Game Thread: Twins @ Detroit, 10/2/2022, 12:10 p.m. EDT (11:10 a.m. CDT)

[IndianaTwin]

The Twins appear to be making history today with Simeon Woods Richardson on the mound. He’s believed to be the first person in MLB history to have a 16-letter name on the back of his jersey. The 13-letters of former catcher Jarrod Saltalamaccia pales in comparison.

As Twins go, my understanding is that the record for longest surname was set in the mid-1970s, and I found out the hard way. When I was a kid, the radio station in Cedar Rapids had a baseball trivia question each afternoon at 4:30, with the winner getting two tickets to the Cedar Rapids Astros/Cardinals/Reds/Giants or whoever they were affiliated with at the time. My school bus got me home at 4:20, and I was regularly calling in for tickets. I think I won about 70 tickets over the course of a few years, though that wasn’t 35 winnings. Sometimes they gave more than two tickets, particularly for special events like the Midwest League All-Star game.

(Memorable questions that got me seats: 1. Who replaced Lou Gehrig at the end of his Iron Man Streak? 2. What is the most amount of runs that can be scored on six hits? Answers in comments.)

At any rate, early in 1977, on the day after the question was, “Who has the shortest name in baseball?” (Ed Ott, at the time, which I won as the result of having his baseball card), the question was, “Who has the longest surname in baseball?” The DJ gave the clue of it being 12 letters. I thumbed through my trusty April issue of Baseball Digest and confidently called in with Claude Westmoreland, who was listed on the 40-man roster of the Dodgers.

I was shocked when he told me I was wrong. I was even more shocked to find that Paul Thormodsgard had made my favorite team, the Minnesota Twins. Apparently he was in camp as a minor league invitee, because he wasn’t listed on the 40-mans in the magazine.

He’d go on to throw 218 innings that year, starting 37 games and finishing with an 11-15 record and a 4.62 ERA. His ERA was still under 4 after his Sept. 5 start, but he gave up 26 runs in 24 innings over his last five starts. The next year he started 12 games before being sent down to Toledo. He must have gotten hurt, since he only threw four games there. He spent most of 1979 in Toledo before a September callup, where he gave up three hits and a run in an inning. That winter he was traded to Philadelphia for Pete Mackanin. Thor pitched one year in the minors for Philadelphia, but didn’t get called up, and hung it up after his 1980 season.

For his career, he was 12-21 with a 4.74 ERA and an 84 ERA+.

Though Thormodsgard is the first Twin I’m aware of with 12 letters, we’ve also had Trevor Hildenberger. Are there any others?

But lest you think Woods Richardson is anywhere the world record for longest last name, that pales in comparison to the world record as listed by Guinness. Though good old Hubert Blaine Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff Sr. passed away on October 24, 1997, in Philadelphia, that wasn’t his full name. His full named totaled 747 letters (sans “Sr.”) and was, as verified on January 1, 2021, and found at https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/67285-longest-personal-name, Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffwelchevoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenvanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortpflanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum.

In other Twins name news, I noticed the other day that the Twins have eight (8) pitchers on their 40-man roster (including the 60-day IL guys) whose first name starts with the letter “J” – Jorge Alcala, Jordon Balazovic, Jhoan Duran, Jorge Lopez, Jovani Moran, Jhon Romero, Joe Ryan and Josh Winder. They are joined on the 40-man by Jose Miranda, Jermaine Palacios, Jorge Polanco and Jake Cave, for a total of 12 out of what is now 50 guys, counting injuries. And there’s also Griffin Jax and Ryan Jeffers.

In terms of the pitchers, perhaps it’s a good omen to have this many “J” names, given that this is an organization with Johan Santana, Jim Kaat and Jim Perry in its top seven in bWAR for pitchers since moving to Minnesota in 1961, along with Jim Merritt as the career WHIP leader and Joe Nathan as the career leader in saves.

The stuff we come up with trying to come up with a Game Thread intro for a team that has assured itself of not having a winning record...

What I’m not able to come up with is the starting lineups, since it won’t be posted before I leave for church. Can someone get those?   

[IndianaTwin]

1. Babe Dahlgren. 

2. No limit, because walks and errors don't count as hits.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I hope we win.

