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[Minnesota Twins]

The Chicago White Sox did what the Minnesota Twins couldn’t in 2005

In the summer of 2010, I was walking through the gargantuan Miller Park AmFam Field parking lot with my aunt. While navigating the rows of tailgaters leading up to the House That Selig Built, we were approached by a guy in a Chicago White Sox jersey. Why a South Sider was present for a Twins vs Brewers clash: unclear.

Anyway, he was a chatty fella and though I don’t recall the exact verbiage, he said something akin to “you guys beat us at the Metrodome all those years—but we got it done when it mattered”. I was almost physically ill.

For all the hitless nights and Bret Boone-induced trauma of 2005, there is one final—and intensely depressing—reckoning for Twins fans: the one year the Pale Hose slipped by the Twinkies and into the postseason, they hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy.

I don’t want to sell the Sox short—they were a 99-63 AL Central steamroller in ‘05 that could swing with the best of ‘em and were surprisingly deep pitching-wise. They swept fellow footwear Boston—no repeat magic in Beantown—in the ALDS & only dropped a single game to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALCS.

Their World Series opponent: the clearly-inferior (yet sneakily dangerous) 89-73-1 Houston Astros.

Though 11 games behind St. Louis for the NL Central crown in ‘05, the ‘Stros took out the Redbirds in the NLCS. Two Killer B’s—Lance Berkman & Craig Biggio—remained, bolstered by uncommonly strong offensive seasons from Morgan Ensberg & Jason Lane. A rotation fronted by Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens—and a bullpen anchored by dominant closer Brad Lidge—was also nothing to sneeze at.

It mattered little against Ozzie Guillen’s gentlemen…

• Game 1: The only normal game of this series—Jermaine Dye & Joe Crede went deep & Jose Contreras was solid on the bump.
• Game 2: Houston tied the game off Sox closer Bobby Jenks (RIP)—but then the unlikeliest guy on the roster to hit a walk-off home run did exactly that.

• Game 3: Tied 5-5 after the requisite nine, this one went to the 14th—5 hours & 41 minutes in all—before a ChiSox homer (Geoff Blum) & bases-loaded walk (Chris Widger) allowed Damaso Marte to slam the door.
• Game 4: Goose-egged through seven innings, Freddy Garcia vs Brandon Backe had Jack Morris vs John Smoltz vibes. But in T8, Dye delivered Willie Harris to the dish with an RBI single off Lidge. It would prove all that was needed:

In an extreme rarity for me, I have no memories of watching any of this World Series. Perhaps I boycotted out of revulsion at the Sox sealing what the Twins could not. Maybe starting my sophomore year at college and having Survey of Calculus & Intercultural Communication Theory on my plate had something to do with it.

Either way, I still cringe a bit at that ‘05 Chicago championship. For as solid and exciting as the ‘02, ‘03, ‘04, ‘06, & ‘09 Twins seasons were, their biggest nemesis only needed a single postseason to nab the ultimate prize.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...go-white-sox-world-series-2005-houston-astros

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Monday Morning Minnesota: The “Managerial Rumors” Edition

Game 3 of the World Series is tonight, with the series shifting to Los Angeles tied 1-1. Meanwhile, rumors abound regarding the Twins’ open manager position, with the top four candidates identified as Derek Shelton, James Rowson, Ryan Flaherty, and Scott Servais.

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• Zach Koenig reviews the 2005 World Series.
• Zach also goes over his master plan if “He Ran the Zoo”.
• Matt Monitto provides his next update on his Out of the Park playthrough with the tallest and shortest players in Twins history.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune reviews the questions that face the Twins this offseason.
• Matthew Trueblood at Twins Daily explains why the Twins will benefit from the automated ball-strike system in 2026.
• Dan Hayes and Britt Ghiroli at The Athletic have more information on the names the Twins are considering for the manager position. ($)

In the World of Baseball:

