· The Twins were established as one of the eight AL charter franchises in 1901 as the Washington Senators.
· They were the Senators for sixty years before moving to Minnesota in 1961.
· They got their name because of the twin cities area that includes two adjoining cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
· They play their games at Target Field which is located in the historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.
· They have made the playoffs sixteen times with one wild card berth and eleven divisional titles.
· They have won six AL Pennants and three World Series Championships in 1924, 1987 & 1991.
Batting Lineup:
1. 2B Rod Carew
2. RF Sam Rice
3. CF Kirby Puckett
4. DH Harmon Killebrew
5. LF Goose Goslin
6. 3B Gary Gaetti
7. SS Joe Cronin
8. 1B Mickey Vernon
9. C Joe Mauer
Starting Rotation:
3. Jim Kaat
4. Jim Perry
Bullpen:
1. Closer: Joe Nathan
4. Jeff Reardon
5. Ron Davis
Bench:
OF-Tony Oliva
OF-Torii Hunter
INF-Buddy Myer
INF-Eddie Yost
Coaching Staff:
Manager-Bucky Harris
Bucky Harris managed the Twins (Senators) for eighteen seasons where he finished with the most wins with 1336 and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1975. He guided them to two AL Pennants and one World Series Championship in 1924.
Bench Coach-Tom Kelly
Tom Kelly managed the Twins for sixteen seasons where he finished with the second most wins with 1140, is in the Twins Hall of Fame and they retired his number 10. He guided them to two divisional titles, two AL Pennants and two World Series Championships in 1987 & 1991. He played one season for them, started off as a minor league manager, a third base coach and now works in the front office for them.
1B Coach-Ron Gardenhire
Ron Gardenhire managed the Twins for thirteens seasons where he finished with the third most wins with 1068. He guided them to six divisional titles and won AL Manager of the Year once. He also was a coach for eleven seasons where he was on one World Series Championship team in 1991.
3B Coach-Sam Mele
Sam Mele managed the Twins for seven seasons where he finished with the fifth most wins with 524. He started off as a scout, then a coach and then guided them to one AL Pennant in 1965.
Hitting Coach-Gene Mauch
Gene Mauch managed the Twins for five seasons where he finished with the sixth most wins with 378. He guided them to one third place finish.
Pitching Coach-Clark Griffith
Clark Griffith managed the Twins (Senators) for nine seasons where he finished with the fourth most wins with 693 and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1946. He was a player manager for three seasons, guided them to second place once, worked a team president and was the owner for them where they won three AL Pennants and one World Series Championship in 1924.
Bullpen Coach-Ossie Bluege
Ossie Bluege managed the Twins (Senators) for five seasons where he finished with the seventh most wins with 375. He managed in the minors, coached, guided them two second place finishes and was the farm director that found Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. He also played eighteen seasons for them where he made one All-Star appearance and was on one World Series Championship team in 1924.
There have been twenty five Hall of Fame players who have played for them at different points in their respective careers. They have retired seven numbers for players and one number for a manager.
Harmon Killebrew spent twenty one seasons all over the field for the Twins as their greatest player where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1984, is in the Twins Hall of Fame and they retired his number 3. He made all thirteen of his All-Star appearances, led the AL in home runs six times, led the AL in RBIs three times and won the 1969 AL MVP while there. He worked as a broadcaster for eight seasons for them as well. He also finished the franchise leader in many offensive categories in Twins history like having the most home runs, extra base hits, RBIs, walks, total bases, games played, highest slugging percentage and highest offensive WAR.
Rod Carew spent twelve seasons in the infield for the Twins as their greatest second basemen where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1991, is in the Twins Hall of Fame and they retired his number 29. He made twelve of his eighteen All-Star appearances, won AL Rookie of the Year, won the Roberto Clemente Award, won seven batting titles and won the 1977 AL MVP while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Twins history like having the highest WAR for position players, highest batting average, on base percentage, second highest offensive WAR, fifth most stolen bases, singles and sixth most hits to name some.
Kirby Puckett spent twelve seasons in the outfield for the Twins as their greatest center fielder where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 2001, is in the Twins Hall of Fame and they retired his number 34. He made all ten of his All-Star appearances, led the AL in RBIs once, won one batting title, won the Roberto Clemente Award, won all six of his gold gloves, won all six of his silver sluggers, won one ALCS MVP and was on two World Series Championship teams in 1987 & 1991 while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Twins history like having the second most hits, third most extra base hits, RBIs, total bases, third highest offensive WAR, fourth most runs scored, doubles and singles to name some.
