2020 Minnesota Twins

2020 Minnesota Twins / Franchise: Minnesota Twins / BR Team Page

Record: 36-24, finished 1st in AL Central Division (2020 AL)

Clinched Division: September 27, 2020

Managed by Rocco Baldelli

Coaches: Mike Bell, Nate Dammann, Tony Diaz, Bill Evers, Rudy Hernandez, Wes Johnson, Pete Maki, Bob McClure, Edgar Varela and Tommy Watkins

Ballpark: Target Field

History, Comments, Contributions

Just as the 2020 Minnesota Twins were about to resume their training camp on July 1st after it having been interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic since mid-March, the team asked two of its older coaches, bullpen coach Bob McClure and catching coach Bill Evers, to sit out the season due to concerns over their health history. Having set a major league record with 307 homers in 2019 and earned the nickname "The Bomba Squad" in the process, while winning 100 games, the Twins got even stronger in the off-season with the addition of free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson, and starting pitcher Kenta Maeda. They were thus favorites to repeat as AL West champions coming into the season.

The Twins did not disappoint as they got off to a tremendous start, winning 9 of their first 11 games, mainly thanks to superlative pitching, as after giving up 15 runs in splitting their first two games against the team most expected to give them a run for their money, the youthful Chicago White Sox, they only allowed 16 runs over their next 9 games, winning 8 of these. On August 4th, in a season already full of bizarre happenings, they were the victim of a "drone delay" during their 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Target Field as CF Byron Buxton spotted one of the pesky engines hovering over the outfield, forcing the evacuation of players to their dugouts until the contraption left the ballpark's vicinity a couple of minutes later. The overflight was of course illegal and in violation of FAA rules, which had decreed a vast area around the ballpark a no-fly zone for the duration of the game, but there was no indication if the intent of the perpetrator was simple idiocy or something more nefarious.

Awards and Honors

• AL Silver Slugger Award: Nelson Cruz (DH)

Further Reading

• 2022 Minnesota Twins Media Guide, pg. 335
• Matt Kelly: "The 2020 'Bomba Squad' is even scarier: Twins now boast 4 of MLB's top 10 sluggers of 2019", mlb.com, July 15, 2020. [1]
• Bob Nightengale: "Minnesota Twins sideline two coaches because of COVID-19 concerns", USA Today, June 29, 2020. [2]
• Do-Hyoung Park: "Back-to-back! Twins clinch AL Central title: Finale loss gives them No. 3 seed, date with Astros in WCS", mlb.com, September 27, 2020. [3]

2020 MLB season by team