Search the Community

March 5 Happy 60th Birthday to Jerry Ujdur It's the birthday 1975 Hermantown High School graduate Jerry Ujdur. Jerry made the Hermantown varsity team as an 8th grader. In ‘75 he met Dick Siebert halfway in Hinckley to audition for the legendary Gophers coach. He would win 27 games as a Gopher, second only to his teammate, Minnetonka High School grad Steve Comer's 30 wins. Ujdur appeared in 49 games, starting 37 for Detroit from 1980 to '83, winning 10 games for the Tigers in ‘82. He would pitch in four games for the Cleveland ballclub in 1984 before retiring with a major league record of 12-16. Though he pitched in only 53 major league games, Ujdur sure had the number of a few Hall of Famers, including Eddie Murray who went 0-for-11 with two walks vs. the Hermantown Hawk. Carlton Fisk went 0-for-10 with a walk, Paul Molitor 2-for-14 with a walk, and Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson each went 1-for-9 with 2 walks. March 5, 2006 Kirby Puckett Suffers Stroke Twins legend Kirby Puckett suffers a massive stroke at the home he shares with his fiancee in Scottsdale, Arizona. Old friend Ron Washington, in camp with the Athletics nearby, was one of the first at his bedside. Ken Griffey Jr. also rushed to his side, while former teammates including Shane Mack and Kent Hrbek made their ways to Arizona. Puckett’s weight had spiralled out of control following the abrupt end to his career. "That's what really hurt him bad, when he was forced out of the game," Hrbek told the Associated Press. "I don't know if he ever recovered from it." "We would tell him. But he enjoyed life. He enjoyed the size he was. That's who he was," Jacque Jones told ESPN from Cubs camp in Mesa, AZ. "You can't do anything about it until he decides to change. Hopefully, he'll pull through this, and it'll be like a call for him to change some things in his life.” March 6, 1973 Larry Hisle Becomes First DH in MLB History In an exhibition game vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates, Larry Hisle becomes the first Designated Hitter in major league history. Back on January 11, American League owners had voted 8-4 to adopt the DH, and in this game Hisle made them look like geniuses, hitting two home runs and driving in seven. The Yankees’ Ron Blomberg was the first DH to bat in a regular season game. The Twins’ Tony Oliva would hit the first regular season home run by a DH on April 6th (Opening Day) off of Oakland's Catfish Hunter. Interestingly, Oakland owner Charlie Finley is generally credited with leading the push for the DH. March 6, 2006 Kirby Puckett Passes Away A day after suffering a massive stroke, Kirby Puckett passes away at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. After unsuccessful emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, friends and family were notified that the end was near. Many people rushed to be with Kirby in his final hours. Former teammates Shane Mack and Kent Hrbek travelled to Arizona. Ron Washington, who was in spring training with the Athletics nearby, was one of the first friends to arrive. Another friend who rushed to the hospital and was reportedly at his bedside when he passed was Ken Griffey Jr. "There's certain people that you owe it to, for the things they've done for you," Griffey told the Los Angeles Time. "No matter where you are. He was that important to my family. It was for the things he said to me, not for the way he played." Kirby Puckett was just 45 years old, the second-youngest person to pass away after having already been enshrined in Cooperstown. Lou Gehrig was just 37. March 7, 2013 Aaron Hicks Has Himself a Day Entering spring training it was unclear whether or not 2008 first-round draft choice Aaron Hicks had a legitimate chance of making the Opening Day roster. On this day, though, he made the front office’s decision just a little bit easier, going 4-for-5 with 3 home runs, 6 RBI and a stolen base vs. the Phillies in Clearwater. He would indeed make his major league debut on April 1st, playing 81 big league games in 2013 but also spending some time back in Rochester. March 8 Happy 60th Birthday to John Butcher It’s the birthday of former Twins pitcher John Butcher, born in Glendale, California in 1957. The Twins acquired Butcher along with pitcher Mike Smithson and minor league catcher Sam Sorce from Texas in exchange for Gary Ward on December 7, 1983. Butcher pitched a remarkable 1 hour and 55 minute