Minnesota Twins 2006 Season and Off Season

The Minnesota Twins 2006 season was a pretty good year for the team. They made the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. 2006 saw the Twins come back and win the American League Central passing the Tigers as the season was winding down.

The Twins had a lot of guys have excellent season offensively. Catcher Joe Mauer led the American League in hitting. Mauer hit .347 with 13 home runs and 84 runs batted in. Justin Morneau had a career year setting career highs in hits, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, and batting average. Morneau hit .321, 37 doubles, 34 home runs, and 130 runs batted in. Michael Cuddyer came into his own with a .284 batting average, 24 home runs, and 109 runs batted in. He doubled his career high in home runs and more than double his high in runs batted in.

Gold glover Torii Hunter stayed health all year and played up to his standards during 2006. He reached the 30 home run mark in a single season for the first time in his career. Two other guys who had outstanding seasons were Luis Castillo and Nick Punto.

The pitching staff had several guys step up during the season. Leading the starting rotation was Johan Santana, who went 19 and 6 with a 2.77 era. He pitched 233.2 innings while striking out 245 batters and walking just 47. Brad Radke, pitching in his last season, started 28 games going 12 and 9 with an era of 4.32. Rookie sensation Francisco Liriano started 16 games going 12 and 3 with an era of 2.16. He threw 121 innings and struck out 144 batters and walked only 32.

The bullpen had some impressive performances. Closer Joe Nathan recorded 36 saves and put up an era of just 1.58. He struck out 95 in just 68.1 innings. Dennys Reyes had his best season, his era was the best on the staff. Reyes finished the year with an era of just 0.89. Juan Rincon had a good season out of the bullpen, too. He pitched in 75 games and his era was 2.91. Jesse Crain appeared in 68 games and did a good job in relieve.