Minnesota Twins

See also Category:Minnesota Twins players. King Kong has been spoofed many times in films and literature; one of the more effective satires of the film was by British author Terry Pratchett, whose book Moving Pictures climaxes with a giant woman carrying a screaming ape up a tall tower. Although Minneapolis appears at first glance to be a "small market" city (3 million residents of the associated metropolitan area), the team routinely draws fans from as far away as Montana and Wyoming. Other similar films include the Korean APE, the Hong Kong made Mighty Peking Man, the British Konga and Queen Kong, and the American Mighty Gorga (presumably an alternate name for Mighty Joe Young). The impact of the Twins on the Upper Midwest should not be underestimated. This movie also inspired a 1988 animated feature, The Mighty Kong, which starred Jodi Benson. In fact, in addition to the Twins, the Vikings and Gophers both have new stadium proposals in various stages of development. King Kong also appeared in two Japanese kaiju films: King Kong vs Godzilla and King Kong Escapes.

The Dome is thought to be an increasingly poor fit for all three of its major tenants (the Twins, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team). King Kong also bears some similarities to an earlier O'Brien effort, The Lost World (1925), in which dinosaurs are found living on an isolated plateau. However, attempts to spur interest and push legislative efforts towards a new stadium have repeatedly failed. The premise of a giant gorilla brought to the United States for entertainment purposes and wreaking havoc was recycled in Mighty Joe Young, (1949, 1998). In particular, the Twins receive no revenue from luxury suite leasing (as those are owned by co-tenant Minnesota Vikings) and only a small percentage of concessions sales; also, the percentage of season-ticket-quality seats in the Metrodome is said to be very low compared to other stadiums. See King Kong (2005 movie). The Twins wish to replace the Metrodome with a new ballpark within the next half decade, claiming that the Metrodome generates too little revenue for the Twins to be competitive. Jackson says that he plans to go deeper into the personality of Kong.

Their streak of three straight division titles, along with some bitterly fought games, have helped to create an intense rivalry with the Chicago White Sox during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. It is targeted for a December 2005 release and is currently in production. Threatened with closure by league contraction in 2002, the team battled back to reach the American League Championship Series before being eliminated 4-1 by that year's eventual World Series Champion Anaheim Angels. In 2003, Universal Pictures planned another remake with director Peter Jackson, best known for directing the Lord of the Rings trilogy. From <! daterange+ ->2002 to 2004<!- daterange- ->, the Twins compiled their longest streak of consecutive league/division championships ever (previous were the 1924 World Champion-1925 AL Champion Senators and the 1969–70 Twins). (See King Kong (1976).) A sequel, King Kong Lives, starring Linda Hamilton, followed a decade later. Things turned around, and in <! daterange+ ->2001 to 2004<!- daterange- ->, the Twins compiled the longest streak of consecutive winning seasons since moving to Minnesota, going 85-77 in 2001, 94-67 in 2002, 90-72 in 2003 and 92-70 in 2004. The film was generally panned by critics and was a commercial flop.

After 1992, the Twins again fell into an extended slump, posting a losing record each year through 2000. Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges starred. 1991 was also the first time any team finishing last in its division the previous year advanced to the World Series, with both the Twins and Braves accomplishing this unprecedented feat. In 1976, King Kong was remade by Dino De Laurentiis. Paul native) Jack Morris. The story concerned a return expedition to Skull Island that discovers that Kong has left behind an albino son. All three Series were decided in seven games, with the latter series ending in a dramatic 10-inning, 1-0 shutout by Series MVP (and St. A sequel, The Son of Kong, was also released in 1933.

