Minnesota Twins
2012 Minnesota Twins season
Established	1894
Based in Minnesota since 1961
100px Team logo 100px Cap insignia
Major league affiliations
American League (1901–present) Central Division (1994–present)
Current uniform
275px
Retired numbers	3, 6, 14, 28, 29, 34, 42
Colors
Navy blue, red, white
Name
Minnesota Twins (1961–present)
Washington Nationals/Senators (1901–1960) Kansas City Blues (1894–1900) (Western League)
Other nicknames
Twinkies
Ballpark
Target Field (2010–present) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2009) Metropolitan Stadium (1961–1981) Griffith Stadium (1911–1960) a.k.a. National Park (1911–1920) National Park (1903–1910) American League Park (1901–1902)
Major league titles
World Series titles (3)	1991 • 1987 • 1924
AL Pennants (6)	1991 • 1987 • 1965 • 1933 1925 • 1924
Central Division titles (6)	2010 • 2009 • 2006 • 2004 2003 • 2002
West Division titles (4)	1991 • 1987 • 1970 • 1969
Wild card berths (0)	None
Front office
Owner(s)	Jim Pohlad
Manager	Ron Gardenhire
General Manager	Terry Ryan (interim)

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 to 2009. They played their inaugural game at the newly completed Target Field on April 12, 2010.^[1]

The team was founded in Kansas City in 1894 as the Kansas City Blues of the Western League. The team would move to Washington, D.C., in 1901 as one of the eight original teams of the American League, named the Washington Senators or Washington Nationals. Although the Washington team endured long bouts of mediocrity (immortalized in the 1955 Broadway musical Damn Yankees), they had a period of prolonged success in the 1920s and 1930s, led by Hall-of-Famers Bucky Harris, Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, Heinie Manush, Joe Cronin, and above all Walter Johnson. Manager Clark Griffith joined the team in 1912 and became the team's owner in 1920. The franchise remained under Griffith family ownership until 1984.^[2]

In 1960, Major League Baseball granted the city of Minneapolis an expansion team. Washington owner Calvin Griffith, Clark's nephew and adopted son, requested that he be allowed to move his team to Minneapolis and instead give Washington the expansion team. Upon league approval, the team moved to Minnesota after the 1960 season, setting up shop in Metropolitan Stadium, while Washington fielded a brand new "Washington Senators" (which later became the Texas Rangers prior to the 1972 season).

Success came quickly to the team in Minnesota. Sluggers Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison, who had already been stars in Washington, were joined by Tony Oliva and Zoilo Versalles, and later second baseman Rod Carew and pitchers Jim Kaat and Jim Perry, winning the American League pennant in 1965. A second wave of success came in the late 1980s and early 1990s, led by Kent Hrbek, Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola, and Kirby Puckett, winning the franchise's second and third World Series (and first in Minnesota).

Through the 2011 season, the franchise has won three World Series championships (1924, 1987, and 1991), and has fielded 18 American League batting champions.^[3]

Team history[link]

Washington Nationals/Senators: 1901–1960[link]

Washington's Bucky Harris scores on his home run in the fourth inning of Game 7 of the 1924 World Series

The Washington Senators spent the first decade of their existence finishing near the bottom of the American League standings. Their fortunes began to improve with the arrival of nineteen-year-old pitcher, Walter Johnson, in 1907. Johnson blossomed in 1911 with 25 victories, although the Senators still finished the season in seventh place.^[4] In 1912, the Senators improved dramatically, as their pitching staff led the league in team earned run average and in strikeouts. Johnson won 33 games while teammate Bob Groom added another 24 wins to help the Senators finish the season in second place.^[5] The Senators continued to perform respectfully in 1913 with Johnson posting a career-high 35 victories, as the team once again finished in second place.^[6] The Senators then fell into another period of decline for the next decade. After a string of mediocre seasons, a rejuvenated Johnson rebounded in 1924 to win 23 games with the help of his catcher, Muddy Ruel, as the Senators won the American League pennant for the first time in the history of the franchise.^[7]

The Senators faced John McGraw's heavily-favored New York Giants in the 1924 World Series.^[8] The two teams traded wins back and forth until the series reached the seventh and deciding game. The Senators trailed the Giants 3 to 1 in the eighth inning of Game 7, when Bucky Harris hit a routine ground ball to third which hit a pebble and took a bad hop over Giants third baseman Freddie Lindstrom. Two runners scored on the play, tying the score at three.^[9] An aging Walter Johnson then came in to pitch the ninth inning, and held the Giants scoreless into extra innings. In the bottom of the twelfth inning with Ruel at bat, he hit a high, foul ball directly over home plate.^[10] The Giants' catcher, Hank Gowdy, dropped his protective mask to field the ball but, failing to toss the mask aside, stumbled over it and dropped the ball, thus giving Ruel another chance to bat.^[10] On the next pitch, Ruel hit a double and, then proceeded to score the winning run when Earl McNeely hit a ground ball that took another bad hop over Lindstrom's head.^[9][10] It would mark the only World Series triumph for the franchise during their sixty-year tenure in Washington.

