Tony, the Killer, and Carew

What do all of these players have in common?

C

1B

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3B

LF

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This is third in a series detailing the 20 best pitching performances in Twins history based on Bill James’ game scores. The games are posted in chronological order.

Thursday July 21, 1966
RFK Stadium
Washington DC

In July of 1966, Jim Merritt was one of the last Twins’ pitchers fans would have expected to be dominant. He joined the club in August of 1965 in the midst of a pennant race. He pitched well for the last few months of the season, mostly out of the bullpen, and finished his first season in the majors with a 5-4 record and a 3.17 ERA. Merritt started the 1966 season out of the bullpen as well, but became a regular part of the rotation in July for a team that was struggling to play .500 baseball. Merritt’s results had not been great so far, posting a 1-8 record with a 4.12 ERA in 19 appearances (six of which were starts).

While Merritt wasn’t an expected source of a dominant pitching performance, the Washington Senators had to capability to make any pitcher look like a Hall of Famer. In 1965 they finished the season with 92 losses. It was the best season in the five-year history of the new Washington franchise. They had already been shut out nine times in 1966, including a 4-0 loss at the hands of Jim Perry just two days earlier, and had scored just 339 runs as of July 20 (3.5 RPG). On 12 occasions during the 1966 season, the Senators batters had accounted for 10 or more strikeouts in a game.

At the start of the game, it looked as though Washington starter Jim Hannan might be the pitcher to have a career performance. Hannan breezed through the Twins’ lineup in the first three innings, allowing just a walk and a single while striking out four Twins. Merritt ran into some problems right away in the first. After getting Fred Valentine to fly out, he gave up a single to Ken McMullen, the walked Ken Harrelson and Frank Howard to load the bases with one out. Merritt managed to work his way out of the first without allowing a run, but he looked anything but dominant early.

The lead off man reached in each of the next two innings for the Senators, but Merritt was able to strand both runners. After allowing a lead off double in the third, he went on to strikeout the next three batters he faced, strikeouts number 4, 5, and 6 for the game. In the fourth, Merritt skipped the lead off base hit, and simply struck out the side to run his total to nine for the game. In fact, from the bottom of the third to the bottom of the fifth, there was a stretch in which Merritt struck out seven Senators in a row.

Hannan matched Merritt inning-for-inning. While Merritt was mowing down Senators, Hannan found little trouble with the Twins’ lineup. The Twins’ best shot at scoring in the early innings came in the fourth, when Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew started the inning with consecutive singles. Hannan didn’t crumble, however, and struck out Don Mincher and Earl Battey before forcing Andy Kosco to ground out to end the inning.

Through eight innings there was no score. In fact, from the Killebrew’s single in the fourth until the eighth inning, only two batters reached for either team (one of those was an intentional walk in the sixth).

Don Mincher doubled off of Hannan with one out in the ninth, and eventually made it to third on a ground out. With Cesar Tovar at the plate, Hannan let go with a wild pitch that scored Mincher, the only run of the game. Jim Merritt completed his best pitching performance to this point in his major league career by retiring the last 21 hitters he faced.

Minnesota Twins       IP   H  R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA   
J Merritt, W (2-8)     9   3  0   0   2  12   0   3.53
                      BF  Pit-Str   GB-FB  GmSc  IR-IS
                      32     -       4-10    91    -

Complete boxscore and play-by-play

2 years ago…

6/27/2005: Joe Mays out pitched Kansas City’s Zack Greinke in a 3-1 Twins’ victory. Glenn Williams had two hits in the game. June 28th will be Williams’ last game at the major league level. He has hit safely in each of the 13 games he has played.

9 years ago…

6/27/1998: The Mark McGwire 1998 home run tour came through the Metrodome for a three game series. Fans in lower left field received hard hats as part of a promotion, and put them to use when McGwire took a Mike Trombley pitch deep to left field for his 36th home run of the season. The Cardinals defeated the Twins 7-2.

17 years ago…

6/27/1990: While we’re on the theme of stars coming to the Metrodome, Nolan Ryan made an appearance in the third of a four game series between the Twins and the Rangers. He had three strikeouts in the game, career numbers 5,171; 5,172; and 5173. Ryan beat another pitcher who started his career with the Mets, a young Kevin Tapani, in the 9-2 Rangers’ win.

