58 years is an awkward number to celebrate, but I thought it fitting since the Cedar Rapids Kernels and facing the Great Lakes Loons in the MWL championship presently.

In 1965, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Minnesota Twins edited (4-3) in the World Series. At a mere 6 months, I missed out on that postseason. However, I’ve met several players from both teams over the years. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone like Tony Oliva might be watching the MWL championship. The Kernels are the Hi-A affiliate of the Twins and the Loons have been associated with the Dodgers since their inception.

It’s funny because last week milb.com ran an amusing story about the Loons playoff battle with the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps and billed it as a battle of rivals (S.D and LAD). I don’t know if fans in either Midwest city felt that particular vibe.

Connecting these two franchises to events 58 years apart offers one the possibility of revisiting that earlier series. It’s become much easier to access these games and player stat pages.

Without looking it up, who knows the AL MVP and CY from 1965?