2005 Minnesota Twins season

March 2026 November 2013 Minnesota Twins 2005 American League Central Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis 83–79 (.512) 3rd Carl Pohlad Terry Ryan Ron Gardenhire WFTCFSN North (Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer) 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, John Gordon, Dan Gladden) The 2005 Minnesota Twins Season was the franchise's 45th season playing in the Twin Cities and the 105th season in its history. The team was managed by Ron Gardenhire in his fourth year as the Twins' manager. They played their home games in the Metrodome. The Twins' final record was 83–79. They finished third in the American League Central, behind the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians, and they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001.https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2005.shtml 2005 Minnesota Twins Statistics Baseball Reference March 20, 2021 Regular season The Twins got off to an average start. However, the Chicago White Sox had a fantastic start to the season. The Twins tried to stay close in the standings, but their offense was insufficient. The Twins (83–79) finished in 3rd place behind the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The White Sox went on to earn the division title, their first trip to the playoffs since 2000, and their first World Series title since 1917. Standings Record vs. opponents MIN Roster 2005 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers 30 Scott Baker 56 Travis Bowyer 28 Jesse Crain 59 Dave Gassner 54 Matt Guerrier 47 Francisco Liriano 49 Kyle Lohse 25 Joe Mays 45 Terry Mulholland 36 Joe Nathan 22 Brad Radke 39 Juan Rincón 33 J. C. Romero 57 Johan Santana 52 Carlos Silva Catchers 41 Chris Heintz  7 Joe Mauer 51 Corky Miller 55 Mike Redmond Infielders 15 Brent Abernathy 18 Jason Bartlett 21 Bret Boone 17 Juan Castro  5 Michael Cuddyer 24 Matthew LeCroy 27 Justin Morneau  8 Nick Punto  2 Luis Rivas 38 Luis Rodríguez 32 Terry Tiffee 16 Glenn Williams Outfielders 20 Lew Ford 48 Torii Hunter 11 Jacque Jones 12 Michael Ryan 23 Shannon Stewart 21 Jason Tyner Manager 35 Ron Gardenhire Coaches 40 Rick Anderson (pitching) 62 Al Newman (third base)  9 Steve Liddle (bench) 43 Rick Stelmaszek (bullpen) 46 Scott Ullger (hitting) 13 Jerry White (first base) Offense Australian-born infielder Glenn Williams played in thirteen games for his "cup of coffee" in the major leagues between June 7 to June 28. He hit safely in every game, establishing a franchise record for the longest hitting streak to start a major league career.Koenig Zach May 18, 2025 Game 47: Twins at Brewers https://www.twinkietown.com/2025/5/18/24426680/mlb-minnesota-twins-milwaukee-brewers-amfam-field-glenn-williams-2005-hitting-streak-australia-hurt August 5, 2026 Twinkie Town en-US Over his 40 at-bats, he accumulated 17 hits and finished with a .425 batting average. A shoulder injury ended his major league stint and sent him back to the minor leagues for rehab. Although he never returned to the majors, he retired with a career hitting streak intact across all 13 of his appearances.Stohs Seth February 12, 2021 Looking Back: The Glenn Williams Story https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/looking-back-the-glenn-williams-story-r10348/ August 5, 2026 Twins Daily en-US Joe Mauer led the team with a .294 batting average, Justin Morneau led the team in runs batted in with 79, but Mauer hit only 9 home runs and 55 RBI, while Morneau hit only .239. These problems were endemic to the team. No starter batted over .300 or hit over 25 home runs; however, Matthew LeCroy managed to hit 17 home runs in part-time duty. The team's offensive struggles led to an uncertain lineup, with many defensive positions lacking regular starters. The team experimented by bringing in Seattle Mariners infielder Bret Boone to fill the void at second base, but he lasted for only 53 at-bats, hitting .170. The weak hitting led to hitting coach Scott Ullger being reassigned to third base coach after the season was over. + Team Leaders Statistic Player Quantity HR Jacque Jones 23 RBI Justin Morneau 79 Avg. Joe Mauer .294 Runs Jacque Jones 74 Pitching Twins pitchers performed well in 2005. The staff was led by All-Star Johan