30 years ago…

6/27/1977: Rod Carew went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI in a game against Milwaukee at the Met. The Twins won the game 10-3, and Carew’s batting average for the season swelled to .408. Since June 19, when his average was at .378, Carew went an incredible 22-for-36 (a .611 average) to get his average to its highest point so far in the season. His average will peak at .411.

37 years ago…

6/27/1970: Bert Blyleven pitched his first of 242 career complete games. It came as part of a 9-1 win over the White Sox in Chicago. Tony Oliva and Cesar Tovar each homered in the Twins’ win. It was the third win of Blyleven’s young career.

Here’s your weekly dose of Tuesday Twins Trivia…TwinsCards style. Each Tuesday, I will post 5 new questions that can be answered somewhere on the site. Please leave your answers and/or discuss in the comments section below. Note: All answers can be found on TwinsCards.com.

1. He was such a good basketball player (ball-handler) in High School that the famed Harlem Globetrotters wanted to sign him to a contract.
2. This Twins first baseman once tied a major league record by stealing home twice in one game. (Hint: He was not with the Twins when this happened)
3. This Twins pitcher had the best winning percentage in the majors from 1987-1989 going 25-8.
4. Who was the first Twin to sacrifice successfully 3 times in one game?
5. This Twin was once a running back at San Diego State.

I recently received an email asking where I picked the name for the TwinsCards blog. It then dawned on me (I’m a bit slow sometimes) that maybe not everyone knows where the title originated from. It’s not at all creative…but I wish it was. If I had to make up a story, it would be about the time I was a guest of the Twins at Spring Training back in 1972 and was invited to dinner with Tony O, Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew. As we sat around the dinner table downing shots of Tequila, the four of us came up with the idea to create this thing called a blog and in honor of my guests at the table that night, we decided to call it Tony…the Killer and Carew. Of course, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. I was only 6 in 1972 and we all know that you don’t develop a tatse for Tequila until your eight!

In all actuality, the title derives from Twins version of Talkin’ Baseball, the famous baseball anthem written by Terry Cashman in 1981. Terry did several team versions and in 1996 created one for the Twins. Tony…the Killer and Carew is from the chorus of the song and replaced the popular, Willie (Mays)…Mickey (Mantle) and the Duke (Snider) from the original 1981 version. For your reading (and singing) pleasure, here are the full lyrics:

When the Senators stopped playin’ ball
The Twin Cities got the call
Minnesota joined the American League
With Mele at the reins

The Twins made instant gains
In ‘65 they had the flag and MVP

I’m talkin’ baseball….
Allison and Perry
Twins Baseball
Kitty Kaat and Jerry
Don Mincher and Mudcat comin’ through
Jimmy Hall and Davey Boswell too
Just like Tony….the Killer and Carew

Rod was rookie of the year
There was a Chance, no hitter here
Under Rig and Billy the Kid they won the West
But though Harmon kept on cloutin
Tony’s knees were givin’ out
And he was never the same but he always came and gave his best

I’m talkin’ baseball…
Roseboro & Ulander
Twins baseball…
Tovar, Reese & Campbell
Perranoski and Darwin in the crew
Lyman Bostock, and Bert Blyleven too
Just like Tony….the Killer and Carew

Talkin’ baseball in Minnesota
Bernie Allen, Red Worthington
Kralick had a no hit game
Danny Thompson what a shame
Hisle, Landreaux, Goltz what can we say?
We love to watch ‘em play

Well ‘96 is another year and if the Twins can get their game in gear
T.K. will answer to the call
New names join the old
Another team unfolds
They’re right at home in the Metrodome so let’s play ball

I’m talkin’ baseball…
Aguilera is a starter
Twins baseball…
Kirby Puckett’s not the part
Cordova, Meares & Knoblauch comin’ through
There’s Molitor and David Hollins too

Just like Tony…the Killer & Carew
There was Tony…the Killer & Carew
There was Tony…the Killer & Carew

(Kirby, Kirby, Kirby)

Talkin’ baseball, the Killer & Carew

(Kirby, Kirby, Kirby)

Talkin’ baseball, baseball…the Minnesota Twins…

(Kirby, Kirby, Kirby)

They had Tony… the Killer & Carew…

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part Q & A with former Twins reliever, Doug Corbett.

