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This site was set up to have some fun and to allow me to share my view of the Minnesota Twins and baseball in general with you. I have followed the Minnesota Twins since they moved to the Twin Cities from Washington back in 1961 and played their first game at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. As many of you know, the Mall of America now occupies the land that was once the proud domain of Twins icons like Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Zoilo Versalles, Bob Allison, Mudcat Grant and so many others. My first memories of baseball date back to 1957 when the Milwaukee Braves won the National league pennant and went on to beat those hated New York Yankees in the World Series. Back then I was a 9 year old fourth grader living on a farm in Taylors Falls, Minnesota. The great thing about the World Series games back then was that they were all day games and the school that I attended always made it a point during the World Series to bring in a black and white TV and put it in the gym and anyone that wanted to attend, could go down to the gym and watch the game. The Braves were the closest team to our area so they were my team and they had such great players as Aaron, Mathews, Spahn, Burdette, Crandall and many others. Best of all, they beat the Yankees and how could you ask for anything more then that. One Christmas, I am not sure exactly when, I received what I still consider my best Christmas present ever, a transistor radio. That doesn't seem like much now but back then it was the greatest gift ever because it allowed me to listen to what I wanted to when and where I wanted to. That radio meant so much to me because I knew that a transistor radio was expensive back then and we were a poor family so it was a gift that I will never forget, I had to be the happiest kid ever. I wish I still had that radio and I can still picture what it looks like when I close my eyes and think back to when I was growing up. I can still remember going to bed the next summer with the radio next to my pillow listening to the Braves games. Lots of times I would fall asleep with the radio playing and the next morning I would get up and find a drained 9V battery and I knew that I had to scrounge up more empty pop bottles that I could take in for refunds or earn money in some other fashion so that I could afford a new battery. My brother and I played baseball in the farm yard when ever we had a few free minutes from farm chores, we did have to make a concession to our parents and played with a rubber ball versus a real baseball because we kept breaking too many windows in the barn and the house. We had a field all laid out with plates from an old farm implement called a "disk" as our bases, the machine shed as the short right field line, the fence in front on the house in dead center and a pasture fence and gate as left field. Two electric utility poles were perfect foul poles both in right and left field. Since there were only two of us back then, one to pitch and one to hit, we needed a catcher, no problem because the silo served that role just fine. In 1961 the Twins moved to town and I had a new favorite team and I listened to every game I could. My parents were not big sports fans so we didn't get to watch any games on TV but I can still remember Halsey Hall and his great laugh and Herb Carneal with his wonderful baseball voice as he skillfully described the action during those Twins broadcasts. The radio in the barn was always tuned to WCCO and I listened to many a game as we milked the cows. Since my parents were not into sports as I previously mentioned, I did not get to attend any Twins games in person. My first appearance at a major league game took place in 1965 when a couple friends and I decided that we wanted to go to the All-Star game that was held at Met stadium that year. What did we know back then, on the day of the game we drove down to the stadium and asked for tickets but all we could get was standing room tickets under the left field bleachers but that was not a problem for us. How wonderful it was for me to finally step foot in a major league park with my childhood friends at a game where the stars from both leagues were playing. What a star studded game it was with players like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Willie Stargell, Richie Allen, Joe Torre, Ernie Banks, Pete Rose, Maury Wills, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, and that was just the National league. The American league which ended up losing the game 6-5 had players like Rocky Colavito, Harmon Killebrew, Al Kaline, Mickey Mantle, Tony Oliva, Sudden Sam McDowell, Brooks Robinson, Carl Yastrzemski, and Zoilo Versalles. Turns out there were more Hall of Famers then you could count. The Twins went on to win the AL pennant that year and played the Dodgers in the World Series but I was no where in sight as I had joined the Navy in August and my love for baseball had to take a backseat until 1969 when my naval career ended and I moved back to Minnesota. I did manage to get to one baseball game when I was in the Navy and that was to a White Sox game at old Comiskey in 1966 but I can't remember a lot about that game other then it was so COLD! I still can't believe that the Red Sox stole the pennant from the Twins in 1967! I have followed the Twins through thick and thin since that time and was fortunate enough to attend some World Series games both in 1987 and 1991. I wanted to write a book about the Twins but kept putting it off and then when all the rumors about the Twins moving started, I decided I had better get it done or it would never take place. I decided I wanted to write the book in a trivia format and with a lot of help I got the book self published in the spring of 1998. The book is called TWINS TRIVIA and you can still get a copy here. Pick up a copy, it will bring back a flood of memories. Baseball is a wonderful sport and the more you watch the game, the more there is to see and learn about the game. With all the games we have seen as Twins season ticket holders and on TV, I am still amazed at how many times I still say, "Geez, I have never seen that before". Go Twins! 
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