2002 Minnesota Twins season
5644959
219949693
2008-06-17T16:20:20Z
Maple Leaf
1832013
/* Notable transactions */
{{MLB yearly infobox
| name = Minnesota Twins
| season = 2002
| misc = [[American League Central|AL Central Champions]]
| logo = MIN 1190.gif
| current league = American League
| y1 = 1901
| division = [[American League Central|Central Division]]
| y2 = 1994
| Uniform logo = Al 2005 minnesota 01.gif
| ballpark = [[Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome]]
| y4 = 1982
| city = [[Minneapolis]]
| y5 = 1982
| owners = [[Carl Pohlad]]
| managers = [[Ron Gardenhire]]
| television = [[KSTC-TV]]<br>[[FSN North|Fox Sports Minnesota]] <br>([[Bert Blyleven]], [[Dick Bremer]])
| radio = [[WCCO (AM)|830 WCCO AM]] <br>([[Herb Carneal]],[[John Gordon (baseball)|John Gordon]], [[Dan Gladden]])
|}}
After facing contraction talks at the previous winter meeting, and coming out of a second place finish in the AL Central with a pitching staff with only 2 players with an [[Earned Run Average|ERA]] under four, the '''2002 Minnesota Twins''' won the division and made it to the [[ALCS]] with the youngest team in the league, and with a brand new manager, [[Ron Gardenhire]].
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:2002 Twins.jpg|right|thumb|Some of the 2002 Minnesota Twins.]] -->
==Offense==
No player hit 30 home runs or drove in 100 RBIs, but many players enjoyed soild 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 Guzman]] 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]].
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ '''Team Leaders'''
! [[Baseball statistics|Statistic]] !! Player !! Quantity
|-
|align="left" |[[Home Run|HR]] ||[[Torii Hunter]] ||29
|-
|align="left" |[[RBI]] ||[[Torii Hunter]] ||94
|-
|align="left" |[[Batting Average|BA]] ||[[Jacque Jones]] ||.300
|-
|align="left" |[[Run (baseball)|Runs]] ||[[Jacque Jones]] ||96
|}
==Pitching==
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 (baseball)|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.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ '''Team Leaders'''
! [[Baseball statistics|Statistic]] !! Player !! Quantity
|-
|align="left" |[[Earned Run Average|ERA]] ||[[Rick Reed]] ||3.78
|-
|align="left" |[[Win (baseball)|Wins]] ||[[Rick Reed]] ||15
|-
|align="left" |[[Save (baseball)|Saves]] ||[[Eddie Guardado]] ||45
|-
|align="left" |[[Strikeouts]] ||[[Johan Santana]] ||137
|}
==Defense==
[[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 Guzman]] at short, and [[Corey Koskie]] at third. In the outfield, two-thirds of the [[Soul Patrol (baseball)|"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.
==Regular Season==
The Twins had a solid first half of the season (45-36), but had a better second half, (49-32). That lead them to being the division champions.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ '''[[American League Central Division|AL Central]] Final Standings'''
! '''Team''' !! '''W''' !! '''L''' !! '''Pct.''' !! '''GB''' !! '''Home''' !! '''Away'''
|-
|align="left" |Minnesota Twins<sup>3</sup> ||94 ||67 ||.584 ||-- ||54-27 ||40-40
|-
|align="left" |[[Chicago White Sox]] ||81 ||81 ||.500 ||13.5 ||47-34 ||34-47
|-
|align="left" |[[Cleveland Indians]] ||74 ||88 ||.457 ||20.5 ||39-42 ||35-46
|-
|align="left" |[[Kansas City Royals]] ||62 ||100 ||.383 ||32.5 ||37-44 ||25-56
|-
|align="left" |[[Detroit Tigers]] ||55 ||106 ||.342 ||39 ||33-47 ||22-59
|}
: ''Number indicates playoff seeding''
===Roster===
{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! colspan="10" style="background-color: #072764; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" | {{Tnavbar-header|'''2002 Minnesota Twins roster'''|2002 Minnesota Twins roster|fontcolor=#FFFFFF|plain=1}}
|-
| colspan="7" style="background-color: #c6011f; color: white; text-align: center;" | '''Roster
|-
| valign="top" | '''Pitchers'''
| width="25px" |
| valign="top" | '''Catchers'''
'''Infielders'''
| width="25px" |
| valign="top" |
'''Outfielders'''
| width="25px" |
| valign="top" |
'''Manager'''
|-
|}
==Post Season==
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===
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====
[[October 1]], at Oakland
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Minnesota'''
|0||1||2
|0||0||3
|0||0||0
|'''7'''||'''13'''||'''3'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Oakland
|3||2||0
|0||0||0
|0||0||0
|'''5'''||'''12'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Brad Radke]] (1-0) '''L''': [[Ted Lilly]] (0-1) '''SV''': [[Eddie Guardado]] (1) </small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''MIN''' – [[Corey Koskie]] (1), [[Doug Mientkiewicz]] (1) </small>