Make sure to check out part one. If you have any other questions for Doug Corbett you can either leave them in the comments or email them to me at (coffeyvillewhirlwind at comcast dot net).

Before we get started with part two, Doug sent me a note after reading part one asking me to add Russ Nixon’s name to the list of those that were influential in his career. Nixon was his manager in A ball with the Tampa Tarpons in 1975. Doug wrote: “Russ has spent over 50 consecutive years in professional baseball. He gave me a nickname (Senator) that stuck with me for 5 yrs. while in the Reds organization (In fact, there were younger players who didn’t know my name was Corbett because no one called me anything but Senator).”

Big thanks again to Doug for taking the time to answer!

Q. Why did you decide, against your agent’s advice, to skip arbitration after the 1981 season and play for less when you probably could have made significantly more money had you followed his advice?

Doug: I don’t remember being offered arbitration or getting that advice. I do remember being advised to insist on a no-trade clause if I really wanted to stay in Minnesota. My negotiations were based on the contracts that Ron Davis was receiving for similar numbers he was amassing with the Yankees. According to Howard Fox, then G.M. for the Twins, it was against team policy. He did offer me a handshake and an interest free advance on my salary to show their good faith that they had “no intention” of trading me. I used that money as a down payment on a town home so that I would not have to look for seasonal housing in the Twin Cities area for years to come. I was traded to the Angels before I had all of the boxes unpacked! Live and learn.

Q. What were your thoughts when the Twins made the trade that brought Ron Davis to the club early in 1982? What did Billy Gardner tell you right after the trade? Did you have the feeling that your days as a Twins would be numbered?

Doug: I was more surprised to see Roy Smalley traded to the Yankees than I was to see Ron Davis become a part of the Twins. Pitching and defense win ballgames and championships. I just looked at the Twins move as beefing up the bull-pen. Ron and I became good friends immediately upon his arrival and remained that way until the day of my trade. On the day of the trade, Billy informed me that there just weren’t enough win opportunities to have two short relievers on the staff. He looked at the move to the Angels as a big opportunity to play for an organization that could win right now. I met the news with mixed emotions. To be reunited with Gene Mauch and the Hall of Fame roster that the Angels possessed was a positive. Being a Twin meant more to me than “winning now”. It was the Twins that gave me the opportunity to be a major leaguer and I felt a loyalty to the Twins that I thought they shared. I later realized that as long as Calvin Griffith owned the club, free agents would leave for bigger contracts. Calvin was very good to me while I was with the Twins. My rookie year he called me into his office to congratulate me for my success and increased my present contract $5K as a token of his appreciation. All was good up until the day he traded me. My mom and dad raised me the old fashioned way. If a man offered you his hand it was as good as a contract. As I alluded to earlier, the no-trade clause that was left out of my two year deal was done on what I deemed a gentleman’s agreement. I was hurt that my trust had been betrayed.

Q. What are your favorite memories from your time with the Twins?

Doug: Opening day in 1980 in Oakland was the ultimate memory. We had left spring training in Florida where we were on EST. When the plane arrived in Oakland and I was now in PST I was really keyed up at the thought that I was actually going to be fulfilling my lifelong dream I found it difficult to fall asleep that night. My body was accustomed to waking up early, and like clock work, at 3:00 a.m. I was awake and staring at the ceiling. My roommate, John Verhoeven, was awake shortly thereafter. It proved to be a long wait until the 8th inning that night, but when Marshall surrendered the lead and I was given the call that I had always dreamed about, adrenalin took over, and there wasn’t one iota of fatigue in me mentally or physically. That first jog to the mound, and getting the A’s out 1-2-3 would still have been my #1 highlight even if Willie Norwood had not gotten a 2 RBI 2 out single to tie the game in the top of the ninth. Four innings later I was sitting in the locker room as the winning pitcher with more microphones in my face than I had ever imagined. I thought to myself, please don’t pinch me. I don’t ever want to wake up from this moment.

