But it was the year Tony-O injured his knee! He was so awesome until then, and then he just limped into the batting title with Bobby Murcer trying to catch him.
The relief pitching was a train-wreck that season.
I know this thread is supposed to be about “recent” collapses, but I do remember these. Interesting that the won-lost record in 1968 wasn’t as bad as I recalled. But the rebound was great: I guess with The Killer coming back from his injury, the addition of Leo Cardenas (an overlooked Twins player), and—I don’t know—the Billy Martin factor?
Yes, I know there’s some nostalgia associated with the baby blues (the young Hrbie and Kirby, etc.) but, overall, there are too many really bad, sad memories that come along with them. Someone once listed them all in a previous thread.
Wait, I was agreeing with you all the way until you insulted the old “Twins” script. I love it. For some reason, I always picture Jim Perry in that uniform.
I know we are not supposed to link to stories with a paywall, so I’ll just say that The Athletic has a story today about what a good acquisition J.A. Happ was for the Cardinals. Can you believe it?
The mediocre Twins of the 1970s were pretty bad against the mediocre Yankees of the early 1970s. I went (as a Twins fan in the New York area) to some doubleheaders where the Twins would lose both games.