ youth movement. Faedo struggled out of the gate both at the plate (.216/.293/.216 through April 22) and in the field. Before April was over Faedo had been replaced at short stop by career minor leaguer Ron Washington. At the age of 30, Washington got his first real shot at the majors and made the most of it. Though Faedo played a lot more for the balance of the season due to Washington’s injuries, the luster had certainly been lost from the former number on draft choice.

The Twins gave Faedo another chance as a starter at the beginning of the 1983 season. Though Washington had a clear advantage at the plate, the Twins had determined that, with his fielding deficiencies and his age, Washington would serve the team better in the utility role. The chatter around the club in the spring was the hope that a young short stop acquired in Smalley trade, Greg Gagne, had the skills to either take the job himself, or at least to push Faedo to finally reach his potential. As it turned out, Gagne wasn’t ready for the role and Faedo won the job out of spring training. There was speculation that the choice of Faedo over Washington was racially motivated. Regardless of the reasons the organization gave, Washington became the every day short stop in early May when Faedo went down with an injury that cost him the bulk of the season. He returned as a regular for the last month of 1983, the Twins hoping that he would prove that he could play the position every day.

Faedo returned in the spring of 1984 in what was reported as the best shape of his career. Again the Twins brought Gagne in to camp in hopes of further pushing Faedo. As had been the pattern, Gagne was sent to the minors and Faedo began the season as the every day short stop.

Faedo had not made any friends in the organization with his comments years earlier, and had developed a long-simmering fued with manager Billy Gardner. After a critical error in a late April game in 1984, Faedo was quoted as saying “I won’t lose any sleep over it,” enough to push the final button of Gardner, who immediately pulled Faedo from the lineup and ultimately had him removed from the organization, initially on loan to the Detroit Tigers who needed a third baseman for their AA squad in Evansville. Later in the season, the Twins loaned Faedo to the Texas Rangers for their Oklahoma City AAA affiliate. Gardner indicated later that he might have pulled some strings to land Faedo in Oklahoma City in the middle of the summer:

I tell you, pal, it’s hot in Oklahoma City in the summertime - hot as it can get. Oklahoma in the summer, that’s when you find out who wants to play.

 

Gardner went on to make some other pointed comments in Faedo’s direction:

That other word- motivation- I hear that and it makes me sick. If being in the big leagues is not all the motivation you need, pal, you’re in trouble.

 

Gardner’s words turned out to be a parting shot. At the end of the 1984 season Faedo was assigned to AAA Toledo, leaving him available in the December draft. No team drafted Faedo, but the Twins cut ties by releasing him in the spring of 1985. He did sign as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals a month later, and bounced around the minor leagues for a time, but never again saw major league action.