April 16, 1966: Dean Chance, Jackie Warner, and baserunning blunders doom the Twins

April 1966 was a great time to be a Minnesota Twin. The Twins were the reigning American League champions – a title reserved for the New York Yankees in 14 of the previous 16 years. Only the seventh-game brilliance of Sandy Koufax had prevented the Twins from being fitted for World Series rings.1

Minnesota was loaded with stars like 1965 Most Valuable Player Zoilo Versalles, two-time batting champion Tony Oliva, The Sporting News’s American League Pitcher of the Year Mudcat Grant, slugger Harmon Killebrew, and pitchers Camilo Pascual and Jim Kaat. Relief pitching and basestealing were becoming part of baseball’s winning formula, and Minnesota could boast of those, too. The Twins were picked, along with Detroit and Baltimore, to finish at the top of the standings again in 1966.2

On April 16 the Twins were facing the California Angels in the fifth game of their six-game season-opening homestand at Metropolitan Stadium. Minnesota had beaten Kansas City three straight times to open the season, but the Angels proved to be a tougher test, roughing up the Twins, 9-4, in the first of their scheduled three games. On this Saturday afternoon, Grant, winner of the season opener, opposed Dean Chance.

Grant made quick work of California in the first, getting three straight outs. The Twins had a scoring opportunity in their half of the inning but gave it away. With one out, Sandy Valdespino beat out a bunt and went to third when Oliva lined a single to left.3 But Valdespino committed the first of three costly Twins baserunning mistakes when he was picked off third base by Angels catcher Bob Rodgers for the second out. Oliva stole second base, keeping the flickering threat alive, but Don Mincher struck out.

Neither team scored in the second, but the Twins grabbed the lead in the third inning. With one out, Versalles’s speed earned him an infield single,4 and he took second on a groundout. That brought up Oliva with two outs. Chance threw a first-pitch strike, “jammed him three times, then came in low and away.”5 Oliva hit the 3-and-1 pitch over the fence – his fourth consecutive game with a home run6 – putting Minnesota ahead 2-0. After the game, Chance called Oliva – who collected three hits, and hit the ball hard in each of his four at-bats – the best player in the American League7 and asked plaintively, “How do you pitch that Oliva?”8

The fourth inning was uneventful, but in the fifth, Minnesota’s Bernie Allen joined Valdespino in infamy. Allen drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second, only to be picked off when Chance whirled and threw to shortstop Jim Fregosi, who was between Allen and second base. Allen broke toward third, but Fregosi threw to third baseman Paul Schaal, who returned the ball to Fregosi to apply the tag on Allen.9 A Versalles groundout ended a once-promising inning. Twins manager Sam Mele was later asked how both Allen and Valdespino could have been picked off. His reply was terse, “They fell fast asleep.”10

The Angels’ sixth inning began with a groundout. Grant had now retired the first 16 California batters. According to Fregosi, Grant had never looked better against the Angels: “He’s throwing faster than ever and his slider was great.”11Angels manager Bill Rigney agreed, saying he had never seen Grant throw faster.12

But Grant’s stroll through the Angels’ lineup was about to end. He walked Schaal, giving California its first baserunner. Chance pushed a bunt toward third in an attempt to sacrifice Schaal to second, but Killebrew was late to the ball, allowing Chance to reach base with California’s first hit. Few players would be less likely to end a no-hitter than Chance. His career batting average was a microscopic .066. His next hit – his only other hit of 1966 – came in August!

The Angels rally continued with Jose Cardenal beating out a dribbler to the left of the mound, which filled the bases with one out. Bobby Knoop’s fly ball was caught for the second out, but Schaal tagged up and scored. Cardenal was forced at second to end the inning, but Minnesota now led 2-1 after six.

To begin the Angels’ seventh, Norm Siebern lined a single, and 18-year-old Willie Montanez ran for him. Rodgers lined out, bringing rookie Jackie Warner to the plate. Grant had fanned Warner in his first two at-bats, but this time, Grant fell behind, two balls and no strikes. He fired a fastball over the plate, and Warner hit it into the left-field seats 391 feet away, putting California ahead for good, 3-2.13 Warner was the hero for the second time in his first four major-league games – he had hit a ninth-inning home run to beat the White Sox two days earlier. “I can’t say enough about young Warner,” proclaimed Chance. “He’s doing it all.”14

