A new team came to town in 1961.

Came to US and MN in 2001. Started Supporting all the local teams. MN teams were good and in contention in the early 2000s. The Twins went on a magical run beating the Moneyball Athletics with an even lower payroll, eventually losing to the WS winner. I fell in love with the Twins because of that magical run and because of players like Tori Hunter, Joe Nathan, Jacque Jones, Brad Radtke, etc. 

25 minutes ago, Hashim said:

Came to US and MN in 2001. Started Supporting all the local teams. MN teams were good and in contention in the early 2000s. The Twins went on a magical run beating the Moneyball Athletics with an even lower payroll, eventually losing to the WS winner. I fell in love with the Twins because of that magical run and because of players like Tori Hunter, Joe Nathan, Jacque Jones, Brad Radtke, etc. 

Those teams were SO much fun to watch! Thanks for reading and the feedback!

I grew up in northern New Jersey where an older brother decided he would not be a Yankee fan, but be a Twins fan (I think because his first live baseball game was at Yankee Stadium against the Twins).  We would both be up early in summer, and he’d be checking the standings in the newspaper and explaining things to me like what a “1/2 game behind” means—not at all obvious to ten-year old me.  I followed along and then realized how much every game mattered:  It was 1967 and even as a brand new fan, I was aware that I had stumbled into the still greatest pennant race in history.  

Of course I was disappointed in the result, losing out to Boston on the last day of the season, but, yeah, I was hooked and have remained a long distance fan.  (As for the brother, decades later he moved to New England and became a Red Sox fan who still cares for the Twins).  He wears a David Ortiz jersey, so there’s not much I can say…

I became a Minnesota Twins fan watching and playing baseball with my four older brothers on our farm in near Bath, South Dakota.  We would play a game called "Work Up" and my brothers would shout out the names of different Twins players who were now batting.    My fandom of the Twins increased playing Strat-o-matic baseball with my brother Warren, and now you could hold that individual player card (such as Carew or Oliva) in your hand and they would bat for you when you rolled the dice (still have the game with those 1973 teams.)  I became a Pittsburgh Pirates fan (my second favorite team at the time), especially of Willie Stargell, because of this game.  Stargell seemed to always crush it for me in Strat-o-matic baseball.  Growing up in South Dakota in the 1960s-70s, I don't ever remember watching the Minnesota Twins play on TV, but I do remember catching glimpses of my favorite Twins players on TWIB (This Week in Baseball) with Mel Allen.  In 1978, I went to my first Twins game at Met Stadium, a double-header against Cleveland and Twins jacket giveaway day (I still have mine.)   On our way to the game (mind you, my father did NOT like driving in the big city), I remember my dad kept missing our ramp to turn off to the stadium and it kind of reminds me now like that scene from European Vacation, where the Griswold family gets trapped in that roundabout and keeps passing by Big Ben.  As a result, we missed the first inning or so of game one.  In the 80s, rarely would the Twins be on TV (no cable, only two networks and the game of the week), but now I would listen on the radio.  Sometimes I would go into town (nearby Aberdeen) and I might catch a Twins game on MSC (Midwest Sports Channel) at the friend's house who had cable TV.  I remember my first game at the Dome (1984?), going with my friend Lyle and his family, and seeing Minnesota play the Royals with the great George Brett.  Many more Dome games would follow.  I shared a 20 game season ticket package with my friend John at Target Field from 2010 - 2014, we went to the opener together.  Two tickets in the cheapest seats for twenty games.  He had been a Twins season ticket holder since 1999, and wanted someone to share the cost with until Minnesota hosted an all star game, which he knew Target Field would one day soon.  After John checked the all star game off his bucket list, I took over his account and still have it today, although I resell many of the tickets.    I used to take each of my daughters to their own game when they were younger, usually a Sunday game where they could get some free autographs and run the bases afterwards.  A date night game with the Mrs. too.  Now that the girls are older, we still try to go to one game together each year as a family, I usually have my girls pick one with a good giveaway or special event going on.  We'll be there on Friday, August 18, on Star Wars Night, when there will be a postgame drone show, in place of the usual Friday fireworks.  I just realized that I am now in my fifth decade as a fan of the Minnesota Twins.  How about that?  Go Twins!

