Minnesota Twins: 5 questions for the ALDS vs. the Yankees

The Minnesota Twins will try to “slay the dragon” as they face the New York Yankees in the ALDS, but what will help lead Minnesota to a postseason victory?

Back in the Minnesota Twins’ 2000s run of dominance, outfielder Torii Hunter was asked about the opponent that scared him the most. After thinking about it for a little bit Hunter brought up the name of Roger Clemens, who was one of his era’s most dominant pitchers.

"“Every time I looked at the lineup when I was in Minnesota, and I’d think ‘Oh no, Roger Clemens again?'” Hunter told Doug Mead of Bleacher Report in 2011. “He was pretty much in my head. He threw his split-fingered to me all the time, never really threw his fastball, it was all splitters, so I was out.”"

Hunter’s 0-for-28 mark against The Rocket definitely confirmed those comments, but while we won’t see a Hunter vs. Clemens matchup in this year’s American League Divisional Series between the Twins and the New York Yankees, the Yankees have assumed the same type of historical dominance.

The Yankees have bounced the Twins from the postseason five times since their last postseason series win in 2002 and in their MLB-record 13 game playoff losing streak, the Yankees have handed them 10 of their losses.

The names have changed, but that trend is enough to give Twins fans PTSD seeing their name in the same bracket as the Yankees to begin the postseason. The current group in Minnesota is looking to change history, however, and for that to happen, the Twins will have to answer several questions in their favor as the best-of-five game series begins on Friday night.