How Can the Twins Avoid 0-20? Exposing the "Streak" Before its Too Late

[Steven Trefz]

Anytime a professional sports club achieves a record that spans across all type of sport, the fanbase realizes that this is a "special" event. When that "special" event represents the longest postseason losing streak in all of professional sport, the trophy loses its shine. How did the Twins actually get to this record of records, and what must they learn from that story of 0-18 before 0-20 becomes a reality?

Image courtesy of Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

October 5, 2004. Yankee Stadium (the elder), New York Yankees, American League Divisional Series Game 1

That was the last time the Minnesota Twins won a playoff game. 

When the Twins take the field to kick off the playoffs in October of 2023, it will 19 years since the last taste of playoff victory lingered on the lips of Twins Territory. Johan Santana scattered nine hits over seven scoreless innings, and Juan Rincon and Joe Nathan finished off the shutout with an inning each. Shannon Stewart drove in Michael Cuddyer for the game's first run, and Jacque Jones took Mike Mussina deep for the last run. 2-0 Twins, and the 2004 squad was on the verge of toppling Goliath and grasping the decade for their own. In fact, even the most pessimistic of Twins fans couldn't have predicted just how terrible the narrative would turn for over a generation of teams and fans.

In 2004, the margin between ecstasy and misery was a fine one, as the Yankees needed extra innings to win two of the next three games to take the series. No part of the series screamed out that "This is the beginning of a two-decade curse!" If anything, the Twins squad was left thinking optimistically at just how close they were to climbing back into the World Series conversation despite the disappointing loss of the series. How were we to know that losing three games in a row would become a trend and not a mirage?

That's how 18 losses in a row in the MLB Playoffs becomes a reality. In three and four day spans of playing baseball after long and successful seasons. One at-bat at a time. Fueled by late season injuries and unexpected bullpen misfires.

Therein lies the lesson of 0-18, for those brave enough to go there. Like when the Harry Potter squad realized that in saying Voldemort's name you took away some of his power, perhaps if Twins fans can name what happened perhaps we can neuter the streak. It's time to take the narrative out of the realm of myth and to break it down into real, live, human action and inaction on the baseball diamond. Here are the true stories that stuck out upon closer inspection., and are worthy of being named lest they be repeated.

Prologue - Twins Postseason Losing Streaks Existed Before 2004
The Twins playoff losing streak actually begins before the collective memory of the event formed. The Twins' very first World Series trip ended in valiant defeat to the Dodgers in 1965. The years between that appearance and the Twins next playoff victory would span 22 years. Yes, even longer than their current winless streak. In that era of "only the two division winners make the playoffs," to make the dance at all was a rare gift, and the victories once you got on the dance floor were icing on the cake. The Twins got swept 0-3 by the Baltimore Orioles in both 1969 and 1970. That was the extent of their playoff opportunity until the magical run of 1987 came to pass. 

Again, after the ecstasy of 1987, the homer hankies stayed in the closet until 1991. The Twins were able to win the Central Division that year, and survived two playoff rounds to clinch their second miraculous World Series trophy in only four seasons.

Here is where the narrative of 0-18 makes its first turn from reality. When a fanbase ignores the fact that two decades went by without a playoff victory, and leans into the belief that World Series victories happen all the time, disappointment lurks right around the corner. 

Indeed, the Twins would take another decade off from the playoffs completely, not seeing the lights of October again until 2002. It was here that they experienced the only time in history that the Minnesota Twins won a playoff series, but didn't reach the World Series. They managed to win the AL Central, and then overcame the 103-win Oakland A's to advance to the ALCS against the eventual World Series Champion Anaheim Angels. The Rally Monkeys won the series by dropping the opener, but winning the final four games of the series. More importantly for Twins fans, in 2002 the Twins started a decade of regular season success that would lead to ample opportunities for playoff games...and therefore playoff losses.

2003 saw the Twins reach the postseason again, and Johan Santana took down the Yankees in Game 1. The offense never scored more than one run in any of the remaining three games in the series, however, and the Twins exited the series after getting swept after winning the first game yet again. 

