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The Minnesota Twins are a Major League Baseball team based in Minneapolis , Minnesota . They are in the Central Division of the American League . FRANCHISE HISTORY The franchise originated in Kansas City, Missouri in 1894 , moved to Washington, D.C. in 1901 when the American League was formed, and played there through the 1960 season. Kansas City Blues, 1894-1900 The Kansas City Blues Washington Nationals/Senators, 1901-1960 The Washington ballclub was known by two nicknames, the ''Nationals'' and the ''Senators'', for most of its history prior to moving to Minnesota. The team was called the Senators from 1901-04. Before the 1905 season team owner Thomas C. Noyes asked a group of sports editors to come up with a new name, they chose Nationals. From the team actually wore "Nationals" on their jerseys, the first team to do so. Otherwise, the jerseys either read "Washington" or carried a plain block "W". Newspaper articles for decades used the names "Senators" and "Nationals" (or "Nats") interchangeably, often within the same article. Baseball guides even said "Nationals or Senators" when listing the nickname. By the 1950s , "Nationals" was pretty much passe. Then, following the 1956 season, owner Clark Griffith decided to officially change the name to Senators beginning in the 1957 season. In 1959 the word "Senators" finally appeared on their shirts. They and their expansion-replacement in 1961 would remain officially the "Senators" for good, although space-saving headline writers continued to refer to them as "Nats" frequently. (Today, the Washington Nationals of the National League use this name.) During the period , the team's line up boasted the presence of 's remembrance of George Washington : "''First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.''" The team's difficulties on the field also inspired the book ''The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant'' (see below). scores on his home run in the fourth inning of Game 7 of the World Series, October 10 , 1924 ]] It is falsely claimed that prior to the Cuba n revolution, Fidel Castro tried out for the Senators as a pitcher during the early 1950s . {Link without Title} The team played its games at Griffith Stadium , sharing it with the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues (who played some of their games there). The Washington Senators in popular culture The longtime competitive struggles of the team were fictionalized in the book ''The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant'', which became the Broadway musical and movie '' Damn Yankees ''. The plot features a middle-aged man named Joe Hardy who sells his soul to the Devil so the Washington Senators can win the Pennant . One of the songs from the musical, ''You Gotta Have Heart'', is frequently played at baseball games. Team nickname: ''Nats'', short for ''Nationals.'' Also sometimes called ''Griffs'' by inventive headline writers, in reference to the club owner. Minnesota Twins, 1961 to present The "Minnesota" designation, instead of "Minneapolis", comes from the fact that the team is intended to represent the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul (and, presumably, the entire state). This fact is reinforced by the stylized ''TC'' logo worn on home caps, and by their mascot, TC Bear. The name "Twins" derives from the popular name of the region, the Twin Cities. Owner Calvin Griffith originally wished to name the team the '''Twin Cities Twins''', but was persuaded by the governor and other state officials to name the team for the whole state instead (unheard-of at the time, though later the Texas Rangers (baseball) and California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) would follow their lead). However, the original "Twin Cities Twins" TC logo was kept. 1960s: The Twins arrive in Minnesota and rise in the standings The Twins were eagerly greeted in Minnesota when they arrived in 1961 , and they advanced to the World Series in 1965 , driven by the exciting play of Superstar First Baseman Harmon Killebrew . They were defeated in the World Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers , but the championship drive cemented the team's relationship with the people of Minnesota. 1970s: From first place to mediocrity The team continued to post winning records through 1971 , winning the first two American League West division titles. However, they then entered a decade-long slump, finishing around .500 for the next eight years. Tony Oliva and Rod Carew continued to provide offensive pop, but Killebrew's batting average suffered and the pitching staff languished. 1980s: Building a new home, a World Champion In the early 1980s, The Twins fell further, winning only 37% of its games in 1981 and 1982. Through 1981 , the team played its games at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington , a suburb south of the Twin Cities. The Mall Of America now occupies the spot where the "Old Met" stood, complete with home plate and the seat where Harmon Killebrew hit a 520 foot home run. The 1982 season brought the team indoors, into the Metrodome , which is in downtown Minneapolis near the Mississippi River . After several losing seasons in the Dome, the arrival of 1980s superstars Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett electrified the team and sent the team back to the World Series. The Twins defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 1987 World Series . The 1987 Twins were unique from the standpoint that with their regular season record of 85-77, they became worst performing team (winning percentage wise) to win the World Series. While their 56-25 record at the Metrodome was the best overall home record for 1987, away from the Metrodome, the Twins had an appalling 29-52 mark. The Twins only won nine road games after the All-Star break. The Twins won more games in 1988, but could not overcome the powerhouse division rival Oakland Athletics . 1989 saw a decline in the win column. 1990s: From worst to first to worst again In 1990 , the Twins surprisingly did quite poorly, finishing last in their division with only 74 wins. 1991 brought breakout years from newcomers Shane Mack , Scott Leius , Chili Davis , and Rookie Of The Year Chuck Knoblauch , along with consistently excellent performances from stars Hrbek and Puckett. The pitching staff excelled as well, with Scott Erickson , Rick Aguilera , and St. Paul native Jack Morris having all-star years. The Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves to win the Nail Biting 1991 World Series (which has been considered by some to be the greatest of all-time). Game 6 is widely considered to be one of the greatest World Series games ever played. With the scored tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning, Kirby Puckett stepped up to the plate and drove the game winning homerun into the left field seats to force a decisive Game 7. All three of the Twins' Series were decided in seven games, with the latter series ending in a dramatic 10-inning, 1-0 shutout by series MVP Morris. 