1996 Minnesota Twins season

Last updated

1996  Minnesota Twins
League American League
Division Central Division
Ballpark Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
City Minneapolis
Record78-84 (.481)
Divisional place4th
Owners Carl Pohlad
General managers Terry Ryan
Managers Tom Kelly
Television WCCO-TV
Midwest Sports Channel
(Bert Blyleven, Dick Bremer, Ryan Lefebvre, Tommy John)
Radio 830 WCCO AM
(Herb Carneal, John Gordon)
←  1995 Seasons 1997  →

Prior to spring training, the 1996 Minnesota Twins were projected to be a contending team. The team's chances significantly worsened on March 28, 1996. Kirby Puckett, the team's franchise player, had been tattooing the Grapefruit League (spring training) for a .360 average, but that morning woke up without vision in his right eye. He was eventually diagnosed with glaucoma. Several surgeries over the next few months could not restore vision in the eye. Puckett announced his retirement from baseball on July 12. After beginning the season under the melancholy cloud of the Puckett situation, Manager Tom Kelly's team finished the year with a 78-84 record, which put it in fourth place in the American League Central Division.

Contents

Offseason

Regular season

Offense

Individual players on the team did excel. Paul Molitor had a standout year in his first year with his hometown team, playing as the regular designated hitter and winning a Silver Slugger Award at that position. He played in all but one game and hit .341 with 113 RBI and a league-best 225 hits. On September 16 in Kansas City, he collected his 3,000th hit, a triple off of José Rosado. He is the only player to obtain his 3,000th hit via a triple. Along with Molitor, Chuck Knoblauch also hit .341. Among the hits were 35 doubles. He also stole 45 bases. Marty Cordova had a respectable year, driving in 111 runs.

Team Leaders
Statistic PlayerQuantity
HR Marty Cordova 16
RBI Paul Molitor 113
BA Paul Molitor and Chuck Knoblauch .341
Runs Chuck Knoblauch 140

Pitching

The pitching did not match the offense. Brad Radke, Frank Rodriguez, and Rich Robertson (the three R's) all spent the whole season in the starting rotation and had losing records. The team's experiment moving Rick Aguilera from the closer's role to the starting rotation was not a successful one, as he started only 19 games. Scott Aldred also started 17 games for the team. Radke had the lowest ERA among the starters at 4.46. The rest were over five. Dave Stevens got the most saves at 11, but he was not an effective closer. Mike Trombley and Dan Naulty had effective seasons out of the bullpen, but nobody else had an ERA under five. Epitomizing the pitching woes, Mike Milchin had an ERA of 8.31 but the team still let him pitch in 26 games.

Team Leaders
Statistic PlayerQuantity
ERA Brad Radke 4.46
Wins Frank Rodriguez 13
Saves Dave Stevens 11
Strikeouts Brad Radke 148

Defense

The only truly regular starters in the field were Knoblauch at second base, Pat Meares at shortstop, and Cordova in left field. In a less-than-encouraging sign for the team's postseason prospects, Scott Stahoviak saw a majority of the time at first base. Dave Hollins played 116 games at third, with Jeff Reboulet and Todd Walker also seeing time. Greg Myers and Matt Walbeck platooned at catcher. Rich Becker had the unenviable task of replacing Puckett in center field and played 121 games there. Right field was a mish-mash, with Matt Lawton playing 60 games at the position, Roberto Kelly 54, Denny Hocking 33, and Ron Coomer 23.

Season standings

AL Central 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cleveland Indians 99620.615—51–2948–33
Chicago White Sox 85770.52514½44–3741–40
Milwaukee Brewers 80820.49419½38–4342–39
Minnesota Twins 78840.48121½39–4339–41
Kansas City Royals 75860.4662437–4338–43

