The Twins recorded a 9–16 win–loss record in pre-season spring training, the worst among American League teams. Three of their games finished tied and were therefore not included in the standings.
Regular season
On July 15, the 85th edition of the Mid-Summer Classic returned to the Twin Cities. Previous All-Star games were held at Metropolitan Stadium and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Twins Glen Perkins and Kurt Suzuki—in his first All-Star appearance—represented the hometown team. The battery-mates were called into action for the ninth, and closed down the National League All-Stars on nine pitches for a 5–3 AL win. Perkins, a two-time All-Star, earned the save. On August 20, second baseman Brian Dozier joined the Twins '20/20' club, adding his name to the four others that have connected for twenty homers in the same season they've stolen twenty bases. The small club includes Larry Hisle, Kirby Puckett, Marty Cordova, Corey Koskie and Torii Hunter. The August 24 game against Detroit was the longest Minnesota 9-inning game in history, in terms of time. The Sunday afternoon game at Target Field ran 4 hours and 10 minutes, and resulted in a 13-4 win for the Tigers. In the first game of the September 13 doubleheader, starter Phil Hughes set a personal best in striking out eleven Chicago batters before being replaced in the eighth inning. Michael Tonkin struck out another in the eighth. The three White Sox pitchers struck out 17 Twins, and the combined total of 29 strikeouts set a Minnesota record for a nine-inning game involving the Twins. Phil Hughes' contract called for a $500,000 bonus if he reached 210 innings pitched. On September 24, he pitched 8 innings before an hour-long rain delay. Ron Gardenhire replaced him with a fresh pitcher when play resumed—and Hughes' inning tally halted at 209⅔. He declined to be inserted in a later game to achieve one more out. At season's end, Phil Hughes' strikeout-to-walk ratio measured at 11.63 to 1. That number is the best-ever in the major leagues, topping the previous best of 143:13 set by Bret Saberhagen in 1984. On September 29, Ron Gardenhire was fired. In his 13-year tenure as Twins manager he went 1068–1039, for a.507 winning percentage. The legacy he leaves includes the many memories of him being ejected from a game, enough times to rank in Major League's top ten. Native son Paul Molitor was hired on November 3 to replace Gardenhire, becoming the Twins' thirteenth skipper. Molitor was born and raised in Saint Paul, attended the University of Minnesota and spent most of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers. He finished his playing career with three seasons in the 1990s as a Minnesota Twin, and coached and consulted in the organization since retiring. In 2004, he was voted into the Hall of Fame, so with his hiring he joins the only two other men who've been hired as first-time managers after being inducted in the Hall as players -- Ted Williams and Ryne Sandburg.