My second appearance was in Anaheim. Not as dominating a performance as the one in Oakland, but still going unscored upon and picking up the victory. When I returned to the locker room, one of my teammates,Glen Adams, called me Cy and said that this game looked too easy for me.

My first visit to Yankee stadium and walking amongst the the monuments honoring Yankee greats brought goose bumps.

My first visit to Boston and seeing the green monster in left field and the retired jersey numbers in right.

John Schuerholz coming down to the field in KC.

Facing Reggie Jackson for the first time and holding him to a double!

The list could go on and on.

Q. You will always be remembered in Minnesota for your part in the trade that brought Tom Brunansky to the Twins. What were your feelings about the trade at the time? Have your feelings changed over time?

Doug: Aside from the feelings I expressed above, I believe that I was a major factor in the future success of the Twins. If I had not gone to the Angels with Rob Wilfong and cash in ‘82, Bruno may never have been a Twin, and we all know what an integral part of the line-up he was when they won the World Series in 1987.

Q. You eventually pitched in the 1986 ALCS with California. What are some memories you have from that team?

Doug: The horror I felt when the first pitch I ever threw in post-season play sailed into the Sox bullpen in Boston to help put the game away for Boston. It was to Jim Rice who I had enjoyed great success against throughout my career. I guess it was an omen of things to come.

The thrill of an extra inning victory in game 4 that put us up 3-1 in the series and one game away from helping Gene Mauch and Gene Autry get the monkeys off their backs.

The anticipation of celebration when we had the lead in game 5 and Donnie Moore was facing Dave Henderson with two outs and two strikes in the 9th.

The heartache we felt when he hit the home run.

Seeing Rob Wilfong tie the game in the bottom of the 9th and having Doug Decinces up with the bases loaded and one out with an opportunity to win the game, especially with the kind of series he had achieved during that series.

The emotional roller coaster we felt when his fly to right was to Dwight Evans, and obviously not long enough to tag and score on, especially with Dewey’s arm.

Watching the Sox celebrating their AL championship believing that it should have been us!

Q. Looking through some of your newspaper clippings, you always seemed to be good for a quote. What was your approach towards the media during the time you played?

Doug: I consider this Q & A to be basically an interview with the media. If you have taken the time to read any of my other responses you can answer this question yourself.

Q. How did you get involved with the Senior Professional Baseball League? What are some of your memories of your time with the Orlando Juice?

Doug: I read about the Senior League in the newspapers, it sounded like it would be fun, so I tried out and made the club as a closer. My fondest memory was playing with and against some career NL’ers. As a career AL’er, I had always wondered what would have happened had I made it with the Reds. My worst nightmare was giving up a grand slam on the final day of the season to lose the ERA title and a modest team bonus that would have come with it.

Q. How have you been keeping yourself busy since your playing days?

Doug: As I mentioned earlier, I have stayed involved in the game both as a coach and a player. I spend as much of my free time fishing and hunting. As a matter of fact, I just spent two days fishing with one of my best friends, Tim McKenna Tim was a pitcher at Jacksonville University where I spent six years as the pitching coach. Together with his two sons, Tyler and Dylan, I showed them why it is called fishing and not catching. I am also a member of a hunting club in southeast Georgia. I have failed at my attempts to find a hunt in Minnesota. I have read many articles that indicate the deer are huge. The areas I hunt in Florida and Georgia have deer just slightly larger than German shepherds. I have had to slow my pace way down on a lot of my activities due to a total knee replacement in the summer of 2005 and a total hip replacement in the summer of 2006. It has slowed me down, but it is nice not to hurt anymore.

Q. What do you think are the biggest changes in baseball since the time you played?

Doug: The money and the faces. The game will always be the same. Rules change from time to time in order to keep it appealing for the fans. but you can count on the basic ingredients of the game to remain the same as when Abner Doubleday invented it.

Q. What is your favorite baseball card featuring yourself (this is for TwinsCards.com after all).

Doug: It’s a tie. The first card I ever had was with the Indianapolis Indians in 1979. My card made by Fleer in 1981 was the first that I ever received. I still have both of them today. P.S. It is my understanding that they didn’t produce mid season rookie cards and traded cards in ‘80 and I was never a prospect, only a suspect!

