Top Twins Moments of 2020

Usually, the New Years holiday prompts reflection on the previous 365 days gone by. This year, however, it seems as if most people wish 2020—now forever a synonym for a horrible series of events—could simply be swept under the rug and forgotten. I can’t really argue with such sentiment.

Fortunately, baseball—even in the darkest times—provides the kind of thrilling events that allow us to momentarily forget about real-world problems. In looking back at Twins baseball in ‘20, I nominate five such junctures as most enjoyable. In chronological order...

#1: After waiting nearly four additional months for the 2020 season to begin—and not being sure that it would happen at all—Max Kepler immediately got the campaign off on the right foot.

#2: The Twins acquired Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers to pair with Jose Berrios at the top of the rotation. That turned out to be an understatement, as he put together a Cy Young Award-worthy performance. On this night, Maeda almost pitched himself into the history books (sadly, he didn’t even garner the victory, though the Twins did win in extra innings).

#3: In early September the Twins ripped off a six-game winning streak, capped by Buxton calling game on another Maeda gem by beating out a routine grounder to short.

#4: On 9/11, Maeda (yep—him again) matched up up with eventual Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber. The former was a bit better than the latter and the Twins pulled out a squeaker that begat a sweep of Cleveland and essentially put the Tribe’s division title hopes to bed.

#5: In mid-September, the Twins looked to be dropping a crucial contest while locked in a tight division title race. But then Max Kepler provided a double dose of late-inning heroics for a Twins victory, and another win the following day put them atop the AL Central to stay in 2020.

What moment stood out to you this past season?