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[Minnesota Twins]

TwinkieTown Movie Night: Anna and the Apocalypse

Nothing says Christmas like bashing zombies with a baseball bat! (They’re not very scary zombies, but I wouldn’t show this to anyone under 15 or so.) Here’s the link, and click your clicks at 7:30!

Anna’s just a regular high school senior, with regular high school senior concerns. Go straight to college, or take a year off to travel? (On her own dime, from money she made working: these teens are MUCH LESS ANNOYING than teens in American movies.)

But there’s another concern; zombies.

The young Scottish film-school student, Ryan McHenry, came up with the idea when he watched a rotten Disney movie about high schoolers. So, he thought, what would improve it? Zombies.

(The violence & goopy gore here are nothing extreme; it’s about at the level of Gremlins, something like that.)

The fairest criticism I’ve heard of this movie is that it starts out so funny and great and ends up being sad.

That’s valid. But I think the movie had to be this way.

Ryan McHenry got financing to write & direct it at age 25! Every young film fan’s dream. And then he got a super-rare cancer and died at 27. Before he could direct it. At 27.

As the movie tells us… “there’s no such thing as a Hollywood ending.”

So the movie is two things. It’s a young person’s joy in goofing with genres and stereotypes and tweaking them around to make something giddy & new. But there is a sad core to it. How could there not be?

And I think it’s a very good movie.

OK, let’s address the Strange Site link: it’s a kind of Russian YouTube.

You’d be worried, with fair reason, that a Russian YouTube is gonna dump malware all over every device you own. And that IS something some Russian sites will do. (If you haven’t heard, Mr. Putin is a very bad man and there is a lot of corruption in Russia.)

But THIS Russian site is considered generally safe (for now) by most internet security experts. In terms of tracking your data, it’s certainly safer than Bezos Prime.

Plus, the versions on Roku/Tubi screw up the “aspect ratio”; chopping off the sides of the image. I used to be a movie projectionist, so this kinda thing drives me batty.

Again, as with Damn Yankees, there’s Spanish subtitles you can’t turn off. But subtitles won’t hurt you. Why there are Spanish subtitles on a Russian site showing a Scottish movie… folks, I have NO IDEA. There’s another copy on the same site without subtitles, but the video quality is lousy, and here it is very good.

Anyhoo, here’s tonight’s link again! Start the show at 7:30!

And here’s the upcoming schedule:

January 2: Eight Men Out (1988)

Yep, they cheated for gambling money, but the way Charles Comiskey treats them, you’ll kinda understand why. Free on Pluto and Tubi.

January 9: Benched (2018)

Boy, do I know NOTHING about these next two films. But they were requested by Movie Night commenters, so if you want a movie, join in the comments! John C. McGinley and Garret Dillahunt star as two youth baseball coaches with very different approaches to coaching. Free on Tubi.

January 16: Alibi Ike (1935)

Starring the great Joe E. Brown (Some Like it Hot) as a baseball player who concocts a harebrained excuse for every mistake, hence his nickname. Free on a Strange Site.

I’ve got some ideas for future ones if we do this more, and all movie suggestions are absolutely welcome & wanted!

But, until then, pop your popcorn, and let’s start the show at 7:30!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/book-club/50514/twinkietown-movie-night-anna-and-the-apocalypse

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Have a very merry, Cherry Cherry Christmas!

Every year, a big movie premieres in theaters on Christmas Day. Usually one that the whole family can enjoy to escape the in-laws for a few hours. This year, that flick is Song Sung Blue.

Hugh Jackman in a musical biopic about one of the greatest pop singers of all time? Count me in!

How does this all relate to baseball? Well, one of Neil’s standout tunes became a staple at MLB’s oldest ballpark…

On May 28, 1969, Diamond released Sweet Caroline as part of his Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show album. Written by the Jewish Elvis himself, the catchy chorale peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100—certified Platinum with 1,000,000+ sales.

But as even the catchiest of songs are known to do, it fell by the wayside in favor of the next month’s ear-worm. That is, until—legend has it—a Fenway Park staffer in charge of tunes randomly spun it one night in 1997 in tribute to a baby Caroline she knew who just entered the world.

The song got a big crowd pop, so it got played again…and again…and again! By 2002, it became official policy for Neil to flow through the Beantown loudspeakers in the middle of the eighth inning. The now-infamous “bah bah BAHHHHHH!” crowd response in the pause after Diamond’s “sweeeeeeeet Caroline” crooning was added in somewhere along the way.

Over the years, Sweet Caroline has become as much of a Fenway tradition as the Green Monster or Pesky’s Pole. It was featured in the film Fever Pitch and the man himself has even serenaded New Englanders.

Sadly, the 84-year old Diamond was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2018 and has retired from touring. But that hasn’t stopped him from making occasional public appearances to belt out his greatest hits!

