Get those arms loose, Twins fans. The Homer Hanky is back.

The Star Tribune announced Monday it will release the 2019 version of its three-decades-old fan-favorite this week. The Twins play their first playoff game Friday in New York against the Yankees. The series comes to Target Field on Monday for Game 3.

Dreamed up in 1987 by a Star Tribune marketing team led by Terrie Robbins, the Homer Hanky became part of the (soft, white) fabric of that unforgettable World Series run. The Hanky made several returns after that, in 1991 and a few times in the 2000s as well.

And this week, it's coming back — with a twist. Who says Homer Hankys always have to be white? (Hint, hint.)

And, really, has a baseball team ever deserved a Homer Hanky more than this one? They just finished bashing a Major League Baseball record 307 home runs.

Details on how to get a Homer Hanky, and what the 2019 version looks like, will be released later this week. Stay tuned, while you stretch out your arm muscles.

How big was the Homer Hanky in 1987? Rosemary Nally of Methodist Hospital showed how the hospital was wrapping babies with Minnesota’s favorite piece of cloth.

Chris Carr, sports editor