Twins-Athletics rivalry
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This Twins-Athletics rivalry began in the expansion season of 1969 when the A's and 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 winner Jim Perry and reliever Ron Perranoski. 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 José 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 Coliseum in Oakland, and the same would happen in reverse when the A's visited the Metrodome in Minneapolis. This rivalry came from the two teams being among the premier teams in the American League's Western Division during those years. The rivalry collapsed after the 1993 season, with the A's and 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 as the two teams are among Major League Baseball's most successful in the first decade of the new century. Also during the 2002 season the Twins broke the A's record tying 20 game winning streak.
The rivalry saw new life when there was a rematch of the 2002 ALDS in the 2006 playoffs. The Twins were slated to play the Yankees, as they were the wild card leader for the last part of the season. However the Tigers, who would play the Athletics, failed to clinch after leading the division most of the year. Thus, the Twins played the A's in the first round starting on October 3. The underdog A's swept the Twins in a three-game series in the ALDS however, beating Cy Young front-runner Johan Santana in the Metrodome in Game 1 and taking the next two games to complete the sweep.