Oliva cup to drink from routinely as a 4-5 year old. “Tony O!”

My older sister was the Pillsbury’s nanny/cook for a couple years while at the U …….we got their tickets a few rows behind the Twins dugout a couple times. Jim Kaat playing catch 30-40 feet away in front of the dugout  -  I was hooked!

Started playing baseball in summer of ‘70.

Twins were good ‘69 & ‘70.

Kaat - Peranoski - Perry - Blyleven 

Tovar - Carew - Cardenas - Oliva - Killebrew

Great days!!

Brothers were both into the game and were 14 & 15 years older than me so they were a big influence out in the yard. My Dad knew more baseball history than most, so that was fun as well.

Was a passive fan from birth-mid 2000's, the 2006 team captivated me and the 2009 team cemented to the fan I am now.  September 2009 was amazing

14 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

A new team came to town in 1961.

This is a great way to become a fan!

11 hours ago, Longdistancetwins said:

I grew up in northern New Jersey where an older brother decided he would not be a Yankee fan, but be a Twins fan (I think because his first live baseball game was at Yankee Stadium against the Twins).  We would both be up early in summer, and he’d be checking the standings in the newspaper and explaining things to me like what a “1/2 game behind” means—not at all obvious to ten-year old me.  I followed along and then realized how much every game mattered:  It was 1967 and even as a brand new fan, I was aware that I had stumbled into the still greatest pennant race in history.  

Of course I was disappointed in the result, losing out to Boston on the last day of the season, but, yeah, I was hooked and have remained a long distance fan.  (As for the brother, decades later he moved to New England and became a Red Sox fan who still cares for the Twins).  He wears a David Ortiz jersey, so there’s not much I can say…

 

Long distance fans are great! Getting to see Ortiz win is a plus plus. You see a former Twin win and the Red Sox finally ended the drought. 

9 minutes ago, Puckett34 said:

Was a passive fan from birth-mid 2000's, the 2006 team captivated me and the 2009 team cemented to the fan I am now.  September 2009 was amazing

The 2006 team is the best team to never make the World Series. 09 was SO much fun. 

11 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Oliva cup to drink from routinely as a 4-5 year old. “Tony O!”

My older sister was the Pillsbury’s nanny/cook for a couple years while at the U …….we got their tickets a few rows behind the Twins dugout a couple times. Jim Kaat playing catch 30-40 feet away in front of the dugout  -  I was hooked!

Started playing baseball in summer of ‘70.

Twins were good ‘69 & ‘70.

Kaat - Peranoski - Perry - Blyleven 

Tovar - Carew - Cardenas - Oliva - Killebrew

Great days!!

Brothers were both into the game and were 14 & 15 years older than me so they were a big influence out in the yard. My Dad knew more baseball history than most, so that was fun as well.

Getting to experience baseball as a kid, I think, is unbelievable and awesome. It creates magical memories you carry with you for life. 

29 minutes ago, nclahammer said:

