“Metrodome Memories” is a regular BringMeTheNews feature that will recount the good, bad and the ugly until the Dome sweet Dome is dismantled forever.
There have been seven no-hitters thrown in the history of Minnesota Twins franchise. Two of them came when the Twins were still the Senators playing in Washington D.C. Technically, only five Twins have thrown a no-no.
Jack Kralick, Dean Chance, Scott Erickson, Eric Milton and Francisco Liriano.
The no-hitters by Erickson and Milton were the only two thrown at the Metrodome.
Erickson tossed his gem under the “teflon sky” against the Milwaukee Brewers on the night of April 27, 1994.
He walked four and struck out five in his 128 pitch effort. The feat nearly fell one-out short, as seen in the video, when left-fielder Alex Cole and shortstop Pat Meares nearly collided on the final out of the game.
As a young Mark Rosen described that April night, Erickson was struggling just to get through the first few innings.
Notice how little enthusiasm Erickson showed after throwing the no-no? As Sports Illustrated documented, Twins manager at the time Tom Kelly said to Erickson after the game, “C’mon, Scotty, try to smile.”
Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek and Dave Winfield filled in the 2-5 spots of the lineup that night. Not bad, eh?
Milton’s no-hitter was, statistically, more impressive. It was an afternoon game on Saturday, September 11, 1999.
A whopping 11,222 fans piled into the Metrodome to see the Twins play the Angels, and Milton was nothing short of brilliant.
Like a buzz-saw, Milton mowed down Angel after Angel until he finished with 13 strikeouts and only two walks.
The best part about Milton’s no-hitter was how the Los Angeles Times described the effort. This is what subscribers read in the publication on September 12, 1999.
The Angels broke out the drill bits and hard hats for another excavation job Saturday, burrowing their way to such extreme depths that not even Indiana Jones could find these guys.
The latest low in their season-long temple of gloom came when Minnesota Twin left-hander Eric Milton, who entered Saturday’s game with a 6-11 record, tossed what had to be one of baseball’s most effortless no-hitters in a 7-0 victory over the Angels before 11,222 in the Metrodome.
As little credit as that column gave Milton, it’s still a wonderful Metrodome Memory for many.
