2007 Minnesota Twins | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | Central | |
Ballpark | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
City | Minneapolis | |
Record | 79–83 | |
Divisional place | 3rd | |
Owners | Carl Pohlad | |
General managers | Terry Ryan, Bill Smith | |
Managers | Ron Gardenhire | |
Television | FSN North WFTC (My 29) (Dick Bremer, Bert Blyleven) | |
Radio | AM 1500 KSTP (John Gordon, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, Kris Atteberry) | |
Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |
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The 2007 Minnesota Twins season was the 47th season for the franchise in Minnesota, and the 107th overall in the American League. They were managed by Ron Gardenhire and played their home games in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The Twins finished the season with a 79–83 record, their first losing record since 2000.[1]
On September 13, Twins general manager Terry Ryan resigned. He was replaced by Assistant General Manager Bill Smith.[2]
For the third year in a row, an important Twins personality died just before the beginning of the season. In 2005, long-time stadium announcer Bob Casey fell to heart failure. In 2006, Hall of Fame center fielder Kirby Puckett died from a massive bilateral stroke brought on by hypertension. In 2007, Herb Carneal, the team's radio play-by-play announcer for 45 years, died from heart failure on April 1, the day before Opening Day. The Twins announced that they would dedicate the 2007 season to Carneal's memory.
While the 2006 team was known for the "piranhas"—gritty hitters lacking power but possessing speed and guile—the 2007 team saw the continued the development of power hitters such as 2006 league MVP Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, and Jason Kubel. After the Twins swept a July 6 doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox by a combined score of 32-14, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén, the man who coined the term "piranhas" in 2006, stated: "They're not piranhas no more. They're a shark attack now."[8] In the second game of that doubleheader, Morneau became the first Twin to hit three home runs in a game since Tony Oliva against the Kansas City Royals on July 3, 1973. The Twins scored the most runs by one team in a doubleheader since the Boston Red Sox totaled 35 in a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics on July 4, 1939.[9] Nick Punto, as of August 22, 2007 has the lowest batting average among qualified batters in the American League, at .201.
The Twins entered the season with a problem in the starting rotation after Twins staple Brad Radke retired and Francisco Liriano had Tommy John surgery. The Twins signed Ramón Ortiz and Sidney Ponson to start. Ponson was released in May and was replaced by Scott Baker, Ramón Ortiz was moved to the bullpen shortly after and replaced in the rotation by Kevin Slowey. However, Slowey was sent to the minors in early July, replaced by Matt Garza. Ramón Ortiz was traded in August to the Colorado Rockies. On August 31, Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals, before giving up a leadoff walk to catcher John Buck. His no-hitter also ended when he gave up a 1-out single to Mike Sweeney in the 9th inning. The game was won by the Twins 5-0.
Starter Johan Santana won a Gold Glove Award, the only one of his career.
AL Central | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Cleveland Indians | 96 | 66 | 0.593 | — | 51–29 | 45–37 |
Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 8 | 45–36 | 43–38 |
Minnesota Twins | 79 | 83 | 0.488 | 17 | 41–40 | 38–43 |
Chicago White Sox | 72 | 90 | 0.444 | 24 | 38–43 | 34–47 |
Kansas City Royals | 69 | 93 | 0.426 | 27 | 35–46 | 34–47 |
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | |||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
Baltimore | — | 6–12 | 5–3 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 7–0 | 3–7 | 0–7 | 9–9 | 4–4 | 2–7 | 11–7 | 4–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 |
Boston | 12–6 | — | 7–1 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 8–10 | 4–4 | 4–5 | 13–5 | 6–4 | 9–9 | 12–6 |
Chicago | 3–5 | 1–7 | — | 7–11 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 5–4 | 9–9 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 1–7 | 6–1 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 4–14 |
Cleveland | 4–3 | 2–5 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | 11–7 | 5–5 | 14–4 | 0–6 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 8–2 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 9–9 |
Detroit | 5–1 | 4–3 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 11–7 | 3–5 | 12–6 | 4–4 | 4–6 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 5–4 | 4–3 | 14–4 |
