The Twins are twice as fun

Posted on July 20, 2015

Torii Hunter #48 of the Minnesota Twins smiles while batting against the Oakland Athletics during the game at O.co Coliseum on Saturday, July 18, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

The Minnesota Twins just left town after dropping two out of tree to the A’s in Oakland, but while they were here I enjoyed my one and only chance to shoot this fun bunch of ballplayers during the 2015 season. It is always a big deal for me when an out of town team makes their one and only visit to the Bay Area, especially if they hold spring training in Florida. That means I don’t see them at all in March, so this will be the one and only chance I get to photograph them all season. They are like exotic animals dropping by for a super rare visit! The Twins have had a terrific season thus far, with a great mix of terrific veterans like Torii Hunter and Joe Mauer, and young stars like Brian Dozier. I went out to shoot game 2 of the series, a 6:07pm start on Saturday night in the pretty light for a few innings and see what I could get. It happened to be Hunter’s 40th birthday so he was in a very funny mood. The Twins have always had a great vibe in their dugout before games and they did not disappoint on Saturday night. After I grabbed a few frames I liked pre-game and one really like action picture in the screaming light I left after three innings. It was a successful night!

I went back out for Sunday afternoon’s series finale and longed for the amazing light we had the night before. The A’s won in a 14-1 laugher and there wasn’t much action before I bailed after seven innings, but it was still a fun afternoon at the yard talking Bobby Kennedy, Lucky Luciano, Bugsy Siegel, and “Ballers” with my good friend Michael Zagaris as A’s base runners kept circling the bases on a rare hot and humid day in Oakland.

The Twins left town with an impressive 50-42 record, good for second place in the American League Central, 6 games back of the red-hot Kansas City Royals. They are tied for the AL wild card lead with the Houston Astros and have a real good chance to see some action in October. I wish them luck. They have a good bunch of guys and are fun to watch. They also like to have their pictures taken!