November 22, 2020
The year the Twins lost 2 games to start the season (yes, this is a thing)
The Minnesota Twins of the 1960s were a good team, some might even call them a great one. And this much was certain: they had left their sad-sack ways behind in Washington, D.C., and now won with regularity after their move to the upper Midwest. Although the team won only 70 games in its inaugural... Continue Reading »
July 18, 2020
The year the Boston Red Sox had no answer, and I mean no answer, for the Minnesota Twins
After Ted Williams retired, and before Carl Yastrzemski rose to prominence, the Boston Red Sox were not very good. They lost often during the early 1960s and finally hit bottom with 100 losses in 1965, including to the Twins, who pushed them around in 17 of 18 meetings that season. That’s right: the Twins were... Continue Reading »
July 2, 2020
Twins baseball is back. Finally.
I’m not positive that major league baseball and its players truly settled their COVID-19 differences, but no matter: baseball is back. Summer training begins soon, followed by a 60-game season that gets underway later this month. At first glance, the shorter and geographically condensed season would appear to work in the Twins favor. Or does... Continue Reading »
May 23, 2020
About Ron Davis, one more time
In our slower, baseball-less world, except in South Korea, of course, I found myself staring at Twitter when a tweet popped up about a horrible Twins loss on May 13, 1985. Where did this happen? Where else? The Bronx, the site of so much Twins agony. On that spring night at Yankee Stadium, the Twins... Continue Reading »
March 29, 2020
The day the Twins’ Brant Alyea went 4-for-4 in 1970
I wasn’t sure I was going to come up with a Twins-related nugget to write about this week as baseball sits on the sidelines, waiting, like we all are, for the curve of the coronavirus to flatten. But then the Baseball-Reference.com newsletter landed in my inbox and there it was: a little item about top... Continue Reading »
December 31, 2019
The day Koufax no-hit the Phillies and the Twins lost to the Yankees (of course)
It was another day spent in these United States of America and another day spent on social media (sigh) when I came across a most enjoyable tweet: Artist Graig Kreindler had tweeted an image of one of his paintings. My painting of Sandy Koufax (born #OTD in 1935) about to finish his 3rd career no-no.... Continue Reading »
January 18, 2016
Sam Mele, who guided Twins to 1965 World Series appearance, turns 94 this week
Sam Mele, who won 524 games as manager of the Twins from 1961 to 1967, will celebrate his 94th birthday on Thursday. Mele’s tenure with the Twins wasn’t long, but after the Washington Senators relocated to Minnesota for the 1961 season, it also wasn’t long before the Twins showed improvement. Under Mele, the Twins won... Continue Reading »