The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Minnesota Twins: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, And Gut-Wrenching Moments From Minnesota Twins History

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Minnesota Twins: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Minnesota Twins History

From the Publisher"I have been with the Twins for more than half of their existence. Steve's book will take you through those years, as well as the ones I wasn't around for, and stir memories of our best teams, our MVPs, our Cy Young winners, our Hall of Famers (and a few more who ought to belong), and our unsung heroes, along with some of our flops, fistfights, and contract hassles. Fans will get to relive their favorite moments, just like I get to `pitch' every night now from the broadcast booth." --from the foreword by Bert Blyleven"I remember saying, `What are all these cars on the street?' And they bused us into the Dome and lifted that door about three-quarters of the way up. The power wasn't on entirely, and there were 50,000 people in there. And it was, like, goose bumps. Amazing." --Rick Stelmaszek on the 1987 AL championship celebration"This has been creeping in and creeping in. It got to the point where I knew I had to step aside. I didn't like seeing the way I had become, the way I treated people.... I don't have it in me anymore." --General manager Terry Ryan upon his retirement in 2007Genuine fans take the best team moments with the less than great, and know that the games that are best forgotten make the good moments truly shine. This monumental book of the Minnesota Twins documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining-and unsparing-fashion, this book sparkles with Twins highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infamous. Such moments include the World Championships of 1987 and 1991 and the miraculous years when Bud Selig almost contracted the franchise, as well as the outrageous number of losses by Terry Felton and when manager Billy Martin punched out his starting pitcher in 1969. Whether providing fond memories, goose bumps, or laughs, this portrait of the team is sure to appeal to the fan who has been through it all.From the Inside FlapProfessional baseball came to Minnesota in 1961 when Washington Senators owner Calvin Griffith moved his franchise from the East Coast to the Twin Cities. Over the ensuing four-plus decades, the Twins have become one of the most inspiring and beloved teams in the game. Along the way, favorites like Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Paul Molitor, Kirby Puckett, and Joe Mauer have graced the Minnesota dugout, riding the ups and downs of the team whose success belies its small-market status. Now every Twins fan can get the cold, hard truth behind all the major players, coaches, and events in team history.The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Minnesota Twins leaves no stone unturned in chronicling the highs and lows of the Twins. Go inside the boisterous clubhouse of the 1987 and 1991 World Series champions, then cringe as baseball commissioner Bud Selig threatens to contract the franchise in 2001. Follow Kirby Puckett as he becomes one of the game's most popular and unlikely superstars, then mourn as his career and life end prematurely. Get the inside story behind the late-season collapse of the '67 Twins, Rod Carew's quest to hit .400, the off-the-field struggles of Jim Eisenreich and Jeff Reardon, the recent departures of Torii Hunter and Terry Ryan, and everything in between.In an entertaining and unsparing fashion, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Minnesota Twins recounts the best and worst Twins teams and players of all time, the clutch performances and biggest choke jobs, and all the fights, rivalries, and clubhouse antics that happened along the way. If you're a through-thick-and-thin Twins fan, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Minnesota Twins is your ultimate guide to the ugly truth!About the AuthorSteve Aschburner is a contributing writer for SI.com and NBA.com. He has nearly three decades of experience as a sports journalist at daily newspapers, including the Star Tribune of Minnesota, for which h