For the Twins, the 'bombas' are impressive, but so is the potential win total
When people reference the 2019 Minnesota Twins, and their surge toward the top of the American League Central, the team’s knack for winning with an onslaught of home runs is often mentioned.
It’s true that the Twins’ core of sluggers, affectionately known as the “Bomba Squad,” has produced a home run total that has already made major league history, while helping the team close in on its first division title since 2010.
However, as beat writers have noted, the overall win total for this team shouldn’t be ignored.
Going into Wednesday’s game at Detroit, the Twins have five regular season games left. If they were to win all of them, they would finish with 102, tying the 1965 Twins for the all-time team record.
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Even if they don’t tie that record, or lose all of the remaining games, they will still finish in the top three. That’s a big turnaround for a team that won 78 games last year, and only 59 games in 2016.
And the team’s on-field success had resulted in an attendance boost. Last year, the Twins saw their attendance dip below the two-million mark for just the second time in Target Field history. This year, the regular season attendance total is 2,294,152.
Even with more fans showing up, some of that Minnesota sports fan nervousness is creeping in. The WNBA’s Lynx have won several championships, but the last time a men’s pro-sports team brought a championship to the region was the 1991 Twins. In between, there have been many well-documented playoff meltdowns in several sports.
But no matter how deep this Twins team goes in the playoffs (with the expectation they will clinch the division), the regular season success is not in doubt.