The following season, they repeated as American League champions but ultimately lost the 1925 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After Walter Johnson’s retirement in 1927, he was hired as manager of the Senators. After enduring a few losing seasons, the team returned to contention in 1930. In 1933, Senators owner Clark Griffith returned to the formula that worked for him nine years before, and 26-year-old shortstop Joe Cronin became player-manager. The Senators posted a 99–53 record and cruised to the pennant seven games ahead of the New York Yankees, but in the 1933 World Series the Giants exacted their revenge, winning in five games. Following the loss, the Senators sank all the way to seventh place in 1934, and attendance began to fall. Despite the return of Harris as manager from 1935–42 and again from 1950–54, Washington was mostly a losing ball club for the next 25 years, contending for the pennant only during World War II. Washington came to be known as "first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League",^[11] with their hard luck being crucial to the plot of the musical and film Damn Yankees. In 1954, the Senators signed future Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. By 1959, he was the Senators’ regular third baseman, leading the league with 42 home runs and earning a starting spot on the American League All-Star team.

President Calvin Coolidge (left) and Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson (right) shake hands following the Senators' 1924 championship

After Griffith's death in 1955, his nephew and adopted son Calvin took over the team presidency. He sold Griffith Stadium to the city of Washington and leased it back, leading to speculation that the team was planning to move, as the Boston Braves, St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Athletics had all done in the early 1950s. By 1957, after an early flirtation with San Francisco (where the New York Giants would eventually move after that season ended), Griffith began courting Minneapolis-St. Paul, a prolonged process that resulted in his rejecting the Twin Cities' first offer^[12] before agreeing to relocate. The American League opposed the move at first, but in 1960 a deal was reached: The Senators would move and would be replaced with an expansion Senators team for 1961. Thus, the old Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins.

Team nickname[link]

The Washington franchise was known as both "Senators" and "Nationals" at various times, and sometimes at the same time. In 1905, the team changed its official name to the "Washington Nationals."^[13] The name "Nationals" appeared on uniforms for only two seasons, and was then replaced with the "W" logo for the next 52 years. The media often shortened the nickname to "Nats." Many fans and newspapers (especially out-of-town papers) persisted in using the "Senators" nickname. Over time, "Nationals" faded as a nickname, and "Senators" became dominant. Baseball guides listed the club's nickname as "Nationals or Senators," acknowledging the dual-nickname situation.

The team name was officially changed to Washington Senators around the time of Clark Griffith's death. It was not until 1959 that the word "Senators" first appeared on team shirts. "Nats" continued to be used by space-saving headline writers, even for the 1961 expansion team, which was never officially known as "Nationals."

Minnesota Twins: 1961 to present[link]

The name "Twins" was derived from the popular name of the region, the Twin Cities. The NBA's Minneapolis Lakers had re-located to Los Angeles in 1960 due to poor attendance which was believed to have been caused in part by the reluctance of fans in St. Paul to support the team.^[14] Griffith was determined not to alienate fans in either city by naming the team after one city or the other, so his desire was to name the team the "Twin Cities Twins",^[14] however MLB objected. Griffith therefore named the team the Minnesota Twins. However, the team was allowed to keep its original "TC" (for Twin Cities) insignia for its caps. The team's logo shows two men, one in a Minneapolis Millers uniform and one in a St. Paul Saints uniform, shaking hands across the Mississippi River. The "TC" remained on the Twins' caps until 1987, when they adopted their current uniforms. By this time, the team felt it was established enough to put an "M" on its cap without having St. Paul fans think it stood for Minneapolis. The "TC" logo was moved to a sleeve on the jerseys, and occasionally appeared as an alternate cap design. Both the "TC" and "Minnie & Paul" logos remain the team's primary insignia. As of 2010, the "TC" logo has been reinstated on the cap as their cap logo.

