Twins–White Sox rivalry

The rivalry between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox is intense but relatively recent, starting in the early 2000s. The two teams are natural rivals, having played in the same divisions since 1969 (the American League West Division from 1969-1993 and the AL Central Division since the divisional realignment in 1994). The Twins won the American League Central division in three consecutive years by wide margins, but lost the title to the White Sox in 2005. The White Sox would go on to win the American League pennant and subsequently the World Series. In 2006, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen dubbed the Twins "little piranhas." The nickname started as a reference to three of the Twins' speed players -- outfielder Jason Tyner, shortstop Jason Bartlett and third baseman Nick Punto -- or in Guillen's case Nick "Pete" Rose and Nick "Ty Cobb" Punto. As the [season] progressed and the Twins came up with more wins against the Sox, so too did the number of players grouped into that statement. [Eventually] , it appeared that for Guillen the entire team fit under the category. "The pitchers, too, they're all a bunch of piranhas," Guillen said. "A shark eats you with one bite, but the piranhas, they do it as a group." (Kelly Thesier / MLB.com) The Twins went on to win the 2006 AL Central Pennant.In 2008, the Twins remained behind but within 2 1/2 games of the White Sox for the final two months of the regular season but went on to finish the regular season just 1/2 game ahead of the White Sox, forcing the Sox to replay a rained out game from early September to determine playoff position. The Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers to force the tiebraker game on September 30 at U.S. Cellular Field. The White Sox won the tiebraker with a score of 1-0. The Twins had a chance to take a 1-0 lead earlier in the game, but Michael Cuddyer was thrown out at home when he tagged up from third base. Both teams had superior records against each other when at their respective ballparks. This prompted several outcries for playoff locations to be based on season series records,which the twins won 10-9, rather than the traditional coin toss format.