Dozier: Twins set goal to 'prove everybody wrong'

One season after losing more than 100 games and finishing with the worst record in baseball, the Minnesota Twins are heading to the playoffs.

The Twins secured the American League's second wild-card Wednesday thanks to a Los Angeles Angels loss to the Chicago White Sox, thus becoming the first team in major-league history to make the postseason after losing 100 or more games the season prior.

While the Twins didn't appear to be a playoff club before the season began, the team set one important goal in spring training: "To prove everybody wrong."

"I've never been so proud of a group of guys in my entire life," Twins second baseman Brian Dozier told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. "The way we battled, the fun we have every day, that's what it's all about. We set a goal to prove everybody wrong and we did that today, but we still have work to do."

The 30-year-old Dozier - a big part of the Twins' turnaround this season, belting 30-plus home runs for a second consecutive season - made sure to offer a special thank you as the Twins celebrated the postseason appearance with champagne showers in their clubhouse.

"We had everything set up and with it going into extra innings, we thought this might be the biggest letdown ever," Dozier explained after watching the Angels' loss to the White Sox. "But Nicky Delmonico is my favorite player."

It was Delmonico's walk-off home run in extra innings that put an end to the Angels' season.