In 1901, the Minnesota Twins entered the American League. However, they were not known as the Twins back then. They were known as the Washington Senators. By 1910, four of the eight new American League teams had won at least one pennant. The Twins however, were not among them. Even the arrival of one of the greatest, if not the greatest pitcher, in baseball's history, Walter Johnson, didn't do much to effect the team's record.

By 1909, Johnson was the league's second best strikeout artist. Unfortunately he had bad run support and lost a career high 25 games. The next two seasons (1910 and 1911) Johnson turned his record around. During both seasons he won 25 games, but the Senators only rose to a mere seventh place.

Forty-two year old Clark Griffith, one of the American Leagues originators, became the Senators' manager in 1912. Immediately the clubs fortune got much better. After surprisingly bringing up first baseman Chick Gandil from the minors, the Senators found themselves in a pennant race. Eventually the Red Sox ran away with the pennant, but the Senators fended off the Athletics for a second place finish. That season Walter Johnson won 33 games and led the league with a 1.39 earned run average.

The next season was Johnson's finest. He compiled an unheard of 1.14 ERA and won 36 games while Washington finished third. Unfortunately while Johnson continued to top the 20-win plateau, the Senators struggled for the next few seasons. In 1924, Griffith was fired, and their 27-year-old second baseman Bucky Harris was chosen to continue playing while he managed the Senators. That season Goose Goslin drove in more runs than Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson put together. It was his best season in years. The Senators also had the best pitching staff in the majors. That led to the team's first pennant. In the World Series , the Senators lucked out in the twelfth inning of game seven when a ground ball took a lucky bounce over the Giant's second baseman's head, driving in the World Series winning run. In 1925, the Senators were aided when veteran pitcher Stan Coveleski from Cleveland brought them to the World Series only to lose in a seventh game against Pittsburgh.

After many winning seasons and Johnson's retiring, Clark Griffith's son adopted the team. After five years of arguing and planning, Calvin Griffith moved the team to Minnesota and renamed the team the Minnesota Twins. Players like Harmon Kilebrew and pitcher Camilo Pascual who had enjoyed terrific seasons with other ball clubs became even more productive once they put on a Minnesota jersey.

By 1967, the Twins had put together a remarkable lineup of stars. Bob Allison, Harmon Kilebrew, and Tony Oliva in the outfield, Camilo Pascual, Jim Kaat, and Jim "Mudcat" Grant on the mound, and Rod Carew, Zoilo Versalles, and Rich Rollins in the infield made up the ultimate starting formation. In 1965, the Twins, without a challenge, won the pennant. For the second straight year, Oliva won the batting title, and Mudcat Grant and Jim Kaat combined for 39 wins. Sandy Koufax stopped the Twins in game seven of the World Series with a three hitter giving the Dodgers a World Series victory.