Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a Major League Baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are in the Central Division of the American League. The team is owned (as of 2004) by Minneapolis businessman Carl Pohlad, the third owner of the club (following Clark Griffith and his son 1894, as the Kansas City, Missouri franchise in the minor Western League. Moved to Washington, D.C. in 1900 when that league became the American League.

Formerly known as: Washington Senators (1901-1960), Kansas City Blues (1894-1900)

Home ballpark: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis

Uniform colors: Navy blue, Red, and White. Two uniform designs: A light colored uniform (white home, grey road) and an alternative (or "Sunday") uniform (solid blue with red and white piping).

Logo design: The word "TWINS" in red script. The entwined letters "TC" (for Twin Cities) appear on the home uniform hats, and a stylized "M" appears on the road uniform hats. The word "MINNESOTA" appears on their road uniforms in red block print. "TWINS" (home) and "MINNESOTA" (road) are printed in white with red outlining on the "Sunday" uniforms.

Winningest season: 1965 (102-60)

Worst season: 1904 (38-113)

Longest win streak: 1991 (15 games, June 1 to June 16)

Wild Card titles won (0): none

Division titles won (7): AL West 1969, 1970, 1987, 1991, AL Central 2002, 2003, 2004

American League pennants won (6): 1924, 1925, 1933, 1965, 1987, 1991

Western League pennants won (1): 1898

World Series championships won (3): 1924, 1987, 1991

Famous ballpark gimmick: Homer Hankie (1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003)

The Twins are affectionately known among their fans as the "Twinkies." They have a reputation of being a hard-working, hard-playing club. Former manager Tom Kelly and current manager Ron Gardenhire run and encourage a hard-nosed, fundamentals-first attitude toward playing and winning baseball games. The party atmosphere of the Twins clubhouse after a win is well-known, the team's players unwinding with loud rock music (usually the choice of the winning pitcher) and video games. Twins players seldom get in trouble with the law, unlike many other baseball clubs. The club has several well-known, harmless hazing rituals, such as requiring the most junior relief pitcher on the team (currently (September 20, 2004) J.D. Durbin) to carry water and snacks to the bullpen in a bright pink Barbie backpack and many of its players, both past and present, are notorious pranksters.

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Franchise history

The franchise originated in Kansas City, Missouri in 1894, moved to Washington, D.C. in 1901 when the American League was formed, and played there through the 1960 season.

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Kansas City Blues, 1894-1900

The Kansas City Blues were a charter member of a the Western League, a minor league at the time. Byron "Ban" Johnson, president of the Western League, changed the name to the American League in 1900 and major league status was awarded a year later. The Blues were champions of the Western League in 1898, taking the league by a game-and-a-half from the Indianapolis Hoosiers.

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Washington Nationals/Senators, 1901-1960

The Senators were officially the Nationals from 1905-1955, but despite its long use the team name was never popular, so the team was renamed the Senators again in 1956, which remained until its 1961 departure from Washington for greener ballparks in Minnesota. During the period 1907-1927, their line up boasted the presence of Walter "The Big Train" Johnson and they won the 1924 World Series. Despite this, the team was never terribly successful. During one portion of its history, the team was so notoriously inept that it inspired San Francisco Chronicle columnist Charley Dryden to joke: "Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." (This was a play on Light Horse Harry Lee's remembrance of George Washington: "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.")

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Minnesota Twins, 1961 to present

The "Minnesota" designation, instead of "Minneapolis", comes from the fact that the team is intended to represent the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul (and, presumably, the entire state). Prior to 1982, the team played its games at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, a suburb south of the Twin Cities. Today, the team plays in the Metrodome, which is in downtown Minneapolis, near the Mississippi River, and the Mall of America now occupies the spot where the Met once stood. The Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves to win the 1991 World Series and the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 1987 World Series. In 1965, they were defeated in the World Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the Twins' victories, the home team won each World Series game, which had never occurred prior to 1987. All three Series' were decided in seven games.

The Twins were eagerly greeted in Minnesota when they arrived in 1961, and their swift advance to the World Series in 1965, driven by the exciting play of superstar first baseman Harmon Killebrew, cemented the team's relationship with their state. Although suffering a decade-long slump in the 1970s, the team's move indoors to the Metrodome in 1982 and the arrival of 1980s superstars Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett (especially Puckett) electrified the team and sent them to two World Series in five years.

In 2001-2004, the Twins compiled the longest streak of consecutive winning seasons since moving to Minnesota, going 85-77 in 2001, 94-67 in 2002, 90-72 in 2003 and notching their 82nd win of the 2004 season on September 12, 2004. From 2002-2004, the Twins compiled their longest streak of consecutive league/division championships ever (previous were the 1924 WS Champion-1925 AL Champion Senators and the 1969-70 Twins).

The Twins wish to replace the Metrodome with a new ballpark within the next half decade, as their needs have outgrown the Metrodome's capabilities. Particularly, the Twins receive no revenue from box-seat sales (as those are owned by co-tenant Minnesota Vikings) and only a small percentage of concessions sales. The Dome also is an increasingly poor fit for all three of its tenants (the Twins, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team).

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Cultural and Economic Impact

The impact of the Twins on the Upper Midwest should not be underestimated. Although Minneapolis appears at first glance to be a "small market" city (3 million residents of the associated metropolitan area), the team routinely draws fans from as far away as Montana and Wyoming.

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