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2002 Minnesota Twins season

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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 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.

2002 Minnesota Twins
American League Central champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionCentral
BallparkHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
CityMinneapolis
Record94–67 (.584)
Divisional place1st
OwnersCarl Pohlad
General managersTerry Ryan
ManagersRon Gardenhire
TelevisionKSTC-TV
Fox Sports North
(Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer)
Radio830 WCCO AM
(Herb Carneal, John Gordon, Dan Gladden)
← 2001 Seasons 2003 →

New Alternate Logos

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For the 2002 season, the Twins adopted a secondary logo based on those used from 1970 to 1986, with twins (one representing Minneapolis and the other St. Paul) shaking hands while standing by the river which separates the two cities. The logo also features the team's primary logo, replacing the "Win Twins!" baseball used in the 1976–1986 version.

The season also marked the revival of the "TC" cap logo, which had last been used as such in 1986.

Offseason

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  • November 7, 2001: David Lamb was signed by the Twins as a free agent.[1]
  • January 23, 2002: Mike Jackson was signed by the Twins as a free agent.[2]

Regular season

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  • May 6: The 2002 NCAA National women's hockey champion Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs were recognized by the Minnesota Twins baseball team at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.[3]
  • June 4: The Twins walloped the hapless Cleveland Indians 23-2, setting a club record for their largest winning margin and tying their record for most RBI with 22. Pitcher Rick Reed was lifted after seven innings with a 21-run lead. In the game, Luis Rivas scored five times, joining three other Twins who have accomplished that mark before: Rod Carew (1977), Tim Teufel (1983) and Paul Molitor (1996).[4]
  • The representatives of the Twins in the All-Star Game were closer Eddie Guardado, center fielder Torii Hunter, and catcher A. J. Pierzynski.
  • October 9: A home attendance record was set when 55,990 watched the Twins lose to the Anaheim Angels in the second game of the American League Championship Series.[5]
  • The Twins made just 74 errors this season, their best-ever showing in the field. The worst season was the inaugural campaign of 1961, when they committed 174 errors.
  • Jacque Jones had 11 lead-off home runs this season, the second-best season total in American League history, trailing just Brady Anderson's 12 in 1996.[6]
  • The highest paid Twin in 2002 was Brad Radke at $8,750,000; followed by Rick Reed at $7,000,000.
  • October 28: Pitcher Michael Jackson was granted free agency, and would later sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks. This season he wore number '42', being grandfathered in after Major League Baseball retired the number league-wide in 1997 to honor pioneer Jackie Robinson. Players wearing the number at that time were allowed to continue. Jackson was the last Minnesota Twin to wear the number '42'.
  • Bert Blyleven and Tom Kelly were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.

Offense

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No player hit 30 home runs or drove in 100 RBIs, but many players enjoyed solid seasons. Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones hit 29 and 27 home runs, respectively, while designated hitter David Ortiz battled injuries and hit 20. Catcher A. J. Pierzynski had a good year for a catcher, hitting .300. First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz saw his average drop significantly from the prior year, from .306 to .261. Third baseman Corey Koskie had a subpar year offensively, shortstop Cristian Guzmán was average, and second baseman Luis Rivas was not strong. The Twins enjoyed solid production out of the right field spot, whether the position was manned by opening day starter Brian Buchanan, Dustan Mohr, Bobby Kielty, or Michael Cuddyer.

