2002 Minnesota Twins season

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2002 Minnesota Twins
AL Central Champions
Major league affiliations
Location
2002 Information
Owner(s) Carl Pohlad
Manager(s) Ron Gardenhire
Local television KSTC-TV
Fox Sports Minnesota
(Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer)
Local 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.

Contents

[edit] 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.

Team Leaders
Statistic Player Quantity
HR Torii Hunter 29
RBI Torii Hunter 94
BA Jacque Jones .300
Runs Jacque Jones 96

[edit] 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 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.

Team Leaders
Statistic Player Quantity
ERA Rick Reed 3.78
Wins Rick Reed 15
Saves Eddie Guardado 45
Strikeouts Johan Santana 137

[edit] 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" 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.

[edit] 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.

AL Central Final Standings
Team W L Pct. GB Home Away
Minnesota Twins3 94 67 .584 -- 54-27 40-40
Chicago White Sox 81 81 .500 13.5 47-34 34-47
Cleveland Indians 74 88 .457 20.5 39-42 35-46
Kansas City Royals 62 100 .383 32.5 37-44 25-56
Detroit Tigers 55 106 .342 39 33-47 22-59
Number indicates playoff seeding

[edit] Roster

2002 Minnesota Twins roster
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Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Game One

October 1, at Oakland

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 7 13 3
Oakland 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 12 0
W: Brad Radke (1-0)  L: Ted Lilly (0-1)  SV: Eddie Guardado (1)  
HRs: MIN – Corey Koskie (1), Doug Mientkiewicz (1)

[edit] Game Two

October 2, at Oakland

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 7 0
Oakland 3 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 9 14 0
W: Mark Mulder (1-0)  L: Joe Mays (0-1)  
HRs: OAK – Eric Chavez (1),MIN – Cristian Guzman (1)

[edit] Game Three

October 4, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 2 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 6 9 1
Minnesota 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 8 0
W: Barry Zito (1-0)  L: Rick Reed (0-1)  
HRs: OAK – Ray Durham (1),Scott Hatteberg (1),Terrence Long (1),Jermaine Dye, (1)

[edit] Game Four

October 5, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oakland 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 2
Minnesota 0 0 2 7 0 0 2 0 X 11 12 0
W: Eric Milton (1-0)  L: Tim Hudson (0-1)  
HRs: OAK – Miguel Tejada (1),MIN – Doug Mientkiewicz (2)

[edit] Game Five

October 6, at Oakland

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 12 0
Oakland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 11 0
W: Brad Radke (2-0)  L: Mark Mulder (1-1)  
HRs: OAK – Ray Durham (2), Mark Ellis (1) MIN – AJ Pierzynski (1)

[edit] 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.

[edit] Game One

October 8, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Anaheim 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0
Minnesota 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 X 2 5 1
W: Joe Mays (1-0)  L: Kevin Appier (0-1)  SV: Eddie Guardado (1)
HRs: None

[edit] Game Two

October 9, at Minnesota

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Anaheim 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 6 10 0
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 11 1
W: Ramon Ortiz (1-0)  L: Rick Reed (0-1)  SV: Troy Percival (1)
HRs: ANA – Darin Erstad (1), Brad Fullmer (1)

[edit] Game Three

October 11, at Anaheim

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 0
Anaheim 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 2 7 2
W: Francisco Rodriguez (1-0)  L: J.C. Romero (0-1)  SV: Troy Percival (2)
HRs: ANA – Garret Anderson (1), Troy Glaus (1)

[edit] Game Four

October 12, at Anaheim

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 2
Anaheim 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 X 7 10 0
W: John Lackey (1-0)  L: Brad Radke (0-1)  
HRs: None

[edit] Game Five

October 13, at Anaheim

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 9 0
Anaheim 0 0 1 0 2 0 10 0 X 13 18 0
W: Francisco Rodriguez (2-0)  L: Johan Santana (0-1)  
HRs: ANA – Adam Kennedy (3), Scott Spiezio (1)

[edit] Roster

Pitchers: (19)

Catchers: (3)

Infielders: (12)

Outfielders: (8)

[edit] Notable transactions

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • The highest paid Twin in 2002 was Brad Radke at $ 8,750,000; followed by Rick Reed at $ 7,000,000.

[edit] Sources

  • 2006 Minnesota Twins Record & Information book, pgs 278-280, copyright 2006 by the Minnesota Twins

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Chicago White Sox
2001		 AL Central Championship Season
2002		 Succeeded by
Minnesota Twins
2003
v • d • e
2002 MLB season by team
AL East
AL Central
Chicago • Cleveland • Detroit • Kansas City • Minnesota
AL West
NL East
NL Central
NL West
2002 All-Star Game • 2002 World Series