The 1960s were a heady time to come of age. The British Invasion
transformed pop music and culture. The fledgling space program
offered a thrilling display of modern technology. The civil rights
movement and Vietnam War drew young people to American politics,
spurring them to think more critically about the state of the
nation. And the assassinations Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F.
Kennedy in 1968 shook the United States to the core. During these
turbulent times the Minnesota Twins were the pride of the North
Star Stateāan elite team that advanced to the World Series in 1965
and played in dramatic pennant races in the years thereafter. After
an uneven 1964 season the Twins set themselves up for a turnaround
that would last the rest of the decade. At the end of his playing
career with the Twins, Billy Martin was hired as third base coach
in 1965, giving them a more aggressive base-running style. Mudcat
Grant became the first African American pitcher to win at least
twenty games in the American League, and Tony Oliva won his second
batting title to help lead the Twins to the World Series, which
they lost in seven games to the Dodgers. In 1967 rookie Rod Carew
joined the Twins as they engaged in a historic pennant race but
finished second to the Red Sox during their "Impossible Dream"
season. In 1969 Martin took over as manager, and both Carew and
Harmon Killebrew led the Twins to the American League Championship
Series, only to lose to the Orioles, after which Martin was fired
in part for a now-legendary bar fight. Bill Rigney took the helm in
1970 and steered the Twins to a second-straight division title and
ALCS loss to the Orioles. In The Pride of Minnesota Thom Henninger
details these pennant races, from the key moments and games to the
personalities of the players involved, in the context of state and
world events. Although the Twins won only one AL pennant in this
stretch and failed to win the World Series, these memorable
seasons, played in remarkable and compelling times, made for an
important first decade in the team's early history.