2000 Minnesota Twins season

Last updated

2000  Minnesota Twins
League American League
Division Central
Ballpark Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
City Minneapolis
Record69–93 (.426)
Divisional place5th
Owners Carl Pohlad
General managers Terry Ryan
Managers Tom Kelly
Television KMSP-TV
Midwest Sports Channel
(Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer)
Radio 830 WCCO AM
(Herb Carneal, John Gordon, Dan Gladden)
←  1999 Seasons 2001  →

The 2000 Minnesota Twins season was the 40th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 19th season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 100th overall in the American League.

Contents

The Twins compiled a record of 69–93 during the 2000 Major League Baseball season. It was the team's last of a consecutive string record of eight losing seasons and it was characterized with weak hitting but slightly better pitching. The team was managed by Tom Kelly and contained the nucleus of future manager Ron Gardenhire's team that would reach the postseason only two years later.

Offseason

Regular season

Offense

The most solid offensive year came from the team's lone all-star representative, right fielder Matt Lawton. Lawton hit .305 with 13 home runs, 88 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. Also notable this year were shortstop Cristian Guzmán's major league leading 20 triples (a Twins record). Like most of his career with the Twins, David Ortiz spent much of the 2000 season rehabbing injuries. He did, however, play in 88 games as the team's designated hitter. The Twins also experimented with Butch Huskey in the DH spot. Not surprisingly, this was not a successful experiment, with Huskey playing in only 39 games at the position.

Team Leaders
Statistic PlayerQuantity
HR Jacque Jones 19
RBI Matt Lawton 88
BA Matt Lawton .305
Runs Cristian Guzmán 89

Pitching

The starting rotation showed flashes of brilliance with Brad Radke, Eric Milton, Mark Redman, and Joe Mays in for most of the year. Radke, Milton, and Redman all had ERAs of under 5. The fifth starter was uncertain, with Sean Bergman making 14 starts, and J. C. Romero making 11. Romero's ERA of 7.02 did not suggest the dominant reliever he would subsequently become.

Despite uncertainty as to the identity of the closer, the bullpen was stellar. LaTroy Hawkins, Bob Wells, Eddie Guardado, Travis Miller, and Héctor Carrasco all had strong years out of the bullpen. Hawkins led the club with 14 saves.

One notable presence among the pitching staff was rookie Johan Santana, acquired from the Houston Astros via the Florida Marlins in the Rule 5 draft. In order for the Twins to keep Santana under Rule 5, Santana was required to stay on the major league roster for the entire season. He did, and his numbers did nothing to suggest he would one day win a Cy Young Award. His ERA was 6.49 and he struck out 64 batters in 86 innings. He was used almost exclusively in mop-up roles, although he did start five games. He spent most of the 2001 season in the minor leagues. The Twins' foresight in keeping him on the roster during the 2000 season must be regarded as one of the greatest uses ever of the Rule 5 draft.

Team Leaders
Statistic PlayerQuantity
ERA Brad Radke 4.45
Wins Eric Milton 13
Saves LaTroy Hawkins 14
Strikeouts Eric Milton 160

Defense

The infield was mostly steady with Ron Coomer at first, Jay Canizaro at second, Guzman at short, Corey Koskie at third, and Denny Hocking backing them all up. The 2000 season saw the inception of the "Soul Patrol" outfield of Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter, and Lawton. Nobody was able to establish himself as the everyday catcher, with Matt LeCroy playing in 48 games at the position, Chad Moeller in 40, Marcus Jensen in 37, A. J. Pierzynski in 27, and Danny Ardoin in 10.

Season standings

AL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago White Sox 9567.586—46‍–‍3549‍–‍32
Cleveland Indians 9072.556548‍–‍3342‍–‍39
Detroit Tigers 7983.4881643‍–‍3836‍–‍45
Kansas City Royals 7785.4751842‍–‍3935‍–‍46
Minnesota Twins 6993.4262636‍–‍4533‍–‍48

Record vs. opponents

2000 American League record
Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2000
TeamANABALBOSCWSCLEDETKCMINNYYOAKSEATBTEXTORNL
Anaheim —7–55–44–63–65–56–67–35–55–85–86–67–55–712–6
Baltimore 5–7—5–74–65–46–43–76–35–74–83–78–56–67–67–11
Boston 4–57–5—7–56–67–54–68–26–75–55–56–67–34–89–9
Chicago 6–46–45–7—8–59–35–77–58–46–37–56–45–55–512–6
Cleveland 6–34–56–65–8—6–75–75–85–56–67–28–26–48–413–5
Detroit 5–54–65–73–97–6—5–77–68–46–47–24–55–53–910–8
Kansas City 6–67–36–47–57–57–5—7–52–84–84–85–53–74–68–10
Minnesota 3–73–62–85–78–56–75–7—5–55–73–94–68–45–47–11
New York 5–57–57–64–85–54–88–25–5—6–34–66–610–25–711–6
Oakland 8–58–45–53–66–64–68–47–53–6—9–47–25–77–311–7
Seattle 8–57–35–55–72–72–78–49–36–44–9—9–37–58–211–7
Tampa Bay 6–65–86–64–62–85–45–56–46–62–73–9—5–75–79–9
Texas 5–76–63–75–54–65–57–34–82–107–55–77–5—4–67–11
Toronto 7–56–78–45–54–89–36–44–57–53–72–87–56–4—9–9

Notable transactions

Roster

2000 Minnesota Twins
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Matt LeCroy 5616729.174517
1B Ron Coomer 140544147.2701682
2B Jay Canizaro 10234693.269740
SS Christian Guzmán 156631156.247854
3B Corey Koskie 146474142.300965
LF Jacque Jones 154523149.2851976
CF Torii Hunter 9933694.280544
RF Matt Lawton 156561171.3051388
DH David Ortiz 130415117.2821063

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Denny Hocking 134373111.298447
Butch Huskey 6421548.223527
Midre Cummings 7718150.276422
Marcus Jensen 5213929.209314
Chad Moeller 4812827.21119
Jason Maxwell 6411127.243111
A. J. Pierzynski 338827.307211
Brian Buchanan 308219.23218
Todd Walker 237718.23428
Luis Rivas 165818.31006
Chad Allen 155015.30007
John Barnes 113713.35102
Danny Ardoin 15324.12515
Casey Blake 7163.18801
Doug Mientkiewicz 3146.42904

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Brad Radke 34226.212164.45141
Eric Milton 33200.013104.86160
Joe Mays 31160.17155.56102
Mark Redman 32151.11294.76117
Sean Bergman 1568.0459.6635
J.C. Romero 1257.2277.0250
Matt Kinney 842.1225.1024

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Johan Santana 3086.0236.4964
Mike Lincoln 820.20310.8915

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGWLSVERASO
LaTroy Hawkins 6625143.3959
Bob Wells 7607103.6576
Eddie Guardado 707493.9452
Travis Miller 672313.9062
Héctor Carrasco 614314.2557
Jason Ryan 160107.6219
Jack Cressend 110005.276
Danny Mota 40008.443

Other post-season awards

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Salt Lake Buzz Pacific Coast League Phil Roof
AA New Britain Rock Cats Eastern League John Russell
A Fort Myers Miracle Florida State League Jose Marzan
A Quad Cities River Bandits Midwest League Stan Cliburn
Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Jeff Carter
Rookie GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Al Newman

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elizabethton [7]

References

  1. ↑ Johan Santana Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  2. ↑ "Mascot Database: T.C. Bear". Mascot Hall of Fame . February 16, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Twins 13, Royals 7". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Twins 10, Indians 9". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Midre Cummings Stats".
  6. ↑ "Brandon Knight Stats".
  7. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
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