Life Long Twins Fan

[LifeLongTwinsfan]

Life Long Twins fan here!

How long have you all been a fan?

who are your favorite players?

Favorite team?

Fan since the late 60's

 

Always was partial to Rod Carew

1987 for sure!

[scottz]

Willie Norwood, Hosken Powell, Roy Smalley, Gary Ward, Rob Wilfong, Mike Cubbage, John Butcher, Ron Jackson, Lenny Faedo, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Greg Gagne, Kirby Puckett, Frank Viola, Shane Mack, (the dark years), AJ Pierzynski, Torii Hunter, Brad Radke, Johan Santana, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Denard Span, Eduardo Escobar, Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, Jose Berrios, and the great Jorge Polanco.

[MMMordabito]

I'll bite, but this could get moved to the "get to know thread."

 

I've been a "real" Twins fan since 1999 when I moved to Minnesota.  However, I really started following MLB in 1987.  My grandfather was always a baseball fan. He loved the Yankees.   That influence coupled with the intrigue of helping my cousin sort all his wood-grained border 1987 Topps baseball cards got me hooked. Well, guess who won the World Series that year.  Now my cousin lived in St. Louis (guess who he was rooting for) and his prized baseball cards were his 87 Mark McGwires and Jose Cansecos (the Canseco had a little trophy on it).  I actually started following Oakland (living in Iowa, you could choose whoever you wanted).  I picked the right time to follow them.  1991 was the first time they didn't make it to the World Series after I started following them.  Well, guess who did.

 

Then Joe Carter, Jack Morris, Paul Molitor and the Blue Jays became the toast of the town in the AL.  Jose Canseco got traded to the Ranger and had a ball bounce off his head.  The strike/lockout/cancelled World Series occurred. Dave Stewart and Mike Moore left.  Mark McGwire got hurt.  Baseball lost its luster for a couple years for me.

 

In 1997-1998, Livan Hernandez in the Series, the Sosa/McGwire chase and a roommate that did nothing but lay on the couch watching big four sports got me back into it.

 

I moved to Minnesota in '99 and decided to follow the Twins from that point. So, even though I got to enjoy both the '87 and '91 series as a neutral fan, I didn't get to have that feeling of the team I followed winning it all.  I did get that in '89, but it was interrupted by the earthquake and that kind of put a damper on it with all the terrible news stories.

 

My favorite player was Johan Santana and now it's Jose Berrios (please sign him long term!).

 

2006 was my favorite year so far. Always ready for it to be surpassed though. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Powell, Norwood, Disco Dan Ford were the first players I remember, even though I was old enough to see Hisle and Bostock and should have remembered them instead, those other guys for some reason left an impression on me.

 

Tony O and Harmon were just out memory, unfortunately, but I like reading stories about them.

[JAWS33]

I've been a fan since the early 70's

 

Harmon, Kirby, Hrbek, Morneau

 

Favorite team, 1987. Not even close.  They seem like regular guys that you would love to have a beer with.  Plus my first child was born during game 5 against Detroit when they wrapped up the AL pennant.  Great day and great memory.

[Cornholio]

Moved to Bloomington in 1964, age 6. Al Worthington, Jerry Zimmerman, Oliva’s rookie year, Camilo, Mudcat,Kaat. Been hooked ever since.

[Channing1964]

