The2002 Minnesota Twins season was the 42nd season for theMinnesota Twins franchise in theTwin Cities ofMinnesota, their 21st season at theHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 102nd overall in theAmerican League. After nearly folding as part of the2001 Major League Baseball contraction plan, and coming out of a second-place finish in the AL Central with a pitching staff with only two players with anERA under 4.00, they still won their division and made it to theALCS with the youngest team in the league, and with a new manager,Ron Gardenhire. The Twins had a solid first half of the season (45–36), but had a better second half (49–31), which led them to being the division champions. This was the Twins' last season withDavid Ortiz, as he left the Twins for the Red Sox after the 2002 season.

For the 2002 season, the Twins adopted a secondary logo based on those used from 1970 to 1986, with twins (one representing Minneapolis and the other St. Paul) shaking hands while standing by the river which separates the two cities. The logo also features the team's primary logo, replacing the "Win Twins!" baseball used in the 1976–1986 version.

The season also marked the revival of the "TC" cap logo, which had last been used as such in 1986.

• November 7, 2001:David Lamb was signed by the Twins as a free agent.^[1]
• January 23, 2002:Mike Jackson was signed by the Twins as a free agent.^[2]

• May 6: The 2002 NCAA National women's hockey champion Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs were recognized by the Minnesota Twins baseball team at theMetrodome in Minneapolis.^[3]
• June 4: The Twins walloped the haplessCleveland Indians 23–2, setting a club record for their largest winning margin and tying their record for mostRBI with 22. PitcherRick Reed was lifted after seven innings with a 21-run lead. In the game,Luis Rivas scored five times, joining three other Twins who have accomplished that mark before:Rod Carew (1977),Tim Teufel (1983) andPaul Molitor (1996).^[4]
• The representatives of the Twins in the All-Star Game were closerEddie Guardado, center fielderTorii Hunter, and catcherA. J. Pierzynski.
• October 9: A home attendance record was set when 55,990 watched the Twins lose to theAnaheim Angels in the second game of theAmerican League Championship Series.^[5]
• The Twins made just 74 errors this season, their best-ever showing in the field. The worst season was the inaugural campaign of 1961, when they committed 174 errors.
• Jacque Jones had 11 lead-off home runs this season, the second-best season total inAmerican League history, trailing justBrady Anderson's 12 in 1996.^[6]
• The highest paid Twin in 2002 wasBrad Radke at $8,750,000; followed byRick Reed at $7,000,000.
• October 28: PitcherMichael Jackson was granted free agency, and would later sign with theArizona Diamondbacks. This season he wore number '42', beinggrandfathered in afterMajor League Baseball retired the number league-wide in 1997 to honor pioneerJackie Robinson. Players wearing the number at that time were allowed to continue. Jackson was the last Minnesota Twin to wear the number '42'.
• Bert Blyleven andTom Kelly were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.

No player hit 30 home runs or drove in 100 RBIs, but many players enjoyed solid seasons.Torii Hunter andJacque Jones hit 29 and 27 home runs, respectively, whiledesignated hitterDavid Ortiz battled injuries and hit 20. CatcherA. J. Pierzynski had a good year for a catcher, hitting .300. First basemanDoug Mientkiewicz saw his average drop significantly from the prior year, from .306 to .261. Third basemanCorey Koskie had a subpar year offensively, shortstopCristian Guzmán was average, and second basemanLuis Rivas was not strong. The Twins enjoyed solid production out of the right field spot, whether the position was manned by opening day starterBrian Buchanan,Dustan Mohr,Bobby Kielty, orMichael Cuddyer.

The starting rotation resembled a tubercular ward.Brad Radke,Eric Milton, andJoe Mays suffered serious injuries, requiringRick Reed to carry the starting rotation. He was able to fulfill this role, going 9–2 in the second half. For inexplicable reasons, managerRon Gardenhire resisted puttingJohan Santana into the starter role until he was forced to by injuries. Santana started only 14 games, but quickly established himself as a dominant starting pitcher, posting an 8–6 record, 2.99 ERA, and a team-leading 137 strikeouts.Kyle Lohse enjoyed his only solid year as a starter, going 13–8 with a 4.23 ERA.Matt Kinney also made 12 starts.Eddie Guardado excelled in his first full year as the team's closer, earning 45 saves, whileJ. C. Romero,LaTroy Hawkins, andMike Jackson had strong years as set-up men.Tony Fiore had a bafflingly strong year out of the bullpen, going 10–3 with an ERA of 3.16.

