The Twins own at least one major league record and it's something they want to end quickly.
The last Twins playoff victory was on October 4th, 2004. Yes, 19 years ago, almost to the day. A brilliant Johan Santana and the Twins bullpen shut out the Yankees, 2-0. It was a big victory giving the Twins a 1-0 lead in the ALDS against the dreaded Bronx Bombers. New York then won three straight.
They've played 18 postseason games since. And lost them all.
No other major sports team in North America has done that. In fact, the second longest MLB streak is only 13 games by the Boston Red Sox. The second longest in all sports is the Chicago Blackhawks who lost 16 straight between 1975 and 1979.
But this nearly two decades of misery for Twins fans is not lost on the current batch of Twins players. Pablo Lopez is the Twins' starting pitcher Tuesday against the Blue Jays and says the players know how hard it can be on fans.
"You know, I can say the majority of us have not been a part of that unfortunate streak, but I know our fans, our community, our state of Minnesota have been a part of that," says Lopez.
Lopez says he believes this team is ready to break the streak.
"Just like anything in life, nothing lasts forever," says Lopez. "If there's a group that can lean into this opportunity and embrace it, I feel like this group is as good as any to go out there and like give the team, the fans, the community, the opportunity to celebrate something."
Celebrating in the postseason is something that Twins fans haven't been able to do in a long time. Besides the single-game losing streak, the Twins haven't won a postseason series in 21 years when they beat Oakland in the ALDS. Then they took game one at home against Anaheim in the ALCS (their last home playoff win by the way), before losing four straight.
So yes, it is long past time for a postseason celebration in Twins Territory. And Twins fans are hoping for a lot more than just "a win", and this team can make a little postseason noise.
The Twins and Blue Jays play game one Tuesday with first pitch at 3:38 p.m. You can hear that game live on 830 WCCO, or on the Audacy app (live game play-by-play is available for in-market fans only).
Longest Postseason Losing Streaks:
Twins - 18 games, 2004-present
Blackhawks (NHL)- 16, 1975-79
Pistons (NBA)- 14, 2008-present
Kings (NHL)- 14, 1993-2001
Red Sox (MLB)- 13, 1986-1998
Knicks (NBA)- 13, 2002-2012