• A couple more manager positions have been filled, with old friend Kurt Suzuki taking over the Angels’ clubhouse and Craig Albernaz named as the Orioles’ manager.
• Turns out former Twins hitting coach David Popkins is finding success with Toronto this season. Mitch Bannon at The Athletic has more on how he’s helped the Blue Jays reach the World Series. ($)
• Michael Clair at MLB.com examines how the Dodgers have attracted numerous Japanese stars over the past few years.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general/49793/monday-morning-minnesota-the-managerial-rumors-edition

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Greatest Twins Moments & Performances: A Twinkie Town Definitive List (Round 1)

Two offseasons ago, Twinkie Town christened the top Minnesota Twins players of all time. Last year, we looked at franchise ephemera & eccentricity—from managers to broadcasters to an honorable Judge (not Aaron).

This baseball-less period, I’ll be spearheading an accounting of the greatest Twins moments & performances from 1961-Present. As a fanbase, we need some positivity at the moment.

Important Note: It would be easy to load this list with ‘87 & ‘91 World Series moments—and those will certainly be strongly represented. But considering I’ll pass the big 4-0 during this poll’s duration and my World Series memory is my Dad telling me about Kirby’s heroics before taking me to kindergarten, there are two entire generations of fans whose favorite moments may not have occurred in October. So, this won’t be all ‘87/’91.

The first five moments are pretty “chalk”, so let’s dive right in…

The last out of the first title (1987)​

• “Bouncing ball to Gaetti—throws to Hrbek—and the Twins are baseball’s world champions!”, per Herb Carneal. For the first time in franchise history, Minnesota was on top of the MLB heap.

Puckett’s Pinnacle (1991)​

• In the must-win Game 6 of the ‘91 World Series, Kirby Puckett literally said and figuratively embodied his “Get on my back, boys!” pregame preach. First, he plucked one off the plexiglass. Then, his walk-off home run assured fans “we’ll see ya tomorrow night!”. “Touch ‘em all!”, indeed!

Welcome home AL champs (1987)​

• After defeating the Detroit Tigers to claim American League superiority in ‘87, MN returned to the Twin Cities to a full Metrodome crowd. Not for Game 1 of the subsequent World Series—but for a “welcome home” rally. Yes, that’s right—Twins fans turned out in force simply to show (and vocalize) their appreciation for the first AL champion Twins squad since 1965.

Black Jack goes the distance (1991)​

• One could argue that Jack Morris’ 10-inning Game 7 shutout in the ‘91 World Series was the single greatest pitching performance in postseason history. 126 pitches, 7 H, 2 BB, 8 K over 10 IP to give the Twins their second championship in five seasons.

Game 163 (2009)​

• For a certain cohort of Twins fans, this is the single greatest game in franchise history. Orlando Cabrera’s HR—Joe Nathan’s double play—Metrodome magic—clutch Casilla. This bonus baseball contest to clinch the AL Central had it all.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...eries-kirby-puckett-jack-morris-2009-game-163

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Twins to Hire Derek Shelton as Manager

According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, among many others, the Twins will announce Derek Shelton as their manager for the 2026 season. The team is likely waiting until the conclusion of the World Series to make the move official, as MLB asks teams to withhold substantial news until after the Fall Classic.

Sources: Derek Shelton will be introduced as the #MNTwins manager next week. @JonHeyman on it first.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) October 29, 2025

Shelton has a history with the organization, serving as the Twins’ bench coach in 2018 under Paul Molitor and 2019 under his predecessor Rocco Baldelli. Shelton was selected from a group of finalists including former Twin and current Yankee hitting coach James Rowson, former Minnesota infielder Nick Punto, and ex-Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais.

Shelton was the manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2020 until he was fired 6 weeks into the 2025 season after another dreadful start. While that may seem discouraging for Twins fans, most of a manager’s work goes on behind the scenes and the Pirates’ ownership situation makes the Pohlads look like a godsend in comparison. His familiarity with the Twins franchise and processes likely gave him an advantage on the competition.

