September 7, 1970: Twins’ Hal Haydel earns win with five-inning relief outing in major league debut

As a September call-up in 1970, right-handed pitcher John Harold “Hal” Haydel joined the American League’s West Division’s first-place team, the Minnesota Twins. On September 7, the day after the 26-year-old Louisiana native reached the big leagues after nine minor-league seasons with five organizations,1 the Twins hosted the Milwaukee Brewers for a Labor Day doubleheader at Metropolitan Stadium. The Brewers, who had relocated from Seattle to Milwaukee before the 1970 season, were fourth in the AL West.

Originally signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1962, Haydel also spent time in the Houston Colt .45s, Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco Giants organizations. The Twins acquired him from the Giants through the Rule 5 draft in December 1969 – the third time in his career that an organization had selected him in an offseason draft. While Haydel was unable to make Minnesota’s major-league roster on Opening Day 1970, a cash deal allowed the Twins to keep him in its system.2 He had a 12-12 record and 3.35 ERA in 28 games with Triple-A Evansville.

The Twins began September 7 with an 81-55 record, six games ahead of their closest pursuers, the Oakland A’s and California Angels. They had swept the Angels in a three-game series over the weekend.

Minnesota kept its winning streak going by beating Milwaukee, 7-6, in the doubleheader’s first game. Brant Alyea’s first-inning grand slam and third inning three-run homer – both against starter Lew Krausse – provided all the Twins’ runs, and while the Brewers kept chipping away at the deficit, it wasn’t enough.3

Despite a six-run lead by the third inning, the opener had taxed Twins manager Bill Rigney’s pitching staff. Bill Zepp started but couldn’t get through the fifth inning. Stan Williams relieved him and pitched 2 2/3 innings to qualify for the win, improving his record to 9-0. Star closer Ron Perranoski got his 28th save of the season by pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Haydel was watching from the home team’s bullpen when the Brewers jumped out in front in the second game. Speedster Tommy Harper led the game off with a triple off Twins starter Luis Tiant, who had a 7-2 record and 3.29 ERA but had missed more than two months of the season with a fractured right-shoulder scapular bone. Harper then scored on Russ Snyder’s sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the inning, the Twins tied the game against Brewers starter Al Downing, who had lost 9 of his last 10 decisions to drop his record to 4-11.4 Harmon Killebrew doubled and went to third base on a wild pitch. Alyea followed with a single to score Killebrew for his eighth RBI of the day.

Tiant took the field to warm up for the second inning, but he had pulled, in his words, an “armpit muscle”5 and was unable to continue. The bullpen phone rang. “Haydel! You’re going in!” Without warning, Hal Haydel found himself preparing to pitch in his first major-league game.6

The first batter Haydel faced was the Brewers’ catcher, Jerry McNertney. McNertney hit a fly ball to center field, where it was caught by César Tovar, and Haydel had recorded his first major-league out. Roberto Peña popped up to second and Haydel retired Ted Kubiak on a comebacker, making it a one-two-three inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Twins made two quick outs, and Haydel went to bat.7 He connected solidly and doubled to left field.8 Tovar singled and Haydel scored, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead.

Perhaps all the baserunning affected Haydel. After Downing fouled out to begin the third, Harper homered to tie the game. It was Harper’s 27th home run of the season, a career high for the nine-year veteran.9 One out later, Dave May singled, but Haydel ended the inning by getting his first strikeout, on Brewers right fielder Bob Burda.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Twins regained their one-run lead on a walk to Alyea and a two-out triple by shortstop Leo Cardenas. Milwaukee manager Dave Bristol protested that Burda had caught Cardenas’s fly ball, but first-base umpire Lou DiMuro ruled that it had been dropped.10 

The fourth inning was eventful for Haydel. While pitching, he had another one-two-three inning with two groundouts and a fly out. In the Twins’ half of the inning, Haydel batted against Downing. This time, with one out and no one on base, he hit the ball into the left-field bleachers for his first – and only – major-league home run to give the Twins a 4-2 lead. (It was also Haydel’s only big-league RBI.)

The fifth inning had Haydel pitching another one-two-three inning, highlighted by striking out Downing.

Haydel ran into trouble in the sixth. Snyder and May started the inning off with singles. Burda’s sacrifice moved the runners up. Mike Hegan then hit a sacrifice fly to score Snyder. With May on second, third baseman Rick Renick made a leaping catch of McNertney’s line drive, preserving the Twins’ one-run lead.11

It turned out to be Haydel’s final pitch. In the seventh, Rigney brought in Perranoski for the 34-year-old lefty’s second appearance of the day, his 58th appearance of the season, and the 647th appearance of his career.

