The start of a new baseball season is always a glorious time. Fans across the country all have high hopes and dreams that they will be celebrating a Fall Classic win later in the year. Obviously, most of those dreams will be dashed over the next few months but, just for a little while, all 30 teams are still in with a chance.
Five clubs have never tasted victory, of course, with the Seattle Mariners never even making it to the World Series. There may be a few Twins fans that can’t remember a victory of our own but we have come out on top on no less than three occasions – with another three agonizing finals defeats in franchise history.
After winning the AL Central last season, there will be some of the best MLB betting sites looking at the Twins as a long shot for a championship this year. But, while we settle into the new campaign, let’s take a look back at all the times the franchise made it to the World Series.
1924
The first three World Series appearances by the Twins were recorded before the team even set up in Minnesota, of course. It was the then-Washington Senators that made the first Fall Classic for the organization, beating the New York Giants of the National League in seven games.
The Giants were playing in their fourth consecutive World Series, having won twice and losing the year before. After bringing the series back to 3-3, the Senators took 12 innings to win a first title, thanks to the pitching of veteran Walter Johnson, in what is considered to be one of the most dramatic games in World Series history.
1925
A year later the Senators were back but this time facing the Pittsburgh Pirates. Walter Johnson was still the main man on the mound, although he was unable to repeat the heroics of 1924 and ended up losing the seventh game of the series to hand the title to Pittsburgh.
The Senators had actually been 3-1 up in the series and had enjoyed a 6-4 lead into the seventh inning of the final game. Weather conditions didn’t help but a number of errors by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh led to four unearned runs and the Senators’ reign as champions was over.
1933
After a break of eight years, the Senators returned as AL champions in 1933 to face, once again, the New York Giants. Washington was much more of a surprise World Series team in 1933, as the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Athletics had been the AL representatives every year since 1926.
There was not as much drama for the fans this season though. After losing the opening two games in New York, the Senators beat the Giants 4-0 in the first game back at Griffith Stadium. But that was the last time Washington was in the running. Future Hall of Famer Sam Rice had just one at bat in the entire series and the Giants won by four games to one.
1965
That last game in 1933 was also the last time the World Series was played in Washington DC until 2019 – and by the time the next franchise World Series appearance came around the team had moved to Minnesota. The newly-monikered Twins had moved north in 1961 and just four years later they were at another World Series.
The Twins won their first pennant relatively easily and had an impressively balanced roster with both big hitters and top pitchers. Once again the series was taken to a seventh game, after each team won all three at home. The Twins actually had home advantage at the Metropolitan Stadium in the decider but managed just three hits all day as the Dodgers won 2-0. It was the last time the Twins would lose a home game in a World Series.
1987
The end of the 1960s saw the introduction of the ALCS but the Twins would fall to the Orioles two years in a row in their only postseason appearances until the next World Series victory in 1987. The St. Louis Cardinals were beaten by four games to three and the franchise won its first championship as the Minnesota Twins.
By now the Twins were playing at the Metrodome and this was the first year the World Series was ever played at an indoor stadium. The Twins had only won 85 games in the regular season but had beaten the Detroit Tigers 4-1 in the ALCS and used home advantage to claim the title for the second time.
1991
It all seems like a very long time ago now but the last time the Twins made it to the Fall Classic was at the beginning of the 1990s. There had been no postseason activity for the team since the last triumph and another 4-1 ALCS win – this time against the Toronto Blue Jays – saw the Twins come up against the Atlanta Braves for the championship.
Both teams had gone from last the previous season to first and treated everyone to one of the greatest World Series of all time. Home advantage was once again key, with the Twins and the Braves both winning in front of their own fans. Every game was close though and the decider remained scoreless after nine innings. The Twins finally managed a run in the 10th to win 1-0, with MVP Jack Morris pitching a complete game for Minnesota.