Minnesota Twins (1961-Present)

Historical Moments:
1960: With an expansion team all ready to begin play in Washington in 1961 the old Senators who have played in the Nation's Capital for 60 years gets the go ahead to move to Minnesota, as Metropolitan Stadium built originally for minor league baseball was renovated and expanded for Major League Baseball in the Twin Cities.

1961: With players like Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison, Camilo Pascual and Jim Lemon Minnesota is excited about getting Major League Baseball, as the Twins are born. However, the team does not experience allot of success that first season and would finish in 7th place with a record of 70-90.

1962: With pitcher Jim Kaat coming into his own and Harmon Killebrew leading the League in HRs RBI the Twins reverse their record to 91-71 and finish in 2nd Place only 5 games out of first.

1963: The Twins win 91 games again, but finish a distant 13 games out of first place, while finishing in 3rd Place.

1964: Even with Harmon Killebrew leading the league with 49 HRs and Rookie of the Year Tony Oliva winning the batting crown the Twins have trouble wining and finish a disappointing 6th with a 79-83 record.

1965: The Twins jumped out of the gate and did not look back even with Harmon Killebrew missing time with injuries the Twins were the story of the American League. Tony Oliva repeated as batting champion becoming the first player to win it in each of his 1st two seasons. With Mudcat Grant winning 21 games and Zolio Versalles capturing the League MVP the Twins were well on their way to the AL Pennant. Ironically the Twins would clinch the pennant on September 26th in Washington the city they once called home. The Twins would go on to win franchise best 102-60 record. In the World Series the Twins were matched up against the Los Angeles Dodgers who had one of the best pitching rotations in the history of baseball. The Twins would get off to a flying start beating both Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax in the first 2 games at Metropolitan Stadium to take a 2-0 series lead to Los Angeles. However the Dodgers would bounce back and take the next 3 in LA as the Twins managed just 2 runs in 3 games. Down 3-2 the Twins found home cooking to their liking again as Mudcat Grant stared on the mound and at the plate, allowing just 1 run and smacking a key 3-run homer to force a 7th and deciding game. The home cooking would not last to Game 7, as the Twins were mowed down all day by Sandy Koufax, who earned his 2nd series shut out by fanning 10 Twins.

1966: The Twins experience World Series hangover and get over to a very slow start. The slow start would go on to haunt the Twins in September as they fell 8 games short of the pennant despite 25 wins from Jim Kaat, and sporting the best record in the majors after July 4th, on their way to 89-73 record, good enough for 2nd Place.

1967: With super rookie Rod Carew setting the pace Twins find themselves in the thick of one of the tightest pennant races in American League history. The Twins were in the race until the final day of the season when they faced the Red Sox in a one game decides it all final game of the season in Boston. The Twins would take an early 2-0, but the heroics of AL MVP Carl Yastrzemski would do them in as the Twins came up just 1 game short with a 91-71 record.

1968: A season ending injury to Harmon Killebrew during the All-Star game dooms the Twins to a disappointing 7th place 79-83 season.

1969: Led by Harmon Killebrew who won the AL MVP while leading the league with 49 HR and 104 RBI, and Rod Carew batting a league high .332 the Twins quickly establish themselves as the class of the AL West in the first season of divisional play. The Twins only real challenge would come form the Oakland Athletics, however taking 5 of 6 in early September allowed the Twins to cruise to an easy 1st Division title with a 97-65 record. In the 1st ever ALCS the Twins faced the Baltimore Orioles. However, the Twins would lose 2 heart-breaking games in extra innings at Baltimore to fall behind 2-0 in the series. In Game 3 not even the site of Metropolitan Stadium would help as the Orioles completed the sweep with an 11-2 romp.

1970: With Jim Perry winning 24 games while capturing the CY Young the Twins dominate the AL West again, gaining 1st for good in the middle of May on the way to finishing with a 98-64 record. In the ALCS the Twins earned a rematch against the Baltimore Orioles. The series would be over after Game 1 when Orioles pitcher Mike Cuellar victimized Jim Perry with a 3rd Inning Grand Slam. The Orioles would go on to win the game 10-6, and go on to sweep the series scoring an incredible 27 runs in 3 games.

