1984 Minnesota Twins season
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 third-worst record in franchise history).
| 1984 Minnesota Twins | |
|---|---|
| 81-81, second in the AL Western Division | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 81–81 (.500) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Other information | |
| Owners | Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes) |
| General managers | Calvin Griffith |
| Managers | Billy Gardner |
| Local television | KMSP-TV (Bob Kurtz, Ted Robinson) Spectrum (Harmon Killebrew, Dick Bremer) |
| Local radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Joe Angel) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
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 leagues 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
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 | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Game log
Regular season
| 1984 regular season game log: 81–81 (Home: 47–34; Away: 34–47) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 11–13 (Home: 8–5; Away: 3–8)
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May: 13–12 (Home: 8–4; Away: 5–8)
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June: 13–14 (Home: 6–7; Away: 7–7)
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July: 17–10 (Home: 13–6; Away: 4–4)
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August: 15–16 (Home: 4–7; Away: 11–9)
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September: 12–16 (Home: 8–5; Away: 4–11)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement Bold = Twins team member | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Dave Engle | 109 | 391 | 104 | .266 | 4 | 38 |
| 1B | Kent Hrbek | 149 | 559 | 174 | .311 | 27 | 107 |
| 2B | Tim Teufel | 157 | 568 | 149 | .262 | 14 | 61 |
| 3B | Gary Gaetti | 162 | 588 | 154 | .262 | 5 | 65 |
| SS | Houston Jiménez | 108 | 298 | 60 | .201 | 0 | 19 |
| LF | Mickey Hatcher | 152 | 576 | 174 | .302 | 5 | 69 |
| CF | Kirby Puckett | 128 | 557 | 165 | .296 | 0 | 31 |
| RF | Tom Brunansky | 155 | 567 | 144 | .254 | 32 | 85 |
| DH | Randy Bush | 113 | 311 | 69 | .222 | 11 | 43 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Laudner | 87 | 262 | 54 | .206 | 10 | 35 |
| Darrell Brown | 95 | 260 | 71 | .273 | 1 | 19 |
| Ron Washington | 88 | 197 | 58 | .294 | 3 | 23 |
| Dave Meier | 59 | 147 | 35 | .238 | 0 | 13 |
| Lenny Faedo | 16 | 52 | 13 | .250 | 1 | 6 |
| Andre David | 33 | 48 | 12 | .250 | 1 | 5 |
| Pat Putnam | 14 | 38 | 3 | .079 | 0 | 4 |
| Chris Speier | 12 | 33 | 7 | .212 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Eisenreich | 12 | 32 | 7 | .219 | 0 | 3 |
| Mike Hart | 13 | 29 | 5 | .172 | 0 | 5 |
| John Castino | 8 | 27 | 12 | .444 | 0 | 3 |
| Jeff Reed | 18 | 21 | 3 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Gagne | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Álvaro Espinoza | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Viola | 35 | 257.2 | 18 | 12 | 3.21 | 149 |
| Mike Smithson | 36 | 252.0 | 15 | 13 | 3.68 | 144 |
| John Butcher | 34 | 225.0 | 13 | 11 | 3.44 | 83 |
| Ken Schrom | 25 | 137.0 | 5 | 11 | 4.47 | 49 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Filson | 55 | 118.2 | 6 | 5 | 4.10 | 59 |
| Ed Hodge | 25 | 100.0 | 4 | 3 | 4.77 | 59 |
| Albert Williams | 17 | 68.2 | 3 | 5 | 5.77 | 22 |
| Bobby Castillo | 10 | 25.1 | 2 | 1 | 1.78 | 7 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Davis | 64 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 4.55 | 74 |
| Rick Lysander | 36 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3.49 | 22 |
| Len Whitehouse | 30 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.16 | 18 |
| Mike Walters | 23 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3.72 | 10 |
| Larry Pashnick | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.52 | 10 |
| Keith Comstock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.53 | 2 |
| Jack O'Connor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.93 | 0 |
| Curt Wardle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 5 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elizabethton
Notes
- Jeff Little at Baseball Reference
- John Butcher at Baseball Reference
- Mark Grace at Baseball Reference
- 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.
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