1984 Minnesota Twins season

1984 Minnesota Twins
81-81, second in the AL Western Division
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (since 1982)
Minneapolis, Minnesota (since 1961)
Other information
Owner(s)	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager(s)	Calvin Griffith
Manager(s)	Billy Gardner
Local television	KMSP-TV (Bob Kurtz, Ted Robinson) Spectrum (Harmon Killebrew, Dick Bremer)
Local radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Joe Angel)
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The 1984 Minnesota Twins season was a season in American baseball. The team finished with a record of 81-81, second in the American League West.

1,598,692 fans attended Twins games, a Twins attendance record, but still the fifth lowest total in the American League. Towards the end of the season, Calvin Griffith sold the club to local investor Carl Pohlad.

Offseason

• October 1983: Jeff Little was released by the Twins.^[1]
• December 7, 1983: Gary Ward and Sam Sorce (minors) were traded by the Twins to the Texas Rangers for John Butcher and Mike Smithson.^[2]
• January 17, 1984: Mark Grace was drafted by the Twins in the 15th round of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.^[3]

Regular season

• May 4 - Oakland's Dave Kingman popped up in the fourth inning. The ball found a drainage hole in the Metrodome's roof and never returned to the playing surface. Kingman was awarded a ground-rule double. In the ninth, he hit another ball out -- but this one was just into the seats.
• May 8 – Kirby Puckett got four hits in his major league debut, at Anaheim Stadium.
• June 29 – Andre David made his major league debut and started in right field for the Twins. In his first at bat in the second inning, he homered off Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris to become the fourth Twin to homer in his first-ever at bat. David joined Rick Renick (1968), Dave McKay (1975) and Gary Gaetti (1981); three of the four were against Detroit pitching. In 2015, Eddie Rosario joins the list when he homers on the very first pitch he sees in the majors.
• Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game, catcher Dave Engle.
• September 28 – The Twins suffered their biggest blown lead for a loss in team history. Leading Cleveland 10-0 in the third inning, and 10-2 in the sixth, they lost the 9-inning game 11-10. In the ninth, relievers Ron Davis and Ed Hodge loaded the bases. Hodge allowed a walk-off single.

Offense

Kent Hrbek hit .311 with 27 HR and 107 RBI. Tom Brunansky hit 32 HR and 85 RBI. Leadoff batter Kirby Puckett hit .296 and scored 63 runs. Gary Gaetti hit 5 HR and 65 RBI.

Pitching

Starter Frank Viola was 18-12. Reliever Ron Davis had 29 saves. He also blew 14 saves, to tie a major league record set in 1976 and tied two other times. Mike Smithson allowed 35 homers, the most in the majors.

Defense

Gary Gaetti led the major league playing in 162 games. His 334 assists led all of baseball this season. Outfield teammates Kirby Puckett (center) and Tom Brunansky (right) also led the major leagues in assists.

Season standings

AL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	84	78	0.519	—	44–37	40–41
California Angels	81	81	0.500	3	37–44	44–37
Minnesota Twins	81	81	0.500	3	47–34	34–47
Oakland Athletics	77	85	0.475	7	44–37	33–48
Chicago White Sox	74	88	0.457	10	43–38	31–50
Seattle Mariners	74	88	0.457	10	42–39	32–49
Texas Rangers	69	92	0.429	14½	34–46	35–46