In both of these World Series, the home team won each game, which had never occurred prior to 1987. It was on display in London until a few years ago in the now-closed Museum of the Moving Image. Louis Cardinals to win the 1987 World Series, then later defeated the Atlanta Braves to win the 1991 World Series. The original metal armature used to bring Kong to life, as well as other original props from the 1933 film, can be seen in the book It Came From Bob's Basement. The Twins defeated the St. The story of the fate of many props from the original film can be found at King Kong Lost and Found (http://www.fullyarticulated.com/KongBoomer.html). After several losing seasons in the Dome, the arrival of 1980s superstars Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett electrified the team and sent them to two World Series in five years. This film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

The 1982 season brought the team indoors, into the Metrodome, which is in downtown Minneapolis near the Mississippi River. King Kong premiered in New York City on March 2, 1933. The Mall of America now occupies the spot where the "Old Met" stood. In the finale, which has become an enduring pop icon, Kong carries a screaming Fay Wray to the top of the Empire State Building but is gunned down by a swarm of Army biplanes. Through 1981, the team played its games at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, a suburb south of the Twin Cities. Schoedsack, is notable for Willis O'Brien's stop-motion animation, Max Steiner's musical score, and actress Fay Wray's performance as the ape's improbable love interest. The team continued to post winning records through 1971, but then entered a decade-long slump. Cooper and Ernest B.

They were defeated in the World Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the championship drive cemented the team's relationship with the people of Minnesota. The film, directed by Merian C. The Twins were eagerly greeted in Minnesota when they arrived in 1961, and they advanced to the World Series in 1965, driven by the exciting play of superstar first baseman Harmon Killebrew. It was based on a story by Edgar Wallace, and starred Bruce Cabot and Robert Armstrong. This fact is reinforced by the stylized TC logo worn on road caps, and by their mascot, TC Bear. King Kong is a classic 1933 Hollywood horror/adventure film from RKO about a gigantic prehistoric gorilla, brought from a remote island to New York City to be exhibited as a natural wonder, that escapes to cause mass destruction. Paul (and, presumably, the entire state). The giant gate used in the 1933 movie was burned along with other old studio sets for the burning of Atlanta scene in Gone With the Wind.

The "Minnesota" designation, instead of "Minneapolis", comes from the fact that the team is intended to represent the "Twin" Cities of Minneapolis-St. "King" was added to the title by studio publicists. Team nickname: Nats, short for Nationals. Also sometimes called Griffs by inventive headline writers, in reference to the club owner. In the original movie the gorilla is named "Kong". One of the songs from the musical, You Gotta Have Heart, is frequently played at baseball games. The plot features a middle-aged man named Joe Hardy who sells his soul to the Devil so the Washington Senators can win the pennant.

The longtime competitive struggles of the team were fictionalized in the book The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, which became the Broadway musical and movie Damn Yankees. The team played its games at Griffith Stadium, sharing it with the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues (who played some of their games there). [1] (http://www.snopes.com/sports/baseball/castro.asp). It is falsely claimed that prior to the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro tried out for the Senators as a pitcher during the early 1950s.

During one portion of its history, the team was so notoriously inept that it inspired San Francisco Chronicle columnist Charley Dryden to joke: "Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." This was a play on Light Horse Harry Lee's remembrance of George Washington: "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen." The team's difficulties on the field also inspired the book The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (see below). That, along with its poor early years, resulted in the team being remembered mostly for its failures rather than its successes. After that, the team fell into mediocrity quickly. During the period <! daterange+ ->1907 to 1927<!- daterange- ->, the team's line up boasted the presence of Walter "The Big Train" Johnson and they won the 1924 World Series. They also appeared in the 1925 and 1933 Series and came very close in 1945.

They and their expansion-replacement in 1961 would remain officially the "Senators" for good, although space-saving headline writers continued to refer to them as "Nats" frequently. In 1959 the word "Senators" finally appeared on their shirts. By the 1950s, "Nationals" was pretty much passe. Baseball guides even said "Nationals or Senators" when listing the nickname.

Newspaper articles for decades used the names "Senators" and "Nationals" (or "Nats") interchangeably, often within the same article. Otherwise, the jerseys either read "Washington" or carried a plain block "W". During <! daterange+ ->1905 to 1906<!- daterange- -> the team actually wore "Nationals" on their jerseys. The Washington ballclub was known by two nicknames, the Nationals and the Senators, for most of its history prior to moving to Minnesota.