Q. Do collectors and autograph seekers get overwhelming at times? What advice would you give to TTM (Through The Mail) autograph seekers?

Doug: I try to accommodate all autograph requests. That should be obvious when you see the collection that “Twinkie” has on the TwinsCards.com web site. The biggest advice I could give to TTM autograph seekers is to limit the number of cards you send at one time. When you get four or five copies each of four or five cards it makes you tend to believe that they are not all for a personal collection. I don’t begrudge anyone for making a buck. I guess they realize that it will probably require selling at least that many cards to make that buck!

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part Q & A with former Twins reliever, Doug Corbett. Part two will be posted tomorrow.

A few months ago I named former Twins reliever Doug Corbett to my All-Time Twins’ 25-Man Roster. I wrote this at the time:

“…I will take Doug Corbett (1980-1982) as the fifth man in my bullpen. He wasn’t with the team for long, but Corbett put together one of the most dominant relief seasons ever for the Twins in 1980. He posted a 1.98 ERA in a league with an ERA over four. While he wasn’t able to match his incredible numbers of the year before, he put together another solid season in 1981. Though he fell off in 1982, and was later traded to California in the deal that brought Tom Brunansky to Minnesota, those two seasons are enough for Corbett to squeak in there.”

Doug was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about his career, baseball, and baseball cards for TwinsCards. He really put a lot of time into answering, and I was impressed with how candid he was. There was so much good information, I divided it into two posts. In the first he discusses his start in baseball and his years with the Twins. In part two he discusses the trade to California, his favorite memories in baseball, and his time after baseball.

Q. What teams did you follow when you were growing up? Who were your favorite players?

Doug: Yankees - Mickey Mantle, Braves - Dale Murphy, Reds - Pete Rose

Q. Did you ever collect baseball cards or other memorabilia (or do you today)?

Doug: I had a full size suitcase that was packed with cards. The collection included a complete set of the ‘61 Yankees. Unfortunately, it disappeared in 1979 when mom and dad moved from the home I grew up in to their dream home on Sarasota Bay. During my professional career (both minor and major league), I collected autographed balls of Hall of Famers, those I felt were sure Hall of Famers to be, and those players that I felt set the best examples in both moral fiber and work ethics. I had the majority of the balls personalized To Doug so that they would be less desirable to anyone who may want to “borrow” one for their own collection. When I retired in August of ‘87 my collecting pretty much came to a halt.

Q. How did you get your start playing baseball? Did you participate in any other sports as a kid?

Doug: I began playing Little League baseball in 1959 at the age of six. My love of the game began at two (mom still has home movies to prove it, I think?) I also played football, basketball, golf and tennis. My favorite past time, however, was fishing with my father. He passed away in 1981 but I still find time to fish on my own and with anyone who will join me. I just can’t catch ‘em the way I used to with dad, my twin sons will vouch for that.

Q. You signed with the Kansas City Royals out of college in 1974, what factored into that decision?

Doug: I was undrafted following my senior year at the University of Florida. I received two free agent offers to sign a rookie league contract. Cincinnati offered me a bus ticket and a roster spot in Billings, MT. KC offered me a $500.00 signing bonus and a roster spot in my home town of Sarasota, FL. The choice was easy.

Q. You were quoted in a September 1978 issue of the Sporting News saying that you had considered retiring from baseball after Cincinnati sent you back to AA ball. Once you joined the Twins in 1980, you weren’t shy about discussing your frustrations in the Reds’ system. In retrospect, do you feel that your career would have taken off earlier had you been with a different organization?

