2015 Minnesota Twins season

The 2015 Minnesota Twins season was the 55th season for the franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their sixth season at Target Field and the 115th overall in the American League. The team finished second in the AL Central with an 83–79 record, their best overall result since the 2010 season, which was the last year they made the playoffs. The team remained in the running for a wild card berth in the American League playoffs until losing Game 161 (their second to last). They would eventually win a wild card berth two years later, in 2017. In between, however, the team lost 103 games.

2015 Minnesota Twins
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record83–79 (.512)
Divisional place2nd
Other information
Owner(s)Jim Pohlad
General manager(s)Terry Ryan
Manager(s)Paul Molitor
Local televisionFox Sports North
(Dick Bremer, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Roy Smalley)
Local radioKTWN-FM
(Cory Provus, Dan Gladden, Kris Atteberry)
StatsESPN.com
BB-reference
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After seven years away, outfielder Torii Hunter returned for his twelfth year as a Twin. Lauded rookies Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton arrived from the minors; each tallied their first big-league hit, home run and run batted in. In Rosario's case, he did all three on May 6 on the first big-league pitch he saw, just the twenty-ninth player in history to do so.[1] In May, the Twins had a month record of 20-7, which was the best month for the franchise since June 1991, the last year they won the World Series.

Offseason

October 30: Jared Burton becomes a free agent.

Week of November 11: Signed 4 players to a minor league contract and invited 3 of them to Spring training.

November 20: Signed 3 players to a minor league contract (2 with a Spring training invite) and promoted 4 players from the minors.

November 25: Sent Anthony Swarzak to the minors.

December 3: Signed Torii Hunter to a one-year, $10.5 million contract.

December 5: Signed Shane Robinson to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring training.

December 11: Drafted J. R. Graham.

December 13: Signed Ervin Santana and Carlos Paulino (minor league contract) while sending Chris Parmelee to the minors.

Week of December 15: Signed 5 players to a minor league contract (1 with an invite to Spring training) and invited 11 others to Spring training.

December 23: Signed Tim Stauffer.

December 31: Signed Blaine Boyer to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring training.

Week of January 7: Signed 3 players to a minor league contract.

Season standings

American League Central
AL Central W L Pct. GB Home Road
Kansas City Royals 9567 0.586 — 51–30 44–37
Minnesota Twins 8379 0.512 12 46–35 37–44
Cleveland Indians 8180 0.503 13½ 39–41 42–39
Chicago White Sox 7686 0.469 19 40–41 36–45
Detroit Tigers 7487 0.460 20½ 38–43 36–44

American League Wild Card
Division Leaders W L Pct.
Kansas City Royals 9567 0.586
Toronto Blue Jays 9369 0.574
Texas Rangers 8874 0.543


Wild Card teams
(Top two qualify for postseason)		 W L Pct. GB
New York Yankees 8775 0.537 +1
Houston Astros 8676 0.531 —
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8577 0.525 1
Minnesota Twins 8379 0.512 3
Cleveland Indians 8180 0.503 4½
Baltimore Orioles 8181 0.500 5
Tampa Bay Rays 8082 0.494 6
Boston Red Sox 7884 0.481 8
Chicago White Sox 7686 0.469 10
Seattle Mariners 7686 0.469 10
Detroit Tigers 7487 0.460 11½
Oakland Athletics 6894 0.420 18

Record against opponents
2015 AL Records

Source: AL Standings Head-to-Head
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET HOU KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL
Baltimore —11–83–35–14–33–43–42–40–710–96–13–310–91–68–1112–8
Boston 8–11—3–42–44–22–44–32–52–58–115–14–39–102–510–913–7
Chicago 3–34–3—10–99–105–17–124–36–132–55–24–31–53–34–39–11
Cleveland 1–54–29–10—7–115–29–104–27–125–23–44–35–23–33–412–8
Detroit 3–42–410–911–7—3–49–101–611–82–52–44–33–32–52–49–11
Houston 4–34–21–52–54–3—4–210–93–34–310–912–72–56–134–316–4
Kansas City 4–33–412–710–910–92–4—6–112–72–45–14–26–13–43–413–7
Los Angeles 4–25–23–42–46–19–101–6—5–22–411–812–73–312–72–58–12
Minnesota 7–05–213–612–78–113–37–122–5—1–54–34–34–23–32–58–12
New York 9–1011–85–22–55–23–44–24–25–1—3–45–112–72–56–1311–9
Oakland 1–61–52–54–34–29–101–58–113–44–3—6–133–410–91–511–9
Seattle 3–33–43–43–43–47–122–47–123–41–513–6—4–312–74–28–12
Tampa Bay 9–1010–95–12–53–35–21–63–32–47–124–33–4—2–510–914–6
Texas 6–15–23–33–35–213–64–37–123–35–29–107–125–2—2–411–9
Toronto 11–89–103–44–34–23–44–35–25–213–65–12–49–104–2—12–8

Season summary

New manager Paul Molitor oversaw a winning season (83-79) for his Minnesota club, following four consecutive seasons of 90 or more losses under previous manager Ron Gardenhire.

