59 Fun Facts About Minnesota Twins

The Twins take their name from which pair of cities?

Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The owner would not favour either city, so the club took the state's name, and its logo shows players from the two cities' old rival teams shaking hands across the river.

Before moving to Minnesota for the 1961 season, the franchise played in which city?

Washington, D.C. The capital was not left without baseball: a new expansion club took the Senators name the very year the old one left, and that team later became the Texas Rangers.

Which pitcher's Game 7 relief win gave the Twins franchise its first World Series, in 1924?

Walter Johnson. Aged 36, in his first World Series and beaten in both his starts, he came out of the bullpen and shut out the Giants over the last four innings of a 12-inning decider.

From 1961 to 1981 the Twins played their home games at which ballpark?

Metropolitan Stadium. It opened in 1956, five years before the Twins arrived, built on farmland to major-league standards as bait to lure a big-league club to Minnesota.

What has stood on the site of the Twins' original Bloomington ballpark since 1992?

Mall of America. A plaque in the floor of its indoor theme park marks where home plate lay, and a red seat bolted to a wall shows where Harmon Killebrew's 520-foot home run landed in 1967.

Which manager led the Twins to World Series titles in both 1987 and 1991?

Tom Kelly. A Twins coach promoted to manager in September 1986, he won the title a year later and stayed in the job through 2001.

Since 2010 the Twins have played at which ballpark?

Target Field. It has no roof, so it brought outdoor baseball back to Minnesota after 28 seasons indoors, with heated concourse areas for the cold days.

What caused the Metrodome roof to tear open in December 2010?

A heavy snowstorm. Seventeen inches fell on Minneapolis, the inflated roof gave way before dawn, and the Vikings' game with the Giants was moved to Detroit.

The Metrodome was the only venue ever to host a Super Bowl, a World Series and which other event?

NCAA Final Four. Duke beat Michigan there for the 1992 title, ten weeks after the dome's Super Bowl and under six months after its 1991 World Series.

Which slugger hit a ball into the Metrodome roof in May 1984 that never came down?

Dave Kingman. His towering pop-up for Oakland went into a drainage hole in the roof's inner layer and stayed there, so the umpires gave him a ground-rule double.

The Twins lost their first World Series in Minnesota, in 1965, to which team?

Los Angeles Dodgers. The Twins knocked out Don Drysdale and beat Sandy Koufax to lead two games to none, then lost the Series in seven.

Why did Sandy Koufax sit out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series against the Twins?

It fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. His stand-in, Don Drysdale, gave up seven runs in under three innings, but Koufax later shut the Twins out twice.

Which Twins shortstop won the American League MVP award in 1965?

Zoilo Versalles, the first Latin American player voted MVP, led the league in runs, doubles and total bases that year, and also in strikeouts and errors.

Which slugger alone topped Harmon Killebrew's eight 40-homer seasons?

Babe Ruth, who did it 11 times. Killebrew, a feared hitter nicknamed 'the Killer', once named washing the dishes as his hobby.

Harmon Killebrew was born and raised in which state?

Idaho. One of the state's U.S. senators told the team's owner about the teenage slugger, and the scout sent to watch him signed Killebrew at 17.

Harmon Killebrew was long rumored to be the batter silhouetted in whose logo?

Major League Baseball. Killebrew believed it himself after seeing an artist sketch over his photo, but designer Jerry Dior said the 1968 logo was drawn to be no one in particular.

Which Twins great was born aboard a train in the Panama Canal Zone?

Rod Carew. His mother went into labor in the rear car reserved for non-white passengers, and she named him Rodney Cline after the doctor who came back to help.

Who alone topped Rod Carew's seven American League batting titles?

Ty Cobb, who won 11 or 12 depending on a disputed 1910 race. In 2016 the American League batting title itself was named after Carew.

Which Twin was the first to win Rookie of the Year and a batting title in the same season, in 1964?

Tony Oliva, who won the batting title again in 1965, had come to the United States from Cuba on his brother's papers.

Bert Blyleven, the curveball artist whose number 28 hangs at the ballpark, was born in which country?