Goose Goslin spent twelve seasons in the outfield for the Twins as their greatest/longest tenured left fielder where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1968. He won one batting title, led the AL in RBIs once, led the AL in triples twice, hit for the cycle and was on one World Series Championship in 1924 while there. He also finished with the second highest slugging percentage, third highest batting average, third most triples, eight most RBIs, eight highest on base percentage and eight highest WAR for position players to name some.
Sam Rice spent nineteen seasons in the outfield for the Twins as their greatest/longest tenured right fielder where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1963. He led the AL in stolen bases once and was on one World Series Championship team in 1924 while there. He also finished as the franchise leader in many offensive categories in Twins history like having the most singles, triples, doubles, hits, runs scored, at bats and plate appearances.
Joe Cronin spent seven seasons in the infield for the Twins as their greatest shortstop where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1956. He made three of his seven All-Star appearances and was a player manager for them for two seasons where he led them to one AL Pennant in 1933 while there. He also finished with the fourth highest defensive WAR and seventh highest on base percentage in Twins history.
Walter Johnson pitched twenty one seasons for the Twins as their greatest pitcher where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1936. He won three Triple Crowns, led the AL in wins six times, led the AL in ERA five times, led the AL in strikeouts twelve times, pitched a no-hitter, won two AL MVPs, has the MLB record for most shutouts and was on one World Series Championship team in 1924 while there. He also managed them for four seasons. He finished as the franchise leader in many pitching categories in Twins history like having the lowest ERA, highest WAR for pitchers, most wins, games played, innings pitched, strikeouts, games started, complete games and shutouts.
Bert Blyleven pitched eleven seasons for the Twins where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 2011, is in the Twins Hall of Fame and they retired his number 28. He made one of his two All-Star appearances and was on one World Series Championship team in 1987 while there. He worked as a broadcaster for them as well. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories in Twins history like having the second highest WAR for pitchers, second most strikeouts, third most shutouts, complete games, innings pitched and wins to name some.
Rick Ferrell spent eight seasons behind the plate for the Twins as their second greatest/second longest tenured catcher where he put up numbers that speak for themselves that got him elected into the Hall of Fame in 1984. He made three of his eight All-Star appearances and led the AL in caught stealing for catchers once while there. He also coached for them. Other notable catchers in Twins history have been Earl Beatty, Jake Early, Butch Wyanger, AJ Pierzynski, active catchers Jason Castro and Kurt Suzuki.
Joe Mauer spent fifteen seasons behind the plate for the Twins as their greatest/longest tenured catcher where he made all six of his All-Star appearances, won all three of his gold gloves, won three batting titles, won all five of his silver sluggers, won the 2009 AL MVP, has the highest single season batting average for a catcher, was the first AL catcher to win a batting title, has the most batting titles for catchers while there and they retired his number 7. He also finished with the second most doubles, third highest WAR for position players, third highest offensive WAR, fourth most hits, walks, fifth most plate appearances and total bases to name some.
Gary Gaetti spent ten seasons in the infield for the Twins as their greatest third basemen where he made both of his All-Star appearances, won all four of his gold gloves, won one ALCS MVP, was on one World Series Championship team in 1987 while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He also finished with the fifth highest defensive WAR and eight most home runs in Twins history.
Mickey Vernon spent fourteen seasons in the infield for the Twins where he made six of his seven All-Star appearances and won two batting titles while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Twins history like having the fifth most doubles, triples, RBIs, sixth most at bats, extra base hits, seventh most games played and plate appearances to name some.
Jim Kaat pitched fifteen seasons for the Twins where he made two of his three All-Star appearances, led the AL in wins once, won eleven of his sixteen gold gloves while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He was a broadcaster for them and now is a special assistant to the team. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories in Twins history like having the second most wins, innings pitched, games started, fourth most strikeouts, shutouts and games played to name some.
Jim Perry pitched ten seasons for the Twins where he made two of his three All-Star appearances, led the AL in in wins once, won the AL CY Young Award once while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories in Twins history like having the sixth most wins, eight highest WAR for pitchers, eight most innings pitched, strikeouts and games started to name some.
