August 1- Minnesota Twins

One would think of all the hats in my collection this would have been one of the easier ones to track down. Nope! If my memory serves me correct it took me about three years of combing various Web sites, Ebay and Lids locations in order to find an authentic one. Now, over my ridiculously exhaustive search I did come across a few “Genuine Merchandise” versions (replicas), but this bad boy was a diamond in the rough that I somehow found at the Lids in Union Square in downtown Manhattan. Clearly all of the best caps are displayed there because I definitely picked up some gems every time I went there.

It was a bit of mystery to me as to why this cap would have been so hard to track down, but then again, I can be pretty picky at times. I for one have always preferred the Major League Baseball logo on the back of the hat, a token which was only added to caps starting in 1993. 

As in the case of this cap the logo wasn’t added until 2009 when the Minnesota Twins wore it as a home alternate cap. The Twins first used this for all of their home games from 1976-1986 where it and the all-navy “TC” cap that I wrote about on February 15^th were replaced with the “M” logo cap that I wrote about on January 21^st. The move proved to be one of those rare uniform changes that brings immediate success as the Twins hoisted their first World Series championship since 1924 when they were still the Washington Senators.

In my research I found a bit of a conflicting story about its first use. The vintage MLB clothing company Brand ’47 has the year 1973 marked on most of its franchise caps, as did a few other Web sites. The only problem with this is that in almost every photo I found, whether it was baseball cards, game photos or even the team photo, this cap wasn’t used. No, the first arrival of this cap via photo didn’t arrive until 1976 as I previously mentioned as shown in the photo below.

Now, I can see where in a black and white photo one might not be able to tell; however, it’s easy to notice how the shade of the cap matches with the “TWINS” emblem across the chest, which was red at the time and contradicts the navy blue shirts of the trainers and equipment managers. This trait becomes even clearly in the team photo from 2009.

Like I said, I looked deep into most photo archives and couldn’t find anything until I came across the Web site http://twinstrivia.com/year-by-year/ where they have all the team photos dating back to 1961, their first year as the Twins. Check the link if you don’t believe me as the team also wore the red caps from 1977-1982 and 1984-1986. I could be wrong about 1983, as it might also have to do with the lighting and it being in black and white, but it looks like a few guys are wearing red and other navy blue. Either way, red was the home color that year.

Keeping in the theme of the red cap I have elected to mark it up with numbers and a date from the original time from of when this cap was used. Nothing personal against the 2009 team who won their division on an extended day of the season (game 163) against the Detroit Tigers, but there’s just too much good stuff that happened within the other 11 years to pass up.

#14- To those familiar with the Twins legacy, this is an easy number to remember. But for those who only know about Hall of Fame legacies, this is a name you should learn. Ken Hrbek, a product of Bloomington, Minneapolis, was drafted in the 17^th round of the 1978 draft. The interesting part about the timing is that, as a first baseman, he had some pretty big shoes to fill as Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew were the only names were noting to have played the position in the team’s history. Carew was traded before the 1979 season, so Hrbek was one of two possible candidates being groomed for the position. Hrbek made his major league debut on August 24, 1981 at Yankee Stadium, hitting a game-winning home run in the 12th inning off New York reliever, and future Twin, George Frazier.

After his cup of coffee at the end of the '81 season, Hrbek would make the team out of spring training and come into his own in 1982, playing well for Twins manager Billy Gardner. That season Hrbek would etch his name into the Twins’ legacy as he finished the year with a .301 average, 23 home runs and 92 RBI. As great as his accomplishment were during his rookie season, he still only managed to finish in second place for the Rookie of the Year award one step ahead of Wade Boggs and one spot behind some washout named Cal Ripken, Jr. Not sure what happened to either of those guys. Hrbek also locked up a trip to the All-Star Game that year, the only appearance of his career.

1983 proved to be a stellar sophomore season for Hrbek, but it was in 1984 that he had the best of his career. In ’84 Hrbek finished the year with a career-high .311 average, 27 home runs, a career-high 174 hits and a career-high 107 RBI. Somehow Hrbek didn’t gain an invitation to the All-Star Game, not to mention he once again finished as the second fiddle when it came to the American League MVP vote. That year Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Willie Hernandez won the MVP as well as the Cy Young Awards outright. The Tigers ended up winning the World Series that year as well.

