Minnesota Twins Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Nick Swisher Hits Home Run, Spells Out O-H-I-O
Nick Swisher makes it very easy to hate him, but this just cracks me up. After hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning of the Indians home opener against the Twins, Swisher busted out this homage to the hometown Buckeyes. The Swish just loves him some good times. ...

The Twins Pranked Mike Pelfrey Good
Mike Pelfrey is a Wichita State alumnus. Knowing this, the Twins decided to have a little fun with him, and force the introverted pitcher to deliver a pump-up speech to what he thought was the Shocker basketball team in advance of their NCAA Tournament appearance. It was really just his teammates in...

The Twins' Bear Mascot Can Catch Balls With His Mouth
No gross jokes, you guys. T.C. Bear is a good and talented bear....

Twins Third Baseman Betrayed By Own Glove
Trevor Plouffe made a damn good play here, at least initially. He dived to his left to stop Juan Lagares's sharply hit grounder, then ... nothing. Plouffe's glove refused to give him the ball....

The Twins' Bullpen Pulled Off A Perfect Prank Punch
We had seen this bizarre video from Friday's Twins game, of Jared Burton decking Brian Duensing just as a home run sailed over the bullpen, but hadn't realized the mystery had been solved. The short answer: relievers have way too much time on their hands....

Here Are The Celebrity Aliases The Cleveland Indians Use On The Road
The Cleveland Indians are on the road playing the Twins this weekend, and this looks like their room assignments for the W Minneapolis Hotel....

Twins Season In A Nutshell Moment: Arcia Hit In Face By Missed Popup
Things are not going well for the Minnesota Twins this season. Tonight they picked up their 50th loss of the season, falling again to the Rays in St. Petersburg....

The Twins Gave Mariano Rivera A Chair Made Of Broken Bats
I'd say it's like a more splintery Iron Throne, if Game of Thrones references on sports blogs weren't now punishable by death. [NYDN]...

Twins Ballboy Makes Nifty Leaping Catch
As the announcers watched the replay of this, one of them said, "You've got to have some skills to be a ballboy." So what skills are required of the ballboys (or ballgirls!) who work along the foul lines? Let's list 'em:...

Little Kid Jumps Right In Front Of Woman To Snatch Away Baseball
This kid has great reflexes and an ice-cold heart....

Here's A Very 1990s Photo Of A Young Joe Mauer
The Twins' catcher already looked like an all-star in this undated photo taken in front of the St. Paul, Minn., house where he grew up—and not because he was holding a basketball trophy....


Joel Hanrahan Fastball Punctures Hole In Sign
Joel Hanrahan is not off to a grand start as the Red Sox closer. But last night, just before he gave up a game-tying homer to the Twins' Brian Dozier, he did manage to destroy an ad behind home plate. That has to count for something, right?...

That's Good Parenting
It's 32 degrees in Minneapolis tonight, and there are two children at Target Field without shirts on....

The First Weird Baseball Injury Of 2013: Twins Reliever Breaks Ribs During "Horseplay"
Troy McClure warned us, but did we listen? We did not. After TwinsFest at Target Field two weeks ago, Minnesota reliever Anthony Swarzak got into a good-natured tussle....

Report: Carl Pavano Ruptured His Spleen Shoveling Snow
That's according to Ken Rosenthal, whose MLB sources told him the injury would keep the right-hander out for six to eight weeks. Then again, it might be much longer. Consider: Pavano is 37, he hasn't pitched since June 1 because of shoulder trouble, and he's still a free agent....

Watch Kevin Love Hit A Baseball Into The Upper Deck
The video below comes from a local Fox affiliate in Minnesota, and it shows Kevin Love taking batting practice before a Twins game last Friday. And wouldn't you know it, Kevin Love is pretty damn good hitter. He's got a smooth swing for a guy who's 6-9 and doesn't play professional baseball, and th...

Tsuyoshi Nishioka Gave Up $3 Million To Not Be On The Twins Anymore
The Tsuyoshi Nishioka Project did not go over well in Minnesota. The Japanese import was supposed to be the Twins' everyday second baseman, but Nishioka was an abysmal hitter (and overall player), posting a .267 OBP and -2.5 WAR over his two seasons....

Tim Keown's Story On Joe Mauer Wants Minnesota To Get Bent
You're probably used to this sort of subtle cudgel being twirled at cities like New York and Boston, which tend to chew through their heroes just as quickly as they can exalt them. But Tim Keown's piece in the current issue of ESPN The Pulp-Based Periodical is one of the rare stories that quietly ri...

A.J. Pierzynski Has No Problem Calling Twins Pitcher Nick Blackburn A "Piece Of Shit" To His Face
A.J. Pierzynski is not the most popular ballplayer. This is, after all, the guy whose own manager said "If you play against A.J., you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less." So should anyone really be surprised that upon scoring the tying run tonight against Minnesota, the Whi...