The 2005 Minnesota Twins Season was the franchise's 45th season playing in the Twin Cities and the 105th season in its history. The team was managed by

Ron Gardenhire Ronald Clyde Gardenhire (born October 24, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as a shortstop for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. After another year playing in the minor leagues, he se ...

in his fourth year as the Twins' manager. They played their home games in the

Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League' ...

. The Twins' final record was 83-79. They finished third in the

American League Central The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all loc ...

division, behind the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, and they missed the playoffs.

Regular season

The Twins got off to an average start. However, the

had a fantastic start to the season. The Twins tried to stay close in the standings, but their offense was insufficient. The Twins (83-79) finished in 3rd place behind the

and the

, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The White Sox went on to earn the division title, their first trip to the playoffs since 2000, and their first

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

title since 1917.

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Offense

Australian

Glenn Williams Glenn David Williams (born 18 July 1977) is a retired third baseman from Australia, who played in the Minnesota Twins organization. He played in Major League Baseball for the Twins during the season. He was a member of the team that won the ...

came up for his

cup of coffee A "cup of coffee" is a North American sports idiom for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before bei ...

and played in thirteen games from June 7 to June 28. He hit safely in every game, earning the Twins record for the longest hitting streak to start a career. When he was sent back down, he took with him 17 hits and a .425 batting average. He'd never return to the major leagues, but is working on an active 13-game hitting streak...

Joe Mauer Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. A six-time All-Star, Mauer is the only ca ...

led the team with a .294

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

Justin Morneau Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At and ...

led the team in

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

with 79, but Mauer hit only 9

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 55 RBI, while Morneau hit only .239. These problems were endemic to the team. No starter batted over .300 or hit over 25 home runs; however,

Matthew LeCroy Matthew Hanks LeCroy (born December 13, 1975) is an American former professional baseball catcher, first baseman, and designated hitter and current manager for the Rochester Red Wings. During his time in Major League Baseball (MLB), LeCroy had th ...

managed to hit 17 home runs in part-time duty. The team's offensive struggles led to an uncertain lineup, with many defensive positions lacking regular starters. The team experimented by bringing in

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

infielder

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During his career Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He is a third generation professio ...

to fill the void at second base, but he lasted for only 53 at-bats, hitting .170. The weak hitting led to hitting coach

Scott Ullger Scott Matthew Ullger (born June 10, 1955) is an American former Major League Baseball baseball player, player and coach (baseball), coach. He spent 20 seasons (1995–2014) as a coach for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball, serving in fo ...

being reassigned to third base coach after the season was over.

Pitching

Twins pitchers performed well in 2005. The staff was led by All-Star

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 200 ...

(16-7, 2.87 ERA, 238 strikeouts) and All-Star closer

Joe Nathan Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cu ...

(43 saves, 2.70 ERA). However, the weak hitting prevented any other starter from winning ten games. (

Jesse Crain Jesse Alan Crain (born July 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. High school and college Crain was born in Toronto, Ontario and at ...

, in a stellar year out of the bullpen, did go 12-5.) The anemic offense also may have cost Santana a second

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

, as he finished with only sixteen victories. The top end of the rotation—Santana,

Brad Radke Brad William Radke (born October 27, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played his entire 12 season career with the Minnesota Twins. Radke won 148 career games and was one of the most consistent pitchers in ...

Kyle Lohse Kyle Matthew Lohse (; born October 4, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers ...

, and Carlos Silva—pitched well. Many bullpen pitchers had outstanding years, in particular Crain,

Juan Rincón Juan Manuel Rincón (born January 23, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s slider. In his career, Rincón posted a .208 ...

(2.45 ERA),

J. C. Romero Juan Carlos Romero (born June 4, 1976) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Philli ...

(3.47), and

Matt Guerrier Matthew Olson Guerrier (born August 2, 1978) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. Amateur career A native of Cleveland ...

(3.39). Silva in particular had what seemed to be a breakout year, walking only nine batters during the entire season to set a modern-era record (over 188.1 innings, a 0.43 rate). Silva induced 34 double plays to lead the majors, and won a May 20 game throwing just 74 pitches over nine innings. No pitcher has thrown as few pitches in a nine-inning win since 1957. In early May, the pitching staff was shaken when

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

announced that Juan Rincón would be suspended for ten days for violating the sport's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Rincón pitched well both before and after this occurred.

Defense

Like his predecessor Tom Kelly, Gardenhire emphasized baseball fundamentals like defense. Despite Hunter's injury, he still won a

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

in center field.

established a reputation as an outstanding defensive catcher, with a .993 fielding percentage. Morneau, not known for his defense, surprised many with a .994 average at first.

