1999 Minnesota Twins season
| 1999 Minnesota Twins | |
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| Owner(s) | Carl Pohlad |
| General manager(s) | Terry Ryan |
| Manager(s) | Tom Kelly |
| Local television |
KMSP-TV Midwest Sports Channel (Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer, Paul Molitor) |
| Local radio |
830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, John Gordon) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1999 Minnesota Twins began their season on a positive note, with Brad Radke getting the win in a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Unfortunately for the Twins, the team finished the season in last place, with a poor record of 63-97.
Seventeen rookies saw playing time for manager Tom Kelly in the 1999 season. Some of these rookies, such as Corey Koskie, Torii Hunter, and Joe Mays, would go on to future success. The season was not without its bright spots, including Doug Mientkiewicz's .997 fielding percentage and Koskie's team-leading .310 batting average. Another bright spot occurred on September 11, when pitcher Eric Milton threw the only no-hitter of his career against an Anaheim Angels team that consisted mainly of September call-ups. However, the euphemism "rebuilding year" must be applied to the Twins’ 1999 campaign.
On May 4, rookie Mike Lincoln pitched the Twins to their 3,000th victory. It was Lincoln's first win in the major leagues, as he beat the Yankees 8-5 at the Metrodome. Bert Blyleven was on the mound for both the Twins' 1,000th and 2,000th victories.
It was only May 21 when the team's brain trust realized that this would not be a world champion team. On that day, the Twins traded Rick Aguilera, then their highest paid player, to the Chicago Cubs. The team also traded Scott Downs and received Jason Ryan and future starter Kyle Lohse in return. The team finished the season with a 63-97 record, ranked fifth in the American League Central Division.
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