Team Leaders
Statistic Player Quantity
HR Torii Hunter 29
RBI Torii Hunter 94
BA Jacque Jones .300
Runs Jacque Jones 96

Pitching

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The starting rotation resembled a tubercular ward. Brad Radke, Eric Milton, and Joe Mays suffered serious injuries, requiring Rick Reed to carry the starting rotation. He was able to fulfill this role, going 9-2 in the second half. For inexplicable reasons, manager Ron Gardenhire resisted putting Johan Santana into the starter role until he was forced to by injuries. Santana started only 14 games, but quickly established himself as a dominant starting pitcher, posting an 8-6 record, 2.99 ERA, and a team-leading 137 strikeouts. Kyle Lohse enjoyed his only solid year as a starter, going 13-8 with a 4.23 ERA. Matt Kinney also made 12 starts. Eddie Guardado excelled in his first full year as the team's closer, earning 45 saves, while J. C. Romero, LaTroy Hawkins, and Mike Jackson had strong years as set-up men. Tony Fiore had a bafflingly strong year out of the bullpen, going 10-3 with an ERA of 3.16.

Team Leaders
Statistic Player Quantity
ERA Rick Reed 3.78
Wins Rick Reed 15
Saves Eddie Guardado 45
Strikeouts Johan Santana 137

Defense

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A. J. Pierzynski was the team's all-star starting catcher, backed up by Tom Prince. Doug Mientkiewicz followed up his Gold Glove year with another superb year defensively. Unfortunately, his relatively weak hitting in 2002 may have prevented him from winning a second consecutive Gold Glove award, as it went to John Olerud. The rest of the infield was defensively solid, with Luis Rivas at second, Cristian Guzmán at short, and Corey Koskie at third. In the outfield, two-thirds of the "Soul Patrol" remained, with Jacque Jones in left and Torii Hunter in center. (This would be Hunter's second consecutive Gold Glove year.) Right field was a question mark, with Brian Buchanan not lasting long after being the opening day right fielder. The void was filled for most of the season by the platoon of Dustan Mohr and Bobby Kielty, known collectively by fans as "Dusty Kielmohr". However, Dusty Kielmohr gave way to Michael Cuddyer for the post-season run.

Season standings

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AL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Minnesota Twins 94 67 .584 — 54‍–‍27 40‍–‍40
Chicago White Sox 81 81 .500 13½ 47‍–‍34 34‍–‍47
Cleveland Indians 74 88 .457 20½ 39‍–‍42 35‍–‍46
Kansas City Royals 62 100 .383 32½ 37‍–‍44 25‍–‍56
Detroit Tigers 55 106 .342 39 33‍–‍47 22‍–‍59

American League Wild Card

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Division leaders
Team W L Pct.
New York Yankees 103 58 .640
Minnesota Twins 94 67 .584
Oakland Athletics 103 59 .636
Wild Card team
(Top team qualifies for postseason)
Team W L Pct. GB
Anaheim Angels 99 63 .611 —
Boston Red Sox 93 69 .574 6
Seattle Mariners 93 69 .574 6
Chicago White Sox 81 81 .500 18
Toronto Blue Jays 78 84 .481 21
Cleveland Indians 74 88 .457 25
Texas Rangers 72 90 .444 27
Baltimore Orioles 67 95 .414 32
Kansas City Royals 62 100 .383 37
Detroit Tigers 55 106 .342 43½
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 55 106 .342 43½

