Baseball Digest Feature - Ken Landreaux And His 1980 Hitting Streak

Ken Landreaux hit in 31 straight games for the Twins in 1980, which is still the team record. Brian Harper had hit in 25 games in 1990, followed by Lenny Green's 24 in 1961. John Swol's Twins Trivia site posted an excellent list of the top 45 in team history last July 27.


You should go to a Baseball Digest spread on Landreaux from August of '80 - the version is here at my Google docs page. There is one other pdf newspaper linked below, with facts from the game his streaked ended (May 31, 1980, BBRef.)

An inset box (below) taken from the Hutchinson (KS) News of June 1, 1980, details Landreaux's attitude after the streak was stopped by Baltimore's Scott McGregor with a nice group of quotes, and a list of hitting streaks.

For me, Ken Landreaux was a lot of fun to watch. He had a smooth swing, could take the pitch the other way, and had occasional pull power as a left handed batter. He partially filled the offensive void, if only for one strong season, following the trade of Rod Carew (the transaction which included Ken) to the Angels in February, 1979. Nearly eclipsing the feat in importance was the fact that by then, Kenny's super afro and mutton chops placed him near the top of Minnesota's All-Time Sideburn and Hair-Do Roll Of Fame - and bests Brian Dozier's in overall effect.

                  Indiana (Penn.) Gazette, May 30, 1980

Hutchinson (KS) News, June 1, 1980

To borrow from the great old broadcaster, I say:

"So Long, Everybody!" - Herb Carneal

The Met Stadium Twins-O-Gram Scoreboard!

[Post last updated: March 31, 2013]

The Twins-O-Gram was the old-fashioned message board that was part of the old Metropolitan Stadium scoreboard, in glamorous Bloomington, Minn.  Basically, it was not much more advanced in technology than my Dad's Christmas tree and house light display.

No, it didn't have exploding fireworks (like Chicago's Commisky Park scoreboard), or obnoxious cartoon cowboys rushing across on horseback after a hometeam wallop (the Houston Astrodome board).  But it was quaint and delightfully square, giving fans a rush to see their names and cities up in lights at the ballpark located in a former cornfield in Bloomington.*
*ballpark equidistant from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul

From the first Twins game at the Met, April 21, 1961

It greeted visitors from near and far, from Caracas, Venezuela, to Cambridge, Minnesota.  Civic groups from Rochester, Minn., might be given a shout out, or "Best Birthday wishes to Mrs.  Irma Smedly of St. Paul - age 84 years young tomorrow" were staples you'd expect on a visit to the park.  In fact, you kind of looked forward to these messages, which added to the ambience of an outdoor ballgame back in those days.  I say this as I sit here spinning yarns on the porch for the young 'uns...

Sometimes, it was a nice way to tweek coaches and players - like Vern Morgan

Oct. 6, 1965: Game One view, 1965 World Series

via GIPHY

Another Twins-O-Gram view from that first game in 1961. Click image for largeness.

                                                Jim Kaat goes deep, ca. 1969 Minn. Star-Trib Photo

SUNDOWN ON THE OLD MET

As our old, Hall Of Fame broadcasting friend Herb Carneal said: "So long everybody!" - TT