Article: Guy Who Remembers the 1999 Twins Feels Bad for the Orioles

[RandBalls Stu]

Tad Krumrie was a Twins season ticket holder in 1999. He doesn’t remember it fondly.“It was pretty grim. Beautiful summer day outside, and I’d go to the Metrodome, sit in a seat that faced the visitor’s bullpen with maybe 3,000 other disinterested people, and watch Midre Cummings and Cleatus Davidson fail. Never had a problem getting a drink at Hubert’s, though. That was nice.”

 

After last weekend’s Baltimore series, and in anticipation of this weekend’s rematch at Target Field, Krumrie is haunted by a familiar feeling.

 

“I watched the second game of that doubleheader. Man. As fun as it was to watch the Twins hit home run after home run, the game brought a lot of bad memories back.

 

“That’s when I realized the Orioles are the 1999 Minnesota Twins. No one deserves that.”

 

Krumrie urged fellow fans to have sympathy for anyone wearing Orioles gear this weekend.

 

“This is rock bottom for them. They have to sit there in their Cal Ripken jerseys and watch Alex Cobb and Cedric Mullins. You’ll be tempted to laugh, but you weren’t at the game Gary Rath started in 1999. I was. I maintain that he was a bus driver who just happened to be in town, Joe Mays got the flu, and Benj Sampson locked himself in a bathroom. I’m still looking for answers.”

 

The chance of cold rain or even measurable snow this weekend only reinforced Krumrie’s empathy.

 

“Their highest-paid player (Chris Davis) spent the first two weeks looking like Richie Tenenbaum,” said the Richfield native. “Now imagine watching him struggle while snow hits you and him in the face sideways. Say what you will about the Dome, you were at a climate-controlled 72 degrees while Javier Valentin disappointed you.”

 

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[BobAzar]

"Beautiful summer day outside, and I’d go to the Metrodome, sit in a seat that faced the visitor’s bullpen"

 

*chef's kiss*

 

I have a seat from the metrodome in my house, its in a room with all my Twins memorabilia. It is set up at a 45 degree to anything of interest, out of respect for its history.  

 

[goulik]

 

I have a seat from the metrodome in my house, its in a room with all my Twins memorabilia. It is set up at a 45 degree to anything of interest, out of respect for its history.  

 I literally laughed out loud while my students are taking a Math test. Now I feel guilty and will get back to my work email...

[USAFChief]

David Ortiz called, he wants to know "how come that hack Randball does a piece on the 99 Twins and I cant even get a mention??"

[theBOMisthebomb]

No fan of Minnesota men's professional sports teams should ever feel sorry for any other fan base. We have suffered almost 30 years without one of our 4 major teams even making a championship series, let alone winning a title. Go Twins, Vikings, Wolves, and Wild!

[beckmt]

Should not feel bad for Baltimore, you have forgotten the season when the Oriles started with like 20 straight losses and got their manager fired.  It did not get a lot better that year.  Think of how Cal Ripen felt that year and the manager fired was his dad.  

[BobAzar]

 

 I literally laughed out loud while my students are taking a Math test. Now I feel guilty and will get back to my work email...

 

 

I apologize to your students for disrupting their exam.

[Doomtints]

(The Twins could have started an AAA pitcher in the second game instead of Stewart a couple of days ago, saving the MLB pitcher for the tougher series coming up.)

[spanman2]

If memory serves me correctly didn't WCCO sponsor Upper Deck season ticket packages back then for $83 full season package?  Poor TK having to manage those rosters.  No manager should have to do that at the big league level.

[jkcarew]

I would think Baltimore fans would be very happy if this year's Orioles were the equivalent of the 1999 Twins team. Appearing on that club...all age 26 or younger...

Doug Mientkiewicz, Christian Guzman, Corey Koskie, Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, A.J. Pierzynski, Brad Radke, Eric Milton, LaTroy Hawkins...(and the guy that couldn't make it, David Ortiz.)

 

Give me 97 losses to watch, watching young players with talent, instead of 80-85 watching guys that will never contribute to a legitimately good team. Every. Time.

It's always darkest before the dawn.

[bunt_vs_the_shift]

Are we going to gloss over 2011-2013 and pretend that never happened? Kevin Correia, Jason Marquis and Clete Thomas beg to differ... I'm not ready to talk about 2016 (too soon)

[twinsfanstreif]

Hey, Gary Rath struck out somebody, that's something!

[gil4]

 

Hey, Gary Rath struck out somebody, that's something!

I don't remember Gary Rath. Gary Richrath I remember (he could play some guitar when they let him) (and when he was sober), but not Gary Rath.  

[gil4]

 

David Ortiz called, he wants to know "how come that hack Randball does a piece on the 99 Twins and I cant even get a mention??"

 

He had 25 PA, 20 AB, and 0 hits that year. That absolutely should have earned him a mention. 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Are we going to gloss over 2011-2013 and pretend that never happened? Kevin Correia, Jason Marquis and Clete Thomas beg to differ... I'm not ready to talk about 2016 (too soon)

2011-13 was real dark, but nothing like 1993-99 and culminating in 2001. There’s no comparison to Carl Pohlad actively campaigning to contract the team you love.

[TFRazor]

 

 

 

I have a seat from the metrodome in my house, its in a room with all my Twins memorabilia. It is set up at a 45 degree to anything of interest, out of respect for its history.  

 

This killed me. Bravo!

[Brock Beauchamp]

"Say what you will about the Dome, you were at a climate-controlled 72 degrees while Javier Valentin disappointed you.”

 

Priceless. Pure perfection.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Fun article, although worth noting the Orioles are on another level of bad-ness. The 1999 Twins only lost 97 games. And that was arguably the low point (on-field) of the 1993-2000 era (we also lost a prorated 98 games in the strike-shortened 1995 season).

 

The Orioles went 45-117 last year -- and they started the season actually trying to win! Fangraphs projected them for 75.5 wins before the 2018 season, basically a repeat of their 2017. The depth of the Orioles badness is truly remarkable.