[Parfigliano]

Went with plan B on games to go to.  Tottenham Spur

[IndianaTwin]

Lineups: 

Twins

P: Woods Richardson

Detroit

P: Wentz

[h2oface]

Welcoming SWR to the Twins and the Show with 2 errors to 2 of the first 3 batters. Jeffers throwing 2 base, and Miranda fielding. 

Good job Twins.

[MABB1959]

Yikes already 26 pitches and only 1 out!  Wonder what the record is for number of pitches, 1st game, 1st inning?

[h2oface]

I really hope we get a catcher that I want to watch next year. Jeffers is so tired, and Sanchez is sleeping. 

[h2oface]

Lead off walk in each of th first 2 innings for SWR. He fits right in.

45 pitches in the first 2 innings. 92 mph max is all he has got, and that was only about 5 of them.

[rwilfong86]

Just turned on the game to see 3 errors already. Great defense behind SWR. 

[h2oface]

And Wallner gets a called strike on pitch 4. That doesn't help, ump.

[h2oface]

4 minutes ago, rwilfong86 said:

Just turned on the game to see 3 errors already. Great defense behind SWR. 

And SWR even helped with the WP and then dropped the ball on the tag that would have got him out.

[RpR]

Hopefully Miranda spends time in AAA next year with the other newbies, and Jeffers.

[h2oface]

This is just sad. Gordon and Urshela K swinging on horrible pitches. 

[h2oface]

2 minutes ago, RpR said:

Hopefully Miranda spends time in AAA next year with the other newbies, and Jeffers.

???? Never happen, unless he really struggles in the first 2 months. Even then, I doubt it. I bet he just gets better both at the plate and in the field.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

18 minutes ago, rwilfong86 said:

Just turned on the game to see 3 errors already. Great defense behind SWR. 

Some of it was apparently in front if SWR.

 

Listening on the radio, and thye added an error after the fact on the wild pitch, charged to Ryan Jeffers for his throw to SWR as allowing the runner to take 3rd.

Weird...

[h2oface]

5 minutes ago, sampleSizeOfOne said:

Some of it was apparently in front if SWR.

 

Listening on the radio, and thye added an error after the fact on the wild pitch, charged to Ryan Jeffers for his throw to SWR as allowing the runner to take 3rd.

Weird...

The throw was great, SWR dropped it and pushed it away..... The error was weird. Nobody went right after the ball, though. 

And now we get called 3rd strike on Sanchez on a well inside pitch. I can't take it. Just a horrible team to watch, a AAA team, and then horrible umpiring........ gotta go. I tried.

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

Went with plan B on games to go to.  Tottenham Spur

Excused absence. 

[rwilfong86]

50 minutes ago, h2oface said:

The throw was great, SWR dropped it and pushed it away..... The error was weird. Nobody went right after the ball, though. 

And now we get called 3rd strike on Sanchez on a well inside pitch. I can't take it. Just a horrible team to watch, a AAA team, and then horrible umpiring........ gotta go. I tried.

Lots of bad calls on balls and strikes today. Wallner struck out on a ball outside. Can't wait for the robotic strike zone. 

[IndianaTwin]

So Foley is pitching for Detroit, huh? Let's knock him off his Axel.

[jimbo92107]

SWR: Great stuff, improving command. Legit future starter sometime in 2023. Once he loosened his death grip on the ball, he started missing bats. 

Dick is right that Griffin Jax is one of the best stories of the year. His slider is what Joe Ryan should work towards. His game is so polished now, I wonder if could try starting a game or two. He and Ryan should exchange notes. 

[CRF]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

Hopefully Miranda spends time in AAA next year with the other newbies, and Jeffers.

Don't bet on that happening. Miranda would have to go completely in the tank to get demoted. No doubt he could use work on his defense, but he's here to stay. 

[mrtwinsfan]

Go Twins

[RickOShea]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

Hopefully Miranda spends time in AAA next year with the other newbies, and Jeffers.

How much time?  You want to have a 70 rbi man in the minors?

[Rosterman]

What happened to Megill?

 

[rwilfong86]

Losing 2 out of 3 to the Tigers. Bleh. 

[Tlaker]

Guaranteed losing record….sigh

[mrtwinsfan]

4 minutes ago, Tlaker said:

Guaranteed losing record….sigh

?

[IndianaTwin]

Well, folks. We seem to have made it. An entire Game Thread packed on to one page. 

[sampleSizeOfOne]

Game over, man!

 

Catch y'all later!