Twins History You Likely Haven't Thought About

[Andrew Gebo]

As I have shared previously, I am originally from San Francisco and grew up a die-hard Giants fan. Now living in Minneapolis, I got to thinking about Twins and Giants connections over the years. These two franchises actually have a unique and interesting history together.This strange history between the two franchises began in 1924, when the Washington Senators defeated the New York Giants in the World Series. This was the first ever World Series title in Senators/Twins history and it came against none other than the Giants. The 1924 World Series was a classic too, going to game seven but even that wasn’t enough. It would be decided in the 12th inning, at that time only the second World Series to be decided in extra innings of game seven. Legendary pitcher Walter Johnson, at age 36, came out of the bullpen in extra innings to earn the win for Washington.

 

The Senators seemed to have fate on their side and were assisted by a pebble on the infield. In the eighth inning, trailing 3-1 with two runners on, Bucky Harris of the Senators hit a routine ground ball to third but the ball hit a pebble and bounced over the head of the Giants third baseman allowing both runners to score tying the game at 3-3 and forcing extra innings. This was also the first World Series to use the 2-3-2 format, which is still used today.

 

The next piece of this history doesn’t directly involve the Minnesota Twins but it does involve a connection between the city of Minneapolis and the Giants. The Minneapolis Millers were the minor league affiliate of the New York Giants and for 35 games in 1951 Willie Mays was an unstoppable force for the Millers. He slashed a jaw-dropping .477/.524/.799 with a 1.323 OPS in 149 at-bats. With numbers like that it’s no surprise Mays was called up to the big leagues and would go on to become one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball.

 

However, after being called up to the Giants, Willie Mays went 0-for-5 in his MLB debut and the Giants issued a formal apology to the city of Minneapolis for taking Mays away from them. The Minneapolis Morning Tribune published the full page apology in the newspaper and the next day Willie Mays hit his first big league home run off Warren Spahn.

 

A pivotal piece of the Twins 1987 World Series winning team came courtesy of the Giants when they traded Dan Gladden to Minnesota for two minor leaguers and a player to be named later. Gladden would go on to play five seasons in Minnesota and win two World Series titles along the way. The two minor leaguers the Giants received in exchange never made it to the big leagues and the player to be named later had a -1.0 career WAR. I think it’s fair to say Minnesota won this trade.

 

The Dan Gladden trade wasn’t the only trade between Minnesota and San Francisco that was a huge success for Minnesota. In 2003, the Giants sent the Twins Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser in exchange for A.J. Pierzynski. Joe Nathan would go on to become the greatest closer in Minnesota Twins history. Francisco Liriano spent seven solid years in Minnesota, including a stellar 2006, and Boof Bosner is something of a legend in his own way.

 

A.J. Pierzynski, on the other hand, was not a very good Giant. He spent one season in San Francisco and hit a pedestrian .272/.319/.410 and led the league with 27 double plays grounded into. Not exactly what the Giants had in mind when they gave up Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano.

 

In 2002, the Giants and Twins once again crossed paths to create an iconic moment in baseball history. During the All-Star game in Milwaukee, Torii Hunter robbed Barry Bonds of a home run. Bonds would then pick Hunter and put him over his shoulder before heading back to the dugout.

 

Watch the video here:

 

Today the Twins and Giants share a family connection. Twins closer, Taylor Rogers has an identical twin named Tyler Rogers who is a funky submarine style relief pitcher for the Giants. Tyler Rogers debuted with the Giants on August 27, 2019. On that same day, Taylor Rogers recorded the save for the Twins against the White Sox.

 

The last connection between the two franchises is with Sergio Romo, who won three World Series titles in San Francisco before being traded to Minnesota last year and instantly becoming a fan favorite. Perhaps also worth noting is that Ehrie Adrianza has a World Series ring from his time with the Giants in 2014.

 

For two franchises in different leagues separated by nearly 2,000 miles they have certainly crossed paths through time in some very interesting and impactful ways. Who would have thought?

 

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[biggentleben]

This past summer connected the two franchises again. This time won't work out as well for the Twins. Sam Dyson barely saw the field before leaving the Twins among a domestic abuse investigation this offseason. The Giants were able to see Jaylin Davis, always one of the more underrated prospects in the system, reach the majors on the completion of an incredible year that saw him overhaul his swing at the exact right time as AAA changed their ball. That's not the end, though, as the Giants also received a high-floor arm in Kai-Wei Tseng from Taiwan and an electric, high-ceiling arm in Prelander Berroa. It could be a deal that sticks in a Twins' fan's craw for a while.

[SkyBlueWaters]

As you had the '24 world series between the NY Giants and the Senators, you might also include the '33 series between the same 2 franchises. Future HOFer Carl Hubbell for the first time wins over 20 games that season, throwing 308 IP. 

 

Senators had some hitters who routinely show up in the franchise all-time offense stats, Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, and great names like Ossie Bluege and Heinie Manush. Pitching staff was led by General Crowder. Still, Washington lost in 5, taking the fifth game to 10 innings.

 

Player/manager Joe Cronin was managing for the first time and won the pennant, just as rookie manager Bucky Harris had won it in '24. Tom Kelly repeated the trick in '87, when the Twins might have faced SF until the Giants lost the NLCS to St. Louis. One of the few times a player on the losing team won the LCS MVP award, Jeff HacMan Leonard won it amid his one-flap down antics, drawing some love at Busch Stadium.

 

Playing next to HacMan that year was a very talented centerfielder named Charles Theodore Davis, known as Chili. Which was a bit amusing, as he didn't like the cold at Candlestick Park much. Yet Kirby Puckett in the off-season of '91 managed to convince Chili that he'd fit into Minnesota's lineup well, which he did, all the way into October that year. 

 

Chili and Hrbek provided the thump behind Kirby, with table-setters like Knobby, Shane Mack, and Danny Gladden. Harper hit well from the catcher position. A deep lineup is a joy to behold, which reminds me ...

 

Don't we have a deep lineup this year? Are we gonna play some games, or what?

[OldTimeTwinkie]

Don't forget how the Giants had looked at Minneapolis as a home before locating to California. The sign was located by hwy 100 and 12 close to the old Lincoln Dell restaurant out there.

[SkyBlueWaters]

Great point about the Giants thinking of moving to Minnesota!  Had O'Malley not talked Horace Stoneham into becoming the second team to move across the continent (the NL wanted 2 teams, to justify the road trip), Stoneham was looking at Met Stadium, when it was still new and hosted the Millers, as a new home.

 

A number of guys played for both franchises; some might remember Al Worthington as the Twins' closer before saves were a thing. He had a long career as a Giant before the Twins. 

 

Some other names that stood out for me: Paul Giel,  Wayne Terwilliger, Steve Bedrosian, Juan Berenguer, Billy Gardner, Bull Durham, Rob Wilfong.

Denard Span, anyone?

 

If this works, you can see a list, here:

 

How about Boileryard Clarke?

 

 

[Shaitan]

Great stuff, both in the post and comments.

[TopGunn#22]

I was reading thru the comments and I almost couldn't believe nobody was mentioning how close Minneapolis came to landing the Giants before Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley convinced Giants owner Horace Stoneman to move to San Francisco to keep the legendary Dodgers-Giants rivalry intact.  Thank You Old Time and Sky Blue !!!