8. Two Triple Plays in One Game

I was nine years old and not paying that much attention at this point because the Twins were having a terrible year. But I remember hearing about this the night it happened and wishing I could see the highlights.  It was many years before I did.

I have one other memory from baseball in 1990.  I was riding in my dad's truck with my family when Eric Davis hit a homer off Dave Stewart in the first inning.  Unanimous roars that day.

9. Scott Erickson Wins 12 in a Row

I remember asking to see the newspaper every morning after a Scott Erickson start in 1991 and thinking we had the best pitcher in baseball.  Much like Radke would do a few years later, Erickson would also notch his 20th win with the help of a 12 game winning streak. Except by the time Erickson did that, the Twins had more important things to celebrate and worry about.

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Below I have two polls that are still neck and neck, so if you haven't voted on them already, please do!

1. Touch Em All Kirby Puckett!

I think you're all familiar with this one.

16.  Just a Bunch of Buxton Videos

Honestly nothing was going to beat Puckett and I couldn't find a single Buxton moment that really stood out to me, so I'm just going to post a lot of his great plays here so enjoy!

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Today you get to pick from two huge go-ahead homers that both wound being heartbreaking losses.

7. Torii Hunter Homers off Tanyon Sturtze in the 2004 ALDS

Sadly in 2004 I worked for a nursing home whose primary mission was to bust unions and they forced their salaried workers to work extra hours to sit in the parking lot looking for union members illegally stepping onto our property.  My shift to do that started in the 11th inning of this game.  I listened to Torii hit his homer on the radio.  I got back home and turned on the TV just in time for Nathan to give up a double and and J.C. Romero to give up the winning run.

If Corey Koskie's double against Mo had not gone over the fence or if the umps had invoked their ability to let Rivas score from first (which he totally would have), then that would definitely be the moment from this game.

10. Miguel Sano Homers off Zach Britton

I freaked out when this happened.

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3. Francisco Liriano Tosses a No-Hitter

At this point in 2011 the Twins still had playoff hopes, in addition to hopes that Liriano would continue his comeback 2010 season and be the dominant pitcher we had hoped for since 2006. He wasn't dominant in this game, but man. I was so freaking nervous in the 9th inning. Thankfully we have audio of Gordo calling it.

14. Delmon Young Homers off Rivera

In a late 2008 baseball game, the Yankees were leading by three in the eight when Mariano Rivera came in to lock down one of his patented (not really) multi-inning saves. He had converted 28 consecutive save chances while allowing one earned run. He got ahead of DelmOn 0-2. Then this happened.

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4. Span Triples Down the Line

In 2008, with six games left in the season, the Twins were behind the White Sox by two and a half games. Fortunately, their last six games were at home, with three against the Sox. They won the first two games of the series to keep their season alive, and one more win against the Sox would put them in first place.

The Sox staked themselves to an early 6-1 lead, which took the wind out of the sails of most Twins fans watching. But they slowly crept back, and were down 6-4 entering the bottom of the 8th. Brendan Harris double to start the frame, and with one out, Carlos Gomez singled to bring the game within one. Up next was Denard Span, and Dick Bremer came through with the call of his career.

13. Carlos Silva Throws 74-Pitch Complete Game

On May 20, 2005, Silva struck out three batters in a nine-inning game and still got twenty-seven outs while allowing only five baserunners.  It was a magic trick that not even the magician could explain.  The Twins beat the Brewers 5-1 and Silva was barely warmed up after tossing 74 pitches.

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5. Santana Shuts Down Yankees in ALDS in 2004

The whole game is on YouTube if you want to watch it, though it's kind of a tease given the Yankees have beat the Twins in 947 consecutive games since.  Johan just completely shut down the Yankee lineup, allowing just 10 baserunners in 7 innings.  Rincon and Nathan continued to shut them down after that.

Mussina allowed even fewer baserunners than Johan did, but he didn't spread them out as nicely.  Jacque Jones also hit a dinger off him.

Anyway, Santana was awesome.

