MINNEAPOLIS — Few, if any, of the baseball prognosticators expected the Minnesota Twins to be nine games over .500 at the All-Star break.
Their 49 wins before the break are the most they’ve had since 2008 and their 31 victories at Target Field are more wins at home than any other team in the American League.
“I tell you what, a lot of those critics can eat their words. We went out and proved a lot of people wrong,” said Twins right fielder Torii Hunter. “We’re a winning ballclub, and now we’re starting to believe that and we’re more consistent about it.”
Now the challenge becomes carrying their first-half momentum to the second and proving that the Twins are a team capable of staying in the playoff hunt into August and September, something this team hasn’t done since winning the Central back in 2010.
Much has changed about this club however; that team in 2010 was a veteran one. General manager Terry Ryan said this week, it was a team that believed all season it could win a World Series.
The 2015 version has some veterans too. Second baseman Brian Dozier will head to his first All-Star Game, joining closer Glen Perkins, who will play in his third. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe has become one of the better players in the league at his position. Catcher Kurt Suzuki hasn’t been able to replicate his All-Star season from a year ago, but has helped a Twins pitching staff that is allowing nearly a full run per game fewer than it did in 2014.
Perhaps no vet has had a bigger impact than Hunter, at least in the clubhouse. His 15 homers are the most he’s had since 2010, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. Everyone, from the players to the coaching staff and the manager, have credited Hunter with keeping the clubhouse loose, even during down times.
But the Twins will go only as far as some of their youngsters will carry them.
Right-hander Kyle Gibson has put together one of the best first halves (from an ERA standpoint anyway) of any Twins starter in the last 20 years.
Designated hitter Miguel Sano was called up last week and looked like a veteran, adding pop and a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat to a lineup that was lacking just that.
Left fielder Eddie Rosario was supposed to be a short-term call-up when he was recalled from Triple-A Rochester in May, but has stuck around because of his .285 average and outstanding outfield defense.
Shortstop Danny Santana has struggled for much of the first half, but looked like he finally found life during the club’s final series of the first half against the Detroit Tigers.
Center fielder Byron Buxton is on the 15-day disabled list, but should return around Aug. 1. If he can get on track, and the others continue their ascent, the Twins will continue to defy the expectations of baseball experts.
“We’ve put ourselves at least in position to make the second half somewhat interesting,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Their Hall of Fame manager made sure they understood that as they walked off the field victorious following a 7-1 win in the series finale against the Tigers on Sunday.
“(Molitor) came up in the dugout as we were giving high fives and made sure to let everybody know, ‘Hey, the work’s just begun,’” Gibson said. “We’ve got a lot of work left.”