TheMinnesota Twins are an Americanprofessional baseball team based inMinneapolis. The Twins compete inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of theAmerican League (AL)Central division. The team is named after theTwin Cities area ofMinneapolis andSaint Paul. The club was originally founded in 1901 as theWashington Senators, and was one of the American League's eight original charter franchises. By 1903, peace was restored with agreements between the two rival baseball loops on player contract and represented member cities/teams, and the beginnings of a national championship series titled theWorld Series. In 1905, the team changed its official name to the Washington Nationals.[1] The name "Nationals" would appear on the uniforms for only two seasons, and would then be replaced with the "W" logo for the next 52 years. The media often shortened the nickname to "Nats". Many fans and newspapers (especially out-of-town papers) persisted in continuing using the previous "Senators" nickname. Over time, "Nationals" faded as a nickname, and "Senators" became dominant. Baseball guides would list the club's nickname as "Nationals or Senators", acknowledging the dual-nickname situation. After 61 years in the capital, in 1961, the Washington Senators relocated to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, to be called the Twins, being the first major league baseball team to use a state in its geographical identifier name rather than the traditional city; Washington would get a new incarnation of the Senators to fill the void left by the original team's move (they are now theTexas Rangers).
In its 108-year history, thefranchise has employed 29managers[2] and won 3 World Series championships. Seven managers have taken the franchise to thepostseason.Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Twins from 2002 to 2014, led them to six playoff appearances, the most in their franchise history.[3] Two managers have won theWorld Series with the franchise: Bucky Harris, in1924 against theNew York Giants;[4] andTom Kelly, in1987 against theSt. Louis Cardinals[5] and1991 against theAtlanta Braves.[6]
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The name "Twins" derives from the popular name of the region, the Twin Cities. Knowing about the bitter century-long rivalry between Minneapolis and St. Paul, Griffith was determined not to alienate fans in either city by naming the team after one city or the other. Instead, he proposed to name his team theTwin Cities Twins. However, after a meeting with state officials, a decision then unprecedented in American professional baseball was made.[7] The team would be named after its homestate and became known as theMinnesota Twins on November 26, 1960. TheNFL expansion teamMinnesota Vikings had announced their name on September 27, 1960. This was one month before the Senators moved to Minnesota. Later, the California Angels (now theLos Angeles Angels),Texas Rangers (coincidentally, the relocated expansion Senators), Florida Marlins (now theMiami Marlins),Colorado Rockies andArizona Diamondbacks would follow their lead.
However, the original "Twin Cities Twins" TC logo was kept until 1987, when the Twins adopted their current uniforms. By this time, the Twins felt they were established enough that they could place an "M" on their caps without making St. Paul fans thinking it stood for Minneapolis. The "TC" logo returned to one version of the home uniforms in 2002, as did the team's original cartoon logo: two players representing the area's two minor league teams displaced by the Twins—theMinneapolis Millers andSt. Paul Saints—shaking hands over theMississippi River, which runs between the two cities. The Twins returned to the classic "TC" logo on all uniforms since the 2014 season.
The Twins were eagerly greeted in Minnesota when they arrived in1961. They brought a nucleus of talented players:Harmon Killebrew,Bob Allison,Camilo Pascual,Zoilo Versalles,Jim Kaat,Earl Battey, andLenny Green.Tony Oliva, who would go on to winAmerican League batting championships in1964,1965 and1971, made his major league debut in1962. That year, the Twins won 91 games, the franchise's first winning season since 1952, and most by the franchise since 1933. They also finished second in the American League, five games behind the Yankees–the first time that the franchise had been a factor in a pennant race since 1945.