I became a Minnesota Twins fan watching and playing baseball with my four older brothers on our farm in near Bath, South Dakota.  We would play a game called "Work Up" and my brothers would shout out the names of different Twins players who were now batting.    My fandom of the Twins increased playing Strat-o-matic baseball with my brother Warren, and now you could hold that individiual player (such as Carew or Oliva) in your hand and they would bat for you when you rolled the dice (still have the game with those 1973 teams.)  I became a Pittsburgh Pirates fan (my second favorite team at the time), especially of Willie Stargell, because of this game.  Stargell seemed to always crush it for me in Strat-o-matic baseball.  Growing up in South Dakota in the 1960s-70s, I don't ever remember watching the Minnesota Twins play on TV, but I do remember catching glimpses of my favorite Twins players on TWIB (This Week in Baseball) with Mel Allen.  In 1978, I went to my first Twins game at Met Stadium, a double-header against Cleveland and Twins jacket giveaway day (I still have mine.)   On our way to the game (mind you, my father did NOT like driving in the big city), I remember my dad kept missing our ramp to turn off to the stadium and it kind of reminds me now like that scene from European Vacation, where the Griswold family gets trapped in that roundabout and keeps passing by Big Ben.  As a result, we missed the first inning or so of game one.  In the 80s, rarely would the Twins be on TV (no cable, only two networks and the game of the week), but now I would listen on the radio.  Sometimes I would go into town (nearby Aberdeen) and I might catch a Twins game on MSC (Midwest Sports Channel) at the friend's house who had cable TV.  I remember my first game at the Dome (1984?), going with my friend Lyle and his family, and seeing Minnesota play the Royals with the great George Brett.  Many more Dome games would follow.  I shared a 20 game season ticket package with my friend John at Target Field from 2010 - 2014, we went to the opener together.  Two tickets in the cheapest seats for twenty games.  He had been a Twins season ticket holder since 1999, and wanted someone to share the cost with until Minnesota hosted an all star game, which he knew Target Field would one day soon.  After John checked the all star game off his bucket list, I took over his account and still have it today, although I resell many of the tickets.    I used to take each of my daughters to their own game when they were younger, usually a Sunday game where they could get some free autographs and run the bases afterwards.  A date night game with the Mrs. too.  Now that the girls are older, we still try to go to one game together each year as a family, I usually have my girls pick one with a good giveaway or special event going on.  We'll be there on Friday, August 18, on Star Wars Night, when there will be a postgame drone show, in place of the usual Friday fireworks.  I just realized that I am now in my fifth decade as a fan of the Minnesota Twins.  How about that?  Go Twins!

Neil,

Your fandom story is awesome. Incredibly relatable and very detailed. Really enjoy talking baseball with you and reading your comments! 

Born in Washington D C. first part of my life remember watching and going to games before they moved to Minnesota. Following Killebrew, Versalalles, Allison, Lemon, Pasquel and Kaat as a kid then them adding Olivia, Carew etc.. built my life long favorite team. It was so great that so many players at that time stayed with the same team for long time. Wish for more World Series and that Kofax was hurt during that World Series but a great follow.

I was 13 years old when the Twins came to town and I was already wise enough to know that my life was going too well; that I needed to balance things out with frustration, disappointment and aggravation. So I immediately became a Twins fan. Been happy every since.

52 minutes ago, Frayne said:

Born in Washington D C. first part of my life remember watching and going to games before they moved to Minnesota. Following Killebrew, Versalalles, Allison, Lemon, Pasquel and Kaat as a kid then them adding Olivia, Carew etc.. built my life long favorite team. It was so great that so many players at that time stayed with the same team for long time. Wish for more World Series and that Kofax was hurt during that World Series but a great follow.

 

I wish players stayed with teams longer than they do. 

39 minutes ago, Dave The Dastardly said:

I was 13 years old when the Twins came to town and I was already wise enough to know that my life was going too well; that I needed to balance things out with frustration, disappointment and aggravation. So I immediately became a Twins fan. Been happy every since.

 

 

This is the best answer. 

This is a great thread! So, many here may know my story, but I feel I am sort of a 'unique' Twins fan.

I live in Rochester, NY. I am 75 years old and have been a baseball fan since the late 50's. The Red Wings were affiliated with the Cardinals back then (1929-1960) and many stars filed thru Red Wing Stadium. I watched Bob Gibson pitch here...too young to see Stan Musial do his short stint as a Wing!) The relationship strained and in 1961 the Wings changed affiliates to the Baltimore Orioles, and stayed with them until 2002. Thru those years the O's gave us many all-stars, and some HOFers. Cal Ripken won rookie of the year award in 1981 and also played in the longest professional game on record...a 33 inning affair against Pawtucket. (Wade Boggs played in that one too, for the Pawsox). We watched Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, Al Bumbry, Paul Blair, 'Blade' Belanger, Jim Palmer, Moby Mike Epstein, and a host of others. I was a tried and true O's fan as were many in Rochester over those 4 decades.

