| 1986 Minnesota Twins | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |||
| City | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |||
| Record | 71–91 (.438) | |||
| Divisional place | 6th | |||
| Owners | Carl Pohlad | |||
| General managers | Andy MacPhail | |||
| Managers | Ray Miller,Tom Kelly | |||
| Television | KMSP-TV (Bob Kurtz,Harmon Killebrew) | |||
| Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal,Joe Angel) | |||
| ||||
The1986 Minnesota Twins seasonwas the 26th season for theMinnesota Twins franchise in theTwin Cities ofMinnesota, their 5th season atHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 86th overall in theAmerican League.
The Twins finished at 71–91, sixth in the American League West, 21 games behind the eventual American League West runner-upCalifornia Angels . 1,255,453 fans attended Twins games, the second lowest total in theAmerican League. Pitcher Bert Blyleven made a prediction on Fan Appreciation Day on October 3, saying that if the team came together as a unit and signed some other good players, they could potentially bring a World Series championship to Minnesota.That prediction proved accurate the next year.
On May 30,Roy Smalley Jr. homered from both sides of the plate, the first Twin to do so.
Only one Twins player made theAll-Star Game: outfielderKirby Puckett.
On August 1, Puckett hit for the cycle, the only time he'd do so in his major league career. Going triple, double, single, homer, he became the seventh Twin in history to cycle. On the same night, pitcherBert Blyleven struck outOakland'sMike Davis to notch his 3000th strikeout. Only eight other pitchers had reached that plateau.
After a disappointing start, managerRay Miller was replaced byTom Kelly on September 12.
Greg Gagne of the Twins hit twoinside-the-park home runs in one game on October 4, against theChicago White Sox.[7] Pitcher Bert Blyleven was on the mound for the Twins; the last time a batter had hit two inside-the-park homers in one game, it wasDick Allen of the White Sox on July 31, 1972, and his homers were hit off Blyleven.
Also on October 4, Blyleven allowed his 50th home run of the season (to Chicago'sDaryl Boston) to set a major league record. (When he served up 46 in 1987, he set another record with 96 homers allowed over consecutive seasons.)
Kirby Puckett switched from leadoff to third in the batting order, blasted 31 HR, drove in 96 runs and scored 119.Kent Hrbek hit .267 with 29 HR and 91 RBI.Tom Brunansky hit 23 HR and 75 RBI.Gary Gaetti hit .287 with 34 HR and 108 RBI.WithRoy Smalley Jr.'s 20 home runs, five players reached 20 homers this season, the first time that happened since six players topped 20 in 1964.
The Twins had three solid starting pitchers:Frank Viola (16–13),Bert Blyleven (17–14), andMike Smithson (13–14). RelieverKeith Atherton had 10 saves.
Third basemanGary Gaetti and center fielderKirby Puckett each won their firstGold Glove Award. They were the first Twins to win a gold glove sinceJim Kaat in 1973.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 50–32 | 42–38 |
| Texas Rangers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 5 | 51–30 | 36–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 76 | 86 | .469 | 16 | 45–36 | 31–50 |
| Oakland Athletics | 76 | 86 | .469 | 16 | 47–36 | 29–50 |
| Chicago White Sox | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 | 41–40 | 31–50 |
| Minnesota Twins | 71 | 91 | .438 | 21 | 43–38 | 28–53 |
| Seattle Mariners | 67 | 95 | .414 | 25 | 41–41 | 26–54 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 4–9 | 1–12 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| California | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 6–6 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–9 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 10–2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 3–10–1 |
| Detroit | 12–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
| New York | 8–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 10–3 | 3–10 | 8–4 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 3–10 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 7–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 10–3 | 9–4 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–3–1 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — |
| 1986 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Mark Salas | 91 | 258 | 60 | .233 | 8 | 33 |
| 1B | Kent Hrbek | 149 | 550 | 147 | .267 | 29 | 91 |
| 2B | Steve Lombardozzi | 156 | 453 | 103 | .227 | 8 | 33 |
| 3B | Gary Gaetti | 157 | 596 | 171 | .287 | 34 | 108 |
| SS | Greg Gagne | 156 | 472 | 118 | .250 | 12 | 54 |
| LF | Randy Bush | 130 | 357 | 96 | .269 | 7 | 45 |
| CF | Kirby Puckett | 161 | 680 | 223 | .328 | 31 | 96 |
| RF | Tom Brunansky | 157 | 593 | 152 | .256 | 23 | 75 |
| DH | Roy Smalley | 143 | 459 | 113 | .246 | 20 | 57 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Hatcher | 115 | 317 | 88 | .278 | 3 | 32 |
| Tim Laudner | 76 | 193 | 46 | .244 | 10 | 29 |
| Billy Beane | 80 | 183 | 39 | .213 | 3 | 15 |
| Jeff Reed | 68 | 165 | 39 | .236 | 2 | 9 |
| Ron Washington | 48 | 74 | 19 | .257 | 4 | 11 |
| Mark Davidson | 36 | 68 | 8 | .118 | 0 | 2 |
| Alvaro Espinoza | 37 | 42 | 9 | .214 | 0 | 1 |
| Al Woods | 23 | 28 | 9 | .321 | 2 | 8 |
| Chris Pittaro | 11 | 21 | 2 | .095 | 0 | 0 |
| Alejandro Sánchez | 8 | 16 | 2 | .125 | 0 | 1 |
| Andre David | 5 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bert Blyleven | 36 | 271.2 | 17 | 14 | 4.01 | 215 |
| Frank Viola | 37 | 245.2 | 16 | 13 | 4.51 | 191 |
| Mike Smithson | 34 | 198.0 | 13 | 14 | 4.77 | 114 |
| Neal Heaton | 21 | 124.1 | 4 | 9 | 3.98 | 66 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Portugal | 27 | 112.2 | 6 | 10 | 4.31 | 67 |
| Allan Anderson | 21 | 84.1 | 3 | 6 | 5.55 | 51 |
| John Butcher | 16 | 70.0 | 0 | 3 | 6.30 | 29 |
| Bill Latham | 7 | 16.0 | 0 | 1 | 7.31 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Atherton | 47 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 3.75 | 59 |
| Ron Davis | 36 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 9.08 | 30 |
| Frank Pastore | 33 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4.01 | 18 |
| Roy Lee Jackson | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.86 | 32 |
| Juan Agosto | 17 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8.85 | 9 |
| George Frazier | 15 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4.39 | 25 |
| Ray Fontenot | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.92 | 10 |
| Roy Smith | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.97 | 8 |
| Pete Filson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.68 | 4 |
| Dennis Burtt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31.50 | 1 |