2007 Minnesota Twins season
| 2007 Minnesota Twins | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Carl Pohlad |
| General manager(s) | Terry Ryan, Bill Smith |
| Manager(s) | Ron Gardenhire |
| Local television |
FSN North WFTC (My 29) (Dick Bremer, Bert Blyleven) |
| Local radio |
AM 1500 KSTP (John Gordon, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, Kris Atteberry) |
| Stats |
ESPN.com BB-reference |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The Minnesota Twins' 2007 season started off with the Twins trying to repeat as champions of the AL Central.
For the third year in a row, an important Twins personality died just before the beginning of the season. In 2005, long-time stadium announcer Bob Casey fell to heart failure. In 2006, Hall of Fame center fielder Kirby Puckett died from a massive bilateral stroke brought on by hypertension. In 2007, Herb Carneal, the team's radio play-by-play announcer for 45 years, died from heart failure on April 1, the day before Opening Day. The Twins announced that they would dedicate the 2007 season to Carneal's memory.
While the 2006 team was known for the "piranhas"—gritty hitters lacking power but possessing speed and guile—the 2007 team saw the continued the development of power hitters such as 2006 league MVP Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, and Jason Kubel. After the Twins swept a July 6 doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox by a combined score of 32-14, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén, the man who coined the term "piranhas" in 2006, stated: "They're not piranhas no more. They're a shark attack now." In the second game of that doubleheader, Morneau became the first Twin to hit three home runs in a game since Tony Oliva against the Kansas City Royals on July 3, 1973. The Twins scored the most runs by one team in a doubleheader since the Boston Red Sox totaled 35 in a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics on July 4, 1939.Nick Punto, as of August 22, 2007 has the lowest batting average among qualified batters in the American League, at .201.
The Twins entered the season with a problem in the starting rotation after Twins staple Brad Radke retired and Francisco Liriano had Tommy John surgery. The Twins signed Ramón Ortiz and Sidney Ponson to start. Ponson was released in May and was replaced by Scott Baker, Ramón Ortiz was moved to the bullpen shortly after and replaced in the rotation by Kevin Slowey. However, Slowey was sent to the minors in early July, replaced by Matt Garza. Ramón Ortiz was traded in August to the Colorado Rockies. On August 31, Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals, before giving up a leadoff walk to catcher John Buck. His no-hitter also ended when he gave up a 1-out single to Mike Sweeney in the 9th inning. The game was won by the Twins 5-0.
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