But by 2002, the organization was in shambles and it was Rochester who asked for the divorce! And it was Minnesota who answered the call. An agreement was finalized and in 2003 the Twins became our daddy! Yes, it was very hard breaking away from the Orioles, but it was time. While Minnesota never developed the following the Orioles had here, they did win over many, including myself. They provided us with some pretty decent talent along the way and the relationship was a good one. Little by little I started following the Twins more because I was interested in seeing our young talent graduate. I didn't like that I now had two 'favorite' teams in the American League and when they played each other, I didn't know who to cheer for. All I knew is one of my favorites would win (and one would lose)

I grew to like the Twins. And in 2004 I lost my most favorite team, the Expos. I lived in Montreal, as a student when they were born and they became my favorite National League team. When the season was cancelled in 1994, the Expos were the best team in baseball. I will never forgive Bud Selig for being such a pansy, and it killed baseball in Montreal. In fact as many will recall, there was talk of contracting both the Expos and Twins. Selig should NOT be in the HOF. In fact he should head up the Hall of Shame as a charter member.

As cable became a thing, eventually I was able to watch more Twins games. After COVID, MLB put the hammer down on minor league baseball. And high on the list of 'you shoulds' is that every major league team should aggressively strive to get their top affiliates close to home. So while it was sad for me to part ways with the Twins, it made sense for them to move their AAA affiliate to St. Paul. Still, today I watch both Twins and O's nightly, often switching back and forth. (crazy that both lead their divisions!) As for the Red Wings new parent, the only team left was Washington. On principle, since they should still be the Expos, I can't stand them. I don't cheer for them. Our city couldn't care less about them. this year they have given us some talent...decent hitting and zero pitching..and I still have season tix for their games, because I love baseball. I have no favorite team in the NL anymore.

In the meantime, I will continue to hope both my AL teams win their divisions. If they face each other in post season, may the best team win. Neither team has won it all in many years. So they are certainly due!

Thats my story

My father liked baseball, still had his glove when he played little town ball in the town, general store and creamery, he grew up in.  (towns of less than 100 people used to be common  in Central Minn).

He spoke about baseball, so I heard of big names long before the Twins came to town.

My friend and I walked down town to the theater to watch Safe at Home so I was a Mickey Mantle fan before I knew any Twins names but in the fall of 1962 Lenny Green was at a dinner at out church and I shook his hand.

I was already a baseball fan but after than I was huge Twins fan and still am.

I was born in richfield, mn, just across the freeway from Met stadium.  At night you could stand in our back yard and see the lights from the Met and even hear the PA announcer.  My dad died when I was six and my brother took over as head of the household.  He was all-city and state in baseball and hockey.  Needless to say, his love of sports interested me.  We went to many games at Met stadium.  Our church was responsible for sweeping and cleaning up the litter at Met stadium.  

So as you can seen I had a very direct connection with the Twins and Met Stadium.  My uncle was an  apartment manager in Bloomington.  Many of the Twins players lived there, during the season, or even year round.  I met many of them as they would come and go from their apartments.

3 hours ago, insagt1 said:

This is a great thread! So, many here may know my story, but I feel I am sort of a 'unique' Twins fan.

I live in Rochester, NY. I am 75 years old and have been a baseball fan since the late 50's. The Red Wings were affiliated with the Cardinals back then (1929-1960) and many stars filed thru Red Wing Stadium. I watched Bob Gibson pitch here...too young to see Stan Musial do his short stint as a Wing!) The relationship strained and in 1961 the Wings changed affiliates to the Baltimore Orioles, and stayed with them until 2002. Thru those years the O's gave us many all-stars, and some HOFers. Cal Ripken won rookie of the year award in 1981 and also played in the longest professional game on record...a 33 inning affair against Pawtucket. (Wade Boggs played in that one too, for the Pawsox). We watched Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, Al Bumbry, Paul Blair, 'Blade' Belanger, Jim Palmer, Moby Mike Epstein, and a host of others. I was a tried and true O's fan as were many in Rochester over those 4 decades.

But by 2002, the organization was in shambles and it was Rochester who asked for the divorce! And it was Minnesota who answered the call. An agreement was finalized and in 2003 the Twins became our daddy! Yes, it was very hard breaking away from the Orioles, but it was time. While Minnesota never developed the following the Orioles had here, they did win over many, including myself. They provided us with some pretty decent talent along the way and the relationship was a good one. Little by little I started following the Twins more because I was interested in seeing our young talent graduate. I didn't like that I now had two 'favorite' teams in the American League and when they played each other, I didn't know who to cheer for. All I knew is one of my favorites would win (and one would lose)

I grew to like the Twins. And in 2004 I lost my most favorite team, the Expos. I lived in Montreal, as a student when they were born and they became my favorite National League team. When the season was cancelled in 1994, the Expos were the best team in baseball. I will never forgive Bud Selig for being such a pansy, and it killed baseball in Montreal. In fact as many will recall, there was talk of contracting both the Expos and Twins. Selig should NOT be in the HOF. In fact he should head up the Hall of Shame as a charter member.