Netherlands. Born in Zeist, he grew up in Southern California, where his father built a pitcher's mound in the backyard so he could practice.

As a Twins broadcaster, Bert Blyleven became known for doing what on screen?

Circling fans with the telestrator began as his way to point out Twins fans at road games, and soon crowds everywhere were holding up 'Circle me Bert' signs.

The Twins won their first World Series in Minnesota in 1987 by beating which team?

St. Louis Cardinals. It was the first World Series with games played indoors, and the deafening crowd noise under the dome's fabric roof became a story of its own.

The 1987 World Series was the first in which what happened?

The home team won every game: the Twins took all four in their deafening dome and lost all three on the road, a pattern they repeated in 1991.

Who was named MVP of the 1987 World Series?

Frank Viola won Games 1 and 7. Fans treated a 'Frankie Sweet Music Viola' banner, hung by one supporter whenever he pitched, as the team's good-luck charm.

The 1987 Twins won the World Series despite doing what in the regular season?

Being outscored by their opponents. They won only 29 road games all year and made up for it at home, where their 56-25 record was the best in the majors.

The Homer Hanky was created in 1987 by which organization?

The Star Tribune newspaper. Promotions staffer Terrie Robbins wanted the paper along for the playoff ride, so it printed thousands of white hankies and gave most of them away.

Which Twins slugger, raised in suburban Bloomington, hit a Game 6 grand slam in the 1987 World Series?

Kent Hrbek was drafted in the 17th round by his hometown team, never played for anyone else, and turned down bigger offers from three clubs to stay.

What was the Twins' first baseman accused of doing to Ron Gant in the 1991 Series?

Pulling him off the bag is how the Braves saw it, but umpire Drew Coble ruled that Gant's own momentum had carried him off the base, and the out stood.

What made the 1991 Twins-Braves World Series a first?

Both teams had finished last the previous season. Their Series went to a seventh game that stayed scoreless until the Twins won it 1-0 in the tenth inning.

Who hit the walk-off home run in the 11th inning of Game 6 of the 1991 World Series?

Kirby Puckett had already robbed Ron Gant with a leaping catch at the Plexiglas, then homered off Charlie Leibrandt, a starter pressed into relief, to force Game 7.

Which Twins pitcher threw a 10-inning shutout to win Game 7 of the 1991 World Series?

Jack Morris. His manager wanted to take him out after nine innings, but the 36-year-old refused, went back out for the 10th and won 1-0.

Whose bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th won Game 7 of the 1991 World Series?

Gene Larkin came off the bench as a pinch-hitter and lofted a single over the drawn-in outfield, bringing Dan Gladden home with the only run of the night.

The Twins' star center fielder woke one morning in 1996 blind in one eye and was diagnosed with which disease?

Glaucoma. Three surgeries could not bring back the sight in his right eye, and he retired that July at 36 without playing another game.

In one 1990 game, the Twins became the only major league team ever to do what?

Turn two triple plays. Both went third to second to first, started by Gary Gaetti, and the Twins still lost 1-0 at Fenway Park.

Which pitcher won the Twins' first Cy Young Award, in 1970?

Jim Perry went 24-12 that year, and when younger brother Gaylord won the same award two years later they became the first brothers to each win a Cy Young.

Before the 2002 season the Twins were nearly eliminated from the majors through what process?

Contraction. Owners voted 28-2 to fold two clubs, but a court order made the Twins honor their stadium lease, and the team answered by winning its division.

In 2006 White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén gave the pesky Twins what nickname?

Little piranhas. Guillén meant the speedsters who beat him with bloopers and infield hits, and the Twins happily took up the name.

Which Twins first baseman won the American League MVP award in 2006?

Justin Morneau started the season slowly, then tore through June and July to finish at .321 with 130 RBI, and edged Derek Jeter in a close vote.

Through what mechanism did the Twins acquire Johan Santana in 1999?

The Rule 5 draft. Florida picked him out of Houston's system and at once swapped him to Minnesota for Jared Camp, whom the Twins had just drafted.

Johan Santana in 2006 was the first to lead the majors in ERA, strikeouts and wins since whom in 1985?