complete game shutout on April 21, 1985. The Twins had lost 9 in a row, falling to 2-9 on the season, entering the Sunday series finale in Oakland when Butcher hurled an 81-pitch gem, allowing three hits, but facing just 28 batters, one over the minimum. Leadoff hitter Kirby Puckett went 3-for-5, driving in both Twins runs in the 2-0 victory. It was the beginning of a 10-game Twins winning streak. March 8 Happy 55th Birthday to Mark Salas It’s the birthday of former Twins catcher Mark Salas, born Montabello, California in 1961. The Twins acquired Salas from the Cardinals in the December ‘84 Rule 5 Draft, and traded him to the New York Yankees for knuckleballer Joe Niekro on June 6, 1987. Today Salas is the Chicago White Sox bullpen catcher. Yes, I was surprised, too, but “Bullpen Catcher” is really what he’s listed as on the White Sox roster. March 9 Happy 54th Birthday to Terry Mulholland It’s the birthday of former Twins pitcher Terry Mulholland, born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania in 1963. The Twins purchased the 1993 All-Star from Seattle on April 2, 2004. He was 41 years old. He pitched in 39 games for the ‘04 Twins, starting 15. The following season, at age 42, Mulholland made 49 relief appearances for Minnesota. He pitched briefly for Arizona in 2005, his 20th and final major league season. March 11, 1961 The First Game in Twins History Winona Senior High School graduate and 2x All-American Golden Gopher tailback Paul Giel started the first game in Minnesota Twins history, an exhibition game against the Detroit Tigers at Tinker Field in Orlando. The Tigers won the game 4-1. Pedro Ramos was the first Opening Day starter in Twins history, pitching a 3-hit shutout vs. Berra, Mantle, Maris and the gang at Yankee Stadium on April 11. One of the three hits that Ramos allowed was to Yankees ace Whitey Ford, with Yogi Berra and Moose Skowron collecting the other two. The game was scoreless through six until Bob Allison led off the seventh with a home run. It was Twins pitcher Ramos who knocked Ford out of the game with a 2-RBI single with one away in the seventh. The Twins went on to win 6-0. After the Twins jumped out to a hot 5-2 start in New York and Boston, Camilo Pascual took the ball in the first home opener in Twins history vs. the new expansion Washington Senators who wound up beating the home team 5-3. Keep in touch with the @TwinsAlmanac on Twitter and Facebook.

I am a 32-year-old student of the game and aspiring baseball writer, born and raised in Zimmerman, MN. I am a ‘02 graduate of the Elk River Area High School. Yes, I was there in 2000, albeit as the backup catcher, when Paul Feiner dealt Joe Mauer the one and only strikeout of his high school career.I recently began a project called Major Minnesotans, telling the stories of the major leaguers who grew up in Minnesota. From the time I was a kindergartener learning to read by studying the backs of 1990 Topps cards, I have been fascinated by the few Minnesotans who have made it to the majors. The genesis of this project, I suppose, is an album of baseball cards of major league Minnesotans that I began putting together about a year ago. As I researched the cards that I would need to assemble to make this album as comprehensive as possible, I stumbled upon one fascinating story after another. Furthermore, I realized that these are stories that hadn't already been rehashed every which way. I don’t have many original insights to offer by way of prognostication or parsing sabermetrics. These stories though, they are that elusive niche I’d been looking for since giving up my Reader Weekly column years ago. The details available in 2016 are mind-boggling. For instance, you can look up Dan Smith (Apple Valley class of ‘87) on Baseball Reference, click “Debut,” scroll down to play by play and see that the first big league batter he faced, Devon White, dropped down a bunt single, promptly stole second, was moved to third by a Roberto Alomar sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Joe Carter sac fly. Welcome to the big leagues, am I right? Incidentally, you will also notice that Smith was opposed in his MLB debut by St. Paul-native, Jack Morris. Does anyone else remember digging through the library basement to do the kind of research you can now do on your phone from anywhere? Another fun fact gleaned from the play-by-play on Baseball Reference is that Greg Olson (Edina East class of ‘79) made his