Record vs. opponents

1996 American League record

Sources:
TeamBALBOSCALCWSCLEDETKCMILMINNYYOAKSEATEXTOR
Baltimore —7–66–64–85–711–29–39–37–53–109–47–53–10–18–5
Boston 6–7—8–46–61–1112–13–97–56–67–68–57–66–68–5
California 6–64–8—6–64–96–64–87–54–87–66–75–84–97–5
Chicago 8–46–66–6—5–810–37–66–76–76–75–75–78–47–5
Cleveland 7–511–19–48–5—12–07–67–610–33–96–68–44–87–5
Detroit 2–111–126–63–100–12—6–64–86–65–84–86–64–96–7
Kansas City 3–99–38–46–76–76–6—4–96–74–85–77–56–65–8
Milwaukee 3–95–75–77–66–78–49–4—9–46–67–54–96–75–7
Minnesota 5–76–68–47–63–106–67–64–9—5–76–76–67–58–5
New York 10–36–76–77–69–38–58–46–67–5—9–33–95–78–5
Oakland 4–95–87–67–56–68–47–55–77–63–9—8–57–64–8
Seattle 5–76–78–57–54–86–65–79–46–69–35–8—10–35–7
Texas 10–3–16–69–44–88–49–46–67–65–77–56–73–10—10–2
Toronto 5–85–85–75–75–77–68–57–55–85–88–47–52–10—

