Thursday was supposed to be the Twins 60th home opener in franchise history, but with the indefinite suspension of Major League Baseball, that celebration will have to wait. Instead here is a look back at some of the most important and interesting home openers the Twins have played since coming to Minnesota in 1961.
Some of them were important in the moment when they took place: the first games at Met Stadium, the Metrodome and Target Field, for example. Others started seasons that became interesting because of what eventually happened. When the Twins rallied late to beat oakland in the 1987 home opener, for example, who knew that season would lead to the team's first World Series title. And did anyone expect that last April's Opening Day shutout would be the first of 101 victories?
Here's our list and why they mattered.
Friday, April 21, 1961 at Metropolitan Stadium
Washington Senators 5, Twins 3
Attendance: 24,606
The Twins first season in franchise history saw them open against another brand new franchise in the Washington Senators, who replaced the previous Washington Senators who had become the Minnesota Twins. The new Senators club, who beat the Twins 5-3 in the first Major League Baseball game in the Twin Cities, would become the Texas Rangers in 1972. Twins center fielder Lenny Green hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game 3-3 but Ray Moore allowed two runs in the top of the ninth and the Twins left the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning.
Why it mattered: The first Major League Baseball game in state history changed the trajectory of pro sports in Minnesota.