The Twins of managerSam Mele won 102 games and theAmerican League Pennant in1965, driven by the exciting play ofsuperstar slugger Killebrew and batting champion Oliva, the 21 pitching victories byMudcat Grant, and the flashy play ofleague MVPZoilo Versalles. However, they were defeated in the1965 World Series by theLos Angeles Dodgers in seven games; each home team had won until Game 7, whenSandy Koufax shut out the Twins 2–0 in Minnesota. The Twins scored a total of two runs in their four losses, and were shut out three times, twice by Koufax. Although disappointed with the near-miss, the championship drive cemented the team's relationship with the people of Minnesota. The Twins would wait 22 years to return to the World Series; they defeated theSt. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the1987 Series.
In1967, the Twins were involved in one of the closest pennant races in baseball history. Heading into the final weekend of the season, the Twins,Boston Red Sox,Chicago White Sox, andDetroit Tigers all had a shot at clinching the American League championship. With two games left to play, the Twins were one game on top of the Red Sox in the standings; moreover, the two remaining games each team had to play happened to be against each other. Unfortunately for Minnesota baseball fans, the Red Sox won both games and clinched their first pennant since 1946, finishing with a 92–70 record. The Twins and Tigers both finished a game behind, at 91–71, while the White Sox were three games out, at 89–73.Rod Carew was named theAmerican League Rookie of the Year.
In1969,Billy Martin was named manager. Martin pushed aggressive base running, with Carew stealing home seven times.[8] The Twins won theAmerican League West, led by Carew (.332, his first batting title), Oliva (.309, 24 HR, 101 RBI) andleague MVP Killebrew (49 HR, 140 RBI).[9] Unfortunately, the Twins were swept by theBaltimore Orioles, who had set a franchise record of 109–53, in the firstAmerican League Championship Series. The Orioles would lose to the"Miracle Mets" in the1969 World Series. Martin was fired after the season following an August 1969 fight inDetroit with 20-game winnerDave Boswell and outfielderBob Allison, in an alley outside the Lindell A.C. bar. HoweverBill Rigney led the Twins to a repeat division title in1970, behind the star pitching of Jim Perry (24–12), the A.L.Cy Young Award winner, while theOrioles again won the Eastern Division Championship behind the star pitching ofJim Palmer. Once again, the Orioles won theA.L. Championship Series in a three-game sweep,[10] and this time they would win theWorld Series.
The team continued to post winning records through1971, winning the first two American League West division titles. However, they then entered a decade-long slump, finishing around .500 for the next eight years.Tony Oliva andRod Carew continued to provide offensive power, but Killebrew's home run production decreased, as injuries impacted his effectiveness, and the pitching staff languished. Killebrew's final season with the Twins was the 1974 season.
OwnerCalvin Griffith faced financial difficulty with the start offree agency. While other owners had fortunes made in other businesses, Griffith's only income came from baseball. He ran the Twins as a family-owned business, employing many family members, and had to turn a profit each season. StarsLyman Bostock andLarry Hisle left as free agents after the1977 season and prompted the trade ofRod Carew to the Angels after the1978 season.
In the early 1980s, The Twins fell further, winning only 37% of its games from 1981 to 1982. They had their worst season in Minnesota in1982, with a 60–102 record, the worst the franchise had since the1904 season (that team went 38–113). It was the first (and last until 2016) 100-loss season in Minnesota. From their arrival in 1961 through 1981, the team played its games atMetropolitan Stadium inBloomington, a suburb south of the Twin Cities. TheMall of America now occupies the spot where the "Old Met" stood, complete with home plate and the seat whereHarmon Killebrew hit a 520-foot home run; both of those landmarks are located inside of Nickelodeon Universe. The 1982 season brought the team indoors, intoHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which was located in downtown Minneapolis near theMississippi River.
In 1984,Calvin Griffith sold the Twins to Minneapolis bankerCarl Pohlad. In 1985, Minnesota hosted theAll-Star Game at Metrodome, with the National League winning the game 6–1 over the American League. Future World Series MVPJack Morris was the losing pitcher for the American League.
