The franchise was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1901 as the Washington Senators. The team relocated to Minnesota and was renamed the "Minnesota Twins" at the start of the 1961 season. The Twins played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1982 to 2009. The team played its inaugural game at Target Field on April 12, 2010. The franchise won the World Series in 1924 as the Senators, and in 1987 and 1991 as the Twins.
Through the 2020 season, the team has fielded 19 American League batting champions. The team has hosted five All-Star Games: 1937 and 1956 in Washington, D.C.; and 1965, 1985, and 2014 in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
From 1901 to 2020, the Twins overall win-loss record is 8939–9627 (a 0.481 win-loss "percentage"). They hold the record for the longest postseason losing streak in all of the four major North American professional sports, having lost eighteen consecutive playoff games since 2004.