Hrbek started and finished his 14-year career right where he started, in his home state in front of the people who had cheered him on since his high school days. The most notable contribution Hrbek gave back to the Twins fins were the two World Series Championships they won in 1987 and 1991. One the first run Hrbek finished the season with a career-high 34 home runs, but his most memorable came during Game 6 when he hit a grand slam off of St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ken Dayley, which shifted the momentum in favor of Minnesota who would win the Series in seven games. In 1991 Hrbek’s bat isn’t what most remember from that World Series run, rather the now infamous first base clash he had with Atlanta Braves’ left fielder Ron Gant in Game 2. Here’s the play if you don’t remember. Hrbek was a hero in Minnesota and public enemy number one in Atlanta. The Twins would win the Series again in seven games thanks to great pitching from Jack Morris and clutch hitting from Kirby Puckett. Hrbek was one of seven Twins to be part of both World Series teams. The other six were Puckett, Randy Bush, Greg Gagne, Al Newman, Gene Larkin and Dan Gladden.

Frequently injured (though seldom seriously), Hrbek retired after the players strike in 1994, citing his nagging injury problems and desire to spend more time with his wife and daughter. Kent Hrbek's number 14 was retired by the Twins in 1995, becoming at the time only the fourth (along with Killebrew, Carew, and Tony Oliva) in franchise history. Hrbek was also inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also one of few players then (which is even rarer today) who played out his entire career with only one team.

#28- It’s a rare quality for anyone to have a professional baseball career for more than seven years, but Bert Blyleven was able to hang onto a playing career for 22-strong. Born in the Netherlands, but raised in Garden Grove, California, his father moved the family to Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada when Blyleven was two years old, and then to Southern California when he was age 5. He became interested in baseball as a young boy watching Sandy Koufax pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and listening to Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett announce the Dodgers' radio broadcasts. Blyleven was quoted as saying, “My dad built me a mound in the backyard with a canvas backdrop over our horseshoe pits, and I would go back there and just throw and throw and throw until I developed it, and it became my curveball. And I could throw it over at any time, any count.” Blyleven starred on the Santiago High School baseball team, also running cross country to build up his stamina and leg strength. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Twins in the third round in 1969, where after only 21 minor league starts he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to ten victories and he was named AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News.

For six-and-a-half years Blyleven was the ace the Twins needed; however, he was blamed by the fans for the team’s failures. Blyleven won at least 15 games every season from 1971-1975; unfortunately, he also lost at least 15 games every season from 1971-1974. What’s even more unusual is that Blyleven never posted an ERA above 3.00 from 1971 until the moment he was traded to the Texas Rangers in the middle of the 1976 season. In 1973 Blyleven went 20-17 with a 2.52 ERA, 258 strikeouts and nine shutouts. The wins, ERA, strikeouts and shutouts were all career bests, but they were only good enough to give Blyleven his first All-Star Game appearance, a seventh place finish for the AL Cy Young and a 26^th place finish for the MVP. Yah, times were pretty crazy back in the 70s.

After Blyleven was traded to the Rangers in ’76. He pitched well with the Rangers, having a 2.76 ERA in his first season and throwing a no-hitter against the California Angels on September 22, 1977, just two weeks after being sidelined with a groin injury. His 2.74 career ERA with the Rangers remains the best in team history. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates the following year as part of a four-team trade which is way to long to list the ins and outs. In short, Blyleven won his first World Series ring with the Buccos in 1979 behind a 12-5 record and a 3.60 ERA in 37 games started. Once again, the 70s were crazy time. At the end of the 1980 season Blyleven was traded again to the Cleveland Indians where he would have a stellar third place finish for the Cy Young in 1984 and an equally as noble 1985 season where he was traded back to the Twins and still finished with his second, and final All-Star Game appearance and another third place Cy Young finish behind a league-leading 206 strikeouts, league-leading 24 complete games, league-leading five shutouts and a league-leading 293 2/3 innings pitched. If you’ll learn anything by the end of this post it’s that pitchers these days have it pretty easy.