1971: With Twins pitching faltering from the start the Twins fall off their first place perch and crash into 5th Place with a 74-86 record. The lone highlight of the season comes when Harmon Killebrew belts his 500th career HR.

1972: The Twins play mediocre baseball all season as they finish in 3rd place with a .500 record of 77-77.

1973: The Twins finish with a .500 record for the second straight season as they land in 3rd place at 81-81.

1974: After 21 years with the Senators-Twins franchise Harmon Killebrew is released. Killebrew would go on to play just 1-more season with Royals ending his career with 573 career HR. In Killer's final season the Twins finish in 3rd Place with an 82-80 record.

1975: In their first season without Harmon Killebrew, the Twins would struggle to finish in 4th Place with a 76-83 record.

1976: After a season of injury and frustration Tony Oliva retires at the young age of 36. In his career Oliva only plays with Twins and wins 3 batting titles and finishes his career with a .304 career average. The Twins would go on to finish the season in 3rd Place with an 85-77 record.

1977: In what could be called the "Year of Rod Carew" without protest from anyone in baseball circles. The Twins stella1B tore AL pitching apart en-route to being named the American League's MVP, leading the circuit in average (.388), hits (239), runs scored (128) and triples (16), in addition to collecting 100 RBI. Moreover, the 3-time batting champ was nationally recognized as baseball's best hitter, appearing on the cover of several national publications and featured on network news shows. Despite the heroics of Care, the Twins finish a distant 4th with an 84-77 record.

1978: After a disappointing 73-89 season the Twins stun baseball and their fans by trading Rod Care who had just won his 5th batting title in 6 years to the California Angels. In return the Twins received several young but unproven players including Ken Landreaux.

1979: Led by newly acquired Jerry Koosman who led the team with 20 wins the Twins youth energizes the team to stay in the race for the division title until September. With Roy Smalley leading the team at the plate with 24 HR, the Twins are in a tight 4-way race in a weak Western Division. Eventually the Twins will fade to 4th place but they would finish just 6 games behind the Western Division Champion Angels with an 82-80 record.

1980: The Twins struggle all season as they finish in 3rd place with a record of 77-84.

1981: A strike and a poor 41-68 overall put a damper on the season from the start. Then on September 30th and end of an era in Twins baseball occurred as the Twins played their final game at Metropolitan Stadium. Almost 16,000 fans turned out for the finale, played in chilly, rainy conditions; it was ironically the same type of afternoon experienced for the 1961 opener at the stadium.

1982: Playing in the first air supported dome stadium in baseball history the Twins started the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome era on the wrong foot. The Twins quickly establish themselves as the worst team in baseball by getting off to an embarrassing 16-54 start. However, the Twins youthful core of Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, and Tim Launder would begin to play better baseball. The Twins would still post a horrid 60-102 record, but a respectable 44-48 finish gave hope for the future.

1983: Coming off a 102-loss season the youthful Twins continue to experience growing pains as they finish in 5th place with a 70-92 record.

1984: Owner Calvin Griffith, had a 20-year contract with the Metrodome, which stated the club, had to draw an average of 1.4 million fans in any 3-year period or he could break the lease and move the team. Griffith was threatening to exercise this option and move the Twins to Tampa, Florida. However, a group of local civic leaders banded together in an attempt to purchase enough tickets to gain support to keep the Twins in Minnesota. From mid-May to late-June, they administered a ticket buyout. On June 22, prominent local businessman Carl Pohlad stepped forward and signed an agreement in principle to purchase the team from Griffith and his sister, Mrs. Thelma Griffith Haynes, to keep the Twins in Minnesota. This ended the buyout plan, and on September 7, the deal was finalized ending an era of 72 years in which the Griffith family controlled the ballclub. While the team was involved in ownership controversies off the field the Twins managed to put together a string season on the field. Finishing with a .500, 81-81 record the Twins who are led by Frank Viola who wins 18 games, as the Twins finish just 3 games out of 1st in a weak Western Division. The season was also highlighted by the debut of a 5'8" OF Kirby Puckett, who most think is too small to ever make the majors. That OF would not only make the majors but will become Twins baseball for the next decade while putting together a hall of fame career. In his debut Puckett shows his greatness by collecting 4 hits in a game in California against the Angles on May 8th.

