2001 Minnesota Twins season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Minnesota Twins
season = 2001
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1901
division = Central Division
y2 = 1994
Uniform
ballpark = Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
y4 = 1982
city = Minneapolis
y5 = 1982
owners = Carl Pohlad
managers = Tom Kelly
television = KMSP-TV
Midwest Sports Channel
(Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer)
radio = 830 WCCO AM
(Herb Carneal,John Gordon, Dan Gladden)|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 (and continues as of 2006) 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.

Regular season

*After years of having only one All-Star representative, the 2001 Twins had three: Cristian Guzman, Joe Mays, and Eric Milton.

*The highest paid Twin in 2001 was Brad Radke at $7,750,000; followed by Todd Jones at $3,975,000.

*Herb Carneal and Jim Kaat were inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

Offense

The team had consistent starters, many of whom performed well. First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who had a disappointing 1999 season and spent most of 2000 in the minors, had what seemed to be a breakout year, hitting .306 with 14 home runs and 74 RBI. Second baseman Luis Rivas appeared to be on the verge of breaking out as well, hitting .266 but stealing a team-leading 31 bases. Shortstop Cristian Guzman built on his solid 2000 season by batting .302, stealing 25 bases, and once again leading the major leagues in triples with 14. His numbers were solid enough to earn him his first and only all-star berth. Third baseman Corey Koskie had his best year, hitting .276, with 26 home runs and 103 RBI. Amazingly, he also stole 27 bases. A.J. Pierzynski had a solid year for a catcher, batting .289 with 7 home runs. The ”Soul Patrol” outfield of Jacque Jones in left, Torii Hunter in center, and Matt Lawton in right continued to impress, although Lawton was traded midway through the season. The biggest offensive question mark was the designated hitter position, with David Ortiz spending much of the year injured -- as was often the case during his Twins tenure. He started only 78 games as the DH, with Chad Allen starting 22 and Brian Buchanan 19.

Notable transactions

*March 30: Signed pitcher Hector Carrasco as a free agent. (Carrasco had played for the Twins in 2000, but was traded to the Boston Red Sox in September.) Carrasco was granted free agency on October 19.
*April 13: Signed outfielder Quinton McCracken [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mccraqu01.shtml Quinton McCracken Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ] as a free agent. On October 8, he was granted free agency.
*May 30: Signed pitcher Tony Fiore as a free agent.
*June 5: In the amateur draft, the Twins drafted catcher and Minnesota native Joe Mauer with the first pick.
*July 28: Traded pitcher Mark Redman to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Todd Jones. On November 5, Jones was granted free agency.
*July 30: Traded outfielder Matt Lawton to the New York Mets for pitcher Rick Reed.
*September 21: Casey Blake selected by the Baltimore Orioles off waivers. On October 8, the Twins re-acquired Blake off waivers from the Orioles.

Player stats

Batting

tarters by position

"Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In"

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

References

External links

* [http://www.diamond-mind.com/articles/tmreview2001/tr2001min.htm Diamond Mind's Analysis of the Twins' 2001 season]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2001.shtml Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2001&t=MIN Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com]
* [http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/min/history/timeline5.jsp Twins history since 2000, from www.mlb.com]
* [http://shrpsports.com/mlb/stand/2001finaldiv.htm 2001 Standings]