Ironically, I discovered Neil due to my Dad having recorded his 1992 holiday TV special on a VHS tape—right before “Rocky”, which I watched a lot as a youngster. If there’s a better Jingle Bell Rock, I haven’t heard it yet…

Happy Holidays, Twinkie Town! As Neil himself croons in this inventive festive tune: “Let’s raise a toast of Red, Red Wine…we’ll even sing Sweet Caroline…while the whole world sings along!” We’ve been doing that since 1969.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/satire/...stmas-hugh-jackman-sweet-caroline-fenway-park

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Rival Roundup, Vol. 76: The Big Parade (of links)

It’s the last Rival Roundup of 2025! I hope you got everything done this year that you wanted to accomplish, because if not, you only have three days left, and you need to basically stop reading this immediately if you want any hope of achieving your dreams. Go on, get!

• The Christmas rumor mill was churning this week, as Tarik Skubal made an offseason visit to Detroit, attended a Pistons game, and elicited a comment from general manager Jeff Greenberg. Greenberg slyly suggested that Skubal was just a basketball fan; some thought the ace was in town for extension talks, which seems to have been closer to rumor than reality.
• Speaking of the Pistons — upon whose television network Skubal appeared to share some hoops knowledge — said network is the latest in a long line of Bally-likes to be weathering a financial storm on behalf of their parent company. FanDuel Sports Networks is in jeopardy of shuttering a laundry list of regional sports networks presently in the thick of mid-season NBA and NHL coverage, unless a speculative sale to the DAZN streaming platform can be cleared by next month.
• Our friends over at Royals Review have a couple items this week — first, a linkdump of their own with some weekend rumblings to close out 2025. Also, Max Rieper rounds up his own rivals, providing a Royal fan’s perspective on the American League offseason so far.
• The Cleveland Guardians make a couple of minor-league signings.

The Guardians signed reliever Codi Heuer to a Minor League deal with a non-roster invite to big league Spring Training.

— Tim Stebbins (@timstebbins.bsky.social) 2025-12-22T18:02:08.517Z

The Guardians signed outfielder Stuart Fairchild to a Minor League deal with a non-roster invite to big league Spring Training.

— Tim Stebbins (@timstebbins.bsky.social) 2025-12-20T19:29:09.096Z

• Beyond these minor signings, it’s been a quiet offseason for the reigning division champs. Quincy Wheeler at Covering the Corner covers which corners of the free agent market the Guardians may find themselves involved in, with under eight weeks to go until pitchers and catchers report.
• The Sox swap lefties, acquiring free-agent southpaw Sean Newcomb.

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Sean Newcomb on a one-year, $4.5-million contract. To make room for Newcomb on the 40-man roster, the White Sox designated left-hander Ryan Rolison for assignment.

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) December 23, 2025

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general/50568/rival-roundup-vol-76-the-big-parade-of-links

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Greatest Twins Moments & Performances: A Twinkie Town Definitive List (Round 10)

Results​

• R1: Jack Morris Game 7 Shutout 1991
• R2: Kirby Puckett Game 6 Dominance 1991
• R3: First World Series championship 1987
• R4: AL Champions Metrodome welcome 1987
• R5: Game 163 wild victory 2009
• R6: Mudcat’s World Series must-win 1965
• R7: Harmon’s 500th homer 1971
• R8: Final day AL Central title 2006
• R9: Kirby Puckett’s Weekend for the Ages 1987

Kirby Puckett broke out as a Minnesota Twins superstar in 1986. But in 1987, he cemented himself as a team leader and far more than a one-hit wonder. This late-‘87 weekend in Milwaukee gained him entrance into our Top Ten of Twins moments…

The newbie: B-Doz completes a WILD comeback!

Breaking the playoff losing streak (2023)​

• Starting in 2004 and continuing through 2022, the Minnesota Twins lost 18 consecutive playoff games—a professional sports (of any kind) record. But in Game 1 of the 2023 AL Wild Card round versus the Toronto Blue Jays, Royce Lewis became The Exorcist and got MN into the October win column when Jhoan Duran polished off the save. The next day, the Twins sent the Blue Birds back over the northern border after Sonny Gray & Carlos Correa collaborated on a clutch pickoff. Meaningful baseball was revitalized in Minnesota!

Thome christens Target Field (2010)​

• When Target Field opened to begin the 2010 season, it was clearly a beautiful new ballpark that the hometown nine excelled in. But it was missing one thing: a signature moment. Try as they might, the Twins could not muster a walk-off victory in front of the sold-out crowds for the first four-and-a-half months. But on August 17, The Man With An Ox In The Batter’s Box finally gave Target Field it’s first magical memory.

Santana strikes out 17 (2007)​

• Johan Santana won Cy Young Awards with the Twins in 2004 & 2006. But his single-game zenith came August 19, 2007, when he K’d 17 Texas batsmen over 8 IP of victorious shutout ball. Santana whiffed every Ranger batter at least once, three of them 3x apiece, and put the golden sombrero (4 K) on Michael Young.

