» June 8, 1978: Bob Horner, the College Player of the Year, is selected first in the free-agent draft by the Braves. Horner will skip the minors and debut on June 16 with a homer in his first game, off Blyleven. The Blue Jays make Lloyd Moseby the 2nd selection. The Yankees, with three first-round selections awarded as compensation in player signings, pick Rex Hudler, Matt Winters, and Brian Ryder. On the 23rd round they take a Clearwater RHP named Howard Johnson, who will make the ML as an infielder. MSU's Kirk Gibson, who most teams assume will play football, lasts until the 12th overall pick when his hometown Tigers take him. He signs for $200,000 and promises to drop football. Kent Hrbek lasts until the 17th round, and Ryne Sandberg goes the Phils on the 20th round. Besides Horner, three other draft picks, all high schoolers, will jump directly to the majors after signing: the A's Mike Morgan (June 11); Blue Jays Brian Milner (June 23) and the A's Tim Conroy (June 23).
» August 24, 1981: In his first ML game, Kent Hrbek homers in the 12th inning to give the Twins a 32 win over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The 21-year-old 1B grew up in Bloomington, MN, less than a mile from Metropolitan Stadium, and jumped directly to his hometown club from Class-A Visalia (California League), where he was hitting .380 with 27 home runs and 112 RBI.
» May 14, 1982: Kent Hrbek of the Twins goes 0-for-5 in an 11-inning 42 loss to the Tigers, ending his hitting streak at 23. The game is marred by a bench-clearing brawl in which Tigers P Dave Rozema tears knee ligaments, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Rozema is 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA.
» May 29, 1982:
At Minnesota, the Yanks put runners on 1B (Graig Nettles) and 2B (Bobby Murcer) with no outs. When Roy Smalley strikes out on a wide 3-2 pitch from Terry Felton, Murcer attempts to steal 3B. But Sal Butera's throw beats him so badly he retreats to 2B only to find Nettles there. Gary Gaetti tags Murcer who is standing safely alone on the base, and then throws to Kent Hrbek to catch Nettles heading back to 1B. Murcer then tries for 3B and Hrbek's throw to Felton covering completes the triple play. Alas, Felton, 08 coming into the game gets a no-decision, and will lose another five to finish his career with an 016 record.
» June 7, 1982:
Consecutive home runs by Minnesota's Ron Washington, Tom Brunansky (off Keith Creel), and Kent Hrbek (off Dan Quisenberry) in the 8th help the Twins tie, but Kansas City wins in 10 innings, 54.
» July 1, 1984: Minnesota's Frank Viola stops the Tigers, 90 on four hits in front of 53,484 at Detroit. Kent Hrbek has three hits, including a homer, and four RBIs.
» November 6, 1984: Willie Hernandez wins the American League MVP Award, joining Rollie Fingers as the only relief pitchers to be named MVP and Cy Young Award winner in the same season. Kent Hrbek is 2nd with Dan Quisenberry third. Boston's Tony Armas is the 7th, despite winning the home run and RBI titles; the last player to lead in those categories and not win was Ted Williams.
» February 11, 1985: Twins 1B Kent Hrbek signs a new contract that makes him the club's first $1 million player.
» October 24, 1987: In the 6th frame, Kent Hrbek belts the Twins 2nd grand slam of the World Series to lead a comeback from a 52 deficit, and the Twins win game 6, 115 to even the series at three games apiece. The home team has won all six games, with game seven to be played in Minnesota tomorrow. Today's match is a last day game in the World Series.
» May 15, 1989:
The Twins lose, 43, to the Royals and also lose Kent Hrbek, who dislocates his left shoulder diving for a ball. He'll be out till June 26. Before the injury, Hrbek hits his 7th homer of the year.
» April 21, 1990:
California's Bert Blyleven lasts just four innings, allowing seven runs in an 80 loss to Minnesota. Blyleven allows nine hits, including homers to Kent Hrbek and Randy Bush. He's now reached the 400 mark in gopher balls, 7th on the all-time list. West is the winner with help from Candelaria.
» May 2, 1992: Yankee P Scott Sanderson becomes the 12th pitcher in history to surrender four home runs in a single inning. He is rocked in the 5th inning of the game against Minnesota by Shane Mack, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, and Randy Bush. The Twins need all the dingers as they win, 76.
» July 14, 1994:
The Twins lose to the Brewers, 6-4, in the Metrodome. During the course of the game, two balls hit off the ceiling of the stadiuma Kent Hrbek fly ball which drops for a double, and a Pedro Munoz popup, caught by Milwaukee 1B Kevin Seitzer.
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