(Minneapolis, MN) — Oct. 31st, 2023 — It’s time for one final left-hand toast for the man who was, for so long, the voice of summer in the Upper Midwest.
Don’t say that last part to Dick Bremer, perhaps, because he would always insist that his voice shouldn’t be the focus; that should always remain on the team and players on the field. But Bremer’s deep baritone has been the conduit for nearly two-thirds of the history of the Minnesota Twins, the old friend that has accompanied parents and children, friends and family through generation-defining memories — and 40 years later, he’s taking his next step.
On Tuesday, the Twins announced that Bremer will be stepping aside as the television play-by-play announcer for the organization and stepping into a special assistant role in the Minnesota front office, bringing an end to a Twins career that began in 1983 and ended with him having served as the longest-tenured television broadcaster for a single team in MLB.
“For 40 years, I’ve been blessed to totally immerse myself in the game that I love, for the team that I love,” Bremer said in a statement through the Twins. “In those 40 years, I broadcast 4,972 Twins games. Over the last year or so, I thought it would really be cool to make it to 5,000. Then, I thought to myself, how selfish would that be? A broadcast should NEVER be about the announcer. It should ALWAYS be about the game and those who play it.
“I hope in my final season, I proved that, ‘I’ve still got my fastball,’ a goal I set when I started with the Twins in 1983. I look forward to the next chapter in my life with the Twins and thank Twins Territory for 40 incredible seasons! God bless.”
The Twins said in a statement that they are still assessing their talent lineup and broadcast options for the 2024 season and beyond in what will be an offseason of even more uncertainty considering the expiration of their broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group.
But for the first time since the early days of the Metrodome, they’ll go at it without the anchor of the voice of the man who has always called Twins Territory his home, who is, for many Twins fans, the only television voice they’ve ever known.
A native of tiny Dumont, Minn., in the extreme western part of the state, and a proud graduate of St. Cloud State University, Bremer was a fan of the Twins from the moment the franchise relocated from Washington D.C. in 1961. He wanted to be like Bob Allison, he went to his first Twins game at Metropolitan Stadium in ‘64, and a 9-year-old Bremer would sprint home from school to try and catch the end of the World Series games in ‘65.
He might not have gotten the Twins’ play-by-play gig until 1983, but it’s that trove of stories banked up from a lifetime of time following this organization — first from afar and then from up-close — that defined Bremer’s perspective, from the days of Frank Viola and Kent Hrbek to the time of Pablo López and Royce Lewis.
“Dick’s awards and accolades are well-documented, while his calls of many of the greatest players, moments and seasons in Twins history will always be cherished,” said Twins president and CEO Dave St. Peter in a statement. “What I am most thankful for, however, is who Dick is as a person — insightful, witty and a true professional who excelled at bringing a fan’s eye and passion to the broadcast booth.
“With a deep love for his childhood team and his home state, a reverence for the game and a pure joy for his craft, Dick connected with and cultivated generations of fans across Twins Territory — a feat for which our organization is forever grateful.”
It’s that often self-deprecating humor and compassion that also came through in spades and endeared Bremer to the fanbase, especially in the 25 years he partnered with his longest-serving analyst, Bert Blyleven, as they together defined an era of televised Twins baseball from the late 1990s through the 2010s.
“You will be missed by so many Twins and baseball fans,” Blyleven wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Congrats for all the dedication you have shown over the years.”
In Bremer’s time with Twinsvision, Midwest Sports Channel, Victory Sports, Fox Sports North and Bally Sports North, he also partnered with the likes of Harmon Killebrew, Jim Kaat, Tommy John, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris and Roy Smalley — and, in Bremer’s final years in the booth, he ushered in a new generation of partners like Justin Morneau, Glen Perkins and LaTroy Hawkins.
And that brings us to what turned out to be Bremer’s final Twins broadcast on Oct. 1, when co-analysts Trevor Plouffe and Morneau interrupted an astonished Bremer during the bottom of the second inning to present him with a cake congratulating him for 40 years of calling Minnesota Twins baseball.
“Justin and I were on the golf course, and we were talking about how lucky we are, and how appreciative we are to be here with you and learn from you,” Plouffe said.
“We wanted to make sure we recognized this accomplishment, because you’ve meant so much to so many Twins fans, and to us as players. They grew up with your voice in their living room, and we just want to say, it’s been a pleasure to work with you up to this point, and we’re happy that you get to continue to do it.”
The normally impossible-to-break Bremer started tearing up on air.
“Here, I made it to 40 years without crying on TV,” Bremer said.
The long, 162-game baseball season can often be a grind — but those endless summers were still always an opportunity to learn something new and crack a smile thanks to Bremer’s ubiquitous presence and consistency, day after day, month after month, year after year.
And even in a rare moment meant to be solely about Bremer and what he’d meant to this franchise, he didn’t take too long to dwell, because the focus needed to turn back to the field.
“McMahon the batter …” Bremer continued, picking up that easy, familiar tempo one last time.
Do-Hyoung Park covers the Twins for MLB.com. Follow him on Instagram at dohyoung.park.