Doug: As a Cincinnati minor leaguer during “The Big Red Machine” era, opportunities for advancement were few and far between. Relievers Pedro Borbon, Rawley Eastwick, etc., weren’t going anywhere as long as they were healthy. I not only had to prove myself twice at every minor league level, but also had to wait for someone at a higher minor league level to retire, quit due to similar frustration, or get released before I could move up the ladder. As an already once released roster filler, the Reds weren’t having any visions of grandeur for my future with their organization. They just couldn’t release me because of the numbers that I was putting up. In retrospect, I wouldn’t change a thing. There were only a few people outside of my immediate family that believed I would ever spend a day at the major league level, much less achieve an eight year career. I walked away from the Reds for two days because of those frustrations. I came crawling back when I realized that I had proven myself to that point and became determined to prove the doubting Thomas’ in the Reds organization that they were wrong. When Sheldon “Chief” Bender (Reds minor league director of player personnel) allowed me to return and join the Nashville Sounds roster, I thanked God and said a little prayer, “Lord, grant me patience, and I want it right now!” As another pitcher from the Reds, Juaquin Andujar once said, “you can sum it up in one word, you never know”.

Q. Who were some of the people who were most influential in your development as a pitcher (at any level; youth leagues, high school, college, minor leagues, etc)?

Doug: I have to begin with my father. He always had time to play catch or pitch to me. He was also the President of the Sarasota Little League at the time. My mom, who ran the Little League concession stand and ran a taxi service to all practices, games, clinics, etc. whenever I had an opportunity to be involved. Bill Howard, who ran Saturday morning clinics throughout the summers at the Little League Park. Tony Kubek, Pee Wee Reese and company, who not only did play by play during the game of the week, but also gave insights into strategies and brought the players that seemed to be surreal back to earth with their stories from the bench to the clubhouse to their personal lives. Coach Eddie Howell (Sarasota HS and American Legion Bay Post 30). Coach Dave Fuller (University of Florida). George Zuraw (scout for Cincinnati and one of those who truly believed I could pitch in the majors). Cal Ermer (1979-80 winter league manager in Mayaguez, PR). Gene Mauch (For anyone willing to take the time to read this, he more than likely needs no introduction). Johnny Padres (Twins pitching coach). Marcel Lacheman (Angels pitching coach).

Q. It seems that playing for Cal Ermer in the Puerto Rican winter league was a turning point in your career. What are some of your memories from that winter? What were your feelings about being selected by the Twins in the 1979 Rule V Draft?

Doug: Cal was one of those men who believed that I could pitch and be successful in the major leagues. He was persistent with the Twins to spend the $25K to purchase my contract from the Reds. Very few are aware that there were 10 people selected in that draft, The Twins drafted three. Guy Sularz, an infielder from San Francisco. David Moore, a RHP and teammate of mine with the Reds in AAA Indianapolis, and in the third round the Twins finally gave in to Cal. That means that the rest of the teams passed on me at least twice. I didn’t care. I was just happy to get the opportunity. Sularz went back to the Giants AAA. Moore was not reclaimed by the Reds and went to Toledo. I got my break and took advantage of it. The fondest memories from that winter were leading the league in saves (12), and facing some real major league players for the first time in my life. Back then, many of the players who were from PR played winter ball to keep themselves in baseball shape. The most notable that winter were Tony Perez and Roy White.

Q. You basically took over the closer’s role that Mike Marshall had held. During the 1980 season, he had a very public falling out with the Twins. What were your impressions of Mike? Was the situation a distraction for you and the rest of the team?

Doug: Mike led a very good example as far as conditioning and work ethic goes. I tried to sponge information from him whenever I could. To this day, I still teach the young men I coach an exercise that Mike taught me to condition and maintain an arm. His high profile involvement in the Players Association was the only distraction that I saw. Like everyone but Roger Clemens, his effectiveness began to dwindle. I guess the Twins felt that I could do the job and let Mike go. The only thing about Mike that I did not like was when my mom was visiting and I wanted to give her an autographed ball from the team. When I asked Mike, he declined. When I explained it was for my mom, he responded, “So what, I won’t sign for my mom either.” He was one of the first people I looked up on TwinsCards.com to see how many cards he had autographed. Pretty slim pickings!

Q. Were you disappointed that you didn’t win Rookie of the Year after your great 1980 season?

Doug: The old cliche, “I was just happy to be there,” was never more prevalent in my mind. Brit Burns also had an outstanding year with the White Sox and Dave Stapleton was very solid with Boston. My reward was knowing that I would get at least one more year in the show. That meant more to me than any individual award ever did.

Q. You played for three different managers during your time with the Twins (Gene Mauch, Johnny Goryl, and Billy Gardner). Do you have stories about any of them?

Doug: Johnny was not only my manager, but also a friend. He lived in the same city as I did in the off season, and we would fish together on occasion. Billy was the one manager in Minnesota that frustrated me. During spring training in ‘82 I requested to stretch my last appearances to two or three innings. He wouldn’t think of it. He informed me that he only planned to use me one inning at a time to close. With 10 games pitched and 22 IP prior to my trade, I would say he didn’t stick to his pre-season game plan. Gene had the most amazing mind and knowledge of the game of anyone I had or have ever met. To this day, I still can’t name anyone who knows more about the game of baseball. Since my retirement in ‘87 I have stayed in the game coaching at various levels ranging from tee-ball to college. I have tried to emulate Genes methods throughout my coaching career. There may have been better managers at that time, but none of them out worked him! I tried to keep in touch with him from time to time and was sad to see him pass away. I will always refer to his teachings whenever and where ever I coach.

Q. Tell us about the 1981 All-Star game and your choice of footwear.

Doug: I had a shoe contract with Mizuno and honored that commitment We always wore black shoes in Minnesota. I went against the grain and wore red shoes at the All-Star game. Someone knows way too much Doug Corbett trivial (and I do mean trivial) to ask that question. I gave those shoes to a friend in Elk River, MN. His name was Charlie Hinote. His son Danny has been and still is in the NHL for many years.

Q. An unnamed opponent said that you threw “some of the wettest pitches around” in a May 1981 issue of The Sporting News (quoted by Reusse), and you were named on an official American League “suspect list” later that winter. You seemed to have a little fun with the accusations, but did they ever bother you? Do you want to make any confessions?

Doug: I only threw one wet pitch in 1981, yet was ranked as the #2 spitter in baseball behind Bob Stanley in one publication. I never denied throwing one. That was a mental edge I felt I had. The one wet pitch I threw was to Mark Belanger in Baltimore. It was a day game and hotter than blue blazes. I was putting my necklace back inside my jersey and my fingers came out soaking wet. I thought to myself, self, why not? The worst thing you can do is hit the back stop with it. If it works, who knows what benefit may come from it. I gripped it, let it go, the ball was coming in about mid-thigh, Belangers’ eyes got as big as saucers as he saw the location and he swung. The ball dropped out of sight, Mark spun around in a circle then yelled out, “I’m hitting .220, why me?” There’s that mental edge I was referring to. I knew he would return to the dugout cursing to his teammates like Eddie Murray, Ken Singleton, etc., about the spitter I just threw him in a meaningless game. With the stuff I threw I needed all the mental edge I could get.

Q. How did the 1981 strike effect your career? What were your feelings about the strike?

Doug: The strike showed me what a privilege it was to be an active player in the MLBPA. The solidarity that we showed paved the way for the players of today to make the money that they do. I wish the association would do more to help former players, especially those in from earlier years that paved the way for the salary I was fortunate enough to receive. Most of the todays players won’t need a pension when they retire. I wish they would give it to some of the pioneers of the game who never made enough money to be comfortable, let alone live a life of luxury. The first time I met Bob Feller he was throwing in some sort of pre-game event while I was still in the minors. I understand that he received a much needed stipend for that appearance. After I had made it to the show I saw him during a spring training game. I almost (almost) felt guilty when I heard him talk of incomes during his era and realized what I was making was monumental in comparison. Six figures in my third year. Oh well, time marches on. That is minimum salary now.

- End of Part One

Here’s your weekly dose of Tuesday Twins Trivia…TwinsCards style. There will be a slight change in the format as I will post the answers to the previous week’s questions in the comments section of that specific post. In other words, to see the answers from any previous week, go to that specific Tuesday Twins Trivia post and find the answers in the comments section. The answers will be posted on Monday and followed with the new Trivia post each Tuesday.

Each Tuesday, I will post 5 new questions that can be answered somewhere on the site. Please leave your answers and/or discuss in the comments section below. Note: All answers can be found on TwinsCards.com.

