2011: A Season in Numbers

2011 is a dead horse by now, but I’m not done kicking it. I’ve already written thousands of words about it, so here’s a different approach, the story of the season as told by numbers.

0: Number of Twins wins in doubleheaders. They played four of them, and they lost all eight games.

.247: Twins team batting average. Surprisingly, there were actually three teams in the AL who were worse: Oakland (.244), Tampa (.244), and Seattle (.243).

.980: Team fielding percentage, nearly worst in the American League (Oakland was slightly worse at .979).

1: Number of no-hitters thrown by the Twins in 2011, which ties the franchise record.

3: Number of Twins who played 100 or more games. Only Ben Revere, Danny Valencia, and Michael Cuddyer reached this mark. 

3: Jersey number of the late, great Harmon Killebrew, which adorned the sleeves of every Twins player in memory of the legendary slugger.

 4.60: Twins team ERA. Only Baltimore (4.92) was worse among AL teams.

7: Number of former Twins who made it onto playoff rosters this season: Luis Ayala (Yankees), Henry Blanco (D-Backs), Carlos Gomez (Brewers), LaTroy Hawkins (Brewers), Kyle Lohse (Cardinals), Nick Punto (Cardinals), and Delmon Young (Tigers). The Rangers, Rays, and Phillies have no former Twins on their playoff rosters.

13-39: Twins record after July 31st, the final third of the season. The team won just seven games in August, and they somehow found a way to be even worse in September.

14.4: Revere’s UZR/150. If you believe in UZR as a measure of fielding ability, this means his range and athleticism more than make up for his weak arm.

17-37: Twins record on May 1st, after completing one third of the season.

33-21: Twins record from May 1st through July 31st, the second third of the season. If the team had won at this pace the entire season, they’d have finished 99-63 and earned the top seed in the AL Playoffs.

27: Number of times the Twins used the Disabled List.

28: Number of losses by the Twins bullpen, worst in the American League. The bullpen blew 20 saves, which is surprisingly not the worst in the American League.

28: Jersey number worn by Jesse Crain that was retired this season for some strange reason.

 82: Number of games played by Joe Mauer. From 2005 through 2010, he averaged 133.5 games played.

 103: Number of home runs hit by the Twins, worst in the American League.

940: Number of strikeouts by Twins pitchers, worst in the American League.

1970: Last time the Twins had a 35+ home run season from any player. Yes, I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m going to keep bringing it up because it really boggles my mind.

3,168,116: Total paid attendance at Target Field in 2011, an average of 39,112 fans per game. Second in the American League.

$1,797,412.69: Cost per win for the Twins, in payroll dollars. The team won 63 games with an Opening Day payroll of $113,237,000. By contrast, the 2001 Twins paid $283,882.35 per win ($363,345.35 if you adjust for inflation).

62,947,488: Number of angry curse words the 2011 Twins caused me to yell at my television, a new record.