2.22 million fans attended Twins games at Target Field, the ninth highest total in the American League.

The season brought some "Twins' firsts" and broke or matched several longstanding club records:[2]

  • Facing Detroit, the Twins began the season with 24.1 scoreless innings, a club record in futility. Paul Molitor didn't get his first win until the fourth game. Among Twins managers, only Billy Martin in 1969 waited longer for his first victory.
  • On May 6, rookie outfielder Eddie Rosario hit a Target Field home run on the first major league pitch he saw, something no other Twin has done.
  • On June 14, three Twins hit triples in the sixth inning, a Twins first. Oddly, the Twins only scored one run in the inning. With another triple two innings earlier, the power burst added up to the club's first four-triple game since 1964. All four three-baggers were hit off Texas Rangers' starter Nick Martinez.
  • In the week prior to All-Star Game, second baseman Brian Dozier belted two walk-off home runs, the first time a Twin has done that within one week. Dozier was a late addition to the American League All-Star roster as an injury replacement.
  • Relief pitcher Glen Perkins set club records with 28 consecutive saves to start the season.
  • Rookie Miguel Sano was called up, and blasted ten home runs in his first 41 games—the fastest start for any Twins or Washington Senators rookie.
  • Eddie Rosario set a Twins rookie record by tallying fifteen triples (which led the major leagues) and tied the late Kirby Puckett's 1984 rookie club record with sixteen outfield assists.
  • On September 24, first baseman Joe Mauer reached base safely in his 43rd straight game, setting a Minnesota record. The record had been held by Harmon Killebrew at 40 in 1970.
  • Two days later, third baseman Trevor Plouffe grounded into his major-league-leading 28th double play. The tally tied Harmon Killebrew, in the 1970 season, for the Minnesota record.
  • On Oct. 1, Brian Dozier struck out for the 146th time this season. His season finished with 148 strikeouts, topping the previous club record of 145, set by Bobby Darwin in 1972.

Two Twins made the All-Star Game: relief pitcher Glen Perkins and second baseman Brian Dozier. In the eighth inning, Dozier pinch hit and homered off Mark Melancon in his only at-bat in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. Perkins pitched the ninth inning in the AL's 6-3 win.

Pitchers Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson each finished with eleven wins for tops in the Win column. No pitcher lost more than eleven games. Eight Twins finished with ten or more homers.[3]

Game log
2015 Game Log (83−76)[4]
April: 10–12 (Home: 6–4 ; Away: 4–8)
May: 20–7 (Home: 13–3 ; Away: 7–4)
June: 11–17 (Home: 6–8 ; Away: 5–9)
July: 12–13 (Home: 8–6 ; Away: 4–7)
August: 14–14 (Home: 7–4 ; Away: 7–10)
September: 15–13 (Home: 6–7 ; Away: 9–6 )
October: 1–3 (Home: 0–3 ; Away: 1–0 )
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Postponement
Bold = Twins team member

Roster
2015 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

 Manager

Coaches

  • 75 Nate Dammann (bullpen catcher)

Statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG SB
Oswaldo Arcia, OF 19 58 6 16 0 0 2 8 4 15 .276 0
Doug Bernier, 3B,2B 4 5 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 .200 0
Byron Buxton, CF 46 129 16 27 7 1 2 6 6 44 .209 2
Brian Dozier, 2B 157 628 101 148 39 4 28 77 61 148 .236 12
Brian Duensing, P 55 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Eduardo Escobar, LF, SS, DH, 3B, 2B 127 409 48 107 31 4 12 58 28 86 .262 2
Eric Fryer, C 15 22 2 5 2 0 0 2 5 11 .227 0
Kyle Gibson, P 32 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200 0
Chris Herrmann, C 45 103 13 15 5 1 2 10 7 37 .146 0
Aaron Hicks, CF 97 352 48 90 11 3 11 33 34 66 .256 13
Phil Hughes, P 27 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0
Torii Hunter, RF 139 521 67 125 22 0 22 81 35 105 .240 2
Max Kepler, RF 3 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .143 0
Joe Mauer, 1B, DH 158 592 69 157 34 2 10 66 67 112 .265 2
Trevor May, P 48 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 0
Tommy Milone, P 24 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0
Ricky Nolasco, P 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 0
Eduardo Núñez, SS, DH, 3B 72 188 23 53 14 1 4 20 12 29 .282 8
Mike Pelfrey, P 30 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .667 0
Trevor Plouffe, 3B 152 573 74 140 35 4 22 86 50 124 .244 2
Jorge Polanco, SS 4 10 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 .300 1
Shane Robinson, OF 83 180 28 45 7 3 0 16 12 29 .250 6
Eddie Rosario, LF 122 453 60 121 18 15 13 50 15 118 .267 11
Miguel Sanó, DH 80 279 46 75 17 1 18 52 53 119 .269 1
Danny Santana, SS 91 261 30 56 10 5 0 21 6 68 .215 8
Jordan Schafer, CF 27 69 9 15 3 0 0 5 3 23 .217 0
Kurt Suzuki, C 131 433 36 104 17 0 5 50 29 59 .240 0
Kennys Vargas, DH, 1B 58 175 18 42 4 0 5 17 9 54 .240 0

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB K
A. J. Achter 0 1 6.75 11 0 0 13.1 12 10 10 4 6 14
Blaine Boyer 3 6 2.49 68 0 1 65.0 62 24 18 5 19 33
Neal Cotts 0 0 3.95 17 0 0 13.2 14 8 6 3 5 9
Brian Duensing 4 1 4.25 55 0 1 48.2 46 24 23 5 21 24
Tyler Duffey 5 1 3.10 10 10 0 58.0 56 20 20 4 20 53
Casey Fien 4 6 3.55 62 0 0 63.1 61 26 25 6 8 41
Kyle Gibson 11 11 3.84 32 32 0 194.2 186 88 83 18 65 145
J. R. Graham 1 1 4.95 39 1 0 63.2 73 41 35 10 21 53
Phil Hughes 11 9 4.40 27 25 0 155.1 184 76 76 29 16 94
Kevin Jepsen 1 1 1.61 29 0 10 28.0 18 5 5 1 7 25
Trevor May 8 9 4.00 48 16 0 114.2 127 53 51 11 26 110
Alex Meyer 0 0 16.88 2 0 0 2.2 4 5 5 2 3 3
Tommy Milone 9 5 3.92 24 23 1 128.2 128 64 56 17 36 91
Ricky Nolasco 5 2 6.75 9 8 0 37.1 50 31 28 3 14 35
Ryan O'Rourke 0 0 6.14 28 0 0 22.0 16 15 15 3 15 24
Mike Pelfrey 6 11 4.26 30 30 0 164.2 198 86 78 11 45 86
Glen Perkins 3 5 3.32 60 0 32 57.0 58 21 21 9 10 54
Ryan Pressly 3 2 2.93 27 0 0 27.2 27 9 9 0 12 22
Shane Robinson 0 0 0.00 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Ervin Santana 7 5 4.00 17 17 0 108.0 104 50 48 12 36 82
Tim Stauffer 1 0 6.60 13 0 0 15.0 24 13 11 4 7 6
Caleb Thielbar 0 0 5.40 6 0 0 5.0 5 3 3 0 0 5
Aaron Thompson 1 3 5.01 41 0 0 32.1 32 19 18 2 11 17
Michael Tonkin 0 0 3.47 26 0 0 23.1 21 9 9 4 9 19

Awards
  • Team MVP and Twins Most Outstanding Rookie: Miguel Sano, at 22 the youngest player to be named Twins MVP and just the second to win the award as a rookie, joining Tony Oliva in 1964.

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Mike Quade
AA Chattanooga Lookouts Southern League Doug Mientkiewicz
A-Advanced Fort Myers Miracle Florida State League Jeff Smith
A Cedar Rapids Kernels Midwest League Jake Mauer
Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Ray Smith
Rookie GCL Twins Arizona League Ramón Borrego
Rookie DSL Twins Dominican Summer League Jimmy Alvarez

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Chattanooga[5]

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References
  1. "Minnesota Twins". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  2. "Minnesota Twins". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  3. "Minnesota Twins". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  4. "2015 Minnesota Twins Sortable Schedule". Minnesota Twins.
  5. Leventhal, Josh, ed. (2015). Baseball America 2016 Almanac. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-60-2.
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