1985: The Twins suffer a setback falling into 4th place with a disappointing record of 77-85.

1986: Poor pitching dooms the Twins from the start as team falls into 6th place with a dreadful 71-91 record. However, not all news was bad for the Twins Kirby Puckett has a break out year slamming 31 HR, after entering the season with just 4 in his entire career. On September 12th the Twins would change mangers for the 3rd time in 2 years, as the job was handed over to Tom Kelly on an interim basis.

1987: Intent to make sure the Twins were better, newly appointed General Manager Andy MacPhail acquired Jeff Reardon to fill the need for a closer, and Dan Gladden to provide spark form the leadoff spot. MacPhail also kept Tom Kelly on as manager whose even temperament would keep the team on an even keel. Not much was expected from the team coming off a 91-loss season, but most expected they would improve enough to finish with a respectable record. On the road the Twins were much like the year before with a pathetic 29-53 record. However at home the Twins were magic winning 56 while losing just 25. Usually an 85-77 will leave a team far behind in any pennant race, but the AL West was mediocre that year and it was good enough to give the Twins their first division title in 17 years.     The final week of the season saw a battle between the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays for the Eastern Division title. With the Twins who won the West seen as a pushover the series was called the real ALCS. Eventually the Tigers would sweep the Jays and go on to face the Twins. Most thought of it was a mere formality, but the Twins would have home field advantage, and in their dome there was magic cooking all season, as loud crowds and white towels called homer hankies made life hell for the visitors. Game 1 turned into a see saw battle as the Twins used 2 doubles to score 4 times in the 8th inning to pull out the opener. Game 2 saw the Twins score 6 runs off St. Paul native Jack Morris to take a 2-0 series lead. In Game 3 the Twins, away from the Homer Hankies experienced a bump in the road wasting a comeback from a 5-0 deficit, to lose 7-6. However, the Twins would bounce back in Game 4 thanks to solo homers from Kirby Puckett, and Greg Gagne to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Even on the road the Twins could not be stopped as they trounced the Tigers 9-5 in the 5th game to earn a trip to their first World Series in 22 years. Entering the World Series the Twins remained heavy underdogs facing the St. Louis Cardinals. However like the ALCS the Twins would have the advantage of 4 games at home. In the 1st game a loud Metrodome crowd sparked the Twins to an impressive 11-1 victory highlighted by Dan Gladden's 4th Inning Grand Slam. The Twins offense didn't miss a beat in Game 2, as 6-run 4th inning enabled the Twins to win 8-4. The series shifted to St. Louis for games 3, 4 and 5. Game 3 was a pitcher's duel between Les Straker and John Tudor, but St. Louis got 3 in the 7th Inning off Juan Berenguer and went on to win, 3-1. The Cardinals offense broke loose in the 4th game in defeating the Twins, 7-2. It was followed by Game 5, which was another tight struggle, that the Cards won 4-2. The Twins found themselves in the same position, as they were 22 years earlier losing 3 road games and returning home on the brink down 3-2. However there was still magic in the dome, and after falling behind 5-2 in Game 6 the Twins rallied to take a lead 6-5 in the 5th after Don Baylor sparked a 4-run 5th. The Twins would pull away the next inning thanks to a Grand Slam from Kent Hrbek to force a decisive 7th game. In Game 7 the Twins had ace Frank Viola on the mound, against the Cardinals rookie Joe Magrane. The Twins would fall behind early 2-0 but Viola cruised the rest of the way, as the Twins would score 4 times to take a 4-2 lead to the 9th. In the 9th the ball rested in the hands of the Terminator Jeff Reardon, who was automatic almost all year, true to form he retired all 3 batters he faced and the Twins captured their first World Championship.

