Twins in the 2000s: The 2019 Season

[Matthew Lenz]

The 2019 Minnesota Twins season was one the likes of which we may never see again, especially if changes to the baseball were truly made, as Commissioner Manfred stated in an interview with Forbes.

 

The Twins set many major-league and franchise marks in a bomba-filled season that will never be forgotten by fans who witnessed it.We're wrapping up 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 2019 season.

 

Team Record: 101-61

Finish: 1st Place in AL Central

All-Stars: Jorge Polanco (SS), José Berríos (SP), Jake Odorizzi (SP)

Awards: Rocco Baldelli (AL Manager of the Year), Mitch Garver (Silver Slugger, C), Nelson Cruz (Silver Slugger, DH)

Playoffs: Lost to NYY 3-0 in ALDS

 

Season Overview

 

In 2019, for the first time in more than three decades, an outsider came to occupy the manager's office for the Minnesota Twins. Unlike Tom Kelly, Ron Gardenhire, and Paul Molitor, Rocco Baldelli had no ties to the organization before being hired on October 25th as Molitor's replacement.

 

That wasn't the only thing different about Baldelli. Analytically inclined and exuding calm, positive energy, his style contrasted strongly with each of the legendary Minnesota baseball men to precede him, and at 37 he became the youngest manager in the game.

 

Much like the front office leaders hired two years earlier, Baldelli represented a decidedly new-school departure for a franchise previously steeped in traditional philosophies. And in his first season at the helm, he would oversee a decidedly new-school success story: a remarkable rise that saw the former pitch-to-contact piranhas transform suddenly into a power-hitting, power-pitching, feared force of nature.

 

The 2019 Twins hit 307 home runs, breaking the previous MLB record by 40, and edging the New York Yankees to come away as sole owners of the new benchmark. Minnesota also won 101 games, one fewer than the franchise record set by the 1965 Washington Senators.

 

One of my favorite things to look at when reviewing a season is Baseball Reference's team pages where you can find splits for darn near anything and one of my favorite graphics shown below:

 

 

Download attachment: twins2019gameresults.png

On top of home runs, the Twins set the franchise marks for…

• Runs scored (939)
• RBIs (906)
• Slugging percentage (.494)
• On-base plus slugging (.832)
• K/9 by pitchers (9.0)

Despite an all-too-familiar ending, to say that the 2019 season was special would be an understatement.

 

Balance was the story for this record-setting offense, which saw an unprecedented eight different hitters collect 20 or more home runs. From one through nine, this lineup was essentially without weakness. Leading the way offensively:

• Nelson Cruz, who signed as a free agent and enjoyed a career year at age 38 with a 1.031 OPS, 41 homers and 108 RBIs.
• Mitch Garver, who took a massive leap forward in his sophomore season, delivering one of the better power-hitting seasons by a catcher in MLB history with 31 home runs and a .630 slugging percentage in 93 games.
• Max Kepler, who batted leadoff and smashed his career bests with 36 long balls, 90 RBIs and an .855 OPS.
• Miguel Sanó, who missed the first six weeks with a heel injury and then launched 34 bombas with 79 RBIs in 109 games after joining up.
• Jorge Polanco, who made the All-Star team as starting shortstop and an .841 OPS and 69 extra-base hits.

Even with star sluggers taking charge and relatively good health across the roster, quality depth factored in a big way, as backups and prospects pushed up from underneath.

 

While second baseman Jonathan Schoop wasn't bad, unheralded youngster Luis Arraez stole his job in the second half, with the rookie's .334 batting average ranking among the league's best. The Twins also got consistent production from utility players Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza, including when first baseman C.J. Cron was battling a thumb injury. When Byron Buxton went down on August 1st, Max Kepler seamlessly stepped over to center while Jake Cave picked up the slack in right.

 

The pitching staff had its ups and downs, but ultimately ended up being the third-best in baseball, per fWAR.

 

Powered by an amazing offense, the rotation helped propel Minnesota to 23 games above .500 by the break, with both José Berríos and Jake Odorizzi making the All-Star team. But just as the bullpen was coming into its own in the second half, the rotation was wobbling.

 

Berríos followed his career trend of dropping off in the late months. Odorizzi regressed back toward career norms. Martín Pérez's strong start became a distant memory as he repeatedly turned in clunkers. Kyle Gibson battled ulcerative colitis which rendered him increasingly ineffective. And Michael Pineda, who'd emerged as the team's best starter by the start of September, was hit with a season-ending PED suspension less than a month out from the playoffs.

 

Just as the rotation was giving way, the bullpen was coming together. Shortcomings in this unit were bemoaned by fans for much of the summer, as was a lack of splashy action at the deadline, but Minnesota's relief corps would finish as one of the best in baseball. Taylor Rogers was customarily excellent in the closer role, joined by standouts Tyler Duffey, Trevor May, Zack Littell, deadline acquisition Sergio Romo, and the late electrical surge provided by rookie Brusdar Graterol in September.

 

Despite various set backs, the Twins finished strong with an 18-9 month of September, earning yet another ALDS match-up with the hated New York Yankees.