Kansas City | 0–7 | 3–3 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–11 | — | 5–2 | 9–9 | 1–9 | 6–4 | 3–6 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 3–4 | 10–8 |
Los Angeles | 7–3 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 5–5 | 5–3 | 2–5 | — | 6–3 | 6–3 | 9–10 | 13–6 | 6–2 | 10–9 | 3–4 | 14–4 |
Minnesota | 7–0 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 4–14 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 3–6 | — | 2–5 | 5–2 | 6–3 | 3–4 | 7–2 | 4–6 | 11–7 |
New York | 9–9 | 10–8 | 6–4 | 6–0 | 4–4 | 9–1 | 3–6 | 5–2 | — | 2–4 | 5–5 | 10–8 | 5–1 | 10–8 | 10–8 |
Oakland | 4–4 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 4–6 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 10–9 | 2–5 | 4–2 | — | 5–14 | 4–6 | 9–10 | 5–4 | 10–8 |
Seattle | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–1 | 3–4 | 4–6 | 6–3 | 6–13 | 3–6 | 5–5 | 14–5 | — | 4–3 | 11–8 | 4–5 | 9–9 |
Tampa Bay | 7–11 | 5–13 | 1–6 | 2–8 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 2–6 | 4–3 | 8–10 | 6–4 | 3–4 | — | 5–4 | 9–9 | 7–11 |
Texas | 6–4 | 4–6 | 4–2 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 9–10 | 2–7 | 1–5 | 10–9 | 8–11 | 4–5 | — | 5–5 | 11–7 |
Toronto | 10–8 | 9–9 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 4–3 | 6–4 | 8–10 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 9–9 | 5–5 | — | 10–8 |
After their great amount of success in 2006, in which they came from behind to win the AL Central, the Twins wanted to be sure to lock up their 3-4-5 hitters (Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer, and Justin Morneau) to multi-year deals. The Twins were able to sign Mauer to a four-year deal worth $33 million, but Morneau and Cuddyer only agreed to sign one-year contracts, worth $4.5 million and $3.575 million respectively.
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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2007 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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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 |
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C | Joe Mauer | 109 | 406 | 119 | .293 | 7 | 60 |
1B | Justin Morneau | 157 | 590 | 160 | .271 | 31 | 111 |
2B | Luis Castillo | 85 | 349 | 106 | .304 | 0 | 18 |
SS | Jason Bartlett | 140 | 510 | 135 | .265 | 5 | 43 |
3B | Nick Punto | 150 | 472 | 99 | .210 | 1 | 25 |
LF | Jason Kubel | 128 | 418 | 114 | .273 | 13 | 65 |
CF | Torii Hunter | 160 | 600 | 172 | .287 | 28 | 107 |
RF | Michael Cuddyer | 144 | 547 | 151 | .276 | 16 | 81 |
DH | Jason Tyner | 114 | 304 | 87 | .286 | 1 | 22 |
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 |
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Mike Redmond | 82 | 272 | 80 | .294 | 1 | 38 |
Alexi Casilla | 56 | 189 | 42 | .222 | 0 | 9 |
Luis Rodríguez | 68 | 155 | 34 | .219 | 2 | 12 |
Jeff Cirillo | 50 | 153 | 40 | .261 | 2 | 21 |
Lew Ford | 55 | 116 | 27 | .233 | 3 | 14 |
Rondell White | 38 | 109 | 19 | .174 | 4 | 20 |
Brian Buscher | 33 | 82 | 20 | .244 | 2 | 10 |
Garrett Jones | 31 | 77 | 16 | .208 | 2 | 5 |
Chris Heintz | 24 | 56 | 14 | .250 | 0 | 7 |
Josh Rabe | 14 | 31 | 6 | .194 | 0 | 2 |
Tommy Watkins | 9 | 28 | 10 | .357 | 0 | 0 |
Matt LeCroy | 7 | 20 | 3 | .150 | 0 | 0 |
Darnell McDonald | 4 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 0 |
José Morales | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Johan Santana | 33 | 219.0 | 15 | 13 | 3.33 | 235 |
Carlos Silva | 33 | 202.0 | 13 | 14 | 4.19 | 89 |
Boof Bonser | 31 | 173.0 | 8 | 12 | 5.10 | 136 |
Scott Baker | 24 | 143.2 | 9 | 9 | 4.26 | 102 |
Matt Garza | 16 | 83.0 | 5 | 7 | 3.69 | 67 |
Kevin Slowey | 13 | 66.2 | 4 | 1 | 4.73 | 47 |
Sidney Ponson | 7 | 37.2 | 2 | 5 | 6.93 | 23 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Ramón Ortiz | 28 | 91.0 | 4 | 4 | 5.14 | 44 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Joe Nathan | 68 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 1.88 | 77 |
Pat Neshek | 74 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.94 | 74 |
Matt Guerrier | 73 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2.35 | 68 |
Juan Rincón | 63 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5.13 | 49 |
Dennys Reyes | 50 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.99 | 21 |
Carmen Cali | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.71 | 14 |
Glen Perkins | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.14 | 20 |
Jesse Crain | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5.51 | 10 |
Julio DePaula | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.55 | 8 |
Nick Blackburn | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7.71 | 8 |
Jason Miller | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 2 |
See also: Minor League Baseball |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elizabethton