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Minnesota Twins: Remembering the Piranhas, the Pinnacle of Small Ball

The Minnesota Twins lineups in the middle of the previous decade were not full of power hitters. In fact, the exact opposite seemed to be what manager Ron Gardenhire liked best. In 2006 and 2008 the Twins wheeled out lineups with four lead off type guys, and they were nicknamed the Piranhas. They will forever be remembered in Twins lore.

Origin of the Name

The name Piranhas came from an unlikely source of praise, former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. Speaking about the original Piranhas of 2006, Guillen said:

“All those piranhas — blooper here, blooper here, beat out a ground ball, hit a home run, they’re up by four.