David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Guess Who Tops Favorites List of the Twins Last 25 Seasons

Posted on June 10, 2025June 10, 2025 by David Shama

The Twins are 25 years into the new millennium. It’s been a historic period in franchise history with the opening of Target Field, division titles and ending that infamous streak of 18 consecutive post-season losses.

To honor the 25 years, I am selecting two personal favorites from the era. One choice will be about as surprising as the sunrise tomorrow. The other might have you guessing for 10 minutes.

No one put his fingerprints on Twins history over the last 25 years like Joe Mauer. My other selection, Francisco Liriano, only teased at sustained superstardom for a brief time but he captured my favor forever.

Both players played major roles in the Twins extraordinary 2006 season. The Central Division champions had the American League MVP in Justin Morneau, batting champion in Mauer, Cy Young Award winning in Johan Santana, a sixth consecutive Gold Glove Award winner in Tori Hunter, and Liriano a lights out pitcher who might have been both the Cy Young winner and Rookie of the Year if not for late season arm trouble.

Liriano photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins

In one of the best trades in Twins’ history, general manager Terry Ryan had brought Liriano to the organization in a 2003 deal with the Giants that also obtained pitchers Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser for catcher A.J. Pierzynski. After the trade Ryan remembered “everybody raving about him (Liriano)” in the farm system.

Liriano pitched briefly for the Twins in 2005 and then was more than ready in the spring of 2006 when manager Ron Gardenhire put the left-hander in the starting rotation. “He never really skipped a beat from Triple-A to the big leagues,” Ryan told Sports Headliners. “He had velocity. He had control. He had command.

“He had the slider that was an out pitch. He had an excellent change up. You know with he and Santana, they both had those changeups—difference makers. So, he had a complete mix.

“He was a good athlete. He had a good makeup about him; nothing seemed to faze him. ….”

Liriano’s dominance from May until early August when he injured his arm was breath taking to watch. During that short stretch he was the best Twins pitcher in franchise history this observer ever saw.

The Twins were almost certain to win when Liriano went to the mound. He put together a streak of eight quality starts (per MLB.com) and was named to the American League All-Star team. Ryan referred to that magical run of 2006 as “phenomenal.”

Liriano was a strike out pitching machine, partially because of a nasty slider that Ryan described as unhittable while also praising the then 22-year-old’s velocity. “I don’t care if you’re left-handed or right handed (hitter), you couldn’t hit it. Because it had power and it had severe bite, and he could locate it, and he wasn’t afraid to throw it in any count.

“Whether he was two and one; three and one; 0-2, he’d throw it. He didn’t have any problem with location, complete confidence in an out pitch, especially with left handers where they didn’t stand a chance against that pitch.”

Liriano had a 1.96 ERA into August of 2006 but then hurt his arm. He made only two starts in the last two months of the season. Still, his season numbers were gaudy: 12-3 record, 2.16 ERA, 144 strikeouts in 121 innings with opposing batters hitting .205. In a full season it might have been Liriano, not Santana who won the Cy Young Award.

“Liriano and Santana were about as impressive a tandem on a starting staff as you could ever hope for,” Ryan said. “And there was no chance that we were going to go on any extended losing streak with those two guys on the staff. Because each time either one of those guys took the mound you had a pretty good feeling you had a very good chance of winning that game that particular night.”

Before Liriano got hurt it looked like the Twins had the makings of a future World Series champion. Perhaps even in 2006. Ryan described the loss of Liriano as “devastating” to that team. “When he went down it really set us back,” Ryan said.

Liriano missed the entire 2007 season after having Tommy John surgery in late 2006. He stayed with the Twins into the 2012 season before being sent to the White Sox. He had a quality 2010 season with the Twins winning 14 games and later in his career won 16 for the Pirates. But injuries plagued his career before officially retiring in January of 2022.

It seems like Joseph Patrick Mauer, born and raised in St. Paul, has been in the spotlight forever. At Cretin-Derham Hall in the late 1990s he was a headline maker on the local sports pages. He was terrific on the basketball court, a five-star college quarterback prospect and so coveted in baseball he became the first overall selection in the 2001 MLB Draft. The Twins chose Mauer over pitcher Mark Prior and it was a wise decision because spurning the local kid for a guy who had an okay career on the mound would have been a disaster.

Ryan said the Twins might have scouted Mauer more than any prospect he knows of. “…I think we got a lot of things right on him. His make up was phenomenal. Tremendous athlete. He had a desire (to excel). He was a quiet leader.

“His demeanor was unbelievably calm. Those types of guys, they had that low pulse. They don’t get overreacting. They don’t get over excited. They just go about their business.”

By 2004 Mauer was the team’s starting catcher and taking the first steps of a legendary 15-year career in the majors, all with the Twins. The 6-foot-4, left-hand hitting Mauer won three American League batting titles, five Silver Slugger Awards and was the 2009 AL MVP Award. His production that year was the stuff of baseball immortals, hitting a career-high 28 home runs along with a .365 batting average and best-ever 96 RBI.