Mauer’s final bow (2018)​

• After 15 seasons in a Minnesota Twins—and no other—uniform, Minnesota’s own (St. Paul) Joe Mauer stepped onto the diamond for the final time in 2018’s finale. After what would quickly prove to be a Hall of Fame career, Mauer got to enjoy a special moment in the catcher’s gear where he always felt most at home. Few eyes that beheld his heartfelt goodbye were dry at the end of it.

Dozier caps a comeback (2015)​

• On July 10, 2015, the Twins trailed the Detroit Tigers 6-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. But in a remarkable sequence of events, Brian Dozier found himself at the plate with a chance to be a hero. He didn’t disappoint. In the words of Dick Bremer: “The most electric moment at Target Field in YEARS!”.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...santana-2007-joe-mauer-2018-brian-dozier-2015

 

[Minnesota Twins]

25 words for each month of ‘25

Let fireworks launch! | Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins/ Getty Images

2025 was not a year many of us probably want to remember, and that is doubly true for Minnesota Twins fans. We entered the year with hesitant hopes for an AL Central crown and a playoff berth, but we left the season wanting to punt ownership towards the nearest supernova.

Seeing as many of us are already hoping for a better 2026, even if aware that hope may be in vain (please: hope anyway, and do what you can to work towards a better year), let’s make sure 2025 stays in the past with a final look back at the year, 25 words to describe every month in ‘25.

January: The Twins trade for Diego Cartaya, whom we will futilely hope does not flame out, and sign a bunch of players to minor league contracts.

February: Harrison Bader joins the club and Danny Coulombe returns; spring training brings its usual excitement for the season along with a few jersey number changes.

March: The Twins lose their first four games, setting a morose tone that lingers throughout the season, and Randy Dobnak pitches his final game for Minnesota.

April: Still lingering just below .500, the team shuffles the roster: they send Jose Miranda down to the minors for good and trade for Kody Clemens.

May: Amazingly, the Twins win 13 consecutive games, their second-longest streak since moving to Minnesota, sparking a 13-8 month giving fans hope for a division title.

June: So much for that hope: injuries (such as Pablo López’s shoulder) and losing streaks of five and six games drop the Twins back below .500.

July: Ownership and the front office crush our hearts, trading away 11 players at the deadline, including Carlos Correa (salary dump) and hometown favorite Louis Varland.

August: Ownership takes our hearts and pisses on them, the Pohlad family pulling the team off the market, for which the fanbase will never forgive them.

September: With a bullpen constructed out of veteran castoffs and unproven minor leaguers, the Twins tumble to a 70-92 record, and Rocco Baldelli gets the axe.

October: Fans rooting for Varland to win a ring with Toronto instead watch the Dodgers break hearts across Canada; here, Derek Shelton gets hired as manager.

November: Very little on the player front; eschewing prominent, high-talent free agents, the Twins trade for Eric Orze, an OOTP favorite of mine, and Alex Jackson.

December: Tom Pohlad takes over for Joe as principal owner — fans still won’t trust him — and Josh Bell becomes the team’s first MLB free agent signing.

Thankfully, there is just over half a day remaining in 2025 as I post this. It may be ultimately irrelevant that the calendar turns over between December and January instead of say, April 12th at 10:51 AM and April 12th at 10:52 AM, but it is always pleasant to think of a new year as a time to reset oneself and look forward with an element of hope. (Not that I expect anyone to make or keep New Year’s resolutions.)

Here’s to a 2026 bringing more smiles and cheer — have a happy New Year.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general...25-happy-new-year-2026-jettison-this-past-one

 

[Minnesota Twins]

TwinkieTown Movie Night: Eight Men Out

Here’s your link for the movie. It’s from a Strange Site, but most internet security experts consider it pretty safe (when it comes to collecting your data, IMDb is worse). It has good image quality and no commercials, so no sync issues! Sync issues are a pain on Movie Nights! Start the show at 7:30!

So, hypothetical question. If there’s something going on in baseball which really threatens the integrity of the sport, and you absolutely know it, what do you do about it?

Specifically, what do you do if it’s driving up fan interest? Making a lot more money for team owners? And some of that money is trickling down to players?

Well, in the 80s/90s/00s, that something was “roiding,” and everybody knew it. The players all knew it, the owners all knew it. Some of the players participated, some didn’t. Eventually, all the owners (and the commissioner) claimed they had no idea what was going on. And some of the players claimed that too, although nobody believes them.

In 1919, that something was “gambling.” Everybody knew it was driving up fan interest, and it had a huge risk of threatening the integrity of the sport. The players all knew it, the owners all knew it. Eventually, all the owners (and the first baseball commissioner) claimed they had no idea what was going on. And some of the players claimed that too, although nobody believes them.

Hmm, what do you think is happening today?

Writer/director John Sayles wrote this script in the 1970s, before he’d ever made a movie, and used the script as kind of a showcase for his talents, to help raise funding for his first independent films. He based the script largely on the 1963 book Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof, and the book (I haven’t read it) is considered a little below modern standards of baseball history research. For 1963, though, it was considered pretty good. (Asinof — who was born in 1919 — revisited the subject in a 1990 book, which I’d guess has some of the more updated research available by that point.)

