Franchise knowledge

Minnesota Twins

Minneapolis American League Central

The Minnesota Twins began as the original Washington Senators — a 1901 American League charter franchise that spent six decades in the capital before moving to the Twin Cities in 1961. Three World Series titles, a Hall of Fame spine unusual for a mid-market club, and a fan culture that treats Target Field as a summer civic space define the brand.

From Walter Johnson’s sidearm fastball to Harmon Killebrew’s tape-measure homers, from Kirby Puckett’s Dome theater to Joe Mauer’s catching excellence, Minnesota baseball has been contact hitting, homegrown stars, and the belief that small-market clubs can still win in October. The Metrodome’s 1987 and 1991 titles remain the franchise’s loudest nights.

When you are ready to test what you know, start with the Team Origin quiz or browse the full Minnesota Twins quiz collection — including Kirby Puckett, the 1991 Twins, and the Harmon Killebrew quiz.

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Through the decades

Franchise Timeline

Scroll the milestones, then tap a year to read the story behind it.

Apr 26, 1901

Senators debut as an AL charter club

Washington opens in the American League — the franchise that will become the Twins. Trace the founding story in the Team Origin quiz.

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Minnesota Twins

Origins

The franchise began in 1901 as the original Washington Senators, a charter American League club that spent six decades in the capital. In Washington the club was often a punchline — “First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League” — but it also produced Walter Johnson, whose 417 wins and sidearm fastball made him the premier pitcher of the dead-ball era. The Senators won the 1924 World Series, lost in 1925 and 1933, and then faded. The founding arc lives in the Team Origin quiz.

Calvin Griffith’s relocation to Minnesota in 1961, and the new name honoring the Twin Cities, started a second life in a region hungry for major-league baseball. Metropolitan Stadium hosted Harmon Killebrew’s tape-measure homers, Tony Oliva’s batting titles, and Rod Carew’s artistic hitting — Carew’s later Angels chapter lives on that franchise’s page; his Minnesota peak is covered in the Rod Carew quiz.

The 1965 pennant, lost to Koufax’s Dodgers in seven games, was Minnesota’s first October. Dig into Killebrew’s power era in the Harmon Killebrew quiz.

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Minnesota Twins

History

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, loud and eccentric, became home in 1982. There the Twins won the 1987 World Series over St. Louis and the 1991 Series over Atlanta, both times taking Game 7 at home. Kirby Puckett’s Game 6 heroics in 1991 — a leaping catch and an 11th-inning homer — and Jack Morris’s 10-inning shutout in Game 7 (Morris’s Detroit title chapter sits on the Tigers page) are two of the most replayed nights in World Series history. Relive both titles in the 1987 Twins quiz, the 1991 Twins quiz, and the Kirby Puckett quiz.

After contraction rumors in 2001, the Twins survived and thrived on development: Johan Santana’s Cy Youngs, Joe Mauer’s catching-and-hitting excellence, and a run of division titles in the 2000s. Covered in the Johan Santana quiz and the Recent Success quiz. Target Field opened in 2010 and restored outdoor baseball.

The 2019 “Bomba Squad” hit 307 home runs, then a new generation kept the brand competitive. Rocco Baldelli’s 2023 club won 87, took the AL Central, beat Toronto in the Wild Card for the franchise’s first postseason series win since 2004, and fell to Houston in the ALDS — Max Kepler’s 24 homers, Sonny Gray’s 2.79 ERA. The 2024 team won 82, finished fourth, and missed October — Carlos Santana’s 23 homers, Pablo López’s 15 wins. Baldelli’s 2025 Twins won 70, finished fourth again — Byron Buxton’s 35 homers the loudest bat on a club still searching for its next Dome-level October.

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Minnesota Twins

Championships

The franchise has won three World Series championships — one in Washington, two in Minnesota — and multiple American League pennants across two cities.

