The Homer Hanky is coming back! Here's what you need to know

The AL Central champion Twins are headed to the playoffs, and the Star Tribune announced that the Homer Hanky is headed back to the postseason as well.

September 23, 2023 at 5:28AM
Tom Brunansky and Kent Hrbek and pretty much all of Minnesota fell in love with the Homer Hanky in 1987. (Larry Salzman, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Autumn's colors decorating our trees, weird spices floating in our coffees and hankies waving in our downtown ballpark. How does that plan for October sound, Minnesota?

The Star Tribune announced Friday night that the Homer Hanky is coming back for this year's Twins team. The 2023 Homer Hanky won't look the same as previous versions, and the fresh design will be revealed Saturday.

The Homer Hanky will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Here's how you can get one:

1—Buy some at StarTribune.com/HomerHanky. They are $4 each, plus tax and shipping.

2—They will be sold at the team store at Target Field.

3—Everyone attending a home Twins playoff game next month will receive one.

The Twins clinched a postseason spot Friday by beating the the Angels 8-6 at Target Field and clinching the American League Central Division title. As division winners, they will either be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the American League, and they'll open their postseason play at home at Target Field. Their playoff scenarios are:

1—The most likely scenario is that they will be the No. 3 seed and face the final AL wild-card entry, the No. 6 seed, in a best-of-three series all at Target Field. This is the more likely scenario because the AL East winner (Baltimore or Tampa Bay) will finish with the best record among division winners, and the AL West winner (Texas, Houston or Seattle) is positioned to finish with the second-best division-winner record.

2—Less likely: the Twins win most of their remaining games, pass the three AL West contenders and finish with the second-best record among division winners and the No. 2 seed. They would then skip the wild-card round and earn a bye into the AL Division Series.

Dreamed up in 1987 by a Star Tribune marketing team led by Terrie Robbins, the Homer Hanky became part of the (soft, white) fabric of that unforgettable World Series run. The Hanky made several returns after that, in 1991 and a few times in the 2000s and most recently for the Bomba Squad in 2019.

More details to come about the 2023 version. The baseball postseason begins on Oct. 3. Stay tuned, while you stretch out your arm muscles.

about the writer

Chris Carr

Director, High School Sports

Chris Carr is the Star Tribune's Director of High School Sports.

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