There’s a lot that’s unknowable about the 1919 World Series gambling fix. The best article about it (that I’ve found) is this one by law professor Douglas Linder. It’s quite possible that some of the players who took bribes from gamblers intended to double-cross the gamblers; take their money, then play the best they could. (Particularly Buck Weaver and Joe Jackson, both of whom hit very well in the Series.) It’s possible some of the players had planned to do this, but were scared into cooperating by threats of violence from the gamblers.

And while White Sox owner Charles Comiskey was a skinflint (like every owner before or since), the 1919 Sox had a very high payroll compared to almost every other team in the league. But what’s certainly complete bulls**t is Comiskey and the other owners claiming, later, that they had no idea there was so much gambling going on! Like Claude Rains in Casablanca…

“Your winnings, sir.” “Thank you very much.” (Even when Claude Rains is playing corrupt, he’s certifiably cool.)

Ted Williams once said, about Joe Jackson: “Joe shouldn’t have accepted the money… and he realized his error. He tried to give the money back. He tried to tell Comiskey… about the fix. But they wouldn’t listen. Comiskey covered it up as much as Jackson did — maybe more. And there’s Charles Albert Comiskey down the aisle from me at Cooperstown — and Shoeless Joe still waits outside.”

What a cast, here! John Cusack, Clifton James, Christopher Lloyd, John Mahoney, David Strathairn… many others. John Sayles himself appears as writer Ring Lardner.

(Fun Movie Trivia Fact: Lardner, Jr., Ring’s son, wrote the screenplay to M*A*S*H*, the 1970 film. But director Robert Altman and the cast used so much improvisation that Lardner was furious, and half-demanded his name be taken off the credits. Then he won an Oscar for Best Screenplay and stopped complaining.)

Here’s tonight’s link again! Fire it up at 7:30!

And here’s the upcoming schedule:

January 9: Benched (2018)

Boy, do I know NOTHING about these next two films. But they were requested by Movie Night commenters, so if you want to suggest a movie, join in the comments! John C. McGinley and Garret Dillahunt star as two youth baseball coaches with very different approaches to coaching. Free on a Strange Site.

January 16: Alibi Ike (1935)

Starring the great Joe E. Brown (Some Like it Hot) as a baseball player who concocts a harebrained excuse for every mistake, hence his nickname. Free on a Strange Site.

January 23: Major League (1989)

I wanted to do this right after A League of Their Own (two titles with the word “league”) but then it disappeared from the mainstream streamers. Well, it is also on the Strange Site.

I’ve got some ideas for future ones if we do this more, and all movie suggestions are absolutely welcome & wanted!

But, until then, pop your popcorn, and let’s start the show at 7:30!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/breakfast-baseball/50607/twinkietown-movie-night-eight-men-out

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins Flashback: 1966

Happy New Year Twinkie Town! With the calendar flipped to 2026, I’ll be periodically checking in on the 2006 & 2016 campaigns this 365-cycle. But before that, we have a few one-off anniversaries—beginning with the Twins’ AL title defense 60 years ago.

In 1965, Minnesota established itself as a professional baseball powerhouse by flying an American League Championship banner and pushing a thrilling World Series to G7 before succumbing to Stunning Sandy. It should come as little surprise that 1966 saw 1,259,374 fans stream into Metropolitan Stadium—2nd best in the AL—for a pennant defense.

Offensively, tippy-top stalwarts Harmon Killebrew (39 HR, 110 RBI, 103 BB, .281 BA, 157 OPS+) & Tony Oliva (191 H, Gold Glove Award) showed no champagne hangover—but that couldn’t be applied to the rest of the lumber-wielders…

• Bob Allison was limited to 204 PA due to a wrist fracture
• 1965 AL MVP Zoilo Versalles dipped to an 83 OPS+
• Ted Uhlaender and his 59 OPS+ somehow received 403 PA

All told, a slightly-below-average team 95 OPS+.

Fortunately, the pitching picked up the slack.

Led by Jim Kaat’s newfound ace-dom—25-13, 2.75 ERA, 41 GS, 19 CG, 3 SHO, 304.2 IP, 131 ERA+—the likes of Mudcat Grant (111 ERA+), Jim Perry (142 ERA+), & Dave Boswell (115 ERA+) were also solid starters.

Add up the cunning contributions from Al Worthington (147 ERA+) & Pete Cimino (124 ERA+) out of the crib and the team 116 ERA+ was the squad’s strong point.

All told, this led to a respectable 89-73 record in 1966. Alas, “respectable” didn’t make the World Series in this era before divisions or playoffs. So, the MN boys of summer had to settle for 2nd place behind the 97-63 Baltimore Orioles—powered by a generational MVP season (198 OPS+) from Frank Robinson.

Hovering around .500 (17.5 GB) at the end of July, the Twins made a 21-11 August & 17-10 Sept/Oct push to cut the deficit to 9 GB—but ultimately ran out of time to catch the Orange Birds.