1988: Frank Viola was playing his Sweet Music on the mound all year while winning 24 games to earn the Cy Young, to help the Twins to an even better record then their Championship year. However, they would; not even come close to winning the division title, as their 91-71 records was only good for 2nd place 13 games out of 1st. Also highlighting the year was Alan Anderson who led the league in ERA in his first full season in the majors. On the field the Twins set a new record committing just 84 errors, while posting a .986 fielding percentage. The fans of Minnesota were also record-setters, as the Twins became the first American League team to draw 3 million fans when 3,030,672 passed through the turnstiles.

1989: With the Twins fading in the race for the division they would make a stunning trade as the clock struck midnight on the trading deadline, by dealing Frank Viola to the New York Mets. In return the Twins rolled the dice by acquiring 5 young pitchers. With a lack of pitching depth, the Twins had few alternatives other than dealing Viola for what could turn out to be the nucleus of their pitching staff for years to come. In the deal, the Twins acquired a proven, 28-year-old veteran, Rick Aguilera, heralded rookie southpaw David West, considered to be the Mets' top prospect, rookie right-handers Kevin Tapani, a starter, and relievers Tim Drummond and Jack Savage. Despite Kirby Puckett winning the batting title with a .339 average the Twins would fall below .500 and finish in 5th place with an 80-82 record.

1990: The Twins would fall into the AL West basement with a 74-88 record. Despite their record, the Twins had their share of bright spots. Rick Aguilera was converted from starter to stopper in the bullpen and responded by recording 32 saves. Right-hander Scott Erickson made the jump from AA to the Twins in June and finished the season strong, going 8-4 with a 3.27 ERA. The highlight of the disappointing season came on July 17, in Boston, when they turned 2 triple plays. In the 4th inning, with the bases loaded and Scott Erickson pitching, former Twin Tom Brunansky hit a sharp grounder to Gary Gaetti at 3rd, who stepped on the bag for the force out, fired to Al Newman at 2nd, whose relay to Kent Hrbek was in time to get Bruno at 1st. In the 8th inning, with John Candelaria on the hill and runners on 1st and 2nd, Jody Reed hit a one-hopper at Gaetti who again started a 5-4-3 triple play.

1991: Not much was expected for the Twins coming off their last place finish, and when they got off to a 2-9 start no one batted an eye. However the ship was soon righted, and behind the spectacular pitching of Scott Erickson, who won a club-record 12 consecutive games, the Twins soon closed the gap on the 1st place Texas Rangers and began to make their move as June rolled around. The Twins began the month by winning their first 15 games, setting a team-record, and finished the month with an incredible 22-6 mark which catapulted them over the rest of the AL West field and into 1st place, where they would remain for all but 2 days the rest of the season, before clinching the West with a 95-67 record, as the Twins became the first team ever to go from last place one season to first the next. Behind the turnaround were some solid, if not spectacular, seasons from many different players. Erickson became the 10th Twin to win 20 games, as he used his phenomenal first half to push him toward a 20-8 mark. Jack Morris notched an 18-12 record and gave Tom Kelly a proven starter to whom he could give the ball in pressure situations. While, young players such as Kevin Tapani, Shane Mack and AL Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch each established themselves with terrific seasons. The Twins opened the ALCS in the friendly confines of the Metrodome with hometown hero Jack Morris on the mound. The Twins jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 3 innings, and weathered a furious Blue Jays comeback to win, 5-4. The next day, Toronto starter Juan Guzman limited the Twins to just five hits for a 5-2 win. In the process the Blue Jays became the first team to defeat the Twins in the Metrodome in post-season play, as the 1st postseason series played completely indoors moved to Toronto for the next 3 games. Mike Pagliarulo put the Twins ahead by a game with a solo home run in the 10th inning for a 3-2 win in Game 3. After, the Twins romped in Game 4, the Twins clinched their 3rd American League pennant with a come-from-behind, 8-5 win in Game 5 as ALCS MVP Kirby Puckett's 8th Inning single put the Twins up for good.

