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The Twins had beaten Cleveland 6-4 in 10 innings earlier in the day, in the first game of a double header. It was a beautiful August night. The weather was perfect all day in Cleveland, sitting at 76 degrees with clear skies. If there was a day for a doubleheader, this was it. Dean Chance had been pitching very well over the the previous weeks, and the Twins were finishing up a long road series. Welcome back, fans! I hope that you had a fantastic holiday and New Year! I know this lockout has created some of the longest, darkest days we have seen in baseball since 1994! I am still feeling frustrated knowing that baseball talks are still not happening. The best way to combat the baseball blues is to continue reaching into those archives and remembering why this is America's favorite pastime and why we continue to show up and watch these big kids play "the game." I had a rough time ranks games four and five for my no-hitter countdown. Both games were on the road. I noticed that road games made it harder for the Twins to pull off wins, which was likely due partly to schedule, stadium, weather, and fan base. The Twins played a doubleheader against Cleveland at the end of a strenuous road trip on this particular day. The team was tired. Chance was trying to come back after a break in his winning streak, making factors for this win admirable and slide into number four in our countdown. No-No Number 4 The Pitcher: Dean Chance The Date: August 25, 1967 The Opponent: Cleveland The Stadium: Cleveland Stadium The Pitcher's Background and Story Like the other Twins pitcher with a no-hitter in the 1960's Jack Kralick, Dean Chance was born and raised in Ohio. Both were also born on the same day, June 1 (no, not in the same year). The pitchers grew up an hour and forty-six minutes apart. Dean Chance attended West Salem Northwestern High School in West Salem, Ohio. He was best known as an all-Ohio Basketball player averaging 25 points a game, and then later, for his baseball prowess. He was a large youth, 6'3 by age 14, and loved playing basketball. Chance helped lead his high school to the 1958 Class A state final four. He had scholarship offers from colleges all over the country to play basketball, but Chance decided baseball was his best opportunity. Dean Chance's talent in baseball was just as astonishing as his basketball talent. As a junior and senior year, he was setting state records that still stand today: 52–1 career record 20 wins in a season 32 straight wins Eight no-hitters in a season (in both his junior and senior years) 18 no-hitters total His talent didn't go unnoticed. The Orioles, who were in the process of rebuilding their farm system, were the first team to come calling. Chance signed with the Orioles in 1959 as an amateur free agent. They signed him right out of high school, giving him a $30,000 bonus. He spent the next two seasons pitching for the Orioles until MLB expansion came around. He was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 1960 expansion draft. The American League expanded by two teams to catch up with the National League. Chance was picked by the Senators but immediately traded to the Angels for outfielder Joe Hicks. Chance returned to the Senators, now the Twins, until December of 1966, when the Angels dealt him to the Twins for outfielder Jimmie Hall, first baseman Don Mincher, and relief pitcher Pete Cimino. When Chance came back to the Twins in 1967, he had experienced quite a bit of success in Los Angeles. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1962. In 1964. he went 20-9 with a 1.95 ERA and even four saves to win the Cy Young Award (and finished fifth in MVP voting). Not only did he make the All-Star team that year, but he led the AL in games started (39), completed games (18), and innings pitched (283 2/3). He threw 11 shutouts. The Game Cleveland was over halfway through a stretch of 15 straight games when they played the Twins on August 25, 1967. It was the third of four doubleheaders for them that month. Doubleheaders were not uncommon for this period in baseball. It was a way to ramp up competition and make fans happy with "more baseball." Doubleheaders soon faded as owners realized they were losing money (go figure). Dean Chance struggled with his control throughout the game, and that started right away. He gave up an unearned run in the first inning due to two walks, an error, and a wild pitch. Lee Maye had got on base, but with number five hitter Max Alvis stepped to the plate and struck out. However, the third strike sailed past Twins catcher Jerry Zimmerman for a wild pitch, allowing Maye to score. In the game, Chance walked five batters and hit another. Sonny Siebert (who threw a no-hitter in 1966) was the Cleveland starting pitcher that day. He and Chance kept the game tied 1-1 through the top of the sixth inning. Harmon Killebrew came to the plate with Cesar Tovar on third base. Siebert balked, sending Tovar home and giving the Twins a 2-1 advantage. That score held up through nine innings. Over the final eight innings, Chance struck out eight hitters, earning the Twins their second no-hitter. At the time, it was their "third no-hitter." You see, earlier that month, Chance had throw five perfect innings in a game against the Red Sox before