There were of course still some standout moments along route ‘66…

• June 9: Rich Rollins, Versalles, Oliva, Don Mincher, & Killebrew all homered in a single inning

• July 21: SP Jim Merritt K’d six batters in a row for an AL record
• August 18: The Twins turned the first triple play in franchise history—Rollins to Cesar Tovar to Killebrew off a Frank Malzone (California Angels) ground ball.

While not ending with the national fanfare of ‘65, this season proved the Minnesota Twins were no one-hit wonders. Their mix of hitting & pitching was strong enough to compete with AL stalwarts year-in and year-out.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...laender-kaat-perry-boswell-worthington-cimino

 

[JJ]

Man, reading through all this Twins stuff makes me appreciate what we've got going on in Buffalo right now with the Bills. You guys had a ROUGH 2025 - that July deadline fire sale was absolutely brutal to watch from afar. Trading Correa as a salary dump? Ouch. And then the Pohlads pulling the team off the market in August? That's just a kick in the teeth to the fanbase.

Gotta say though, that 13-game winning streak in May must've been a hell of a ride before everything fell apart. Classic sports heartbreak - gives you just enough hope to make the disappointment sting even more.

The 1966 flashback stuff is pretty cool though. Kaat going 25-13 with 304 innings pitched?! That's absolutely INSANE by today's standards. These modern pitchers can barely sniff 200 innings without their arms falling off. Different era for sure.

And that Eight Men Out movie night thing - solid choice. The gambling parallels to today's sports betting explosion are pretty on point. Every commercial break during Bills games is like 47 different sportsbook ads now. We're all just pretending this is totally fine and definitely won't cause any problems down the road, right?

Here's hoping 2026 treats you Twins fans better. Lord knows after the Pohlad nonsense you deserve some actual investment in the product on the field. At least you're not the White Sox - those poor bastards signed Sean Newcomb like it was some kind of accomplishment.

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Monday Morning Minnesota: The “New Year New Bench” Edition

The Twins started 2026 with a pair of moves, trading for Marlins first baseman Eric Wagaman and signing infielder Orlando Arcia. Neither is (hopefully) likely to play a significant role for the Twins in 2026, but will serve as veteran bench bats for a team that hopes to usher in a youth movement.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• Zach Koenig takes us waaaayyyy back to the sixth Twins season in 1966.
• Last week, James Fillmore celebrated the New Year by watching Eight Men Out. We’ve got Benched on deck this week!
• Matt Monitto looks back on 2025 and the season in Twins Territory.
• Zach has finished up round 10 of his list of the greatest Twins moments – look for Round 11 voting coming out this week!

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune looks back at 10 pivotal games from the 2025 Twins season.
• Aaron Gleeman at The Athletic looks at the impacts of adding Wagaman and Arcia to the Twins’ roster.
• Matthew Leach at MLB.com looks at why the Twins still believe in Royce Lewis’ ability.

In the World of Baseball:

• ESPN looks back at their favorite MLB games of 2025.
• Brian Murphy at MLB.com breaks down the best remaining free agents.
• After Munetaka Murakami signed with the Chicago White Sox, the two remaining Japanese stars on the international free agent market quickly signed as well, with Tatsuya Imai signing with the Astros and Kazuma Okamoto signing with the Blue Jays.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general/50661/monday-morning-minnesota-the-new-year-new-bench-edition

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Greatest Twins Moments & Performances: A Twinkie Town Definitive List (Round 11)

Results​

• R1: Jack Morris Game 7 Shutout 1991
• R2: Kirby Puckett Game 6 Dominance 1991
• R3: First World Series championship 1987
• R4: AL Champions Metrodome welcome 1987
• R5: Game 163 wild victory 2009
• R6: Mudcat’s World Series must-win 1965
• R7: Harmon’s 500th homer 1971
• R8: Final day AL Central title 2006
• R9: Kirby Puckett’s Weekend for the Ages 1987
• R10: Breaking the Playoff Curse (TM) 2023

Starting with Game 2 of the 2004 ALDS and continuing through the 2020 Wild Card sweep by the Houston Astros, the Minnesota Twins lost 18 consecutive postseason contests—the longest such drought in North American professional sporting league history. The franchise had nearly become synonymous with the very concept of “playoff losing”.

But then, 2023 happened. Royce Lewis went supernova, Carlos Correa & Sonny Gray got sneaky, and Jhoan Duran slammed the door on the Toronto Blue Jays. For the first time in nearly two decades, YOUR Minnesota Twins were playoff winners!

The newbie: Old Man Don & Hometown Hrbie extend 1987 to its final day.

Thome christens Target Field (2010)​

• When Target Field opened to begin the 2010 season, it was clearly a beautiful new ballpark that the hometown nine excelled in. But it was missing one thing: a signature moment. Try as they might, the Twins could not muster a walk-off victory in front of the sold-out crowds for the first four-and-a-half months. But on August 17, The Man With An Ox In The Batter’s Box finally gave Target Field it’s first magical memory.