12. Jacque Jones Breaks Up Freddy Garcia's No-Hitter

Both moments today involve Santana giving up no runs and Jacque Jones hitting a homer.  I guess you have to figure out which one was better!

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8. AJ Goes Yard in ALDS

I was just about to graduate from college and would be moving into my first apartment three months later. I was at my Dad’s house at the time and we watched this game together.

I honestly had not been paying close attention to the Twins going into 2001, and without the minor league info we get today on the internet, I had no clue there were budding stars in the making. So when I looked at the standings in April, I was dumbfounded. I began listening to every game on the radio and got hooked on the Twins all over again. Despite falling back late that year, I was geared up for 2002. For the entire month of April, I managed to score every single game while also doing homework. The first game of the season, with Jacque Jones leading off the year with a homer on the way to the Twins edging the Tigers in a slugfest, ensured I’d be hooked.

I was on edge this entire game until A.J. deposited a first-pitch Billy Koch fastball into the bleachers. I screamed so loudly I nearly gave the cat a heart attack. Of course, I’d be on the edge of my seat again in the bottom of the 9th with a heart-attack performance by Everyday Eddie. And while I also got excited when Denny Hocking caught the final pop fly to send the Twins to the ALCS, this call by Jon Miller is the one that still gets my blood flowing.

9. Joe Crede Walk-Off Grand Slam

What’s better than Dick Bremer announcing a grand slam? Dick Bremer announcing a walk-off grand slam. In extra innings.

Crede wasn’t much his final year in the bigs. But the Twins one the central by one game, so at least you can say he won this one.

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1. Twins Win Their First World Series

16. Juan Rincon Induces  a 4-3-5 Triple Play.

Considering the Twins won this game and the division by just one game, this turned out to a pretty important play.  Mostly, I just thought it was hilarious.

2006: On May 14, just 13 days earlier, the Twins hit into a triple play against the White Sox. Luis Castillo was the batter (on a bunt pop) in the Chicago game and one of the fielders in Minnesota’s fielding trifecta. “I said, ‘We got it!'” Castillo said after turning the trick against Seattle. “Last time, they got me. Now we got the other team.” Against the Mariners, Juan Rincon entered the game to face Kenji Johjima, who hit a grounder to second on the first pitch. Castillo fielded the ball, tagged out Adrian Beltre then threw to first to get Johjima. First baseman Justin Morneau noticed Carl Everett was leaning the wrong way off third base and fired a strike to Tony Batista, the third baseman tagging out Everett to complete the triple play. Said Rincon: “Seeing this one is fun. Seeing the other one is not fun.” Johjima had perhaps the most interesting comment: “This wasn’t the first time that’s happened to me,” he said through an interpreter.”

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#2  Hrbek Hits Grand Slam in Game 6

For the longest time, I thought that Hrbek won game six for the Twins. As it turns out, the REALLY big hit came from Don Baylor the inning before, and the game-winning RBI went to Steve Lombardozzi. But one could argue that Hrbek guaranteed the victory.

Dan Gladden’s grand slam in game one was improbable, but what happened in the sixth inning here was nigh impossible. With one out and the bases loaded, Bob Forsch got Brunansky to pop out. Up next was Hrbek, so Whitey Herzog very correctly called in Ken Dayley to face him. Here were their respective splits that season:

Hrbek versus lefties: 225/290/370, 6 homers in 138 at bats.
Dayley versus lefties: 247/337/301, 0 homers in 73 at bats.

The last time Dayley had given up a homer to a lefty was October, 1985 to Darryl Strawberry. Hell, Dayley had only given up three PERIOD since that homer to Strawberry. He was way more likely to throw Hrbek four straight balls. Hrbek had been pretty brutal all postseason long, especially against lefties.

McGee Goes Back!

Man, I got shivers again.

#15  Hicks Shows Off His Cannon

So he misplayed the bounce a little bit, but I love how nonchalant he is, like it's a forgone conclusion Wells was going to be out.

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