the game was rained out. Since then, MLB altered its rules to require nine innings pitched for an official no-hitter. Opponent Cleveland's roster that evening was nothing to write home about. In fact, throughout the entirety of the 1960s they were a weak team. The team had problems with attendance, due to their poor play... and legends of a curse. "The Curse of Rocky Colavito" stemmed from the team's owner making a trade with the Tigers in 1960, sending Rocky Colavito to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn. Whether is is related or not, Cleveland suffered for more than 30 years, with a losing record in 27 of the next 34 seasons. The Twins had a lineup of all-stars in comparison. Even with a strong lineup, there will be games where the offense struggles. This was one of those games. The pitching being better than the other team is a relief because the Twins had just as much trouble getting runs, and the game was close. How many pitchers pitched The pitching matchup in the second game was Dean Chance (16-9, 2.52 ERA) versus the Indians' Sonny Siebert. Dean Chance was the 1964 AL Cy Young Award winner who had won five straight games from July 28 to August 16 before lasting only 2 1/3 innings in a loss to Detroit on August 22. Siebert had identical 16-8 records for Cleveland in 1965 and 1966. It wasn't that he was pitching poorly this season, Cleveland's offense was scoring a meager three runs a game when he was the starting pitcher. Scoring an unearned run in this game was solely based on walks and an error. Home or Away The Twins were coming to the end of a long road trip that took them out to the West Coast to play against Los Angeles, and then back east to New York, Detroit, and to Cleveland, playing 16 road games in 13 days. This game was the first Twins road no-hitter. Did the pitcher hit All pitchers were still hitting during this time in the league. Dean Chance was not particularly strong at the plate. He had very few plate appearances during his time, a whopping .066 batting average when he retired. In this game, Chance had four plate appearances and went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch. At game's end, he was hitting .027 on the season. Wrap it up! Dean Chance had all the makings of a notable pitcher from a young age. He still holds high school pitching records in Ohio. When Chance won the 1964 Cy Young award, he was the first Angels pitcher to do so. Hitters struggled to hit off of him, "Every time I see his name on a lineup card," Mickey Mantle once told sportswriter Maury Allen about Chance, "I feel like throwing up." Dean Chance should be discussed more in Twins history and he was a player that I truly enjoyed learning about. What do you think? Was he too far down on the list? Would you have him put higher on the list? Do you believe that the 1960s were peak pitching for the Twins, or would you pick a different era? I look forward to discussions! PREVIOUS NO-HITTER ARTICLES Jack Kralick Eric Milton Scott Erickson MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email View full article

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_171027_zpsfuptnh3h.jpg May 8, 1967 Rod Carew Gives Twins First 5-Hit Game Rookie Rod Carew became the first Twin to collect 5 hit in a single game in a 7-4 Twins loss to the Senators at home in Bloomington. Rodney was 5-for-5 on the day with a double, an RBI and run scored. The Twins had 11 hits in total, but no other Twin had more than one. Kirby Puckett set a new Twins record for hits in a game when he went 6-for-6 with 2 home runs and 2 doubles in a 10-6 Twins win in Milwaukee on August 30th, 1987. Puckett had gone 4-for-5 with 2 home runs the day before, making him 10-for-11 with 6 RBI and 7 runs on the weekend. He had gone 0-for-4 on Friday in the first game of the series, a 1-0 Twins loss. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_104617_zpsrhgchzsa.jpg May 8, 1968 Catfish Hunter Pitches a Perfect Game 22-year-old Catfish Hunter pitched a perfect game against the Twins in Oakland, striking out 11 in the 4-0 win which was only attended by 6,298 fans despite it being the Athletics’ first season in Oakland. Harmon Killebrew struck out in each of his three plate appearances. In addition to pitching the perfect game, Hunter went 3-for-4 at the plate, driving in 3 of the Athletics’ 4 runs. Reggie Jackson was 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. May 8, 1979 Twins Hit Team-Record 12 Extra Base Hits The Twins set a team record when 12 of their 19 hits went for extra bases in a 16-6 shellacking of the Blue Jays at home in Bloomington. Roy Smalley and Craig Kusick each hit 2 home runs. Ken Landreaux hit a home run and a double. Bombo Rivera hit 2 doubles, while Willie Norwood, Glenn Borgmann and Bob Randall hit one each. John Castino hit a triple. Roy Smalley had the best day of anybody, going 4-for-5 with the 2 home runs, a walk, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160501_110914_zpsrrdo52fb.jpg May 8, 1984 Kirby Puckett Goes 4-for-5 in MLB Debut Kirby Puckett went 4-for-5 with a run scored in his Major League debut as the Twins beat the first place Angels 5-0 in Anaheim. Puckett, hitting leadoff, grounded out to short to start the game. He collected singles in his next four at-bats, becoming the sixth player in American League