Santana strikes out 17 (2007)​

• Johan Santana won Cy Young Awards with the Twins in 2004 & 2006. But his single-game zenith came August 19, 2007, when he K’d 17 Texas batsmen over 8 IP of victorious shutout ball. Santana whiffed every Ranger batter at least once, three of them 3x apiece, and put the golden sombrero (4 K) on Michael Young.

Mauer’s final bow (2018)​

• After 15 seasons in a Minnesota Twins—and no other—uniform, Minnesota’s own (St. Paul) Joe Mauer stepped onto the diamond for the final time in 2018’s finale. After what would quickly prove to be a Hall of Fame career, Mauer got to enjoy a special moment in the catcher’s gear where he always felt most at home. Few eyes that beheld his heartfelt goodbye were dry at the end of it.

Dozier caps a comeback (2015)​

• On July 10, 2015, the Twins trailed the Detroit Tigers 6-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. But in a remarkable sequence of events, Brian Dozier found himself at the plate with a chance to be a hero. He didn’t disappoint. In the words of Dick Bremer: “The most electric moment at Target Field in YEARS!”.

Baylor & Hrbek prolong the World Series magic (1987)​

• After winning the first two games of the 1987 World Series, the Twins dropped 3-through-5 in St. Louis. So, not only were they facing elimination in Game 6—but they were down 5-2 heading into the bottom of the 5th inning. Then some Metrodome Magic (TM) struck: Don Baylor homered in that frame to knot the score at 5, while hometown hero Kent Hrbek delivered the knockout blow in the following stanza to make sure Game 7 would commence.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...off-1987-world-series-baylor-hrbek-grand-slam

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twin(s) brothers throwback: The Cliburn coaches

A Twin coach in his natural habitat. | Marlin Levison / Star Tribune via Getty Images

Earlier this week, the Twins continued their trend of putting in minimal effort at signing free agents, adding veteran shortstop Orlando Arcia on a minor league deal. That got me thinking about other sets of brothers who have spent time with the Twins, and while many recent fans (including me) still wish Minnesota had signed Tyler Rogers to pair with his brother Taylor, I thought of another set of brothers — fittingly, twins — who have put their mark on the organization.

In 1980, catcher Stan Cliburn debuted with the California Angels; he put up negative WAR in that season, his only year as a big leaguer, across 54 games. Four years later, his brother Stew, a pitcher, also made the majors as an Angel; after a single appearance in 1984, he had his best season in 1985, putting up a 2.09 ERA in 44 relief appearances and finishing fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Stew pitched just one more season (1988, 40 games, 4.07 ERA), again for the Angels.

While neither brother played for the Twins, their presence in Minnesota comes via Connecticut and New York. The Cliburns were hired to coach the New Britain Rock Cats, then Minnesota’s Double-A affiliate, for the 2001 season, with Stan managing and Stew serving as pitching coach. That first season was their most successful together, leading a team that featured Michael Cuddyer (.301, 30 homers) and Dustan Mohr (.336, 24 homers) on offense; Juan Rincón (14-6, 2.88 ERA) and Brad Thomas (10-3, 1.96 ERA) as starters; and Grant Balfour (35 games, 1.08 ERA), Kevin Frederick (44 games, 1.63 ERA), and Saúl Rivera (33 games, 27 saves, 3.16 ERA) out of the bullpen. The ‘01 Cats went 87-55, reaching the Eastern League championship finals and being named co-champions with the Reading Phillies after the series was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks.

The Cliburns coached together for four more seasons in New Britain, during which the team gave out dual-faced bobbleheads featuring the two, and three in Triple-A Rochester. They reached the International League finals in 2006, their first heading the Red Wings, but lost the series 3-2 to the Toledo Mud Hens. For the ‘09 season, the Twins reassigned Stew to New Britain while keeping Stan in Rochester; the franchise chose not to renew Stan’s contract after that year.

Although the Rock Cats and Red Wings only saw the playoffs twice during the Cliburns’ time coaching together, the brothers coached in the minors while some of the best mid-‘00s Twins were making their way up to Minnesota. The greatest of the era, Joe Mauer, reached New Britain in 2003 and batted .341 in 73 games; his alliterative batting mate, Justin Morneau made his New Britain debut in ‘01 and played parts of three seasons there; twelve years later, he returned to the Hardware City for the final series at New Britain Stadium on a Colorado Rockies rehab assignment.

Neither Stan nor Stew remains in the Twins organization, but their coaching shaped some of the best players and teams of the mid- to late-’00s. For that, residual Rock Cats and Red Wings fans still appreciate them.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...is-it-stu-cliburn-coaches-rock-cats-red-wings

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins Arbitration Tracker: Ober, Jeffers, Lewis, Larnach Agree to Terms

Today is the deadline for players and teams to file arbitration salary figures for the 2026 season, meaning players will often come to terms with teams rather than heading to court. However, teams and players can still negotiate right up until the hearing date, typically in mid-February. Once the hearing happens, an independent arbiter will decide between the team’s number and the player’s, so there is no more middle ground. Under POBO Derek Falvey, the Twins historically have preferred to not go to arbitration, so I would expect most of these deals to get done today or in the coming weeks.

