Minnesota Twins

Before the Minnesota Twins were the Minnesota Twins, the franchise spent six full decades in the nation’s capital as the Washington Senators from 1901-1960, during which time they were also commonly referred to as the Nats or Nationals (D.C. would revive this second moniker in 2005 when the city acquired the floundering Montreal Expos franchise, giving birth to today’s Washington Nationals) and won the World Series once, in 1924 (it would not return to D.C. for 125 years). The name Twins was chosen for the Minnesota franchise in order to reflect the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, with Minnesota used instead of Minneapolis to avoid alienating fans from across the river in St. Paul and the team has worn a twin Minnie and Paul mascot logo on their shirtsleeves for most of their seasons since. The Twins had a strong start in their new home, registering a winning record in two of their first four seasons before winning the American League in 1965 with a record of 102-60. They faced the red-hotLos Angeles Dodgers in the World Series and pushed the Californians hard in a see-saw of a series, ultimately undone by the legendary Sandy Koufax, who took to the mound for three of the Dodgers wins (Game Two, Game Five, and Game Seven), in which the Twins managed just a single run! Nevertheless, Game Seven was a heartbreaker, a frustrating 2-0 defeat in front of a crowd of over 50,000 Twins fans in the Metropolitan Stadium. The Twins would largely disappear from the postseason after that until 1987, when, led by the indomitable Kirby Puckett and symphonic hurler Frank Viola, they not only posted their first winning season in close to a decade, but ended up beating the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS to reach the World Series for the second time since moving to Minnesota. The Twins came up against a seasoned St. Louis Cardinals team with a much better regular season record, and went down three games to two after three straight losses away in St. Louis. They welcomed the Cardinals back to the Twin Cities with an 11-5 battering in Game Six, then came from behind in Game Seven to win 4-2 in front of 55,000-plus delirious fans (with plenty from St. Paul, Minneapolis, and no doubt all around Minnesota). The Twins would soon be back, besting the Toronto Blue Jays in five in the ALCS to earn the right to take on the National League’s rising 1990s powerhouse, the Atlanta Braves, in the 1991 World Series. It was another epic seven-game encounter that is frequently considered among the best World Series of all time, featuring incredible pitching on both sides, huge crowds in both cities, a massive television audience, and an incredible five games decided by a single run. Game Seven in Minnesota was won by a soccer score, 1-0, in the 10th inning after neither team could manage a run through nine innings despite several very close shaves and a few debatable calls by the umpires. Twins pitcher Jack Morris went the full distance, blanking the Braves for ten full innings (when manager Kelly tried to pull him after nine, Morris insisted on continuing, to which Tom Kelly supposedly, and admirably, replied, “Oh hell. It's only a game.” Morris went three up, three down in the inning. In the bottom of the 10th, with the winning run on third and one out, Braves manager Bobby Cox rolled the dice hard, ordering intentional walks of heavy hitters Puckett and Kent Hrbek, loading the bases but setting up the possibility for a game-saving double play. Pinch hitter Gene Larkin, a backup player with a dodgy knee who probably didn’t expect to see action, was called to the plate and smacked the very first pitch into a gap in the outfield to break the deadlock, winning the game and the World Series in front of their fans again. With just two playoff series wins in the three decades since that dramatic victory, It was to be the last really great Twins moment to date, though no doubt one that fans in Minnesota who saw that game wouldn’t trade for the world. With one of those two postseason victories coming in 2023, however, in a 2-0 Wild Card win over the Toronto Blue Jays, a new generation of Twins fans will be hoping to see their team thrill them with some new playoff memories in the seasons to come. 

Minnesota Twins Rivalries

The Minnesota Twins have divisional rivalries with the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Guardians, and (especially) the Chicago White Sox. These rivalries all extend way back in history to the franchise’s time in Washington, but heated up considerably in the 2000s after MLB’s restructuring of the divisions led the teams to contest the AL Central each year. Most memorably, the Twins were forced to play the Sox in 2008 in a single-elimination game to reach the playoffs after both teams finished with identical regular season records (Chicago won 1-0 on a solo home run).

Scoring tickets to a game in the baseball-mad Twin Cities can be difficult, especially in games involving heated rivals or marquee visiting players. Head to TicketX for all your ticketing needs, and to find affordable seating options to all the most exciting Minnesota Twins games.