As cable became a thing, eventually I was able to watch more Twins games. After COVID, MLB put the hammer down on minor league baseball. And high on the list of 'you shoulds' is that every major league team should aggressively strive to get their top affiliates close to home. So while it was sad for me to part ways with the Twins, it made sense for them to move their AAA affiliate to St. Paul. Still, today I watch both Twins and O's nightly, often switching back and forth. (crazy that both lead their divisions!) As for the Red Wings new parent, the only team left was Washington. On principle, since they should still be the Expos, I can't stand them. I don't cheer for them. Our city couldn't care less about them. this year they have given us some talent...decent hitting and zero pitching..and I still have season tix for their games, because I love baseball. I have no favorite team in the NL anymore.

In the meantime, I will continue to hope both my AL teams win their divisions. If they face each other in post season, may the best team win. Neither team has won it all in many years. So they are certainly due!

Thats my story

This is fantastic! Thank-you for reading sharing and it's easy to see you're a diehard Twins and baseball fan!

2 hours ago, RpR said:

My father liked baseball, still had his glove when he played little town ball in the town, general store and creamery, he grew up in.  (towns of less than 100 people used to be common  in Central Minn).

He spoke about baseball, so I heard of big names long before the Twins came to town.

My friend and I walked down town to the theater to watch Safe at Home so I was a Mickey Mantle fan before I knew any Twins names but in the fall of 1962 Lenny Green was at a dinner at out church and I shook his hand.

I was laready a baseball fan but after than I was huge Twins fan and still am.

Lenny Green is a great name drop! I was so sad to hear that he had passed away a few years ago! Such a kind man and great player. 

2 hours ago, RickOShea said:

I was born in richfield, mn, just across the freeway from Met stadium.  At night you could stand in our back yard and see the lights from the Met and even hear the PA announcer.  My dad died when I was six and my brother took over as head of the household.  He was all-city and state in baseball and hockey.  Needless to say, his love of sports interested me.  We went to many games at Met stadium.  Our church was responsible for sweeping and cleaning up the litter at Met stadium.  

So as you can seen I had a very direct connection with the Twins and Met Stadium.  My uncle was an  apartment manager in Bloomington.  Many of the Twins players lived there, during the season, or even year round.  I met many of them as they would come and go from their apartments.

This is a very unique and intimate look at a different type of Twins fan! It's very fascinating! You should share some stories of the players you've met. 

My dad was a high school sports star who lettered in 3 sports, and as his first-born son I benefitted from his sports enthusiasm. In 1961 I was 6 years old , always at my dad's side, and the radio was always turned to the Twins game. Then in the Fall of 1965, I was in 5th grade when my friend's mom showed up at school to take him out of class  to go to a WORLD SERIES GAME! Oh, was I jealous! It made me even more aware of what a big deal baseball was. And there was no shortage of Twins heros in the late 60's.  Those first few years were collectively my first impression of Minnesota Twins baseball, and it was good enough, strong enough, to last 50+ years through thick and thin. 

I grew up in Buffalo. Half the kids were Yankees fans, the other half just picked the winning teams. My grandmother was in Minnesota and sent me a pennant, tee shirt, and poster. I looked in the newspaper and saw names like Killebrew, Carew, Olivia... And they happened to be in the playoffs against the O's. Nobody else liked the Twins. They've been mine every since. Through the crappy Cal Griffen years. I felt so vindicated when they won it all in 87. 

I'm from Iowa and my brothers were 8-10 yrs old when the Twins began in 1961 and became big fans.  I was born in 1961 and followed their footsteps.  The Rec Dept would take a van load of locals to MSP each summer for a game and I started getting to the games that way starting in 1970.  We'd also tune into Halsey Hall each night in the summer.