Santana (16–7, 2.87 ERA, 238 strikeouts) and All-Star closer Joe Nathan (43 saves, 2.70 ERA). However, the weak hitting prevented any other starter from winning ten games. (Jesse Crain, in a stellar year out of the bullpen, did go 12–5.) The anemic offense also may have cost Santana a second Cy Young Award,Hayes Dan Johan Santana's Hall of Fame 'what if': 2005 Cy Young Award https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2211816/2020/11/27/johan-santana-hall-of-fame-cy-young/ 2023-05-16 The Athletic en as he finished with only sixteen victories. The top end of the rotation—Santana, Brad Radke, Kyle Lohse, and Carlos Silva—pitched well. Many bullpen pitchers had outstanding years, in particular Crain, Juan Rincón (2.45 ERA), J. C. Romero (3.47), and Matt Guerrier (3.39). Silva in particular had what seemed to be a breakout year, walking only nine batters during the entire season to set a modern-era record (over 188.1 innings, a 0.43 rate). Silva induced 34 double plays to lead the majors, and won a May 20 game throwing just 74 pitches over nine innings. No pitcher has thrown as few pitches in a nine-inning win since 1957. In early May, the pitching staff was shaken when Major League Baseball announced that Juan Rincón would be suspended for ten days for violating the sport's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Rincón pitched well both before and after this occurred. + Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityERA Johan Santana 2.87Wins Johan Santana 16Saves Joe Nathan 43Strikeouts Johan Santana 238 Defense Like his predecessor Tom Kelly, Gardenhire emphasized baseball fundamentals like defense. Despite Hunter's injury, he still won a Gold Glove in center field. Joe Mauer established a reputation as an outstanding defensive catcher, with a .993 fielding percentage. Morneau, not known for his defense, surprised many with a .994 average at first. Luis Rivas was a solid defensive second baseman, but his offensive shortcomings became too much to bear, leading the team to experiment with Boone and Nick Punto at the position. In contrast to Rivas, Michael Cuddyer saw a majority of the time at third base. Jason Bartlett and Juan Castro split time at shortstop, with Castro being the superior defensive player. Shannon Stewart and Jacque Jones both had .985 fielding percentages in the corner outfield positions. Lew Ford saw time at all three outfield positions. Player stats Batting Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average Player G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB AVG SLGShannon Stewart132551691512731056734.274.388Jacque Jones1425237413022423731351.249.438Lew Ford147522701383047531345.264.377Justin Morneau141490621172342279044.239.437Joe Mauer131489611442629551361.294.411Michael Cuddyer126422551112531242341.263.422Nick Punto11239445941844261336.239.335Torii Hunter983726310024114562334.269.452Matt LeCroy1013043379501750041.260.444Juan Castro97272277018153309.257.386Jason Bartlett742243354101316421.241.335Luis Rodríguez791752147102220218.269.383Terry Tiffee541509318111518.207.293Mike Redmond4514817469012606.311.392Luis Rivas5913621353111249.257.316Michael Ryan571177275021319.231.325Brent Abernathy2467516101627.239.299Jason Tyner1856818110524.321.375Bret Boone145339000304.170.170Glenn Williams1340317100312.425.450Chris Heintz82515300201.200.320Corky Miller51200000000.000.000Pitcher totals1622212000000.091.091Team totals1625564688144126932134644102485.259.391 Source: 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; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts Player W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER BB SOJohan Santana1672.8733330231.1180777445238Brad Radke9124.0431310200.2214989023117Carlos Silva983.4427270188.12128372971Kyle Lohse9134.1831300178.2211858344186Joe Mays6105.6531260156.0203109984159Jesse Crain1252.71750179.261282429125Juan Rincón662.45750077.06326213084Matt Guerrier033.39430071.27129272446Joe Nathan742.706904370.04622212294Terry Mulholland024.27490059.06130281718J.C. Romero433.47680057.05026223948Scott Baker333.35109053.24821201432Francisco Liriano125.7064023.2191515733Travis Bowyer015.598009.21066312Dave Gassner105.872207.297512Team totals83793.71162162441464.11458662604348965 Source: Notable transactions