After several losing seasons in the Dome, a nucleus of players acquired during the waning years of the Griffith regime (Kent Hrbek,Tom Brunansky,Gary Gaetti,Frank Viola) combined with a few good trades (Bert Blyleven), intelligent free agent acquisitions (Al Newman,Roy Smalley), and a rising star inKirby Puckett, combined to return the team to the World Series for the first time since 1965, defeating theDetroit Tigers (who won the World Series three years earlier) in theALCS along the way. The dynamic play of the new superstars electrified the team and propelled the Twins to a seven-game victory over theSt. Louis Cardinals to win the1987 World Series. All games in the 1987 series were won by the home team.
The1987 Twins set a record for fewest regular season victories by a World Series champion with 85 and a .525 winning percentage. This record was broken by the2006 Cardinals, who won the World Series after going 83–78 during the regular season and a .513 percentage. While their 56–25 record at Metrodome was the best overall home record for 1987, the Twins had an appalling 29–52 mark away from Metrodome and they only won nine road games after the All-Star break.
The Twins won more games in1988, but could not overcome the powerhouse division rivalOakland Athletics (who in turn lost the1988 World Series to theLos Angeles Dodgers), even though pitcherFrank Viola won theCy Young Award in that year.1989 saw a decline in the win column although Puckett would win the batting title that season.
The Twins surprisingly did quite poorly in1990, finishing last in the AL West division with a record of 74–88, 29 games behind theAthletics, the eventual World Series runner-up.1991 brought breakout years from newcomersShane Mack,Scott Leius,Chili Davis, androokie of the yearChuck Knoblauch, along with consistently excellent performances from stars Hrbek and Puckett. The pitching staff excelled as well, with 20-game winnerScott Erickson, closerRick Aguilera, and newly acquired free agent,St. Paul nativeJack Morris, having all-star years. The Twins defeated theToronto Blue Jays in five games to win the1991 ALCS and theAtlanta Braves 4 games to 3 to win the nail-biting1991 World Series, which is considered by many to be the greatest of all time.[11] Game 6 is widely considered to be one of the greatest World Series games ever played. Facing elimination, and with the score tied 3–3 in the bottom of the 11th inning, Kirby Puckett stepped up to the plate and drove the game-winning home run into the left field seats to force a decisive Game 7. This famously led toJack Buck, who was broadcasting the game onCBS television to say "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" The home run was Puckett's only walk-off home run of his career. In the final and deciding game,Jack Morris pitched a 10-inning shutout, viewed by many baseball historians as one of the greatest pitching performances in a 7th game of the World Series, to beat the Braves 1–0 and bring home the championship to Minnesota. 1991 was considered to be the first season that any team that ended in last place the previous year advanced to the World Series; both the Twins and Braves accomplished the unprecedented feat. ESPN rated the 1991 World Series as the best ever played in a 2003 centennial retrospective of the World Series. As with the 1987 World Series, which the Twins also won, all 7 games were won by the home team.
The Twins were the firstWorld Series champion to lose three away games and still win the series by winning all four home games, doing it in1987 and again in1991. TheArizona Diamondbacks duplicated this feat in2001, when they became the firstNational League team to do so.
1992 saw another superbAthletic team that theTwins could not overcome, despite a 90–72 season and solid pitching fromJohn Smiley. After that season, the Twins again fell into an extended slump, posting a losing record each year for the next eight years: 71–91 in 1993, 50–63 in 1994, 56–88 in 1995, 78–84 in 1996, 68–94 in 1997, 70–92 in 1998, 63–97 in 1999 and 69–93 in 2000. From 1994 to 1997 a long sequence of retirements and injuries hurt the team badly, andTom Kelly spent the remainder of his managerial career attempting to rebuild the Twins.
Puckett after the 1995 season was forced to retire at age 35 due to loss of vision in one eye from acentral retinal vein occlusion.[12] He retired as the Twins' all-time leader in careerhits,runs,doubles, andtotal bases. At the time of his retirement, his .318 careerbatting average was the highest by any right-handedAmerican League batter sinceJoe DiMaggio. Puckett was the fourth baseball player during the 20th century to record 1,000 hits in his first five full calendar years in Major League Baseball, and was the second to record 2,000 hits during his first ten full calendar years. He was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in2001, his first year of eligibility.
