The Minnesota Twins entered 2022 with big expectations, but as the postseason began on Friday, the Twins were left watching it at home.
After signing Carlos Correa and having a nucleus of young stars, it’s easy to wonder how this happened. A simple look at the numbers shows a flawed team, however, and one that’s deserving of spending October on the sidelines.
.226
The Twins came into this season hopeful that the combination of Correa and Byron Buxton could carry them into the playoffs, but those plans came unraveled when they struggled mightily with runners in scoring position.
Buxton was especially dreadful, going 9-for-62 (.145) with six extra-base hits, three home runs, and 21 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Correa hit 28-for-101 (.277) but didn’t hit his first home run with a RISP until Sept. 30. He also had the same number of home runs with RISP (one) as Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who hit a grand slam against the Twins on Sept. 7.
Put it all together and the Twins’ two cornerstones hit .226 with RISP on the season.
.083
Remember when Miguel Sanó was a rising superstar? Those days have come and gone.
Sanó entered spring training in the best shape of his life (again) but it didn’t equate to success on the field. Sanó hit .083 in 60 at-bats this season and suffered a torn meniscus that limited him to 20 games overall.
Now a free agent, Sanó’s days in Minnesota appear to be numbered and he could go down as one of the most disappointing Twins in franchise history.
14
One of the biggest concerns coming into the season was the starting rotation. The Twins were relying on Joe Ryan to take a step forward in his rookie season but the rest of the rotation was filled with injury-prone (Sonny Gray) or ineffective (Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy) veterans.
Like a group of teenagers heading to Camp Crystal Lake, Twins fans knew what was coming as a slew of starting pitchers began a march to the injured list or across the river to St. Paul.
In the end, the Twins used 14 different starters including St. Paul native Louie Varland, Aaron Sanchez, Chi Chi Gonzalez and Simeon Woods Richardson.
By comparison, the Houston Astros, who surged to home-field advantage in the American League, used eight all season and had 94 quality starts. Meanwhile, the Twins had just 35, further cementing their need to go get an ace.
78
Perhaps the strangest reason for the Twins’ tendency to pull starting pitchers was turning it over to a bullpen that played Home Run Derby.
Twins relievers served up 78 home runs this season, the fourth-most in the American League and the eighth-most in major league baseball. The leader of this movement was Emilio Pagan who allowed 12 home runs and 1.7 per nine innings.
This shouldn’t have been a surprise as Pagan has allowed the second-most home runs (32) of any reliever behind Miami’s Caleb Smith (37) since 2020. Fellow Twins reliever Griffin Jax is third on this list (30).
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.316
It wasn’t all bad numbers for the Twins as Luis Arraez enjoyed a breakout season. His .316 average helped him capture his first career batting title, fulfilling a prophecy by Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona and becoming the first Twin to lead the AL since Joe Mauer (.365) in 2009.
It’s the Twins’ 15th batting title since they moved to Minnesota in 1961. Only the Boston Red Sox (16) have more in the past 61 years.
15
15 was also the number of home runs that Jose Miranda hit in his rookie season. That number was the fourth-most by a Twins rookie since 1961, tied with Dan Ford who hit 15 bombs during the 1975 season.
After becoming the Twins’ minor league player of the year in 2021, Miranda established himself in the majors hitting .268/.325/.426 in 125 games this season. Poised to be a key bat in the Twins lineup next year, you could definitely say Miranda didn’t throw away his shot.
$19.3 million
The Twins spent a total of 1,573 days on the injured list this season, but that’s not the biggest number to chew on. According to Spotrac, Twins players earned $19.3 million while on the injured list, which accounts for 13.9 percent of their $138 million payroll.
This number also doesn’t take into account the number of rest days that Buxton had while dealing with multiple injuries or Correa’s one-week stay on the COVID-19 list.
Long story short, the Twins spent more time (and money) on the injured list than they did on the field this season.
.466
Max Kepler was relied upon to be an important part of the Twins’ core but he turned in one his worst seasons with a career-low .666 OPS.
Kepler got off to a decent start but his OPS dove as the season went along. The 29-year-old had a .595 OPS after May 24 and hit .178/.239/.228 and a .466 OPS after returning from a broken toe on Aug. 6.
Kepler will be heading into the final year of his contract next season and with Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach waiting in the wings, it’s fair to wonder if his time is coming to an end in Minnesota.
51-68
The Twins started the year with a 27-16 record but that start was a precursor for a season going down the drain.
The Twins posted a record of 51-68 over their final 119 games and struggled against quality competition. Minnesota went 21-34 against playoff teams this season and went a combined 16-22 against Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox.
Playing in a weak division, the Twins have plenty of work to do to erase the other number that plagues them.
18
This is the number that should be considered with every move the Twins make this offseason. It’s 18 straight postseason losses, the longest postseason losing streak in any men’s major North American sport.
Consider that the Seattle Mariners, who made the playoffs for the first time since 2001 this season, have more playoff wins than the Twins since the drought began in 2004. Also consider that Correa has played in more playoff games (79) than the Twins have in the history of their franchise (70).
The Twins need to find a way to exorcise this demon or else seasons like this will continue to haunt them.