1991 Minnesota Twins

In honor of Peter LeGrand's birthday, it's time to celebrate a REAL Northwoods champion: the 1991 Minnesota Twins!!! The Twins have won two World Series in the last thirty years, with their most recent team triumphing in one of the greatest Game 7 match-ups in baseball history. Honestly, I think that's most of what anyone remembers from 1991: Jack Morris versus John Smoltz, the Kirby HR robbery, the 1-0 Twins victory. The Twins managed to win 95 games, winning the AL West by a comfortable 8 games. Surprisingly, the 1991 AL West was one of the most balanced in baseball history, with all seven teams in the division finishing at least .500! The 91 Twins were a balanced team, finishing 2nd in ERA and 4th in runs scored per game in the AL.

So say hello to a team that gave us all one of the best World Series of all-time: the 1991 Minnesota Twins!!!

Lineup: We've presented the Twins in their original, Game 7 lineup. Honestly, it's a mess. At least Minnesota's central core of Knoblauch and Puckett paces the top of the order, with solid hitter Kent Hrbek adding support. However, the Twins best two hitters, Shane Mack and Chili Davis, are hitting fifth and seventh! Mack must have really struggled versus Smoltz or something, because no way he should be behind Harper. Plus, using a speed B, OB 6 guy as the lead-off man is a bold, very 90s move. It's scary to think how good this team could've been if they'd used a more Showdown-efficient lineup! But at the end of the day, it's just awesome to finally have a Kirby Puckett MLB Showdown card to play with!

Rotation: The strength of this team is their big trio of Tapani-Erickson-Morris. Jack Morris was instrumental in their title, carrying the team through 10 shutout innings in Game 7. The crazy thing is that this Hercules-like pitcher was the third best starter on the team! Kevin Tapani had a sub-3 ERA and earned a 6 on at 16 card. Scott Erickson lacks Morris' control and stamina, but has an extremely stellar 4 on at 17 with no doubles. Unfortunately, the rotation basically ends there, as fourth starter Allan Anderson is about as bad as they come. Get the bullpen ready to bail him out EARLY and often in his starts!

Bullpen: Closer Rick Aguilera provides a true fireman at the backend of the bullpen, but the other three won't be intimidating opponents much. The one strength here is the two 2 IP pitchers, crucial with a weak spot like Allan Anderson in the rotation. Luckily, guys like Tapani and Morris will keep those long-relief guys fresh to keep pitching 2-3 innings per Anderson start!