Now in their seventh decade since moving from Washington, the Twins have long since established an identity and history in, and connection to, their home in Minnesota. With two World Series titles and extensive individual glory, there’s plenty to celebrate over the franchise’s history in the Twin Cities, and what follows is one reporter’s attempt to sort out the 10 greatest moments in Twins history.
We tried to accomplish a few things here. Of course some of these choices are obvious. But for the less automatic ones, there was an attempt to balance a moment or accomplishment’s place in the overall history of baseball with its resonance to Twins fans and Twins Territory. So, yes, there’s a little hometown bias here, but hopefully not too much.
1. “And we’ll see you tomorrow night!”
An iconic moment, immortalized with an iconic call. One of the greatest players in franchise history, Kirby Puckett cemented his place in club annals when he hit a leadoff, walk-off home run in the 11th inning to win Game 6 of the World Series against the Braves, setting up the equally historic Game 7 win behind Jack Morris and the Twins’ second world title. The homer prompted Jack Buck’s legendary call, “And we’ll see you tomorrow night!”
2. The greatest game ever pitched?
It would have been hard to imagine that Game 6 of the 1991 World Series could be topped, but somehow it was. Morris pitched one of the greatest games in history, a 10-inning shutout to outduel John Smoltz, and Gene Larkin’s RBI pinch-hit single scored Dan Gladden in the 10th to finish off the 1-0 Game 7 win and the franchise’s second title. This one comes in a close second due to the specific moment of Puckett’s homer versus the all-night greatness of the performance by Morris.
3. The first title
There’s just nothing like your first championship, especially when it takes seven games to secure it. Making his third start of the series en route to World Series MVP honors, Frank Viola pitched eight strong innings to deliver a 4-2 win over the Cardinals in Game 7 of the 1987 Fall Classic. Greg Gagne provided the game-winning hit with a single off Todd Worrell to score Tom Brunansky. It was the franchise’s first world title since moving to Minnesota.
4. Robbery in Milwaukee
This is why we have the All-Star Game. Torii Hunter, one of the greatest defensive center fielders of his era, got the start for the American League in Milwaukee in 2002. At the plate? The overwhelming offensive force known as peak Barry Bonds – a man coming off a 73-homer season. Bonds lifted a deep drive to right center, Hunter chased it down, and chased, and chased, and made an absolutely jaw-dropping catch well over the wall to rob Bonds of the homer.
5. Game 163
In its waning days, the Dome rocked one more time. In 2009, the Twins and Tigers played a one-game playoff for the AL Central title, and after a taut battle during the season, the tiebreaker was an all-time classic. Detroit took an early lead, Minnesota went back on top, and after 11 innings it was still tied. But Alexi Casilla poked a ground-ball single in the 12th to score Carlos Gomez and deliver the win in front of more than 54,000 in the Metrodome’s final season.
6. Kirby’s masterpiece
It’s hard to play a better game than Puckett played on Aug. 30, 1987, at Milwaukee County Stadium. Heck, it’s hard to have a better week than Puckett had on one Sunday afternoon. Puckett went 6-for-6. He hit two homers. And he robbed a grand slam from Robin Yount. All in one game. And that came just hours after a 4-for-5 showing with two homers the night before. There’s locked in, and there’s Puckett in Milwaukee that weekend.
7. Midsummer magic
Four years after it opened in 2010, the Twins got to show off Target Field to the baseball world, and the downtown gem shined in its first All-Star Game. The game is probably best known as Derek Jeter’s final Midsummer Classic, but it also had some great hometown flair. The American League won the game, 5-3, and to close it out, the battery consisted of a couple of Twins. St. Paul native Glen Perkins earned the save, with Twins teammate Kurt Suzuki behind the plate to guide him.
8. Buck’s finest moment
In the midst of one of his best seasons, Byron Buxton put it all together on a beautiful afternoon just three days before his first All-Star appearance in 2025. Buxton capped his first cycle and the first by anyone at Target Field with a homer to straightaway center in a 12-4 win against the Pirates. And to top it all off, it came on Byron Buxton Bobblehead Day at the ballpark.
9. Thome makes history
It will never not seem a little strange to see Jim Thome in a Twins uniform, given all the success he had with division rivals Chicago and Cleveland. But you can’t tell the story of the genial slugger’s career without mentioning Aug. 15, 2011. That’s when he hit career homer No. 599, and then followed it up one inning later with No. 600. He became just the eighth player to hit that round number.
10. Winning in October again
There’s a lot of postseason baseball in the 21st century story of the Twins, but for too long, one thing was missing: a series win. Minnesota finally secured its first postseason series win at Target Field on Oct. 4, 2023, when Sonny Gray and five relievers combined for a shutout and Carlos Correa went 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 2-0 win against the Blue Jays. The win delivered an AL Wild Card Series victory, the first postseason series win for the Twins since 2002.