Minnesota Twins Win Their Division

One of the biggest surprises in Major League Baseball in the 2019 season has been the Minnesota Twins. They were so bad last year that Paul Molitor was fired as their manager. What a difference a year makes. The Twins have completely turned themselves around in a very short period of time. In fact, they just won the American League Central division for the first time in nine years. They have been able to do this because their offense has been crushing pitchers the entire season. They have set a new Major League record for home runs hit in a single season by a team.

They have managed to hold off the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe had won the central division in the American League for the past three years. The Twins looked like they were going to run away with the division earlier in the year. At one point, they had a lead of 11 1/2 games on Cleveland. The Twins eventually fell back to the pack. The Indians have played very well. However, they were never able to overtake the Twins for first place. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is very happy to have made the playoffs in his very first year as a manager. He said this is just the first step. There is a lot of work they need to do in order to win the team’s first World Series title since 1991.

The Twins have a long history of getting knocked out of the playoffs by the New York Yankees. There is a chance that history might repeat itself. This is because the Yankees have also locked up a playoff spot by clinching the American League East title. Last year’s champion, the Boston Red Sox, have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. It will be very interesting to see how the rest of the American League playoff picture shakes out.

The Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians and the Oakland Athletics are all involved in a race for the two wild card spots in the American League. One of these teams will be going home. The other two teams will play a one-game playoff to determine will will move on to the first round of the playoffs. The Twins will not need to worry about that. By winning their division, the Twins have guaranteed that that will make the first round without playing one game in sudden death.