Additionally, while Shelton is a “retread” for an organization seemingly in need of a fresh voice, it’s worth noting that only a single current Twin (Byron Buxton) was coached by Shelton in his previous stint. He has a positive reputation around the league and was a candidate for top bench coach positions if the Twins had gone in a different direction.

The last remaining organizational block to fall is the staff around Shelton. Assistant coach contracts are typically not made public, so it’s unclear who among the 2025 staff remains under contract for next season and who Shelton, Derek Falvey, and the Twins will want to retain. Pete Maki has done an admiral job since being thrust into the pitching coach role after Wes Johnson’s shocking departure in the middle of the 2023 season. Additionally, Hank Conger is a rising name in coaching circles and is likely on the inside track for a head job of his own in the near future. Base coaches Tommy Watkins and Ramon Borrego have both been with the Twins for over 20 years between their playing and coaching careers, and are likely to remain with the organization in some capacity.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minnesota-twins-news/49818/twins-to-hire-derek-shelton-as-manager

 

[Minnesota Twins]

North Star Stature Showdown, Game 2: Short pitchers got no reason

Many a Mauer knock this game. | SPX / Diamond Images / Getty Images

I’ve already mentioned that I am short (5’3”). On that account, you might assume that I cannot stand the Randy Newman song “Short People,” but it is one of my favorite songs:

The song is a brilliant satire against bigotry, using exaggerated stereotypes of the short to point out the ridiculousness of hate against any subgroup of humans. Of course, people thought Newman actually hated the underheighted. (In a similar vein, “I Love L.A.” is making fun of the shallowness of Los Angeles, and people took it as a straight praise of the city. Satire is lost on far too many.)

But in the case of Game 2 of the North Star Stature Showdown, the Tall Tales were happy to have short people ‘round here, clobbering the Stories to a 22-13 victory and 2-0 series lead.

Despite an early 3-1 lead from the short crew, the tall gents hammered Lee Stange in the third, taking the lead on a Gene Larkin grand slam (immediately followed by a Cotton Nash homer), before breaking the game open in the fourth. Against Stange and Danny McDevitt, the Tales sent 14 to the plate, a Dave Winfield three-run home run (that would have been a grand slam were it not for a wild pitch during the at-bat) setting the tone for the inning. By the time McDevitt got out of the inning, the Tales had scored eight runs and were up 14-3.

Before the Stories scored another run, the Tales put up another crooked number with a six-spot in the sixth. After they got three runs off Eddie Bane and loaded the bases, the Stories brought in Bill Pleis from the bullpen; Terry Jorgensen promptly cleared the bags with a double, making the score 20-3.

Only once they were down 17 did the short batsmen revive, finally knocking Mike Smithson from the game. Thanks to a few more hits off Aaron Slegers, they doubled their own score before lighting up the 6’10” reliever in the seventh, scoring six runs (doubling their score again!) highlighted by Ben Revere’s three-run triple.

The Tales also scored a pair of runs in the seventh, an inning that included Joe Mauer’s fifth hit of the game, and the late offensive effort was not enough for the Stories. The home team added a run in the ninth, but Slegers got Jarvis Brown to fly out to end the game, producing this box score line for Slegers: 3.2 IP, 12 hits, eight runs (all earned), one walk, one strikeout… one save.

The Short Stories now have to try to save the series on the road, and they have their best chance to do so with Sonny Gray taking the hill in Game 3 against Bailey Ober.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general...-pitchers-got-no-reason-joe-mauer-gene-larkin

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Will Derek Shelton get the first year boost of recent Twins skippers?

The Minnesota Twins announced Derek Shelton as manager yesterday. So, it’s a good time to look at the last four MN baseball skippers and see how they fared in Year 1. Surprisingly, the results have been almost exclusively positive in my lifetime (1985+)…

Tom Kelly​

• Previous Season (1986): 71-91 (full disclosure: TK coached the ‘86 squad to a 12-11 finish). The Twins had not made the playoffs since 1970.
• First Full Season (1987): 85-77; won the World Series.

