It’s not quite the Curse of the Bambino, but the Twins are well aware of their Yankees horrors heading into next week’s ALDS.
“We understand the history,” team president Dave St. Peter told SKOR North radio earlier this week, before the matchup became official Friday with Houston claiming the top seed. “That’s my history — it isn’t [manager] Rocco Baldelli’s history, it certainly isn’t [slugging outfielder] Nelson Cruz’s history. So I think that’ll be overblown. Organizationally, I just say it’s time to slay the dragon, right?”
This isn’t the same Twins team that has seen its postseason dreams demolished by the Yankees five times since 2003, with their last defeat coming in the 2017 wild-card game.