1991: In the World Series the Twins would be matched against the Atlanta Braves who themselves made history by becoming the first NL team to go from last to 1st in one season. The Twins would have one big advantage in that if the series went 7 games, 4 would be at the Twins home sweet dome. The Twins jumped out to a 1-0 series lead with a 5-2 win pounding Atlanta starter Charlie Leibrandt for 4 runs in 4 innings. In Game 2, Scott Leius was the hero as his 8th inning solo home run that made a winner of Kevin Tapani, who out dueled Atlanta ace Tom Glavine with just 2 runs in his 8 innings of work. Arriving in Atlanta up 2-0 the Twins were in familiar territory after taking the first 2 series game. Game 3 was an extra-inning affair, and set the tone for the remainder of the gut-wrenching games to follow. The game entered the 12th inning still knotted at 4, as the Twins threatened in the top half of the inning, loading the bases with 2 outs. However, Tom Kelly was forced to pinch-hit pitcher Rick Aguilera for Mark Guthrie, as there were no hitters left on the bench. Aguilera end up flying out to end the threat. The Braves, would win the game in the bottom of the 12th when Mark Lemke singled home Dave Justice. Atlanta evened the series 2-2 with another win in their last at-bat, this time on a Jerry Willard sacrifice fly to score Lemke in the 9th inning of Game 4. That game featured 3 close plays at home plate, with Twins' catcher Brian Harper blocking away Lonnie Smith and Terry Pendleton, but just missing Lemke with the tag to end the game. The Braves, would gain a 3-2 series advantage with a 14-5 drubbing of the Twins in Game 5. With the series returning to Minnesota the Twins hoped they could keep their home fires burning to force a 7th game, as Kirby Puckett was not about to let the title go quietly going 3-for-4, with a leaping catch at the center-field wall to rob Ron Gant of extra-bases. That effort, along with Scott Erickson's gutsy 6 innings of work, kept the teams tied as the game went into extra-inning. Kirby Puckett would end the game in the 11th inning with a dramatic lead off homer that set up a dramatic 7th game. In Game 7 Jack Morris and Braves starter John Smoltz each held their opponents scoreless, as the game entered the 8th inning. The Braves loaded the bases in the top of the 8th but Minnesota turned a 3-2-3 double play to get Morris out of the inning. The Braves returned the favor in the bottom of the inning, getting out of a bases loaded jam with their own twin killing. As the scoreless game entered the 10th inning, Morris continued to hurl a gem of a shutout, and set the stage for the offense to clinch the Series, as Gene Larkin's pinch-hit single scored Dan Gladden with the winning run in a 1-0 game to close out one of the greatest World Series ever. Five of the seven games were decided by one run, 5 were decided in the last at-bat and 3 games went into extra innings. The Twins became World Champions for the 2nd time in 5 seasons, as Morris was awarded the MVP trophy for his brilliant pitching effort.

1992: With Kirby Puckett reaching 200 hits for the 5th time in his career while scoring 100 runs and driving in 100 RBI, while hitting over .300 for the 7th time in 9 seasons, the Twins went 90-72, for their 3rd 90-win campaign in the 5 years. However, the Twins couldn't catch the Oakland Athletics and finished in 2nd place.

1993: Individual accomplishments from a career Twin, and a returning hometown hero highlight an otherwise disappointing 5th Place 71-91 season. First Kirby Puckett earns the All-Star Game MVP with a homer and a RBI double. Then on September 16th St. Paul native Dave Winfield who signed with the Twins in the off-season collected his 3,000th career hit in the 9th Inning off Oakland Athletics ace reliever Dennis Eckersley.

