Tuesday trivia

Twins are this week’s theme

In this latest installment of Tuesday Trivia, our focus shifts to the Minnesota Twins.

If you have any ideas on what you’d like to see as a theme, let me know. Contact me at sportsdr44@hotmail.com. I did hear from a follower with a topic suggestion that will be used this summer.

Answers follow later in this post.

Questions

1: Who did the Twins play in their first home game at Metropolitan Stadium?

2: Who was the first player to represent the Twins in an All-Star Game?

3: Who hit the first home run as a Minnesota Twin?

4: What three players were involved when the Twins became the first team in MLB history to turn two triple plays in the same game in 1990?

5: Who threw the first no-hitter in team history?

6: What pitcher has made the most opening day starts for the Twins?

7: Which player played all nine positions in one game?

8: Who is the Twins pitcher the MLB Hall of Famer who has the fewest All-Star appearances?

9: Who was the first Minnesota native to play for the Twins?

10: Who hit his 600^th career home run as a member of the Twins in 2011?

Answers

The Twins hosted the Washington Senators in their first-ever home game on April 21, 1961.

1: The Twins lost to the expansion team that replaced them in the nation's capital, the second edition of the Washington Senators, 5–3, before 24,606 at Metropolitan Stadium on April 21, 1961.

Harmon Killebrew became the first Minnesota Twin to homer in an All-Star Game on July 11, 1961 in San Francisco.

2: Harmon Killebrew was the first Twins player to appear in an All-Star Game, hitting a solo home run off San Francisco’s Mike McCormick on July 11, 1961, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The National League won 5-4 in 10 innings. That was the third of four years in which two All-Star games were played. Camilo Pascual pitched three innings on July 31 of that year at Fenway Park in Boston in a game that ended in a 1-1 tie after nine innings due to rain.

Bob Allison hit the first home run in Twins history in their first game on April 11, 1961.

3: Bob Allison homered off of New York’s Whitey Ford in the seventh inning of the Twins’ first-ever game, a 6-0 win on April 11, 1961, at Yankee Stadium.

Gary Gaetti steps on third base and is ready to throw to second on the second of two 5-4-3 triple plays the Twins turned at Boston on July 17, 1990.

4: Both triple plays vs. the Boston Red Sox came on 5-4-3 plays, Gary Gaetti to Al Newman to Kent Hrbek.

Jack Kralick is hoisted on the shoulders of his catcher, Earl Battey, along with Lenny Green, Bernie Allen and Harmon Killebrew after his no-hitter at Met Stadium in 1962.

5: Jack Kralick threw a no-hitter vs. the Kansas City Athletics in front of 23,224 at Met Stadium on Aug. 26, 1962. Kralick retired the first 25 batters he faced before walking pinch-hitter George Alusik with one out in the ninth. Dick Howser, who would manage the Kansas City Royals to a World Series title in 1985, pinch-ran for Alusik. Kralick would then retire another pinch-hitter, Billy Consolo, and Bobby Del Greco to preserve a 1-0 Minnesota win.

Brad Radke made nine Opening Day starts for the Twins.

6: Brad Radke has made the most Opening Day starts for the Twins with nine. He has a 4-2 record with three no decisions. Bert Blyleven had six Opening Day starts for the Twins and Frank Viola had four.

Cesar Tovar played all nine positions for the Twins in a game vs. the Oakland A’s in 1968.

7: Cesar Tovar played all nine positions vs. Oakland at Met Stadium on Sept. 22, 1968. He pitched the first inning and none of the A’s batters put a ball in play in fair territory. Tovar got two outs on pop ups in foul territory and struck out a young slugger named Reggie Jackson.

Bert Blyleven pitched in two All-Star games, the fewest appearances for any player in the baseball Hall of Fame.

8: Bert Blyleven, who had a 22-year career with 287 wins, more than 3,700 strikeouts and a career earned run average of 3.31. He was an American League All-Star in only two seasons, 1973 and 1985. He took the loss in the 1973 game in Kansas City and allowed two runs in two innings while representing Cleveland in the 1985 game at the Metrodome. Blyleven would join the Twins for the second time later that season.

Paul Giel of Winona was the first Minnesota native to play for the Twins. Prior to playing Major League Baseball Giel was an All-American in football and baseball at the University of Minnesota.

9: Paul Giel of Winona pitched for the Twins in their inaugural season of 1961, appearing in 12 games. He had a record of 1-0 with a 9.78 ERA. Giel finished the season (and his big-league career) with the Kansas City Athletics that season. He signed with the New York Giants in 1954 for a $60,000 bonus, which was their highest ever at the time. Giel was with New York in 1954 and 1955 and then two years in the military. He rejoined the Giants (now in San Francisco) in 1958 and played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959 and 1960. The Pirates won the 1960 World Series on Bill Mazeroski’s home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7. Giel did not appear in the series.

Jim Thome hit his 600^th career home run while playing for the Twins on Aug. 14, 2011.

10: Jim Thome hit the 599^th and 600^th homers of his career for the Twins on Aug. 14, 2011, in Detroit. He hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and a three-run shot in the seventh inning. He’s eighth on the all-time list with 612 homers.