Game log

1996 Game Log: 78–84 (Home: 39–43; Away: 39–41)
April: 13–12 (Home: 8–7; Away: 5–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 1 Tigers 8–6Radke (1–0)LiraStevens (1)30,1851–0
2April 2 Tigers 6–10SodowskyRobertson (0–1)—20,1641–1
3April 3 Tigers 16–7Mahomes (1–0)Aldred—12,2562–1
4April 5 Orioles 1–2MerckerGuardado (0–1)Myers22,7442–2
5April 6 Orioles 8–3Radke (2–0)Haynes—22,3343–2
6April 7 Orioles 2–4MussinaRobertson (0–2)Myers14,5803–3
7April 9@ Red Sox 1–9GordonRodriguez (0–1)—30,8433–4
8April 11@ Red Sox 6–5Radke (3–0)ClemensStevens (2)15,5944–4
9April 12@ Orioles 2–3MussinaRobertson (0–3)—42,6024–5
10April 13@ Orioles 6–7BenitezMahomes (1–1)—42,6444–6
11April 14@ Orioles 4–1Rodriguez (1–1)HaynesStevens (3)42,6605–6
12April 16 Indians 2–7HershiserRadke (3–1)—13,1035–7
13April 17 Indians 9–8Hansell (1–0)ShueyStevens (4)11,2766–7
14April 19 Yankees 7–1Rodriguez (2–1)Gooden—20,2797–7
15April 20 Yankees 6–7WickmanGuardado (0–2)Wetteland24,5867–8
16April 21 Yankees 5–9RogersRadke (3–2)—20,1157–9
17April 22 Red Sox 1–4SeleRobertson (0–4)Slocumb11,3407–10
18April 23 Red Sox 8–6Naulty (1–0)HudsonStevens (5)11,5338–10
19April 24@ Tigers 24–11Bennett (1–0)Veres—12,1899–10
20April 25@ Tigers 11–1Hawkins (1–0)AldredHansell (1)11,80410–10
21April 26@ Yankees 4–5RiveraRadke (3–3)Wetteland14,45010–11
22April 27@ Yankees 8–6 (10)Bennett (2–0)Wickman—20,02511–11
23April 28@ Yankees 3–6RiveraRodriguez (2–2)Wetteland24,79311–12
24April 29 Royals 11–6Hansell (2–0)ClarkBennett (1)10,23712–12
25April 30 Royals 16–7Naulty (2–0)Magnante—10,50313–12
May: 10–16 (Home: 4–6; Away: 6–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
26May 1 Royals 6–5 (10)Stevens (1–0)Montgomery—11,97514–12
27May 3@ Angels 1–4FinleyRobertson (0–5)Percival24,50514–13
28May 4@ Angels 2–5GrimsleyRodriguez (2–3)—29,26414–14
29May 5@ Angels 1–5BoskieHawkins (1–1)—35,54114–15
30May 6@ Mariners 4–5WellsRadke (3–4)Charlton32,20314–16
31May 7@ Mariners 2–0Parra (1–0)WolcottStevens (6)15,62615–16
32May 8@ Mariners 7–5 (10)Guardado (1–2)WellsStevens (7)22,17516–16
33May 10@ Athletics 5–15WojciechowskiRodriguez (2–4)—8,27816–17
34May 11@ Athletics 5–12PrietoRadke (3–5)—15,79116–18
35May 12@ Athletics 3–8WengertParra (1–1)—13,43016–19
36May 14 Blue Jays 2–4HansonRobertson (0–6)Timlin13,48316–20
37May 15 Blue Jays 2–1Rodriguez (3–4)Hentgen—11,79317–20
38May 16 Blue Jays 4–1Radke (4–5)QuantrillStevens (8)13,53818–20
39May 17 Brewers 1–12KarlParra (1–2)—26,73318–21
40May 18 Brewers 3–7MirandaMahomes (1–2)Fetters30,59318–22
41May 19 Brewers 2–4SparksRobertson (0–7)Fetters24,41118–23
42May 20 Brewers 2–3BonesRodriguez (3–5)Fetters13,37618–24
43May 21 Rangers 4–3Milchin (1–0)Henneman—12,32319–24
44May 22 Rangers 5–6PavlikParra (1–3)Henneman17,95519–25
45May 23@ Blue Jays 4–5 (10)JanzenMilchin (1–1)—31,16319–26
46May 24@ Blue Jays 4–0Robertson (1–7)Hanson—33,14120–26
47May 25@ Blue Jays 6–4 (10)Guardado (2–2)CastilloStevens (9)34,11821–26
48May 26@ Blue Jays 9–3Naulty (3–0)Bohanon—30,17022–26
49May 28@ Brewers 3–7KarlMahomes (1–3)Garcia10,11722–27
50May 29@ Brewers 8–7 (12)Hansell (3–0)Lloyd—14,32423–27
51May 31@ Rangers 2–7HillRodriguez (3–6)—32,86123–28
June: 15–13 (Home: 9–8; Away: 6–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
52June 1@ Rangers 9–5Milchin (2–1)Henneman—43,41324–28
53June 2@ Rangers 6–5Guardado (3–2)Russell—33,80925–28
54June 3 Angels 9–3Trombley (1–0)Finley—10,58926–28