Blyleven would play three more years with the Twins all the way until the end of the 1987 season where he would earn his second World Series ring. At the end of the 1988 season, his worst statistical season, he was granted free agency by the Twins and was almost immediately picked up by the Angels. In his first year in Anaheim Blyleven had a bounce-back season going 17-5 with a 2.73 ERA, a league-leading five shutouts and 131 strikeouts. Blyleven finished the season in 13^th place for the AL MVP and fourth place for the Cy Young. Blyleven would play two more seasons with the Angels before hanging it up at the end of the 1992 season.

After his first year of eligibility in 1998, Blyleven was widely considered to be the best eligible pitcher not yet in the Baseball Hall of Fame. According to Matt Welch of Reason Magazine, "there had long been a strong case that the Dutch-born curveballista was the most deserving player on the outside of Cooperstown looking in." Still, it was not until his 14th year of eligibility in 2011 that he was elected, with 79.7% of the vote. He currently ranks 5th all-time in Strikeouts, 9th all-time in Shutouts, and 27th all-time in Wins. At the time of his election he was the only eligible member of the 3000 strikeout club, and the only person with 50 or more shutouts, not in the Hall of Fame.

Blyleven received only 17.55% of the vote for Hall of Fame admission in 1998 (first year of eligibility), and his vote total dropped to 14.1% the following year. No player who had debuted on the ballot since 1970 had a vote total that low and later won election to the Hall. However, ESPN.com columnist Jayson Stark stated that "no player has ever — and again, that word is 'ever' — had his Hall of Fame candidacy helped more by the sabermetrics boom than Blyleven." Specifically, according to Welch, "the president and chief investment officer of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel in Long Beach, California, a guy by the name of Rich Lederer, began spending some of his off-hours writing analysis on the Interwebs about Blyleven's overlooked case." Blyleven was finally inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 after receiving 79.7% of the vote on his 14th attempt. "It’s been 14 years of praying and waiting,” he said. "I thank the baseball writers of America for; I’m going to say, finally getting it right." Blyleven was the first Dutch-born player inducted, and his Hall of Fame plaque depicts him with a Twins cap.

In 1996, Blyleven became a color commentator for the Twins. Blyleven's commentary is occasionally risqué for a baseball broadcast, but provides interesting and friendly conversation between him and play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer. One of his trademarks is circling fans with the telestrator on screen. Fans, both at home and at road games, carry signs to the games saying "Circle me Bert." This has led to a fundraising campaign with the Parkinson's Foundation and a sponsorship with the Minnesota Lottery.

8/1/86: This is one of the more fascinating days in Twins history for a number of reasons. The Twins were at home hosting my beloved Oakland Athletics as the Twins were holding their 25^th Anniversary celebration. That’s one reason. Blyleven was on the mound with 2,992 strikeouts under his belt, facing one of the better power hitting teams of that 1980s. In front of a crowd of a little more than 14,000 people Blyleven struck out Mike Davis for his 3,000 career strikeout and still had time to drop seven more batters on his way to a career-high 15 strikeouts in one game. Not to mention, Blyleven also got the complete game. Now, what would a game be without a little bit of offense? In order of his five at-bats Puckett hit a triple in his first, flew out in his second, hit a ground rule double in his third, a single in his fourth and a home run in his final at-bat to become the seventh player in Twins history to hit for the cycle.

What’s even crazier about this date, August 1^st, is that it also marks another unusual time in Minnesota history. In 2007 the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis. Due to how many people were at the game the Twins elected to play the game that night against the Kansas City Royals, but postponed the game the following night. What I wouldn’t find out until six years later is that my girlfriend, Angie, was in Minneapolis, visiting friends from Wisconsin, and happened to still be in town for when the Twins played the Indians two days later.

April 23- Minnesota Twins

I probably should have written about this a few days ago, but I was just too darn happy to be with Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie) to put the proper thoughts together and focus on something so detailed. If you’ve been a regular follower of my blog then you’ve probably noticed on more than one occasion that Angie is a die-hard Minnesota Twins fan. If you’re new to my blog then you should know that my girlfriend is a die-hard Twins fans. I, on the other hand, am an Oakland Athletics fan and for some reason have developed a bit of angst against the Twins since we lost to them in the American League Division Series back in 2002. For those who are unaware that was the “Moneyball” season. Anyway, in the seven months that we’ve been together we’ve only physically been together for a little less than a month’s worth of time due to the fact that we live 3000 miles away from one another; she lives in Florida and I live in Oregon. Being the hopeless romantic that I am I decided to “take one for the team,” so to speak, and wear a Twins hat whenever we meet at the airport. On December 31^st I wore the “M” logo hat from my blog post on January 21^st when I flew into Ft. Lauderdale to see her and I wore the navy blue “TC” logo cap from my post on February 15 when she came to visit me. This last Friday when I flew in to see her again I decided to roll with this cap.