1991 was also the first time any team finishing last in its division the previous year advanced to the World Series, with both the Twins and Braves accomplishing this unprecedented feat. In both this and the previous Twins World Series, the home team won each game, which had never occurred before. 1992 saw another superb Oakland team that the Twins could not overcome, despite an excellent 90-win season. After 1992 , the Twins again fell into an extended slump, posting a losing record each year through 2000 . From a long sequence of retirements and injuries (including superstars Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett) hurt the team badly, and Tom Kelly spent the remainder of his managerial career attempting to rebuild the Twins. In 1998 , management cleared out the team of all of its players earning over 1 million dollars (except for pitcher Brad Radke ) and rebuilt from the ground up; the team barely avoided finishing in the cellar that year, finishing just five games ahead of perennial cellar dwellers Detroit Tigers and avoiding the humiliating mark of 100 losses by just eight games. In 1997 , owner Carl Pohlad almost sold the Twins to North Carolina businessman Don Beaver , who would have moved the team to the Piedmont Triad ( Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point ) area of the state. The defeat of a Referendum for a stadium in that area and a lack of interest in building a stadium for the Twins in Charlotte killed the deal. 2000s: A perennial contender Things turned around, and in , the Twins compiled the longest streak of consecutive winning seasons since moving to Minnesota, going 85-77 in 2001 , 94-67 in 2002 , 90-72 in 2003 , 92-70 in 2004 and 83-79 in 2005 . From , the Twins compiled their longest streak of consecutive league/division championships ever (previous were the 1924 World Champion- 1925 AL Champion Senators and the 1969 – 70 Twins). Threatened with closure by league contraction in 2002 , the team battled back to reach the American League Championship Series before being eliminated 4-1 by that year's eventual World Series champion Anaheim Angels . Their streak of three straight division titles, along with some bitterly fought games, have helped to create an intense rivalry with the Chicago White Sox in recent years, starting with 2000 when the Sox clinched the division at the Metrodome, and heating up especially in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The Future The Twins wish to replace the Metrodome with a new ballpark within the next half decade, claiming that the Metrodome generates too little revenue for the Twins to be competitive. In particular, the Twins receive no revenue from luxury suite leasing (as those are owned by co-tenant Minnesota Vikings ) and only a small percentage of concessions sales; also, the percentage of season-ticket-quality seats in the Metrodome is said to be very low compared to other stadiums, and the capacity of the stadium is far too high for baseball. However, attempts to spur interest and push legislative efforts towards a new stadium have repeatedly failed. The Dome is thought to be an increasingly poor fit for all three of its major tenants (the Twins, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team). In fact, in addition to the Twins, the Vikings and Gophers both have new stadium proposals in various stages of development. Given the strong public opposition to public subsidies for sports stadiums in Minnesota, it remains to be seen if any of these proposals will move forward, thus requiring the Twins to go the route of the baseball Cardinals and Giants in paying for their own stadium. If the stadium issue is not resolved, it remains to be seen whether the Twins continue to play in Minnesota or even continue to exist. In October of 2005 the Twins went to state court asking for a ruling that they have no long-term lease with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, the owner of the Metrodome where the Twins currently play. In February 2006 the court did rule favorably on the Twins motion. Thus, the Twins are not obligated to play in the Metrodome after the 2006 season. This removes one of the roadblocks that prevented contraction prior to the 2002 season and would clear the way for the Twins to either be relocated or disbanded prior to the 2007 season. The Twins' new stadium has received the approval of the House and is awaiting the approval of the Senate. QUICK FACTS :Founded: 1894 , as the Kansas City, Missouri franchise in the minor Western League. Moved to Washington, D.C. in 1900 when that league became the American League . :Formerly known as: Washington Senators (), Kansas City Blues () :Uniform colors: Navy blue, Red, and White. Two uniform designs: A light colored uniform (white home, grey road, both with navy pinstripes) and an alternative (or "Sunday") uniform (solid blue with red and white piping). :Logo design: The word "TWINS" in red block print. The entwined letters "TC" (for Twin Cities ) appear on the home uniform hats, and a stylized "M" appears on the road uniform hats. The word "MINNESOTA" appears on their road uniforms in red block print. "TWINS" (home) and "MINNESOTA" (road) are printed in white with red outlining on the "Sunday" uniforms. :Winningest season: 1965 (102-60) :Worst season: 1904 (38-113) :Longest win streak: 1991 (15 games, ) :Western League pennants won (1): 1898 :Famous ballpark gimmick: Homer Hankie ( 1987 , 1988 , 1991 , 1992 , 2002 , 2003 , 2004 ) :Owner: Minneapolis businessman Carl Pohlad , the third owner of the club (following Clark Griffith and his son Calvin ). :Mascot: TC , introduced in 2001 . :Team Song: ''We're Gonna Win, Twins,'' written by Dick Wilson , introduced in 1961 . :Local Television: FSN North, WFTC29
BASEBALL HALL OF FAME RS Elected at least partly on basis of performance with franchise as Minnesota Twins Elected at least partly on basis of performance with franchise as Washington Senators
Other Hall-of-Famers associated with franchise Molitor and Winfield, St. Paul natives and University Of Minnesota graduates, came to the team late in their careers and were warmly received as "hometown heroes," but were elected to the Hall on the basis of their tenures with other teams. Jack Morris , another St. Paul native who came to the Twins late in his career, helping them win the 1991 World Series, has not yet been elected to the Hall. Catcher Terry Steinbach was another Minnesota native and former All-Star who came to the Twins toward the end of his career. Retired Numbers
CURRENT ROSTER MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATIONS
HISTORICAL TEAMS 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 SEE ALSO
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