Written by the AP at ESPN.com
From worst to wild card, the Minnesota Twins have completed a most remarkable reversal.
Their unexpected turnaround season has a new destination — the playoffs.
Unable to clinch on their own after losing 4-2 to the Indians, the Twins earned an AL wild-card berth and meeting with either New York or Boston when the Los Angeles Angels lost 6-4 in 10 innings to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
A season after winning just 59 games, the Twins became the first team to lose at least 100 and then make the postseason the following year.
October, here they come.
Moments after the Angels lost — and almost two hours after they were beaten — Minnesota’s players, coaches and manager Paul Molitor celebrated in their clubhouse with champagne and beer, dousing each other during a party that didn’t seem possible just a few months ago.
They threw on dark blue T-shirts, two-tone caps along with the obligatory goggles before spraying each other down.
“It’s been awesome watching this team come together all season,” veteran first baseman Joe Mauer said amid the clubhouse chaos. “This is the best sound in the world. It’s been one of the most fun years that I’ve ever had.
“I like our guys. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work over the last few years.”
The Twins defied the odds, and they’ll now enter a tournament where are all bets are off and where one bad bounce or big inning can propel an underdog to the top.
On Tuesday night, they’ll play at either Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park in the wild-card game. Boston holds a three-game lead over New York in the AL East race.
