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2019 – Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was voted as the American League Manager of the Year by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Ballots for each award were submitted before the start of the postseason from two writers in every city, based on the league covered. Of the 30 ballots cast in the AL, Baldelli and New York Yankee skipper Aaron Boone each received 13 first-place votes, but Baldelli pushed ahead with 13 second-place votes, as compared to Boone’s nine, along with two third-place votes. Baldelli’s buddy Kevin Cash who managed the Tampa Rays finished third in the voting. The youngest manager in the American League and a rare managerial hire from outside the Twins’ organization, Rocco Baldelli lived up to all the anticipation in 2019, becoming the seventh skipper in Major League history to win at least 100 games in his rookie season as he guided Minnesota to its first division championship since 2010. Baldelli is the Twins’ fourth Manager of the Year Award winner, joining his three most recent predecessors in Tom Kelly (1991), Ron Gardenhire (2010) and Paul Molitor (2017).
2002 – For the first time in their history, the Minnesota Twins were named the “Organization of the Year” by Baseball America.
1986 – The New York Mets traded shortstop Ron Gardenhire to Minnesota for a player to be named later (pitcher Donnie Iasparro). Who knew then that in 2002 Gardenhire would become the Twins manager?
1969 – Twins infielder Harmon Killebrew, who led the American League with 49 home runs, 140 RBI, and a .430 on-base percentage, is voted the American league MVP and becomes the second Twins player so honored.
