Tagged: Twins

09 – 09 – 09

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Today marks a unique day in history as the date, September 9, 2009 transforms to 09/09/09. It’ll happen again next October, again two years from now in November, and then again three years from now in December. After that moment, it’ll be many years before the day, month and year match up again.
To commemorate the unique day in history, we take a look at the list of all players to ever where number nine for the Minnesota Twins.

Billy Gardner (1961) 

Rich Rollins (1961-68) 
Charlie Manuel (1969-72) 
Larry Hisle (1973-77)
Bombo Rivera (1978-80) 
Mickey Hatcher (1981-86) 
Gene Larkin (1987-93) 
Matt Walbeck (1995-96) 
Orlando Merced (1998) 
A.J. Pierzynski (1998-99) 
Jason Maxwell (2000-01) 
Steve Liddle (2002-09)
Two people, A.J. Pierzynski and Steve Liddle, stand out to the general fan, and Liddle has held the uniform for the longest time, followed closely by Gene Larkin who wore it for six seasons.
Charlie Manuel too is a familiar name; he has since become the manager for the Philadelphia Phillies and led them to a World Series title last season. 

Dome Dominance

The Minnesota Twins will never again play the Chicago White Sox in the Metrodome. After dominating the team from the South Side of Chicago in recent years under the roof, the two sides will never again face each other indoors after they finished up their final scheduled series in Minneapolis for the 2009 season.

The Twins ended the season with a 7-2 home record against the White Sox, and the two losses came by a combined three runs. From the beginning of last season, the Twins went 15-3 (.833) at home against the White Sox. Dating back to the ’07 season, the Twins went 20-7 (.741), and all the way back to the magical ’06 season, they went 25-11 (.694).
The dominance at the Metrodome against one of the team’s biggest rivals has been well documented, but it will be no more. If there is any home dominance for the Twins against one of their biggest foes, it’ll need to come outside at Target Field.
The ending to what has been a great tenure for the Twins against Chicago wasn’t a fitting one. With a 2-0 lead, two outs and an 0-2 count, Joe Nathan blew the save and eventually the game. 
The Twins time and time again in recent seasons have been the team to collect the walk off victories. They’ve seen Alexi Casilla jump down the first base line, and Jose Morales get mobbed. They’ve seen Joe Nathan dominate the ninth, and the Sox rarely had much to celebrate. With one more opportunity however, the White Sox got the last laugh in Minneapolis.
Getting within one pitch of a second sweep of the White Sox and further advancement above the .500 mark is devastating, and feels like a punch to the gut; it’d be difficult to find a more difficult loss to swallow.
The Twins could drop back in the division tonight, but the season is not over. With 30 games remaining, including 7 against the Detroit Tigers, the Twins must bounce back as they head to Cleveland this weekend. An extended downfall could doom the hopes of adding to the list of Metrodome Memories.