Minnesota Twins
Established: 1901
Other Names:
Washington Senators/Nationals (1901-1960)
2016 results: 59-103,
5th in AL Central
2017 Prediction: 5th
World Series Titles: 3
Most Recent: 1991
Last World Series
Appearance: 1991
Last Division Title: 2010
Ballpark: Target
Field
Est: 2010
Best Season: 1991
After finishing in last place in
the AL West in 1990, the Twins turned their fortunes completely around when
they won 95 games and finished in first place by eight games over the second
place Chicago White Sox. Despite having won more games, they were a decided
underdog heading into the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, but won the
series rather easily in five games to advance to the World Series. Their
opponent was the Atlanta Braves, another team that had finished last in their
division in 1990. What would transpire over seven games was perhaps the
greatest World Series ever. The two teams battled back and forth, with five of
the seven games being decided by one run, four of them won in walk-off fashion.
Games 6 and 7 were very memorable. In the sixth game, Twins’ centre fielder
Kirby Puckett made a leaping catch up against the wall in extra innings to keep
the game tied, then ended it with a solo home run in the bottom of 11th
inning. The seventh game was scoreless after nine innings and was won by a
bases loaded-single in the bottom of the tenth by Gene Larkin. The Twins have
not won another World Series since.
Best All-time Player:
Kirby Puckett
While technically, the Twins and
the Washington Senators are the exact same franchise, in reality, they are
different clubs with their own history. So as much as a dominant pitcher Walter
Johnson was with the Senators, the Twins’ best player in franchise history was
Puckett. The pudgy centre-fielder played 12 season in the Bigs, all with
Minnesota. In 1783 career games, Puckett collected 2304 hits on his way to a
.318 batting average. He hit 207 home runs, 1085 RBIs and stole 134 bases. He
was a ten-time All-Star, won six Gold Gloves and six Silver Slugger Awards. He
was also the 1991 ALCS MVP. Unfortunately, his career was cut short in 1995
when he was hit in the face with a pitch, suffering a broken jaw, then losing
sight in his right eye during Spring Training the next year. Even more tragic
was his death from a stroke suffered at the age of 45.
Best Player on the
Current Roster: Brian Dozier
No question of Dozier being the
best player on the Twins’ roster. In 2016, the second baseman slugged 42 home
runs, had 99 RBIs, batted .268 and even stole 18 bases. Over his five-year
career, he has a .246 average, 117
homers, 346 RBIs and 74 stolen bases. He was an All-Star in 2015.
Despite being on the worst team in baseball last season, Dozier was a consistent
threat at the plate and even managed to score 104 runs even though not many run
producers were in the line-up behind him. Unless the Twins trade him in yet
another re-build mode, expect Dozier to be a big producer in Minnesota for
years to come.
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