Difference between revisions 66160695 and 70605162 on enwiki

This '''Twins-Athletics rivalry''' began in the expansion season of 1969 when the [[Oakland Athletics|A's]] and [[Minnesota Twins|Twins]] were placed in the American League Western Division. The Twins ended up winning the West both times thanks to players such as 1969 MVP [[Harmon Killebrew]], hitting machines [[Rod Carew]] and [[Tony Oliva]] as well as Cy Young Award winners [[Ron Perranoski]] and [[Jim Perry]]. But the Oakland A's had a fledgling squad with 47 home-run hitter [[Reggie Jackson]], defensive shortstop [[Bert Campaneris]], and pitchers [[Catfish Hunter]], [[Rollie Fingers]], and [[Vida Blue]].
 
After a decade of decline, both teams rejuvenated in the late 80's and early 90's. Like earlier, the A's had a young power-hitting duo in [[Mark McGwire]] and [[Joseé Canseco]]. They also featured pitchers [[Dave Stewart]], [[Bob Welch]], [[Rick Honeycutt]], and [[Dennis Eckersley]]. As for the 2-time champion Twins, they featured great pitching ([[Frank Viola]] and [[Jack Morris]]) and defense ([[Kirby Puckett]], [[Tom Brunansky]], and [[Kent Hrbek]]). The Twins would be heckled intensely when they visited the [[McAfee Coliseum|Coliseum]] in [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], and the same would happen in reverse when the A's visited the [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome|Metrodome]] in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneapolis]].  This rivalry came from the two teams being among the premier teams in the American League's [[American League West|Western Division]] during those years.  The rivalry collapsed after the [[1993 in baseball|1993]] season, with the Twins fading into mediocrity for several years and the subsequent divisional realignment that made the two teams' games against each other less important.  

However, it was rekindled in the [[2002 American League Division Series]], in which the Twins defeated the A's in front of packed houses in both stadiums, and has continued through [[2006 in baseball|2006]] as the two teams are among Major League Baseball's most successful in the first decade of the new century.

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[[Category:Minnesota Twins]][[Category:Oakland Athletics]][[Category:Baseball rivalries]]