Franchise Timeline
2000
Despite finishing 69-93 – their fourth straight 90-loss season – the new foundation continued to solidify. Matt Lawton hit .305 and made his first All-Star team; Corey Koskie impressed with a .300 batting/.400 on-base campaign; Jacque Jones hit .285 with 19 home runs while playing a sterling outfield; and shortstop Cristian Guzmán, who continued to play solid defense while leading the majors with 20 triples.
On the mound, veteran LaTroy Hawkins found his calling as a closer, accumulating 14 saves and finishing with a career-best 3.39 ERA. Eric Milton, who led the Twins with 13 victories, signed a four-year deal with the club after the season, cementing the Twins’ 1-2 starting combination of Milton and Brad Radke.
2001
The promising pieces finally came together in 2001 to give Minnesota its first winning record since 1992. The Twins surprised many by getting off to a 14-3 start and leading the American League Central division for much of the season. They were locked in a tight battle with Cleveland for a playoff berth before eventually finishing in second place with an 85-77 record – six games out of first.
Centerfielder Torii Hunter hit a team-leading 27 home runs and earned his first AL Gold Glove Award. After spending the whole season in the minors in 2000, first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz also earned a Gold Glove while batting .306. Pitcher Joe Mays was a 17-game winner and earned a spot on the AL All-Star team along with pitcher Eric Milton and shortstop Cristian Guzmán. Third baseman Corey Koskie led the club with 103 RBI while also hitting 26 homers.
The 2001 season also marked the end of an era. After 15-plus seasons in the dugout and two World Series titles as manager, Tom Kelly retired from the Twins October 12, 2001. Kelly managed 2,385 games, winning 1,140 while being ejected only five times.
2002
Led by new manager Ron Gardenhire, the Twins had to overcome threats of contraction and a late-summer strike, along with a lineup and rotation often racked with injuries to complete the 2002 season. Despite these obstacles, Minnesota posted a 94-67 record and ran away with the American League Central division title by 13.5 games over the second-place Chicago White Sox for the club’s first Postseason berth since 1991.
For the second-straight season, Torii Hunter led the club in home runs (29) and had 94 RBI. He also took home his second consecutive Gold Glove Award for his tremendous defense. Gardenhire moved Jacque Jones to the leadoff spot and he responded by belting 27 homers – including 11 leadoff shots – and had 85 RBI. On the mound, injuries to starters Brad Radke, Eric Milton and Joe Mays rocked the rotation. Fortunately, Rick Reed carried the staff in the second half, going 9-2 down the stretch en route to an overall 15-7 record. The bullpen was considered the weakest link entering the season and emerged as one of baseball's best. First-year closer Eddie Guardado established a new club record with 45 saves. Set-up men J.C. Romero and LaTroy Hawkins were also sensational in the late innings.
Hunter, Guardado and catcher A.J. Pierzynski were named to the AL squad at the All-Star Game in Milwaukee. Hunter was voted by the fans to start and rewarded their choice by robbing Barry Bonds of a home run with a phenomenal leap at the fence.
The Twins also made plenty of noise in the Postseason, defeating the heavily-favored Oakland Athletics in the deciding fifth game of the American League Division Series. Pierzynski hit .438 in the series and provided a key two-run home run in the Game 5 victory. Radke was back in form for the Postseason and picked up two ALDS victories. In the American League Championship Series, Minnesota faced a red-hot Anaheim Angels club. After winning Game 1 of the series at home with the help of a nearly-flawless eight-inning pitching performance by Mays, the Twins dropped the next four games to give Anaheim its first American League title.
Besides Hunter's Gold Glove, the Twins earned other awards and honors. The organization was named Baseball America's and SportsTicker's Organization of the Year and General Manager Terry Ryan was named Executive of the Year by The Sporting News. Gardenhire also finished third in AL Manager of the Year voting.
2003
Repeating as American League Central division champions was the main mission for the 2003 Twins, and it was accomplished. But the ultimate objective of reaching and winning the World Series remained elusive for Minnesota.
After dominating the division during a 94-win 2002 season, the 2003 campaign was filled with several high and low moments, but the Twins remained persistent and won a respectable 90 games and the division by a 4.0-game margin. However, a playoff series victory again evaded the Twins when they met the Yankees in the AL Division Series and posted a Game 1 victory at Yankee Stadium. New York won the next three games and claimed the series in four games.
