Doug Grow's survey of the half-century of baseball in the Twin Cities is at once a history and an act of homage. Grow, who has covered the Twins and their variable relationship to their hometown since the late 1970's, has an insider's knowledge and a lifelong fan's love, but what he most offers is a set of mini-narratives (each of the fifty seasons has its own short chapter) linked by the metanarrative of baseball's harsh but fascinating reality, both on and off the field.

The dominant characters in the narrative are two penurious owners: Calvin Griffith, who brought the Twins from Washington in 1961 and whose father had owned the Senators since the Walter Johnson era; and billionaire banker Carl Pohlad, who bought the team in 1984 and proceeded to win two world titles, then dumped players and salaries expeditiously.

The ever-changing cast of players gives Grow some of his richest fodder, as he traces stalwarts such as the gentle bruiser Harmon Killebrew, who receives much-deserved applause for his consistent 40+ homer seasons through the team's first decade, but also for his gracious demeanor, even after Griffith failed to let him conclude his Hall of Fame career with the Twins. Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett, and Joe Mauer also receive coverage—the story of scout Jim Rantz's off-duty discovery of Puckett while killing time during the 1981 strike by attending his son's Illinois College League game (Puckett hit two doubles and a home for the opposing team) is a classic story of baseball serendipity.

But it is ultimately the forgotten players, the utility men and one-season wonders, who carry the quirkiest baseball lore, such as the tragicomic 1965 AL MVP Zoilo Versalles and the ill-starred closer Ron Davis. And the magical year of 1969, with Billy Martin at the helm as the rookie manager whom Twins fans loved and never forgot. And the near-playoff shocker of 1979, with baseball's lifelong bridesmaid Gene Mauch at the helm. Mauch often "arrived at the park early," Grow recounts, "sometimes standing in the dugout in his underwear looking out over the field, smoking a cigarette, a dreamy look in his eye. He loved the game." Ah, the grim purity of the baseball!

Sure, the 1965 World Series run against the mighty Dodgers was a wonder, and the 1987 and 1991 championships truly magical (and the enduring competitiveness of the recent small-budget Twins amazing), but it is images such as that of the old-school Mauch that summon the working-class sensibilities of the Twins. And that staunch, frugal, midwestern motif is the joyful sub-theme that Grow creates.

Michael R. Stevens is professor of English at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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