The Twins will make Opening Day history today

The Minnesota Twins will, win or lose, be in unique territory when they take the field at no-longer Miller Park in a few hours.

This will be the first time in history that the Twins have opened the season against a National League opponent.

Even though the unbalanced schedules and 15-team leagues are apparently here to stay, and have essentially eliminated any differentiation between leagues (as did the move to abolish individual league offices back in 1999, another of Bud Selig’s lousy moves,) the Twins have always began the season with an American League foe. More often than not, these games have been against a division rival, as this weekend is one of baseball’s bigger stages. Last season, in the much-abbreviated 2020 campaign, the Twins visited the White Sox. Prior to that, they have hosted Cleveland, Kansas City, and Detroit, and visted the Tigers and White Sox (again) in the past decade. They’ve also somehow opened against Baltimore on three separate occasions in that span—their only non-divisional opening day opponent since the Blue Jays in 2011 (which Zach discussed earlier.)

Oddly enough, the Twins have opened the season against Milwaukee twice in the past. Remember, the Brewers were an AL team for years, until realigning in 1998, when MLB expansion last happened. In 1992 the Twins visited the Brew Crew, and in 1971 the Twins hosted. Both games, ironically, happened on April 6th. The 1971 Twins, despite having Carew, Killebrew, and Oliva in the line up would lose by a score of 7-2. In 1992, fresh off a World Championship, the Twins won 4-2.

This will also be the second of the three opening day games against the Brewers in which the Twins will not utilize a DH. The designated hitter was adopted in 1973, which means that only the 1992 game took advantage, with Chili Davis filling the role. Please, feel free to impress your friends with worthless bit of trivia.