Hello, fellow humans! My name is William Malone IV. Son of William Malone III. And I come with great news! The baseball season has finally arrived. These games count, and it is glorious.

A new season comes with new player. The Minnesota Twins have added wonderful players such as Harrison Bader and Ty France. They both impressed in their regular season debuts for the team, although in a losing effort. Sadly, roster space is not unlimited. New players means you need to say goodbye to others. Which can be sad.

The great Max Kepler went 1-for-3 with a double and two walks in his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. A fantastic performance, helping fuel them to a 7-3 win against the Washington Nationals. This should come as no surprise to fans of the Twins, for they saw Kepler unleash countless games of brilliance during his time in the Twin Cities. This includes 11 walk-off plate appearances, which ties him with Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett for the most in club history.

The amazing ability for Kepler to perform in the clutch went well beyond walk-off hits. Even in some of the games where he delivered a walk-off, Minnesota only found themselves in that position because Kepler had put the team on his back earlier. Let’s take a look at some of these unbelievable outings by our favorite German outfielder.

June 18, 2019 - Some might call this one of the greatest bench performances in Twins history! Max Kepler did not start on June 18, 2019 against the Boston Red Sox. But he certainly finished, delivering a walk-off single in the 17th inning.

It seemed like this marathon game was only destined to go 13 innings. Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 13th. But a game is never over when you have Kepler on your team! He came off the bench, and tied things up with a solo home run of his own. This helped extend the game, eventually leading to the 17th inning walk-off heroics.

September 22, 2020 - All of the desperate Twins haters were celebrating in late-September of 2020. It seems like Minnesota was not going to defend their AL Central crown. They trailed the Chicago White Sox in a tight division race. But these haters did not account for the brilliance of Max Kepler, and his ability to put a team on his back in a playoff race.

Kepler hit a walk-off single against the Detroit Tigers on September 22, 2020. But this never would have happened if he didn’t hit a game tying home run in the eighth inning.

June 14, 2024 vs Oakland Athletics - Fans of the Twins might remember that Max Kepler had a walk-off single against the Oakland Athletics on June 14, 2024. They were foolish to intentionally walk Carlos Correa with Mr. Clutch himself in the on-deck circle. But what you might forget is the three run homer Kepler launched in the sixth inning.

Minnesota was trailing 4-1 after five innings. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay, known for his long leash with starting pitchers, could’ve called it a day for rookie right hander Mitch Spence. But they left him in, and Kepler took advantage of this disastrous mistake. He wound up hitting a three run homer against Spence in the sixth inning, tying the game at four.