This cap is only the fourth one the team has won on the field in their 53 years of existence. The navy blue panel with red bill “TC” logo was first introduced at the start of the 2010 season and has served as the team’s road cap ever since. It especially seemed like the perfect cap to wear as I traveled to see Angie due to the fact that I was literally going on the road to see her; however, I would love more than anything to make it more of a permanent stop sometime in the near future because I love being with her so damn much. Like with a lot of other teams, the introduction of new caps can have detrimental consequences on a team’s success, and no one found this out the hard way much like the 2010 Twins.

I purchased this cap in late April along with six other hats from the New Era Flagship store across the street from the MLB Fan Cave as well as two from the Lids store about three blocks away. I was in a bit of a spending mood that day on account of the fact that a few of the afternoon games had been rained out after we wrapped up our filming for the day. Fellow Cave Dweller and Twins fan Lindsay Guentzel (@LindsayGuentzel) had a few friends from Minnesota visiting town that week which turned out to be a huge coincidence that I had perfectly timed the purchase. They were all collectively happy about it.

For some odd reason my relationship with Lindsay was rather hit-or-miss at times and I have yet to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why that is. Some days we joked back and forth to one another while others we became highly competitive based on the environment and circumstances we were dealing with. To be honest, I’m pretty sure more of that had to do with my overall attitude. She never wronged me, and sometimes I was a total jerk, something I apologized to her about at great length over the phone while I was on my country-wide baseball road trip a few months after I had been kicked out of the Fan Cave. I think the one moment that really solidified things between the two of us came on the final challenge I had participated in when our assignment was to create an All-Star campaign video for one of the players on the team were representing. I talked about this in my post from April 1^st. I chose to do mine on Reddick at which the final product turned out incredibly well. I had gotten help from the New York chapter of the Oakland Athletics Fan Club which happened to feature a former Miss Oakland named Sophia Andrade. I was also fortunate enough to get former Athletics Eric Byrnes and current Cincinnati Red Jay Bruce to endorse Reddick as well. It also didn’t hurt in the end that Reddick himself endorsed it as well as former WWE talent scout and play-by-play commentator Jim Ross backing at well. Unfortunately for me, the last two parts I had forgotten to relay when we then had to give a one minute presentation and pitch for our player. Lindsay’s video was kind of plain, but still a good idea. Since the team has planter boxes with flowers in the outfield, Lindsay decided to revolve her video around a Twins garden gnome that she had who would then be kidnapped and not returned unless people voted for Josh Willingham. The only catch for her video was that she needed someone with a British accent to do the voice. Cue me. One of the many talents I have is that I can do voice impersonations, a skill I rarely ever discuss with people, but work on regularly throughout my days as I once wanted to do voiceover work for cartoons. So, not being one to turn down requests, I happily helped Lindsay out with the voiceover work… and nailed it in one take. After we had completed our pitches and played our videos it finally came down to the judges’ decision for who the winner would be. At the time I hadn’t won a single challenge we had; however, Lindsay had won two and everyone else except Philadelphia Phillies fan Gordon Mack had all won at least one. I honestly thought I had it in the bag… until they announced Lindsay’s name. I was vapor locked. I did everything I could to keep from reacting emotionally until production wrapped. When that came to pass I walked downstairs and cried. Ricardo Marquez followed me down and did his best to console me. I wasn’t mad at Lindsay because she had won, I was mad at myself for helping her win. And with only a week to go before the first elimination I thought I was done. Which, as it turned out, I was.

