A gasp quieted the Twins crowd deep in the left field corner of Target Field Saturday night. The Rally Squirrel had appeared a couple of minutes beforehand, showing off a daredevil side as he dashed along the ledges of windows high above the field.

Then the unthinkable happened. He (or is it she) fell.

Many Owatonna Twins fans witnessed the accident as Youth 1st was hosting area baseball and softball teams that had earned sportsmanship honors over the summer. Even as the action continued on the field, the fans in the corner were more concerned with the squirrel's condition.

From my seat in Section U, I didn't see the little guy fall. But I watched as fans pointed this way and that. An eerie quiet seemed to hover over us. The fact that the Twins had recently rallied from a 4-1 deficit to take the lead over the Tigers was the second-most important event unfolding.

A half inning ended and some guy was playing a contest on the big screen. No one around us cared. What was the fate of Rally Squirrel?

Then he appeared on the field! He dashed from the left field corner toward a player. Rally Squirrel was alive and well. Owatonna High School baseball coach Tate Cummins tweeted, "Rally squirrel is here and just took a tumble. He's an aggressive little bugger! Now on the field!...Crowd loves him!"

I will confess that I may have cheered harder watching the little guy race around the outfield and dash into the Tigers' bullpen than I did after Miguel Sano's big home run. After all the Twins have hit more than 250 of those, but the squirrel only has so many lives to give for the benefit of his (or her team).

As to how it survived a fall from the upper deck or whether the Twins have a secret stash of back-ups ready to go, I don't know if we will ever know.

Minnesota ultimately won 8-5 Saturday and went on to beat Detroit Sunday 7-4, pulling the Twins' record to 3-3 since the squirrel made his initial appearance of the season Monday, August 19.

Continue to follow the first-place Minnesota Twins on KRFO AM 1390

 

 

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