Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli Works Phish References Into Post-Game Press Conference

The Minnesota Twins scored a big win on Tuesday beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 in the first game of their American League Wild Card Series to break an 18-game postseason losing streak. Manager Rocco Baldelli addressed the media at a post-game press conference and fit a pair of Phish song titles into one of his answers.

Baldelli is a longtime Phish fan who had attended “about 40” shows through April 2020 as he told the Star Tribune. The Rhode Island native also brought up the Grateful Dead, Greensky Bluegrass, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and Spafford when naming more of his favorite current groups in a Relix profile.

The Twins’ losing streak spanned 19 years, so it was a huge victory for the Major League Baseball team. “I thought the place was going to split open and melt,” Baldelli responded when asked what the win means to the city and the energy at Target Field. “Split Open & Melt” appears on Phish’s 1990 studio album, Lawn Boy, and has long been a live staple.

Rocco Baldelli wasn’t done yet as he had one more Phish reference to end his answer to the same question. “I couldn’t be more excited and thankful for what [the fans] did for us today to help us get over this hump and now we’re back on the train,” the former Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays player added. Penned by Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall, a studio version of “Back On The Train” was released by the band on Farmhouse in 2000.

Watch the press conference queued up to the answer with the Phish references below:

Baldelli has shouted out Phish a number of times in the past. For instance, he referenced the Vermont-based quartet and the Grateful Dead during a September 2020 game.

The Minnesota Twins go for the series win tonight at Target Field. Phish opens their fall tour on Friday with the first of three shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.