In summary, from 1965's World Series team to 2003's playoff effort, the Twins made the playoffs six times in 38 years. In the four years that they didn't win the World Series, they were bounced from the playoffs by losing three or four games in a row. 

The Formative Years - Without "Winning Streak Builders," Sweeps Happen
Now that we've addressed the themes of the first 38 years of Twins postseason life, we can more fully understand what has transpired in the last 20 years: Nothing new, nothing unheard of, just more of the same. The Twins of the 2000-2010's maintained balanced clubs that made the playoffs more often than most, but they never could put together two aces and offensive consistency when October rolled around.

2004 - Lose to New York Yankees 3-1 in ALDS
Again the Twins enjoy having the greatest Twins pitcher of recent decades, Johan Santana, and his ability to defeat the Yankees.  Unfortunately, the trend of getting swept out of the series after winning game one continues. But how? Why? Does it all boil down to the fact that the Twins only had one starting pitcher worthy of winning a playoff game? 

Would you be surprised if I told you the answer for the past two decades was "Yes"? Looking more deeply into the 2004 series, Santana came back for Game 4 on only three days rest, and it almost worked. He held the Yankees to one run over five innings while running his pitch count up to 87. Juan Rincon's eighth inning was one to forget, unless you are Ruben Sierra, because Sierra's three-run homer capped the four-run rally and sent the game into extra innings. But games two and three were decided because the Twins didn't have a number two that had dominant "stuff" to throw at their playoff opponent. Without having winning streak builders up and down the rotation, losing streaks are inevitable.

2006 - Swept by Oakland A's 3-0 in ALDS
Starting pitching did the Twins in yet again, with Santana taking the hard-luck loss in Game 1. An expired Frank Thomas still tasted good enough to clobber two solo shots, including the game winner in the ninth off of Jesse Crain. Boof Bonser got the call for Game 2, and Brad Radke couldn't make it to the fifth inning of Game 3. 

Once Santana didn't get his victory, the Twins felt the pain of Francisco Liriano's absence all the more acutely. When Liriano went down in August of his rookie campaign with elbow inflammation, he was unhittable. Cruising at 12-3 with a continuously shrinking 2.13 ERA, Liriano was going to be the second ace that got the Twins back into playoff success. He was going to be the losing streak-breaker or winning-streak builder that the Twins had missed having since 1991. 

The trend of Twins bats tightening up in playoff action also continued, with outputs of two, two, and three runs in each game. The first two games were in the dome, and the last game was in Oakland, so temperature can't be the excuse. The Twins averaged 4.9 runs per game in 2006, but couldn't find their groove against a talented A's staff.

Combine a lack of a dominant number two starter, and a failure to string together quality at-bats against quality pitching, and you have a recipe for misery that the Twins have been trying to make taste gourmet for the past decade.

2008 - Defeated in Game 163 by the Chicago White Sox, 1-0
You might be checking your Twins playoff history coloring book and wondering why you don't have a 2008 page. I'm counting the time Jim Thome broke our hearts in Game 163 here because if we will allow it, it actually proves that 0-18 doesn't really exist!

Back when one-game extensions of the regular season determined who would advance to the playoffs, the Twins found themselves knotted up with the Chicago White Sox. Nick Blackburn did his best to get the Twins into the dance, but Thome took him deep and the Twins offense could only muster two hits off of John Danks and crew. This time the offense again proved to be the Achilles heel, when Ken Griffey Jr. threw a missile to A.J. Pierzynski to catch Michael Cuddyer at the plate on a sacrifice fly attempt. You read that correctly. Griffey Jr. to Pierzynski. This 1-0 loss was a crushing way to end the season, but realistically the Twins didn't have the starting staff to manage playoff success anyways. Glen Perkins, Scott Baker, and Livan Hernandez were good to average, and weren't going to strike fear into opposing lineups.

