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Twins' promising future could be over
Updated: Thursday November 08, 2001 2:58 AM
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- With Tuesday's vote to eliminate two franchises, major league baseball owners could be on the verge of breaking up one of the game's most promising teams. After eight straight losing seasons, the Minnesota Twins had finally become a contender again. But because they still rank near baseball's bottom in attendance and lag behind most of the league in revenue, the Twins also are a candidate for elimination. "We don't need to lose our team," center fielder Torii Hunter said Tuesday from his home in Texas. "We worked so hard to get where we are. Our whole team has been building and building. Now we've got owners who want to fold." Playing in a dingy, increasingly empty Metrodome with one of the game's lowest payrolls, Minnesota became a joke for most of the 1990s after winning the World Series in 1987 and 1991. But they rebounded this year with a surprising second-place finish in the AL Central, led by an enthusiastic, close-knit bunch of young players.
"If they'd done this last year at this time, I'd understand," first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz told ESPN. "But now ... I feel we can contend for years, and it's a shame this is going to happen. "We have so many questions with no answers." A terrible second-half slump (30-45) pushed a pennant out of the Twins' reach and made clear their need for more power and a big boost for the bullpen. Still, the players left after their season finale full of hope. "Without a doubt, winning breeds confidence," utility man Denny Hocking said last month during the Twins' final homestand. "I guarantee the guys will be eager to come to spring training next year." They have good reason to be, if Minnesota is allowed to report to Florida in February. Nearly all of the Twins' core players are under 28, with a good chunk of them locked up to long-term deals. While right-hander Brad Radke's contract contains an opt-out clause, he and left-hander Eric Milton both could anchor the Twins' rotation for at least another three years. Same goes for shortstop Cristian Guzman, on the brink of stardom and one of the game's fastest and potentially most-exciting players. Corey Koskie, a Canadian who lives year-round in Minneapolis, is signed for two more seasons. In 2001, he became the first AL third baseman to hit 25 home runs, steal 25 bases, score 100 runs and drive in 100 runs. "We played great baseball this year, exciting baseball where people want to come out and watch," Koskie told Twin Cities television stations Tuesday. Aside from the potential they showed on the field, the Twins -- many of them playing in the minors and surviving several losing seasons together in the majors -- are a very close team. "I don't want to be playing against these guys," Koskie said. "I want these guys to be on my team."
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