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Editor’s Note: Jerry Beach is live at the 2026 All-Star Game, providing on-the-ground coverage for Lindy’s Sports.
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Twenty years ago, with only one wild card berth in each league, the Minnesota Twins entered the All-Star Break at 47-39 but nine games behind the Chicago White Sox in the race for the lone non-division winner spot in the playoffs.
Those Twins went 49-27 the rest of the way and won the AL Central by one game over the Detroit Tigers.
Twenty years later, Twins are 48-49 at the All-Star Break – and almost certainly will not have to match their predecessors’ pace to get into the tournament.
Minnesota hit the break tied for the third and final wild card spot with the Seattle Mariners and just three games behind the White Sox and Guardians.
Expanded playoff format pays off for Twins fans
Viva la expanded playoff format – and an AL that could be historically mediocre. The AL East’s Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees are the only teams more than five games over .500.
The Texas Rangers lead the AL West at 49-47. And the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels, each of whom are on pace to lose 98 games, are “just” 10 games back of the Twins and Mariners.
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I asked Twins manager Derek Shelton about it in Philadelphia at the All-Star game.
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“You’re a game under and (in) the wild card – I don’t think anybody envisioned the way the American League was going to unfold,” said Shelton, who is the AL’s honorary coach alongside Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider and his staff.
Of course, Shelton’s not complaining about the expanded playoffs keeping the Twins and everyone else in the AL in the race.
“I think it’s good for the game,” Shelton told me Monday. “It keeps fanbases engaged. It keeps players engaged, It’s going to make the (Aug. 3) trade deadline really interesting because of where we’re at.”
Shelton said he doesn’t think the playoffs need to expand to 16 teams (spoiler alert: They probably will).
Asked if he liked the era of one and two wild cards from 1995 through 2021, Shelton grinned.
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“No,” he said. “I like it way more now.”
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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 8:29 AM.