In 1997, ownerCarl Pohlad almost sold the Twins toNorth Carolina businessman Don Beaver, who would have moved the team to thePiedmont Triad (Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point) area of the state. The defeat of areferendum for a stadium in that area and a lack of interest in building a stadium for the Twins inCharlotte killed the deal. In 1998, management cleared out the team of all of its players earning over $1 million (except for pitcherBrad Radke) and rebuilt from the ground up; the team barely avoided finishing in last place that year, finishing just five games ahead of theTigers and avoiding the mark of 100 losses by eight games.
The team introduced a new character mascot,T.C. Bear, on April 3, 2000.[13]
On the field during this decade, things turned around, and from 2001 to 2006, the Twins compiled the longest streak of consecutive winning seasons since moving to Minnesota, going 85–77 in2001, 94–67 in2002, 90–72 in2003, 92–70 in2004, 83–79 in2005, and 96–66 in2006. From 2002 to 2004, the Twins compiled their longest streak of consecutive league/division championships ever (previous were the1924 World Champion-1925 AL Champion Senators and the1969–70 Twins). Threatened with closure by league contraction (along with the Montreal Expos) in 2002, the team battled back to reach theALCS before being eliminated 4–1 by that year's eventualWorld Series championAnaheim Angels. Their streak of three straight division titles, along with some bitterly fought games, have helped to create an intense rivalry with theChicago White Sox in recent years, starting with 2000 when the White Sox clinched the division at the Metrodome, and heating up especially in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008.
In2006, the Twins came from 12 games back in the division at the All-Star break to tie theDetroit Tigers for the lead in the 159th game of the season. With the Tigers having won the season head-to-head by 11 games to 8, the Twins needed a Tigers loss and a Twins win in order to take sole possession of first place and win the division outright, and got both on the last day of the season, when the Tigers lost their third straight game at home to the last place Kansas City Royals in a 10–8 game in 12 innings. After their win against the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins and somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 fans watched the Tigers-Royals game on Metrodome's jumbotrons. This was the first time in major league history that a team has won a division or league outright on the last day of the regular season without ever having had sole possession of first place earlier. The magical season came to a sudden end, however, as the Twins were swept 3–0 by theOakland Athletics in theALDS, while Detroit went on as a wild card entry, beat theNew York Yankees 3–1 in their divisional series, and went on to play the Athletics. The Tigers would sweep the Athletics 4–0 in theALCS and lose the2006 World Series to theSt. Louis Cardinals, who coincidentally broke the record held by the Twins for the worst regular season record by a World Series champion (having gone 83–79).
The Twins became the first team in Major League history to sweep thePlayer of the Month, Pitcher of the Month, and Rookie of the Month awards, accomplishing this feat in June 2006 with catcherJoe Mauer, pitcherJohan Santana, and rookie pitcherFrancisco Liriano respectively. Also in 2006, the club became one of the most decorated in recent baseball history, withJustin Morneau's MVP following the AL Cy Young Award won byJohan Santana and the AL batting title byJoe Mauer. The last team to accomplish this was the1962 Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition, center fielderTorii Hunter was awarded theRawlings Gold Glove Award for his defense in the 2006 season, and Mauer and Morneau each received aSilver Slugger Award for the offense ascatcher andfirst baseman respectively.
A new nickname was unintentionally introduced by White Sox managerOzzie Guillén, who called the Twins "LittlePiranhas" as they gobbled up wins in July through August in the 2006 season. In 2007, the Twins sometimes played an animated sequence of piranhas munching under that caption, in situations where the Twins were scoring runs via "small ball". That season would prove to be disappointing for the Twins, as they finished third in the AL Central with a 79–83 record. After the season, Torii Hunter signed with theLos Angeles Angels, while Johan Santana was traded to theNew York Mets.