1994: In their 1st season in the newly formed AL Central the Twins are never factor in the race for 1st place with a record of 53-60, when the strike prematurely ended the season on August 12th. However Kirby Puckett collects his 2,000th career hit while leading the AL in RBI. The highlight of the season comes on April 27th when Scott Erickson pitches the 3rd No Hitter in Twins history. The year also sees the end of two eras, as 1B Kent Hrbek retires after 13 seasons, and GM Andy MacPhail leaves the Twins to run the Chicago Cubs.

1995: Three individual career milestones from Kirby Puckett highlight an otherwise awful 56-88 last place season as he eclipses the 200 HR 1,000 RBI, 1,000 Runs marks.

1996: With spring training nearing an end the most popular player in Twins history Kirby Puckett awoke on March 28th with blurred vision. Puckett would never play again and would be forced to retire after it was determined the eye problem was caused by glaucoma, an incurable disease that robs people of their sight. Prior to the season the Twins brought in St. Paul native Paul Molitor to collect his 3,000th in front off his hometown fans much like Dave Winfield did 3 years earlier. He would collect his milestone hit in Kansas City with a triple off Royals pitcher Jose Rosado on September 16th, as the Twins finished in 4th Place with a 78-84 record.

1997: Following a miserable 4th Place 68-94 season, the Twins trade popular 2B Chuck Knoblauch to the New York Yankees for Rookie pitcher Eric Milton.

1998: With Paul Molitor's 21-year playing career coming to an end the Twins suffer through another poor season finishing in 4th Place with a terrible 70-92 record.

1999: Eric Milton's no hitter versus the Anaheim Angels at the Metrodome on September 11th is the lone bright spot in an awful 63-97 season that sees the Twins land in last place.

2000: Despite finishing 69-93, for the 4tth straight 90-loss season in a row, the Twins new foundation continued to solidify. At the plate, Matt Lawton hit .305 making his first All-Star team; Corey Koskie impressed with a .300 batting average; Jacque Jones showed glimpses of all-around stardom, hitting .285 with 19 home runs while playing a sterling outfield; and shortstop Christian Guzman, who continued to dazzle with the glove, led the Majors with 20 triples.

2001: Following 4 straight 90-loss seasons, and entering the season with baseball's lowest payroll not much was expected from the Twins. However, through most of the 1st half the Twins, are the biggest surprise in baseball, by spending most of the first 3 months at or near 1st Place. Following the All-star break the Twins came down to earth, and faded from the race for the Central Division Title, as their pitching faltered. However, the Twins would rebound, and would mange to finish in 2nd Place with a solid 85-77 record, which ended an 8-year run of losing seasons. However, despite the strong season Manager Tom Kelly decided to walk away following the season. Following the Twins impressive season, fans in Minnesota had reason to hope again. However, following the World Series talk began to swirl that 2 teams would be contracted. Immediately the Twins became rumored to be one of those teams. Lawmakers in Minnesota led by Governor Jesse Ventura, fearful of seeing the Twins eliminated went to court to try and force the Twins to honor the last year of their leases with Metrodome in 2002. It was a winter of uncertainty as Major League Baseball and the state of Minnesota were in and out of courtrooms, and testified before congress. Uncovered during the hearings was the fact that owner Carl Pohlad received an offer to buy the team, but turned it down because he was set to receive more money in a Major League buyout for contraction. Eventually the state of Minnesota had an injunction granted forcing the Twins to honor their lease.

2002: After a winter in which it was unknown if they would ever play another game the Twins get off to a fast start taking control of the AL Central early in the season under new Manager Ron Gardenhire. The Twins would go on to cruise to their first division title in 11 years with a solid record of 94-67. Along the way longtime Twin Eddie Guardado became automatic out of the bullpen with a club record 45 saves. In the playoffs the Twins would get off to a shaky start as they committed 3 errors in the first 2 innings falling behind 5-1 to the Oakland Athletics in Game 1. However, the Twins would settle down and comeback to win 7-5. However, after losing Games 2 and 3 the Twins would have to over adversity again. After blowing out the A's at home 11-2 in Game 4 the Twins would stun the Athletics in Oakland 5-4 as they survived a 9th Inning rally to advance to the ALCS. In the ALCS against the Anaheim Angels the Twins would capture Game 1 at the Homerdome 2-1, as Joe Mays out dueled Kevin Appier. However the rest of the way it was the Twins were shutdown, as they were held homerless on the series falling in 5 games.