Record vs. opponents

1984 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–7	8–4	7–5	7–6	7–6	5–7	7–6	5–7	5–8	6–6	9–3	9–3	4–9
Boston	7–6	—	9–3	7–5	10–3	7–6	3–9	9–4	6–6	7–6	7–5	4–8	5–7	5–8
California	4–8	3–9	—	8–5	8–4	4–8	6–7	8–4	4–9	8–4	7–6	9–4	5–8	7–5
Chicago	5–7	5–7	5–8	—	8–4	4–8	5–8	7–5	8–5	7–5	6–7	5–8	5–8	4–8
Cleveland	6–7	3–10	4–8	4–8	—	4–9	6–6	9–4	7–5	2–11	7–5	8–4	9–3	6–7–1
Detroit	6–7	6–7	8–4	8–4	9–4	—	7–5	11–2	9–3	7–6	9–3	6–6	10–2	8–5
Kansas City	7–5	9–3	7–6	8–5	6–6	5–7	—	6–6	6–7	5–7	5–8	9–4	6–7	5–7
Milwaukee	6–7	4–9	4–8	5–7	4–9	2–11	6–6	—	5–7	6–7	4–8	6–6	5–6	10–3
Minnesota	7–5	6–6	9–4	5–8	5–7	3–9	7–6	7–5	—	8–4	8–5	7–6	8–5	1–11
New York	8–5	6–7	4–8	5–7	11–2	6–7	7–5	7–6	4–8	—	8–4	7–5	6–6	8–5
Oakland	6–6	5–7	6–7	7–6	5–7	3–9	8–5	8–4	5–8	4–8	—	8–5	8–5	4–8
Seattle	3–9	8–4	4–9	8–5	4–8	6–6	4–9	6–6	6–7	5–7	5–8	—	10–3	5–7
Texas	3–9	7–5	8–5	8–5	3–9	2–10	7–6	6–5	5–8	6–6	5–8	3–10	—	6–6
Toronto	9–4	8–5	5–7	8–4	7–6–1	5–8	7–5	3–10	11–1	5–8	8–4	7–5	6–6	—

Notable transactions

• June 4, 1984: Jay Bell was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (8th pick) of the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Jay Bell signed on June 11, 1984.^[4]

Roster

1984 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 32 John Butcher 37 Bobby Castillo 21 Keith Comstock 39 Ron Davis 23 Pete Filson 17 Ed Hodge 19 Rick Lysander 33 Jack O'Connor 19 Larry Pashnick 18 Ken Schrom 48 Mike Smithson 16 Frank Viola 30 Mike Walters 36 Curt Wardle 22 Len Whitehouse 28 Albert Williams		Catchers 20 Dave Engle 15 Tim Laudner 10 Jeff Reed Infielders  2 John Castino  1 Alvaro Espinoza 12 Lenny Faedo  8 Gary Gaetti 14 Kent Hrbek  5 Houston Jiménez  4 Chris Speier 11 Tim Teufel 38 Ron Washington		Outfielders 26 Darrell Brown 24 Tom Brunansky 21 Andre David  4 Jim Eisenreich 31 Mike Hart  9 Mickey Hatcher  7 Dave Meier 34 Kirby Puckett Other batters 25 Randy Bush 31 Greg Gagne 35 Pat Putnam		Manager 42 Billy Gardner Coaches 41 Tom Kelly 44 Jim Lemon 46 Johnny Podres 43 Rick Stelmaszek

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Engle, DaveDave Engle	109	391	104	.266	4	38
1B	Hrbek, KentKent Hrbek	149	559	174	.311	27	107
3B	Gaetti, GaryGary Gaetti	162	588	154	.262	5	65
SS	Jiménez, HoustonHouston Jiménez	108	298	60	.201	0	19
CF	Puckett, KirbyKirby Puckett	128	557	165	.296	0	31
RF	Brunansky, TomTom Brunansky	155	567	144	.254	32	85

Other batters

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
Faedo, LennyLenny Faedo	16	52	13	.250	1	6
Hart, MikeMike Hart	13	29	5	.172	0	5

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Viola, FrankFrank Viola	35	257.2	18	12	3.21	149
Smithson, MikeMike Smithson	36	252	15	13	3.68	144
Butcher, JohnJohn Butcher	34	225	13	11	3.44	83

Other pitchers

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

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Williams, AlbertAlbert Williams	17	68.2	3	5	5.77	22

Relief pitchers

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

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Davis, RonRon Davis	64	7	11	29	4.55	74
Lysander, RickRick Lysander	36	4	3	5	3.49	22
O'Connor, JackJack O'Connor	2	0	0	0	1.93	0

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Dave Engle, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Cal Ermer
AA	Orlando Twins	Southern League	Charlie Manuel
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Dave Hilton
A	Kenosha Twins	Midwest League	Duffy Dyer
Rookie	Elizabethton Twins	Appalachian League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elizabethton

Notes

1. Jeff Little at Baseball Reference
2. John Butcher at Baseball Reference
3. Mark Grace at Baseball Reference
4. Jay Bell at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.

External links

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com