A Sports Illustrated cover boy, he is the only AL catcher ever to win a batting title. Six times he was named an AL all-star.

Mauer was a superb catcher superb catcher who showed off a quarterback’s arm in targeting base runners. His marvelous athleticism made him capable of even catching a foul ball behind his back or reaching behind the protective netting to snag a ball. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner as a catcher and probably deserved to win one after moving to first base late in his career.

“He was probably one of the greatest athletic catchers that came a long in the game,” Ryan said.

Mauer was voted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2023. The ultimate post-career honor came in 2024 when he was a first=ballot selection for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Ask Ryan how special Mauer was and you will hear about the man as well as the player. “Well, he’s a Hall of Famer for a reason. He’s got tools. He’s got makeup. He’s a great teammate.

“Great human being. He was raised well and. …And he hasn’t changed. I’ve been around him quite a bit since he retired, and he hasn’t changed at all”.

Mauer is a legend and he’s one of us. He put his stamp all over the first 25 years of the new millennium and we’re all the better for it.

1 comment

Even in Spring College Football Magazine Brings Excitement

Posted on June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 by David Shama

At the Walgreen’s checkout line on Friday, I was surprised to see a college football magazine for sale. I almost gagged at the price of $14.99 but simultaneously fell into a state of ecstasy.

Everyone should have something that takes them back to their favorite childhood endeavor. At the top of my list is and was searching the magazine shelves at a pharmacy or bookstore for the first college football publication of the year.

I couldn’t resist buying Athlon’s magazine, even at a ridiculous cost of $16.27 including tax. Don’t tell Athlon but $22 is probably my ceiling.

Years ago, it was usually Street & Smith’s that was out first. It was a comprehensive national preview, and you didn’t need a small loan to buy it.

Steet & Smith’s magazine hit newsstands in August. Decades ago, the college football season didn’t start until mid-September or later in the month. Now the preview publications will be out in June, partially because the season starts in late August.

As a youth, I was waiting for the Gophers’ return to Big Ten glory and national championships. That’s what my elders talked about, the great legacy of Minnesota football. I rushed to the store with anticipation that a Gopher player might be a magazine cover boy. Couldn’t wait in the 1950s and 1960s to see if Minnesota was forecast among the nation’s elite.

Nowadays, I still get excited about buying and reading the magazines, but with tempered expectations, of course. Yes, I am ready for whatever fortunes are forecast for the Maroon and Gold, but I am also curious to see what the Big Ten and national landscape is supposed to be.

Know that Athlon lists Minnesota No. 42 in its 2025 rankings of 136 college football teams. Matthew McConnaughey’s Texas Longhorns are No. 1, and the Golden Flashes of Kent State are No. 136.

Athlon predicts Minnesota will finish 11^th in the 18 team Big Ten Conference. That’s not a lofty forecast but the magazine thinks the Gophers can have a winning season and forecasts a postseason appearance against the Big 12’s Baylor Bears at the Rate Bowl in Phoenix.

Bears beware! The Gophers have won eight consecutive bowl games, including six straight under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

I do have something else Gopher fans can strut about. Sophomore safety and wunderkind Koi Perich is an Athlon third-team defense All-American and first team All-Big Ten. As the magazines come out and national award candidates are announced, the preseason recognition will mount for the Esko, Minnesota native who figures to impact games this fall as a defender, special teams player and even offensive threat.

Fleck will be in his ninth season leading the Gophers program. His best season was in 2019 when the Gophers finished 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll.

The notion from some skeptics endures that Fleck will use the Gopher job as a stepping stone. Athlon reinforced that with a quote from an opposing Big Ten assistant coach.

“…It’s no secret Fleck wants to be at a high-end, title contending program,” he said anonymously. “This doesn’t look like a ’19 season on paper, but if they win nine games or so, he’ll be on the hunt to move.”

I am going to sign off now and get back to devouring Athlon’s pages. Doesn’t everyone want to know what awaits not only the power conference teams but also the likes of Kennesaw State, Old Dominion and Liberty (not the insurance company).

If you see an older guy with a stack of magazines at Barnes & Noble any time soon be sure to lend a hand. Or maybe a couple of bucks. This stuff is expensive!

Comments Welcome

Will Glen Taylor Surprise as New Minnesota Twins Owner?

Posted on June 4, 2025June 4, 2025 by David Shama

The field of potential buyers of the Twins franchise is unknown to the public. Could Glen Taylor be among the interested?

Taylor, 84, might seem unlikely given his age and apparent exit from sports as majority owner of the Timberwolves and Lynx. The sale of those franchises to the Marc Lore-Alex Rodriguez group is expected to be finalized soon by the NBA.