 

Following their usual pattern, the Twins showed some early fire and had a chance to win the first game, but fell short and fizzled out. Another three-game sweep extended a truly incredible run of postseason futility. More than anything, this might be the lasting legacy for this franchise in the first two decades of the 2000s, and one they'll be looking to snap in the third.

 

Team MVP: Max Kepler (RF)

 

Other Contenders: Nelson Cruz (DH), Jorge Polanco (SS), José Berríos (SP), Jake Odorizzi (SP)

 

I think you could absolutely make a case for any of these players, and if I were being more subjective, I might have given it to Garver, who just missed the top-five cutoff when looking at fWAR. I gave the edge to Kepler over these guys for his defensive versatility and offensive consistency throughout the season, despite missing some time in September and struggling in the playoffs.

 

Berríos and Odorizzi both had very good seasons that felt a touch short of true greatness. Cruz won the team MVP award at the Diamond Awards, as he provided a lot of leadership behind the scenes in addition to his obvious on-field contributions, but he missed a quarter of the games and offered zero defensive value.

 

3 Most Pivotal Games

 

July 23rd: Lost vs. New York Yankees, 14-12

 

Given the back-and-forth drama, the extra innings, the slugfest between two historically powerful offenses, and the huge plays, this game is inarguably one of the greatest regular-season games in Major League Baseball history, let alone Twins history. That alone doesn’t necessarily make it pivotal but it’s worth mentioning.

 

Frustration had been building around Minnesota's bullpen, as seemingly problematic weak point for an otherwise stellar club, and it reached new heights in this one. The Twins took a 9-5 lead into the eighth, then watched five pitchers combine to allow nine runs in three innings. They lost in 10, with Aaron Hicks sealing the deal for New York on a diving catch in center. The pitching staff's struggles keeping this Yankee offense at bay was unfortunately a precursor of things to come in October.

 

September 14th: Won @ Cleveland Indians, 9-5

 

MIGUEL SANÓ GRAND SALAMI. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will add that the doubleheader sweep put the Twins up by 5 1/2 games on the Indians and placed the figurative nail in the coffin. After hitting his big blast, which effectively sealed the division, Sanó put the cherry on top by going “Triple H” on the bit after crossing home plate.

 

This game, and doubleheader, were also symbolic of how far the bullpen had come: Twins relievers combined for 14 strikeouts and zero walks in the two games.

 

October 4th: Lost @ New York Yankees, 4-10

 

You could argue that Game 2 is an option here, but when you’re down 8-0 before you hit a ball out of the infield, the game loses meaning fast. In Game 1, it felt like the Twins actually had a chance.

 

After four so-so innings from Berríos, the Twins entered the bottom of the fifth with the game knotted at three. They turned to Littell who immediately put guys on first and second before handing things over to Duffey, who walked a batter and allowed a two-run double. After that, things went downhill fast, and two of the best relievers from the 2019 season in May and Rogers never got an opportunity to impact the game. Hindsight being 20/20, you have to wonder if things would have been different in game one if Baldelli had relied on May and Rogers instead of Stashak and Gibson.

 

Unforgettable Highlights

 

José Berríos Sets the Tone on Opening Day

 

Making his second consecutive Opening Day start, Berríos opened the season by firing 7 2/3 shutout innings against Cleveland. He struck out 10, walked one, and allowed two hits in the gem. It would be a sign of things to come, and the same was true for Rogers, who relieved him and struck out three in a perfect four-out save.

 

Bomba Barrage

 

The Twins set the major-league record for home runs and also a bunch of other, more obscure ones: most players with 20+ home runs (8), most players with 30+ home runs (5), most games with multiple home runs (87), etc.

 

It's tough to pull specific highlights from this endless parade of dingers, but among the more memorable performances:

• Cruz had two separate three-homer games (within two weeks of one another)
• Garver had a 10-game stretch as August turned to September where he went 11-for-25 with seven homers and eight walks, good for a 1.908 (!) OPS.
• Sanó's grand slam in Cleveland was the first of his career, and snapped a rare negative trend for Minnesota's offense: coming into the day, they had the lowest OPS and wRC+ in the majors with bases loaded.
• The Twins had five games with six or more total home runs, and they all came on the road.

Tyler the Untouchable

 

On September 28th, Duffey allowed his first run in almost two months (July 28th). Between those dates, he pitched 26 times, and struck out 40 with five walks and 11 hits allowed in 23 2/3 innings.

 

One Detail You Probably Forgot

 

It’s hard to find something super meaningful that you “probably” forgot from just 12 months ago, but one detail that you may not have realized or remembered is that the Twins' longest losing streak was just four games, and it only happened once, from August 6th to August 9th. You may recall from an earlier installment that five years earlier, in Gardenhire's final season, the Twins had five different four-game losing streaks in August and September alone.

 

Fun Fact

 

The Twins had a record of 38-18 at the end of May was the fifth-best mark in MLB history, only two games off the best record all-time. Along the same lines, the 2019 Twins won 55 games on the road, which is good for seventh-most in MLB history.

 

 

~~~

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
• The 2016 Season
• The 2017 Season
• The 2018 Season

 

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[AceWrigley]

Ummmm ... that would be the 1965 Minnesota Twins.