Best baseball buds Kepler, Polanco enjoying Twins' playoff ride

MINNEAPOLIS -- Unbelievable as it may seem, it was more than 14 years ago now that Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco became roommates in a dorm in Fort Myers, Fla., when each began his journey through the Twins’ organization in 2009.

They were 16 years old at the time. Polanco, from the Dominican Republic, didn’t speak a lick of English. Kepler, from Germany, was finishing up high school at South Fort Myers High, across the street from the Twins’ facility. They only communicated at first through gesturing and, of course, the Italian food that Kepler’s mom, Kathy, would cook for the pair.

They’re now 30, having spent nearly half of their lives under the umbrella of the Minnesota Twins. As adults, they quite literally know nothing else.

“It's been that long, huh?” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Yes, it really has -- and they’ve been in lockstep the entire time.

Each established himself as a big league regular in 2016 -- Polanco at shortstop, Kepler in right field. The Twins gave them both contract extensions on the same day in Feb. 2019, locking them into the organization’s future at the same table.

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And in ‘23, they’re still together as they’ve finally helped guide this organization to the playoff run it's chased for so long in this city.

Just in time, too, because there’s a chance this year might have been their last opportunity to do this together.

“I'm grateful. I'm grateful. I'm grateful. I'm grateful. I'm grateful,” an introspective Kepler repeated amid the chaos after the Twins swept the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series. “We're all blessed in this clubhouse to be a part of this.”

“It's special to do it, especially with [Polanco] next to me, who was my very first roommate in pro ball,” Kepler said. “To have gotten this far, to have started with so many guys that were gifted and talented, that have either gone to other teams or aren't playing anymore.”

They were here for the end of the Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier years. The old roommates remained fixtures as the other elements of what was supposed to be their young championship core -- Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sanó, José Berríos -- came and went.

As the new wave of Edouard Julien, Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner establish themselves, Polanco and Kepler are now the veterans of the clubhouse, by far the longest-tenured members of the organization.

And that includes staff and executives, too. Polanco actually played for Ron Gardenhire -- and they both established themselves under Paul Molitor before they’ve now accompanied Baldelli on every step of the skipper’s managerial journey in Minnesota.

Polanco and Kepler have experienced three front office regimes, from Terry Ryan to Rob Antony’s interim stint to, now, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine.

“I mean, they've seen so many different versions of the club,” Baldelli said. “They've had a lot of teammates, staff members. They've seen a whole lot. And they're still playing great. They are kind of a humble duo in some ways.

“They never get that -- you know, when you spend a long time in a certain place, there's not an iota of that [entitlement] that can come sometimes when you've been in a place.”

Indeed, Kepler and Polanco have never been the outright stars of any of these Twins teams. Neither is particularly vocal, either inside or outside the clubhouse. They’ve only got one All-Star nod and a handful of stray down-ballot MVP votes between them.

But they’re the quiet, underappreciated pillars upon which this generation of Twins teams have been built.

All that makes it strange to think this could be it. This is the final guaranteed season of both Polanco’s and Kepler’s contracts. Polanco has two club options for the next two seasons; Kepler has one. However slim, there is some chance that the Astros just win the next two AL Division Series games to end the Twins’ season, and they might well decline one or both options.

However, their performances in 2023 might have bought them another year to build on this, with Polanco continuing his steady performance to a .789 OPS with 14 homers in 80 games as a switch-hitter, and Kepler surging to near career-bests in average (.260), OPS (.816) and homers (24). All of this despite his prolonged struggles of ‘21 and ‘22, a positional crunch in the corner outfield and increasingly vocal calls from fans to part ways with him.

After all they’ve been through, there’s something to be said for how resurgent years from Polanco and Kepler have played very meaningful roles in the success of this Twins team that finally broke through in the postseason.

“You can see the way they're lighter,” Ryan Jeffers said. “I don't know how much weight they're really carrying from just being in this organization for so long and not having the success that they would want to have. But they're both playing super free.

“Kep is just really in a different spot. Just mentally, he's just so free, so happy. And when you're doing that, when you can play like that on the baseball field, a lot of good things happen. It's awesome to see their bond, but it's awesome to see how happy they are.”

They’re not done yet. Polanco hit a key three-run homer to spark the Twins back into Game 1 of the ALDS after they had fallen into a 5-0 hole. Kepler isn’t focused at all on the uncertainty of the big picture -- only on the task that lies ahead in Game 3 and beyond.

“In this business, every year, every day is kind of uncertain,” Kepler said. “You've got to be thankful, grateful, and appreciate everyone who's in here as much as you can, and just learn as much as you can while you get the chance to. Yeah, there's always uncertainty. I've seen people leave this club at any time, at the most unexpected times, the most unexpected players.”

The playoff podium is meant to be the conduit for players to direct their thoughts toward the world outside the clubhouse, outside the brotherhood of the team. But as Kepler and Polanco sat on the stage together, in that moment of reflection, Kepler had words for Polanco alone.

“It's very special to be here with you, bro, at this point,” Kepler said to his friend. “I think it's been over 10 years now, almost 12, 13 years together.”

“Same, bro,” Polanco said to Kepler. “Same.”

Kepler turned back to the reporters -- back to the wider world -- for the last word.

“I’m proud of this guy,” Kepler said.

The old roommates walked off stage together, with more work still to be done, even 14 years in.