2002 Minnesota Twins season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Minnesota Twins
season = 2002
misc = AL Central Champions

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 = Ron Gardenhire
television = KSTC-TV
Fox Sports Minnesota
(Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer)
radio = 830 WCCO AM
(Herb Carneal,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 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. 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.

Offseason

*November 7: David Lamb was signed by the Twins as a free agent. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lambda01.shtml David Lamb page at Baseball Reference] ]
*January 23, 2002: Mike Jackson was signed by the Twins as a free agent. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/jacksmi02.shtml Mike Jackson page at Baseball Reference] ]

Regular season

*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 were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.

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.

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

Game Two

October 2, at Oakland

Game Five

October 6, at Oakland

Game Three

October 11, at Anaheim

*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. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/ortizda01.shtml David Ortiz Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

ources

* [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

References

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] succession box
title = AL Central Championship Season
years = 2002
before =Chicago White Sox
2001
after = Minnesota Twins
2003