On the last day that I was officially a Cave Dweller the A’s and Twins had started a three-game series in Minnesota on May 28^th. Things had started off well on my end; Travis Blackley was pitching a great game as the starter and Reddick had crushed a first inning solo home run off of Twins pitcher Scott Diamond, at which I yelled out, “Diamondcutter!!!” and made the diamond symbol like Diamond Dallas Page of World Championship Wrestling fame. However, my joy, little by little came to an end as the Twins came back to win the game 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. During the comeback Lindsay shouted with as the final runs crossed the plate. She even apologized to me afterward; something that I thought was a bit weird considering that I never had a problem with anyone cheering for their team as they played mine. But alas, that would turn out to be the final A’s game I would watch in the Fan Cave as I was eliminated the next afternoon following the conclusion of the Chicago Cubs versus San Diego Padres game. Of all games. Yeesh!

The Twins would go on to sweep the A’s and my bitterness boiled over as I spent my nights at Foley’s Pub in downtown Manhattan, drinking and watching the last two games of the series with the A’s Fan Club. When I returned to the apartment complex on the night of the third game I arrived just as the other seven remaining Cave Dwellers were getting back. Lindsay, Ricardo and Ricky Mast all shared an apartment so I went upstairs with them for an additional bit of drinking. Lindsay decided to call it a night early, leaving the three of us to our own devices. Not too long after her lights went out I scanned the living room, looking for the garden gnome she used in her video, but I couldn’t find it. Next to the sink in the kitchen sat three Twins bobbleheads she had brought to New York from Minnesota. When Ricky and Ricardo weren’t paying attention I snatched the Dan Gladden bobblehead and bid them a good night. As I reflect back on that night I feel incredibly stupid for what I did; however, I had all the intention in the world to return it at the end of the season. What I didn’t know at the time was that little Dan Gladden would be taking my countrywide baseball tour with me.

I’m not going to go into too much detail on this part of the story as I have a much more detailed post that I’ll be writing in the future; however, what I will tell you is that Gladden made the journey with me to the 27 stadiums I was able to visit (including Canada), to Disneyland, to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and a slew of other baseball related events including a few Minor League stadiums. When I talked to Lindsay on the phone to apologize for the way I may have treated her I had debated on informing her that I had the bobblehead, but the words didn’t quite come out of my mouth. I had only knocked out about half of the stadiums ad wanted to finish my quest before I gave her the slightest hint that I was the one who had abducted it. Unfortunately for everyone, including little Dan Gladden, he has since fallen apart quite a bit. Here is a before and after on the punishment he has taken.

I assure you, it wasn’t my intention for it to end up in as rough of shape as it is. Back in January I hit up Ebay to try and find her a brand new one to send to her so I can finish up my tour with him. Once again; however, fate stepped in the way. Three weeks after I paid for a new one I got an email from the dealer informing me that he had returned my money as the shipping company he had used completely shattered the new on I had purchased. Talk about irony! So with that, I figured a Twins road cap post would be the perfect time to come clean as little Dan Gladden did fall apart on the road. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, I do fully intend to get Lindsay a new one, but I’ll wait to give it to her when I get to Target Field, the final stadium on my checklist after Turner and Coors Field. Seems like a perfect time and place to wrap things up.

Since this cap has only been used for so many years I couldn’t think of two better guys to mark it up with and pay tribute to.

#7- Joe Mauer was taken with the first overall pick by the Twins in the 2001 amateur draft out of Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota.  He made his debut on April 5, 2004 as the predecessor to A.J. Pierzynski who had been traded to the San Francisco Giants at the end of the 2003 season. Maurer only played in 35 games that season due to swelling in his knees which sidelined him in July through the end of the season. In 2005 he played his first full season, batting an impressive .294 with nine home runs and 55 RBI. From 2006-2010, Mauer was the man, winning three batting titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009 on top of making four All-Star Game Appearances, winning three Gold Gloves (2008-2010), four Silver Slugger awards and the American league MVP in 2009. In 2006 he finished in sixth for the MVP, in 2008 he finished in fourth and in 2010 he finished in eighth. While Mauer has continued to hit well throughout his entire career (.324 lifetime average), it was during the 2011 season that problems began to arise. He signed a $184 million deal in March of 2010 which wouldn’t kick in until the 2011 season; however, he only ended up playing in 82 games that season and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. In 2010 the Twins finished the season in first place in the American League Central Division and lost in the first round of the American League Division Series to the New York Yankees. In 2011 they finished in dead last, and have been there ever since. I kind of want to blame the hat, but I suppose I need more conclusive evidence other than this one guy to prove that theory. Soooooooo…

#33- Justin Morneau was a third round draft pick by the Twins in 1999 out of New Westminister High School in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. He made his MLB debut on June 10, 2003 when he played in 40 games that season and 74 in 2004 where he clubbed 19 home runs along with 58 RBI and a .271 batting average. In 2005 he played his first full season as the Twins first baseman, fairing well at the plate with another 22 home runs and 79 RBI.

