The 2025 regular season has come to a close, with the Twins finishing with a 70-92 record. Prior to the start of the season, Fangraphs gave the Twins an expected win total of 84, with a 36% chance to win the division
and a 55% chance to make the playoffs. It’s been downhill since that point, besides the 12-game win streak earlier this year. However, besides just poor baseball play, it’s also been a down year for the organization, as fan morale has tanked, and not just because of the product on the field. 2025 was the lowest season for attendance at Target Field and the lowest full-season attendance since 2000, as fans voiced their displeasure with the Pohlads with their wallets. One can only hope that the 2026 season comes with renewed optimism, but at this point, I’m just happy the season is over.
The Past Week on Twinkie Town:
- In case you forgot what happened this past weekend, our Game Recaps are available!
- With the new site change, we also now have The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
- In case you like reliving the (horrid) past, Matt Monitto has our annual “Name Every Twin” quiz ready for you!
- Zach Koenig reminds us of the excitement (and the pain) of the 2015 Twins season.
- Ben Jones looks at MLB’s new rule for 2026 – the automated strikes and balls challenge system.
Elsewhere in Twins Territory:
- Reid Forgrave at the Star Tribune checks in on Joe Pohlad with the end of the 2025 season.
- Betsy Helfand at the Pioneer Press puts a bow on Byron Buxton’s season. ($)
- Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage highlights the career year for prospect Aaron Sabato.
In the World of Baseball:
- The playoff picture for the American League: the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners earned byes to the ALDS, while two division matchups highlight the wild-card series. The Detroit Tigers try to avenge their free-fall from the top spot in the American League (I may or may not have accidentally cursed them) with a three-game series in Cleveland, while the Boston Red Sox, after trading their best player early in the season, head to the Bronx to face off against the Yankees, who actually ended up tying with the Blue Jays in terms of regular season record, but because of tiebreakers, were relegated to the first round.
- The playoff picture for the National League: The Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies have byes to the division series, while the NL West and NL Central duke it out in the wild-card round, with Cincinnati traveling to LA to face the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres heading to Wrigley for a series in Chicago against the Cubs. Cincy clinched the final wild-card spot on Sunday with the New York Mets completing their own free fall from the best record in baseball two-ish months into the season to an early Cancun trip in October.
- Money doesn’t buy championships, but it sure helps you get a shot! Andy McCullough at The Athletic looks at how payroll defines the 2025 playoff teams. ($)
- Jorge Castillo at ESPN looks at the Mets’ collapse from World Series contender to fourth in the three-team wild card race.
- The San Francisco Giants have fired manager Bob Melvin in the first of many offseason moves for the MLB.