Record vs. opponents

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2002 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team ANA BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL 
Anaheim — 7–2 3–4 6–3 6–3 8–1 6–3 4–5 3–4 9–11 9–10 8–1 12–7 7–2 11–7
Baltimore 2–7 — 6–13 3–4 1–5 2–4 7–0 5–1 6–13 4–5 5–4 10–9 3–6 4–15 9–9
Boston 4–3 13–6 — 2–4 5–4 5–4 4–2 3–3 9–10 6–3 4–5 16–3 4–3 13–6 5–13
Chicago 3–6 4–3 4–2 — 9–10 12–7 11–8 8–11 2–4 2–7 5–4 4–3 5–4 4–2 8–10
Cleveland 3–6 5–1 4–5 10–9 — 10–9 9–10 8–11 3–6 2–5 3–4 4–2 4–5 3–3 6–12
Detroit 1–8 4–2 4–5 7–12 9–10 — 9–10 4–14 1–8 1–6 2–5 2–4 5–4 0–6 6–12
Kansas City 3–6 0–7 2–4 8–11 10–9 10–9 — 5–14 1–5 1–8 3–6 4–2 7–2 3–4 5–13
Minnesota 5–4 1–5 3–3 11–8 11–8 14–4 14–5 — 0–6 3–6 5–4 5–2 6–3 6–1 10–8
New York 4–3 13–6 10–9 4–2 6–3 8–1 5–1 6–0 — 5–4 4–5 13–5 4–3 10–9 11–7
Oakland 11–9 5–4 3–6 7–2 5–2 6–1 8–1 6–3 4–5 — 8–11 8–1 13–6 3–6 16–2
Seattle 10–9 4–5 5–4 4–5 4–3 5–2 6–3 4–5 5–4 11–8 — 5–4 13–7 6–3 11–7
Tampa Bay 1–8 9–10 3–16 3–4 2–4 4–2 2–4 2–5 5–13 1–8 4–5 — 4–5 8–11 7–11
Texas 7–12 6–3 3–4 4–5 5–4 4–5 2–7 3–6 3–4 6–13 7–13 5–4 — 8–1 9–9
Toronto 2–7 15–4 6–13 2–4 3–3 6–0 4–3 1–6 9–10 6–3 3–6 11–8 1–8 — 9–9


Notable transactions

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Roster

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2002 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C A. J. Pierzynski 130 440 132 .300 6 49
1B Doug Mientkiewicz 143 467 122 .261 10 64
2B Luis Rivas 93 316 81 .256 4 35
SS Cristian Guzmán 148 623 170 .273 9 59
3B Corey Koskie 140 490 131 .267 15 69
LF Jacque Jones 149 577 173 .300 27 85
CF Torii Hunter 148 561 162 .289 29 94
RF Dustan Mohr 120 383 103 .269 12 45
DH David Ortiz 125 412 112 .272 20 75

Other batters

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

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Bobby Kielty 112 289 84 .291 12 46
Denny Hocking 102 260 65 .250 2 25
Matt LeCroy 63 181 47 .260 7 27
Brian Buchanan 44 135 34 .252 5 15
Tom Prince 51 125 28 .224 4 16
Jay Canizaro 38 112 24 .214 0 11
Michael Cuddyer 41 112 29 .259 4 13
Casey Blake 9 20 4 .200 0 1
Michael Restovich 8 13 4 .308 1 1
Todd Sears 7 12 4 .333 0 0
Michael Ryan 7 11 1 .091 0 0
David Lamb 7 10 1 .100 0 0
Warren Morris 4 7 0 .000 0 0
Javier Valentín 4 4 2 .500 0 0

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Rick Reed 33 188.0 15 7 3.78 121
Kyle Lohse 32 180.2 13 8 4.23 124
Eric Milton 29 171.0 13 9 4.84 121
Brad Radke 21 118.1 9 5 4.72 62
Joe Mays 17 95.1 4 8 5.38 38
Matt Kinney 14 66.0 2 7 4.64 45

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Johan Santana 27 108.1 8 6 2.99 137
Juan Rincón 10 28.2 0 2 6.28 21

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Eddie Guardado 68 1 3 45 2.93 70
J. C. Romero 81 9 2 1 1.89 76
LaTroy Hawkins 65 6 0 0 2.13 63
Mike Jackson 58 2 3 0 3.27 29
Tony Fiore 48 10 3 0 3.16 55
Bob Wells 48 2 1 0 5.90 30
Jack Cressend 23 0 1 0 5.91 22
Kevin Frederick 8 0 0 0 10.03 5
Mike Trombley 5 0 1 0 15.75 3
Travis Miller 5 0 0 0 4.50 3
José Rodríguez 4 0 1 0 14.73 1

Postseason

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The Twins made it to the ALCS, beating the Oakland Athletics in the Divisional series. They then lost to the eventual World Series Champions, the Anaheim Angels.