In 2006 Morneau dominated the AL. Despite not making the All-Star team that year (ridiculous) he managed to win his first, and only thus far, AL MVP award after going .321 on the season with 34 home runs and 130 RBI. Over the next four seasons he batting average went down and then back up again, but his power numbers stayed consistent. From 2007-2010 Morneau made four straight All-Star Game appearances and even finished in second place to Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia for the AL MVP again in 2008 after hitting .300 with 29 home runs and 129 RBI. When the 2010 season came Morneau started off hot. So much to the point where I flipped him the bird during a game in Oakland after he crushed a home run off of Dallas Braden on June 4^th, the third home run I had seen Morneau yak in the two Twins victories I had seen in the Coliseum. However, only a month later on July 7^th Morneau would be taken out of a game in Toronto after sustaining a concussion which took him out for the remainder of the season. At the time he was batting .345 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI, well-enough on pace to lock up the AL MVP that season. Without Morneau in the lineup the Twins continued to do well with out him, but unfortunately for himself, he was never the same player in the seasons to follow. In 2012 he got a bit of his power back, hitting 19 home runs and knocking in 77 runs, but his average hovered around .267.

What’s most interesting about this hat is that both players were wearing it when their injuries had first occurred; however, they were also wearing it when they had their largest fortunes of success in the first year it was worn. Mauer hit eight of his nine home runs on the road in 2010 and his batting average was 25 points higher on the road (.339) than at home (.314). For Morneau 14 of his 18 home runs that season came on the road, not to mention his .375 batting average outside of Target field along with his 1.205 OPS. If there were ever two guys who had the Midas touch and a drink from the poorly chosen Holy Grail from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” while wearing this cap, it was certainly there two.

February 15- Minnesota Twins

If you didn’t read my post from January about the Minnesota Twins “M” logo cap, I highly suggest going back and checking it out before continuing with this. It’ll fill in a few gaps of back story on my personal relationship with the franchise. The most important thing to know is that my girlfriend, Angie Kinderman, is a huge Twins fan, while I am on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. Back on December 31, 2012 I flew out to Miami, Florida to visit Angie and spend a week with her before we both started up class again on January 7, 2013. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I decided to wear this cap when I flew in to put a smile on her face. Needless to say, it did the trick. Today she flew into Portland, Oregon to visit me and I decided to wear the same cap again. I suppose in this matter it’s best to leave my differences aside and do something nice for my sweetie. So now, this is my official Angie airport greeting cap.

I originally picked this hat up off of EBay, along with a few others from independent dealers. I had purchased the “M” logo cap at first, but ended up not really digging the 2010 Target Field patch in the side so I opted for a new style. I figured in this case, it’s best to go with the original. When the first incarnation of the Washington Senators moved to Minneapolis at the end of the 1960 season, the team changed its name to the Minnesota Twins, as to appease the obvious Minneapolis/St. Paul twin cities moniker. With that, the team also made the “TC”, which stands for Twin Cities, its official logo. From 1961-1986 the white “T” with a red “C” intertwined on a navy blue cap reigned throughout the league and made a reappearance prior to the 2002 season where it has remained as the team’s home field/game cap. As a fan of the classics, I had to roll with two greats when marking up this cap.

#3- The Killer himself, Harmon Killebrew is arguably the greatest Twin, and the greatest Mormon baseball player to ever take the field; however, in my humble opinion, is one of those few guys who made the Hall of Fame for having played during an interesting era. Killebrew started his career in 1954 and saw minimal playing time until 1959 when he hit a League-leading 42 home runs with the Senators. When the team made it’s debut in Minnesota Killer continued hitting bombs for the Twins by hitting at least 45 home runs for four consecutive seasons (1961-1964). His best year came in 1969 when he went .276/49/140 and won the American League MVP outright that season, the only one of his career. Killebrew made 11 All-Star appearances throughout his career and only made the World Series once in 1965 when they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. Killebrew finished his career with 573 home runs and 1559 RBI, but only hit 2086 times with a career average of .256 in 22 years. Killebrew was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 and sadly passed away on May 17, 2011.