|}
====Game Two====
[[October 2]], at Oakland
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Minnesota
|0||0||0
|0||0||1
|0||0||0
|'''1'''||'''7'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Oakland'''
|3||0||0
|5||1||0
|0||0||0
|'''9'''||'''14'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Mark Mulder]] (1-0) '''L''': [[Joe Mays]] (0-1) </small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''OAK''' – [[Eric Chavez]] (1),'''MIN''' – [[Cristian Guzman]] (1) </small>
|}
====Game Three====
[[October 4]], at Minnesota
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Oakland'''
|2||0||0
|1||0||1
|2||0||0
|'''6'''||'''9'''||'''1'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Minnesota
|0||0||0
|1||2||0
|0||0||0
|'''3'''||'''8'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Barry Zito]] (1-0) '''L''': [[Rick Reed]] (0-1) </small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''OAK''' – [[Ray Durham]] (1),[[Scott Hatteberg]] (1),[[Terrence Long]] (1),[[Jermaine Dye]], (1) </small>
|}
====Game Four====
[[October 5]], at Minnesota
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Oakland
|0||0||2
|0||0||0
|0||0||0
|'''2'''||'''7'''||'''2'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Minnesota'''
|0||0||2
|7||0||0
|2||0||X
|'''11'''||'''12'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Eric Milton]] (1-0) '''L''': [[Tim Hudson]] (0-1) </small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''OAK''' – [[Miguel Tejada]] (1),'''MIN''' – [[Doug Mientkiewicz]] (2) </small>
|}
====Game Five====
[[October 6]], at Oakland
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Minnesota'''
|0||1||1
|0||0||0
|0||0||3
|'''5'''||'''12'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Oakland
|1||0||0
|0||0||0
|0||0||3
|'''4'''||'''11'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Brad Radke]] (2-0) '''L''': [[Mark Mulder]] (1-1) </small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''OAK''' – [[Ray Durham]] (2), [[Mark Ellis (baseball player)|Mark Ellis]] (1) '''MIN''' – [[AJ Pierzynski]] (1) </small>
|}
===ALCS===
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, winning the series in seven games against the San Francisco Giants.
====Game One====
[[October 8]], at Minnesota
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Anaheim
|0||0||1
|0||0||0
|0||0||0
|'''1'''||'''4'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Minnesota'''
|0||1||0
|0||1||0
|0||0||X
|'''2'''||'''5'''||'''1'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Joe Mays]] (1-0) '''L''': [[Kevin Appier]] (0-1) '''SV''': [[Eddie Guardado]] (1)</small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': None </small>
|}
====Game Two====
[[October 9]], at Minnesota
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Anaheim'''
|1||3||0
|0||0||2
|0||0||0
|'''6'''||'''10'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Minnesota
|0||0||0
|0||0||3
|0||0||0
|'''3'''||'''11'''||'''1'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Ramon Ortiz]] (1-0) '''L''': [[Rick Reed]] (0-1) '''SV''': [[Troy Percival]] (1)</small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''ANA''' – [[Darin Erstad]] (1), [[Brad Fullmer]] (1) </small>
|}
====Game Three====
[[October 11]], at Anaheim
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Minnesota
|0||0||0
|0||0||0
|1||0||0
|'''1'''||'''6'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Anaheim'''
|0||1||0
|0||0||0
|0||1||X
|'''2'''||'''7'''||'''2'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Francisco Rodriguez]] (1-0) '''L''': [[J.C. Romero]] (0-1) '''SV''': [[Troy Percival]] (2)</small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''ANA''' – [[Garret Anderson]] (1), [[Troy Glaus]] (1)</small>
|}
====Game Four====
[[October 12]], at Anaheim
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Minnesota
|0||0||0
|0||0||0
|0||0||1
|'''1'''||'''6'''||'''2'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Anaheim'''
|0||0||0
|0||0||0
|2||5||X
|'''7'''||'''10'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[John Lackey]] (1-0) '''L''': [[Brad Radke]] (0-1) </small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': None </small>
|}
====Game Five====
[[October 13]], at Anaheim
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 width=425 style="margin-left:3em;"
|- style="text-align:center; background-color:#e6e6e6;"
!align=left width=28%|Team
!width=6%|1
!width=6%|2
!width=6%|3
!width=6%|4
!width=6%|5
!width=6%|6
!width=6%|7
!width=6%|8
!width=6%|9
!width=6%|R
!width=6%|H
!width=6%|E
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|Minnesota
|1||1||0
|0||0||0
|3||0||0