history to debut with 4-hit performance. Frank Viola pitched a complete game, 4-hit shutout. Kirby collected 16 hits in his first 7 Major League games, hitting .485. He would finish the season with 165 hit in 128 games, batting .296 and finishing 3rd to Seattle’s Alvin Davis and Mark Langston in American League Rookie of the Year balloting. Minnesota’s Tim Teufel came in 4th. 22-year-old Twins catcher, Wilson Ramos, also went 4-for-5 in his Major League debut on May 2nd, 2010. The following night, he went 3-for-4 with a double, becoming the third player in Major League history with 7 hits in his first two games, and the first since the Chicago Cubs’ Coaker Triplett in 1938. May 9th It’s Oswaldo Arcia’s Birthday Nothing happened today, unless you count the birth of Oswaldo Arcia in Venezuela in 1991. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/Arcia.2015Topps_zps8pe4y60u.jpg May 10, 1962 Twins Hit Back-to-Back Home Runs to Begin Game Lenny Green and Vic Power hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the game versus Cleveland pitcher and future-Twin, Jim Perry. Cleveland came back to win the game 9-4. Back-to-back home runs to begin a game tied the Major League record at the time. Has a team since started with three? Anybody? Let’s get collaborative here. May 11th It’s Frank Quilici's Birthday Frank Quilici was born on this day in 1939 in Chicago. He played for the Twins in 1965 and 1967-’70, including the ‘65 World Series and 1970 American League Championship Series. He spent the ‘66 season at Triple A, Denver. He retired as a player after the 1970 season but was brought back as a coach in 1971. In July of ‘72 he replaced Bill Rigney as manager, a position which he held through the end of the 1975 season. He was succeeded by Gene Mauch. Quilici, who turns 77 today, makes his home in Burnsville, MN. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_110427_zpsfve038ml.jpg May 11, 1967 Dean Chance Pitches a One-Hitter Dean Chance pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout versus the Kansas City Athletics at home in Bloomington. Chance struck out 8 and walked 6 as the Twins won 8-0. Chance would get his no-hitter on August 25th of that season. 21-year-old Catfish Hunter, already in his third season, started for the Athletics, allowing all 8 Twins runs on 7 hits and 6 walks in just 5 innings. He would pitch a perfect game against the Twins 363 days later. May 11, 1982 The Twins Trade for Tom Brunansky The Twins traded Doug Corbett and Rob Wilfong to the California Angels for Tom Brunansky, pitcher Mike Walters, and $400,000 cash. Brunansky, a southern California-native, was drafted in the first round in 1978 out of high school by the Angels. He had played 11 games with the Angels in 1981, and was at Triple A Spokane at the time of the trade. Brunansky was, of course, an integral part of the Twins’ 1987 championship season when he hit 32 home runs, drove in 85 and scored 83 runs. He played for the Twins until an ill-advised April ‘88 trade to St. Louis for clubhouse cancer, Tommy Herr. Brunansky’s 163 home runs in a Twins uniform are ninth most in team history. He hit a total of 271 home runs over his fourteen year Major League career. Bruno has served as the Twins’ hitting coach since 2013. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_110719_zpszjb70wil.jpg May 12, 1961 Twins and Angels Pitchers Homer Off Each Other Pitcher, Eli Grba, homered in the top of the fifth to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Twins pitcher, Pedro Ramos, led off the bottom of the inning with a home run of his own, tying the game. Ramos added a 2-run single the following inning and the Twins held on to win 5-4, with Ramos driving in the Twins’ final 3 runs. May 12, 1982 Twins Trade Butch Wynegar to the Yankees Just one day after trading two bonafide big leaguers for a minor league pitcher and the unproven Tom Brunansky, the Twins traded pitcher Roger Erickson and standout catcher, Butch Wynegar, to the Yankees for not a whole lot. Wynegar was an all-star in his first two seasons and finished second to Detroit’s Mark Fidrych in 1976 American League Rookie of the Year balloting. Despite the Brunansky deal working out very well in retrospect, both trades were seen at the time as cheap cost-cutting measures by Twins ownership. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160507_110827_zpsrm91abas.jpg May 13, 1989 Kirby Puckett Hits Four Doubles Kirby Puckett hit a team record 4 doubles as the Twins beat the Blue Jays 10-8 at the Metrodome. Kirby, who was 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and a run scored, hit two doubles each off of Dave Stieb and Tom Henke. May 14th It’s the Birthday of Hosken Powell Nothing happened today, except the birth of Hosken Powell in 1955 in Selma, Alabama. The '75 Minnesota draft choice played for the Twins from 1978-'81 before playing his final two big league seasons in Toronto. Powell hit his first Major League home run off of Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer, in May of his rookie season. His third home run was off of Hall of Famer, Fegie Jenkins. Powell hit the final home run of his career off of Hall of Famer, Don Sutton. Keep in touch with the Twins Almanac on Facebook, and by following @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter.