In2008, the Twins finished the 162-game season tied with theWhite Sox, who won a rained out game against the Detroit Tigers to face the Twins in Chicago in a 1-game playoff to reach the ALDS.Nick Blackburn pitched for the Twins, giving up 1 run in6+1⁄3 innings of baseball, allowing a solo home run to Jim Thome. The Twins lost the game and missed the playoffs while the White Sox went on to lose to the eventual American League championTampa Bay Rays in four games. This was the last Major League Baseball tiebreaker playoff game whose site was determined by acoin flip. Beginning with the 2009 season, sites for tiebreaker games were determined by the regular season head-to-head record between the teams involved. Had this rule been in place for the 2008 season, the Twins-White Sox tiebreaker would have been played at the Metrodome.
In the2009 season (the final season at the Metrodome) the Twins would go on to tie theTigers for the division at season's end and then played a one-game playoff in Minnesota because Minnesota had a better head-to-head record with Detroit, a choice made in response to the previous year. The Twins beat the Tigers 6–5 in 12 innings on a walk-off single by Alexi Casilla, but the season ended with the Twins getting swept 3–0 in the first round of the playoffs by the eventualWorld Series championYankees. It marked the third time in the 2000s that the Yankees had defeated the Twins in theDivision Series (as they had done so in 2003 and 2004).
Throughout the 1990s, the Twins argued that the lack of a modern baseball-dedicated ballpark stood in the way of producing a top-notch, competitive team. They stated that the Metrodome generated too little revenue for the Twins to be competitive. In particular, the Twins received very little revenue from luxury suite leasing (as the majority are owned by the co-tenantMinnesota Vikings) and only a small percentage of concessions sales; also, the percentage of season-ticket-quality seats in Metrodome was said to be very low compared to other stadiums, and the capacity of the stadium was far too high for baseball. However, attempts to spur interest and push legislative efforts towards a new stadium repeatedly failed prior to 2006. The Metrodome was thought to be an increasingly poor fit for all three of its major tenants (the Twins, the Vikings and the university ofMinnesota Golden Gophers football team). However, it is generally believed that Metrodome played a key role in the two World Series they have won while in Minnesota. The Metrodome's painfully high decibel levels (as high as 125 decibels—the same as a jet airliner taking off), as well as its many quirks (such as the artificial turf and the white roof) gave the Twins a huge home field advantage. The Twins won every one of their home games in their two World Series victories. Although it was built in 1982, by the start of the 1990s it was already considered obsolete because it had few revenue-generating luxury suites. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the Twins were often rumored to be moving to such places asNew Jersey,Las Vegas,Portland, Oregon, theRaleigh–Durham area, and others in search of a more financially competitive market. The team was nearly contracted (disbanded) in 2002, a move which would have eliminated the Twins and theMontreal Expos, now theWashington Nationals, franchise. The Twins survived largely due to a court decision which forced them to play out their lease on Metrodome.
In October 2005 the Twins went back to state court asking for a ruling that they have no long-term lease with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, the owner of the Metrodome where the Twins were playing. In February 2006 the court ruled favorably on the Twins motion. Thus, the Twins were not obligated to play in Metrodome after the 2006 season. This removed one of the roadblocks that prevented contraction prior to the 2002 season and cleared the way for the Twins to either be relocated or disbanded prior to the 2007 season if a new deal was not reached.
On May 21, 2006, the Twins'new stadium received the approval of the Minnesota House of Representatives, with a vote of 71–61, and then received approval from the Senate, with a vote of 34–32, after 4:00 AM on the second-to-last day of the 2006 legislative session. The bill moved on toGovernorTim Pawlenty, who signed it during a specialpre-game ceremony at Metrodome on May 26, 2006 (the Twins played the Seattle Mariners that night) on what will be the first home plate installed in the new stadium.