1960s[link]

The Twins were eagerly greeted in Minnesota when they arrived in 1961. They brought a nucleus of talented players: Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison, Camilo Pascual, Zoilo Versalles, Jim Kaat, Earl Battey, and Lenny Green. The Twins won 91 games in 1962, the most by the franchise since 1933. The Twins won 102 games and the American League Pennant in 1965, but they were defeated in the 1965 World Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games (behind the World Series Most Valuable Player, Sandy Koufax, with a 2–1 record, including winning the seventh game).^[15]

Heading into the final weekend of the season in 1967, the Twins, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Detroit Tigers all had a shot at clinching the American League championship. The Twins and the Red Sox started the weekend tied for 1st place and played against each other in Boston for the final three games of the season. The Red Sox won two out of the three games, seizing their first pennant since 1946 with a 92–70 record. The Twins and Tigers both finished one game back, with 91–71 records, while the White Sox finished three games back, at 89–73. In 1969, the new manager of the Twins, Billy Martin, pushed aggressive base running all-around, and Rod Carew set the all-time Major League record by stealing home seven times.^[16] These 1969 Twins won the very first American League Western Division Championship, but they lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the first American League Championship Series. This same situation was also repeated during their 1970 season, with the Twins winning the Western Division behind the star pitching of Jim Perry (24 -12) and the Orioles winning the Eastern Division Championship behind the star pitching of Jim Palmer. Once again, the Orioles won the A.L. Championship Series.^[17]

1970s[link]

After winning the division again in 1970, the team entered an eight-year dry spell, finishing around the .500 mark. Killebrew departed after 1974. Owner Calvin Griffith faced financial difficulty with the start of free agency, costing the Twins the services of Lyman Bostock and Larry Hisle, who left as free agents after the 1977 season, and Carew, who was traded after the 1978 season.^[18]

1980s–90s[link]

The Metrodome, 2007

In 1982, the Twins moved into the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which they shared with the Minnesota Vikings, but the team continued to struggle. In 1984, Griffith sold the Twins to multi-billionaire banker/financier Carl Pohlad. The Metrodome hosted the 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. After several losing seasons, the team, led by Kent Hrbek, Frank Viola, Bert Blyleven, Jeff Reardon, and rising star Kirby Puckett, returned to the World Series, defeating the Tigers in the ALCS. Tom Kelly managed the Twins to World Series victories over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1987 and the Atlanta Braves in 1991. Twins' pitcher Jack Morris was the star of the series in 1991.^[19] 1991 marked the first time that any team that finished in last place the previous year advanced to the World Series. (The Atlanta Braves also did this in 1991, in the National League.)

The World Series in 1991 is regarded by many as one of the classics of all time. In this Series, four games were won during the teams' final at-bat, and three of these were in extra innings. The Atlanta Braves won all three of their games in Atlanta, and the Twins won all four of their games in Minnesota. The seventh game was tied 0–0 after the regulation nine innings, and marked only the second time that the seventh game of the World Series had ever gone into extra innings.The Twins won by scoring a run in the bottom of the 10th inning, and Morris had pitched a shutout for all ten innings against the Braves.

After a winning season in 1992, the Twins fell into a years-long stretch of mediocrity, posting a losing record each year for the next eight years: 71–91 in 1993, 50–63 in 1994, 56–88 in 1995, 78–84 in 1996, 68–94 in 1997, 70–92 in 1998, 63–97 in 1999 and 69–93 in 2000. From 1994 to 1997, a long sequence of retirements and injuries hurt the team badly, and Tom Kelly spent the remainder of his managerial career attempting to rebuild the Twins. In 1997, owner Carl Pohlad almost sold the Twins to North Carolina businessman Don Beaver, who would have moved the team to the Piedmont Triad area.^[20]

2000s[link]

Justin Morneau, drafted in 1999 by the Twins, won the AL MVP award in 2006

The Twins dominated the Central Division in the first decade of the new century, winning the division in six of those ten years ('02, '03, '04, '06, '09 and '10), and nearly winning it in '08 as well. From 2001 to 2006, the Twins compiled the longest streak of consecutive winning seasons since moving to Minnesota.

Threatened with closure by league contraction,^[21] the 2002 team battled back to reach the American League Championship Series before being eliminated 4–1 by that year's World Series champion Anaheim Angels.

2006[link]

In 2006, the Twins won the division on the last day of the regular season (the only day all season they held sole possession of first place) but lost to the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS. Ozzie Guillén coined a nickname for this squad, calling the Twins "little piranhas". The Twins players embraced the label, and in response, the Twins Front office started a "Piranha Night", with piranha finger puppets given out to the first 10,000 fans. Scoreboard operators sometimes played an animated sequence of piranhas munching under that caption in situations where the Twins were scoring runs playing "small ball", and the stadium vendors sold tee-shirts and hats advertising "The Little Piranhas". The Twins also had the AL MVP in Justin Morneau, the AL batting champion in Joe Mauer, and the AL Cy Young Award winner in Johan Santana.

