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CNN Live Today
Twin Peaks and Valleys
Aired October 09, 2002 - 10:55 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now baseball's final four carry a number of Cinderella stories to the postseason, but none of them have a more compelling plot than Minnesota. The Twins have been target for contraction, as we said, at the beginning of the season. And now, they're the first to take the step.
Here's CNN sports reporter Josie Karp with more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: For any city, the ability to focus on baseball in October means something special has happened. For Minneapolis, it means even more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is as good as it gets, not only as a baseball story, but just as a people story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A year ago last week we were facing the possibility of not even being able to have a team, and here we are again trying to make our way to the World Series. It's a really great thing.
TORII HUNTER, TWINS CENTER FIELDER: A lot wanted us eliminated, and literally, we proved a lot of people wrong. And that's where we're at, we're on a mission to prove a lot of people wrong, how about that?
KARP: Baseball has abandoned plans for contraction any time soon. But the fact that the Twins were a prime candidate had two effects. It motivated unheralded players and soured a city of once devoted fans.
The Twins ran away with the division title, but played before small crowds before the regular season. Now, they're a step away from the World Series, and the city, once again, is backing its team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you win, people tend to -- if not forget all else, they put the other stuff aside long enough to enjoy this moment.
MYR. R.T. RYBAK, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: What I saw was a city reacting as it always has, loving baseball and being a little bit weary, I think, of the politics that get involved in all of it, and wanting to just get back to the game.
KARP: Any animosity in Minneapolis is reserved for one person: baseball commissioner Bud Selig. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bud don't show your face in the Twin Cities.
RYBAK: On the streets of Minneapolis, there are a whole lot of people saying I told you so to old Bud, and to anybody who wants to look at the city right now I'd say to Bud, contract this.
KARP (on camera): For his part, Selig says he's delighted for the Twins and considers everything that happened last winter in the past. Contraction is something the commissioner now chooses not to remember, and something this team and this city choose not to forget.
Josie Karp, CNN, Minneapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 9, 2002 - 10:55 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now baseball's final four carry a number of Cinderella stories to the postseason, but none of them have a more compelling plot than Minnesota. The Twins have been target for contraction, as we said, at the beginning of the season. And now, they're the first to take the step.
Here's CNN sports reporter Josie Karp with more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: For any city, the ability to focus on baseball in October means something special has happened. For Minneapolis, it means even more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is as good as it gets, not only as a baseball story, but just as a people story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A year ago last week we were facing the possibility of not even being able to have a team, and here we are again trying to make our way to the World Series. It's a really great thing.
TORII HUNTER, TWINS CENTER FIELDER: A lot wanted us eliminated, and literally, we proved a lot of people wrong. And that's where we're at, we're on a mission to prove a lot of people wrong, how about that?
KARP: Baseball has abandoned plans for contraction any time soon. But the fact that the Twins were a prime candidate had two effects. It motivated unheralded players and soured a city of once devoted fans.
The Twins ran away with the division title, but played before small crowds before the regular season. Now, they're a step away from the World Series, and the city, once again, is backing its team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you win, people tend to -- if not forget all else, they put the other stuff aside long enough to enjoy this moment.
MYR. R.T. RYBAK, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: What I saw was a city reacting as it always has, loving baseball and being a little bit weary, I think, of the politics that get involved in all of it, and wanting to just get back to the game.
KARP: Any animosity in Minneapolis is reserved for one person: baseball commissioner Bud Selig. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bud don't show your face in the Twin Cities.
RYBAK: On the streets of Minneapolis, there are a whole lot of people saying I told you so to old Bud, and to anybody who wants to look at the city right now I'd say to Bud, contract this.
KARP (on camera): For his part, Selig says he's delighted for the Twins and considers everything that happened last winter in the past. Contraction is something the commissioner now chooses not to remember, and something this team and this city choose not to forget.
Josie Karp, CNN, Minneapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
