Fans aren't allowed at Target Field because of the coronavirus pandemic this season, but during the Twins' 30 scheduled home games this season it will be hard to miss some notable faces as you watch at home on TV.
A total of 80 former Twins players or managers and four broadcasters have been deemed "legendary" — or at least legendary enough — by the Twins to have oversize cardboard cutouts of their heads placed in the seats immediately behind home plate.
The size of the images only adds to the absurdity of how this 2020 season is being played, but the content of the images themselves allows room for a fun debate — the kind of small distraction many of us seem to be craving right now in the midst of much heavier subjects dominating headlines.
The Star Tribune's Phil Miller posted a list of all 84 legends on Twitter last night. We joked about it some on the most recent Twins Insider podcast, but let's get into it in a little more depth here.
*First off, there are plenty of no-brainers. Joe Mauer is almost exactly behind home plate, and you can see Rod Carew, Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett nearby in the front row.
As far as I can tell, every player who is part of the Twins Hall of Fame is represented with a cutout — with one exception: Chuck Knoblauch.
Beyond that, though, the list of legends gets quite a bit more subjective. And fans have noticed.
*Like, for instance, Boof Bonser is a legend? I mean, his name was great. And he was a fan favorite. But he was also 18-25 with an ERA above 5 in his Twins career.
(Bartolo Colon fits this category as well — fan favorite, tons of fun, but a legend?)
*The list also tends to skew kind of recent vs. old. There are plenty of players from the, um, not-so-great but good ol' days that are left off the list. Maybe not this many, but you get the point:
*And Chili Davis is a clear snub, as more than one person pointed out.
*What about some more recent standouts? Maybe the Twins wanted to avoid any potential conflicts since at least some of them are active or could be active in 2020?
Maybe this will all be a moot point by the next home stand? As Miller wrote, for $80 Twins fans can have their own cardboard cutout placed in a seat.
I really hope Plouffe buys one.