2008[link]

In 2008, the Twins finished the regular season tied with the White Sox on top of the AL Central, forcing a one-game playoff in Chicago to determine the division champion. The Twins lost that game and missed the playoffs. The game location was determined by rule of a coin flip that was conducted in mid-September . This rule was changed for the start of the 2009 season, making the site for any tiebreaker game to be determined by the winner of the regular season head-to-head record between the teams involved.

2009[link]

After a mediocre year where the Twins played .500 baseball for most of the season, they won 17 of their last 21 games to tie the Detroit Tigers for the lead in the Central Division. The Twins were able to use the play-in game rule to their advantage when they won the AL Central at the end of the regular season and winning a 12-inning tiebreaker on a walk-off hit by Alexi Casilla. However, they failed to advance to the American League Championship Series as they lost the American League Divisional Series in three straight games to the eventual World Series champion New York Yankees. That year Joe Mauer became only the second catcher in 33 years to win the AL MVP award (Iván Rodríguez won for the Texas Rangers in 1999, previous to that, the last catcher to win an AL MVP was the New York Yankees Thurman Munson in 1976).

2010[link]

In their inaugural season played at Target Field, the Twins finished the regular season with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses, clinching the AL Central Division title for the 6th time in 9 years under manager Ron Gardenhire. New regular players included rookie Danny Valencia at third base, designated hitter Jim Thome, closer Matt Capps, infielder J.J. Hardy, and infielder Orlando Hudson. In relief pitching roles were late additions Brian Fuentes and Randy Flores. On July 7, the team suffered a major blow when Justin Morneau sustained a concussion, which knocked him out for the rest of the season. In the divisional series, the Twins lost to the Yankees in a 3 game sweep for the second consecutive year. Following the season, Ron Gardenhire received AL Manager of the Year honors after finishing as a runner up in several prior years.^[22]

2011[link]

After repeating as AL Central champions in 2010, the Twins entered 2011 with no players on the disabled list, and the team seemed poised for another strong season. During the off-season, the team signed Japanese shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka to fill a hole in the middle infield, re-signed Jim Thome, who was in pursuit of career home run number 600, and also re-signed Carl Pavano. However, the season was largely derailed by an extensive list of injuries. Nishioka's broken leg in a collision at second base^[23] led the way and was followed by DL stints from Kevin Slowey, Joe Mauer, Jason Repko, Thome, Delmon Young (two stints on the DL), Jose Mijares, Glen Perkins, Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, Jason Kubel, Denard Span (two stints), Justin Morneau, Scott Baker, and Alexi Casilla. The team's low point was arguably on May 1 when the team started 7 players who were batting below .235 in a game against Kansas City.^[24] From that day forward, the Twins made a strong push to get as close as 5 games back of the division lead by the All-Star break. However, the team struggled down the stretch and fell back out of contention. The team failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and experienced their first losing season in four years. Despite an AL-worst 63-99 record, the team drew over 3 million fans for the second consecutive year.^[25]

Michael Cuddyer served as the Twins representative at the All-Star game, his first appearance.^[26] Bert Blyleven's number was retired during the season and he was also inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during the month of July.^[27] On August 10, Nathan recorded his 255th save, passing Rick Aguilera for first place on the franchise's all-time saves list.^[28] On August 15, Thome hit 599th and 600th homerun at Comerica Park to become the eighth player in Major League history to hit 600 homeruns, joining Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., and Alex Rodriguez.^[29]

2012[link]

The team started the 2012 season with a league worst 10-24 record.^[30][31]

Threatened contraction or re-location of the team[link]

The Metrodome in 2006

The quirks of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, including the turf floor and the white roof, gave the Twins a significant home-field advantage that played into their winning the World Series in both 1987 and 1991, at least in the opinion of their opponents, as the Twins went 12–1 in post season home games during those two seasons.^[32] These were the first two World Series in professional baseball history in which a team won the championship by winning all four home games.^[33] (The feat has since been repeated once, by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.) Nevertheless, the Twins argued that the Metrodome was obsolete and that the lack of a dedicated baseball-only ballpark limited team revenue and made it difficult to sustain a top-notch, competitive team. The team was rumored to contemplate moving to such places as New Jersey, Las Vegas, Portland, Oregon, the Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina, area, and elsewhere in search of a more financially competitive market. In 2002, the team was nearly disbanded when Major League Baseball selected the Twins and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals franchise) for elimination due to their financial weakness relative to other franchises in the league. The impetus for league contraction diminished after a court decision forced the Twins to play out their lease on the Metrodome. However, the Twins continued their efforts to relocate, pursuing litigation against the Metropolitan Stadium Commission and obtaining a state court ruling that they were not obligated to play in the Metrodome after the 2006 season. This cleared the way for the Twins to either be relocated or disbanded prior to the 2007 season if a new deal was not reached.

Target Field[link]

In response to the threatened loss of the Twins, the Minnesota private and public sector negotiated and approved a financing package for a replacement stadium— a baseball-only outdoor, natural turf ballpark in the Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis— owned by a new entity known as the Minnesota Ballpark Authority.^[34] Target Field was constructed at a cost of $544.4 million (including site acquisition and infrastructure), utilizing the proceeds of a $392 million public bond offering based on a 0.15 percent sales tax in Hennepin County and private financing of $185 million provided by the Pohlad family.^[35][36] As part of the deal, the Twins also signed a 30-year lease of the new stadium, effectively guaranteeing the continuation of the team in Minnesota for a long time to come. Construction of the new field began in 2007, and was completed in December 2009, in time for the 2010 season. Commissioner Bud Selig, who earlier had threatened to disband the team, observed that without the new stadium the Twins could not have committed to sign their star player, catcher Joe Mauer, to an unprecedented 8-year, $184 million contract extension. The first regular season game in Target Field was played against the Boston Red Sox on April 12, 2010, with Mauer driving in two runs and going 3-for-5 to help the Twins defeat the Red Sox, 5–2.

On May 18, 2011, Target Field was named "The Sports Facility of the Year" by Street and Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal at the magazine's 2011 Sports Business Awards Ceremony in New York City.^[37] It was also named "The Best Sports Stadium in North America" by ESPN The Magazine in a ranking that included over 120 different stadiums, ballparks and arenas from around North America.^[38]

Current roster[link]

Minnesota Twins all-time roster: A complete list of players who played in at least one game for the Twins franchise.

Minor league affiliates[link]

Baseball Hall of Famers[link]

Molitor and Winfield, St. Paul natives and University of Minnesota graduates, came to the team late in their careers and were warmly received as "hometown heroes," but were elected to the Hall on the basis of their tenures with other teams. Both swatted their 3,000th hit with the Twins.

Cronin, Goslin, Griffith, Harris, Johnson, Killebrew and Wynn are listed on the Washington Hall of Stars display at Nationals Park (previously they were listed at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium). So are Ossie Bluege, George Case, Joe Judge, George Selkirk, Roy Sievers, Cecil Travis, Mickey Vernon and Eddie Yost.

Ford C. Frick Award recipients[link]

Twins Hall of Fame[link]

Retired numbers[link]

Metrodome retired numbers and championships banners

The Metrodome's upper deck in center and right fields was partly covered by a curtain containing banners of various titles won, and retired numbers. There was no acknowledgment of the Twins' prior championships in Washington and several Senator Hall of Famers, such as Walter Johnson, played in the days prior to numbers being used on uniforms. Killebrew did play seven seasons as a Senator, including two full seasons as a regular prior to the move to Minnesota in 1961.

Harmon Killebrew OF-1B-3B: 1954–60 (WAS) OF-1B-3B: 1961–74 (MIN)

Tony Oliva OF: 1962–76 (MIN) Coach: 1976–78 (MIN) Coach: 1985–91 (MIN)

Kent Hrbek 1B: 1981–94 (MIN)

Bert Blyleven P: 1970-1976 (MIN) P: 1985-1988 (MIN)

Rod Carew 1B-2B: 1967–78 (MIN)

Kirby Puckett OF: 1984–95 (MIN)

Jackie Robinson Retired by Baseball

Target Field retired number signs

In the Metrodome, the numbers ran in that order from left to right. In Target Field, they run from right to left, presumably to allow space for additional numbers in the future.

The retired numbers also serve as entry points at Target Field, The center field gate is Gate No. 3, honoring Killebrew, the left field gate is Gate No. 6 honoring Oliva, the home plate gate is Gate No. 14 for Hrbek, the right field gate serves as Gate No. 29 in tribute to Carew, and the plaza gate is known as Gate No. 34, honoring Puckett.

The numbers that have been retired hang within Target Field in front of the tower that serves as the Twins' executive offices in left field foul territory. The championships banners have been replaced by small pennants that fly on masts at the back of the left field upper deck. Those pennants, along with the flags flying in the plaza behind right field, serve as a visual cue for the players, suggesting the wind direction and speed.

Jackie Robinson's number, 42, was retired by Major League Baseball on April 15, 1997 and formally honored by the Twins on May 23, 1997.^[43] Robinson's number was positioned to the left of the Twins numbers in both venues.

Tom Kelly's number 10 will be retired during a pre-game ceremony on September 8, 2012.^[44]

^[45][46]

Awards[link]

Team records[link]

Team seasons[link]

Radio and television[link]

As of 2007, the Twins took the rights to the broadcasts in-house and created the Twins Radio Network (TRN). With that new network in place the Twins secured a new Metro Affiliate flagship radio station in KSTP, 1500 kHz AM. It replaced WCCO, which held broadcast rights for the Twins since the team moved to Minneapolis in 1961. The original radio voices of the Twins in 1961 were Ray Scott, Halsey Hall and Bob Wolff. After the first season, Herb Carneal replaced Wolff. Twins TV and radio broadcasts were originally sponsored by the Hamm's Brewing Company. In 2009, Treasure Island Resort & Casino became the first ever naming rights partner for the Twins Radio Network, making the commercial name of TRN the Treasure Island Baseball Network.^[47]

Cory Provus is the play by play announcer, taking over in 2012 for longtime Twins voice John Gordon who retired following the 2011 season.^[48] Former Twins OF Dan Gladden serves as color commentator. ^[49]

TRN broadcasts are originated from the studios at Minnesota News Network and Minnesota Farm Networks. Kris Atteberry hosts the pre-game show, the "Lineup Card" and the "Post-game Download" from those studios except when filling in for Provus or Gladden when they are on vacation.

On April 1, 2007, Herb Carneal, the radio voice of the Twins for all but one year of their existence, died at his home in Minnetonka, Minnesota after a long battle with a list of illnesses. Carneal is in the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bert Blyleven

The television rights are held by Fox Sports North FS-North, Twins announce TV schedule Fox Sports North February 16, 2011 with Dick Bremer as the play-by-play announcer and former Twin, and 2011 MLB Hall of Fame inductee, Bert Blyleven as color analyst. They are sometimes joined by Ron Coomer and Roy Smalley.

Bob Casey was the Twins first public-address announcer starting in 1961 and continuing until his death in 2005. He was well known for his unique delivery and his signature announcements of "No smoking in the Metrodome, either go outside or quit!" (or "go back to Boston", etc.), "Batting 3rd, the center-fielder, No. 34, KIRBY PUCKETT!!!" and asking fans not to 'throw anything or anybody' onto the field.

Community activities[link]

• Minnesota Twins Community Fund – Play Ball! Minnesota^[50]

Team and franchise traditions[link]

Fans wave a Homer Hanky to rally the team during play-offs and other crucial games. The Homer Hanky was created by Terrie Robbins of the Star Tribune newspaper in the Twin Cities in 1987. It was her idea to originally give away 60,000 inaugural Homer Hankies. That year, over 2.3 million Homer Hankies were distributed.^[51]

The party atmosphere of the Twins clubhouse after a win is well-known,^[52] the team's players unwinding with loud rock music (usually the choice of the winning pitcher) and video games.^[52]

The club has several hazing rituals, such as requiring the most junior relief pitcher on the team to carry water and snacks to the bullpen in a brightly colored small child's backpack (Barbie in 2005, SpongeBob SquarePants in 2006, Hello Kitty in 2007, Disney Princess and Tinkerbell in 2009, Chewbacca and Darth Vader in 2010),^[52] and many of its players, both past and present, are notorious pranksters.^[52] For example, Bert Blyleven earned the nickname "The Frying Dutchman" for his ability to pull the "hotfoot" – which entails crawling under the bench in the dugout and lighting a teammate's shoelaces on fire.

See also[link]

	Baseball portal
	Minnesota portal

• Baseball Hall of Fame
• List of Minnesota Twins managers

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Povich, Shirley (1954). The Washington Senators. New York: Putnam. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Washington Senators (1901–1960)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Minnesota Twins

• Major League Baseball
• Minnesota Twins official website

Links to related articles Preceded by New York Yankees 1923 World Series Champions Washington Senators 1924 Succeeded by Pittsburgh Pirates 1925 Preceded by New York Mets 1986 World Series Champions Minnesota Twins 1987 Succeeded by Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 Preceded by Cincinnati Reds 1990 World Series Champions Minnesota Twins 1991 Succeeded by Toronto Blue Jays 1992 and 1993 Preceded by New York Yankees 1921, 1922, and 1923 American League Champions Washington Senators 1924 and 1925 Succeeded by New York Yankees 1926, 1927, and 1928 Preceded by New York Yankees 1932 American League Champions Washington Senators 1933 Succeeded by Detroit Tigers 1934 and 1935 Preceded by New York Yankees 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964 American League Champions Minnesota Twins 1965 Succeeded by Baltimore Orioles 1966 Preceded by Boston Red Sox 1986 American League Champions Minnesota Twins 1987 Succeeded by Oakland Athletics 1988, 1989, and 1990 Preceded by Oakland Athletics 1988, 1989, and 1990 American League Champions Minnesota Twins 1991 Succeeded by Toronto Blue Jays 1992 and 1993 v t e Minnesota Twins retired numbers #3 Harmon Killebrew #6 Tony Oliva #10 Tom Kelly #14 Kent Hrbek #28 Bert Blyleven #29 Rod Carew #34 Kirby Puckett   Championship Navigation Boxes v t e Washington Senators 1924 World Series Champions Ossie Bluege Goose Goslin Bucky Harris Walter Johnson Joe Judge Nemo Leibold Firpo Marberry Joe Martina Earl McNeely Ralph Miller George Mogridge Curly Ogden Roger Peckinpaugh Sam Rice Muddy Ruel Allen Russell Mule Shirley By Speece Bennie Tate Tommy Taylor Tom Zachary Manager Bucky Harris Regular season History v t e Minnesota Twins 1987 World Series Champions 4 Steve Lombardozzi 5 Roy Smalley 7 Greg Gagne 8 Gary Gaetti 9 Gene Larkin 14 Kent Hrbek 15 Tim Laudner 16 Frank Viola (World Series MVP) 17 Les Straker 18 Don Baylor 21 George Frazier 22 Keith Atherton 24 Tom Brunansky 25 Randy Bush 26 Al Newman 27 Mark Davidson 28 Bert Blyleven 31 Dan Schatzeder 32 Dan Gladden 33 Sal Butera 34 Kirby Puckett 36 Joe Niekro 40 Juan Berenguer 41 Jeff Reardon Manager 10 Tom Kelly Coaches 6 Tony Oliva 42 Dick Such 43 Rick Stelmaszek 44 Rick Renick 45 Wayne Terwilliger Regular season American League Championship Series v t e Minnesota Twins 1991 World Series Champions 0 Junior Ortiz 1 Jarvis Brown 7 Greg Gagne 9 Gene Larkin 11 Chuck Knoblauch 12 Brian Harper 13 Mike Pagliarulo 14 Kent Hrbek 18 Paul Sorrento 19 Scott Erickson 24 Shane Mack 25 Randy Bush 26 Al Newman 30 Terry Leach 31 Scott Leius 32 Dan Gladden 34 Kirby Puckett 36 Kevin Tapani 38 Rick Aguilera 39 David West 40 Steve Bedrosian 44 Chili Davis 47 Jack Morris (World Series MVP) 51 Carl Willis 53 Mark Guthrie Manager 10 Tom Kelly Coaches 6 Tony Oliva 35 Ron Gardenhire 42 Dick Such 43 Rick Stelmaszek 45 Wayne Terwilliger 46 Terry Crowley Regular season American League Championship Series v t e Minnesota Twins franchise Triple-A Double-A Class A Rookie Rochester Red Wings New Britain Rock Cats Fort Myers Miracle Beloit Snappers Elizabethton Twins GCL Twins DSL Twins v t e Major League Baseball (2012) AL East Central West Baltimore Orioles Chicago White Sox Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Boston Red Sox Cleveland Indians Oakland Athletics New York Yankees Detroit Tigers Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Kansas City Royals Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Minnesota Twins NL East Central West Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Arizona Diamondbacks Miami Marlins Cincinnati Reds Colorado Rockies New York Mets Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers Philadelphia Phillies Milwaukee Brewers San Diego Padres Washington Nationals Pittsburgh Pirates San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinals Postseason: World Series (Champions) · ALCS · NLCS · ALDS · NLDS All-Star Game · World Baseball Classic · Records · MLB awards · Hall of Fame · MLB Draft (First year player · Rule 5) · MLBPA · TV contracts · Highest paid players · MLB logo · Seasons · Minor leagues · History (NL · AL) · Tie-breakers · Rivalries · Interleague play · Schedule · Stadiums · Civil Rights Game · Spring training · Cheerleading Timeline of Major League Baseball · Dead-ball era · Live-ball era · Relocation of the 1950s–1960s · Expansion (1993 · 1998) Commissioner: Bud Selig · League Presidents (NL · AL) v t e Grapefruit League Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Miami Marlins Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals v t e Sports teams based in Minnesota Baseball MLB: Minnesota Twins, AA: St. Paul Saints, NwL: Alexandria Beetles • Duluth Huskies • Mankato MoonDogs • Rochester Honkers • St. Cloud Rox Basketball NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves, WNBA: Minnesota Lynx Football NFL: Minnesota Vikings, WFA: Minnesota Machine, IWFL: Minnesota Vixen, LFL: Minnesota Valkyrie Hockey NHL: Minnesota Wild, NAHL: Alexandria Blizzard • Austin Bruins • Owatonna Express, WWHL: Minnesota Whitecaps Lacrosse NLL: Minnesota Swarm Roller derby WFTDA: Babe City Rollers • Minnesota RollerGirls • North Star Roller Girls Soccer NASL: Minnesota Stars FC - NPSL: Minnesota Kings • St. Paul Twin Stars College athletics NCAA Division I: University of Minnesota • Minnesota State University, Mankato (Hockey) • St. Cloud State University (Hockey) • University of Minnesota Duluth (Hockey) • Bemidji State University (Hockey)

State of Minnesota
State seal of Minnesota Flag Seal
Nickname(s): North Star State; Land of 10,000 Lakes; The Gopher State
Motto(s): L’Étoile du Nord (French: The Star of the North)
Demonym	Minnesotan
Capital	Saint Paul
Largest city	Minneapolis
Largest metro area	Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Area	Ranked 12th in the U.S.
- Total	86,939 sq mi (225,181 km2)
- Width	c. 200–350 miles (c. 320–560 km)
- Length	c. 400 miles (c. 640 km)
- % water	8.4
- Latitude	43° 30′ N to 49° 23′ N
- Longitude	89° 29′ W to 97° 14′ W
Population	Ranked 21st in the U.S.
- Total	5,344,861
- Density	67.1/sq mi  (25.9/km2) Ranked 31st in the U.S.
- Median household income	$55,802 (10th[1])
Elevation
- Highest point	Eagle Mountain[2][3] 2,302 ft (701 m)
- Mean	1,200 ft  (370 m)
- Lowest point	Lake Superior[2][3] 601 ft (183 m)
Before statehood	Minnesota Territory
Admission to Union	May 11, 1858 (32nd)
Governor	Mark Dayton (DFL)
Lieutenant Governor	Yvonne Prettner Solon (DFL)
Legislature	Minnesota Legislature
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Amy Klobuchar (DFL) Al Franken (DFL)
U.S. House delegation	4 Democrats, 4 Republicans (list)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Abbreviations	MN Minn. US-MN
Website	www.state.mn.us

Minnesota (ⁱ/mɪnɨˈsoʊtə/)^[4] is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11, 1858. Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", the state's name comes from a Dakota word for "sky-tinted water". Those waters, together with forests, parks, and wilderness areas, offer residents and tourists a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.

Minnesota is the 12th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the U.S. states. Nearly 60% of its residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area (known as the "Twin Cities"), the center of transportation, business, industry and education and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; deciduous forests in the southeast, now cleared, farmed and settled; and the less populated North Woods, used for mining, forestry, and recreation.

Minnesota is known for its relatively mixed social and political orientations, and has a high rate of civic participation and voter turnout. Minnesota ranks among the healthiest states, and has a highly literate population. The large majority of residents are of Scandinavian and German descent. The state is known as a center of Scandinavian American culture. Ethnic diversity has increased in recent decades. Substantial influxes of African, Asian, and Latin American immigrants have joined the descendants of European immigrants and the original Native American inhabitants.

Etymology[link]

The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota name for the Minnesota River: Mnisota. The root mni (also spelled mini or minne) means, "water". Mnisota can be translated as sky-tinted water or somewhat clouded water.^[4][5] Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mnisota.^[5] Many locations in the state have similar names, such as Minnehaha Falls ("waterfall"), Minneiska ("white water"), Minneota ("much water"), Minnetonka ("big water"), Minnetrista ("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, which is a combination of mni and polis, the Greek word for "city".^[6]

Geography[link]

Minnesota, showing roads and major bodies of water

Minnesota is the northernmost U.S. state apart from Alaska; its isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods is the only part of the 48 contiguous states lying north of the 49th Parallel. The state is part of the U.S. region known as the Upper Midwest and part of the Great Lakes Region of North America. The state shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and Wisconsin on the northeast; the remainder of the eastern border is with Wisconsin. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba to the north. With 86,943 square miles (225,180 km²),^[7] or approximately 2.25% of the United States,^[8] Minnesota is the twelfth-largest state.^[9]