Divisional Series

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The Twins won Game One at Oakland before losing two straight including one at home. The Twins rebounded, and won the final two games to win the series and move on to face Anaheim in the ALCS.

Game One

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October 1, at Oakland

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 2 0 0 3 1 0 0 7 13 3
Oakland 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 12 0
W: Brad Radke (1-0)  L: Ted Lilly (0-1)  SV: Eddie Guardado (1)  
HRs: MIN – Corey Koskie (1), Doug Mientkiewicz (1)

Game Two

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October 2, at Oakland

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 7 0
Oakland 3 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 9 14 0
W: Mark Mulder (1-0)  L: Joe Mays (0-1)  
HRs: OAK – Eric Chavez (1),MIN – Cristian Guzmán (1)

Game Three

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October 4, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 2 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 6 9 1
Minnesota 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 8 0
W: Barry Zito (1-0)  L: Rick Reed (0-1)  
HRs: OAK – Ray Durham (1), Scott Hatteberg (1), Terrence Long (1), Jermaine Dye, (1)

Game Four

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October 5, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 2
Minnesota 0 0 2 7 0 0 2 0 X 11 12 0
W: Eric Milton (1-0)  L: Tim Hudson (0-1)  
HRs: OAK – Miguel Tejada (1),MIN – Doug Mientkiewicz (2)

Game Five

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October 6, at Oakland

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 12 0
Oakland 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 11 0
W: Brad Radke (2-0)  L: Mark Mulder (1-1)  
HRs: OAK – Ray Durham (2), Mark Ellis (1) MIN – A. J. Pierzynski (1)

ALCS

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The Twins won the first game at home vs. the Angels, before losing the next four in a row, allowing the Angels to move on to the World Series, who won the Series in seven games against the San Francisco Giants.

Game One

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October 8, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Anaheim 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0
Minnesota 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 X 2 5 1
W: Joe Mays (1-0)  L: Kevin Appier (0-1)  SV: Eddie Guardado (1)
HRs: None

Game Two

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October 9, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Anaheim 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 6 10 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 11 1
W: Ramón Ortiz (1-0)  L: Rick Reed (0-1)  SV: Troy Percival (1)
HRs: ANA – Darin Erstad (1), Brad Fullmer (1)

Game Three

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October 11, at Anaheim

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 0
Anaheim 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 2 7 2
W: Francisco Rodríguez (1-0)  L: J. C. Romero (0-1)  SV: Troy Percival (2)
HRs: ANA – Garret Anderson (1), Troy Glaus (1)

Game Four

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October 12, at Anaheim

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 2
Anaheim 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 X 7 10 0
W: John Lackey (1-0)  L: Brad Radke (0-1)  
HRs: None

Game Five

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October 13, at Anaheim

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 9 0
Anaheim 0 0 1 0 2 0 10 0 X 13 18 0
W: Francisco Rodríguez (2-0)  L: Johan Santana (0-1)  
HRs: ANA – Adam Kennedy (3), Scott Spiezio (1)

Other post-season awards

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Farm system

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See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Edmonton Trappers Pacific Coast League John Russell
AA New Britain Rock Cats Eastern League Stan Cliburn
A Fort Myers Miracle Florida State League Jose Marzan
A Quad Cities River Bandits Midwest League Jeff Carter
Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Ray Smith
Rookie GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Rudy Hernández

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Edmonton[12][13]

Sources

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References

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  1. ^ David Lamb at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Mike Jackson at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ "UMD Bulldogs - View Memorable Moments". www.umdbulldogs.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "Twins 23, Indians 2". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  5. ^ "2002 ALCS Game 2". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  6. ^ "Home Run Records". Baseball-Almanac.com. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Mike Trombley at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ Jesse Crain at Baseball Reference
  9. ^ José Rodríguez at Baseball Reference
  10. ^ Brian Buchanan at Baseball Reference
  11. ^ David Ortiz Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  12. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  13. ^ Baseball America 2003 Annual Directory
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