Twins in the 2000s: The 2016 Season

[Tom Froemming]

An 83-79 record in 2015 provided optimism the Minnesota Twins were headed in the right direction. That was extinguished almost immediately in 2016. The Twins got off to an 0-9 start, and won just 11 of their first 45 games.

 

Thus, the Total System Failure was underway.We're running a 20-part series in which we look back at each Minnesota Twins season of the 2000s. A rotation of different writers will highlight key moments, unearth forgotten details, and share nostalgic tales from the past two decades leading up to the present. This installment covers the 2016 season.

 

Team Record: 59-103

Finish: 5th Place in AL Central

All-Star: Eduardo Núñez (3B)

Awards: N/A

Playoffs: N/A

 

Season Overview

 

“AAAAAAAAAGGGgggghhhhhhhh …”

 

— Twins fans, April 2016

That’s the sound of hopes and dreams falling rapidly into a deep, dark hole.

 

In reality, the problems started with how this club was built. Signing the vaunted Korean slugger Byung-Ho Park backfired, and not just because of Park’s lack of performance. This would be among Terry Ryan’s last mistakes.

 

Park flopped, hitting .191/.275/.409 (.684 OPS) in 62 games, but a particularly eyebrow-raising element to his signing was that it forced Miguel Sanó to right field. Sanó had burst onto the scene with a .916 OPS as a 22-year-old rookie the prior season, getting nearly all of his playing time at DH. Park took over that spot, so with Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe penciled in at the corner infield positions, Sanó was tasked with learning how to play right field over the offseason.

 

It did not go well. Sanó was the primary right fielder for the first two months of the season, then returned to splitting time between third base and DH.

 

There was only room for Sanó in the outfield because Torii Hunter retired and Aaron Hicks was dealt to the Yankees for catcher John Ryan Murphy, another transaction that went poorly. Envisioned to be the catcher of the future, Murphy posted a .413 OPS and played just 26 games for the Twins.

 

Continuing the domino effect, Hicks’ departure led the Twins to turn to 22-year-old Byron Buxton, owner of a career .576 OPS in 46 MLB games, to be their Opening Day center fielder. Buxton was back in the minors before the end of April after hitting .156/.208/.289 (.497 OPS).

 

Of course, those moves weren’t the only problematic points of the 2016 Twins. Several players who delivered solid performances the previous season fell off. Phil Hughes and Glen Perkins went from stalwarts of the pitching staff to shadows of their former selves. Kyle Gibson, Plouffe and Eduardo Escobar also tumbled. So did Tyler Duffey, Trevor May, Casey Fien, and Kevin Jepsen. Sanó and Eddie Rosario failed to build upon their impressive debut seasons.

 

You get the point.

 

On July 18, with the Twins 33-58 and already 21 games back in the division, Ryan was fired. Well, sort of. The way this all went down is basically the epitome of the relationship between Ryan and the Pohlad family.

 

Jim Pohlad told Ryan a month earlier that he would not return as GM in 2017. It was Ryan who decided enough was enough, and that they should just make the move now. As admirable and rare the respect between the two parties is, this seemed to further handcuff the organization.

 

Longtime assistant GM Rob Antony took over as the interim GM just a few weeks prior to the trade deadline. While Pohlad was finally willing to cut ties with Ryan, he dug in his heels regarding manager Paul Molitor, announcing his job was safe in 2017 no matter the future of the front office.

 

With Antony at the helm, Minnesota made a pair of trade deadline moves. Eduardo Núñez, the team’s only All-Star that season, was sent to the Giants for pitching prospect Adalberto Mejia. The second swap was considered more of addition by subtraction, as Ricky Nolasco was sent with prospect Alex Meyer and cash to the Angels for Hector Santiago and relief prospect Alan Busenitz.

 

Had the organization not been in such flux, maybe there would have been an all-out firesale. Brian Dozier was in the midst of an insane season and Ervin Santana had a 1.96 ERA in his final eight starts leading up to the deadline. Both Kurt Suzuki (a pending free agent) and Brandon Kintzler would also have been attractive to teams searching for some final pieces, but it seemed there was little motivation to tear the team down to the studs.

 

Perhaps they didn’t want to leave the appearance that the cupboard was bare while also seeking out new front office executives. The Twins agreed to hire Derek Falvey as their new President of Baseball Operations on Sept. 26, 2016, and Thad Levine was tabbed as the next GM that November.

