On this date
Carew rejects trade; Twins acquire Koosman
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The Minnesota Twins made one trade on the final day of baseball’s annual winter meetings in Orlando, Fla., on this date in 1978 but couldn’t close a second.
After years of being interested in Appleton native Jerry Koosman, the Twins finally acquired him from the New York Mets, even though he had lost 35 games in the previous two seasons. However, Rod Carew wouldn’t accept a trade that would have sent him to the San Francisco Giants, squashing that deal.
The Twins and Giants were disappointed that Carew didn’t immediately accept the lucrative offer made by San Francisco owner Bob Lurie during a three‐hour meeting in Bloomington.
“Rod is interested in going to San Francisco,” Carew’s lawyer, Jerry Simon, said in a statement, “but there was not sufficient time between now and midnight tonight (the interleague trading deadline] to resolve all the complexities involved in the proposed transaction.”
The seven times the American League batting champion was to have gone to the Giants for Mike Ivie, a first baseman; Jim Dwyer, a reserve outfielder who was a late substitute for Larry Herndon, the starting center fielder, and Phil Nastu, a promising pitching prospect. Nastu would have then been the player to be named later in the Koosman deal if Carew had said yes to the Giants.
According to a Twins’ spokesman, Carew said he needed more time to learn more about the city of San Francisco and playing baseball at windy, chilly Candlestick Park.
The Twins would eventually trade Carew to the Angels on Feb. 3, 1979 for outfielder Ken Landreaux, catcher-first baseman Dave Engle, right-handed pitcher Paul Hartzell, and left-handed pitcher Brad Havens.
Between the potential dual with the Giants and the one that the Twins made with the Angels, the Twins weren’t able to complete what might have been a better deal with the New York Yankees in January.
That deal would have moved to the Yankees in exchange for Chris Chambliss, Juan Beníquez, Dámaso García, and Dave Righetti.
Meanwhile, Koosman had told the Mets he would retire if he were not traded to the Twins. He had built a home in Victoria, about 30 miles west of Met Stadium. He said he had spoken with Manager Joe Torre near the end of the season and told him of his feelings.
Koosman played in two World Series with the Mets.
He went 2-0 in New York’s 1969 upset of the Baltimore Orioles, pitching a complete game in the clincher in Game 5 after facing all but one batter in winning Game 2.
Koosman won 21 games in 1976 but was 8‐20 in 1977 and 3‐15 in 1978 when he failed to win a game after July 13 and finished the season as a relief pitcher.
The Twins featured Koosman in their advertising ahead of the 1979 season:
Minnesota was competitive in 1979, compiling an 82-80 record for fourth place in the American League West, six games behind Carew’s Angels.
1979 American League standings
West Division
California Angels 88 74 .543 -
Kansas City Royals 85 77 .525 3.0
Texas Rangers 83 79 .512 5.0
Minnesota Twins 82 80 .506 6.0
Chicago White Sox 73 87 .456 14.0
Seattle Mariners 67 95 .414 21.0
Oakland Athletics 54 108 .333 34.0
East Division
Baltimore Orioles 102 57 .642 -
Milwaukee Brewers 95 66 .590 8.0
Boston Red Sox 91 69 .569 11.5
New York Yankees 89 71 .556 13.5
Detroit Tigers 85 76 .528 18.0
Cleveland Indians 81 80 .503 22.0
Toronto Blue Jays 53 109 .327 50.5
Postseason
World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates def. Baltimore Orioles 4-3
ALCS: Baltimore Orioles def. California Angels 3-1
Koosman was 20-13 in 1979 and 16-13 in 1980 but was 3-9 to start 1981 and was sent to the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 30.
In that deal, the Twins received Ivan Mesa, Ronnie Perry, cash, and a player to be named later, who turned out to be Randy Johnson.
No, not that Randy Johnson. It wasn’t the Hall of Fame pitcher who played for the Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.
This Randy Johnson played for the Twins as a designated hitter and outfielder in 1982. He had 10 home runs and a .248 batting average in his only season with the Twins.
On that date
No. 1 TV show: Three’s Company, ABC
No. 1 Movie: Superman
No. 1 song: “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.
No. 1 book: War and Remembrance, Herman Wouk.
Governor of Minnesota: Rudy Perpich was governor, but Al Quie was governor-elect, having defeated Perpich in the gubernatorial election on Nov. 7. Quie took office on Jan. 4, 1979.
U.S. President: Jimmy Carter
Significant news story: A fire in a National Archives facility in Suitland, Maryland, destroyed a vast collection of newsreel films. The highly flammable nitrocellulose film, stored in 21 vaults, was lost due to the fire. The most probable cause was the construction work taking place in the building at the time.
We are the champions
Here are the reigning champions in each sport on Dec. 7, 1978.
Super Bowl: Dallas Cowboys
World Series: New York Yankees
NBA: Washington Bullets
NHL: Montreal Canadiens
College football: Notre Dame
College basketball: Kentucky
Masters: Gary Player
Daytona 500: Bobby Allison
Indy 500: Al Unser Sr.