Clayton Kershaw is in the midst of one of the best pitching seasons in baseball history. He looks to be a lock for the National League Cy Young and there's a chance he could win the NL MVP. After missing a chunk of games at the beginning of the season, he has rebounded to post one of the best seasons on record. Starting pitching seems to be one of the areas the Twins are struggling to find success.There hasn't been a player of Kershaw's caliber in the Twins rotation since the Johan Santana days in the Metrodome. However, there have been some very good seasons from past Twins pitchers. Last week ESPN tried to rank the top 20 pitcher seasons of the last 50 years. There were no Twins on the list but some Minnesota players were on the honorable mention list. For the purposes of this post, WAR is the average between the Baseball Reference and FanGraphs version of the statistic. ERA+ is ERA that is adjusted for home park and league context. Postseason performance was also considered. 1. Bert Blyleven, 1973 W-L: 20-17 | 2.52 ERA | 325.0 IP | 258 SO | ERA+: 156 | WAR: 10.5 "[blyleven's] best season came in 1973, when he went 20-17, with a 2.52 ERA in 40 starts. He pitched 325 innings and tossed nine shutouts. But in 10 starts in which he allowed one or two runs, he went just 5-4 -- even though he pitched at least 8 1/3 innings in all of those games."--- David Schoenfield, ESPN's SweetSpot Blog The sheer number of innings thrown by Blyleven at such a high level makes this season the most impressive in Twins history. His record could have been even more impressive if the Twins had given him more run support. The Twins finished with a .500 record so there was never a shot for Blyleven to strut his stuff in the postseason that year. Surprisingly, Blyleven received one lone vote in the AL Cy Young balloting that year. Jim Palmer won the award because he had more wins and a lower ERA. Blyleven bested him in innings, complete games and shutouts. He also struck out over 100 more batters. 2. Johan Santana, 2004 W-L: 20-6 | 2.61 ERA | 228.0 IP | 265 SO | ERA+: 182 | WAR: 8.1 "He's the only guy I know who at times has a 20-mile-per-hour differential between his fastball and his change-up. Usually guys have a 10-mile-per hour difference." --- Brett Boone, Seattle Mariners second baseman The toughest choice on this list was between Santana and Blyleven for the top spot. Santana was so dominant in 2004 that it was painstakingly hard not to put him in the top spot. His season didn't get off to the best start. Through his first 12 starts, he had a 5.50 ERA and he had allowed 12 home runs in just under 69 innings. Things turned quickly as he had a 1.64 ERA and 75 strikeouts over his last 55 innings before the All-Star break. He got even better after the Mid-Summer Classic. He started 15 games with a 1.21 ERA and struck out 129 in 104.1 innings. He walked 23 and batters were able to muster only a .443 OPS and they only coaxed 23 walks. 3. Bert Blyleven, 1974 W-L: 17-17 | 2.66 ERA | 281.0 IP | 249 SO | ERA+: 142 | WAR: 8.3 "It (his curveball) was nasty. I'll tell you that. Enough to make your knees buckle. Bert (Blyleven) was a terrific pitcher -- a dominating pitcher." --- Brooks Robinson, Hall of Fame Third Baseman In the follow-up season to his best professional year, Blyleven continued his dominating form. Many of his numbers dropped off but he was still very good. He was especially good in front of the Metropolitan Stadium crowd. In home games, he had a 1.91 ERA and he threw 12 complete games. He struck out 150 over 160 innings and he limited his walks to 45. The second half of the season was also particularly strong for Blyleven. He had a 2.00 ERA and he struck out 107 in just under 113 innings. Over his last 12 starts, he threw 98 innings with a 1.65 ERA. 4. Johan Santana, 2006 W-L: 19-6 | 2.77 ERA | 233.2 IP | 245 SO | ERA+: 162 | WAR: 7.3 "Santana fiddled with a change-up before 2002, but that was when the