 

Team MVP: Brian Dozier (2B)

 

Other Contenders: Ervin Santana (SP), Joe Mauer (1B), Miguel Sanó (3B/RF/DH), Max Kepler (RF)

 

Dozier was a man on fire in 2016. He slugged 42 home runs, had a 132 wRC+, drove in 99 runs while scoring 104 times and even went 18-for-20 in stolen base attempts.

 

Dozier led Twins hitters in fWAR by a landslide, posting a 6.3 mark. That was good enough to rank inside the top 10 of all hitters in baseball. Only Mark Trumbo (47) and Nelson Cruz (43) hit more home runs that season than Dozier, the first AL second baseman to pop 40 dingers.

 

Dozier became just the second Twin ever to hit even 35 homers, and his 82 extra-base hits rank second in franchise history, trailing only Tony Oliva’s 84 extra-base knocks in 1964.

 

Despite being on such a disaster of a team, Dozier still finished 13th in AL MVP voting. His output has to rank among the best individual performances ever from a player on a 100-loss team.

 

It must have been a bittersweet year for Dozier. On Sept. 5, he hit three home runs, yet the Twins still got blown out 11-5. His body language at the end of this clip says it all.

 

 

For more on Dozier’s amazing 2016 season, check out this excellent breakdown Parker Hageman wrote in early September of that year.

 

3 Most Pivotal Games

 

April 4: Lost @ Baltimore Orioles, 3-2

 

A walk-off loss on Opening Day. There was even a rain delay! What an appropriate way to start out what would be a miserable season.

 

 

April 19: Lost vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5

 

After an 0-9 start, the Twins rebounded to win their next four games. A brutal error made by Sanó helped spark what was a three-run fifth inning for the Brewers. If it wasn’t clear Sanó wasn’t going to workout in right field before, this was what sealed it.

 

 

To make matters worse in that inning, Murphy had a passed ball that allowed a run to score. The Twins rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth thanks to home runs from Park and Rosario. This seemed to be further proof there was some more fight left in these Twins.

 

Buxton committed a key error in the ninth that allowed a runner to advance an extra base, however, and Jepsen gave up what turned out to be the deciding run. This was a very poor fielding Twins team.

 

The four-game winning streak snapped here ended up being tied for their longest such streak the entire season. Ugh.

 

Aug. 29: Lost at Cleveland Indians, 1-0

 

Already 10 games deep into another losing streak, the pitching staff seemed determined to get the job done. Santiago (6 1/3 innings), Ryan Pressly (1 1/3) and Kintzler (1 1/3 innings) kept Cleveland off the board through nine innings. The only problem was the Twins lineup was also silenced.

 

A single sandwiched between a pair of walks loaded the bases for Kepler in the top of the 10th inning, but he was retired to end the threat. Kintzler, the Twins closer at the time, was left in to handle the bottom of the 10th, but only recorded one out before Cleveland walked it off.

 

That losing streak would last 13 games, the second-longest in team history.

 

Unforgettable Highlights

 

Núñez’s Leadoff Inside-the-Park Homer

 

What a fun player. Núñez was among the few bright spots early in the season, hitting .329/.356/.494 (.850 OPS) heading into play on June 2. Here’s how he led off that game for the Twins:

 

 

Kepler’s First MLB Homer

 

Every player’s first home run is special, but Kepler’s was especially memorable. Playing in his 20th game of the season (and 23rd in the big leagues overall), Kepler hit a walk-off homer in the 10th inning to beat the Boston Red Sox at Target Field.

 

 

Beresford Completes Long Journey to Big Leagues

 

There were still some feel-good stories this season. After playing 10 years in the minor leagues, James Beresford finally got the call. His promotion to the Twins was a move celebrated across the entire organization. Beresford collected his first major-league hit in his debut on Sept. 10, and received a standing ovation from both the Target Field crowd and his teammates.

 

 

One Detail You Probably Forgot

 

This may have been among the darkest seasons in Twins history, but seeds were sprouting late in the year. Check out this lineup from Sept. 1, 2016, which just so happened to be the day they snapped that nasty 13-game losing streak mentioned earlier:

 

Brian Dozier, 2B

Joe Mauer, 1B

Trevor Plouffe, 3B

Miguel Sanó, DH

Jorge Polanco, SS

Max Kepler, RF

Kurt Suzuki, C

Eddie Rosario, LF

Byron Buxton, CF

By this time, José Berríos was in the rotation and Taylor Rogers was rounding out a solid rookie season in the bullpen. Many of the Twins’ current stars found their footing late in 2016.