A. J. Pierzynski was the team's all-star starting catcher, backed up byTom Prince.Doug Mientkiewicz followed up hisGold Glove year with another superb year defensively. Unfortunately, his relatively weak hitting in 2002 may have prevented him from winning a second consecutive Gold Glove award, as it went toJohn Olerud. The rest of the infield was defensively solid, withLuis Rivas at second,Cristian Guzmán at short, andCorey Koskie at third. In the outfield, two-thirds of the "Soul Patrol" remained, withJacque Jones in left andTorii Hunter in center. (This would be Hunter's second consecutive Gold Glove year.) Right field was a question mark, withBrian Buchanan not lasting long after being the opening day right fielder. The void was filled for most of the season by the platoon ofDustan Mohr andBobby Kielty, known collectively by fans as "Dusty Kielmohr". However, Dusty Kielmohr gave way toMichael Cuddyer for the post-season run.

• April 15, 2002:Mike Trombley was signed by the Twins as a free agent.^[7]
• June 3, 2002: Mike Trombley was released by the Twins.^[7]
• June 4, 2002:Jesse Crain was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the2002 Major League Baseball draft.^[8]
• June 19, 2002:José Rodríguez was signed as a free agent by the Twins.^[9]
• July 12, 2002:Brian Buchanan was traded by the Twins to theSan Diego Padres forJason Bartlett.^[10]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

The Twins made it to the ALCS, beating the Oakland Athletics in the Divisional series. They then lost to the eventual World Series Champions, the Anaheim Angels.

The Twins won Game One at Oakland before losing two straight including one at home. The Twins rebounded, and won the final two games to win the series and move on to face Anaheim in the ALCS.

October 1, at Oakland

October 2, at Oakland

October 4, at Minnesota

October 5, at Minnesota

October 6, at Oakland

The Twins won the first game at home vs. the Angels, before losing the next four in a row, allowing the Angels to move on to the World Series, who won the Series in seven games against the San Francisco Giants.

October 8, at Minnesota

October 9, at Minnesota

October 11, at Anaheim

October 12, at Anaheim

October 13, at Anaheim

• October 14: ReleasedCasey Blake.
• October 17: PitcherJack Cressend selected off waivers by theCleveland Indians.
• November 15: Traded pitcherMatt Kinney and catcherJavier Valentín to theMilwaukee Brewers for minor leaguers Gerry Oakes and Matt Yeatman.
• November 22: Signed pitcherCarlos Pulido as a free agent. Pulido had last played in the majors in 1994 (also for the Twins).
• December 16, 2002: Released DHDavid Ortiz.^[11]

• Calvin R. Griffith Award(Most Valuable Twin) –Torii Hunter
• Joseph W. Haynes Award(Twins Pitcher of the Year) –Eddie Guardado
• Bill Boni Award(Twins Outstanding Rookie) –Bobby Kielty
• Charles O. Johnson Award(Most Improved Twin) –LaTroy Hawkins
• Dick Siebert Award(Upper Midwest Player of the Year) –Jarrod Washburn
  • The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of theBBWAA
• Carl R. Pohlad Award(Outstanding Community Service) –Brad Radke
• Sherry Robertson Award(Twins Outstanding Farm System Position Player) –Lew Ford
• Jim Rantz Award(Twins Outstanding Farm System Pitcher) –J. D. Durbin

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Edmonton^[12][13]

• 2002 Twins schedule with wins, losses, record, and scores Accessed June 20, 2006
• 2002 Twins Preview, by Adam J. Ulrey Accessed June 20, 2006
• 2002 Twins roster by Baseball Almanac Accessed June 20, 2006
• 2006 Minnesota Twins Record & Information book, pgs 278–280, copyright 2006 by the Minnesota Twins
• 2002 Oakland Athletics Roster by Baseball Almanac Accessed June 21, 2006
• 2002 ALCS at Baseball-Reference.com Accessed June 22, 2006

• Diamond Mind's Analysis of the Twins' 2002 season
• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com
• Twins history since 2000, from www.mlb.comArchived October 18, 2006, at theWayback Machine
• 2002 Standings

• Minnesota Twins seasons
• 2002 Major League Baseball season
• American League Central champion seasons
• 2002 in sports in Minnesota

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