55June 4 Angels 5–3Rodriguez (4–6)GrimsleyGuardado (1)10,89927–28
56June 5 Angels 14–3Aldred (1–0)LangstonHansell (2)10,63928–28
57June 7 Athletics 4–6ReyesRadke (4–6)Corsi14,99928–29
58June 8 Athletics 4–2Robertson (2–7)WojciechowskiGuardado (2)—29–29
59June 8 Athletics 7–13WasdinMahomes (1–4)—22,16429–30
60June 9 Athletics 5–3Rodriguez (5–6)Wengert—13,29130–30
61June 10 Mariners 13–6Aldred (2–0)WagnerTrombley (1)17,13431–30
62June 11 Mariners 8–18WellsAguilera (0–1)Hurtado14,39531–31
63June 12 Mariners 3–5WolcottRadke (4–7)Charlton15,83031–32
64June 14 Tigers 4–5GohrRobertson (2–8)Olson22,83131–33
65June 15 Tigers 4–6OlivaresRodriguez (5–7)Olson17,09931–34
66June 16 Tigers 4–1Aguilera (1–1)LiraHansell (3)20,64132–34
67June 17@ Yankees 6–3Aldred (3–0)MendozaNaulty (1)16,18933–34
68June 18@ Yankees 0–2RogersRadke (4–8)Wetteland17,59333–35
69June 20@ Tigers 7–3Rodriguez (6–7)Olivares—8,31034–35
70June 21@ Tigers 0–2LiraAguilera (1–2)—13,12734–36
71June 22@ Tigers 0–6WilliamsAldred (3–1)—14,50634–37
72June 23@ Tigers 8–10UrbaniRadke (4–9)—13,99434–38
73June 24 Yankees 3–0Robertson (3–8)Pettitte—20,48835–38
74June 25 Yankees 6–1Rodriguez (7–7)Boehringer——36–38
75June 25 Yankees 2–6MendozaSerafini (0–1)—16,64136–39
76June 26 Yankees 1–2PolleyGuardado (3–3)Wetteland19,11636–40
77June 28@ Royals 2–6AppierRadke (4–10)—21,51536–41
78June 29@ Royals 12–7Trombley (2–0)Linton—23,23237–41
79June 30@ Royals 5–2Rodriguez (8–7)GubiczaStevens (10)28,24638–41
July: 13–14 (Home: 7–10; Away: 6–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
80July 1@ White Sox 10–7Aguilera (2–2)Sirotka—19,21139–41
81July 2@ White Sox 4–7FernandezAldred (3–2)Hernandez18,35739–42
82July 3@ White Sox 6–5Radke (5–10)AndujarStevens (11)26,11340–42
83July 4 Royals 3–5LintonRobertson (3–9)Montgomery37,29540–43
84July 5 Royals 9–8Guardado (4–3)Montgomery—18,46541–43
85July 6 Royals 5–8HaneyAguilera (2–3)Montgomery18,69941–44
86July 7 Royals 2–8BelcherAldred (3–3)—14,25141–45
87July 11 Indians 7–11McDowellRadke (5–11)—16,43841–46
88July 12 Indians 5–7MesaStevens (1–1)Shuey18,24641–47
89July 13 Indians 11–19OgeaAguilera (2–4)—31,55241–48
90July 14 Indians 5–4Guardado (5–3)Plunk—25,31242–48
91July 15 White Sox 16–5Aldred (4–3)McCaskill—13,63643–48
92July 16 White Sox 2–11AlvarezRadke (5–12)—18,50243–49
93July 17 White Sox 4–3Trombley (3–0)Simas—20,75544–49
94July 18@ Indians 4–5GravesGuardado (5–4)—40,93444–50
95July 19@ Indians 3–2Rodriguez (9–7)NagyNaulty (2)42,37345–50
96July 20@ Indians 5–6 (11)ShueyStevens (1–2)—43,43345–51
97July 21@ Indians 5–7McDowellRadke (5–13)Shuey42,34145–52
98July 22@ Orioles 9–5Robertson (4–9)HaynesTrombley (2)42,12946–52
99July 23@ Orioles 3–2Aguilera (3–4)WellsNaulty (3)42,00647–52
100July 24@ Orioles 11–4Rodriguez (10–7)Erickson—46,18148–52
101July 25 Red Sox 16–6Parra (2–3)Wakefield—13,92449–52
102July 26 Red Sox 5–1Radke (6–13)Clemens—17,76850–52
103July 27 Red Sox 5–9GordonNaulty (3–1)—22,12850–53
104July 28 Red Sox 9–8Aguilera (4–4)SeleNaulty (4)17,44851–53
105July 30 Orioles 4–16CoppingerRodriguez (10–8)—16,70851–54
106July 31 Orioles 3–9MussinaTrombley (3–1)—15,89751–55
August: 16–14 (Home: 5–6; Away: 11–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
107August 1 Orioles 2–4WellsRobertson (4–10)Myers20,37951–56
108August 2@ Red Sox 10–11BrandenburgNaulty (3–2)—28,04151–57
109August 3@ Red Sox 3–6SeleRodriguez (10–9)Hudson19,86051–58
110August 3@ Red Sox 6–0Aldred (5–3)Suppan—29,13552–58
