Minnesota Twins - The Reagan Years (1980-1989)

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1980

Decade

1980

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102

Titles:

Top Twins Players of the Eighties

1987 - World Series (Beat Cardinals)

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Frank Viola (27.23) - 74

Metropolitan Stadium (1980-1981)

Bert Blyleven (10.7) - 29

Metrodome (1982-1989)

Ron Davis (0.13) - 28

Jeff Reardon (4.24) - 27

Team Name:

Mike Smithson (4.72) - 26

Twins

Allan Anderson (7.34) - 22

Doug Corbett (8.34) - 20

Owner:

Al Williams (6.37) - 15

Calvin Giffith (1980-1984)

Jerry Koosman (3.85) - 14

Carl Pohlad (1985-1989)

Bobby Castillo (4.22) - 10

Geoff Zahn (0.41) - 10

General Managers:

Juan Berenguer (4.82) - 8

Andy MacPhail (1985-1989)

Roger Erickson (4.69) - 5

Managers:

Catchers:

Gene Mauch (1980)

Dave Engle (3.9) - 20

John Goryl (1980-1981)

Tim Laudner (3.17) - 19

Billy Gardner (1981-1985)

Brian Harper (3.89) - 10

Ray Miller (1985-1986)

Tom Kelly (1987-1989)

First Basemen:

Kent Hrbek (30.39) - 76

No Hitters:

None

Second Basemen:

John Castino (13.12) - 25

Hall of Famers:

Tim Teufel (5.52) - 10

Kirby Puckett

Steve Lombardozzi (4.02) - 6

Bert Blyleven

ShortStop:

Rookie of the Year:

Greg Gagne (10.79) - 30

None

Roy Smalley (6.05) - 24

MVP:

Third Base:

None

Gary Gaetti (24.52) - 51

Cy Young:

Outfield:

Frank Viola (1988)

Kirby Puckett (28.81) - 64

Tom Brunansky (16.07) - 41

Notable Events:

Randy Bush (1.98) - 26

Mickey Hatcher (3.74) - 24

1980 - The Twins were mired in medicrity in the Seventies. It gets

Gary Ward (10.72) - 23

worse in the Eighties. For the first seven years of the Eighties,

Dan Gladden (6.02) - 21

Minnesota would have envied mediocrity. They achieved it once in 1984

when the Twins finished at .500. However, things would turn around

Notable Events:

late in the decade as the Twins would win the World Series.

1984 - Kirby Puckett, the third overall pick in the 1982 Amateur draft, is a rookie.

1981 - The first piece of the Twins successful core of the late Eighties

The outfielder is twenty four years old. He completes the very strong five player

and early Nineties comes up. He is twenty one year old slugging

core that carries the Twins into the early Nineties.

first baseman Kent Hrbek who will be a remarkably steady quality hitter

thru his fourteen year big league career. He was a 17th round pick

1985 - Griffith sells the club to Carl Pohlad. Calvin had been very busy upping the

in the 1978 draft

value of the franchise prior to the sale. First, he had gotten the new ballpark built for

him. Next he began scurrying around assembling a competitive ball club to up the

1981 - The second piece of the Twins successful core comes up.

price even further. Griffith was a savvy baseball man when he felt the urge (i.e. when

He is twenty two year old slugging third baseman Gary Gaetti who will

it would translate into making him money). If he wasn't an owner, he would have

have a twenty year career, much of it as one of the top third sackers

easily been one of the more successful GM's in the business.

in the game. Gaetti was a first round pick in the 1979 draft.

1985 - New owner Pohlad hires a General Manager with great

1981 - Minnesota plays their final game at the Metropolitan Stadium,

bloodlines, Andy MacPhail. His grandfather Larry and father Lee

a ballpark that was used for twenty years after being converted

were top of the line baseball men who knew how to build powerhouses.

from a minor league ballpark.

MacPhail will be at the helm for two world series titles in his ten year

run - not bad for a small market club like the Twins.

1982 - The Metrodome opens. This place was a charmless mistake

from the day it opened. Calvin Griffith was happy, though, as it upped

1987 - The Twins win the World Series - improbably. They improved

the value of the franchise considerably - in this sense,

from 71-91 to 85-77, fourteen games. However, you usually don't

he was a chip off the old block.

win world championships winning eighty five games.

Predictably, the Twins were heavy underdogs in both of their post

1982 - Calvin Griffith's twenty year lease of the Metrodome included

season series with the Tigers and then with the Cards, but Minnesota came

a clause which stated that the Twins had to average 1.4 million fans

out on top.

over any three year period or the lease was broken. Griffith was a

miser, but not a stupid miser. Griffith had threatened to move to Tampa

1988 - Minnesota wins six more games than their World Championship

to force local businessmen to either buy him out to keep the team in

season, but finish second thirteen games behind the A's

Minnesota or build a new stadium for the Twins to keep him in Minnesota.

With a brand new, albeit awful, stadium, Griffith had dealt himself

1988 - Frank Viola wins the Cy Young award with twenty four wins

a winning hand.

1988 - The Twins become the first team in American League

1982 - Slugging outfielder Tom Brunansky , another pirece of the core,

history to draw three million fans

is stolen from the Angels. Only twenty one, he was the fourteenth pick

overall in the previous amateur draft.

1989 - Chuck Knoblauch, 20, is selected in the first round of the

Brunansky was obtained for journeyman reliever Doug Corbett

Amateur draft. He would be one of the top second basemen in

baseball in the Nineties

1982 - Frank Viola, twenty two year old lefthander, is a rookie. The fourth

piece of the core. He was selected in the second round of the 1981 draft.

1989 - In a blockbuster deal, Minnesota deals ace lefthander Frank

Viola to the Mets in exchange for righthanders Rick Aguilera and

Kevin Tapani. This was a quality for quality deal