When the baseball season was starting there was a buzz around town about the Twins and how good they were going to be this season. Everyone was talking about the games, cementing on highlights they saw on the evening news. Once Joe Mauer went down with his knee injury talk of the Twins kind of disappeared as if fans called it a season and are waiting for next season.Sure the Twins were in a rut back in those early days of the season with players getting hurt and losses coming quicker than wins. Sure the White Sox and Royals were ahead of the Twins in the standings, but thatís no reason to give up on them.
With Mauer out Henry Blanco has stepped up and put up some impressive numbers at the plate making those who have been following the Twins almost forget about Mauer. When Torii Hunter went on the disabled list, Lew Ford came out of nowhere and is hitting .391 with 17 runs batted in.
With the help of the rest of the team, the Twins have quietly moved into first place in the American League Central and continue to play quality baseball.
Most Twins fans I talk to say they look in the papers once in a while to see where the Twins are in the standings, but thatís about it since they canít watch them on TV. OK, so last year the excuse for basically not paying attention to the Twins until the season was almost over was because they played in a dome and it didnít make sense to sit inside on a nice day. This year it looks like the excuse is going to be that since they are not on TV itís too hard to follow the team.
Itís not that hard to follow the Twins though. Instead of sitting on the couch and watching TV, fans can turn the radio on and get something done like yard work or cleaning the garage while still getting every detail of the game. There is also the evening news to catch those spectacular plays that simply canít be seen on the radio. The newspapers are another good source for fans who want to keep up with the Twins during the entire season.
Since coming to Minnesota I have been critical of Minnesota fans for not paying much attention to their teams until late in the season when it looks as though they are in the playoffs. Itís happening with the Timberwolves right now, and itís going to happen with the Twins again this season.
I have noticed that each team here in Minnesota has their true fans who are there with them all year long and are knowledgeable of whatís going on, then there are the fans who hear a Minnesota team is doing well then decide to follow them until they begin to lose again or their season is over.
The baseball season is long from being over, but it is never too early to get behind your team and stay behind your team. I am not saying fans need to go bankrupt taking the family to a game. I just want fans, or people that call themselves fans, to be just that and know what their team is doing. Support your team, not only when they are winning, but when they are losing.
Top of Page
