1990 Minnesota Twins | ||
---|---|---|
League | American League | |
Division | Western Division | |
Ballpark | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |
City | Minneapolis | |
Record | 74–88 (.457) | |
Divisional place | 7th | |
Owners | Carl Pohlad | |
General managers | Andy MacPhail | |
Managers | Tom Kelly | |
Television | WCCO-TV KITN Midwest Sports Channel (Jim Kaat, Ted Robinson, Dick Bremer) | |
Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, John Gordon) | |
|
The 1990 Minnesota Twins , three years after their World Series title in 1987, fell to the bottom of the AL West once again. However, the season was not completely bad, as there were some bright spots that included pitchers Rick Aguilera and Scott Erickson. Aguilera converted from starter to closer and recorded 32 saves, while Erickson was promoted to the Twins in June from AA and went 8-4 with a 3.27 ERA. During Fan Appreciation Day on October 3, Outfielder Dan Gladden made a prediction saying that even though we finished in last place this season, we're going to improve next season and if we did, they could potentially bring another World Series championship to Minnesota. That prediction proved accurate the next year.
Statistic | Player | Quantity |
---|---|---|
HR | Kent Hrbek | 22 |
RBI | Gary Gaetti | 85 |
BA | Kirby Puckett | .298 |
Runs | Kirby Puckett | 82 |
Statistic | Player | Quantity |
---|---|---|
ERA | Allan Anderson | 4.53 |
Wins | Kevin Tapani | 12 |
Saves | Rick Aguilera | 32 |
Strikeouts | Mark Guthrie, Kevin Tapani | 101 |
The highlight of the season came on July 17, in Boston, when the Twins turned two triple plays. In the 4th inning, with the bases loaded and Scott Erickson pitching, former Twin Tom Brunansky hit a sharp grounder to Gary Gaetti at third base, who stepped on the bag for the force out, fired to Al Newman at second, whose relay to Kent Hrbek was in time to get Brunansky at first. In the 8th inning, with John Candelaria pitching and runners on first and second, Jody Reed hit a one-hopper at Gaetti who again started a 5-4-3 triple play. This was the first time in MLB history that two triple plays were recorded in a game, a feat that has not been duplicated since. [3]
The following night, still in Boston, both teams combined for an MLB-record-tying ten double plays. Boston tied an American League record by grounding into six DPs in the game, only escaping the twin killings in the sixth and seventh innings.
Both games were won by Boston.
AL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oakland Athletics | 103 | 59 | 0.636 | — | 51–30 | 52–29 |
Chicago White Sox | 94 | 68 | 0.580 | 9 | 49–31 | 45–37 |
Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 20 | 47–35 | 36–44 |
California Angels | 80 | 82 | 0.494 | 23 | 42–39 | 38–43 |
Seattle Mariners | 77 | 85 | 0.475 | 26 | 38–43 | 39–42 |
Kansas City Royals | 75 | 86 | 0.466 | 27½ | 45–36 | 30–50 |
Minnesota Twins | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 29 | 41–40 | 33–48 |
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
Boston | 9–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–3 |
California | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
Chicago | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 5–7 |
Cleveland | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 5–8 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
Detroit | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
Kansas City | 3–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
Milwaukee | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 4–9 | 10–3 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
Minnesota | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 |
New York | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 0–12 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–8 |
Oakland | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 12–0 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
Seattle | 9–3 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 4–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 |
Texas | 4–8 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–5 |
Toronto | 8–5 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — |
1990 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
| Outfielders
Other batters | Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Brian Harper | 134 | 479 | 141 | .294 | 6 | 54 |
1B | Kent Hrbek | 143 | 492 | 141 | .287 | 22 | 79 |
2B | Al Newman | 144 | 388 | 94 | .242 | 0 | 30 |
3B | Gary Gaetti | 154 | 577 | 132 | .229 | 16 | 85 |
SS | Greg Gagne | 138 | 388 | 91 | .235 | 7 | 38 |
