Starter Taj Bradley allowed just two hits over seven innings, Trevor Larnach and Ryan Jeffers delivered big hits and the Twins won another series 4-2 on Sunday over the Los Angeles Angels, making it their fifth straight series win. The Twins are now a game under .500, three games back of the division lead in... Continue Reading »

As the postseason came to its conclusion, what did we learn? Ex-Twin and reliever Louis Varland set a major league record with 15 appearances in the playoffs and fellow former Twins Paul Molitor and Jack Morris threw out first pitches before the start of Game 7. And just before the completion of the World Series,... Continue Reading »

Among the many Twins promotions and events this season, there is one that stands out: On Aug. 16, the team will recognize the 60th anniversary of the 1965 AL Pennant-winning Twins. I’m not sure who will be on hand for that celebration — Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva come to mind — but how about... Continue Reading »

Bob Veale, a hard-throwing lefty for the Pittsburgh Pirates who led the majors in strikeouts in 1964 and finished second to Sandy Koufax in whiffs the following season, died last week. He was 89, the New York Times reported. When a major leaguer dies, particularly a pitcher, I usually check to see whether they ever... Continue Reading »

The Twins have produced their share of players who have won the Rookie of the Year award. There’s Tony Oliva, of course, and his incredible 1964 debut. It was so amazing (look it up, newbies) that he also finished fourth in the AL MVP vote that season. He was followed by Rod Carew (no surprise)... Continue Reading »

Two Twins rookies had two completely different games on Wednesday. Starter David Festa struck out six batters with no walks over five innings. The only problem is he allowed seven runs on nine hits, including a solo home run, a two-run shot and a grand slam that ultimately handed the Detroit Tigers a 9-2 win.... Continue Reading »

The Twins got back to winning in a hurry on Saturday. The club scored in the first inning, the Oakland A’s followed suit, and then the Twins went to work, cracking a double, home run, single, single, double, single, double and one more single to take an 8-1 lead en route to an easy 10-2... Continue Reading »

The final (for now) addition to my Twins baseball card collection is this 1967 card that shows the American League batting leaders for 1966: Frank Robinson, Tony Oliva and Al Kaline. Oliva would hit .307 that season and lead the AL with 191 hits. He got off to a red-hot start and by early May... Continue Reading »

The Twins continue to add depth to their bullpen, announcing that they have traded (possibly disgruntled) infielder Nick Gordon to the Miami Marlins for lefty reliever Steven Okert. But before that deal was hatched, they came to terms on a free agent agreement with the well-traveled Jay Jackson, a 36-year-old righty reliever who has pitched... Continue Reading »