While we wait for the national pastime’s return, here’s another Baseball Roundtable trivia question.
Question: On this date (April 21) in 1961, the Minnesota Twins, having relocated from Washington D.C. to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, played a true “home opener.” That day, they took the field, for the first-ever game in their new digs – Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. They lost that contest 5-3. To get this question correct, you just have to tell me what team picked up the victory. Bonus point if you can name the winning pitcher of that contest. Hint for both answers: The headline for this post points to “tiny bits of irony.”
Answer(s):
In a bit of irony, the Twins – who had moved from Washington D.C. to Minnesota for the 19861 seasons, lost their first home-open to the “new” Washington Senators.
The winning pitcher was Senators’ 27-year-old rookie Joe McClain, who had toiled six years in the minors (with a two-season interruption for military service) before getting his major-league break. McClain had been the final pick of the minor league phase of the 1960 MLB expansion draft. The new Washington Senators had taken him out of – you guessed it – the old Washington Senators (now Twins) minor-league system (in 1960, McClain played for the Triple A Charleston Senators.)
For you trivia buffs, McClain
- Was the winning pitcher in the new Washington Senators’ (now Texas Rangers) first franchise victory – a 3-2 complete game win over the Cleveland Indians on (April 14, 1961), the Senators’ second-ever game.
- Pitched the new Senators’ second-ever complete game. Dick Donovan had gone the distance in the Senators’ inaugural game (a 4-3 loss to the White Sox), so McClain missed making new Senators’ history buy once contest.
- Pitched the new Senators’ second-ever complete-game shutout, again missing history by one game. The Senators’ ‘Tom Sturdivant blanked the Red Sox 4-0 on a one-hitter on May 13. McClain shutout the BoSox (3-0) on a five-hit, complete game the very next day.
McClain led the new Senators (who went 61-100) in games started (29), shutouts (2), tied with Dick Donovan and Pete Burnside); innings pitched (212, tied with Bennie Daniels) – while gong 8-18, with a 3.86 earned run average.
McClain, by the way, faced the Twins five times that season picking up three of 1961 (and career) eight MLB victories – going 3-2, 2.84 against his “former franchise. ” He also threw one of his two 1961 (and career) shutouts versus the Twins, a 3-0 three hit victory on July 7.
More on McClain later in this post, but first a little more on that Twins ‘1961 home opener.
The Twins were down 3-0 before they ever stepped into the batter’s box in that home opening contest – thanks in part to a two-run home run by Senators’ 1B Dale Long in the top of the first inning. The Twins got home runs in the game from Don Mincher (a two-run shot in the fourth,) and Lenny Green (a solo-shot in the eighth that tied the game at 3-3). The Senators came back with two runs in the top of the ninth (off reliever Ray Moore) and Joe McClain earned the win with help from Dave Sisler in the ninth.
Dale Long shares the record for consecutive games with a home run at eight (tied with Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey, Jr.) Long was the first to achieve this feat. Between May 19 and May 28, 1956, he went yard in eight straight contests, hitting an even .500 (15-for-30), with eight home runs and 19 RBI.
——-A look at Joe McClain – and his painful path to the major leagues ——-
Joe McClain – a 6-foot, 183-pound righthander, was a gifted (and highly scouted) athlete – a three-sport star (baseball, football and track & field) for Science Hill High School in Johnson City Tennessee. He was signed by the Saint Louis Cardinals in 1953 after one year at the University of Tennessee.
He started his pro career in 1953 and was sent “home” by the Cardinals – going 10-2, 3.42 for his hometown Johnson City Cardinals (Class D). He showed real promise on the mound, and his natural athleticism was reflected in his .344 batting average (63-for-183, with five home runs). That athleticism may literally have hurt McClain’s career, as he suffered an elbow injury when called on to play centerfield in a pinch.
McLain’s pro career was interrupted by military service in 1954 and 1955, and he returned to the Cardinals’ organization (still having problems with his elbow) in 1956. Those arm troubles forced a change in pitching style and most likely altered the curve of his pro career. In a 2008 interview, McClain told Tim Hayes of the Bristol Herald Courier, “I would have liked to have gone through my career with the arm I had before the injury and see where the cards fell … I went from throwing a lot of fastballs to mainly throwing off speed pitches a lot.”
Even with the tender arm (and eventually shoulder), McClain pitched through pain, cortisone shots and other treatments to eventually make his way to the major leagues.
Between 1956 and 1969, McClain went 56-45, 3.58 in the minors (also putting up a .243 batting average). Then major league expansion created an opportunity – with the “new” Senators.
McClain got off to a great start, notching that first-ever (new) Washington franchise victory and, after his first nine major league starts, he was 5-3, 2.63 and had averaged eight innings per outing – with three complete games. He also had a .273 batting average over those nine contests. McClain finished the season 8-18, 3.86, with a .206 average. He came back for the 1962 season, , but went 0-4, 9.38 in ten appearances before being sent down to Triple A. He did not make it back to the majors and retired after the 1963 season.
Joe McCain’s major-league career may have been a too short and even a bit too painful. Still, he made it to the major leagues – and that in itself is pretty sweet! And remember there are those eight MLB wins, seven MLB complete games, two MLB shutouts and even 14 big league base hits (four doubles). Sweet, indeed!
Primary Resources: Baseball-reference.com; “McClain elected to pitch with pain,” Johnson City Press, October 29, 2012, by Trey Williams; “LOCAL LEGENDS IN THE PROS: McClain made memorable major league debut,” Bristol Herald Courier, October 6, 2008, by Tim Hayes.
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