January 3: Signed Brent Abernathy as a free agent. January 24: Former first-round pick Adam Johnson released. March 31: Lost Michael Restovich to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on waivers. June 7: Drafted pitcher Matt Garza with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2005 Amateur Draft. Garza would make his debut the following year. July 11: Received Bret Boone from the Seattle Mariners for future consideration. Boone would hit .170 and was released on July 31.https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/boonebr01.shtml Bret Boone Stats - Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference.com October 3: Former all-star pitcher Joe Mays and Augie Ojeda granted free agency. October 11: Matthew LeCroy, Glenn Williams, and Jason Tyner granted free agency. Tyner would re-sign with the Twins four days later. Williams would be re-signed on November 23. October 12: Brent Abernathy and Luis Rivas granted free agency. October 27: Terry Mulholland granted free agency. October 28: Outfielder Jacque Jones granted free agency. December 2: Traded Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler to the Florida Marlins for second baseman Luis Castillo. December 9: Traded pitcher J. C. Romero to the Los Angeles Angels for infielder Alexi Casilla, who would make his debut next September. December 15: Signed Tony Batista as a free agent. December 21: Grant Balfour granted free agency. December 22: Rondell White signed as a free agent. December 23: Mike Smith signed as a free agent. December 27: Dennys Reyes signed as a free agent. Miscellaneous right|thumb|Twins 40th Anniversary of 1965 World Series. On May 15, pitcher Brad Radke walked Texas' Mark Teixeira, after a streak of 191 consecutive batters who hadn't earned a walk off Radke. Johan Santana finished in third in the voting for the Cy Young Award behind Mariano Rivera and the winner, Bartolo Colón. In 2005, the Twins celebrated the 40th anniversary of their AL pennant win in 1965. The representatives of the Twins in the All-Star Game were closer Joe Nathan and Johan Santana. Frank Viola and Carl Pohlad were inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. The Twins wore the uniforms of the 1909 St. Paul Colored Gophers during a Turn Back the Clock game on July 10, 2005, in Kansas City against the Royals.Associated Press Associated Press Twins 3, Royals 2, 12 innings July 10, 2005 CBSSports.com http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20050710_MIN@KC May 12, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193846/http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/mlb_20050710_min@kc March 3, 2016 live mdy-all Other post-season awards Calvin R. Griffith Award (Most Valuable Twin) – Johan Santana Joseph W. Haynes Award (Twins Pitcher of the Year) – Johan Santana Bill Boni Award (Twins Outstanding Rookie) – Jesse Crain Charles O. Johnson Award (Most Improved Twin) – Carlos Silva Dick Siebert Award (Upper Midwest Player of the Year) – Travis Hafner Bob Allison Award (Leadership Award) – Mike Redmond The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA Carl R. Pohlad Award (Outstanding Community Service) – Ron Gardenhire Sherry Robertson Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Position Player) – David Winfree Jim Rantz Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Pitcher) – Francisco Liriano Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Phil Roof and Rich Miller AA New Britain Rock Cats Eastern League Stan Cliburn A Fort Myers Miracle Florida State League Riccardo Ingram A Beloit Snappers Midwest League Kevin Boles Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Ray Smith Rookie GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Nelson PradaLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: ElizabethtonJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007 References External links Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com Twins history during the current decade, from www.mlb.com https://web.archive.org/web/20061018055313/http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/min/history/timeline5.jsp October 18, 2006 2005 Standings 53em Category:Minnesota Twins seasons Minnesota Twins Season, 2005 Category:2005 in sports in Minnesota