  • 1924 — Senators 4, New York Giants 3 (Walter Johnson’s Washington title)
  • 1925 — AL pennant; lost World Series to Pittsburgh Pirates 4–3
  • 1933 — AL pennant; lost World Series to New York Giants 4–1
  • 1965 — AL pennant; lost World Series to Los Angeles Dodgers 4–3
  • 1987 — Twins 4, St. Louis Cardinals 3 (first Metrodome title)
  • 1991 — Twins 4, Atlanta Braves 3 (Puckett Game 6; Morris Game 7)

The Metrodome titles live in the 1987 Twins quiz and the 1991 Twins quiz. For who managed, who led in homers, and how far recent clubs went, work through the 2023, 2024, and 2025 editions in the full collection.

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Minnesota Twins

Oddities

Twins lore is Senators jokes, Dome thunder, Bomba Squads, and Game 7 at home.

  • First in war, first in peace…: The old Senators punchline — and Walter Johnson’s answer to it. See the Team Origin quiz.
  • Killer’s tape measures: Killebrew’s Met Stadium homers still define Minnesota power. Covered in the Harmon Killebrew quiz.
  • Carew’s art: Batting titles and a .328 Minnesota chapter before an Angels finale. Dig into the Minnesota years in the Rod Carew quiz.
  • The Homerdome: Loud, eccentric, and twice a Game 7 champion. Relive 1987 and 1991 in the 1987 and 1991 quizzes.
  • Puckett’s Game 6: A leaping catch and an 11th-inning homer — still the franchise’s signature individual night. See the Kirby Puckett quiz.
  • Contraction scare: Surviving 2001 rumors became part of the modern identity — then Santana and Mauer rebuilt pride. Covered in the Recent Success quiz.
  • Bomba Squad: The 2019 club’s 307 home runs were a power-era peak at Target Field.
  • Drought breaker, 2023: First postseason series win since 2004 — Toronto in the Wild Card — before Houston ended the run. Test it in the 2023 Twins quiz.

The roster of memory

Notable Players

Legends, franchise faces, and the names every Minnesota Twins fan should know.

Walter Johnson

P 1907–1927 Hall of Fame

Senators ace; 1924 champion

Hall of Fame right-hander whose 417 wins and sidearm fastball made him the premier pitcher of the dead-ball era — and the franchise’s Washington cornerstone. Johnson’s 1924 title is the first chapter. Trace the lineage in the Team Origin quiz.

Harmon Killebrew

1B/3B 1954–1974 Hall of Fame

Killer; tape-measure power

Hall of Fame slugger whose Met Stadium tape measures defined Minnesota power — the face of the franchise’s first Twin Cities decades. Dig deeper in the Harmon Killebrew quiz.

Tony Oliva

OF 1962–1976 Hall of Fame

Batting titles; 1965 pennant

Hall of Fame outfielder whose batting titles and line-drive stroke made him a Twin Cities original — a cornerstone of the 1965 pennant club beside Killebrew.

Kirby Puckett

OF 1984–1995 Hall of Fame

1987 & 1991 champion

Hall of Fame center fielder whose Game 6 heroics in 1991 — a leaping catch and an 11th-inning homer — still define Metrodome October. Covered in the Kirby Puckett quiz and the 1991 Twins quiz.

Kent Hrbek

1B 1981–1994

Homegrown 1987 & 1991 champion

First baseman and Minnesota original whose power and personality anchored both Metrodome championship clubs. Relive 1987 in the 1987 Twins quiz.

Bert Blyleven

P 1970–1976, 1985–1988 Hall of Fame

Curveball king; 1987 champion

Hall of Fame right-hander whose curveball and two Twins chapters bookended a career — including a 1987 title return. Blyleven is Minnesota’s mound Hall of Fame face.

Johan Santana

P 2000–2007

Two Cy Youngs

Left-hander whose back-to-back Cy Young seasons made the post-contraction Twins a pitching address again. Dig into it in the Johan Santana quiz and the Recent Success quiz.

Joe Mauer

C 2004–2018 Hall of Fame

Catching MVP; Minnesota original

Hall of Fame catcher whose batting titles and hometown career defined a generation of Target Field baseball — contact, patience, and Twin Cities pride. Covered in the Recent Success quiz.