|'''5'''||'''9'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|align=left|'''Anaheim'''
|0||0||1
|0||2||0
|10||0||X
|'''13'''||'''18'''||'''0'''
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''W''': [[Francisco Rodriguez]] (2-0) '''L''': [[Johan Santana]] (0-1) </small>
|- style="text-align:left;"
|colspan=13|<small>'''HRs''': '''ANA''' – [[Adam Kennedy]] (3), [[Scott Spiezio]] (1) </small>
|}
==Roster==
Pitchers: (19)
* 28 [[Jack Cressend]]
* 52 [[Tony Fiore]]
* 50 [[Kevin Frederick]]
* 19 [[Eddie Guardado]]
* 32 [[LaTroy Hawkins]]
* 42 [[Mike Jackson (baseball player)|Mike Jackson]]
* 51 [[Matt Kinney]]
* 49 [[Kyle Lohse]]
* 25 [[Joe Mays]]
* 20 [[Travis Miller]] * retired [[June 25]], [[2002]]
* 21 [[Eric Milton]]
* 22 [[Brad Radke]]
* 31 [[Rick Reed]]
* 39 [[Juan Rincon]]
* 20 [[Jose Rodriguez(baseball player)|Jose Rodriguez]] * Acquired mid-season from St. Louis
* 33 [[J.C. Romero]]
* 57 [[Johan Santana]]
* 19 [[Mike Trombley]]
* 46 [[Bob Wells]]
Catchers: (3)
* 26 [[A.J. Pierzynski]]
* 12 [[Tom Prince]]
* 8 [[Javier Valentin]]
Infielders: (12)
* 38 [[Casey Blake (baseball)|Casey Blake]]
* 1 [[Jay Canizaro]]
* 15 [[Cristian Guzman]]
* 7 [[Denny Hocking]]
* 47 [[Corey Koskie]]
* 44 [[David Lamb]]
* 16 [[Doug Mientkiewicz]]
* 36 [[Warren Morris]]
* 27 [[David Ortiz]]
* 2 [[Luis Rivas]]
* 58 [[Todd Sears]]
* 24 [[Matthew LeCroy]]
Outfielders: (8)
* 30 [[Brian Buchanan]]
* 5 [[Michael Cuddyer]]
* 48 [[Torii Hunter]]
* 11 [[Jacque Jones]]
* 23 [[Bobby Kielty]]
* 17 [[Dustan Mohr]]
* 41 [[Michael Restovich]]
* 54 [[Mike Ryan]]
==Notable transactions==
*[[January 23]]: Signed pitcher [[Mike Jackson (baseball)|Mike Jackson]] as a free agent.
*[[April 15]]: In an effort to bolster the bullpen, the Twins signed former Twin [[Mike Trombley]] as a free agent. Trombley lasted only four games, posted a 15.75 ERA, and was released on [[June 3]].
*[[June 4]]: In the amateur draft, the Twins drafted pitcher [[Jesse Crain]] in the second round.
*[[July 12]], [[2002]]: Traded RF [[Brian Buchanan]] to the [[San Diego Padres]]. Received IF [[Jason Bartlett (baseball)|Jason Bartlett]].
*[[October 14]]: Released [[Casey Blake]].
*[[October 17]]: Pitcher [[Jack Cressend]] selected off waivers by the [[Cleveland Indians]].
*[[November 15]]: Traded pitcher [[Matt Kinney]] and catcher [[Javier Valentin]] to the [[Milwaukee Brewers]] for minor leaguers Gerry Oakes and Matt Yeatman.
*[[November 22]]: Signed pitcher [[Carlos Pulido]] as a free agent. Pulido had last played in the majors in 1994 (also for the Twins).
*[[December 16]], [[2002]]: Released DH [[David Ortiz]].<ref>http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/ortizda01.shtml</ref>
==Miscellaneous==
*The representatives of the Twins in the All-Star Game were Closer [[Eddie Guardado]], Center Fielder [[Torii Hunter]], and Catcher [[A.J. Pierzynski]].
*The highest paid Twin in 2002 was [[Brad Radke]] at $ 8,750,000; followed by [[Rick Reed]] at $ 7,000,000.
*[[Bert Blyleven]] and [[Tom Kelly (baseball)|Tom Kelly]] were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.
==Sources==
*[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=2002&t=MIN 2002 Twins schedule with wins, losses, record, and scores] Accessed [[June 20]], [[2006]]
*[http://www.thediamondangle.com/2002season/previews/min.html 2002 Twins Preview, by Adam J. Ulrey]Accessed [[June 20]], [[2006]]
*[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2002&t=MIN 2002 Twins roster by Baseball Almanac] Accessed [[June 20]], [[2006]]
* ''2006 Minnesota Twins Record & Information book'', pgs 278-280, copyright 2006 by the Minnesota Twins
*[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2002&t=OAK| 2002 Oakland Athletics Roster by Baseball Almanac] Accessed [[June 21]], [[2006]]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2002_ALCS.shtml 2002 ALCS at Baseball-Reference.com]Accessed [[June 22]], [[2006]]
==External links==
*[http://www.diamond-mind.com/articles/tmreview2002/tr2002min.htm Diamond Mind's Analysis of the Twins' 2002 season]
*[http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2002.shtml Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com]
*[http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=2002&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/2002finaldiv.htm 2002 Standings]
{{start}}
{{succession box
| title = [[American League Central|AL Central Championship Season]]
| years = '''2002'''
| before =[[2001 Chicago White Sox season|Chicago White Sox]]<br>2001
| after = [[2003 Minnesota Twins season|Minnesota Twins]]<br>2003
}}
{{end}}
{{2002 MLB season by team}}
{{Minnesota Twins}}
[[Category:Minnesota Twins seasons]]
[[Category:2002 in baseball|Minnesota Twins]]