Justin Morneau To Retire With Twins On Wednesday
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A fan-favorite of the Minnesota Twins is set to retire from Major League Baseball with the team on Wednesday.
The Twins are holding a 3 p.m. news conference on Wednesday as former first baseman Justin Morneau will make his retirement official. Morneau is being brought back to the Twins to be a special assistant to the front office. He'll join former Twins players LaTroy Hawkins, Michael Cuddyer and Torii Hunter as special assistants to the team.
He spent his first 10 seasons in Minnesota before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates after 127 games in the 2013 season. He won the 2006 American League MVP Award with the Twins at first base after hitting .321 with 34 home runs and 130 RBI.
Morneau finished his Twins career with 221 home runs and was a four-time All-Star. His career took a turn in July of 2010 when he suffered a concussion on a slide into second base at Toronto. He recovered and actually won the National League batting title in 2014 with a .319 average.
It also comes as the organization hosts TwinsFest this weekend at Target Field. Festivities start Friday, where tickets for the April 5 home opener will go on sale.
TwinsFest will go from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