Taylor is a lifelong civic-minded Minnesotan and sports fan. It was Taylor who stepped up in 1994 to buy a distressed Wolves franchise that could have been headed to New Orleans. Taylor started the Lynx franchise in 1999 partially because he wanted to be supportive of women’s basketball. For many years he operated both the Lynx and Wolves when they lost money.

The Mankato-based billionaire obviously wants to make money on his various business endeavors, but he’s demonstrated his interest in benefitting the community including paying for expensive upgrades to Target Center, the city-owned home of the Wolves and Lynx. More than 20 years ago he told the Rochester Post-Bulletin he had interest in buying the Twins and Vikings.

Could Taylor head a group of Minnesotans willing to buy the baseball franchise under terms they consider favorable? Might that group include the Davis family best known to many Minnesotans for its Cambria ownership? Twins hall of famer Joe Mauer, potentially as a minor investor, would add “curb appeal” to a new group.

Taylor and partners reportedly will receive $1.5 billion for the sale of the Wolves-Lynx. The Twins Pohlad family ownership group might be asking a similar price for their franchise.

That appears to be a higher figure than realistic. Forbes does value the team at $1.5 billion but a recent report from Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press said the franchise has more than $400 million debt and is borrowing to pay bills.

That is a big negotiating point to any potential buyer. So, too, is the belief that the Twins are in the bottom third in valuation among the 30 MLB franchises.

Forbes ranks the franchise at No. 23. The Orioles, who sold last year at a reported $1.7 billion, are ranked No. 18 and valued at $1.9 billion.

The Twins are averaging 19,595 fans a game this season, per ESPN.com. That ranks No. 25 in baseball. The Twins per game attendance, though, will rise in the summer months with better weather and if the Twins continue to win as they have done of late.

The club has long had a bandwagon fan base. There is no fierce groundswell of loyalty to the Twins as there is for the Vikings, or baseball’s Cubs and Red Sox.

Attendance is significantly impacted by on field success and while usually having a competitive team in the AL Central Division, the franchise is hardly poised for a World Series run. It doesn’t help either that much of the fanbase is anti-Pohlad, believing that for too long ownership has been unwilling to invest enough in payroll.

Selling season tickets has been a challenge in recent years. When the club moved into Target Field in 2010 the season tickets total was reportedly about 24,000. That figure more than doubled the franchise record, per my reporting in 2010. Now the season tickets base might be in the 10,000 range, or even less.

In addition to on field performance, attendance is impacted by inclement weather. April and May often bring troublesome weather that discourages ticket buyers. Those two months represent roughly one-third of the schedule.

Playing in a facility without a retractable roof is a liability for the franchise which might have been interested in that amenity except for the added cost. A covered facility assures ticket buyers, including groups, that a game will be played regardless of the weather.

The neighboring Brewers have such a facility and are valued at $1.7 billion and ranked No. 20 in the Forbes evaluations. Yet Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin don’t have the geographic drawing power that the Twins benefit from being able to attract fans from the Dakotas, Iowa and Canada. American Family Field gives the Brewers an edge at the box office.

The Twins have also been hit with reported declining local TV revenue. The once lucrative regional sports model has been replaced by Twins TV. Going back to the 2024 offseason it was apparent the club’s stance on player payroll was impacted on a projection of less money from local television.

Perhaps the Twins would be willing to structure a sale for something like $1.2 billion with the caveat that if certain revenue marks are achieved in coming years, the Pohlads will receive a percentage of the success. That could be a negotiating item in a sale that has plenty of challenges including the potential of a MLB players’ work stoppage after the collective bargaining agreement between their union and the owners ends after the 2026 season.

Maybe Taylor is intrigued by it all. Perhaps he sees a reinvigoration of himself on a warm, sunny day at Target Field.

Worth Noting

When the Twins selected Royce Lewis at No. 1 overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, they passed on Hunter Greene. While Lewis is in an inexplicable slump and hitting .133, Greene is arguably one of MLB’s 10 best starting pitchers. The Reds ace was 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA last season and in 2025 is off to a 4-3 record with a 2.72 ERA.

New Vikings backup quarterback Sam Howell has a Korean heritage. His grandmother was Korean and he has worn a South Korean flag decal on his helmet in the past.

Brian Cosgriff, the Minnesota high school girls basketball coaching legend who won eight state titles before retiring this spring, turned down the opportunity to pursue the head coaching job at the prestigious Montverde Academy (near Orlando). Cosgriff, 64, had an initial interest in becoming a serious candidate for the national powerhouse program but decided to remain in Minneapolis where next school year he will have a physical education position at DeLaSalle High School.

The upcoming season will be Mark Lundgren’s 30th as a member of the University of Minnesota football chain gang. The season will be the 25th for him as the gang’s crew chief. Lundgren, who has never missed a game, was recently given a 30-year commemorative jacket by some crew members.

1 comment