Dick Bremer, who is retired after a 40-year career doing TV play-by-play for the Twins, entertains fans at Lake Sarah Baptist
With his crisp, baritone voice, easily identifiable to any Twins fans, Dick Bremer spoke Saturday about his commitment to his faith and his favorite baseball team at Lake Sarah Baptist Church.
Although the venue of Bremer’s speaking engagement was a church, his presentation only scratched the surface of his Christian faith. Judging by the attire of many of those in attendance, they were there to hear just a small sample of the longtime broadcaster’s illustrious career with the Twins.
“This is a faith-based thing, so I talk a little bit about my faith, but people generally are more interested in hearing stories,” he said. “Many people, of course, are more interested in what it was like with Kirby Puckett, or winning the World Series in 1987 and 1991 and I get that. If I was in the audience I’d like to hear about that, too. The format of my talks depends on who the audience is. People show up here to hear Twins stories. My favorite part of these presentations is, without question, the question-and-answer period at the end. That’s my favorite part, because I know I’ll be addressing what they are curious about.”
One of those talking points was Game One of the 1991 World Series — made even more memorable than the title the Twins won four years earlier given the fact that he got married earlier that day.
“It was a big day, and I talk about that,” he said. “It was a pretty good day. I’ve led a very interesting life and I enjoy sharing it with people, because they’ll be convinced, as I am, that I have been blessed professionally and personally, and I don’t mind sharing that with people.”
A St. Paul native and graduate of St. Cloud State University, Bremer is a retired sports broadcaster, whose personal claim to fame is having worked with five baseball Hall of Famers (Jim Kaat, Paul Molitor, Bert Blyleven, Harmon Killebrew and Jack Morris). He was the main television announcer for the Twins from halfway through the 1983 season until he retired after the 2023 campaign — a total of 4,972 Twins games, making him the longest-tenured TV broadcaster in Major League Baseball.
“The time flew by — it felt like four years, rather than 40,” Bremer said. “I think in a lot of lines of work, if you do something that long, your enthusiasm wanes over time; that was not the case for me. I loved doing it every year, and my passion for it seemed to grow every year.”
Bremer, 69, admits that leaving the booth for a more private life has been a period of adjustment. He used the words “wonderful” and “hectic” in the same sentence when describing his professional lifestyle and said he was lucky his family tolerated it for so long.
“It just went by in the blink of an eye,” he said. “I had the benefit of doing it on my home turf, in my home state and for a team I followed since I was a little kid. I had a lot of builtin advantages in doing my job and building a passion for it. I really embraced the notion that this is a regional team, it’s not a Twin Cities team.”
That in and of itself is an important thread that makes up the fabric of Bremer’s rich career. The adopted son of a Lutheran minister and his wife, Bremer grew up in the small Traverse County hamlet of Dumont, which has gone from more than 100 residents when he was growing up to well under 100 today. Small towns mean a lot to Bremer, and he has long appreciated being able to visit with fans outside of the metro area.
It also gave him a deep appreciation for calling Twins games.
“The Yankees could’ve offered me 10 times more money, and I wouldn’t have moved,” he said. “I always looked forward to going to the ballpark. I loved it whether we were at home, or on the road, whether the team was winning or losing. We could be 25 games out of first place in August — and we were some years — in Arlington, Texas, and its 101 degrees. I never, ever was glad to see a season end. I was tired, but then by Halloween, I was ready to go again. One of the best things about being retired is we’ve been able to go to communities and just spend a day,” Bremer said. “I love this region and feeling people’s passion for Twins baseball.”
Earlier during his run with the Twins and before, Bremer called Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s basketball, Minnesota Golden Gophers football and some gymnastics meets and hockey as well.
Bremer, who started his TV career doing news, is also an author, having released his 304-page baseball memoir, “Game Used: My Life in Stitches” in 2020.
Bremer originally turned down a request to be part of a book series called “If these walls could talk.” He was asked to represent Minnesota in the series centered on stories from the broadcast booth. He was flattered to be considered, but he knew if he was ever going to publish a book, he preferred it be a stand-alone version, a unique book that would be identified as one by him alone, rather than one in a series. Weeks after he spurned that offer, he was approached by the same group who conceded and agreed to do it his way.
“They allowed me to pick the title, the format, the cover picture — all of it,” he said. “It really turned out to be, for better or worse, my book. People who are thinking of doing it asked me for advice, and I told them I would strongly suggest that you don’t publish a book on the eve of a worldwide pandemic. We had book signings lined up all over, and we couldn’t do any of them, everything was shut down. The good thing is, I had a lot of people come up to me, telling me the book helped them during the pandemic, to give them something to read, or even re-read — something to keep them connected to a sport that wasn’t even playing its games.”
Bremer misses his life in the booth, for the most part. There are certain aspects of the job, however, that he would rather have done without.
“I miss the people, of course,” he said. “This year’s team had some rain delays on their early road trips — I don’t miss those. I’ve had enough of those, on Getaway Day and there’s a three-hour rain delay. I did enjoy last year, just living a typical Minnesota summer and not being tethered to a baseball schedule. I played golf when I wanted to.”
Bremer still follows the Twins and encouraged fans of the struggling home team to not give up on them so soon.
“It’s the second week of the season, and the team has gotten off to great starts and fallen apart, as was the case last year,” he said. “They haven’t looked good; it’s so early in the season, and it’s a long season. Sometimes, it takes a while.”
One faith-related question was asked by a young girl had Bremer choking up a bit. She asked if any Bible verses in particular have stuck with him over the years. Bremer shared with the audience a story about his father and sister. He said before he passed, he told Bremer’s sister, who had just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, referenced a verse that touched on how the hard times are in God’s hands and we just have to trust in him to take care of us through the ups and downs of life.