111August 4@ Red Sox 6–13EshelmanKlingenbeck (0–1)—29,93952–59
112August 6@ Angels 4–1Radke (7–13)SpringerGuardado (3)20,05853–59
113August 7@ Angels 4–0Robertson (5–10)Finley—18,61154–59
114August 8@ Angels 13–5Aguilera (5–4)Boskie—21,28355–59
115August 9@ Mariners 6–5Parra (3–3)WolcottRodriguez (1)25,13056–59
116August 10@ Mariners 10–4Klingenbeck (1–1)Hitchcock—34,38157–59
117August 11@ Mariners 6–3Radke (8–13)WellsRodriguez (2)36,11458–59
118August 12@ Athletics 1–11PrietoRobertson (5–11)—10,07158–60
119August 13@ Athletics 6–2Aguilera (6–4)Wengert—11,15659–60
120August 14@ Athletics 13–7Rodriguez (11–9)Telgheder—12,72960–60
121August 16 Blue Jays 5–4 (10)Parra (4–3)Quantrill—19,83861–60
122August 17 Blue Jays 11–1Robertson (6–11)Hanson—20,35462–60
123August 18 Blue Jays 2–6HentgenAguilera (6–5)—18,01062–61
124August 19 Brewers 1–6D'AmicoRodriguez (11–10)—21,87962–62
125August 20 Brewers 12–7Parra (5–3)Bones—14,63063–62
126August 21 Brewers 7–10JonesStevens (1–3)Fetters15,88563–63
127August 22 Rangers 2–11HillRobertson (6–12)—17,34263–64
128August 23 Rangers 9–2Aguilera (7–5)Oliver—16,16664–64
129August 24 Rangers 6–5Rodriguez (12–10)PavlikTrombley (3)16,64865–64
130August 25 Rangers 2–13WittMiller (0–1)—14,81865–65
131August 26@ Blue Jays 3–5GuzmanRadke (8–14)Timlin31,13465–66
132August 27@ Blue Jays 6–4 (11)Trombley (4–1)Quantrill—30,03366–66
133August 28@ Blue Jays 1–6HentgenAguilera (7–6)—30,10666–67
134August 29@ Brewers 6–1Rodriguez (13–10)Karl—14,92267–67
135August 30@ Brewers 4–5 (12)WickmanParra (5–4)—17,44467–68
136August 31@ Brewers 2–3JonesRobertson (6–13)Fetters20,18767–69
September: 11–15 (Home: 6–6; Away: 5–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 1@ Brewers 6–2Aldred (6–3)Van Egmond—17,07468–69
138September 2@ Rangers 6–4Aguilera (8–6)HillGuardado (4)24,78669–69
139September 3@ Rangers 7–9WittRodriguez (13–11)Henneman28,40169–70
140September 4@ Rangers 7–6Robertson (7–13)HerediaTrombley (4)29,74470–70
141September 6 Angels 6–2Radke (9–14)Finley—13,00671–70
142September 7 Angels 6–3Stevens (2–3)BoskieTrombley (5)51,01172–70
143September 8 Angels 2–4AbbottRodriguez (13–12)Percival14,37872–71
144September 10 Athletics 0–7TelghederRobertson (7–14)—9,67672–72
145September 11 Athletics 7–2Radke (10–14)Adams—9,49373–72
146September 12 Athletics 4–3 (12)Stevens (3–3)Mohler—9,71274–72
147September 13 Mariners 7–13WellsMiller (0–2)—15,51074–73
148September 14 Mariners 3–5 (10)AyalaGuardado (5–5)Charlton18,00274–74
149September 15 Mariners 0–7TorresRobertson (7–15)—25,14274–75
150September 16@ Royals 5–6RosadoRadke (10–15)Bluma16,84374–76
151September 17@ Royals 2–4HaneyAldred (6–4)Bluma11,80974–77
152September 18@ Royals 7–4Miller (1–2)Belcher—11,58875–77
153September 19@ White Sox 3–8SirotkaRodriguez (13–13)Castillo14,25375–78
154September 20@ White Sox 3–7TapaniRobertson (7–16)—15,67375–79
155September 21@ White Sox 4–3Radke (11–15)AlvarezTrombley (6)18,86676–79
156September 22@ White Sox 1–5FernandezAldred (6–5)—20,11176–80
157September 23@ Indians 6–7GravesParra (5–5)Mesa42,29976–81
158September 24@ Indians 5–7OgeaRodriguez (13–14)Mesa42,27276–82
159September 25@ Indians 3–6NagyRobertson (7–17)—42,46976–83
160September 27 White Sox 2–4FernandezRadke (11–16)Hernandez13,05876–84
161September 28 White Sox 7–6Trombley (5–1)Castillo—34,00877–84
162September 29 White Sox 5–4 (10)Guardado (6–5)Hernandez—13,30678–84
Legend:       = Win       = Loss
Bold = Twins team member

