November 12, 2021
The enduring mystery of Luis Tiant’s 1 season in Minnesota
Luis Tiant, the beloved Boston Red Sox pitcher, forever immortalized for a pitching motion that had him looking at second base before he whirled home, spent a season with the Twins in 1970. The #MNTwins released Luis Tiant 50 years ago today. Over seven seasons from 1972 to '78, Tiant averaged 243 innings pitched, 17... Continue Reading »
August 22, 2021
Yanks won’t sweep Twins after Sunday’s game is postponed by Hurricane Henri
Life offers three inescapable realities: death, the Internal Revenue Service and the Minnesota Twins losing to the New York Yankees. They lost Thursday, they lost Friday and they lost again Saturday, 7-1, to drop the series to the Bronx Bombers. But at least Mother Nature is a Twins fan because she has nudged a hurricane... Continue Reading »
June 9, 2021
Twins lose to Yankees, surprising no one
Superman calls it kryptonite. The Minnesota Twins call it the New York Yankees. And the Yanks did what they always do when they play the Twins, they beat them, 8-4, on Tuesday before nearly 18,000 fans at Target Field. Moving on… I’m just about finished with Thom Henninger’s latest book on the Twins. It’s called... Continue Reading »
May 12, 2021
The 2021 season ended Tuesday in Chicago for the Minnesota Twins
What in the world has happened? I hate to declare the season over with 129 games still to play, but it effectively is in my book after the Twins took a 3-0 lead over the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday, then watched as the South Siders reeled off nine unanswered runs... Continue Reading »
October 31, 2020
There’s a new Sheriff in the AL Central, Twins fans
Hall of Fame manager, Tony La Russa, who began his major league managing career with the Chicago White Sox, is back where it all started after he was named the team’s new manager this week. And that means an extra level of competition for the Twins in the AL Central. The White Sox have a... Continue Reading »
May 4, 2020
Did Eric Fox sink the Twins in 1992?
Twins beat writer, LaVelle Neal, has an interesting story in the Strib, one that looks back (like we all are these days) at a Twins loss in late July 1992. Neal writes that it spelled doom for the Twins that season and became an omen for the rest of the decade. The Twins had only... Continue Reading »
April 28, 2020
Sid Hartman, reporter
I hope you’ve been reading Strib columnist Patrick Reusse because he’s been in fine form with recent pieces about ex-Twins manager, Billy Martin, and, of course, longtime media figure, Sid Hartman. Hartman, who turned 100 last month, continues to work for the Minneapolis-based newspaper. And for those trying to decipher “strib,” that’s short for Star... Continue Reading »
April 19, 2020
The day Ex-Twin Baron von Mitterwald hit 3 home runs, plus a sad footnote
Catcher George Mitterwald, whose nickname was “Baron von Mitterwald,” spent seven seasons with the Twins before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs prior to the 1974 season. And the new season got off to an auspicious start after the Baron slugged three home runs with eight RBI on April 17. The Cubs blasted the... Continue Reading »
March 23, 2020
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce, Mr. Phil Hughes (applause)
Former starting pitcher, Phil Hughes, who is perhaps best known as an ex-Yankee, was also long-coveted by the Twins. And he finally joined the Minnesota team as a free agent in 2013, then put together a record-setting season in 2014 on a club that lost 92 games. Hughes would win 16 games that season with... Continue Reading »