Minnesota Twins: The Franchise All-Time Bracket
No. 1 vs. 8 seed
The 1965 Twins were the winningest team in franchise history, coming away with 102 victories against just 60 losses. That Twins team lost a memorable seven-game World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Claude Osteen.
The 1965 Twins were led by Oliva, at .321 with 98 RBIs, and Killebrew, who hit 25 home runs.
But it was the pitching staff, led by Mudcat Grant and Jim Kaat, that carried the team. Grant went 21-7 with a 3.30 ERA in 39 starts while Kaat’s 18-11 record encompassed 42 starts. In the bullpen, veteran Al Worthington saved 21 games and won 10 more.
The 2006 Twins won the AL Central with 96 victories. Justin Morneau batted .321 and drove in 130 runs to win the MVP, while catcher Joe Mauer took the batting title with a .347 average. Morneau also hit 34 home runs and Torii Hunter had 31.
Johan Santana went 19-6 on the mound with a 2.77 ERA in 34 starts. Joe Nathan piled up 36 saves.
Game 1: The 1965 Twins’ .630 winning percentage is the best since the schedule was expanded to 162 games. The 2006 team’s regular-season record was 96-66, a .593 percentage.
Game 2: The 2006 team, of course, failed to win a post-season game. The 1965 team’s seven-game World Series loss translates to a .429 post-season percentage.
Game 3: Neither team was offensively exceptional by the standards of its time. The 1965 team’s OPS+ was 100, exactly average for its era. The 2006 team beat that by one point at 101.
Game 4: Both staffs compiled a 114 ERA+. The tiebreaker is the highest individual ERA+ among the regulars. That goes to Santana of the 2006 team at 162; in 1965, Jim Perry had a 136 ERA+. This series is even at two games each.
Game 5: The 2006 Twins compiled 47.2 WAR, easily surpassing the 1965 champions’ 41.5.
Game 6: The 1965 Twins were, by the standards of their era, not especially talented in the field. Their .973 fielding percentage was five points below the AL average of .978. The 2006 Twins fielded .986, two points above the league average. This series ends in a major 8 over 1 upset.
Result: 2006 Twins in six games