Minnesota Twins: 10 Reasons Minnesota Is a Very Underrated Baseball State

You always see lists of the best baseball cities in America, but the Twins aren't just a city. No, the Minnesota Twins represent a state, no a territory. This is Twins Territory. When you think of Minnesota you think snow, cold, Bob Dylan and Prince, but you really should be thinking about baseball.

The Jewelry

It’s hard to say that the Twins hoard championships, but in Minnesota standards they sure do. Minnesota has all four major sports with the Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, and Wild; when you combine all their championships they have two.

Those two come from the Twins. 1987 and 1991 are the only championships Minnesotans can claim with their current teams. If only the Lakers wouldn't have left.

The Ballpark

If you lived in Minnesota and you had friends coming in from out of town, where would you take them: the Metrodome, Target Center, Xcel Energy Center, or Target Field? Target Field, of course.

No matter the product on the field, Minnesotans will always be proud of that beautiful ballpark in downtown Minneapolis. Ask any Twins fan and they’ll say Target Field is the best stadium in the league.

The Struggles

Be it the '90s or last year the Twins have had their fair share of struggles, but the fans kept going through the doors. At times it was also a struggle to get people to go to the games, but there’s always been hope.

Last year, a year the Twins were the second worst team in the MLB, fans held out hope into the second half of the season. Minnesotans gave up hope on Donovan McNabb by the time the team was on the plane back from San Diego in Week 1.

The Cows

“Holy Cow!” We all say it every day or an explicit version of it, but did you know its baseball origins trace back to Minnesota?

Before Harry Caray there was Halsey Hall, who coined the home run call first. Hall called games for both the Minneapolis Millers and the Minnesota Twins, a real baseball tradition.

The Predecessors

Before the Twins came to town in 1961 the Twin Cities supported two minor league baseball teams, the Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints.

The teams were heated rivals, often playing cross-town home and home doubleheaders. The Millers were folded and the Saints moved to Omaha when the Twins moved in from Washington.

That's a picture of the Millers with Fidel Castro in 1959 during the Junior Word Series vs. Havana.

The Minors

Although they left when the Twins came, the St. Paul Saints were reborn in 1993. Not many baseball states would support both a major league team and a non-MLB affiliated minor league team, but Minnesota does.

It may just be because of their cool promotions, though. They've had gems like a rubber boat making fun of the Vikings love boat scandal, Bud Selig neckties, Randy Moss Hood Ornaments, and of course the Michael Vick dog chew toy.

The Townball

If you live in Minnesota, you’re literally within minutes of a Town Team Baseball team. All the joys of baseball are right there in your own backyard. There are currently 300-plus teams in the state of Minnesota.

Even former Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant played town ball. "I made more money playing [town team] baseball than I did playing for the Minneapolis Lakers...And we won an NBA title while I was playing for them." If you didn't know, Bud Grant also played professional basketball.

The Natives

Everybody knows that Joe Mauer is from Minnesota, but Minnesota does have many other native sons that they are very proud of.

Major Leaguers like Dave Winfield, Terry Steinbach, Glen Perkins, Jack Morris, Paul Molitor, Roger Maris, Tom Kelly and Kent Hrbek all hail from the land of 10,000 lakes. Names like these run deep through baseball and Minnesota history.

The U

The University of Minnesota may not be the iconic program Duke is in basketball or Ohio State is in football, but the U of M has found success in baseball with three National Championships in 1956, 1960 and 1964.

The Gophers have won 22 regular season Big Ten Championships and eight Big Ten Tournament Championships. The latest success for the Gophers was in 2004 and 2010 when they won both championships.

The Weather

Who else in their right mind would deal with the weather we have in Minnesota? The weather hasn't taken a grip on Target Field yet, but it will.

We have to pay somehow for the nice, no-snow-yet weather we've been having this winter in Minnesota.