LF | Dan Gladden | 136 | 534 | 147 | .275 | 5 | 40 |
CF | Kirby Puckett | 146 | 551 | 164 | .298 | 12 | 80 |
RF | Shane Mack | 125 | 313 | 102 | .326 | 8 | 44 |
DH | Gene Larkin | 119 | 401 | 108 | .269 | 5 | 42 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fred Manrique | 69 | 228 | 54 | .237 | 5 | 29 |
Nelson Liriano | 53 | 185 | 47 | .254 | 0 | 13 |
Randy Bush | 73 | 181 | 44 | .243 | 6 | 18 |
John Moses | 115 | 172 | 38 | .221 | 1 | 14 |
Junior Ortiz | 71 | 170 | 57 | .335 | 0 | 18 |
Carmelo Castillo | 64 | 137 | 30 | .219 | 0 | 12 |
Paul Sorrento | 41 | 121 | 25 | .207 | 5 | 13 |
Pedro Muñoz | 22 | 85 | 23 | .271 | 0 | 5 |
Jim Dwyer | 37 | 63 | 12 | .190 | 1 | 5 |
Scott Leius | 14 | 25 | 6 | .240 | 1 | 4 |
Lenny Webster | 2 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
Chip Hale | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 |
Doug Baker | 3 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Allan Anderson | 31 | 188.2 | 7 | 18 | 4.53 | 82 |
Kevin Tapani | 28 | 159.1 | 12 | 8 | 4.07 | 101 |
David West | 29 | 146.1 | 7 | 9 | 5.10 | 92 |
Mark Guthrie | 24 | 144.2 | 7 | 9 | 3.79 | 101 |
Scott Erickson | 19 | 113.0 | 8 | 4 | 2.87 | 53 |
Paul Abbott | 7 | 34.2 | 0 | 5 | 5.97 | 25 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roy Smith | 32 | 153.1 | 5 | 10 | 4.81 | 87 |
Tim Drummond | 35 | 91.0 | 3 | 5 | 4.35 | 49 |
Larry Casian | 5 | 22.1 | 2 | 1 | 3.22 | 11 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rick Aguilera | 56 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 2.76 | 61 |
Terry Leach | 55 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3.20 | 46 |
Juan Berenguer | 51 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3.41 | 77 |
Gary Wayne | 38 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.19 | 28 |
John Candelaria | 34 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3.39 | 44 |
Jack Savage | 17 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8.31 | 12 |
Rich Garcés | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.59 | 1 |
Rich Yett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 2 |
John Moses | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elizabethton [7]
Kent Alan Hrbek, nicknamed "Herbie", is a former American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 14-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins (1981–1994). Hrbek batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He hit the first home run in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on April 3, 1982, in an exhibition game against the Phillies. Fans knew Hrbek as an outstanding defensive player, perennial slugger, and charismatic hometown favorite. Former Twins pitcher Jim Kaat considered Hrbek to be the best defensive first baseman he had ever seen, despite him never winning a Gold Glove at the position.
The 1987 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1987 season. The 84th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Twins defeated the Cardinals four games to three to win the Series, their first in Minnesota and the first since last winning as the Washington Senators in 1924. Twins pitcher Frank Viola was named as the 1987 World Series MVP.
The 1987 American League Championship Series pitted the Minnesota Twins, the American League West champions, against the Detroit Tigers, the American League East champions. Minnesota won the Series four games to one, en route to winning the 1987 World Series four games to three over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 1991 Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB) won the World Series, the second time the Twins had won the World Series since moving to Minnesota in 1961. During the 1991 regular season the Twins had an MLB-leading 15-game win streak, which remains a club record. On June 17, 1991, the streak came to an end at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles but not before the Twins moved from fifth place to first, a lead they would not relinquish until winning baseball's championship. The Twins' winning streak of 1991 falls just seven games short of the all-time American League (AL) record of 22 consecutive regular season wins set by the Cleveland Indians in 2017.
The Minnesota Twins complied a record of 69–93 during the 2000 Major League Baseball season. It was the team's last of a consecutive string record of eight losing seasons and it was characterized with weak hitting but slightly better pitching. The team was managed by Tom Kelly and contained the nucleus of future manager Ron Gardenhire's team that would reach the postseason only two years later.