According to Darren Wolfson of KSTP and SkorNorth, the Twins have come to agreements with the players below for the 2026 season. I also included their expected 2026 salary from MLBTradeRumors, to see the impact on the payroll as whole.

Agreed to Terms:

• Bailey Ober: $5.2M (projected $4.6M)
• Ryan Jeffers: $6.7M ($6.6M)
• Royce Lewis: $2.85M ($3M)
• Trevor Larnach: $4.475M ($4.7M)
• Justin Topa: $1.5M** ($1.7M)

Net payroll impact: +$125K

** Topa’s contract is technically $1.225M this season with a $225K buyout on a $5M mutual option for 2027. Since mutual options never get exercised, it’s easier to simplify Topa’s deal.

TBD

• Joe Ryan: projected $5.8M
• Alex Jackson: projected $1.8M
• Cole Sands: projected $1.3M
• Kody Clemens (Super Two): projected $1.1M

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...ker-ober-jeffers-lewis-larnach-agree-to-terms

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins Flashback: 1976

If you turned the ballgame on TV in 1976 Twins Territory, you’d get the dulcet tones of Joe Boyle & recently-retired Harmon Killebrew. If you flipped on the radio: Herb Carneal—as always—and Frank Quilici at the mics. Though no playoff berth was achieved—and you certainly wouldn’t guess it from the 715,394 home fans (an AL-low 8,832 per game) drawn to the Old Met— 1976 turned out to be the best Twins campaign in a half-decade.

Offense (108 OPS+)​

A prime Rod Carew led MN batsmen in America’s bicentennial: 12 3B, 90 RBI, 49 SB, .331 BA, 148 OPS+. Lyman Bostock—pictured in header—wasn’t far behind: .323 BA, 130 OPS+. Even “Disco” Dan Ford (20 HR, 86 RBI, 17 SB, 125 OPS+) was a force to be reckoned with.

Pitching (97 ERA+)​

The starters of ‘76 were nothing to write home about, what with a good-but-by-no-means great Dave Goltz campaign (14-14, 249.1 IP, 3.36 ERA) qualifying as “staff ace”.

Fortunately, the bullpen picked up a lot of the slack towards respectability. Somehow, Bill Campbell went 17-5 without making a single start (appearing in a league-leading 78 games helped), while Tom Burgmeier (144 ERA+) and Tom Johnson (139+) were true firemen.

Mr. Curveball (Bert Blyleven) was also part of the mix—until traded alongside Danny Thompson to the Texas Rangers for a haul of Bill Singer, Roy Smalley, Mike Cubbage, and Jim Gideon.

What did this all add up to for Gene Mauch’s bunch? An 85-77 record, good for third place in the AL West. Despite being 16.5 GB at the end of August, a furious September surge saw the Twins sweep the crown-grabbing Kansas City Royals to close out the campaign 5 GB.

A few ‘76 highlights…

• Carew & C Butch Wynegar represented the club for the All-Star Game at Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia
• Bostock & Larry Hisle both hit for a cycle
• Steve Luebber came one measly out away from twirling a no hitter on August 7 versus the Rangers. A Joe Mauer Roy Howell single broke up the bid.

Though no great shakes as 162-game seasons go, 1976 was—at very least—a nice break from the thoroughly mediocre (or worse) early-70s brand of Twins baseball.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...oltz-burgmeier-hisle-wynegar-luebber-blyleven

 

[Minnesota Twins]

TwinkieTown Movie Night: Mr. Baseball

Here’s your link for the movie. It’s from a Strange Site, but most internet security experts consider it pretty safe (when it comes to collecting your data, IMDb is worse). It has good image quality and no commercials, so no sync issues! Sync issues are a pain on Movie Nights! (Plus this time I made sure the link included the whole movie… last week, uh, it did not.) Start the show at 7:30!

We had to quick change tonight’s movie because gintzer, who requested Benched, will be in jail for eight counts of securities fraud. Oh, he SAYS he’ll be at a Gophers game, but that’s what they all say. I assume his team of Michael Clayton-style high-priced attorneys will manage to get him out in time to join us for Benched in a few weeks.

Mr. Baseball is directed by Australian filmmaker Fred Schepisi, a personal favorite of mine. He’s had his stumbles — every director does — but The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Roxanne, The Russia House are nothing to sneeze at. Six Degrees of Separation is a movie which really gets to me every time I watch it. Stockard Channing in that one gives a performance like nothing else I’ve ever seen… and Will Smith, in his first film role, is pretty good, too. Some nobodies named Donald Sutherland and Ian McKellen also have parts in that movie, I’ve never heard of them.

Schepisi was actually frustrated a bit by how much Tom Selleck, who had producer control, reshaped the script, here. This sometimes happens. Egos clash in the movie business — I know I’m blowing your mind, but sometimes, it happens!