major league debut with Minnesota in 1989, pinch-hitting for Kent Hrbek (Bloomington Kennedy class of ‘78) and replacing Tim Laudner (Park Center class of ‘76) behind the plate. Laudner took over at first. The fact that Greg Olson was playing catcher in the first place is another interesting story. Olson was a third baseman in high school. The Gophers converted him to catcher to make room for third baseman, Terry Steinbach (New Ulm class of 1980). Steinbach was in turn converted to catcher while in the Oakland organization to make room for up-and-coming third baseman, Mark McGwire. Olson went on to become an NL All-Star catcher in 1990, while Terry Steinbach was a 3x All-Star catcher in the American League. McGwire, of course, moved across the diamond and became a 12x All-Star first baseman. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160131_092041_zpswgeabeti.jpg Briefly a resident of Duluth, like myself, Jerry Ujdur is another major league Minnesotan who caught my attention. Second in career wins at the University of Minnesota, Ujdur went on to a brief, wholly unremarkable major league career. A deeper look at his Baseball Reference page, though, shows that he was peculiarly successful against several Hall of Famers: Major Minnesotans will publish its first article on March 17th, the birthday of Washburn High School graduate, Hy Vandenberg, who pitched in the major leagues from 1935 to 1945. For a more succinct look at the Major Leaguers who grew up in Minnesota, like Major Minnesotans on Facebook (Facebook.com/MajorMinnesotans), and follow me on Twitter @MajorMinnesota. In addition to Major Minnesotans, I have also started The Twins Almanac, telling the story of the Minnesota Twins one day at a time. The Twins Almanac will revolve around a weekly compendium of Twins history, and also include occasional pieces on specific items of Twins history. Here is a foretaste of The Twins Almanac for the week of April 3rd-9th: 4/3/82: The Twins beat the Phillies 5-0 in an exhibition game, the first major league game played at the Metrodome. Pete Rose collects the first hit, and Bloomington-native Kent Hrbek hits the Dome’s first two homers. 4/4/90: The Twins trade future-KARE 11 anchor, Mike Pomeranz, to Pittsburgh in exchange for Junior Ortiz and a minor league pitcher. Ortiz, who wore #0, is best-remembered as Scott Erickson’s personal catcher during the Twins’ 1991 World Championship season. 4/5/14: The Twins beat Cleveland 7-3 for Ron Gardenhire’s 1,000th managerial win. 4/6 is the birthday of Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven... A little more about myself: my baseball career peaked in 1998 when, at age 15. I threw 18 strikeouts over 10 innings in an 11 inning loss. I majored in English at Gustavus Adolphus College where I took all the classes I could from Minnesota’s current Poet Laureate, Joyce Sutphen. The first piece I ever wrote outside of school, an interview with and profile of the poet Louis Jenkins, made the cover of Duluth's Reader Weekly. My second piece, on the musician Charlie Parr, was also the cover. Nearly a decade later I started Major Minnesotans and The Twins Almanac. For two sample Major Minnesotans articles and The Twins Almanac for the week of April 3rd to the 9th, visit my WordPress site at MajorMinnesotans.WordPress.com. Thank you, Matt http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160316_173242_zpsw33tqxhy.jpg Click here to view the article

I am a 32 year old student of the game and aspiring baseball writer, born and raised in Zimmerman, MN. I am a ‘02 graduate of the Elk River Area High School. Yes, I was there in 2000 -- albeit as the backup catcher -- when Paul Feiner dealt Joe Mauer the one and only strikeout of his high school career. I recently began a project called Major Minnesotans, telling the stories of the Major Leaguers who grew up in Minnesota. From the time I was a kindergartener learning to read by studying the backs of 1990 Topps cards, I have been fascinated by the few Minnesotans who have made it to the Majors. The genesis of this project, I suppose, is an album of baseball cards of Major League Minnesotans that I began putting together about a year ago. As I researched the cards that I would need to assemble to make this album as comprehensive as possible, I stumbled upon one fascinating story after another. Furthermore, I realized that these are stories that haven’t already been rehashed every which way. I