The organization changed ownership for the first time in 1984, when businessman Carl Pohlad purchased the Twins baseball club from Calvin Griffth for close to $44 million. The 1987 season saw the Twins, led by thirty-six-year-old manager Tom Kelly, finish with an AL West record of 85-77 behind their young core of homegrown talent and a recently returned Bert Blyleven. Having won their first pennant, they advanced to the World Series, where they faced the St. The Twins seized their first World Series title in a decisive 4-2 Game Seven victory on October 25, 1987, in front of 55,376 spectators at the Hubert H. The Twins returned to the World Series in 1991 in improbable fashion after finishing dead last in the American League in the 1990 season. They found success by way of dominant starting pitching from the trio of Kevin Tapani, Scott Erickson, and St. Paul native Jack Morris offense was provided by free agent signee Chili Davis along with Shane Mack, Kirby Puckett, and 1991 Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch. In what is considered by many to be one of the all-time-greatest World Series, the Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves in a best-of-seven series, in which three games were decided in extra innings. Game Seven featured a pitching contest between two Hall of Famers, the Braves’ John Smoltz and the Twins’ Jack Morris, and Minnesota won 1-0 in the tenth inning on Gene Larkin’s walk-off single. The Twins’ success in the early 1990s was followed by eight consecutive losing seasons, and by 2001, rumors swirled that the club would be contracted (dissolved). Despite the uncertainty of their future, the 2001 Twins managed a winning record in Tom Kelly’s last season as manager, and then made their first postseason appearance since 1991 during the 2002 season. They failed, however, to advance past the American League Championship Series.įrom 2002 to 2004, under a new manager (Rod Gardenhire) and a core of players including Brad Radke, Torii Hunter, Johan Santana, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Corey Koskie, the Twins won back-to-back-to-back American League Central titles.
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