Greg Gagne (baseball)

Greg Gagne

Shortstop

Born: November 12, 1961
Fall River, Massachusetts

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

June 5, 1983, for the Minnesota Twins

Last MLB appearance

September 27, 1997, for the Los Angeles Dodgers

MLB statistics

Batting average

.254

Home runs

111

Runs batted in

604

Teams

Career highlights and awards

2× World Series champion (1987, 1991)

Gregory Carpenter Gagne (/ˈɡæɡni/; born November 12, 1961 in Fall River, Massachusetts) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played 10 seasons for the Minnesota Twins from 1983 to 1992, including both of the Twins' World Series championship teams in 1987 and 1991. He was considered one of the American League's best defensive shortstops during his time with Minnesota.

Playing career

Greg Gagne was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 5th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft and spent the next three seasons in the Yankees' minor league system before being traded to the Twins on April 10, 1982 along with starting pitcher Paul Boris and reliever Ron Davis for the Twins starting shortstop, Roy Smalley. Gagne would then spend all of 1982 and all but 12 games of the 1983 and 1984 seasons in the minors before earning the starting shortstop job in 1985. Gagne would then become a fixture of the Twins' infield for the next eight seasons.

On October 4, 1986 during a Twins' home game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Gagne tied a modern-era major league record by hitting two inside-the-park home runs against the Chicago White Sox.^[1] Only 18 players in major league history have performed this feat, with Gagne being only the second since 1930. Both home runs were hit off Chicago starting pitcher Floyd Bannister, who also tied a modern-era major league record by allowing the most inside-the-park home runs in a game. The Twins also went on to win the game, 7-3.

Gagne was a fixture of the Twins drive to their second World Series appearance, and first World Series title, following the 1987 season. During the Twins march to their second World Series crown in four years, Gagne hit a game-winning, three-run homer in Game One of the 1991 World Series off Atlanta's Charlie Leibrandt. Gagne would hit only .213 during the Twins two post-season drives. Despite this low batting average, Gagne would slug five doubles and 4 home runs, along with knocking in 10 runs and scoring 12 times, to maximize those 18 hits.

Gagne left the Twins when his contract was up in the 1992 season; the team had put a great deal of resources into re-signing superstar Kirby Puckett (inking the star centerfielder to a then huge multi-year contract that would pay him $5.3 million in 1993) and with Gagne's replacement, Pat Meares, already on the Major League roster, did not offer Gagne the salary increase that he was looking for. Gagne then signed with the Kansas City Royals, agreeing to a 3-year, $10.6 million contract. Following three years with the Royals in which he put up similar numbers as he did with the Twins, he again entered free agency and signed a contract to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 1996 and 1997 seasons. Gagne retired from baseball following the end of the 1997 season.

Retirement

During his tenure with the Twins, Gagne lived in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He currently lives in Somerset, Massachusetts and is the former head baseball coach at Bishop Feehan High School.

Gagne continues to be revered by Twins fans. He was a guest at the Metrodome farewell ceremony. During that day's game he sat in the broadcast booth with commentators Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven for a half inning to share his memories of the Dome and time as a Twin. On February 8, 2010, Gagne was elected to the Twins Hall of Fame and was inducted at Target Field on September 4, 2010.

References

↑ "October 4, 1986 Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins Play by Play and Box Score". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 1986-10-04. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Minnesota Twins 1987 World Series Champions

4 Steve Lombardozzi 5 Roy Smalley 7 Greg Gagne 8 Gary Gaetti (ALCS MVP) 9 Gene Larkin 14 Kent Hrbek 15 Tim Laudner 16 Frank Viola (World Series MVP) 17 Les Straker 18 Don Baylor 21 George Frazier 22 Keith Atherton 24 Tom Brunansky 25 Randy Bush 26 Al Newman 27 Mark Davidson 28 Bert Blyleven 31 Dan Schatzeder 32 Dan Gladden 33 Sal Butera 34 Kirby Puckett 36 Joe Niekro 40 Juan Berenguer 41 Jeff Reardon

Manager 10 Tom Kelly Coaches 6 Tony Oliva 42 Dick Such 43 Rick Stelmaszek 44 Rick Renick 45 Wayne Terwilliger

Regular season American League Championship Series

Minnesota Twins 1991 World Series Champions

0 Junior Ortiz 1 Jarvis Brown 7 Greg Gagne 9 Gene Larkin 11 Chuck Knoblauch 12 Brian Harper 13 Mike Pagliarulo 14 Kent Hrbek 15 Lenny Webster 18 Paul Sorrento 19 Scott Erickson 24 Shane Mack 25 Randy Bush 26 Al Newman 30 Terry Leach 31 Scott Leius 32 Dan Gladden 34 Kirby Puckett (ALCS MVP) 36 Kevin Tapani 38 Rick Aguilera 39 David West 40 Steve Bedrosian 44 Chili Davis 47 Jack Morris (World Series MVP) 51 Carl Willis 53 Mark Guthrie

Manager 10 Tom Kelly Coaches 6 Tony Oliva 35 Ron Gardenhire 42 Dick Such 43 Rick Stelmaszek 45 Wayne Terwilliger 46 Terry Crowley

Regular season American League Championship Series

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