Dwight Gooden. Santana shared the wins lead with 19 and owed the rest to a changeup he had been sent to the minors to master in 2002.

Joe Mauer is the only catcher in major league history to do what?

Win three batting titles. He took the first in 2006, edging Derek Jeter in a race that went to the season's final day, and no American League catcher had won one before.

Joe Mauer, drafted first overall by the Twins in 2001, had committed to play football where?

Florida State signed him as a quarterback after he was named the national high school player of the year in football, but he won the same honor in baseball and turned pro.

What forced the Twins to move catcher Joe Mauer to first base after the 2013 season?

A concussion. A foul tip off his mask in August 2013 ended his season, and the Twins moved their star catcher to first base to keep him from another.

What nickname did the 2019 Twins earn while hitting a record 307 home runs?

Bomba Squad. Five different Twins reached 30 home runs, a first for any team, yet the 101-win club was swept out of the playoffs in three games.

In 2023 the Twins ended an 18-game postseason losing streak by beating which team?

Toronto Blue Jays. Royce Lewis homered in his first two at-bats and drove in every Twins run in Game 1, and the two-game sweep was the club's first series win since 2002.

The Twins' mascot T.C. was loosely modeled on which advertising character?

The Hamm's Beer bear. The Minnesota brewery paid for the Twins' announcers in the team's early years, and its cartoon bear had long starred in the beer's TV commercials.

What did the Twins' César Tovar do in a single game in September 1968?

Played all nine positions. He started on the mound, struck out Reggie Jackson in a scoreless inning, then caught and worked his way around the infield and outfield.

Which longtime Twins pitcher won 16 straight Gold Gloves?

Jim Kaat won one every year from 1962 through 1977 and pitched for 25 seasons, yet he had to wait until 2022, at 83, for the Hall of Fame.

At the 2002 All-Star Game, Torii Hunter leapt at the wall to rob a home run from which hitter?

Barry Bonds playfully picked Hunter up as the teams changed sides, and the game itself ended in a 7-7 tie when both sides ran out of pitchers.

Paul Molitor's 3,000th hit, for the Twins in 1996, was what kind of hit?

A triple, the first ever for a 3,000th hit. Molitor was 40 and in his first year with his hometown team, and he still led the league with more than 200 hits.

Which Hall of Fame closer gave up Dave Winfield's 3,000th hit in 1993?

Dennis Eckersley gave up the single. Winfield, then 41, had once been drafted in three sports, including by the NFL's Vikings without ever playing college football.

When Carl Pohlad bought the Twins in 1984, he beat out a larger offer from which businessman?

Donald Trump put in the higher bid, but the club was sold to Carl Pohlad, a Minnesota banker who would keep it in the state.

Which event did the Twins' home ballpark host in 2014?

The MLB All-Star Game. It became Derek Jeter's farewell: in his last one he doubled and came home on a hit by Mike Trout, who was named the game's MVP.

Which Twins outfielder was drafted second overall in 2012, behind Carlos Correa?

Byron Buxton. A decade later Correa signed with Minnesota and the two shared a lineup, and in 2025 Buxton hit for the cycle on his own bobblehead day.

Which future closer came to the Twins from San Francisco in the 2003 A.J. Pierzynski trade?

Joe Nathan. The deal also brought Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser for one catcher, and Nathan went on to pass Rick Aguilera for the club's career saves record.

Who beat the Twins in the 2017 Wild Card Game?

New York Yankees. A year after losing 103 games, the Twins homered twice to lead 3-0 before the Yankees came to bat, then lost 8-4.

Which Twins infielder won the 2022 American League batting title?

Luis Arraez batted .316 to Aaron Judge's .311, which cost Judge, the league leader in home runs and RBI, the Triple Crown.

Whose statue was removed from Target Plaza in 2020 after the George Floyd protests?

Griffith, Clark Griffith's nephew and adopted son, had owned the team when it moved from Washington in 1961.

Who was the Twins' first public-address announcer, serving from 1961 until his death in 2005?

Bob Casey was known for bellowing that there was no smoking in the dome, and he once scolded fans pelting an ex-Twin: 'Please stop throwing things. This is an important game!'