Twins/Vikings/Wild/Wolves Championship appearance drought tracker




The 1987 Twins winning the WS, indeed was a major upset.

That team is the only Champion in MLB history to be outscored in the Regular Season. They also were fortunate to have Home Field advantage against both the Tigers & Cards, which was predetermined alternating between the Divisions/Leagues. Also Jack Clark was not available for St Louis and Terry Pendleton was limited. Indeed it was a bit flukey.

The 1991 Twins was NOT an upset in any manner. They won 95 games. They had the best record in the AL, 2nd only to Pittsburgh in MLB (98). They again enjoyed Dome Field advantage (also predetermined) against the Blue Jays & Braves, but had better records than both.

That team had a really strong lineup, were adept at fielding, a strong top 3 rotation as well as a reliable bullpen. It included 2 HoFers performing at a high level and the Rookie of the Year.

That club was damn good.
My post was referring to expectations at the beginning of the year. The '91 Twins were projected to win 76 games. They started slow in April and May, picked it up in June, and kept going for an improvement of 19 games above projections.

The Twins were +8000 to win the WS in '91... only a few teams in MLB had worse odds. This was the infamous last to first WS match up with the Braves. No team had gone from last to a league pennant before and both teams did it in '91.

WS Odds
Win Total Odds
 

My post was referring to expectations at the beginning of the year. The '91 Twins were projected to win 76 games. They started slow in April and May, picked it up in June, and kept going for an improvement of 19 games above projections.

The Twins were +8000 to win the WS in '91... only a few teams in MLB had worse odds. This was the infamous last to first WS match up with the Braves. No team had gone from last to a league pennant before and both teams did it in '91.

WS Odds
Win Total Odds

That's all fair/valid from that perspective.

Several guys had career years along with key Free Agent pickups and a RoY resulted in a fly by from Spring Training expectations.
 


Also, it has to be Minneapolis miracle when referring to the NO play. Never Minnesota Miracle.
 

My girlfriend and I were high on life for days after Game 7. She had been in attendance with her brother, and I hosted a watch party nearby. We all met up to celebrate on the streets afterward (don't ask me how we all found each other in the pre-mobile phone era; it just always happened!). Just days later, I was stranded at her house as we shoveled her out from the Halloween snowstorm. A month and a half later, we got engaged. We have lived our entire married lives together without a championship-round appearance. The saving grace: at least we're Lynx fans!
 




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