Torii Hunter's spectacular defensive play was again rewarded when the center fielder earned his third consecutive AL Gold Glove Award. Closer Eddie Guardado was selected to his second consecutive All-Star Game.
2004
The Twins made it three in a row by taking the American League Central division again with a 92-70 record – nine games ahead of the second-place Chicago White Sox.
This time, the cast of characters was different – with former cornerstones like Eddie Guardado, LaTroy Hawkins, A.J. Pierzynski and Eric Milton with new clubs and Doug Mientkiewicz dealt at the trade deadline. But several new faces stepped in or stepped up. First-year closer Joe Nathan owned the ninth inning with 44 saves, third most in the AL. Outfielder Lew Ford came up from Triple-A the first week and helped carry the offense. Fans also got to know Justin Morneau, Henry Blanco and Juan Rincon.
Southpaw Johan Santana dominated on the mound, going 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA to bring a Cy Young Award to Minnesota for the first time since 1988. Torii Hunter continued his defensive brilliance, earning his fourth consecutive AL Gold Glove Award. It wasn't all smooth – hometown native and former overall No. 1 pick Joe Mauer's highly-anticipated rookie season was limited to 35 games because of a left knee injury, while several other regular players spent time on the shelf.
The otherwise successful season came to an abrupt ending when the New York Yankees eliminated the Twins in the American League Division Series in four games for the second consecutive year.
2005
Coming off three-straight American League Central titles, the Twins were highly favored to make it four straight, but injuries and a struggling offense resulted in a third-place finish, 16 games behind the eventual World Series champion Chicago White Sox. After starting out strong with a 15-8 record in April, it was downhill the rest of the season.
The pitching, highlighted by All-Stars Johan Santana (16-7, 2.87 ERA, 238 strikeouts in 231.2 innings) and Joe Nathan (43 saves in 47 chances, 2.70 ERA), kept the Twins in games. However, no other starter won 10 games as former ace Brad Radke and Carlos Silva each posted nine victories. Jesse Crain ranked second in wins with 12 and had a 2.71 ERA out of the bullpen.
Offensively, Joe Mauer led the team in batting average (.294) in his first full season, while Jacque Jones hit a team-leading 24 homers, but finished with a .249 average. Justin Morneau hit 22 home runs despite hitting just .239, and Matt LeCroy chipped in with 17 homers in a bench role.
Torii Hunter, who carried the offense most of the year and finished with 14 homers, 56 RBI and 23 steals, went down with a fractured foot on July 28 at Fenway Park. The injury all but sealed the Twins' fate, as they were more than 10 games back at the time of the injury. Despite being limited to just 98 games, Hunter took home his fifth consecutive AL Gold Glove Award for his stellar play in center field.
2006
The Twins overcame a rough first two months of the season where they trailed by as many as 12.5 games, to capture their fourth American Central title in the last five seasons. A streak of winning 22 of 24 games toward the end of June helped propel them into a tight race down the stretch with the Detroit Tigers. Despite not leading the division by themselves for a single day during the regular season (they were tied for first for a few days at the end), the Twins walked away with the division title after winning the final game of the year, a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox at the Metrodome.
Joe Mauer hit .347 to become the first American League catcher to win a batting title. Johan Santana earned his second AL Cy Young award in the last three seasons as he led the majors with a 2.77 ERA, 19 wins and 245 strikeouts. And Justin Morneau became the first Twin to hit 30 home runs since 1987 en route to earning AL MVP honors. However, like past seasons, Minnesota was unable to reclaim that elusive playoff series win, falling to Oakland in three games in the ALDS.
2007
After winning the American League Central division the previous season and returning nearly their entire roster, the Twins were once again considered a strong contender for another division title. But injuries, an unstable pitching rotation and some offensive woes led the Twins to a third-place finish and their first losing season (79-83) since Ron Gardenhire took over as manager in 2002.