Ron Gardenhire​

• Previous Season (2001): 85-77. The Twins had not made the playoffs since 1991.
• First Season (2002): 94-67. Won AL Central title and advanced to ALCS.

Paul Molitor​

• Previous Season (2014): 70-92. Four consecutive 92+ loss seasons in a row.
• First Season (2015): 83-79. Competed for a Wild Card postseason berth until the season’s final weekend.

Rocco Baldelli​

• Previous Season (2018): 78-84.
• First Season (2019): 101-61. Won AL Central title with second-best record in franchise history.

The four newest Twins managers all produced instant success from the dugout’s top step.

Of course, one could argue that TK, Gardy, & Molly all inherited a youthful nucleus of talent, while Rocco had the rabbit ball in ‘19. Shelton will have a collection of spare parts and an ownership group that likely wants to remove the engine & transmission. But perhaps the Beginner’s Luck will continue in 2026.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/minneso...aldelli-paul-molitor-ron-gardenhire-tom-kelly

 

[Minnesota Twins]

TwinkieTown Movie Night next Friday!

So, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, there’s another site (mostly a political one) that does a Movie Night every Saturday. No, we all don’t go to see Rocky Horror together, although it did play at the Grandview in Saint Paul last night; I didn’t go, because I wasn’t sure if there would be anybody squirting water during the rainstorm scene, as is good and proper. There WAS a live version some years ago where audiences were encouraged to participate in the customary rituals, and it had retired news anchor Don Shelby in it:

Here’s the way this works. You play the movie on yer TV. (If you have a smart TV, this should be pretty easy; if you don’t, but you have a PlayStation or XBox, that works as a smart TV by itself. I’ve got a dumb TV hooked up to a PlayStation and Blu-Ray player.)

We all start the movie at 7 PM (just like a baseball game!) and make comments during the movie. Comments like “this part is cool” or “this person is kinda weird-looking” or “um, there’s a boom mike in the shot,” anything goes, so long as you’re basically cool to others.

I’ve been participating in this on the other website for a little over a year, and it’s generally really fun, unless the movie either A) is really dull or B) is a depressing bummer.

It’s no fun if nobody participates, though — just like GameThreads are no fun when the Twins stink and I’m the only one making comments.

So we’ll be trying this for a few weeks, and see if it works out, or if anybody wants to suggest a few changes.

Here’s the schedule:

November 7: The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)

The version 42 with Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford is pretty good; so’s the original, with Robinson as himself. Free on YouTube and Internet Archive.

November 14: Long Gone (1987)

TV movie about a fictional last-place minor-league team. I’ve never seen this, but it’s also free on YouTube. The Wiki page says “it’s the best baseball movie most of you never saw.”

November 21: Angels in the Outfield (1951)

A mean, cussy manager learns to be nicer, with the help of some divine intervention and a very-lovely Janet Leigh. This is free on Internet Archive. Spanish subtitles you can’t turn off, but they won’t hurt you.

November 28: Bull Durham (1987)

About a experienced catcher and experienced groupie who teach a young pitcher a thing or two. Written/directed by Ron Shelton, no relation to Twins manager Derek Shelton… but Ron DID play on a team with Derek’s dad. It’s available on Bezos Prime, but also on free streamers Plex, Pluto, Roku, and Tubi (with commercials, I’d imagine). It’s on the free library streamer Kanopy, and on library DVD.

So, that’s the lineup, for now. Two YouTubers, one Internet Archive, one that’s available on multiple platforms.

I’m open to suggestions like changing the regular day/time, and of course any movie suggestions. Free ones are best, but I’m not opposed to ones we’d all have to go get the library DVDs for. Any baseball movie counts; I’d say we can also do movies about other sports, too. I haven’t seen Hoosiers in a zillion years.

I’ll put the posts up at 6 PM, with appropriate links where there’s a YouTube or Internet Archive version available. And I’ll try to have a few facts about the making of the movie for you. Showtime, again, starts at 7 PM.