Although the 1995 Minnesota Twins were separated from a world championship by only four years, it seemed like eons. Because of the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, the season got off to a late start. However, it did not end soon enough, as the team finished with a 56–88 record and in last place in its division. The team found it impossible to compete against the runaway Cleveland Indians who won 100 games despite the shortened season and finished 44 games ahead of the Twins. By July, the team was trading away its veterans in a fire sale. Manager Tom Kelly might have preferred that the strike had continued.
The 1994 Minnesota Twins played in an abbreviated, strike-shortened season. The strike overshadowed the season's accomplishments. These included Scott Erickson's no-hitter on April 27, Chuck Knoblauch's 85-game errorless streak and league-leading 45 doubles, Kirby Puckett's 2,000th hit, and Kent Hrbek's retirement. In 113 games, Manager Tom Kelly's team finished with a record of 53–60, for fourth place in the newly created American League Central Division.
The 1993 Minnesota Twins finished with a 71–91 record, leaving the team tied for fifth place with the California Angels. Kirby Puckett won the All-Star MVP award on July 13 and St. Paul native Dave Winfield got his 3,000th hit over the course of the year.
Coming off a World Series victory, the 1992 Minnesota Twins continued the team's winning spree. The team finished in second place to the Oakland Athletics and did not make it to the postseason. This would be the team's last winning season until 2001.
The 1987 Minnesota Twins won the World Series for the first time since moving from Washington in 1961, the second time that the franchise won the World Series. Having won only 85 games during the 1987 regular season, they won the World Series with the then-fewest regular season wins since Major League Baseball expanded to a 162-game season in 1961, and the fewest of any team since the 1889 New York Giants. They also became the first team to win the World Series despite being outscored by their opponents in the regular season, having scored 786 runs and allowed 806.
The 1978 Minnesota Twins finished 73–89, fourth in the American League West.
The 1981 Minnesota Twins finished a combined 41–68, seventh in the American League West. In the strike split season, the Twins were 17–39, seventh place in the first half and 24–29, fourth place in the second half. 469,090 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League. It was also their 21st and final season at Metropolitan Stadium, before moving their home games to the Metrodome the next season. The franchise would not play another outdoor home game until 2010, when Target Field opened.
The 1982 season was the first year that the Minnesota Twins played at the Metrodome, which they would continue to play in until 2009. The team finished 60–102, seventh in the AL West. It was the first time the Twins lost more than 100 games since moving to Minnesota. This feat of more than 100 losses would be matched in 2016 and was surpassed by one game as that record was 59-103.
The 1983 Minnesota Twins finished 70–92, tied for fifth in the AL West, and improved upon their dismal 60-102 record from 1982 by ten games. 858,939 fans attended Twins games, the third-lowest total in the American League.
The 1984 Minnesota Twins season was a season in American baseball. The team spent much of the season contending for the division title, but finished with a record of 81–81, tied for second in the American League West, and three games behind the division winner Kansas City Royals. Their 81–81 record was an 11-game improvement from 1983, and a 21-game improvement from their 102-loss season of 1982.
The 1985 Minnesota Twins finished with a record of 77–85, tied for fourth in the American League West, and 14 games behind the division winner and eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals.
The 1986 Minnesota Twins finished at 71–91, sixth in the AL West, 21 games behind the eventual AL runner-up California Angels. 1,255,453 fans attended Twins games, the second lowest total in the American League. Pitcher Bert Blyleven made a prediction on Fan Appreciation Day on October 3, saying that if the team came together as a unit and signed some other good players, they could potentially bring a World Series championship to Minnesota. That prediction proved accurate the next year.
The 1988 Minnesota Twins finished at 91–71, second in the AL West. 3,030,672 fans attended Twins games, at the time, establishing a new major league record. Pitcher Allan Anderson had his most successful season in 1988, winning the American League ERA title at 2.45 and compiling a record of 16-9 in 30 starts.
The 1989 Minnesota Twins finished 80–82, fifth in the AL West Division. 2,277,438 fans attended Twins games, the 7th highest total in the American League.
The 2000 Boston Red Sox season was the 100th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with a record of 85 wins and 77 losses, 2+1⁄2 games behind the New York Yankees, who went on to win the 2000 World Series. The Red Sox did not qualify for the postseason, as the AL wild card went to the Seattle Mariners, who had finished second in the American League West with a record of 91–71.