The 2004 Minnesota Twins season was the 104th season in the franchise's history and its 44th season in the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...
. The Twins were managed by
Ron Gardenhire and played in the
Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League's (NFL) ...
.
The Twins finished with a 92–70 record and won the
American League Central
The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are al ...
. They advanced to the
ALDS, but they lost the series to the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
in four games. It was the second year in a row in which the Yankees eliminated the Twins in the ALDS.
Twins pitcher
Johan Santana
Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...
won the 2004
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...
on a unanimous vote.
Offseason
*November 14, 2003: Traded catcher
A. J. Pierzynski and cash to the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. Received pitchers
Joe Nathan
Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...
,
Francisco Liriano, and
Boof Bonser.
*November 20, 2003: Selected pitcher
Matt Guerrier off waivers from the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
.
*December 3, 2003: Traded pitcher
Eric Milton to the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. Received pitcher
Carlos Silva, IF
Nick Punto, and a player to be named later. The Philadelphia Phillies sent
Bobby Korecky (minors) (December 17) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
*December 18, 2003: Signed
Henry Blanco as a free agent.
*January 8, 2004: Signed
Aaron Fultz as a free agent.
*February 6, 2004: Signed
José Offerman as a free agent.
Spring training
The Twins posted a 20–10 record in spring training, the best of any major league team in 2004. This includes split-squad games but not ties or exhibition games.
Regular season
Offense
For a playoff team, the offense was not strong. This was partly due to injuries and starters absent from the lineup.
Lew Ford surprised many by batting .299 in his first full year in the major leagues. Free agent acquisition
José Offerman saw a majority of time in the
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...
spot, but hit only .256 with two home runs.
Shannon Stewart did hit .304, but injuries limited him to 378 at bats. In 107 at bats, Mauer was able to hit .307. In his absence, catcher
Henry Blanco hit only .206. First baseman
Doug Mientkiewicz's hitting continued to decline, as he hit .246 with five home runs before being dealt to the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
.
Nine players hit ten or more home runs. When the Twins hit their record 225 homers in 1963, only eight players reached double figures.
Pitching
Brad Radke was the opening day starter, but he was soon overshadowed by
Johan Santana
Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...
's Cy Young year. Radke, Santana, and
Carlos Silva anchored the starting rotation. Unfortunately,
Kyle Lohse
Kyle Matthew Lohse (; born October 4, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, a ...
had a bad year that saw his ERA balloon to 5.34, while the fifth spot in the rotation was nebulous. (41-year-old
Terry Mulholland made 15 starts, while
Seth Greisinger made nine.)
The Twins set their club record of 32 consecutive scoreless innings in June, which included back-to-back-to-back shutouts by Radke, Santana and Lohse.
In the bullpen,
Joe Nathan
Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...
blew everyone away during his first year as a closer at any level, earning 44 saves with a 1.62 ERA.
Juan Rincón
Juan Manuel Rincón (born January 23, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s Slider (baseball), slider. In his career, R ...
and
J. C. Romero continued playing as excellent set-up men, while the rest of the bullpen was weaker. Romero set a Twins record by going 36 innings over 32 appearances without allowing a run to score.
Santana finished the year with 13 straight wins without a loss, then went 1-0 with a no-decision in the
American League Division Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...
. He set the Twins record with 265
strikeouts
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
this season.
Defense
Blanco and Mauer (when he played) were solid catchers, both with .991 fielding percentages. Mientkiewicz was a one-time
Gold Glove
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances. It is awarded at each fieldin ...
winner, but his successor
Justin Morneau surprised people with his .995 fielding percentage.
Luis Rivas was dependable at second base, while
Cristian Guzmán
Cristian Antonio Guzmán (born March 21, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, and Texas Rangers.
Professional career Minnesota Twin ...
could turn exceptional plays at shortstop. (It was the routine ones that fooled him.)
Corey Koskie was defensively average, while the outfield quartet of Hunter,
Jacque Jones,
Shannon Stewart and Ford were solid – especially Hunter, who won a Gold Glove.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions
*April 9: The
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
selected
Mike Nakamura off waivers.