Camilo Pasqual pitched thirteen seasons for the Twins where he made all seven of his All-Star appearances, led the AL in strikeouts three times, led the AL in shutouts three times, led the AL in complete games three times while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He is one of nine players to play for both Senators teams and worked as pitching coach for three seasons for them. He also finished in the top 10 for many pitching categories in Twins history like having the second most shutouts, third most strikeouts, fourth most innings pitched, fifth most wins, games started and fifth highest WAR for pitchers to name some. Other notable starters in Twins history have been Johan Santana, Frank Viola, Brad Radke, Dutch Leonard, Tom Zachary, Sad Sam Jones, Earl Whitehill, General Crowder, Sid Hudson, Ray Scarborough, Pedro Ramos, Jack Kralrick, Dean Chance, Dave Goltz, Geoff Zahn, Jerry Koosman, Kevin Tapani, Scott Erickson, Eric Milton, Kyle Lohse, Carl Pavano, active pitchers Francisco Liriano, Jose Berrios and Hall of Famer Early Wynn.
Tony Oliva spent fifteen seasons in the outfield for the Twins as their second greatest/second longest tenured right fielder where he made all eight of his All-Star appearances, won AL Rookie of the Year, won three batting titles, led AL right fielders in putouts six times, won his only gold glove while there, is in the Twins Hall of Fame and they retired his number 6. He also was on two World Series Championship teams in 1987 & 1991 as their hitting coach and bench coach. He finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Twins history like having the fifth most home runs, sixth most doubles, total bases, seventh highest WAR for position players, seventh most RBIs and eighth most extra base hits to name some.
Torii Hunter spent twelve seasons in the outfield for the Twins as their second greatest center fielder where he made two of his five All-Star appearances, won seven of his nine gold gloves while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He also finished with the sixth most home runs in Twins history. Other notable outfielders in Twins history have been Bob Allison, Marty Cordova, Tom Brunansky, George Case, Roy Sievers, Jim Lemon, Gary Ward, Jacque Jones, Shannon Stewart, Delmon Young, Josh Willingham, Jim Busby, Stan Spence, Sam West, Clyde Milan, Matt Lawton, Chilli Davis, active players Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Hall of Famers Dave Winfield and Heinie Manush.
Buddy Myer spent sixteen seasons in the infield for the Twins as their second greatest/longest tenured second basemen where he made both of his All-Star appearances and won one batting title while there. He also finished in the top 10 for many offensive categories in Twins history like having the highest on base percentage, fourth most triples, fifth most walks, runs scored, seventh most singles and seventh highest offensive WAR to name some.
Eddie Yost spent fourteen seasons in the infield for the Twins as their second greatest/longest tenured third basemen where he made his only All-Star appearance, led the AL in walks four times and led the AL in doubles once while there. He was their third base coach and was an interim manager for them. He also finished with the second most walks, fifth highest on base percentage, eight most runs scored, plate appearances and tenth most games played in Twins history. Other notable infielders in Twins history have been Justin Morneau, Kent Hrbek, Joe Kuhel, Joe Judge, Doug Mientkiewicz, David Ortiz, Chuck Knoblauch, Todd Walker, Luis Castillo, Hall of Fame manager during his career Bucky Harris, Roy Smalley, JJ Hardy, Cristian Guzman, Zoilo Versalles, Greg Gagne, Leo Cardenas, Pete Runnels, Cecil Travis, Roger Peckinpaugh, Rich Rollins, Michael Cuddyer, Eddie Foster, Buddy Lewis, Cesar Tovar, Corey Koskie, one of their greatest managers during his career Ossie Bluege, active player Brian Dozier, Hall of Famers Jim Thome and Paul Molitor.
Joe Nathan was the Twins closer for seven seasons where he made four of his six All-Star appearances, won reliever of the year once while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He has the second most saves in AL history. He also finished the most saves, second most games finished and sixth most games played in Twins history.
Rick Aguilera was the Twins closer for eleven seasons where he made all three of his All-Star appearances, was on two World Series Championship teams in 1987 & 1991 while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He also finished with the most games finished, second most saves and third most games played in Twins history.
Eddie Guardado was the Twins closer for twelve seasons where he made both of his All-Star appearances, led the AL in saves once while there and is in the Twins Hall of Fame. He worked as a bullpen coach for them. He also finished with the second most games played, third most games finished and fourth most saves in Twins history.
Jeff Reardon was the Twins closer for three seasons where he made one of his four All-Star appearances and was on one World Series Championship team in 1987 while there. He also finished with the sixth most saves and eight most games finished in Twins history.
Ron Davis was the Twins closer for five seasons where he finished with the fifth most saves and games finished in Twins history.
Al Worthington was the Twins closer for six seasons where he led the AL in saves once while there. He also finished with the seventh most games finished and eight most saves in Twins history. Other notable relievers have been Ron Perranoski, LaTroy Hawkins, Glen Perkins, Mike Marshall, Ray Moore, Jesse Crain and Firpo Mayberry.