The Twins put together one more charge in the eighth. Russ Nixon, batting for Grant, doubled. Rookie Ted Uhlaender, “the Baylor speedster,”15 ran for Nixon. When Versalles hit a grounder to shortstop, Uhlaender raced for third.16Fregosi made a high throw to Schaal “and it was going to be two on and no outs,” except Uhlaender slid past the bag.17He dived back, but was tagged out by Schaal – at least according to the umpire.18 Third-base coach Billy Martinvehemently disagreed. As the Minneapolis Tribune put it, “Martin raged, while Uhlaender burned, but the umpire’s decision stood.”19 Tempers eventually cooled, and when they did, Valdespino flied to center for the second out. Oliva lined a ball that “nearly tore off Bobby Knoop’s hand,”20 but it was caught for the third out. Even after the game, Martin conceded nothing on the Uhlaender call: “Schaal hasn’t tagged him yet! Uhlaender had no business going in the first place, but he was safe anyhow.”21

Al Worthington pitched the ninth inning for the Twins, and faced just three batters despite giving up a leadoff triple to Tom Satriano. Jackie Hernandez ran for the plodding Satriano, but after Rodgers struck out, Hernandez “got crossed up with third-base coach Del Rice.”22 Hernandez mistakenly thought a squeeze play was on,23 and broke for home while Warner was batting. He was easily tagged out by Twins catcher Jerry Zimmerman after a brief rundown in a play scored 2-5-2.24 Warner struck out for the third time, ending the inning.

The Twins’ ninth inning was easy for Chance. Mincher grounded out, Killebrew took a called third strike, and Jimmie Hall popped to second, closing out Minnesota’s second consecutive loss to California. Chance had his first win of the season; Grant his first loss.

Grant did not take defeat lightly. He spent over an hour on the field after the game trying to forget the loss.25 He did not blame the sloppy baserunning or Killebrew’s failure to field Chance’s bunt. Instead, he took full responsibility. “I should never let a rookie beat me,” lamented Grant, “I struck [Warner] out earlier on fastballs, but I shouldn’t have thrown him the fastball for the home run.”26

Grant lost despite pitching well; Chance claimed a win even though, as Rigney recognized, he was not at his best.27Chance gave up seven hits and two walks, “But he fought all the way,” said Rigney. “That’s what makes him great. He never quits.”28

The hitting stars, Oliva and Warner, traveled far different paths after this game. In 1966 Oliva hit .307, second only to Frank Robinson’s .316, led the league with 191 hits – 25 were home runs – and took home a Gold Glove for his defense. In 1971 he won his third batting title, and over his 15-year career, all with the Twins, he hit .304. In addition to three batting crowns, Oliva led the AL in hits five times and in doubles four times. Injuries eventually diminished his skills and shortened his career, but he is one of the Twins’ greatest players.

Incredibly, Warner beat the Twins again on April 23 when his two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth vaulted the Angels over the Twins, 4-3.29 In his five games against Minnesota that April, Warner delivered 9 hits in 19 at-bats, including two doubles, a triple, and his two game-winning home runs. But American League pitchers made adjustments, and Warner did not. He was soon relegated to pinch-hitting and pinch-running duty, and by late July – hitting just .213 and striking out in 42 percent of his plate appearances – he was sent to the Pacific Coast League. He never returned to the major leagues.

Notes

1 On just two days’ rest, the Dodgers’ Koufax beat the Twins 2-0 in the deciding game.

2 Joe King, “Tight Races Seen; Court Case Threat,” The Sporting News, April 16, 1966: 7. The publication was picking the Baltimore Orioles to finish ahead of the Twins “by a slim edge.”

3 Tom Briere, “Twins Stopped 3-2 by Chance, Angels,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 17, 1966: 1S.

4 Briere.

5 John Hall, “Warner Wins Another for Angels,” Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1966: D1, D2.

6 Hall.

7 Sid Hartman, “Hartman’s Roundup,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 17, 1966: 3S.

8 Briere.

9 retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1966/B04160MIN1966.htm.

10 Ira Berkow, “Creeak – Twins Unhinge on Basepaths,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 17, 1966: 1S.

11 Hall.

12 Hartman.

13 Hartman.

14 Hartman.

15 Briere.

16 Hall.

17 Hall.

18 Hall.

19 Briere.

20 Hall.

21 Berkow.

22 Hall.

23 Hall.

24 Berkow. See, retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1966/B04160MIN1966.htm.

25 Hartman.

26 Hartman.

27 Hall.

28 Hall.

29 retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1966/B04230CAL1966.htm.