2003: Looking to win their second straight division title the Twins got off to a Helter Skelter start either being swept or sweeping their opponent in their first 21 games. Over the next 6 weeks the Twins would play a more consistent brand of baseball as they climbed 10 to the top of the Central Division. However in the Twins would suffer a major June swoon as they lost 22 of their next 28 games and entered the All-Star Break with a 44-49 record, trailing the Kansas City Royals by 7 and a half games. Hoping to give themselves a jump-start the Twins acquired Shannon Stewart from the Toronto Blue Jays at the start of the second half. Stewart would provide just the spark that the Twins needed batting .322 as the Twins cut away at the Royals lead. By September the Twins were back in first place as the used a 10-game winning streak to pull away from the fading Royals down the stretch clinching their second straight division title with a week to go, as they posted a solid 90-70 record, despite closing the season by losing 3 of their last 4 games to the lowly Detroit Tigers. In the ALDS the Twins faced the New York Yankees and got off to a good start beating the Yankees for the first time in 13 games 3-1 as the Twins bullpen kept the Yankees at bay after Johan Santana was forced to leave the game early due to an injury. However the Yankees would bounce back to win Game 2, as the Yankees broke open a 1-1 tie with 3 runs in the 7th. As the series shifted to the Metrodome the Yankees dominance of the Twins resumed as the Yankees easily won both games by a combined score of 11-2 as the Yankees won the series in 4 games.

2004: In their quest for a third straight division title the Twins got off to a solid start posting a 15-7 record in April as Joe Nathan quickly established himself as a reliable closer on the way to a 44-save season. After playing mediocre ball in May and June the Twins looking to jumpstart their offense called up Justin Morneau. Morneau would help provide just the spark the Twins as he hit 19 homers in 74 games. With Morneau now starting at first the Twins would deal Doug Mientkiewicz to the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline. Meanwhile Johan Santana was unhitable in the second half posting a 13-0 record with a microscopic 1.82 ERA as he went on to capture the AL Cy Young award as the Twins pulled away down the stretch to win their 3rd straight AL Central Division Championship with a record of 92-70. In the playoffs the Twins would face the New York Yankees in an ALDS rematch. In Game 1 Santana continued his dominance as the Twins took the series opener 2-0. With a chance to take a 2-0 series lead to Minnesota, the Twins rallied to take a 6-5 lead in the 12th Inning after tying the game in the 8th Inning on Corey Koskie's 2-run double. However in his 3rd inning of work Joe Nathan was hit hard as the Yankees scored twice to even the series. After losing Game 3 at home 8-4 the Twins turned to Johan Santana to get the series to a decisive 5th game. Santana was strong again as the Twins jumped out to a 5-1 lead. However, pitching on short rest Santana could only go 5 innings. The Twins bullpen would be unable to hold the lead as the Yankees roughed up Juan Rincon for 4 runs in the 8th before winning the game 6-5 in 11 innings to take the series in 4 games for the 2nd straight year.