pitch blossomed. After Minnesota sent Santana to Class AAA Edmonton to covert him from a reliever to a starter, Bobby Cuellar, the pitching coach there, preached about the significance of trusting his change-up in any situation." --- Jack Curry, The New York Times The 2006 season was the last season in a very dominant three year stretch for Santana. He led all of baseball in ERA and strikeouts and he had the most innings pitched and games started in the American League. Among pitchers who compiled a minimum of 600 innings between 2004 and 2006, Santana led in ERA, ERA+, strikeouts, and K/BB ratio. He was the undisputed best pitcher in the baseball world even if it was only for three seasons. 5. Frank Viola, 1987 W-L: 17-10 | 2.90 ERA | 251.2 IP | 197 SO | ERA+: 159 | WAR: 6.9 "It's a tremendous feeling. MVP is a great, great honor but I couldn't do it without the other 23 guys and they all should share in this."--- Frank Viola, 1987 World Series MVP Some people might look at Viola's 1988 campaign as being more dominant since won the Cy Young that year. His 1987 campaign gets moved into the top 5 on this list because of his playoff performance. Viola was credited with three of the team's eight postseason victories that season. His Game 1 and Game 7 starts at the Metrodome were particularly strong as he pitched eight innings in both games and he limited the Cardinals to three runs. During the regular season, he allowed under 100 runs for the first time in his career and he posted the best ERA+ mark for his entire 15-year career. 6. Johan Santana, 2005 W-L: 16-7 | 2.87 ERA | 231.2 IP | 238 SO | ERA+: 155 | WAR: 7.4 In his first All-Star season, Santana lost some Cy Young support because of his low win total. He struck out more batters than everyone else in the baseball world. There were seven starts during the season where Santana didn't allow more than two earned runs and he was either charged with a loss or given a no-decision. 7. Frank Viola, 1988 W-L: 24-7 | 2.64 ERA | 255.1 IP | 193 SO | ERA+: 154 | WAR: 6.9 Viola rode a World Series high into the 1988 season and rattled a league high 24 victories. He posted double-digit victories at home and on the road. Over the first half of the season, he had a 14-2 record with a 2.24 ERA including five complete games. In the month of May, he was a perfect 6-0 with a 1.53 ERA, including two complete game shutouts. 8. Bert Blyleven, 1971 W-L: 16-15 | 2.81 ERA | 278.1 IP | 224 SO | ERA+: 126 | WAR: 6.9 There wasn't much of a sophomore slump for Mr. Blyleven. The 1971 season marked the beginning of a six year stretch where he posted an ERA of 3.00 or lower. It was also the start of an eight year stretch where he threw a minimum of 11 complete games. Blyleven was starting his march toward the Hall of Fame. 9. Dean Chance, 1968 W-L: 16-16 | 2.53 ERA | 292.0 IP | 234 SO | ERA+: 124 | WAR: 6.6 Chance was coming off a 20-win season during his first season in Minnesota. His ERA was .20 points lower in 1968 and he tossed more innings. He had 15 complete games and six of those starts were shutouts. His 234 strikeouts were a career high that he would never break and his 0.98 WHIP was the only time he finished a season below 1.00 in this category. 10. Bert Blyleven, 1975 W-L: 15-10 | 3.00 ERA | 275.2 IP | 233 SO | ERA+: 129 | WAR: 6.4 The 1975 campaign was Blyleven's last full season in Minnesota before he came back a decade later. His 20 complete games were his second highest total as a Twin, behind only his 1973 season. He struck out over 220 for the fifth straight year. In seven of his losses or no-decisions, he pitched at least seven and gave up three runs or less. Honorable Mentions: Dean Chance (1967), Camilo Pascual (1962), Dave Goltz (1977), Jim Perry, (1970), Jim Katt (1966), Jim Katt (1967), Jerry Koosman (1979), Francisco Liriano (2006) Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Who would be in your top 10 list? Click here to view the article