Greatest Twins Teams of All Time: 2002

[Matt Braun]

Join us in argument as we count down the greatest Twins teams in history, as voted on by the Twins Daily writers. Today: the eighth-ranked team.

Image courtesy of Thiéres Rabelo

Overview:

The 90’s were not kind to Minnesota. The team enjoyed a great 1992—although one not good enough to overcome the division-winning Athletics—and promptly slid into the same pre-1987 quagmire that cursed most every season following their glorious 1960s run. The team kind of looked like the one that practiced so much magic before; Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett, and Kevin Tapani played out the rest of their memorable Twins careers, and newcomer Chuck Knobluach was an All-Star fixture, but the armor suffered chinks; the picture blurred. By the late 90s, the only ones around to remind fans of the good old days were Rick Aguilera—who himself would leave in 1999—and manager Tom Kelly.

Kelly was synonymous with Minnesota baseball at this point; born in Graceville, he parlayed an anonymous stint in MLB into an eternity as the man steering the Twins. He oversaw their unlikely 1987 championship victory in his first full season before ushering the team to yet another win in 1991, marking the two first—and as of 2023, only—World Series wins since the team moved from Washington.

But the glories of 1991 were long in the past. The team had dissipated into an unrecognizable mess, losing the stars that drove the team to past glories without developing the young talent necessary to halt the long dive into obscurity. Finally, following the first winning season in eight years, Kelly resigned, leaving the job to rookie manager Ron Gardenhire.

Gardenhire would have more than just Kelly’s shadow to deal with: MLB’s owners voted to contract the Twins late in 2001, throwing the team’s future into uncertainty. The team stayed put—a Hennepin County judge named Harry Crump shot down the effort, forcing the team to honor their lease and play at least one more season in the Metrodome—but the vague promises given to Minnesota’s players and coaches loomed over 2002 like the Death Star, threatening them at all points with the idea that this could end at any moment. 

Lineup

By wRC+, the Twins were a top-ten group. Jacque Jones put forth the best hitting season of his career, riding his aggressive hitting style to a  .300/.333/.511 slashline, good for the third highest OPS+ on the team. Torii Hunter claimed the second spot, cracking a .289/.334/.524 line that earned him an All-Star nod and a 6th-place finish in the AL MVP vote, the highest placement of his career. But, the best hitter by OPS+ was Bobby Kielty, a one-year wonder who hit .291/.405/.484 in 2002, and never came close to replicating those numbers again. He was traded to Toronto the next year, then bounced to Oakland. In his final career at-bat, he blasted a homer in game 4 of the 2007 World Series, scoring the critical run in Boston’s series-winning victory. What a career.

This was mainly a group effort on offense; five other hitters notched an OPS+ of at least 100; Luis Rivas and Cristian Guzmán were the only regulars to fall short of that mark. Both men made up for it with the glove—at least narratively; advanced stats frown upon Rivas’ alleged defensive acumen. It was the early 2000s! We were just getting used to this sort of stuff.

Other players of note include Michael Cuddyer, who was in his first full season as a minor league yo-yo, Denny Hocking and Matt LeCroy, who both exemplify a type of Twin popular with the team in this era and Casey Blake, who was in his final season as a passed-around depth piece before his unusual breakout in 2003 and eventual solid MLB career. 

Pitching

37-year-old Rick Reed was the de facto ace of a group that… let’s say was more bullpen-inclined. The team finished with the 9th-lowest reliever ERA in the league, riding excellent seasons with J.C. Romero, Eddie Guardado, Tony Fiore, LaTroy Hawkins, and Michael Jackson—no, not that one—to a 3.68 ERA. Romero’s breakout was especially shocking; the lefty fell flat on his face as a swingman the prior two seasons before posting a microscopic 1.89 ERA in 2002. He won nine games, lost two, and was probably the best reliever in the game not serving as his team's closer. 

The rotation, however, was more a collection of interesting names, fascinating players who were special in other times, but not now. Kyle Lohse made his full-season debut and was passable. He put up a 106 ERA+. Better days were ahead in St. Louis. Brad Radke took a break from his typical, boring competence, pitching to his worst ERA+ since his rookie season over just 118 ⅓ innings—an impossibly low total for the workhorse.

And then there was Johan. The former rule-5 pick hadn’t succeeded much over his first two years in the majors, but a special regiment of changeups offered by minor league pitching coach Bobby Cuellar turned Santana’s career around. He hopped between the rotation and bullpen in 2002, but—no matter what role the team placed him in—the young lefty dominated; he ended the season with a 2.99 ERA and would win the AL Cy Young for the first time in two short years. 

Playoffs

They didn’t know it at the time, but the 2002 Twins would become infamous for their playoff run. Not because of themselves, mind you, but rather, who they beat: Minnesota bested the Moneyball A’s in a nail-biting five-game classic. The final game was a doozy: the game stood as a normal 2-1 pitching duel headed into the 9th before A.J. Pierzynski cracked a two-run homer and David Ortiz added on for good measure, driving an RBI double to the gap to give Minnesota a four-run lead. They needed it. Mark Ellis cut three runs off the lead with a homer off Guardado. The Twins closer buckled down to net the final two outs—the final immortalized as it fell softly into Denny Hocking’s glove.

The Angels decidedly thrashed Minnesota in the next round in a 4-1 series win that was uncompetitive after game three. 

Concluding Thoughts

This is a weird time to analyze. They’re fun, absolutely. But also weird. It’s cool to see the early stages of the names that would define the 2000s Twins—guys like Hunter and Santana—but… Bobby Kielty? An absurd relief season from J.C. Romero? It’s hard to digest. At the end of the day, though, they won 94 games and went to the ALCS—something no Twins team has done since. 

Narratively, I think this team being the one that “saved” baseball in Minnesota, as well as the team that kicked off an awesome stretch of dominance, helped its cause. I mean, the newest Twins manager since the Reagan administration took the team to the ALCS under a cloud of uncertainty? That’s a hell of a tale. Given the lack of a dominant rotation, though, I think going to the ALCS was probably the height of the team's potential. It was maybe Gardenhire’s finest managerial performance, and it all came during his rookie season.

“[T]his was the Team that Saved Baseball in Minnesota. Fun group of young players who had struggled for a few years and then came together and won a lot of games, made it to the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and they beat the Moneyball A's and got to the ALCS.” -Seth Stohs

“Beat the Moneyball A’s, Pierzynski Ortiz and Mientkiewicz providing an edge. Veteran rotation that could have been even better if they didn’t bury Johan.” -Hans Birkeland

“A sentimental favorite of mine, these guys inspired a bunch of “bloggers” to pop up. Whatever happened to those guys? Anyway, as someone who started closely following the Twins in 1999, it was incredibly rewarding to see this group of guys develop into a 94-win team and advance to the LCS. Would have gone all the way if it wasn’t for that damn rally monkey.” -Tom Froemming

What do you think of the 2002 Twins? Were they ranked too high or too low? Do you have any special memories of them? Leave a comment below and start the discussion.

Previous Entries:

#10 - 2010

#9 - 2023

Honorable Mentions

 

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[Jeff K]

This was indeed a fun season.  And I could not understand why Santana was still in the bullpen for much of the season.  He was already dominant.

[jmlease1]

I remember that A's series well; I was coming back to MN for a wedding and checked into the hotel in time to see the end of one of the games and it was delightful. 

[Doctor Gast]

Some of my favorite players played on this team. Also loved the uniform. The vast majority of our best teams played in pinstripes.