don’t have many original insights to offer by way of prognostication or parsing sabermetrics. These stories, though, they are that elusive niche I’d been looking for since giving up my Reader Weekly column years ago. The details available in 2016 are mindboggling. For instance, you can look up Dan Smith (Apple Valley class of ‘87) on Baseball Reference, click “Debut,” scroll down to play by play and see that the first Big League batter he faced, Devon White, dropped down a bunt single, promptly stole second, was moved to third by a Roberto Alomar sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Joe Carter sac fly. Welcome to the Big Leagues, am I right? Incidentally, you will also notice that Smith was opposed in his MLB debut by St. Paul-native, Jack Morris. Does anyone else remember digging through the library basement to do the kind of research you can now do on your phone from anywhere? Another fun fact gleaned from the play by play on Baseball Reference is that Greg Olson (Edina East class of ‘79) made his Major League debut with Minnesota in 1989, pinch-hitting for Kent Hrbek (Bloomington Kennedy class of ‘78) and replacing Tim Laudner (Park Center class of ‘76) behind the plate. Laudner took over at first. The fact that Greg Olson was playing catcher in the first place is another interesting story. Olson was a third baseman in high school. The Gophers converted him to catcher to make room for third baseman, Terry Steinbach (New Ulm class of 1980). Steinbach was in turn converted to catcher while in the Oakland organization to make room for up-and-coming third baseman, Mark McGwire. Olson went on to become an NL All-Star catcher in 1990, while Terry Steinbach was a 3x All-Star catcher in the American League. McGwire, of course, moved across the diamond and became a 12x All-Star first baseman. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160131_092041_zpswgeabeti.jpg Briefly a resident of Duluth, myself, Jerry Ujdur is another Major League Minnesotan who caught my attention. 2nd in career wins at the University of Minnesota, Ujdur went on to a brief, wholly unremarkable Major League career. A deeper look at his Baseball Reference page, though, shows that he was peculiarly successful against several Hall of Famers: Major Minnesotans will publish its first article on March 17th, the birthday of Washburn High School graduate, Hy Vandenberg, who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1935 to 1945. For a more succinct look at the Major Leaguers who grew up in Minnesota, like Major Minnesotans on Facebook (Facebook.com/MajorMinnesotans), and follow me on Twitter @MajorMinnesota. In addition to Major Minnesotans, I have also started The Twins Almanac, telling the story of the Minnesota Twins one day at a time. The Twins Almanac will revolve around a weekly compendium of Twins history, and also include occasional pieces on specific items of Twins history. Here is a foretaste of The Twins Almanac for the week of April 3rd-9th: 4/3/82: The Twins beat the Phillies 5-0 in an exhibition game, the first Major League game played at the Metrodome. Pete Rose collects the first hit, and Bloomington-native Kent Hrbek hits the Dome’s first two homers. 4/4/90: The Twins trade future-KARE 11 anchor, Mike Pomeranz, to Pittsburgh in exchange for Junior Ortiz and a minor league pitcher. Ortiz, who wore #0, is best-remembered as Scott Erickson’s personal catcher during the Twins’ 1991 World Championship season. 4/5/14: The Twins beat Cleveland 7-3 for Ron Gardenhire’s 1,000th managerial win. 4/6 is the birthday of Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven... A little more about myself: my baseball career peaked in 1998 when, at age 15, I threw 18 strikeouts over 10 innings in an 11 inning loss. I majored in English at Gustavus Adolphus College where I took all the classes I could from Minnesota’s current Poet Laureate, Joyce Sutphen. The first piece I ever wrote outside of school, an interview with and profile of the poet Louis Jenkins, made the cover of Duluth's Reader Weekly. My second piece, on the musician Charlie Parr, was also the cover. Nearly a decade later I started Major Minnesotans and The Twins Almanac. For two sample Major Minnesotans articles and The Twins Almanac for the week of April 3rd to the 9th, visit my WordPress site at MajorMinnesotans.WordPress.com. Thank you, Matt http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/20160316_173242_zpsw33tqxhy.jpg