On January 5, 2009, ownerCarl Pohlad died at the age of 93. Pohlad's three sons inherited the team, withJim Pohlad assuming control of day-to-day operations and acting as principal owner. The Pohlad family invested significant sums of their own money into construction ofTarget Field, and ownership of the team has remained with the Pohlads to this day.[14]
The Twins'first season at Target Field was a success, as they went 94–68 and won their second consecutive AL Central title. They were also swept by theNew York Yankees in the ALDS for the second year in a row. However, the Twins would follow up with four consecutive seasons of at least 90 losses, finishing last in their division three times in those four seasons. Justin Morneau was traded to thePittsburgh Pirates during the 2013 season, and Ron Gardenhire was fired after the 2014 season. He was replaced byPaul Molitor.
In2015, the Twins rebounded with an 83–79 record and finished second in the AL Central, despite having allowed four more runs than they scored. Torii Hunter returned to Minnesota for what would be his final season.
The Twins signed Korean baseball starByung-ho Park in the offseason, in addition to acquiringJohn Ryan Murphy, a catcher, in a trade with the Yankees. The team's encouraging 83–79 finish theprevious season behind good rookie seasons fromMiguel Sano,Eddie Rosario,Tyler Duffey, andByron Buxton, along with the anticipated arrival of Minor LeaguersJosé Berríos andMax Kepler, gave Twins' fans high hopes for the2016 season. However, the season became a complete disaster, starting with the Twins losing their first nine games of the season and never getting out of last place in the AL Central. They finished with a record of 59–103, the worst in the league. The 2016 season was the Twins' worst during their tenure in Minnesota.
In2017, the Twins' 85–77 record earned them the second wild card spot, making them the first team in history to clinch a postseason berth after losing 100 games the previous season. The Twins lost the2017 American League Wild Card Game to theNew York Yankees.
The2018 season was the last for the Twins' franchise player,Joe Mauer. In the 9th inning of the last game of the season on September 30, 2018, at Target Field, Mauer made an appearance as catcher for the first time since his concussion in 2013, before being removed for backupChris Gimenez after one pitch.[15] He exited to a standing ovation from the crowd and both dugouts. The Twins finished second in the AL Central with a 78–84 record, and Paul Molitor was fired after the season and replaced byRocco Baldelli.
In2019, the Twins finished with the second-most wins in franchise history, winning their first AL Central crown since 2010 with a 101–61 record. The Twins also became the first team in history to have at least five players with at least 30 home runs. Baldelli was named theAmerican League Manager of the Year. The Twins were swept in theALDS by theNew York Yankees.
In the2020 season, which was shortened to 60 games due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Twins won the AL Central with a 36–24 record. They were swept two games to none in theWild Card Series by theHouston Astros, giving the Twins the dubious record of the longest postseason losing streak in all fourmajor North American professional sports leagues.[16]
In2021, the Twins would have a disappointing year as they finished last in the AL Central with a 73–89 record. The team was flagged with multiple injuries to many of their star players, includingByron Buxton,Michael Pineda, andKenta Maeda. On July 30, the Twins traded ace pitcherJosé Berríos to theToronto Blue Jays.
In2022, the Twins added pitchersSonny Gray andDylan Bundy and catcherGary Sánchez. They also signed free agent shortstopCarlos Correa away from theHouston Astros. The first half of the season saw the Twins appear to have returned to their winning ways; on July 5, they were ten games above .500 and had a4+1⁄2-game lead in the AL Central. However, the Twins stumbled through the rest of the summer and lost 14 of their last 20 games to finish third with a 78–84 record and miss the postseason for the second year in a row.
In2023, the Twins traded infielderLuis Arráez to theMiami Marlins for pitcherPablo López and two minor league prospects. The Twins had a mediocre first half of the 2023 season, reaching the All-Star break with a 45–46 record, but had a resurgence in the second half to finish with an 87–75 record and the AL Central crown. They swept theToronto Blue Jays in theWild Card Series before losing to theHouston Astros in theDivision Series.