#29- Like a lot of kids from my elementary school days, the first time I heard the name Rod Carew was in Adam Sandler’s “The Hanukah Song.” As I got older I made sure to do my homework as to not besmirch his name in jest. Carew started his Hall of Fame career in 1967 and played with the Twins until the end of the 1978 season. In ’67 Carew took home the Rookie of the Year crown after going .292 with 150 hits on the year. That year and the following would be the only two years in which Carew would hit below .300. In the 12 years that Carew gave to the Twins he went .334/74/733, but he attained 2085 of his career 3053 hits while rocking the “TC.” Carew won seven batting titles, lead the league in hits three times, but only one MVP in 1977. Throughout his 19-year career, Carew only missed making an All-Star appearance once; his final season. Carew made the Hall of Fame with ease in 1991 on his first ballot.

Update

#12- Cesar Tovar was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela where as a child, he shined shoes to earn extra income for his family. At the age of 15, he befriended Gus Gil, another Venezuelan who went on to play in Major League Baseball. In January 1959, Cincinnati Reds General Manager, Gabe Paul, attempted to sign Gil to a contract however; Gil insisted that Paul should also have Tovar sign a contract. Paul relented in order to make Gil agree to sign. Tovar began his professional baseball career when he was assigned to the Geneva Redlegs in the D-league New York-Penn League. He hit .252 in 87 games as an infielder for Geneva in 1959. That winter, he returned to Venezuela to play for the Leones del Caracas, and won the league's rookie of the year award.

In 1960, he played with the Missoula Timberjacks of the Pioneer League where he produced a promising .304 batting average along with 12 home runs and 68 RBI. After being selected to the league's All-Star team, he was rewarded by getting to play two games at the top level of the Reds' minor league system with the Seattle Rainiers. Tovar was sent back to Geneva in 1961, where he batted .338 with 19 home runs and 78 runs batted in. He stole 88 bases in 100 attempts to lead the league while setting a new league record for stolen bases. In 1962, he played for the Rocky Mount Leafs of the Carolina League, and led the league in batting with a .329 batting average along with 10 home runs and 78 runs batted in. The Reds had a promising second baseman in Pete Rose, who would win the 1963 National League Rookie of the Year Award, and with second basemen Bobby Klaus and Gus Gil in their minor league system, there was little room left for Tovar to progress. The Reds sent him on loan to play for the Minnesota Twins minor league affiliate, the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers. In 1964, Tovar returned to the Reds organization, where he played for the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League. He helped the Padres win the league championship by hitting for a .275 with 7 home runs and 52 runs batted in, while playing as a third baseman, shortstop, second baseman, and as an outfielder.

Before the start of the 1965 season, the Twins traded pitcher Gerry Arrigo to the Reds for Tovar. The Twins had originally sought to get Tommy Helms from the Reds, but they refused to trade him and the Twins settled for Tovar. At the age of 24, Tovar made his major league debut on April 12, 1965, becoming the ninth Venezuelan to play in Major League Baseball. Tovar’s career with the Twins stretched until the end of the 1972 season, but his career ended after the 1976 season after making a few stops with the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees along the way. Between 1967 and 1971 Tovar finished in the top-25 in voting for the AL MVP thanks in part to his decent average, ability to steal bases and the amount of hits he was able to rake in ever season. His 204 hits lead the AL in 1971.

As far as career notes are concerned, Tovar racked up a few records: On September 22, 1968, Tovar became the second player after Bert Campaneris (Kansas City Athletics, 1965) to play all nine fielding positions in a game. The two were later joined by Scott Sheldon (Texas Rangers, 2000) and Shane Halter (Detroit Tigers, 2000) as the only four players in MLB history to have accomplished the feat. Tovar started the game on the mound against Oakland and pitched one scoreless inning in which he struck out Reggie Jackson. As fate would have it, the first batter he faced was Campaneris.

