MPR's William Wilcoxen reports that more than 55,000 fans crowded into the Metrodome only to see an 8-1 loss end the Minnesota Twins' baseball season. After winning the first game, the Twins scored only once in each of the next three games...allowing the Yankees to take the best-of-five playoff series three games to one.
In spite of the loss, the Twins say they're proud of a season that saw them rebound from a poor first half to claim their second straight division title.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: Twins hitters were again unable to solve the Yankee pitching staff and Twins pitcher Johan Santana gave up six runs in a disastrous fourth inning. But when it was over, manager Ron Gardenhire had only good things to say about his team.
RON GARDENHIRE: I told our guys to keep their heads up. There were only four teams left playing in the American League, and we were one of them. And we played hard. We played our hearts out.
We got it. We got after it as best we could. Johan was just a little up today and they got on him, scored some runs off him. But my guys played their tails off all year long. I'm proud of those guys.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: The Twins were not especially proud of scoring only six runs in four games. They credited the tough Yankee pitching staff, but third baseman Corey Koskie, who had more strikeouts than hits, conceded the Twins failed at the plate.
COREY KOSKIE: I think we got ourselves out more than they got us out. Yeah, I'm disappointed in my postseason personally. I'm sure a lot of other guys are too. So it's just one of those things.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: The first three games of the series were marked by good pitching on both sides. Game four was also low scoring if you don't count the fourth inning. That's when Santana allowed six runs, which is more than the Twins starters had allowed in the other three games combined. Santana had blanked the Yankees through four innings of game one before a leg cramp forced him into an early exit. He says he felt fine for game four and he strategized with catcher AJ Pierzynski to cruise through the first three innings.
JOHAN SANTANA: We were throwing the ball inside and then they were-- and then they were swinging too. So we were trying to stay inside. And then my slider was working pretty good. So we were just doing that and then everything was fine. It's just that in the fourth inning everything just went crazy.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: The craziness included four doubles, two singles, three walks, and a passed ball. Santana allowed six runs, and reliever Juan Rincón loaded the bases before Eric Milton finally pitched out of the inning. Pierzynski says after the Yankees had been through the lineup once, their hitters began to catch on to how Santana was pitching.
AJ PIERZYNSKI: They made some adjustments to Johan and hit some good pitches and hit some bad pitches. And we just unraveled there in the beginning. I was starting to have flashbacks to Anaheim last year when I got 6-0. I'm like, I don't really want to see another 10-run inning here.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: The Anaheim Angels ended the Twins playoff run last year, scoring 10 runs in a single inning of the decisive game. This year, the Twins lost in the first round rather than the second, but several Twins players say just getting into the playoffs made the year a success. After a dismal first half of the season, players became critical of each other and sports analysts began discounting the Twins as also-rans. Then came the part of the year that outfielder Jacque Jones says he liked best.
JACQUE JONES: The way we came back. The way people left us for dead when we were seven or eight-- or seven or eight games back. Chicago was coming on like gangbusters and everybody counted us out. And we came back and ran away with it at the end. I think that was the best thing about this whole season is how we battled the whole way through.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: Now comes an offseason when Twins management may have to battle to keep together the players who have won back-to-back division titles. Several, including Jones, Shannon Stewart, Eddie Guardado and LaTroy Hawkins, have played out their contracts and are now free to entertain offers from other teams. President Dave St. Peter says the Twins face some financial limitations, but are committed to fielding a competitive team again next year.
The Twins' ongoing quest for a new home field will also be a prominent part of their offseason. Team executives say a new ballpark is essential for the Twins to be financially competitive in today's baseball economy. Major League Baseball has shelved the idea of buying out Twins owner Carl Pohlad and disbanding the team, but St. Peter says the future remains uncertain without a new stadium.
DAVE ST. PETER: We're in the midst of some short-term stability. The team has obviously stepped up, but we need to-- we need to step up with a solution to some of those off-field problems, i.e., the new ballpark situation. And hopefully, that solution can emerge here over the course of the next six months.
WILLIAM WILCOXEN: The Twins next home game is scheduled for April 5, 2004 at the Metrodome. I'm William Wilcoxen, Minnesota Public Radio.
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