Minnesota Twins Clubhouse Atmosphere Businesslike After Game 1 Win

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MLB: Wildcard-Toronto Blue Jays at Minnesota Twins
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

As Minnesota Twins fans celebrated their favorite baseball team’s first postseason win since 2004, its players were in the locker room showering and getting dressed with a “businesslike” mentality.

Minnesota Twins unfazed by game 1 win over Blue Jays

LaVelle E. Neal (Star Tribune) was in the Twins’ locker room after the game and that’s how he described the atmosphere while on Michael Rand’s Daily Delivery podcast Wednesday morning. They’ll let the fans have this one. Twins players have bigger things on their mind and it starts with winning one more Wildcard game.

Michael Rand: How did the Twins handle the streak being over?

LaVelle: “It was more businesslike. It wasn’t as pulsating, in the club house afterwards, as I thought it would be. Guys were getting ready, getting dressed, you know, preparing for the next day. I had the chance to talk to Pablo Lopez alone, a little bit, to kind of get his thoughts on some strategy stuff. But Duran, Paddack, Thielbar and some other guys were around and it wasn’t like they lost or won. It was just like, ‘you know what, it has to be wash, rinse, repeat here in a few hours so let’s get after it’.”

Honestly, I was already feeling good about Wednesday’s game, just given the pitching matchup between Sonny Gray and Jose Berrios, but hearing this from LaVelle pushed that confidence to another level.

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This team feels… different and it’s because of playoff veterans like Carlos Correa

Of course, the Twins will eventually need Carlos Correa to find his inner postseason self, if they are going to make any sort of run at the World Series. But there’s no doubt he and other postseason veterans, like his former Astros teammate and current Twins catcher, Christian Vazquez, mean everything to this team’s attitude and approach during these playoffs. Not to mention, what game-winning defensive plays like this one do for a team’s confidence.

Even when the Blue Jays got runners were on base late in the game on Tuesday, there was never that feeling of existential dread that has often fallen over the Minnesota Twins fanbase.

Griffen Jax, for example, gave up a lead-off double when he entered the game in the 8th inning. He took a deep breath and followed that potential game-changing extra base hit with three of his most impressive outs of the season.

None of this guarantees the Minnesota Twins will make a run at the World Series, let alone win another playoff game this postseason. But there’s no doubt this iteration of the Twins has much less of a ‘just happy to be here’ feel to them.

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We’ll see if that’s enough to break the next losing streak on this franchise’s radar. It was 19 years (2004) since their last playoff win. It’s been 21 years (2002) since their last series win. That can change this afternoon.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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