Cool. My first game was my 6th birthday party in 1970. It was organized by my mom. I was allowed to invite 5 friends from my kindergarten class to go to Met Stadium and watch the Twins play the Senators. I was soon in love with baseball and especially the Twins. My favorite players to start were Tovar, Carew, Jim Perry, and Jim Nettles. Later on when I started little league Carew kind of took over as i was a second baseman. Throughout my youth I used to love Carew, Hisle, Mike Marshall, Dave Goltz, Lyman Bostock, Wynegar, Smalley, Castino, even Ken Landreaux. Moving away from home i wasnt as close to the 87 team as I wished but of course Puckett and Hrbek were my favorites. For 91 I WAS HOME. WHAT A GREAT TEAM IT WAS.... i was intrigued by the facts that in 88, and 92 i thought we had better teams but couldn't even make the playoffs. I was in California for all the contraction talk and picked up my love for the Twins forever. I could not listen to or watch an A's or Giant's game without missing my Twins.... I've seen em play in Oakland, Anaheim, Phoenix, Seattle, and in May of 2010 spent 10 days back home seeing Target Field for the first time. Texas and the A's were the opponents. I've always liked Cuddyer, Hunter, Nathan, Santana, and my all time favorite is Mauer. I have a soft spot for Escobar(because of the hilarious name your teammate videos) but I can see him any time as i now work in guest relations at Chase Field. My favorite team...wow..right now 2019...ever...2006. The way they fought all year going 70-30 to win the division on the last day was unbelievable. wow!

[goulik]

I didn't pay much attention to baseball until 1986. A friend of mine introduced me to Kirby Puckett via the star tribune and reading his stats on a daily basis. By game one of the 87 season I was so hooked. I began listening on the radio most days catching some games on tv and I went to my first game at the thunder dome (nose bleed seats to be sure). I only missed 3 games all season in 1987, games 3, 4, and 5 of the world series. I was in college and had evening classes during the week. Been a Twins geek ever since.

[bunt_vs_the_shift]

My dad took me to my first game at the Dome in 1986 when I was in 3rd grade. We were driving up from Duluth and he got a speeding ticket, so we were late. I'm pretty sure they got crushed, but I remember that Ron Washington hit a home run and between that and "Walks will Haunt" on the jumbotron, I thought it was the greatest thing I've ever seen. The next year I was all in on the Twins and I listened to almost every game on the radio before I went to bed (didn't have cable, so I got to listen to Herb Carneal and Gordo). 

 

So, as a 10 year old, my first emotionally invested season as a Twins fan, we won the World Series. I thought it was going to happen every year after that, but sadly I had to wait 4 more long years for their next championship... it's depressing that it's been 28 years since. 

 

 

Aside from Kirby, I always liked Gladden for his scrappiness, Hrbek as the steady big guy and Viola, Berenguer and Scott Erickson for their style on the mound. 

 

 

 

[Channing1964]

I know my post got a little long winded earlier but the more I reminisce the more i cant leave out a few names that some of you may remember. Jerry Koosman...I never knew he was a native Minnesotan until he came back home to play. On that note, Geoff Zahn, Craig Kusick, Gary Ward. One that gets too often overlooked, Greg Gagne. Shane Mack, Chili Davis(whom I believe is still a major league hitting coach somewhere) Brian Harper, how about Al Newman. I could never forget Brad Radke, Jacques Jones, and Matt Lawton(remember Torii's Soul Patrol outfield?) how about Christian Guzman? Corey Koskie....those 2000-2002 teams had such a great Heart!

[Devereaux]

Twins came into focus for me around 1967-1968. Favorite Twins are Puckett (by a long shot), Oliva (first favorite), Killebrew, Hrbek, Hunter.

 

Favorite year was 1991. I liked the weirdly calm 1987 team, but I feel they got a bit lucky to face the Cards without Jack Clark; where the 1991 team had the win streak, a better line up, won more than the bash brother A's and then beat a great Braves team in the World Series.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

My first game was in 1985 and Kirby Puckett hooked me. 1987 captured me for like.

 

2019, Eddie Rosario reminds me of Puckett back then. The charm, swagger, and swing at anything but it somehow works resonates. 

[Riverbrian]

I believe I was a Twins Fan before I was born.

 

Rod Carew has always been my favorite player. I was 14 when he was traded to the Angels and I could barely look at Brad Havens, Ken Landreaux and Dave Engle because of their association with the departure. I later learned to forgive them. 

 

Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett would be 2 and 3 and not necessarily in that order. And I'd like to add Herb Carneal to this list as an honorary mention. 

 

1987 was my favorite team. You always remember your first time.