Twins’ lucky summer sausage goes international with road trip to Toronto for series vs. Blue Jays
Twins’ lucky summer sausage goes international with road trip to Toronto for series vs. Blue Jays
The Minnesota Twins’ home run sausage is pictured in the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
A Minnesota Twins fan holds a sausage before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. The Twins recently began passing around summer sausages in the dugout. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
With the celebratory sausage in hand, Minnesota Twins’ Ryan Jeffers (27) celebrates after his solo home run against the Boston Red Sox with Pablo Lopez in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
The Minnesota Twins’ home run sausage is pictured in the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
The Minnesota Twins’ home run sausage is pictured in the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
A Minnesota Twins fan holds a sausage before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. The Twins recently began passing around summer sausages in the dugout. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
A Minnesota Twins fan holds a sausage before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. The Twins recently began passing around summer sausages in the dugout. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
With the celebratory sausage in hand, Minnesota Twins’ Ryan Jeffers (27) celebrates after his solo home run against the Boston Red Sox with Pablo Lopez in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
With the celebratory sausage in hand, Minnesota Twins’ Ryan Jeffers (27) celebrates after his solo home run against the Boston Red Sox with Pablo Lopez in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
TORONTO (AP) — The Minnesota Twins and their lucky sausage have gone international.
The bagged summer sausage that the red-hot Twins have been carrying for good luck made it across the Canadian border for Friday’s series-opening game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Twins posted a photo on social media depicting the sausage on the observation deck of Toronto’s CN Tower.
Hitting coach David Popkins cooked up the sausage superstition last month, grabbing an unopened summer sausage from a table in the clubhouse and encouraging his players to tap it before at-bats.
The sausage has already been on one Twins road trip, double-sealed in a plastic bag and stuffed into a shoe.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the sausage made the trip with the team, but wouldn’t spill the beans on how the well-traveled piece of meat made it over the border into Canada.
“I wasn’t in charge of the sausage; I will not be in charge of the sausage,” Baldelli said before Friday’s game.
The Twins have won 15 of 17, taking their past five series. Minnesota is 22-15 overall, 1 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central.
Baldelli had previously said the Twins would ditch the meat after their winning streak ended at 12 games with a loss to Boston on Sunday. But, the sausage stuck around through a home series against the Seattle Mariners in which the Twins won three of four.
The Twins are no stranger to unique home-run celebrations. Last season, they brought a fishing vest and toy fishing pole to the dugout, a nod to the state’s 10,000 lakes.
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