The Blues were champions of the Western League in 1898, taking the league by a game-and-a-half from the Indianapolis Hoosiers. Byron "Ban" Johnson, president of the Western League, changed the name to the American League in 1900 and major league status was awarded a year later. The Kansas City Blues were a charter member of a the Western League, a minor league at the time. in 1901 when the American League was formed, and played there through the 1960 season.

The franchise originated in Kansas City, Missouri in 1894, moved to Washington, D.C. Bear is the Twins' mascot, introduced in 2001. T.C. The club has several well-known, harmless hazing rituals, such as requiring the most junior relief pitcher on the team to carry water and snacks to the bullpen in a bright pink Barbie backpack and many of its players, both past and present, are notorious pranksters.

The party atmosphere of the Twins clubhouse after a win is well-known, the team's players unwinding with loud rock music (usually the choice of the winning pitcher) and video games. Former manager Tom Kelly and current manager Ron Gardenhire run and encourage a hard-nosed, fundamentals-first attitude toward playing and winning baseball games. The Twins are affectionately known among their fans as the "Twinkies." Despite the cream-puff sound of that nickname, the Twins have a reputation as a hard-working, hard-playing club. The team and its famous (or infamous) domed ballpark, the Metrodome, were featured in the 1994 motion picture Little Big League.

The team is owned by Minneapolis businessman Carl Pohlad, the third owner of the club (following Clark Griffith and his son Calvin). They are in the Central Division of the American League. The Minnesota Twins is a Major League Baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Elizabethton Twins
Gulf Coast League Twins.

Fort Myers Miracle
Beloit Snappers. New Britain Rock Cats. Rochester Red Wings. American League
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Pitching saves: Eddie Guardado, 45 (2002). Pitching ERA: Walter Johnson, 1.14 (1.14). Pitching strikeouts: Walter Johnson, 313 (1910). Pitching wins: Walter Johnson, 36 (1913).

Strikeouts: Bobby Darwin, 145 (1972). Walks: Eddie Yost, 151 (1956). Hitting streak: Ken Landreaux, 31 games (1980). Stolen bases: Chuck Knoblauch, 62 (1997).

Extra-Base hits: Tony Oliva, 84 (1964). Triples: Goose Goslin and Christian Guzman, 20 (1925 and 2000). Doubles: Mickey Vernon, 51 (1966). Singles: Sam Rice, 182 (1925).

Hits: Rod Carew, 239 (1977). Runs: Chuck Knoblauch, 140 (1996). Runs batted in: Harmon Killebrew, 140 (1969). Home runs: Harmon Killebrew, 49 (1964 and 1969).

Batting average: Rod Carew, .388 (1977). 44 Bob Casey. 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball). 34 Kirby Puckett.

29 Rod Carew. 14 Kent Hrbek.   6 Tony Oliva.   3 Harmon Killebrew.

Bob Casey, the public address announcer for the first 44 years of Twins baseball (<! daterange+ ->1961 to 2004<!- daterange- ->). Frank Viola. Zoilo Versalles. César Tovar.

Kevin Tapani. Rich Rollins. Jeff Reardon. Pierzynski.

A.J. Jim Perry. Camilo Pascual. Tony Oliva.

Joe Niekro. Al Newman. Jack Morris. Doug Mientkiewicz.

Shane Mack. Gene Larkin. Chuck Knoblauch. Tom Kelly.

Jim Kaat. Kent Hrbek. Brian Harper. Eddie Guardado.

Mudcat Grant. Dan Gladden. Greg Gagne. Gary Gaetti.

Scott Erickson. Chili Davis. Tom Brunansky. Bert Blyleven.

Juan Berenguer. Bob Allison. Rick Aguilera. Tom Kelly and Paul Molitor often work with the Twins in scouting and assistant coach roles, though neither are in the dugout during games.

Note