April 25, 1984 - Twins Crawl Out of the Cellar

Game #221 - New York Yankees, 2 @ Minnesota Twins, 6

This Mike Smithson card always cracked me up as a kid.  The sweaty neck and armpits.  The comical moustache.  The random spring training background...priceless.

But Smithson was no joke in this game.  He kept the Yankees in check.  The Twins were on the board first when Tim Teufel knocked home Kirby Puckett in the bottom of the first.  In the top of the second New York tied it up with a Butch Wynegar sacrifice fly that had Don Mattingly trotting home.

The Yankees got blown out in the bottom of the second, though.  Phil Niekro couldn't get his knuckler past the Twins' hitters.  Kent Hrbek cranked a three run job, and Tom Brunansky followed that with his own solo homer.  The New York bullpen kept Minnesota scoreless after that, but Smithson pitched an important complete game a day after a double header.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Smithson
Losing Pitcher - Phil Niekro
Player of the Game - Smithson, CG, 3K's, 2R's, 6H's, 0BB's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Dave Winfield, Phil Niekro, Kirby Puckett