On May 18, 1969, Tovar combined with Carew to set a major league record for most steals by a club in one inning with five. In the third inning against a Detroit battery of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan, Tovar stole third base and home. Carew followed by stealing second base, third base and home. The two steals of home in the same inning also tied a record

Along with Eddie Milner, Tovar is regarded as the major league's all-time leader in breaking up no-hit attempts with five. César Tovar died on July 14, 1994 of pancreatic cancer in Caracas, Venezuelan Capital District, Venezuela, at 54 years of age. Tovar was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003

January 21- Minnesota Twins

If there was ever a team who struck gold with changing/introducing a new hat, hands down it has to be the 1987 Minnesota Twins*. Also, if there was ever a team who didn’t deserve to be hated, but for some reason I do, it’s the Minnesota Twins.

The Twinkies introduced this hat at the start of the 1987 season, kicking the long time favorite “TC” logo to the curb; which had been a staple of the organization since the Washington Senators were relocated in 1961. I’m honestly curious to know what the fan response to the hat/logo change was prior to the start of the season, especially considering that the Twins won the World Series in 1987 and 1991 while sporting this cap. For some reason, in my head, I can picture droves of fans booing the switch; almost comparing it an abomination to the team. In the same light I can also picture Carl Pohlad giving the fans the finger… with a World Series ring on each middle finger. My dreams are weird sometimes. Anyway, this is a constant, repetitive theme that I will be bringing up on my blog posts for the next 334 days, if you haven’t figured that out.

The “M” logo, in my opinion, is the best hat logo the team ever had. Keep in mind the team has only had four total hat styles. I’ve just always enjoyed. It has that special something, and a bit of bite to it considering the success the organization has had with it. Now, a very important detail that I must point out: I bought this hat in October of 2011. At the time my plan was to only have one hat from every organization, so I picked this one up off the Lids Web site for $16. Why so cheap? Here’s why…

When I had originally purchased this hat the 2010 Target Field patch didn’t bother me. Then, it showed up in the mail… and I’ve hated it ever since. When it comes to “on field” caps I prefer just the team logo and the MLB logo on the back. Patches on the side, with the exception on the New Era logo, have always been distracting to me; makes the hat too busy. Also, when starting my marking process, it makes these numbers a bit out of place when considering that this hat was used for one specific year, and should have been represented by an event or player(s) form that team. But like I said before, I was only planning on getting the one Twins hat, and went with the two guys who I most associated with my time really following the organization.

For some it’s hard to believe that my first conscious memory of baseball on TV is Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I say this because I was three-years-old when it went down. The 1987 World Series I remember just as vividly. I can tell you every detail of my house in Stockton, California from where the TV sat to who was in the room and where they were sitting while we were watching it. With that, I chose the two most (personally) memorable figure from that squad.

#34- Kirby Puckett should receive no argument on any grounds. 1987 was his breakout year, posting .332/28/99 along with an American League leading 207 hits. Not too shabby for a guy hitting in the seven hole. Not only could dude pal hit, he was a Gold Glove lock in the outfield. For as short and pudgy as he was, the cat was a five-tool player if there ever was one. I should also point out that, as a four-year-old, I was very impressionable, and seeing a guy who looked like Kirby (plus the name) made it hard to resist now being a fan of his.But most important, his unfortunate injury sidelined what could have been an amazing addition to his career. Having only played 12 years, his stats were an obvious Hall of Fame lock: .318 lifetime average and 2304 hits. He would have easily gotten to 3000, and quite possibly 4000.

#16- This is the moment when I first realized how badass facial hair is. Frank Viola’s mustache was, and still is amazing. Sweet Music was the best starting pitcher the team had that season… and the next for that matter too, since he did win the AL Cy Young in ’88. His 17-10 season record was only closely matched by Bert Blyleven’s 15-12 record, and an equally as boss beard. Plus, even a 42-year-old Steve Carlton had to sit back an admire Viola’s dominance in the Series: 2-1 with 16 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.72. And oh yah, did I mention he was the World Series MVP? Viola that is, not his mustache.

*One thing that should also be pointed out when reading this post is that my girlfriend Angie Kinderman (@sconnieangie) is a huge Twins fan. She will rub this, and every positive thing I say about the Twins in my face. Lame. :(