Zach Koenig

Much like the Definitive Greatest Twins poll series from last offseason, championship hardware holds a lot of sway even in the intangibles. To date, Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly has brought the only Commissioner’s Trophies to MN—and he did it twice (1987 & 1991). His dogged persistence in defensive fundamentals, pitching, and platooning transformed the organization in the mid-1980s through the 1990s.

Yesterday, millions of Americans enjoyed a hopefully-delicious Thanksgiving meal (quickly napped-off during the Cooper Rush vs Drew Lock Cowboys/Giants game). Today, those same folks will elbow each other out of the way in pursuit of stocking stuffers and Santa sundries. Thankfulness overlapping with greed—the American way.

Twenty years ago, the HHH Metrodome would never have sniffed top three in this poll. Twenty years from now, there’s a good chance it won’t either. But us 30-and-40-somethings remember the Dome not as a dump with bad sightlines, but as the place where baseball magic came alive. It was where Kirby, Hrbie, Torii, Dougie, Mornie, Johan & Joe all thrilled us while we scarfed Dome Dogs, waved Hankies, and whooshed out the door afterwards. Like dial-up Internet & video rental stories, these are memories that generations before and after cannot comprehend.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen how the 2011-2014 disaster removed one Twins manager, hired another, and brought a legend back into the 2015 fold hoping for any kind of spark. The mood quite literally could not have been more different ten years prior.

Can one game cement an entire regional legacy? When it happens to be a 10-inning shutout in Game 7 of the World Series, the answer is a resounding “yes”! Despite spending just one year in Minnesota Twins pinstripes, Jack Morris made the most of it and delivered that astounding performance to cap off perhaps the most dramatic Fall Classic ever played.

When it comes to Major League Baseball rule changes, I consider myself firmly in the progressive camp (the Bernie Sanders wing, if you will). I am, at very least, open to any idea that improves the on-field product or popularity.

Never underestimate the power of an earworm jingle. Whether welcoming the new ball club to Minnesota in 1961 or powering them to their first championship in 1987, the Win Twins theme has been ever-present for Minnesota Twins fans.

A few weeks ago, I unearthed the earliest collegiate writings—like prehistoric paintings on a cave wall—of a burgeoning baseball scribe. After that championship comparison hubris, the next baseball-related installment of the U of M-Morris Register featured a somber tone—that following the March 2005 passing of legendary Twins public address announcer Bob Casey.

Longtime Minnesota Twins radio mainstay Herb Carneal kicked off the top five slots on this list. As we move into the top ten, similarly longtime TV play-by-play man Dick Bremer nabs the beginning spot of the “next five”. From 1983-2023, Bremer was the voice of Twins television. His booming baritone professed Puckett & Hrbek—Hunter & Mientkiewicz—Mauer & Morneau—Buxton & Lewis. His hometown roots—MN born and raised—endeared him to local denizens in ways even Carneal couldn’t quite reach. The Duke abides.

This is the time of year when baseball is pretty dead. Other than Rob Manfred throwing out random suggestions, executives are shut down for the holidays, the NFL is full-bore, and fans are just trying to enjoy two Wednesday holidays (yuck). So, it seems as good a time as any for a “personal side quest” post.