Perranoski threw a perfect seventh, and the Twins broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the inning against relievers Bobby Bolin and Dave Baldwin. Killebrew brought Tovar home with an RBI single. Alyea drove in his ninth run of the day on a sacrifice fly, scoring second baseman Danny Thompson. Rookie right fielder Steve Brye – like Haydel, a September call-up – singled in Killebrew with his first major-league hit. George Mitterwald capped the uprising with another run-scoring single.

Perranoski then shut the door on the Brewers, just as he did in the day’s first game. He pitched three scoreless innings for his 29th save.12 He threw 4 2/3 innings for the day, giving up only one hit in each game. The final score of the nightcap was 8-3, and Downing took the loss to give him a 4-12 record.

The Twins’ doubleheader sweep was complete. With the A’s sweeping the Chicago White Sox in a doubleheader and the Angels losing to the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota maintained its six-game first-place lead.

Haydel’s first game saw him get his first major-league win. He pitched five innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs. He struck out two and didn’t issue any walks. His two extra-base hits while batting were icing on the cake for an outstanding debut. After the game, he said, “I really couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it.”13

Haydel pitched in three more games that season, winning one and losing none. The Twins went on to win their second consecutive AL West title.14 In 1971 Haydel split time between the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, the Portland Beavers (Triple-A Pacific Coast League), and the big-league club. He ended his major-league career after that season with a lifetime 6-2 record and a 4.04 ERA in 35 games.

He recorded a save on August 29, 1971, against the Cleveland Indians, striking out Roy Foster to preserve a 6-5 Twins win. Twins starter Jim Perry pitched the first 8 2/3 innings, but Haydel was brought in after the 1970 AL Cy Young Award winner gave up two runs in the ninth inning to make it a one-run game.

A 2-8 record and a 7.14 ERA with the Tacoma Twins of the Pacific Coast League in 1972 spelled the end of Haydel’s pro career. Although he was primarily used as a starter in the minor leagues, all his major-league appearances were in relief.

Haydel died on September 12, 2018, in Houma, Louisiana, where he was born and raised. He was 74 years old.15

While his major-league career couldn’t match his first game, Haydel nevertheless had a historic day of firsts. As of 2025, he remained the only pitcher in Twins history to hit a home run in his first major-league game.16 He retired with a .500 batting average in six big-league at-bats, and his debut-game double and homer left him with a 1.167 slugging percentage. With Alyea and Perranoski also starring that day and on a team with five future Hall of Fame players (Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Bert Blyleven, Jim Kaat, and an injured Rod Carew), Haydel more than held his own.

Author’s Note

The author, age 13 at the time, attended the game at Metropolitan Stadium. He lived in Bloomington and still resides there.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kurt Blumenau and copy-edited by Len Levin. Special thanks to Gustavo “Gus” Willies and Stew Thornley for their assistance.

Photo credit: Hal Haydel, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN197009072.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B09072MIN1970.htm

Notes

1 Tom Briere, “Twins Call up Reserve,” Minneapolis Tribune, September 1, 1970: 21.

2 “Hal Haydel Bio,” Twins Daily, accessed June 2025, https://twinsdaily.com/minnesota-twins-players-project/hal-haydel-r206/.

3 It was Alyea’s second seven-RBI game of the 1970 season. On Opening Day, April 7, he had a pair of three-run homers and an RBI single in a 12-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

4 Downing began the 1970 season with the A’s before he and Tito Francona were traded to Milwaukee for Steve Hovley on June 11.

5 “This Day in Twins History – September 7, 1970,” Twins Trivia, September 7, 2012, https://twinstrivia.com/2012/09/07/this-day-in-twins-history-september-7-1970/.

6 Stoneking, “Four-Ply Twin Assist: Rookie Haydel Adds Share”; Gary Olson, “Heroes Alyea, Haydel Both Wore Their Hitting Shoes,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, September 8, 1970: C19.

7 The AL did not adopt the designated-hitter rule until the 1973 season.

8 Personal recollection of the author.

9 Harper finished the season with 31 home runs, which turned out to be the most of his 15-year career.

10 Stoneking, “Four-Ply Twin Assist.”

11 “Four-Ply Twin Assist.”

12 Another Twins’ September call-up, Jim Nettles, made his major-league debut when he came in to play right field in the ninth inning.

13 Stoneking, “Four-Ply Twin Assist.”

14 The Twins were swept in the AL Championship Series by the Baltimore Orioles for the second season in a row.

15 “John Harold Haydel: 1944-2018,” Legacy.com, accessed June 2025, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/houmatoday/name/john-haydel-obituary?id=11550870.

16 “This Day in Twins History – September 7, 1970.” No pitcher accomplished this feat when the team played in Washington.