*April 11: Signed
Joe Beimel as a free agent.
*April 13: Signed
Terry Mulholland as a free agent.
*July 31, 2004: As part of a 4-team trade, traded
Doug Mientkiewicz to the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. Received Justin Jones (minors) from the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
. In addition, the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
sent
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played shortstop, Third ...
and
Matt Murton to the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
; the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
sent
Orlando Cabrera to the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
; and the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
sent
Brendan Harris,
Alex Gonzalez, and
Francis Beltrán to the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
.
*November 23, 2004: Signed
Juan Castro as a free agent.
*November 24, 2004: Signed
Mike Redmond
Michael Patrick Redmond (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher, coach, and manager, who was most recently the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for 13 seasons in Majo ...
as a free agent.
Roster
Postseason
The Twins entered and exited the postseason nearly the same as the previous season, losing to the Yankees, 3 games to 1 in the Division Series. The Twins won the first game by a score of 2–0, with starting pitcher Johan Santana getting the win. However, the Twins lost the next three games, with the Yankees taking the series 3 games to 1. Game 1 of this series represented the last postseason victory for the Twins until
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
. Game 2 began a 18 game postseason losing streak for the team, tied with the 1975–79
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...
for the longest such losing streak in North American sports history. The Yankees would go on to be upset by the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
on their way to breaking
the curse.
See
2004 American League Division Series
The 2004 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2004 American League playoffs in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2004 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 5, and ended on Saturday, October 9, with the champions of the ...
.
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''
Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''
Pitching
Starting pitchers
''Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Other pitchers
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Relief pitchers
''Note: G = Games; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Miscellaneous
*
Johan Santana
Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...
won the
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...
, becoming the third player in
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
history to do so. The first two were
Jim Perry in 1970 and
Frank Viola
Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and T ...
in 1988.
*The lone representative of the Twins in the All-Star Game was closer
Joe Nathan
Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...
.
*On July 25,
Paul Molitor
Paul Leo Molitor (born August 22, 1956), nicknamed "Molly" and "the Ignitor", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. During his 21-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1 ...
was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
. He is the second St. Paul native to enter (following
Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He is the special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Over his 22-year career, he playe ...
) and, from 1996 on, has played with, coached for and managed the Twins.
*The highest paid Twin in 2004 was
Brad Radke at $10,750,000; followed by
Torii Hunter
Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. Hunter currently serves as Special Assistant to Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian. He played in Major League ...
at $6,500,000.
*
Earl Battey was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.
Other post-season awards
*
Calvin R. Griffith Award ''(Most Valuable Twin)'' –
Johan Santana
Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...
*
Joseph W. Haynes Award ''(Twins Pitcher of the Year)'' – Johan Santana
*Bill Boni Award ''(Twins Outstanding Rookie)'' –
Joe Mauer
Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. Regarded as one of the greatest contact h ...
*Charles O. Johnson Award ''(Most Improved Twin)'' –
Juan Rincón
Juan Manuel Rincón (born January 23, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s Slider (baseball), slider. In his career, R ...
*
Dick Siebert Award ''(Upper Midwest Player of the Year)'' –
Keith Foulke
Keith Charles Foulke ( ; born October 19, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A graduate of Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas, Foulke attended Galveston College and Lewis–Clark State College. Between 1997 an ...
**''The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the
BBWAA''
*
Carl R. Pohlad Award ''(Outstanding Community Service)'' –
Torii Hunter
Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. Hunter currently serves as Special Assistant to Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian. He played in Major League ...
*
Sherry Robertson Award ''(Twins Outstanding Farm System Position Player)'' –
Jason Kubel
*
Jim Rantz Award ''(Twins Outstanding Farm System Pitcher)'' –
Scott Baker
Farm system
[''Baseball America 2005 Annual Directory'']
References
External links
Player stats from www.baseball-reference.comTeam info from www.baseball-almanac.comTwins history since 2000, from www.mlb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:2004 Minnesota Twins Season
Minnesota Twins seasons
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
American League Central champion seasons
2004 in sports in Minnesota