And, to blow your mind even MORE… egos sometimes clash on sports teams! Crazy, right! But it has occurred! Once every blue moon or so…

Selleck plays a brash American who butts heads with the more team-first, respect-tradition style of Japanese baseball, represented here by the manager, Ken Takakura. If you’ve never seen Takakura in anything, you’re in for a treat. Selleck is no slouch as an actor; I think he was pretty decent whenever he got the opportunity, which was rarely (Magnum, P.I., wasn’t exactly a deep role, and neither are reverse-mortgages commercials). But Takakura is a world-class actor. It’s not criticizing Selleck to say he’s pretty decent, while Takakura is GREAT.

If I remember correctly, there’s a romantic side plot. If I remember correctly, it’s not very convincing. I haven’t seen this in decades!

The depiction of how American players have to adjust to the cultural differences in Japan is considered very accurate; in fact, the movie is still used to give American players an introduction to what some of those differences are. You can read this 2022 article talking to Rex Hudler, Nick Martinez, and Leon Lee, all of whom played in both countries, and Lee was the film’s baseball adviser. (As of 2022 Lee had the third-most hits of any foreign player in NPB history.)

“‘Sure, Japan’s different, but different is not always bad,” Lee said. “If you get anything out of the movie, you see that Jack Elliot makes an adjustment and you realize you, too, can adapt and adjust to a different culture.’”

Better understanding between cultures! We can all root for that, even if the script isn’t perfect, right? Right! Well, not all root for it. But we TwinkieTowners do.

Here’s tonight’s link again! Fire it up at 7:30!

And here’s the upcoming schedule:

January 16: Alibi Ike (1935)

Starring the great Joe E. Brown (Some Like it Hot) as a baseball player who concocts a harebrained excuse for every mistake, hence his nickname. Free on a Strange Site.

January 23: Major League (1989)

I wanted to do this right after A League of Their Own (two titles with the word “league”) but then it disappeared from the mainstream streamers. Well, it is also on the Strange Site.

January 30: Benched (2018)

John C. McGinley and Garret Dillahunt star as two youth baseball coaches with very different approaches to coaching. Free on the Strange Site.

I’ve got some ideas for future ones if we do this more, and all movie suggestions are absolutely welcome & wanted!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/book-club/50684/twinkietown-movie-night-mr-baseball

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Rival Roundup, Vol. 77: Sunday Hot Links

See how the sausage is made. (By me, on my laptop.)

• Whether the Cleveland Guardians are actively interested in trading outfielder Steven Kwan has been a major topic of their offseason, given the Guards’ Rays-esque proclivity for trading peak-value players still under team control. This week, Kwan became their last player to agree to terms and avoid arbitration, putting pen to paper on a $7.725MM figure for 2026.
• MLB.com’s Scott Merkin profiled recently-retired White Sox reliever Fraser Ellard, who unexpectedly retired from the game at the age of 28. Amusingly, one of the highlight videos selected for the article is a clip of Ellard striking out Royce Lewis.
• The Sox claimed catcher Drew Romo off waivers from the Mets. They also acquired former top prospect Jarred Kelenic with a non-roster invite to spring training.

Waiver wire ships passing in the night

— James Fegan (@jrfegan.soxmachine.com) 2026-01-08T19:49:52.988Z

• Some BlueSky thoughts, brother:

The Guardians and Mariners will play on Sunday Night Baseball on Peacock on March 29 during their season-opening series in Seattle.Schedule: www.mlb.com/news/mlb-nbc…

— Tim Stebbins (@timstebbins.bsky.social) 2026-01-09T19:14:23.685Z

The Guardians announced they’ve signed Pedro Avila to a Minor League deal with a non-roster invite to Spring Training.The Orioles also claimed Jhonkensy Noel off waivers, reuniting him with Craig Albernaz.

— Tim Stebbins (@timstebbins.bsky.social) 2026-01-05T20:02:13.370Z

• On the broadcasting topic, former White Sox and current Tigers PBP man Jason Benetti is reportedly the top candidate to join NBC’s renewed coverage of Major League Baseball in 2026. Meanwhile, Covering the Corner dives into Cleveland’s broadcast “quarterbacks” and kicks off a quintessentially offseasonal debate.
• Matt Quatraro better start clearing his calendar for 2029, because the Royals extended his contract for another three years. The Kansas City manager has presided over the Royals’ most successful stretch in over 10 years, and is already a top-10 skipper by total wins in the history of the entire franchise. In 2024, they became only the third team to crack the playoffs a year after losing 100+ games.
• Finally, Tarik Skubal’s arbitration saga has set the stage for a record-breaking hearing. Detroit came to terms with all their arb-eligible players minus the reigning Cy Young champ (two years running.) While the Tigers filed at a $19MM figure, Skubal’s camp has filed for $32MM, which would shatter the arbitration record for any pitcher ever (David Price holds the top mark, with $19.75MM on his 2015 arbitration salary, also with the Tigers.) It would also edge out the current overall record, a $31MM agreement belonging to Juan Soto.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general/50632/rival-roundup-vol-77-sunday-hot-links