[1] The Twins stumbled out of the gate after the death of Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett in late March, accumulating a dismal 25-33 record by June 7.
Around that time, the team dropped underperforming veterans like Tony Batista, Juan Castro, and Kyle Lohse, replacing them with talented rookies from the Rochester Red Wings.
As the season neared its conclusion, the Twins continued to put distance between them and the White Sox, while gaining on the Tigers.
It was the first time in major league history that a team clinched on the last day of the season after never having held sole possession of first place.
Infielders Other batters Coaches For the first time since 1987, the Twins had legitimate power hitters in Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, and Michael Cuddyer.
On August 9, Morneau became the first Twin to hit 30 or more home runs since 1987, when Tom Brunansky, Gary Gaetti, and Kent Hrbek did it.
On September 25, he homered off Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke in the bottom of the 7th inning and became the second Twin to hit 30 home runs in 2006.
He did not start the season as a regular player, but eventually replaced the ineffective opening day right fielder, Jason Kubel.
Morneau and catcher Joe Mauer may have finally earned the nickname "the M&M Boys", that had been prematurely applied to them early in the 2005 season.
[8] Players like this caused Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén to dub the team "the piranhas.
"[11]Despite the fact that the term came from a rival manager, it was quickly embraced by both the players and the fans, as well as media outlets such as ESPN.
The team started the season with a rotation of Johan Santana, Brad Radke, Carlos Silva, Kyle Lohse, and Scott Baker.
Radke started slowly but seemed to find his form, providing some consistency to the number two spot before being sidelined with a torn labrum and a stress fracture in his right shoulder.
Dennys Reyes, signed to a minor-league deal during the offseason, provided a pleasant surprise with an excellent season as the Twins' sole left-handed reliever.
Right-handers Jesse Crain and Juan Rincón set the stage throughout the season for closer Joe Nathan, with homegrown rookie Pat Neshek contributing some solid innings after being recalled from the minor leagues in July.
Juan Rincón replaced Crain, and promptly ended the threat – with just one pitch – by inducing Mariner Kenji Johjima to hit into a triple play.
= Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts After the Twins won the division, the American League playoff matchups were decided as follows: number two seed Minnesota Twins hosting number three seed Oakland Athletics, and number one seed New York Yankees hosting the wild card Detroit Tigers.
The Twins got great starts from both Johan Santana and Boof Bonser (who made his first post season appearance) at the Metrodome.
With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the 7th inning, Mark Kotsay hit a line drive to center field that Torii Hunter made a valiant dive for.