Ron Gardenhire and Tom Kelly have been the only 2 men to manage the Twins in the last 27 years. Having stability in the Manager and GM position lends itself for a proper run franchise in terms of on the field success. The Twins will give Gardenhire the chance to rebuild with this club yet again. Stocked with several young prospects, we could the club turn around to be a contender again in the next few years.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @mlbreports and Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website here Follow @prosportsroster
The Minnesota Twins have had 3 – 90+ Losses Seasons in a row. This came right on the heels of the franchise having made the playoffs 6 out of 9 years.
All of those Post Season Appearances were made as Division Champions from the AL Central.
The Twins had enough smarts about them to understand where they were in the 1990’s. The management knew the club was better off building within – rather than spending via Free Agency.
From 1993 – 2000, the team never finished better than 4th in the Division they played. The club drafted really high for this time period, and had a nice renaissance by the time 2001 started.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries Posts that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
Target Field was a must need for the Twins a few years ago. The HHH Metrodome just was not getting the job done, much like Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay. The weather was and still is the one downside because during the games early in the season the weather can get low with wind being able to rattle the ball around in the air. Target Field should give the team the proper financial flexibility to compete with the big boys of the American League. All they have to do is to develop the talent first. Despite a team that finished 66 – 96 in 2013, their 3rd such 90+ Loss year in a row, the Twins fell just a shade under 2.5 Million Fans (good for 7th in the AL). It was a 300K loss of people from 2012 Attendance, and nearly 700 K less than the inaugural year of Target Field.
After the clubs manager turned from Tom Kelly to Ron Gardenhire, the franchise had its best stretch of baseball ever.
From 2001 – 2010, the squad only had one losing season, saw multiple ALL – Stars, MVP’s, and even a Cy Young contender.
Despite almost being contracted near the turn of the millennium, the team came from the depths of despair to be a model franchise in the League.
The success of the club in this time frame, opened the door for a new outdoor ballpark to be built downtown. The team slid over to their new digs in 2010.
Unfortunately for the Minnesota team, their perennial MVP candidates Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau could not stay healthy afterwards.
You also saw the long term effects that finally caught up with the club after losing Torii Hunter.
The team always seemed to run into the Yankees in the Post Season, and never could get past them. The predominant reason was the lack of Starting Pitching.
Now that the team has expedited the process of a rebuild, this problem continues be the Achilles Heel of the club.
Gone is Justin Morneau, but he may even come back as a Free Agent, with no clear cut guy for the position of First Base.
One thing that remains constant is Ron Gardenhire. This is the clubs ideals about the manager’s spot. Thank god there are people that understand the value of holding onto the same manager in good times and bad.
The Twins have taken a page out of the 1952 – 1996 Dodgers playbook, by only employing 2 managers in the last 27 years.
So if you are a Minnesota fan, the future does look bright. The management has done this before – as has the current coaching staff.
By the time the Tigers begin to grow old, and the Royals and Indians may have had their shots, the Twins are coming around in a few years to contend.
Sano is the top prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization. , Sano excels with his power and speed. His fielding could use a little work and his hitting is coming around good. The slugger for .330 this year in Fort Myers before struggling in New Britain with a .236. BA. In both places though, the guy has awesome power – as his 35 HRs and 103 RBI in 519 AB this year combined dictates. MLB.com had him ranked as the #12 prospect in all of baseball in 2013.
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries Posts that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
Authors for this post:
You guys are all in for a treat. Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website. He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs.
We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective.
If you can’t wait for all of my updates (assessments for each club – in March and Aug/Sept), go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com. for much more up to date info
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job.
Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis. After you click on it….Bookmark it. There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page. Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!
Jeff Kleiner: “I have been a sports fan since the first Baseball game I went to at Comisky Park in Chicago in 1959, when baseball for me turned from black and white to color.
I have attended or watched thousands of games, always paying attention to statistics, rosters and salaries of all professional sports.
Luckily I had the advantage of watching WGN TV and seeing hundreds of games in the 60’s. Collecting Baseball Cards and then later dealing them gave me an extra sense of the sport, both good and bad.”
For all of your Salaries, Roster and Depth Charts for all 4 Major Sports (entire organization – Minors and Majors) click here or Follow Me on twitter Follow @prosportsroster
prosportsrosters.com is the best source for following entire organizations in all 4 Major Sports.
Chuck Booth – Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner and author of the Fastest 30 Ballgames: To learn more about my “The Fastest 30 Ballgames Book” and how to purchase it, click here .
You can also follow my Guinness Book of World Record Successful Bid to see all 30 MLB Park in 23 Days – click here. I am happy to be part of such an awesome Magazine-Style Baseball Website and am looking forward to talking to all of the fans of the MLB.
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