2010 Minnesota Twins | ||
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American League Central Champions | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | Central Division | |
Ballpark | Target Field | |
City | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
Record | 94–68 (.580) | |
Divisional place | 1st | |
Owners | Jim Pohlad | |
General managers | Bill Smith | |
Managers | Ron Gardenhire | |
Television | Fox Sports North WFTC (My 29) (Dick Bremer, Bert Blyleven) | |
Radio | 1500 AM ESPN Radio Twin Cities (KSTP-AM) (John Gordon, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, Kris Atteberry) | |
Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |
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The 2010 Minnesota Twins season was the 50th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 110th overall in the American League.
It was their first season in their new stadium, Target Field, which made its regular-season debut on April 12 as the Twins defeated the Boston Red Sox 5–2. This marked the return of outdoor professional baseball to the state of Minnesota for the first time since the end of the 1981 season, the last played at Metropolitan Stadium. 3,223,640 fans attended Twins games, setting a new franchise record.
The Twins clinched their sixth AL Central division championship in nine seasons on September 21 after a win against the Cleveland Indians and a Chicago White Sox loss. They were again swept by the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series to end the season.
The Twins altered their uniforms for the 2010 season. Their new home outfits as well as their alternate uniforms feature a redesigned primary wordmark that was shown for the first time as a sign was hoisted into place atop the scoreboard at Target Field in May 2009. The team's colors remained unchanged (Red, navy and white) but the nameplate that had been in use since the 1980s on the uniforms was eliminated. The new road uniforms discards the navy pinstripes for a gray uniform with a script "Minnesota" on the front in navy with red and white trim. The franchise also wore a 1961 throwback uniform as part of the team's 50th season on Opening Day and all Saturday dates. The team donned a special Inaugural Season patch for Target Field on all home uniforms, and a Golden Anniversary season patch on their road outfits.
Before spring training, the Twins parted ways with 2009 trade deadline acquisition Orlando Cabrera, who would go on to sign a free agent deal with the Cincinnati Reds. [1] Also leaving the team was backup catcher Mike Redmond. [2] With Cabrera leaving, there were questions about the Twins infield. [3] General Manager Bill Smith addressed these questions by trading center fielder Carlos Gómez to the Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop J. J. Hardy, [4] and signing free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. [5] Smith also added some power to the bench by acquiring free agent and former White Sox and Indians designated hitter Jim Thome. [6] With regular closer Joe Nathan out for the season after elbow surgery, Gardenhire named Jon Rauch the closer to begin the season. Later, the Twins traded catcher Wilson Ramos and Joe Testa to the Washington Nationals to acquire Matt Capps to bolster the bullpen. Other pitching changes included the late additions of Brian Fuentes and Randy Flores.
On March 22, catcher Joe Mauer signed a contract extension for eight years. The $184 million contract, paying him $23 million each year, is the richest ever for the Twins, and the fourth largest in major league history. [7]
Finally, the Twins win a stadium opener at home. They'd lost the Home Openers at Metropolitan Stadium (April 21, 1961) and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (April 6, 1982). At Target Field on April 12 this year, DH Jason Kubel drove in two runs and hit the stadium's first home run in a 5-2 win over Boston.
On April 28, third baseman Luke Hughes hit a home run in his first-ever major league at bat, joining four other Twins who've accomplished the feat: Rick Renick (1968), Dave McKay (1975), Gary Gaetti (1981) and Andre David (1984). They were joined by Eddie Rosario in 2015.
On July 3, new Twin Jim Thome homered in the first inning for his 574th career home run. With that four-bagger, he passed Twins legend Harmon Killebrew's 573 on the all-time career home run list.
July 13: At Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau represented the Twins at the All-Star Game. Mauer was the starting AL catcher and Morneau was not used as a reserve.
Kevin Slowey's win on September 12 was the club's 4,000th win, dating back to win no. 1 on April 11, 1961.
Ron Gardenhire was named American League Manager of the Year; he'd been the runner-up five times. Pitcher Francisco Liriano, who'd missed all of 2007 following Tommy John surgery, saw limited action in 2008 and 2009 due to injuries. In 2010, he threw the second-most innings of any pitcher for the Twins, led the team in ERA, and allowed the fewest home runs per nine innings of any pitcher in the AL (0.4). He was voted the American League's Comeback Player of the Year. (He'll win it a second time, as a 2013 Pittsburgh Pirate He's the first player to win it twice and the only one to win it in both leagues.)
Joe Mauer won his fourth Silver Slugger Award and his third Gold Glove Award.
AL Central | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Minnesota Twins | 94 | 68 | 0.580 | — | 53–28 | 41–40 |
Chicago White Sox | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 6 | 45–36 | 43–38 |
Detroit Tigers | 81 | 81 | 0.500 | 13 | 52–29 | 29–52 |
Cleveland Indians | 69 | 93 | 0.426 | 25 | 38–43 | 31–50 |
Kansas City Royals | 67 | 95 | 0.414 | 27 | 38–43 | 29–52 |
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2010 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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Pitchers
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Infielders
Outfielders
Designated Hitter
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April (15–8)
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May (16–12)
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June (12–15)
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July (15–11)
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August (18–10)
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September (17–10)
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Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
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Scott Baker | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Nick Blackburn | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Alex Burnett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
Drew Butera | 49 | 142 | 12 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | .197 | 0 |
Alexi Casilla | 69 | 152 | 26 | 42 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 20 | .276 | 6 |
Jesse Crain | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Michael Cuddyer | 157 | 609 | 93 | 165 | 37 | 5 | 14 | 81 | .271 | 7 |
Brian Duensing | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Matt Guerrier | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
J.J. Hardy | 101 | 340 | 44 | 91 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 38 | .268 | 1 |
Brendan Harris | 43 | 108 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .157 | 0 |
Orlando Hudson | 126 | 497 | 80 | 133 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 37 | .268 | 10 |
Luke Hughes | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .286 | 0 |
Jason Kubel | 143 | 518 | 68 | 129 | 23 | 3 | 21 | 92 | .249 | 0 |
Francisco Liriano | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Ron Mahay | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
Jeff Manship | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Joe Mauer | 137 | 510 | 88 | 167 | 43 | 1 | 9 | 75 | .327 | 1 |
José Mijares | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
José Morales | 19 | 36 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .194 | 0 |
Justin Morneau | 81 | 296 | 53 | 102 | 25 | 1 | 18 | 56 | .345 | 0 |
Carl Pavano | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
Trevor Plouffe | 22 | 41 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .146 | 0 |
Nick Punto | 88 | 252 | 24 | 60 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 20 | .238 | 6 |
Wilson Ramos | 7 | 27 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .296 | 0 |
Jon Rauch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
Jason Repko | 58 | 127 | 19 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .228 | 3 |
Ben Revere | 13 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .179 | 0 |
Kevin Slowey | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Denard Span | 153 | 629 | 85 | 166 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 58 | .264 | 26 |
Jim Thome | 108 | 276 | 48 | 76 | 16 | 2 | 25 | 59 | .283 | 0 |
Matt Tolbert | 48 | 87 | 8 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 | .230 | 1 |
Danny Valencia | 85 | 299 | 30 | 93 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 40 | .311 | 2 |
Delmon Young | 153 | 570 | 77 | 170 | 46 | 1 | 21 | 112 | .298 | 5 |
Pitcher Totals | 162 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .176 | 0 |
Team Totals | 162 | 5568 | 781 | 1521 | 318 | 41 | 142 | 749 | .273 | 68 |
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; HR = Home runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | HR | ER | BB | K |
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Scott Baker | 12 | 9 | 4.49 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 170.1 | 23 | 85 | 43 | 148 |
Nick Blackburn | 10 | 12 | 5.42 | 28 | 26 | 0 | 161.0 | 25 | 97 | 40 | 68 |
Alex Burnett | 2 | 2 | 5.29 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 47.2 | 6 | 28 | 23 | 37 |
Matt Capps | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | 27 | 0 | 16 | 27.0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 21 |
Jesse Crain | 1 | 1 | 3.04 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 68.0 | 5 | 23 | 27 | 62 |
Rob Delaney | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Brian Duensing | 10 | 3 | 2.62 | 53 | 13 | 0 | 130.2 | 11 | 38 | 35 | 78 |
Randy Flores | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Matt Fox | 0 | 0 | 3.18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Brian Fuentes | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 9.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Matt Guerrier | 5 | 7 | 3.17 | 74 | 0 | 1 | 71.0 | 7 | 25 | 22 | 42 |
Francisco Liriano | 14 | 10 | 3.62 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 191.2 | 9 | 77 | 58 | 201 |
Ron Mahay | 1 | 1 | 3.44 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 25 |
Jeff Manship | 2 | 1 | 5.28 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 29.0 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 21 |
José Mijares | 1 | 1 | 3.31 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 32.2 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 28 |
Pat Neshek | 0 | 1 | 5.00 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
Carl Pavano | 17 | 11 | 3.75 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 221.0 | 24 | 92 | 37 | 117 |
Glen Perkins | 1 | 1 | 5.82 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 21.2 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 14 |
Jon Rauch | 3 | 1 | 3.12 | 59 | 0 | 21 | 57.2 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 46 |
Anthony Slama | 0 | 1 | 7.71 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
Kevin Slowey | 13 | 6 | 4.45 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 155.2 | 21 | 77 | 29 | 116 |
Team Totals | 94 | 68 | 3.95 | 162 | 162 | 40 | 1452.2 | 155 | 638 | 383 | 1048 |
The Twins were swept in three games by the New York Yankees in the Division Series.
8:30 p.m. (EDT) at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Starting pitchers: NYY: CC Sabathia (0–0) MIN: Francisco Liriano (0–0) --> WP: CC Sabathia (1–0) LP: Jesse Crain (0–1) Sv: Mariano Rivera (1) Home runs: NYY: Mark Teixeira (1) MIN: Michael Cuddyer (1) |
6:00 p.m. (EDT) at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Starting pitchers: NYY: Andy Pettitte (0–0) MIN: Carl Pavano (0–0) --> WP: Andy Pettitte (1–0) LP: Carl Pavano (0–1) Sv: Mariano Rivera (2) Home runs: NYY: Lance Berkman (1) MIN: Orlando Hudson (1) |
8:30 p.m. (EDT) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
New York | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Starting pitchers: MIN: Brian Duensing (0–0) NYY: Phil Hughes (0–0) --> WP: Phil Hughes (1–0) LP: Brian Duensing (0–1) Home runs: MIN: None NYY: Marcus Thames (1), Nick Swisher (1) |
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities moniker for the two adjacent cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Joseph Patrick Mauer is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. A six-time All-Star, Mauer is the only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles, and the only catcher to ever win a batting title in the American League (AL).
This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Minnesota Twins professional baseball team.
Jason James Kubel is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Cleveland Indians.
The 2002 Minnesota Twins season was the 42nd season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 21st season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 102nd overall in the American League. After nearly folding as part of the 2001 Major League Baseball contraction plan, and coming out of a second-place finish in the AL Central with a pitching staff with only two players with an ERA under 4.00, they still won their division and made it to the 2002 American League Championship Series (ALCS) with the youngest team in the league, and with a new manager, Ron Gardenhire. The Twins had a solid first half of the season (45–36), but had a better second half (49–31), which led them to being the division champions. This was the Twins' last season with David Ortiz, as he left the Twins for the Red Sox after the 2002 season.
The 2004 Minnesota Twins season was the 104th season in the franchise's history and its 44th season in the Twin Cities. The Twins were managed by Ron Gardenhire and played in the Metrodome.
The 2005 Minnesota Twins Season was the franchise's 45th season playing in the Twin Cities and the 105th season in its history. The team was managed by Ron Gardenhire in his fourth year as the Twins' manager. They played their home games in the Metrodome.
The 2001 Minnesota Twins marked the beginning of the Twins' ascendancy in the American League Central Division. After finishing the 2000 season last in the division with a disappointing 69-93 record, the 2001 team rebounded to finish 85–77, good enough for second place in the division. The six-year run of winning seasons that followed is the longest such stretch in franchise history. In his last year as manager, Tom Kelly continued the development of a core of young players who would win their division the following year.
The 1997 Minnesota Twins will not be remembered as the strongest team the Twins ever fielded. Manager Tom Kelly's team consisted of a few solid players, but mainly past-their-prime veterans and never-to-be-established prospects. One of the few bright spots was pitcher Brad Radke's breakout season, in which he won 20 games, at one point had 12 consecutive victories, tying a record Scott Erickson set in 1991. The team finished with a 68–94 record, good enough for fourth place in what proved to be the league's weakest division that season. The Cleveland Indians, who won the division that year, made it all the way to the World Series, but lost in seven games to the Florida Marlins.
The 2006 Minnesota Twins Season was the Minnesota Twin's 46th season playing in the Twin Cities and their 106th season in the American League. They were managed by Ron Gardenhire and played their home games in the Metrodome.
The 2007 Minnesota Twins season was the 47th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 107th overall in the American League. They were managed by Ron Gardenhire and played their home games in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The 2008 Minnesota Twins season was the 48th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 108th overall in the American League. After tying the Chicago White Sox for first in the AL Central Division with an 88–74 record, the team lost a one game playoff to finish second and miss the league playoffs.
The 2008 American League Central tie-breaker game, was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 regular season, played between the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins to determine the champion of the American League's (AL) Central Division. It was played at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois, on September 30, 2008. The White Sox won the game, 1–0, on a home run by Jim Thome, the lowest-scoring game in MLB tie-breaker history. The Sox advanced to the 2008 AL Division Series, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 3 games to 1; the Twins failed to qualify for the postseason.
The 2009 Minnesota Twins season was the 49th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 109th overall in the American League. It was their final season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome with their new stadium, Target Field, opening in 2010. They ended the regular season as AL Central champions after defeating the Detroit Tigers in a one game tie-breaker. They were then swept in the American League Division Series by the New York Yankees. The team's star catcher and Minnesota native Joe Mauer won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
The following are the baseball events of the year 2010 throughout the world.
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The club was originally founded in 1901 as the Washington Senators, and was one of the American League's eight original charter franchises. By 1903, peace was restored with agreements between the two rival baseball loops on player contract and represented member cities/teams, and the beginnings of a national championship series titled the World Series. In 1905, the team changed its official name to the Washington Nationals. The name "Nationals" would appear on the uniforms for only two seasons, and would then be replaced with the "W" logo for the next 52 years. The media often shortened the nickname to "Nats". Many fans and newspapers persisted in continuing using the previous "Senators" nickname. Over time, "Nationals" faded as a nickname, and "Senators" became dominant. Baseball guides would list the club's nickname as "Nationals or Senators", acknowledging the dual-nickname situation. After 61 years in the capital, in 1961, the Washington Senators relocated to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, to be called the Twins, being the first major league baseball team to use a state in its geographical identifier name rather than the traditional city; Washington would get a new incarnation of the Senators to fill the void left by the original team's move.
The 2010 New York Yankees season was the 108th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees were attempting to defend its status as American League and World Series champions, but lost in the ALCS to the Texas Rangers. The Yankees opened and closed the regular season against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. This marked the first time since 1950 this happened. The Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers renewed their rivalry as the Bronx Bombers traveled west to face former Yankee icons Joe Torre and Don Mattingly, both of them current and future Dodgers managers.
The 2009 American League Central tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 regular season, played between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins to determine the champion of the American League's (AL) Central Division. It was played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 6, 2009. The Twins won the game 6–5 in a thrilling 12-inning battle, and advanced to the 2009 AL Division Series where they were swept by the New York Yankees; the Tigers failed to qualify for the postseason.
The 2010 American League Division Series (ALDS) were two best-of-five game series to determine the participating teams in the 2010 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth "Wild Card" team played in two series from October 6 to 12. TBS televised all games in the United States.
The 2011 Minnesota Twins season was the 51st season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 111th overall in the American League. The team drew 3,168,107 fans during the year. The Twins had a poor season, falling from first place the year before to last in 2011.