MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN -- With postseason baseball back at Target Field for the first time in nine years, the 2019 American League Central Division Champion Minnesota Twins are proud to partner with the Star Tribune and CUB to celebrate this Bomba SZN and bring fans the return of the iconic Homer Hanky™.

The 2019 Homer Hanky will be given to each fan as they enter Target Field for every Twins home game of the American League Division Series and, should they advance, the American League Championship Series. Additionally, they will be available for purchase beginning later today at the Majestic Twins Clubhouse Store, at all CUB locations throughout Minnesota, and online via startribune.com/HomerHanky. A portion of the proceeds from each sale will go to benefit the Minnesota Twins Community Fund.

“The Minnesota Twins are thrilled with the return of the Homer Hanky,” said team President & CEO Dave St. Peter. “Homer Hankies have long been synonymous with Twins postseason history, earning their place as a must-have collectible for multiple generations of baseball fans. We expect the 2019 Homer Hanky to be a central part of what we hope will be a lengthy Twins postseason run.”

Blending the nostalgic feel of past Homer Hankies with the Bomba SZN mantra of the Twins’ record-setting “Bomba Squad”, the 2019 edition is sure to once again become a fan favorite. New for this October is the Homer Hanky color scheme and fabric, with Major League Baseball rules no longer allowing for white “rally towels." With “Twins red” emerging as a dominant feature of the club’s uniform color scheme, the 2019 Homer Hanky will mirror the team’s favored on-field look (Minnesota is 19-8 in their home red jerseys this season, while the red “Twins” script is the distinctive feature of the club’s alternate blue jerseys, in which they are 22-13).

Manufactured for retail by Winona, Minnesota-based WinCraft, the 2019 Homer Hanky is a 100-percent cotton, terrycloth towel – a durable material better suited to the red color than the traditional hanky, and perfect for waving enthusiastically during the Twins’ October run.

“Homer Hankies have a storied place in the sports history of the Twin Cities and the Star Tribune,” said Steve Yaeger, Star Tribune chief marketing officer, “and have become synonymous with Minnesota playoff baseball. That’s why, along with the Twins and CUB, we’re proud to reinvigorate this Minnesota sports tradition and bring it back for new generations of baseball fans and Twins supporters. At the rate the Twins have been sending baseballs out of the park this season, we expect this year’s Homer Hankies will get a lot of use.”

“Since the 1960’s, the Minnesota Twins and CUB have dedicated themselves to being the hometown team and grocer, and nothing says hometown and playoff baseball better than the Homer Hanky. It gives us great pride to work with the Twins and the Star Tribune in bringing this iconic symbol back to Twins fans,” said Mike Stigers, CEO of CUB.

The Homer Hanky, originally a brainchild of Terrie Robbins and the Star Tribune marketing team, made its debut for Game 1 of the 1987 American League Championship Series at the Metrodome and became a fixture of the Twins’ World Series championship run that October. The fabled symbol of Twins postseason baseball returned for the team’s 1991 World Series title and has been on hand for every Twins home postseason game since (2002-2004; 2006; 2009-10).

The Twins will open the 2019 ALDS with Game 1 tomorrow night in New York, with first pitch slated for 6:07 p.m. CT on MLB Network. Saturday’s Game 2, also at Yankee Stadium, will start at 4:07 p.m. CT on FS1. The 2019 Homer Hanky will make its official debut when the series shifts to Target Field for Game 3 on Monday, October 7.