2005: After three straight Division Titles the Twins once again were considered the favorite in the AL Central as the season began led by Johan Santana who was coming off an impressive Cy Young season. However, they would find themselves in an early hole as the Chicago White Sox got off to a fast start which included winning 4 of 5 over the Twins. Through May the Twins did manage to stay close to the White Sox, but beginning in June found themselves fading as a 4-11 stretch was just the start of struggles that would hamper the Twins for the rest of the season. The culprit for much of the Twins struggles would be their offense as only two players managed to hit more the 20 homers and drive in more then 70 RBI, which would hurt Santana's shot at a second straight Cy Young as his 2.87 ERA only produced a 16-7 record as the Twins limped to a 3rd place finish with a mediocre 83-79 record

2006: A year after finishing in 3rd Place, the Twins had high hopes of returning to the playoffs when the season began. However a sluggish start had them in a deep hole before the weather even turned in the Twin Cities. Starting with five losses in their first six games the Twins found themselves sending out an SOS on May 1st as they were 9-16 and already nine games out of first. The Twins would not play much better in May as they were 11 and half games out of a wild card spot as they were wilting in fourth place with a 27-34 record on June 10th. However, suddenly the Twins woke up from a season long snooze and caught fire winning 19 of their next 20 games as Francisco Liriano became a dominate counter punch to Johan Santana who was in the middle of winning his second Cy Young in three years with a 19-6 record with a 2.77 ERA and 245 strikeouts all of which led the league. Meanwhile at the plate the Twins offense was led by Joe Mauer who with a .347 became the first catcher in American League history to winning a batting title, joining Bubbles Hargrave 1924 and Ernie Lombardi 1938 and 1942 as the only catchers in either league to win batting crowns. While Mauer was getting on it was Justin Morneau who was getting him in. Like the Twins Morneau got off to a terrible start as entered June with a .240 batting average. However as the Twins streaked so did Morneau as he raised his batting average 33 points each of the next two months and was nearly impossible to get out as he ended the season with a .321 average and 34 homers with 130 RBI, winning the AL MVP. Slowly as summer arrived the Twins climbed back into the playoff picture eventually galloping past the Chicago White Sox into second place in the AL Central, but first place in the Wild Card Race. August would see a slight bump in the road as Liriano who dominating with a 12-3 record and a ERA of 2.16 suffered a season ending elbow injury. However, the Twins would not be denied as they slowly crept up to and caught the first place Tigers winning the Division Title with a record of 96-66. In the playoffs the Twins were matched up the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS, and found themselves in a hole once again as they dropped Game 1 at home with Johan Santana on the mound 3-2. The hole would grow even deeper as they also lost Game 2 at home 5-2. The series shifted to Oakland for Game 3 as Brad Radke who pitched all season with a torn labrum, was pitching to extend the Twins season as well as his career as the Twins longtime sold pitcher had already indicated he would retire following season. However, there would be story book ending for Radke and the Twins as the A's won going away to complete the sweep 8-3.

2007: Coming off their fourth division titles in five years the Twins were already a man short as Francisco Liriano the rookie pitcher who helped their second half turn around was lost for the season after off-season Tommy John surgery on his left elbow. In a competitive division headed by the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians the lack of a second quality pitcher behind Johan Santana would prove to be costly as the Twins had trouble staying in the race, as they ended the first half at 45-43. When the trade deadline approached the Twins who were still above .500 took a realistic view of their chances and decided to trade 2B Luis Castillo to the New York Mets for a minor leaguer. The move seemed to have a negative effect on the entire clubhouse as the Twins struggled over the final two months even Johan Santana struggled down the stretch with a 4-5 record over in August and September with a higher then normal ERA. While work began on a new stadium, securing the team's future in the Twin Cities, the immediate future looked much bleaker as the cost saving Twins again were losers on the free agent market as Torii Hunter bolted for a deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Fearing losing another star following the 2008 season, the Twins began look for a deal to trade ace Johan Santana after they were unable to secure a contract extension. At the winter meetings the Twins held out for the best offer hoping the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox would bid against each other and deliver the Twins a package of talented prospects. However, the move backfired as the Twins demands for a high ranking prospect took the Red Sox and Yankees both out of the equation. With both no longer bidding for Santana, the Twins were forced to look for the next best deal before the season started so they traded the two time Cy Young winner, who had been the best pitcher in baseball over the last four season to the New York Mets for OF Carlos Gomez, who was slated to replace Hunter and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey.