Sweet Swingers: Jimmie Hall

A click of the photo renders larger version, for a look at quaint caption!

Something tells me Jimmie Hall wasn't trying to inside out a pitch to left field, in this 1963 action shot. Though only listed at 6' tall and 175 pounds, he generated considerable power. Until Mark McGwire came along, Hall's 33 HR blasts in '63 was the all-time benchmark for rookies. 

He, along with 5 other Twins, slapped the Athletics senseless in a June, 1966 game (see post). I would rate him and Joe Mauer as the best lefty swingers, stylistically, in the history of the team in Minnesota.

As that old professional, Herb Carneal, used to end his broadcasts, I say:
"So long, everybody!" - TT

Originally published 3/23/12 - 7:13 PM

Shelter From The Storm: The Target Field "Snow Game" - Wednesday, April 27, 2011



Things got surreal and left-of-center

at Target Field the other night. 

To wit: naked frat guy

Some Context...A Rare Occurrence at Classic Minnesota Twins!

Wednesday was a rather big,news day in foreign affairs. An Afghan air force officer, possibly a Taliban agent, gunned down 9 Americans...Libyan and Syrian security forces continued the abhorrent murdering of their own citizens...Ominously, from the West Bank, came news that the rival Palestinian forces of Fatah and Hamas were unified, to the dismay of their mutual enemy Israel...Over in Britain, the lid was bubbling over with anticipation over the British royal wedding, in all its pomp and over-the-top circumstance...A catastrophic series of super-cell tornadoes decimated areas in 6 U.S. states, killing nearly 300 people...Meanwhile, the news of President Barack Obama's release of his long form birth certificate took a stranglehold on national media outlets, with the intention of squashing the long-standing debate over the President's country of birth. 

Good luck with all that.

The National Anthem from Wednesday night.  View gives idea of Minneapolis skyline,

and that of the main grandstand and distinctive canopy.  I filmed by left field foul pole.

National Anthem At Target Field, Wed., April 27, 2011 from Michael Busch on Vimeo

And with the hurricane of events encircling us, where did 36,714 Minnesotans go to escape the turmoil? Why, to our state's favorite new sports toy, Target Field, of course! Our little jewel on the prairie is but a virtual preschooler in the pantheon of Major League Baseball parks.  What can I say? Life is to be lived.  To be enjoyed.

Game time temp was about 40 degrees.

Then the snow started in the 2nd inning.
A cold breeze of f  Lake Nokomis began
to blow. To hades with the warm chocolate!

It's a cold one for the birthday boy.

It was my buddy Al's birthday, in a matter of hours, anyway. And wouldn't ya know it...the wondrous Hand of the Baseball Gods reached down to hand us free tickets...thank you, friends, demigods! Their loss, our gain.  

Against this background of mirth and narcissism is this truth, that is no secret in Minnesota: the Twins are on  (ahem!) hard times.  And how! As this is posted, catcher Joe Mauer, second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and left fielder Delmon Young are each on the disabled list.  Rumour has it, even trainer Rick McWane has a powerful case of the yips (overthrew a container of Advil to Ron Gardenhire).

Wound-licking, groaning. Sad-ass blues music. Ohhhhhh-Nellie!

Compounding that stress is the continuing, uncertain return to form of first baseman Justin Morneau (concussion), and star reliever Joe Nathan (Tommy John elbow ligament surgery). Their slapstick, error-prone replacements, and under performing veterans (COUGH!-Alexi Casilla) are currently transforming the once-proud Minnesota Twins into the laughing stocks of baseball...this is just a natural fact, provable by the scientific method if you will. Sure as the cock crowed three times for Pistol Pete in Jerusalem, the boys in home pinstripes layed one, horrific, rotten egg for us to inhale.  An 8-2 loss. And the count rides along...

That crap notwithstanding, I'll trot out an old saying, modified for the occasion: a bad day at the ballpark is still better than a good day at work.  Target Field, no matter what your attitude towards sports commercialism and stadium politics, is one HELL of a good place to be, even for a bad baseball game!

Please don't pull an Elvis and fire upon your computer monitor.

It's only 'Lexi. I consider this video rather pretty, and not only for that clock.

Lineup Presentation, New TF Videoboard, Wednesday, April 27, 2011

from Michael Busch on Vimeo.



Behold, one of the Twins few bright spots!



I have reason to hope for this team.  Yes, the players' problems with base running, pitching, hitting, throwing, fielding, relaying coaching signals from third, spitting sunflower seeds without emitting saliva about the chops, properly scratching their privates, cussing out bad umpires competently - purt'n near every thing that can be done on, in,  or around a baseball field - are disconcerting, agonizing.  But they are not problems without solutions. The Twins are not a team that is completely, utterly broken. The advent of the sun's warmth, green grass, budding flowers and chirping birds will also (hopefully) coincide with rejuvenated pitching arms, quicker bats, and ballplayers returned to health.

Watch for guy in Santa outfit on monitor, while PA pipes in Christmas music.

All-in-all, owing to the snowy climes, the apocalyptic drubbing of the Twins,

we felt a historical vibe upon leaving the ballpark, as if we'd

escaped Normandy's Omaha Beach together.  I exaggerate not.

Dusty Hughes Relieves in 7th Inning- Viewing from Heated Section 123, April 27. 2011

from Michael Busch on Vimeo.

 

Those things failing, there's always the June amateur player draft, games on the radio, summer barbecues long, reflective walks around the area lakes, and hoping for next season . 

Plus, the magic of the Classic Minnesota Twins blog for you to read.  You can count on that!

As good, ol" Herb Carneal would say: "And the count rides along..." TT

Tony Oliva, the kid from Cuba

Don't mess with the gods.

Harmon Killebrew On David Letterman!?

With the appearance of Joe Mauer last week on Jimmy Fallon, I was reminded of another episode of a famous Twin who appeared on late night TV. It was one of the most bizarre pairings in TV talk show history...

Harmon went on The David Letterman Show with Liberace and his old teammate Bob Allison, on Feb. 11, 1986. I distinctly remember watching that episode; what stood out was this long-winded anecdote from the Flamin' Maestro, followed by Letterman quipping "Alright, that's enough of that crap, let's move on!"  Also, the show's producer got Charley Pride to sing "Mountain of Love" for Harmon over the phone, Killer's favorite song at the time.

[UPDATE: here is that episode, with thanks to

readers who alerted me to its whereabouts!]

The slugger, now 74 and battling esophageal cancer, was interviewed last fall with David Brown at Big League Stew (Yahoo).

For anyone who appreciates the soft-spoken grace of our very own "Killer" (and isn't that one of the most ill-fitting monikers in history?), this exchange with will be a treat!

DB: Did you use to go on David Letterman a lot?


HK: Used to a lot? I was on his show once [laughs].

DB: Just one?

 HK: Well, I came out with other Hall of Famers to do a Top 10 deal a couple years ago, but you might remember me being on a whole show [laughs].

DB: That's right!

HK: Yep, I was on for a whole hour (in 1986). And that was the first time that ever happened. I said, "What am I gonna do with David Letterman for a whole hour?" They said, "Don't worry, we got it figured out, it'll work out fine."

DB: So what do you remember about the experience?

HK: At first, they called me to ask if I would do a segment for a special they were doing. I said, "No, I don't think I want to do that." But they kept after me and talked me into it and sent a crew out to Oregon and Idaho, where I was, and they spent a whole week out there. They did a lot of filming and they cut it down to an eight-minute segment [laughs].

HK:So it came time for the show and they called me up and said, "We're not going to have time to put you on the show." I said, "Oh, great. Well, that's good [laughs]!" So I think they were feeling sorry or guilty and, a couple of months later they called and said, "Dave Letterman wants you to do the whole show." And I said, "Oh, I don't think so. What am I going to do with David Letterman for a whole hour?" And they said, "Aw, c'mon, it'll be great." Finally, I said I'd do it.

DB: Were you more of a Johnny Carson man?

HK: Well, in those days, yeah. I didn't really know Dave Letterman, but I knew he was a real baseball fan. Of course, when I was on there, it went great. Worked out real fine.

Brown concluded by thanking Harmon for his time and commented about what a nice and kind person he appeared to be. Even after diligent search, I haven't been able to locate the video of this online, remembering that I had taped it back in the day when it aired.
Not that you should construe my doing so as overly Twin-sessive, O.K.?

Thanks for reading!

As Herb used to say: "And the count rides along..."
TT

Horror of Horrors: Umpire Phil Cuzzi Revisited!




Above: Phil Cuzzi looking properly positioned to make the call.
Melky Cabrera went like a bat out of hell to get to Mauer's ball.
If I'm the umpire, I'd factor a player's body language as I'm
making the call. Ah, but that would be second-guessing, wouldn't it?

 

Mauer's hit kicking up dust even! Maybe flaming,

smoking divots would help our distracted

umps!

Much maligned umpire Phil Cuzzi was back at it in last night's (Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010) game, acting as the homeplate umpire for the Red Sox - Yankees game in New York.  Obviously, he's honing his ability to achieve the unbelievable!

Observers estimate he called seven different pitches "balls" which should have been strikes for Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon, pitching in the 9th inning. This ultimately helped the Yankees tie the game at 3, in a game they won later in the 11th inning. The electronic "Pitch Tracker" system that gives feedback to League Officials backs up this analysis. Tsk, tsk.

 Acting as the left-field umpire in Game Two of last year's Divisional Playoffs on Friday, Oct. 9, Cuzzi blew a foul-ball call when Joe Mauer led off the 11th inning with a line drive down the line for what should have been a ground-rule double. Two pitches later, Mauer did single, but the Yankees eventually were able to get out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam and went on to win, 4-3, on a Mark Teixeira home run in the bottom of the inning.

I'm not especially enamored with the idea of instant replay, but repeated instances like this may give me a change of heart!

The horror...Look at it...LOOK AT IT!



May Your Taters Fly Far!
Twinkler Out

Joe Mauer: Tender With The Urchins!

     Great, Joe is fine with self torture, as long as he can spread his sunshine on the whippersnappers. Go ahead Joe, be my guest and let 'em siphon off your greatness...the focus here are sideburns and follicle stylins'...are they "whack" or are they "crackerjack?"  You decide, and then be sure to scroll down to the "'do" post of earlier times.
Twinkler Out!

Here's Some Happy Time Twins Music Kids! Joe Mauer Signs Contract At 6:09 P.M. (CDT)

To celebrate this world historical event, here's the original Twins theme song, "We're Gonna Win Twins" from 1961, eggregiously abandoned in the late 80's for some other version.  Courtesy of Rick Prescott at the Ballpark Magic blog!

Yes, I know it's all overdone. I for one know there's more to life and a higher priority to this existance than this one baseball player...it's just that I can't think what that might be!! I'm so blasted happy Joe-Joe is ours ALL OURS for the next 8 plus years!!!  Start the Minnesota Mardi Gras now!!!!

Twinkler Out!!!!!

Twins Trade Glen Perkins & Francisco Liriano In Exchange For Pitching Legends!

After the devastating news Tuesday of Joe Nathan's ligament damage, Twins General Manager Billy Smith had seen the usually bright and happy Twins spring training clubhouse transform into something akin to the apocalyptic cover of Led Zeppelin's "Houses Of The Holy" album.

                                   

In one corner of the room was Delmon Young, seen giving "How To Be Unfriendly With The Press" lessons to All American Joe Mauer, while Justin Morneau and Jim Thome were in another cold-cocking one another with their bats, tiffing over who gets to bat fourth this year. Thus, to turn the tide, Smith went out and procured two of the best available free agents still on the market - veteran right hander Charlie Brown of the Charlie Brown All-Stars, and the eccentric Nuke LaLoosh of the Durham Bulls. 

Brown, a soft-tosser best known for giving up a record 100 runs to a pickup team of girls in the 1969 movie "He's Your Dog Charlie Brown," is thought by Smith to be useful in a specialist relief role, to pitch to righthanded batters.  "You never know - guys like him, Bugs Bunny for instance, throw so slow that they can get cartoon hitters to swing and miss three times on one pitch, what with the pinwheeling effect. "

One concern Smith voiced is Brown's makeup, as he's historically demonstrated a lack of confidence in pressure situations, an attribute not appealing in relief pitchers.

