Minnesota Twins

From BR Bullpen

Franchise Season Summaries 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Previously known as Washington Senators Franchise Record: 7788-8448 World Series Titles: 3 (1924, 1987, 1991) American League Pennants: 6 (1924, 1925, 1933, 1965, 1987, 1991) Playoffs: 13 (1924, 1925, 1933, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1987, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009) Franchise Players: Bob Allison, Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, Gary Gaetti, Jim Kaat, Harmon Killebrew, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Tony Oliva, Kirby Puckett, Johan Santana, Zoilo Versalles

Minnesota Twins logo

The Twins moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season, after leaving Washington, DC, and abandoning their previous nickname, the Senators. The name Twins, and the intertwined TC of some team logos, refers to the 'Twin Cities' of Minneapolis, MN and Saint Paul, MN. Originally intended to be called the Twin Cities Twins, a meeting between Calvin Griffith and state officials prior to the move persuaded him to change the team's locational designator to Minnesota, being the first baseball team and one of the first professional sports teams ever to be named for an entire state. In baseball, the Texas Rangers, California Angels, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks would follow the Twins' lead, all subsequent major-level Minnesota sports teams would also use "Minnesota" in their name rather than "Minneapolis" or "St. Paul". The team's home park was first Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981, then the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, from 1982 to 2009. The Twins moved to Target Field, an outdoor ballpark, in 2010.

The Twins appeared in the World Series in 1965 losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games and won the World Series in 1987 and 1991 against the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves respectively. The Twins' 1991 Series against the Braves is considered by many fans and baseball historians to be one of the greatest World Series of all time. The two series were won under manager Tom Kelly, who stayed at the helm until 2001, but saw the Twins fall out of contention after their early run of success under his direction. The club was spared from contraction along with the Montréal Expos in 2002, when local authorities threatened to sue Major League Baseball over breaking the lease at the Metrodome. MLB backed down, saving the two franchises as a result.

The Twins immediately went on a fruitful run under new manager Ron Gardenhire, winning the AL Central division title for three straight years from 2002 to 2004, and again in 2006. They lost a one-game playoff to the Chicago White Sox in 2008, but made a great late-season run in 2009 to force a one-game playoff with the Detroit Tigers, which they won. However, all of these division titles were not followed by postseason success: only in 2002 did the Twins win a Division Series, all their other appearances resulting in quick exits.

[edit] Further Reading

• Dennis Brackin and Patrick Reusse: Minnesota Twins: The Complete Illustrated History, MVP Books, Osceola, WI, 2010.
• Doug Grow: We're Gonna Win, Twins!, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2010.
• Kent Hrbek and Dennis Brackin: Kent Hrbek's Tales from the Twins Dugout, Sports Publishing LLC, Champaign, IL, 2007.