Detailed records

Roster

1996 Minnesota Twins
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

Coaches

Notable Transactions

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Greg Myers 9732994.286647
1B Scott Stahoviak 130405115.2841361
2B Chuck Knoblauch 153578197.3411372
SS Pat Meares 152517138.267867
3B Dave Hollins 121422102.2421353
LF Marty Cordova 145569176.30916111
CF Rich Becker 148525153.2911271
RF Matt Lawton 7925265.258642
DH Paul Molitor 161660225.3419113

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Roberto Kelly 98322104.323647
Jeff Reboulet 10723452.222023
Ron Coomer 9523369.2961241
Matt Walbeck 6321548.223224
Denny Hocking 4912725.197110
Chip Hale 858724.276116
Todd Walker 258221.25606
Mike Durant 408117.21005
Brent Brede 10206.30002
Brian Raabe 792.22201
Tom Quinlan 460.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Brad Radke 35232.011164.46148
Frank Rodriguez 38206.213145.05110
Rich Robertson 36186.17175.12114
Scott Aldred 25122.0655.0975
Rick Aguilera 19111.1865.4283
Travis Miller 726.1129.2315
LaTroy Hawkins 726.1118.2024
Dan Serafini 14.10110.381

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGIPWLERASO
José Parra 2770.0556.0450
Pat Mahomes 2045.0147.2030
Scott Klingenbeck 1028.2117.8515

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Dave Stevens 4933114.6629
Eddie Guardado 836545.2574
Greg Hansell 503035.6946
Dan Naulty 493243.7956
Mike Trombley 435163.0157
Mike Milchin 262108.3119
Erik Bennett 242017.9013

Miscellaneous

Other post-season awards

Outfielder Kirby Puckett won the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media.

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Salt Lake Buzz Pacific Coast League Phil Roof
AA Hardware City Rock Cats Eastern League Al Newman
A Fort Myers Miracle Florida State League John Russell
A Fort Wayne Wizards Midwest League Dan Rohn
Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Jose Marzan
Rookie GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Mike Boulanger

[7]

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Like many Twins teams of its half-decade, the 1998 Minnesota Twins neither impressed nor contended. The team finished with a 70–92 record, with subpar batting and pitching. The season was not without its bright spots, as individual players had solid seasons and Hall of Fame designated hitter Paul Molitor announced his retirement at the end of the season. Tom Kelly's team had plenty of lowlights, most notably David Wells' perfect game against the team on May 17 at Yankee Stadium.

After winning the American League Central Division in 2002, the 2003 Minnesota Twins were looking to repeat division titles for the first time since 1969 and 1970. A spark for the team was the July trade of Bobby Kielty for Shannon Stewart. Stewart provided a veteran presence at the top of the lineup that the team had previously lacked. The team met its goal of reaching the playoffs, but once again fell short in the postseason. The Twins lost in four games to the New York Yankees during the AL Division Series. 2003 would be the last year several key players played with the team.

The 1997 Minnesota Twins will not be remembered as the strongest team the Twins ever fielded. Manager Tom Kelly's team consisted of a few solid players, but mainly past-their-prime veterans and never-to-be-established prospects. One of the few bright spots was pitcher Brad Radke's breakout season, in which he won 20 games, at one point had 12 consecutive victories, tying a record Scott Erickson set in 1991. The team finished with a 68–94 record, good enough for fourth place in what proved to be the league's weakest division that season. The Cleveland Indians, who won the division that year, made it all the way to the World Series, but lost in seven games to the Florida Marlins.

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 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 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 1998 season was the 96th season played by the New York Yankees. Widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in baseball history, the Yankees finished with a franchise record regular-season standing of 114–48. These Yankees set an American League record for wins in a season, a record that would stand until 2001, when the Seattle Mariners won 116 games in the regular season against 46 losses. It also saw Yankee David Wells pitch the 15th perfect game in baseball history. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium, in which they celebrated the stadium's 75th Anniversary. Joe Torre managed the team.

The Seattle Mariners 1996 season was their 20th season, and the team was the runner-up in American League West, with a record of 85–76 (.528), 4½ games behind the champion Texas Rangers. The Mariners led the majors in runs (993), doubles (335), runs batted in (954), and slugging percentage (.484), but the pitching staff had the highest earned run average (5.21) in team history. Four Mariners scored at least 100 runs and four drove in at least 100 runs. In their game against the Kansas City Royals on May 11, the Mariners set a franchise record of 12 extra-base hits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Philadelphia Phillies season</span>

The 1993 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 111th season in the history of the franchise. The team won the National League East championship and defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1993 National League Championship Series in six games, before losing the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Minnesota Twins season</span>

The 2015 Minnesota Twins season was the 55th season for the franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their sixth season at Target Field and the 115th overall in the American League. The team finished second in the AL Central with an 83–79 record, their best overall result since the 2010 season, which was the last year they made the playoffs. The team remained in the running for a wild card berth in the American League playoffs until losing Game 161. They would eventually win a wild card berth two years later, in 2017. In between, however, the team lost 103 games.

References

  1. ↑ Luis Rivas at Baseball Reference
  2. ↑ Paul Molitor at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ "Twins 24, Tigers 11". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Twins 16, Red Sox 6". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  5. ↑ Jacque Jones Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  6. ↑ David Ortiz Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
  7. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
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