Catcher Joe Mauer was unable to defend his batting title, as he was plagued by numerous leg injuries that limited his time on the field. Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter provided the highlights offensively. Morneau backed up his AL MVP season the previous year by leading the Twins with 31 home runs and 111 RBI. Hunter had a team-high 45 doubles while hitting .287 with a career-high 107 RBIs.
Johan Santana once again led the Twins’ rotation, recording 15 wins and posting a 3.33 ERA. The southpaw also set a Twins record for strikeouts in a game with 17 against the Rangers on August 19. However, the rest of the Twins rotation was not as stable, including veteran additions Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson, who didn't last past May. The bullpen was also hit by the injury bug as Jesse Crain, Glen Perkins and Dennys Reyes all went down with injuries on the same roadtrip in May. Pat Neshek delivered a strong first half by posting a 1.70 ERA and earning All-Star consideration. Closer Joe Nathan was the 'pen's anchor yet again as he recorded 37 saves, marking his fourth-straight seasons of 35-plus saves.
2008
The Twins overcame a rough first two months of the season where they trailed by as many as 12.5 games, to capture their fourth American Central title in the past five seasons. A streak of winning 22 of 24 games toward the end of June helped propel them into a tight race down the stretch with the Tigers. But despite not leading the division a single day during the season, the Twins walked away with the division title after they won the final game of the year.
It was a season that was reminiscent of 2006 – at least when it came to the production of the team's M&M boys. Joe Mauer bounced back from his injury-plagued 2007 season and once again led the American League with a .328 batting average, becoming the second catcher in major league history to win two batting titles. Justin Morneau delivered another MVP-worthy performance, leading the team with 23 home runs and 129 RBI. Carlos Gómez, Denard Span and Alexi Casilla added speed and base-stealing threats to the lineup. And the Twins showed that focusing on speed rather than power in the lineup could work, as they scored 829 runs (fourth most in franchise history).
The Twins' relatively inexperienced starting rotation, which for most of the second half featured five starters age 26-or-younger, was a large part of the club's success, with five starters finishing with double-digit wins. Late-inning bullpen woes proved costly toward the end of the season; the relief corps was 5-15 after August 4. Howeverm Joe Nathan proved once again to be one of the best closers in the game, posting a 1.33 ERA with 39 saves.
In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year after the ballclub said goodbye to stars Torii Hunter and Johan Santana, the Twins took the baseball world by surprise, forcing a one-game playoff with the White Sox for the AL Central title. The Twins went 88-75 but fell just short of another division championship, losing 1-0 to Chicago at U.S. Cellular Field in the playoff game.
2009
The Twins finished with an 87-76 record in 2009, their seventh winning season in eight years under manager Ron Gardenhire. Joe Mauer had an MVP-caliber season for Minnesota despite missing the entire first month on the injured list. Mauer won his third batting title after hitting .365, making him the first catcher in AL/NL history to accomplish the feat. He also led the league in on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587), while setting career highs in home runs (28) and RBI (96). Joe Nathan continued his run as one of the top closers in the league, setting a club record for single-season saves with 47.
The starting rotation was expected to be a strength for the Twins but struggled early. By mid-August injuries cost Minnesota three starting pitchers – Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins and Francisco Liriano – who began the season in the rotation. A waiver trade in August brought on Carl Pavano and the veteran gave the club a boost, going 5-4 with a 4.64 ERA in 12 starts. Injuries also plagued the ballclub in other areas. Third baseman Joe Crede was limited to just 90 games before undergoing his third back surgery in three years at the end of September. First baseman Justin Morneau put together another solid season with 30 home runs and 100 RBI but saw his season cut short after discovering a stress fracture in his lower back with three weeks left. Still, the Twins managed to make the final season in the Metrodome special by adding one more Postseason memory.
Despite toiling around the .500 mark for most of the season, the Twins captured their fifth American League Central division title in eight years thanks to a surprising late September run. Minnesota trailed Detroit by seven games on September 6, but the club won 16 of its final 20 games to force a one-game playoff with the Tigers for the division title. One year after losing game 163 by one run to the Chicago White Sox, the Twins found a way to top the Tigers, 6-5, in a thrilling 12-inning tiebreaker at the Metrodome to earn a Postseason bid. However, the Twins lasted only three games in the American League Division Series as Minnesota was swept in three games by the Yankees.