Twins are cellar dwellers but have that come-from-behind attitude

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Sound Off by Don Heinzman – Do you wonder what draws record crowds to Target Field to see the cellar-dwelling Minnesota Twins play baseball day after day?

The Twins are last in the American League.  They’ve lost more home games than they’ve won on the road, their pitching corps is decimated and half the lineup wasn’t on the roster opening day.

Well I found my answer Sunday as I followed my thought process when the Twins defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 in 15 innings.

We’ve become satisfied when they play when they play close games, while expecting them to lose.

This makes sense as we develop a positive losing mentality toward local professional sports:  The Vikings football team, the Wild hockey team, the Gopher football team and the Timberwolves basketball team all have losing records.

We are becoming used to losing and feeling good about it.

I felt this coming on as I made my way to my $50 seat in  the leftfield section by the foul pole last Sunday.  I didn’t expect the Twins to win, but I wanted them to play a close game.

When they fell behind 1-0, I was neither surprised nor dismayed.  And when they tied the score 1-1, I felt good but knew they would trail again, which they did, 4-1.

A drizzle descended on us, as our Twins slogged along, and I felt trailing by three runs really was pretty good..

Then the unexpected happened.  The Twins tied the game – tied it.  When Dozier (Brian)  came across the plate with the tying run, I was startled.  I sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” with gusto.

And then, the game went into extra inning after extra inning. I was proud but not confident, respectful and hopeful but didn’t expect to win.

I felt satisfied. Playing competitively with the Brewers for 15 innings surpassed my expectations.   I proudly waved my Twins cap.

To my utter amazement, my home town team hit four singles and a game winner by Denard Span in the 15^th inning.  That was icing on the cake because I had expected a close but losing game.

The Twins win renewed my faith that this team will continue  to  make me and thousands of others go to the ball game, not just for peanuts and crackerjack, but armed with hope for the unexpected and ready to rejoice when they WIN.