We’re Gonna Win, Twins!

“Bill Dailey, Won’t You Please Come Home.” Billy Ball. The Lumber Company. Ten Acres of Roof. Homer Hankies. Bobblehead dolls. Piranhas. Twins Territory. In 1961, the Twins brought major league baseball to the upper Midwest, becoming the first team to claim with its name not just a city but a region. In We’re Gonna Win, Twins! longtime sports reporter and columnist Doug Grow chronicles a half century of Twins baseball, season by season, from the scrappy stars of Metropolitan Stadium through two World Series in the Metrodome to the opening of a new era at Target Field. Beginning each chapter with a snapshot of events in the world and in baseball, inviting fans to remember where they were when, Grow shows how teams were built and managed, from the arrival and departure of key players like Harmon Killebrew, Frank Viola, David Ortiz, and Torii Hunter to the unintended scouting trip that brought Kirby Puckett to the Twins. He profiles great players and great seasons—from the matchup of Koufax and Kaat in the 1965 World Series to the unlikely contenders of 1979 to perhaps the best World Series ever in 1991. Bringing fans behind the scenes, he shares the camaraderie and occasional scuffles in the clubhouse and tells the stories that animated even lackluster seasons, including the 1968 game when Cesar Tovar played every position. Taking us through two eras of owners, Grow captures the changing economics of baseball and vividly portrays the characters that defined the times—from the “holy cow” of original radio color man Halsey Hall to the sweet moments and struggles of players like Zoilo Versalles, the first Latin MVP, to the 2006 season when the major leagues’ batting title, MVP, and Cy Young Award all went to Minnesota Twins. As the franchise moves back out under the open air and into its fifth decade in the major leagues, the incredible insider view and stunning photographs of We’re Gonna Win, Twins! celebrate the year-in, year-out texture of the game, the oh-so-satisfying triumphs, and the angst that indelibly mark the true fan.