MPR’s Neal St. Anthony presents an opening day profile of the 1978 Minnesota Twins. Includes audio clips on days of old and an interview about current players with pitching coach Camilo Pascual (a former Minnesota Twins pitcher…and eventual Minnesota Twin Hall of Famer).
A discussion with new Twin outfielder Bombo Rivera about Garrison Keillor’s song, The Ballad of Bombo Rivera, closes Tout segment.
COMMENTATOR: 5 for the Yankees, last of the ninth. Killebrew is ready. Rollins leads at first one after another of games that go right down to the wire. Makes for great baseball, but a little tough on the blood pressure. Here's the pitch. A drive deep to left. Way back. It is a home run. Twins win.
SPEAKER 1: Were you out there that bright July day in 1965 when the fledgling Twins upended the damn Yankees and went on to capture the American League pennant? They're all gone now. Harmon is a broadcaster. "Rubber Arm" Kaat is throwing for a National League squad, and Battey's teaching PhyEd in New Jersey. We have our memories, though.
Halsey left us some months ago, but I thought I smelled a cigar near the press box today. Oliva's gimpy knees drove him from right field. Now he hobbles the distance of the first base coaching box. The ranks swell now with young sluggers in quest of another pennant, young pitchers, and golden-haired Butch Wynegar, who at age 22 is a veteran handling young chuckers like Roger Erickson.
SPEAKER 2: Throws the ball very well. He throws hard, throws strikes, and keeps the ball down. That's probably his biggest asset, yeah, is that he throws strikes. And y'all have to sit back here and wait around for him to throw the ball. He's a quick worker, and like I said, he throws hard. And he's not afraid to challenge anybody.
SPEAKER 1: Does he throw anything but fastballs?
SPEAKER 2: He throws a slider, and he has a changeup. But with a fastball like his, you don't really need those two. So we just go mainly fastball.
SPEAKER 1: What's Dave Goltz's problem, or is it just a matter of getting in the groove?
SPEAKER 2: It's a matter of getting in the groove. He didn't win a ball game last year until May and went on to win 20 games. It's just a matter of him getting some time on the mound, and he just had a bit of bad luck. He started out slow in the first couple innings of the game, and we didn't score many runs for him. So you can't give up too many runs or we don't score.
SPEAKER 1: Is his delivery any different-- that you noticed?
SPEAKER 2: No, it's no different. It's the same Dave Goltz, and he's going to be out to win 20 games this year again.
ANNOUNCER: --our Minnesota Twins leading off, number 26, the third baseman, Mike Cubbage. Batting second, number 5, at shortstop, Roy Smalley. Batting third, number 29, at first base, Rod Carew. Batting fourth, number 8, designated hitter, Glenn Adams. Batting fifth, number 15, the center fielder, Danny Ford. Batting sixth, number 10, in right field, Hoskins Powell. Batting seventh, number 16, the catcher, Butch--
SPEAKER 1: Camilo's back. Remember how when his curve was sharp, it would fall off a cliff away from a right-hander? When he was off, though, that curve would hang out like the laundry. He's glad to be back in a Twins uniform even though it's polyester, with red shoes to boot, instead of the woolens number 17 wore years ago. He tutors the young hurlers now.
SPEAKER 3: Well, we have a few boys, and they look great at-- Eddington, he's a great pitcher.
SPEAKER 1: Roger Erickson.
SPEAKER 3: Right, and then we have another boy, a Gary [? Zinn. ?] And this boy, Greg Thayer, he's--
SPEAKER 1: They're all Minnesota boys.
SPEAKER 3: Oh, yeah, they're all beautiful. They have a good future with the ball club, these boys.
SPEAKER 1: Let me ask you this. Could they have made the squad back in the glory days of the '60s when you and Killebrew and Allison and people like that-- Tony-- were leading the Twins. Could they have made the squad back then?
SPEAKER 3: Well, I don't think why they don't. They have good arms, and they are smart. And they have good breaking ball, and it's not much different. In those years, we have more quantity. We have more ball players in the minor leagues, and maybe it was a little tougher to get in the big leagues.
ANNOUNCER: --as our organist leads us in our national anthem.
"[THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" PLAYING]
SPEAKER 1: How about that outfield? Powell, Ford, and Norwood have replaced Tony O., Allison, and Jimmy Holt. And the newest acquisition, Bombo Rivera, chest of a bull, waist of a woman, swift of foot, strong of arm seven years in the minors, and today, the hero of KSJN's Bombo Rivera Fan Club. Who knows? Bombo beer, Bombo bars, Bombo bats.
SPEAKER 5: Tony Oliva helped me a lot about the outfield and defense, and I'm real glad that those guys helped me a lot about that. And I think I'm improving a lot.
SPEAKER 1: Tony Oliva, one of the greats, is helping you.
SPEAKER 5: He a good guy, and he really helped me.
SPEAKER 1: One more question. Now, the radio station that I work for, a songwriter there wrote a song about you. Have you heard about that?
SPEAKER 5: Oh.
SPEAKER 1: "Ballad of Bombo Rivera," Garrison Keillor wrote that song.
SPEAKER 5: Really?
SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
SPEAKER 5: I was looking for that man to see if he can get me that song because I want to get that tape and keep them for my souvenir.
SPEAKER 1: I'll send you a cassette copy of that song.
SPEAKER 5: I really appreciate you if you get me that tape.
[GARRISON KEILLOR AND THE POWDERMILK BISCUIT BAND, "THE BALLAD OF BOMBO RIVERA"] Last year, for Denver, he batted 302
With 98 runs batted in
And Bombo Rivera is his name
And this year, he's a Twin.
Bombo, Bombo, Bombo Rivera
What other guys just get one of
Bombo, he gets a pair of
It takes two to tango and two to mambo
But you can do it all with just one, Bombo
Bombo Rivera will carry us to victory
SPEAKER 1: How does it feel to have a Bombo Rivera Fan Club?
SPEAKER 5: Oh, that good feeling to me. See, those people follow me, and it's one of my passions in life. I never get that too many fans in my seven-year pro, and that's a good feeling to me. And I love it.
SPEAKER 1: Well, welcome to the major leagues.
SPEAKER 5: Thank you.
(SINGING) --will carry us to victory
Biscuits, now
Bombo, Bombo, Bombo Rivera
What other guys just get one of
Bombo, he gets a pair of
It takes two to tango and to to mambo
But if you can do it all with just one Bombo, Bombo
SPEAKER 1: Bombo Rivera, and I'm Neil Saint Antoine.
(SINGING) --carry us to victory
Well, all the men love Bombo
Because he's the guy who came to play
And all the women love him
Because his name ends in E-R-A
You can have apple pie
You can take my mom
We're going to win the flag
Because we got the bomb
Yes, Bombo Rivera, Bombo is his name
[INAUDIBLE]
He's from Puerto Rico
And he don't speak so good for the microphone
But old Gene, Mark, those baseheads talk
A language all their own
Let's hear a cheer for Mr. Griffith
Other teams take. but, Calvin give it
Yes, Bombo Rivera, Bombo is his name
Once more now
Bombo, Bombo, Bombo Rivera
Other guys just get one, but Bombo, he gets a pair
It takes two to tango and two to mamba
But you can do it all with just one Bombo
Bombo, Bombo Rivera will carry us to victory
Oh, yes, Bombo
Carry us to victory
Carry us to victory, I mean it now
Carry us to victory
Materials created/edited/published by Archive team as an assigned project during remote work period in 2020
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