As I have written before here, the 1973 Twins encountered a little bit of everything it seems. They swept the eventual World Series-winning Oakland A’s to start the season — and went 14-4 against the club the rest of the way — yet they had a losing record against the 91-loss Cleveland Indians, struggled as... Continue Reading »

A season after the Twins went to the World Series in 1965, they got off to a slow start and played mostly .500 ball. But there were signs the second half of the season might be different, particularly on June 9, 1966, when the Twins hosted the Kansas City A’s before only 9,600 fans. Curveballer... Continue Reading »

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 »

Former Twins ace Johan Santana, who last pitched in 2012, is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2018. Since the ballot was released, a number of Twins bloggers have argued that Santana deserves to be enshrined due to similarities between his and Sandy Koufax’s Hall of Fame career. Yes, there... Continue Reading »

If you’re not a fan of the Twins, you’re probably reading this headline and thinking, “Are you kidding?” But if you are a fan of the Twins who also happened to watch Game 6 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night, then you probably enjoyed the confluence of... Continue Reading »

Sam Mele, the second manager in the history of the Minnesota Twins and who guided the team into the 1965 World Series, died Monday, according to various reports. Mele, who spent 10 years as a player in the majors, replaced manager Cookie Lavagetto during the 1961 season, the Twins’ first after previously being known as... Continue Reading »

Sam Mele, who won more than 500 games as manager of the Twins in the 1960s and guided them to the World Series in 1965, turned 95 on Saturday. Mele was born Jan. 21, 1922 in Astoria, New York. Before managing the Twins, Mele spent 10 seasons in the majors as a player, playing both... Continue Reading »

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 »

When one thinks of Billy Martin, synonymous with the New York Yankees as a player and manager, this image doesn’t come to mind: The Martins’ Richfield neighborhood had big, old maple trees and was close to the Twins’ ballpark in Bloomington. There was a backyard for Billy Joe — Gretchen called him B.J. — and... Continue Reading »