2009 - Defeat the Detroit Tigers in Game 163, Swept by New York Yankees 3-0 in ALDS
This is where, I would argue, that the 0-18 streak actually stopped at seven! That's because 2009 also featured a Game 163 tiebreaker, and the Twins won it in epic fashion against the Detroit Tigers at the Metrodome. As staff was actively trying to clean out the dome for the move to their new Target Field home in 2010, the Twins just kept playing baseball. By the time Twins Territory was told they would be "Ca-see-ya'd tomorrow night," the team and its fans had a glimpse of "post-season" victory. Legally, this game is considered an extension of the regular season. Emotionally, it felt like the Rally Monkey had finally been tossed off of our backs.

We all know what happened next. A Joe Mauer double gets called foul, 54,735 fans say goodbye to the Metrodome with a loss. But what else was at play here? Again the starting staff was a middling mix with 4.50 or higher ERA's. The offense held there own in the regular season, but could again only muster an average of two runs per game in the playoffs. This series wasn't an outlier, and the Twins weren't robbed. It was the norm.

2010 - Swept by New York Yankees 3-0 in ALDS
If we toss out Game 163 in 2009, the streak of losses just runs right through 2010 again. The Yankees again play the willing villains, and the injury gremlin gets a participation award. 2010 saw the launch of Target Field, a whole lot of success, and a horrible injury to Justin Morneau mid-season. He never recovered from his concussion, and the offense he was carrying never recovered either. 

The starting staff continued to be average at best, even with a mildly resurgent Liriano and a surprisingly able Carl Pavano leading the way. Jon Rauch and Matt Capps were the closers, so those who could see clearly knew that playoff success was going to be hard to find. Game 1 against the Yankees started out hopeful enough, with Michael Cuddyer launching a two-run shot in the second and Liriano catching lightning in a bottle through five scoreless innings. The bottle burst in the sixth, and four runs later the Twins had lost again. The offense went dormant in the final two games of the series, and the official playoff loss streak reached 12 games and counting.

2017 - Defeated in one-game Wild Card round by New York Yankees 8-4
New York Yankees, rinse and repeat. This time it was only a one game Wild Card playoff (a then-legal form of Game 163), but the result was the same. The offense started strong and went quiet. The pitching struggled mightily after Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios took turns giving up runs. It turns out that Miguel Sano wasn't the only injured Twin that was missing, as we later learned Santana was pitching injured as well. Again the Twins were left wondering what might have been after their season long heroes were unable to perform in playoff time.

The Modern Era - When the Pieces Aren't in Place, the Results Repeat

2019 - Swept by New York Yankees 3-0 in ALDS
This series was the last time a sellout crowd at Target Field got to try to will their favorite squad to victory. The first two games were at Yankee Stadium (the younger), and Game 1 started with a couple of bangs. Jorge Polanco homered in the first, and Nelson Cruz also hit a solo shot in the third. The Berrios start couldn't make it past four innings, and the Yankees put up crooked numbers on the Twins bullpen in the fifth, sixth, and seventh. The Twins offense, the vaunted Bomba Squad, had beaten the Yankees in the regular season for the home run record, but come playoff time it was the Yankees' ability to manufacture runs against the Twins' pitchers that led to three lopsided victories. Randy Dobnak was a great story, but he wasn't a number two starter. The Twins once again averaged just above two runs a game of offense. Rinse and repeat indeed.

2020 - Swept by Houston Astros 2-0 in AL Wild Card Round
2020 brought a global pandemic and an eerie shortened season of empty stadiums. The Twins survived the divisional race of attrition without fully regaining their Bomba identity. This was the season that the Twins thought the curse would be reversed, because they had two aces in Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios and a more balanced offense that didn't rely solely on the home run to find victory. Maeda and Berrios were aces, but were both pulled after only five innings of work. Taylor Rogers, Sergio Romo, and Tyler Duffey didn't perform up to their regular season standards, and therefore the Astros scored late while the Twins stayed stuck in neutral. The Twins offense only generated a run in each game, and only seven hits total in the two-day sweep. Opportunity lost, and the streak rolls on.

2023 -?
On paper, the Twins have two aces again in Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray. The Twins offense, unfortunately, is more likely to get two runs or less per game than they are to break out crooked numbers against quality pitching. Can Lopez and Gray pitch shutout baseball into the seventh inning or later? That answer will determine whether or not the Twins can break the curse. History shows that five innings of quality pitching won't get the team to playoff victory lane, so now is not a time for quick hooks when things are going well.