If people like it, I’ll extend the schedule out further. If not, well, these are all movies I don’t mind watching again. Except if Long Gone really stinks, then I’m coming for the bum who suggested it! (I’m sure it’ll be better than some of the Saturday movies we watched at the other site. Creature From the Black Lagoon was… really, pretty bad. Neat monster suit design by Millicent Patrick; Ricou Browning wore the suit underwater, sometimes holding his breath while swimming for up to four minutes at a time while wearing a big rubber monster suit! But the movie was… booooring.)

So, join us next Friday, if you like! Make some popcorn! Or drink beer! Or both, or neither! It’s up to you!

I’d like to leave you with a movie to watch, but it’s Halloween, and there aren’t any baseball horror movies. Not any good ones, anyways — there’s been some cheapo slasher films. So instead, I’ll give you the silliest horror-rock song I’ve ever heard, “D.O.A.,” by Fort Worth metal band Bloodrock:

Yes, it is eight minutes long. It is told in the first person, by a guy who’s just experienced a mid-air plane collision. He’s describing falling to the ground, his body parts missing, corpses all around him, etc. It was actually a mild hit, reaching #36 in the charts. 1971 was a weird year.

I heard this two years ago, driving to rehab therapy a few weeks after breaking the s**t out of my arm. At like, 6:30 in the morning, and it was dark & snowing outside, and since it was the first snow dusting of the season, cars were crashing, you could hear ambulances in the distance.

It was perfect.

See you next week for the Jackie Robinson movie!

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/book-club/49837/twinkietown-movie-night-next-friday

 

[Minnesota Twins]

Rival Roundup, Vol. 70: Willis or Won’tis

The 2025 baseball season will officially end tonight! With the improbable, Dodger-centric finish to Game 6, the series is knotted up at three apiece, which means this evening’s contest will be the final game of a very interesting ‘25 campaign. It’s the first Game 7 since 2019, a rare taste of November baseball, and a sober reminder that it feels like Twins baseball ended three months ago.

All eyes are on Toronto tonight, but it doesn’t mean we can’t find a few regional nuggets to invest our interest into. Come, invest with me. Give me your attention money.

• Longtime Cleveland Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis will be returning for at least one more season. His reputation speaks for itself — five Cy Young winners have pitched under him, and he’s been the head of the Guardian pitching factory since joining the big-league club for his second time in 2017. At 64 years old, and with little left to prove in the realm of major-league coaching, Willis has taken over the Terry Francona-esque role of legendary coach suiting up on a year-by-year basis, but has confirmed his involvement for another season working alongside hot young thing, Stephen Vogt.
• The baseball gods demand a sacrifice, which is why the Orioles hired away Cleveland’s number-two guy to be their new skipper in return.

The Baltimore Orioles are finalizing a deal to hire Craig Albernaz as manager, sources tell ESPN. Albernaz, 42, was previously associate manager with Cleveland and was a widely sought-after candidate for open managerial jobs. He joins a O's team coming off a 75-87 season.

— Jeff Passan (@jeffpasan.bsky.social) 2025-10-27T01:47:35.793Z

• The Chicago White Sox don’t have much in the pot at the moment — they are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 2005 World Series run, and lightly lamenting the ACL surgery for first baseman Tim Elko.
• A fella going by the name of Keith Beauregard has been dismissed as hitting coach of the Detroit Tigers; he goes the way of David Popkins, maybe. It remains to be seen whether Beauregard will immediately take another job and usher that offense directly to the World Series. BUT, I DIGRESS!!!
• The Detroit front office also adds a man from the North Side, with Alex Smith gaining entry to an “executive position in the front office”. Evidently, Smith had been the Cubs’ “Strategy Coach,” and had worked alongside now-POBO Scott Harris in Chicago from 2015-2019.

Source: https://www.twinkietown.com/general/49845/rival-roundup-vol-70-willis-or-wontis