Luis Rivas Luis Wilfredo Rivas (born August 30, 1979) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2005, Cleveland Indians in 2007, and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008. He batted and throws right-handed. Rivas ...

was a solid defensive second baseman, but his offensive shortcomings became too much to bear, leading the team to experiment with Boone and

Nick Punto Nicholas Paul Punto (born November 8, 1977) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers ...

at the position. In contrast to Rivas,

Michael Cuddyer Michael Brent Cuddyer (; born March 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-han ...

saw a majority of the time at third base. Jason Bartlett and

Juan Castro Juan Gabriel Castro (born June 20, 1972), is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies, ...

split time at shortstop, with Castro being the superior defensive player. Shannon Stewart and Jacque Jones both had .985 fielding percentages in the corner outfield positions.

Lew Ford Jon Lewis Ford (born August 12, 1976) is an American professional baseball outfielder and hitting coach for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and ...

saw time at all three outfield positions.

Notable transactions

*January 3: Signed

Brent Abernathy Michael Brent Abernathy (born September 23, 1977) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2003 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals, and again in 2005 for the ...

as a free agent. *January 24: Former first-round pick Adam Johnson released. *March 31: Lost Michael Restovich to the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

on waivers. *June 7: Drafted pitcher

Matt Garza Matthew Scott Garza (born November 26, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Minnesota Twins, and also played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Texas ...

with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2005 Amateur Draft. Garza would make his debut the following year. *July 11: Received

from the

for future consideration. Boone would hit .170 and was released on July 31. *October 3: Former all-star pitcher Joe Mays and

Augie Ojeda Octavio Augie Ojeda (born December 20, 1974) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Amateur career A native of Los Ange ...

granted free agency. *October 11:

, and

Jason Tyner Jason Renyt Tyner (born April 23, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. His MLB career spanned nine seasons from 2000 through 2008 for the New York Mets (2000), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000-2003), Minnesota Twins (2005-2007), and Cleve ...

granted free agency. Tyner would re-sign with the Twins four days later. Williams would be re-signed on November 23. *October 12:

and

granted free agency. *October 27:

Terry Mulholland Terence John Mulholland (born March 9, 1963) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. His Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned 20 seasons, and to . He threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Early life and education Mulhol ...

granted free agency. *October 28: Outfielder Jacque Jones granted free agency. *December 2: Traded Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler to the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

for second baseman Luis Castillo. *December 9: Traded pitcher

to the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for infielder

Alexi Casilla Alexi Casilla Lora (born July 20, 1984) is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles. Professional career Minnesota Twins Casilla was signed ...

, who would make his debut next September. *December 15: Signed

Tony Batista Leocadio Francisco "Tony" Batista Hernandez (born December 9, 1973) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball infielder. He played in the major leagues from to and to , and with the SoftBank Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League in . Care ...

as a free agent. *December 21:

Grant Balfour Grant Robert Balfour (born 30 December 1977) is an Australian former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays, and Oakland Athletics. ...

granted free agency. *December 22:

Rondell White Rondell Bernard White (born February 23, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter. As well as being a solid defensive player, White also had a batting ave ...

signed as a free agent. *December 23: Mike Smith signed as a free agent. *December 27:

Dennys Reyes Dennys Reyes (; born April 19, 1977) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. In more than a decade-long career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played for 11 different teams, often as a left-handed specialist. Nicknamed "The Big Swe ...

signed as a free agent.

Miscellaneous

*On May 15, pitcher

walked Texas'

Mark Teixeira Mark Charles Teixeira ( ; born April 11, 1980), nicknamed "Tex", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anahei ...

, after a streak of 191 consecutive batters who ''hadn't'' earned a walk off Radke. *

finished in third in the voting for the

behind

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

and the winner,

Bartolo Colón Bartolo Colón (born May 24, 1973), nicknamed "Big Sexy," is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher. He has played for 11 different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Cleveland Indians (1997–2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago ...

. *In 2005, the Twins celebrated the 40th anniversary of their AL pennant win in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. *The representatives of the Twins in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

were closer

and

. *

Frank Viola Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and ...

and

Carl Pohlad Carl Ray Pohlad (August 23, 1915 – January 5, 2009) was an American financier from Minnesota. Pohlad is best known as the owner of the Minnesota Twins baseball franchise from 1984 (succeeding Calvin Griffith) until his death in 2009. In 2 ...

were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. *The Twins wore the uniforms of the 1909 St. Paul Colored Gophers during a Turn Back the Clock game on July 10, 2005 in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

against the Royals.

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: ElizabethtonJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

External links

Player stats from www.baseball-reference.comTeam info from www.baseball-almanac.comTwins history during the current decade, from www.mlb.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:2005 Minnesota Twins Season Minnesota Twins seasons Minnesota Twins Season, 2005 2005 in sports in Minnesota