The 1999 Minnesota Twins season was the 39th season for the franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their eighteen season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 99th overall in the American League. They began their season on a positive note, with Brad Radke getting the win in a 6–1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. However, they finished the season in last place, with a 63–97 record. Offseason October 2, 1998: Todd Ritchie was released by the Twins. December 14, 1998: Alex Ochoa was traded by the Twins to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later. The Brewers completed the deal by sending Darrell Nicholas (minors) to the Twins on December 15. December 15, 1998: Melvin Nieves was signed as a free agent by the Twins. December 21, 1998: George Williams was signed as a free agent by the Twins. January 27, 1999: Bob Wells was signed as a free agent by the Twins. February 16, 1999: Bobby Kielty was signed as an amateur free agent by the Twins. March 20, 1999: Melvin Nieves was purchased from the Twins by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. March 31, 1999: Dan Serafini was purchased from the Twins by the Chicago Cubs. Regular season Seventeen rookies saw playing time for manager Tom Kelly in the 1999 season. Some of these rookies, such as Corey Koskie, Torii Hunter, and Joe Mays, would go on to future success. The season was not without its bright spots, including Doug Mientkiewicz's .997 fielding percentage and Koskie's team-leading .310 batting average. Another bright spot occurred on September 11, when pitcher Eric Milton threw the only no-hitter of his career against an Anaheim Angels team that consisted mainly of September call-ups. However, the euphemism "rebuilding year" must be applied to the Twins' 1999 campaign. On May 4, rookie Mike Lincoln pitched the Twins to their 3,000th victory. It was Lincoln's first win in the major leagues, as he beat the Yankees 8-5 at the Metrodome. Bert Blyleven was on the mound for both the Twins' 1,000th and 2,000th victories. Win 1: Pedro Ramos, 1961. Win 500: Jim Kaat, 1966. Win 1000: Blyleven, 1973. Win 1500: Roger Erickson, 1978. Win 2000: Blyleven, 1986 Win 2500: Jack Morris, 1991 It was only May 21 when the team's brain trust realized that this would not be a world champion team. On that day, the Twins traded Rick Aguilera,