The royal succession of Twins center fielders is a point of pride in Minnesota. Today, May 3, is the 21st birthday of the newest heir to the throne, Ben Revere. The team raised eyebrows after selecting him 28th overall in the 2007 draft, but he’s proven doubters wrong since then, with a line of .360/.418/.483 in one and a half seasons. Along with 2008 selection Aaron Hicks, Revere is likely to be a good fit for the big shoes that come with the Twins’ center field position.
Speaking of young Twins center fielders, Kirby Puckett was once just that. His first game with the Twins was May 8, 1984, in Los Angeles against the Angels. In his first at-bat, leading off the game, Puckett grounded out against veteran right-hander Jim Slaton. He came through with singles, though, in his next four at-bats, scoring one of five Twins runs in a shutout victory. He remains the only Twin to ever record four hits in his first career game.
Of course, Kirby has a slew of other Twins distinctions as well. One of them is that he is the only player in club history to homer on the first pitch thrown in two consecutive games. He accomplished this feat on May 2 and 3, 1986, against Jack Morris and Walt Terrell. Despite the quick starts, though, the Twins lost both games.
A slightly more debilitating loss came on May 8, 1968, when the Athletics’ Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game against Minnesota. It was the first of two ever perfect games thrown against the Twins; the second was by the Yankees’ David Wells on May 17, 1998.
Another tough Minnesota loss came on May 7, 1995, when the Twins lost to the Indians 10-9 in a 17 inning affair. Twins pitchers threw 322 pitches, the most ever by the team since the advent of official pitch counting. Minnesota used nine pitchers in the game after starter Kevin Tapani lasted only 2.2 innings.
On a happier note, May 7 is also the ninth anniversary of Tom Kelly winning his 1000th game, in 2000 against the Tigers. In his managing career, which lasted from 1986-2001, Kelly won 1140 games and lost 1244. He’s 42nd all-time in victories, and 33th all-time in games.
Three days later, the Twins had reason to celebrate once again when they pulled off a 10-9 victory over the Indians after having been down 8-1 in the seventh inning. It was the biggest comeback they’d ever had, sealed with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth by Midre Cummings. In a move that looks painful in hindsight, Cummings had entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch-hitter for David Ortiz.
The dependable Twins battery of Kevin Slowey and Mike Redmond both celebrate birthdays this week: Slowey turns 25 on May 4, and Redmond turns 38 the following day. Despite this coincidence, however, it’s probably best to keep the two apart on the diamond. Slowey has allowed an opponents’ OPS of .886 with Redmond behind the plate, compared to .711 with Joe Mauer.
Among former players, Larry Hisle turns 62 on May 5. Hisle played for the Twins from 1973 to 1977, and made the All-Star team in that final season, when he also led the league in RBIs with 117. Albert Williams, born May 6, 1954 in Laguna de Perlas, Nicaragua, is the only player from that country to ever play for the Twins, and one of only ten in all the Major Leagues. Steve Braun (61 on May 
played in Minnesota from 1971 to 1976, during which time he batted .284/.376/.381. In both 1973 and 1975, his OPS was second-best on the team, behind only Rod Carew. Braun’s time in the Twin Cities came to an end when he was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft before the 1977 season.
Besides Ben Revere, a number of other Twins farmhands have birthdays this week, as well: Matt Tolbert (27) on May 4; Bobby Lanigan (22), Felix Molina (26) and Nathan Fritz (23) on May 5; Jay Sawatski (27) on the 7th; Oswaldo Arcia (18) on the 9th; and Henry Reyes (24) on the 10th. Ryan Jorgensen, who caught 65 games for the Red Wings and two for the Twins in 2008, turns 30 on May 4.
Until next week, Twins fans.
Topics: Albert Williams, Ben Revere, Bobby Lanigan, Catfish Hunter, David Ortiz, Felix Molina, Henry Reyes, Jay Sawatski, Kevin Slowey, Kevin Tapani, kirby puckett, Larry Hisle, Matt Tolbert, Midre Cummings, Mike Redmond, Minnesota Twins, Nathan Fritz, Oswaldo Arcia, Ryan Jorgensen, Steve Braun, This Week in Twins History, Tom Kelly
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[...] Murphy took a look at This Week with the Minnesota Twins. A lot of birthdays this time [...]