The Twins also will have the home field again for this best of three opening round. The problem being, of course, that if the Twins can't take Game 1 the curse narrative amplifies and Game 2 suddenly becomes a one-or-done scenario. You can hear the nerves tightening from here. 

In nine of the 12 best-of-three playoff series in 2020 and 2022 (2021 briefly went back to the one-game model), the series ended with a 2-0 sweep. The emotional realities of such a short series stand out in this statistic, and Game 1's importance becomes magnified. This is why the Twins traded the AL batting champion Luis Arraez for Lopez before the season. This is why the Twins have been filling their bullpen tank with gas late in the season. This is why the Twins have been nurturing along their lineup for optimal postseason health. 

Will the Twins break the streak and journey forward towards World Series glory like the legends of old? Or will Game 1 disappointment fuel the fires of the myth of 0-20? Do the Twins finally have the right kinds of pieces in place for playoff success, or is 2023 another prime example of a punchless offense not supporting a moderately decent rotation? Ready or not, it's time to find out how this story goes.

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[IndianaTwin]

Every team is different, so I don't buy the 0-18 streak. Buxton, Kepler and Polanco are 0-6, Garver is 0-5 and a maybe a couple others are 0-2. The vast majority of the team is 0-0 in the postseason as a Twin. 

[Craig Arko]

8 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Every team is different, so I don't buy the 0-18 streak. Buxton, Kepler and Polanco are 0-6, Garver is 0-5 and a maybe a couple others are 0-2. The vast majority of the team is 0-0 in the postseason as a Twin. 

Yup, the best way to break the streak is to not care about it, and concentrate on the present rather than the past.

[Karbo]

Only time will tell, but this is the deepest team I can remember for the last maybe 40-50 years. On paper we can match starters 1-3. The thing I'll be looking for is can the bats come to play. They really need Lewis and Correa to be able to play. A typical playoff game is lower scoring, so the Twins need some clutch hitting.

[Steven Trefz]

41 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Every team is different, so I don't buy the 0-18 streak. Buxton, Kepler and Polanco are 0-6, Garver is 0-5 and a maybe a couple others are 0-2. The vast majority of the team is 0-0 in the postseason as a Twin. 

Easier said than done!  Humans are not rational creatures or spreadsheets after all :)

We will win, hopefully after enjoying a first round bye due to a Texas implosion this week!

[Trov]

Really this offense needs to keep doing what they have the second half.  They need to have quality at-bats.  Too often in the past our teams have let the moment get too big, and we make dumb mistakes.  That is one concern I have with so many young guys that have yet to hit in playoffs.  I hope they do not try to do too much and treat it like any other game.  

I remember in many of the losses over the years we make bad mistakes running, fielding, and bad at bats.  I remember one of the extra inning losses to Yankees we had a chance to take lead in 9th off Rivera, and Gardenhire left Kubal, a rookie in, who had looked terrible all game, and all we needed was a sac fly.  We had a guy on the bench that was good at making contact, but Kubal swung at 3 pitches, 2 of which were no where close to strike zone. I remember many base running errors as well by guys that normally had smart plays. 

My main concern is if a young guy comes up in big spot they expand the zone seeking that big hit and does not just do the normal at bat. 

[Juza]

The thing that strikes me most about the streak is that the villain that ultimately did the Twins in was often not a superstar. Frank Thomas and Rueban Siera were like 9,000 years old when they put the Twins to bed. I think this will be the year that the Twins can win a game and even a series. Let's Go Twins!

[spanman2]

 Starting pitching going 5+...no errors...timely hitting/drawing walks...no outs on basepaths and a clean bullpen.  WIN TWINS!!!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

2 hours ago, Steven Trefz said:

2019 - Swept by New York Yankees 3-0 in ALDS
This series was the last time a sellout crowd at Target Field got to try to will their favorite squad to victory. The first two games were at Yankee Stadium (the younger), and Game 1 started with a couple of bangs. Jorge Polanco homered in the first, and Nelson Cruz also hit a solo shot in the third. The Berrios start couldn't make it past four innings, and the Yankees put up crooked numbers on the Twins bullpen in the fifth, sixth, and seventh. The Twins offense, the vaunted Bomba Squad, had beaten the Yankees in the regular season for the home run record, but come playoff time it was the Yankees' ability to manufacture runs against the Twins' pitchers that led to three lopsided victories. Randy Dobnak was a great story, but he wasn't a number two starter. The Twins once again averaged just above two runs a game of offense. Rinse and repeat indeed.