1. He led the major leagues with 20 triples, eclipsing the former team record of 19 held by this Twin? Who are both players and in what year did they hit their triples?
2. This Twin was an All-American at UCLA batting .419 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team in which year?
3. Which TWINS were high school teammates of Alex Rodriguez in Miami (yes, there were two)?
4. This Twin, signed as a Washington Senator by Floyd Baker in 1959, has written and published several songs.
5. This 1980’s Twin starter survived a 1972 Nicaraguan earthquake that destroyed half his house while he was sleeping.

This is second in a series detailing the best pitching performances in Twins history based on Bill James’ game scores. The games are posted in chronological order.

Friday June 26, 1964
Metropolitan Stadium
Bloomington, MN

On June 26, in the midst of a stretch where they played 19 games in 16 days, the Twins looked to rookie Gerry Arrigo to make just his fifth start of the season. Arrigo did not have quite the credentials that Pascual brought into his game a few years earlier. He came into the game with a 4-1 record with a 4.33 ERA so far in 1964, though most of his appearances came in relief. His best start to that point had been a complete game victory over the New York Yankees on June 2, a game in which he walked six Yankees but struck out nine.

The Sporting News described Arrigo as a pitcher who “had to learn to control himself before he had enough control of his pitches to reach the majors”. Arrigo had developed a reputation as somewhat of a hot head in the minor leagues, particularly getting fired up when an umpire wasn’t calling a game the way he liked. That all seemed to be behind him, however, as he entered his first full season in the majors.

The first game of a double-header against the White Sox was also the first of a relatively important late June four-game series against Chicago. The two teams were separated by four games in the American League standings, with the White Sox sitting just 3.5 games behind first place Baltimore with a 36-26 record. The Twins had a 35-33 record and were 7.5 games out. A poor showing in the home series against the White Sox could mean that Minnesota’s pennant hopes would fade before July began.

The White Sox starter for game one of the series was Joe Horlen. He had faced the Twins twice in early May, earning both a win and a loss out of the bullpen. Since then Horlen had become a regular starter, and his 1964 numbers through June 26 were 4-4 with a 2.90 ERA.

Arrigo, a Chicago native, had a quick start against the Sox, retiring the first six batters he faced, three by strikeout. He ran into some trouble in the third inning, however, when he hit to batters with pitched balls. Both men were stranded, however, when he got Don Buford to ground out to end the inning.

Though Horlen had allowed two singles to the Twins, he matched Arrigo scoreless inning for scoreless inning in the early going. The Twins didn’t really threaten anything until the fifth inning, when both Bob Allison and Earl Battey singled with nobody out. A failed sacrifice attempt by Jerry Kindall with the pitcher on deck effectively ended the Twins’ inning.

Meanwhile, Arrigo continued to cruise along through the White Sox lineup. A two-out throwing error by Zoilo Versalles in the fourth inning was quickly erased when first baseman Bob Allison recovered in time to throw the runner out at second. Arrigo faced the minimum from the time he got the last out in the third inning until he had one out in the eighth, when he walked Tommy McGraw.

The Twins finally got to Horlen when Harmon Killebrew hit his 24th home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning. Oliva, who had doubled earlier in the inning, also scored on Killebrew’s drive to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

All that was left was for Arrigo to complete the no-hitter. Through eight, he allowed just three base runners, two of which he hit with pitches. He also had one walk and eight strikeouts. Arrigo faced Mike Hershberger, one of the two men that Arrigo had hit earlier in the game, to open the ninth inning. Hershberger and Arrigo had been teammates in the Florida Instructional League a few years earlier, so each was familiar with the opponent.

“I had been getting Hershberger out all night with sliders” said Arrigo, “So I threw him a high outside fastball. He punched it into right-center. I knew it was a hit. The only thing I could think of was that I had to win the game.” - The Sporting News 7/11/1964

Hershberger never got farther than first as Arrigo retired the final three batters he faced to complete the one-hitter.

Minnesota Twins    IP   H  R ER   BB  SO  HR    ERA
G Arrigo, W (5-1)   9   1  0  0    1   8   0   3.71
                   BF  Pit-Str   GB-FB  GmSc  IR-IS
                   31     -       8-10    92    -

Full box score and play-by-play