 

Fun Fact

 

Minnesota hit 200 home runs in 2016. That may seem like a cute milestone now, seeing as they eclipsed 300 homers last season, but it was a pretty big deal at the time. The Twins had previously topped 200 home runs just twice in team history, the most recent being all the way back in 1964.

 

~~~

Previous Installments:

• The 2000 Season
• The 2001 Season
• The 2002 Season
• The 2003 Season
• The 2004 Season
• The 2005 Season
• The 2006 Season
• The 2007 Season
• The 2008 Season
• The 2009 Season
• The 2010 Season
• The 2011 Season
• The 2012 Season
• The 2013 Season
• The 2014 Season
• The 2015 Season

 

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[DocBauer]

UGH! Should cover it.

 

But to be fair, Terry Ryan meant SO MUCH to this organization. He was a tremendous scout. And while his teams never won a WS, and he could be convicted of being guilty of never making a BOLD move because he was too conservative, he was the GM over those teams in the early century who had a shot. Maybe he shouldn't have been brought back for a 2nd tenure. But we should always remember that he brought a lot of good seasons and competitive ball to the Twins.

[mikelink45]

Painful - I believe I feel a tear dribbling from my eye.  Thank you for the September lineup, it relieved some of the pain.

 

I do have to question Terry Ryan's reputation as a scout - when I look at the washed up and helpless players he signed and traded for it really damages his reputation.  I agree with DocBauer - he should not have come back a second time.  His heart was not in it and he really did the team no favors.

[JW24]

For how atrocious the Twins were in 2016, I actually have some really good memories of this season. I went to Seattle with some friends over Memorial Day weekend and saw the Twins sweep the Mariners. Mauer and Sano both homered in all 3 games. I also went out to Boston in July and saw the Twins win 2 out of 3 against the Sox. Boston fans congratulated me personally after the Twins won as if I had anything to do with it. Weird fans out there.

 

Oh yeah, my first kid was born that August. By then, the Twins season was pretty well shot. I watched the Twins lose to the Braves from the NICU, holding my phone in one hand and my new daughter in the other. That might be my favorite game I have ever watched. Thanks again for a great recap!

[theBOMisthebomb]

It was a sneaky enjoyable season. Watching Dozier was a great experience and seeing the prospects finally start to make noise in the bigs was gratifying. 2016 provided hope for the future.

[Tom Froemming]

 

For how atrocious the Twins were in 2016, I actually have some really good memories of this season. I went to Seattle with some friends over Memorial Day weekend and saw the Twins sweep the Mariners. Mauer and Sano both homered in all 3 games. I also went out to Boston in July and saw the Twins win 2 out of 3 against the Sox. Boston fans congratulated me personally after the Twins won as if I had anything to do with it. Weird fans out there.

 

Oh yeah, my first kid was born that August. By then, the Twins season was pretty well shot. I watched the Twins lose to the Braves from the NICU, holding my phone in one hand and my new daughter in the other. That might be my favorite game I have ever watched. Thanks again for a great recap!

My first kid was born that June! Having the team be so terrible created the perfect circumstances to attend games with first a very pregnant wife and later a newborn baby. Plenty of room for comfort at Target Field that summer.

 

I had assumed we'd just cancel our 20-game season ticket package that season, but my wife wanted to keep it and see how things went. We swapped things around to have more games early and late in the season, but we ended up using most of our tickets. Lots of good times spent relaxing in the mostly empty stadium that year, barely paying any attention to the actual game.

[woolywoolhouse]

I was at Target Field for Brian Dozier's 42nd homerun. That was the rain-delay make-up game on a cold September weekday with about 200 people in the stands. To me, that game perfectly exemplifies 2016 for the Twins: Dozier hitting a homerun; the rest of the team doing everything they can to lose; and an almost-empty Target Field.

[DocBauer]

While the Park signing was interesting, maybe a little exciting, it just didn't fit the construction of the team at all, especially with Sano moving to the OF.

 

But the worst move was the trade of Hicks to the Yankees. He was rushed...just like Hunter had been years before and like Buxton was...and then dumped with no viable option to replace him. It wasn't trading him for Murphy that was so awful in of itself, it was not having a backup plan.

[Nine of twelve]

Sometimes a team (or a person or any entity of any kind) has to hit rock bottom before meaningful change can take place. In the long view this season may have been the best thing that could have happened to our favorite team because it led to a complete remaking of the organization, which I think has us moving in a very positive direction. I can only hope that some of the events of the recent past in the real world also turn out to be stimuli for meaningful positive change.