The story of 2019 was the bottom of the 3rd inning of Game 1, when C J Cron failed to catch a throw from Arraez on a double play relay that would have ended the inning with the Twins leading 2-1. All he had to do was catch that throw. Two runs scored, and the series seemed to hinge on in that play. 

Why Rocco pulled out Berrios after Berrios breezed through the 4th inning and the Twins desperately needed innings from their starters, is a question only Rocco can answer. We can only hope that the bullpen strategy works in 2023, and hopefully there are many more than two games to complain about it. 🙂

[ToddlerHarmon]

Another way to phrase a short rotation and disappearing offense is that we have lacked enough elite talent to compete against the league's best teams.

With Correa and Buxton not at their elite best, and Gray and Maeda being the pitchers with playoff bona fides, it will be interesting to see who has the chops to compete at this level.

I am confident Lewis does, if healthy. Lopez and Duran should. Julien, Wallner, Kirilloff, Jeffers, Ryan, and Ober? Time to find out.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Unless I'm mistaken, this is a best of three series, all played in Target Field next week (unless the improbable happens and we move up to #2).  Therefore, the previous "years of playoff ineptitude" are completely irrelevant to this series.  Not a single one of the players who will play next week were there for much (and for most NONE) of that streak, so they don't feel it the way the fans do.  They are plenty motivated to win and won't be looking for or needing any additional reason to win the games. 

I also don't think it's particularly healthy for fans to dwell on playoff losses.  Who does it help?  I think it's probably healthier (and happier) to rejoice in the fact that the team was in the playoffs several times in the past twenty years or so. I'm choosing that and rooting for some Twins victories moving forward -- almost as much for choking off the weeping and gnashing of teeth about playoff losses from the fans as for the positive effects on the team's success this year.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

1 hour ago, Trov said:

I remember one of the extra inning losses to Yankees we had a chance to take lead in 9th off Rivera, and Gardenhire left Kubal, a rookie in, who had looked terrible all game, and all we needed was a sac fly.  We had a guy on the bench that was good at making contact, but Kubal swung at 3 pitches, 2 of which were no where close to strike zone.

I remember that too. I remember asking the same question. I was worried about Jason Kubel batting in that spot, and after Rivera got the first strike, you could just feel that Kubel was going to press and chase those high fastballs and strike out. I was pretty upset Gardy did not pinch hit there. Later on, we learn that Gardy actually wanted to pinch hit and had someone in mind, but the player through his body language or whatever was afraid to go up and bat. Ugh. Therefore, Gardy left in Kubel to perish.

The Twins teams also had this bizarre approach during those years that the Yankees were somehow unbeatable, for some reason. And you could see it on some of the players faces, for example, the pinch hitter episode above. Seems very weird until you look at their win-loss record. I don’t think the current team is afraid of anyone or afraid of playing anywhere right now, which is another good omen that bodes well. 

[Logi_Clevs]

I'm 23 so all I've known is playoff disappointment. For all of you that were able to experience the 87 and 91 WS, is it better to be you who have experienced the high mountain and then despair ever since, or am I in a better emotional situation because all I know is disappointment and failure and know to expect that?

[Craig Arko]

40 minutes ago, Logi_Clevs said:

I'm 23 so all I've known is playoff disappointment. For all of you that were able to experience the 87 and 91 WS, is it better to be you who have experienced the high mountain and then despair ever since, or am I in a better emotional situation because all I know is disappointment and failure and know to expect that?

You’ll probably outlive all of us. That may, or may not, be a good thing. But emotionally, be happy for each opportunity you can.