Also, line drives hit up the middle have left him undressed,with tiny imaginary birds spinning about his head; the specter of Brown lying scantily clad on the mound, causing potential morals violations (not even getting into child labor issues), is a situation the Twins have never had to deal with. "But for American schoolchildren," Smith went on "he's been an iconic figure for almost three generations, and should be a draw for people to come out to Target Field this year!"

Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh, who threw nearly 100 MPH in the movie "Bull Durham," and wore bad leisure suits in the same,  is a character of another sort.  Best known for his off-beat attitude, he is thought to be the best closer candidate because of his brash approach.  Asked how he would have pitched to Alex Rodriguez with the bases loaded in the 2009 ALCS, he scoffed and said "[I'd] want to give him the heat and announce my presence with authority!

When told that Manager Ron Gardenhire is a "player's manager," one who likes to help his players stay relaxed so that they can perform well and have fun, he was overheard muttering "Have fun?  He's old, what does he know about fun?  I'm young...I know how to have fun.  I have a Porsche." 

Stay tuned...this should be an interesting year!

Meanwhile, equally brash and crybaby-ish lefthanders Glen Perkins and Francisco Liriano tearfully cleaned out there lockers, after vengefully loading the clubhouse clothes dryer with wet bubblegum (remember: they're lefties...EVIL!).  Perkins stalked about, ordering clubhouse boys to fill his satchel and carry it for him to the taxi.  Liriano went about Dazed and Confused(as is his norm).  GM Smith said "We're happy as can be to get rid er, provide them with a new venue to showcase their talent." And save on the clubhouse food budget, in the process!

Twinkler Out!

Historic Mauer Contract Signing "Imminent"!!

Not to be labeled rash and as one who posts indiscriminately, I'd like nonetheless to be rash and indiscriminate by going on record and saying the Twins will sign Joe Mauer within the next 72 hours to a contract extension. 

That is based upon the fact that Joe Mauer's agent, Ron Shapiro of Baltimore, has been seen loitering about the Twins spring training camp holding a fancy ball point pen and official-looking forms with blank lines flanked by dollar signs - leading me to think he's trying to forge a deal to sign the Twins star to a multiyear contract. And upon the fact that the blogs and radio shows are lighting up with chatter about the matter.

Rumors that the Twins were trying to annex the BCA in Mauer's name and a license to cut to the front of the line at all Minnesota Dairy Queens as a means to convince him that staying in Minnesota is his best move haven't been substantiated.

 Tim Kurkjian, ESPN Baseball reporter, had a number of nice things in his latest published piece to say about Joe, presumably beyond the "Joe as 'Baby Jesus'" blather you hear bandied about the Twins blogs and call in shows.

Twinkler Out

"Classic Minnesota Twins"? What's It All About?

Yes, I know there's a rather big Vikings NFC Championship game today, but...here's my first Twins blog! All shiny and buffed for your enjoyment and dining pleasure!

The Twinkler has been wondering what to delve into with this new blog site "Classic Twins." Too many subjects and so little time! Hope you like this image: pinch-hitter extraordinaire Rich Reese frozen in time, from the 1969 Twins Yearbook. "GOT MILK?"

I suppose the first things I'll want to touch on in this year of our Lord 2010 is the Twins new Target Ballpark. And then, perhaps Joe Mauer, his sideburns and monotone delivery during milk commercials. And so on...

Mostly, this blog will be a disgustingly nostalgic look at Minnesota Twins past. Be it the exotic, no-hands fielding style of Willie Norwood, to the eccentric, pagan-like bat sniffing rituals of Carlos Gomez, it'll be a lighthearted look at all things Twins. With an occasional rant sometimes!

I'd love it if you left comments, clean ones. But if swearing is part of your lifestyle, try to keep it limited to phrases such as "ah shoot," or "gold dang it anyhow," or perhaps "look at those knockers!," if you're really feeling nuts. I get to choose whatever comments go up on the blog, in any event.

Speaking of poor Rich Reese, having to milk all those cows from Sleepy Eye (Minn.)- you'd think they'd have already bottled all that milk for all the patrons at the old Met Stadium, the pressure on that man! Bad enough he was the last out in Catfish Hunter's perfect game in '68, and also the last batter faced by Nolan Ryan, becoming the record breaking 383rd strikeout in the latter's final game of the historic 1973 season.

Twins Twinkler out...