[Tibs]

The Twins can avoid 0-20 by winning Game 1 or Game 2

[Steven Trefz]

13 minutes ago, Tibs said:

The Twins can avoid 0-20 by winning Game 1 or Game 2

That, my friend, is the correct answer!

[USAFChief]

2 hours ago, Logi_Clevs said:

I'm 23 so all I've known is playoff disappointment. For all of you that were able to experience the 87 and 91 WS, is it better to be you who have experienced the high mountain and then despair ever since, or am I in a better emotional situation because all I know is disappointment and failure and know to expect that?

No.

[terrydactyls]

2 hours ago, Logi_Clevs said:

I'm 23 so all I've known is playoff disappointment. For all of you that were able to experience the 87 and 91 WS, is it better to be you who have experienced the high mountain and then despair ever since, or am I in a better emotional situation because all I know is disappointment and failure and know to expect that?

I also witnessed the admirable effort of the 65 Twins who fell in seven games to the Dodgers who started either Sandy Koufax or Don Drysdale (both Hall of Fame pitchers) in five of the seven games.  I prefer remembering the three World Series teams (win or lose).  The current losing streak is a nothing burger in my mind.

[LastOnePicked]

3 hours ago, Logi_Clevs said:

For all of you that were able to experience the 87 and 91 WS, is it better to be you who have experienced the high mountain and then despair ever since, or am I in a better emotional situation because all I know is disappointment and failure and know to expect that?

Oh, trust me. It's better to have won and lost 18 straight than never to have won at all. I would glad give you the '87 and '91 experiences, if I could. Magic. Just magic.

[SoDakTwinsFan4]

13 hours ago, Karbo said:

Only time will tell, but this is the deepest team I can remember for the last maybe 40-50 years. On paper we can match starters 1-3. The thing I'll be looking for is can the bats come to play. They really need Lewis and Correa to be able to play. A typical playoff game is lower scoring, so the Twins need some clutch hitting.

That, and if Baldelli doesn't do things such as putting the 8th bullpen arm in the game if we are down a run like he did in '19 against N.Y. You do have to "chase wins" in the postseason. Still mind boggling to me he did that. 

[The_Phantom]

Pretty solid article. But winning in 87 and 91 is winning twice in five seasons, not four

[LanceJS]

Didn’t Radke pitch with a separated shoulder in game 3 vs the A’s in ‘06? That turned out to be his last appearance 

[JD-TWINS]

22 hours ago, Trov said:

Really this offense needs to keep doing what they have the second half.  They need to have quality at-bats.  Too often in the past our teams have let the moment get too big, and we make dumb mistakes.  That is one concern I have with so many young guys that have yet to hit in playoffs.  I hope they do not try to do too much and treat it like any other game.  

I remember in many of the losses over the years we make bad mistakes running, fielding, and bad at bats.  I remember one of the extra inning losses to Yankees we had a chance to take lead in 9th off Rivera, and Gardenhire left Kubal, a rookie in, who had looked terrible all game, and all we needed was a sac fly.  We had a guy on the bench that was good at making contact, but Kubal swung at 3 pitches, 2 of which were no where close to strike zone. I remember many base running errors as well by guys that normally had smart plays. 

My main concern is if a young guy comes up in big spot they expand the zone seeking that big hit and does not just do the normal at bat. 

Most walks in the League in September - bodes well for patience, driving pitch counts up, & overall good AB’s!!

[dex8425]

5 hours ago, LanceJS said:

Didn’t Radke pitch with a separated shoulder in game 3 vs the A’s in ‘06? That turned out to be his last appearance 

Yeah, he had a torn labrum. Poor guy was a really good pitcher who mostly pitched on terrible teams his whole career.

[LanceJS]

The issue about the streak that concerns me isn’t that we have players who have been around for most of them (they haven’t) - it’s that every media person is going to ask the same question about whether the streak bothers them ad nauseum.  These guys are human after all - how can they put it out of their minds when others constantly remind them of it?

[twinstalker]

Who cares about 0-20?  1-20 is just as bad.  Only if that first number is at least a 2 does it matter at all.  People worried about a winless streak are looking at the wrong winless streak.