| 1994 Minnesota Twins | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | Central | |||
| Ballpark | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | |||
| City | Minneapolis | |||
| Record | 53-60 (.496) | |||
| Divisional place | 4th | |||
| Owners | Carl Pohlad | |||
| General managers | Andy MacPhail | |||
| Managers | Tom Kelly | |||
| Television | WCCO-TV Midwest Sports Channel (Al Newman,Dick Bremer,Chad Hartman,Tommy John ) | |||
| Radio | 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal,John Gordon,Jim Powell) | |||
| ||||
The1994 Minnesota Twins seasonwas the 34th season for theMinnesota Twins franchise in theTwin Cities ofMinnesota, their 13th season atHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 94th overall in theAmerican League.
Thestrike overshadowed the season's accomplishments. These includedScott Erickson'sno-hitter on April 27,Chuck Knoblauch's 85-game errorless streak and league-leading 45 doubles,Kirby Puckett's 2,000th hit, andKent Hrbek's retirement. In 113 games, ManagerTom Kelly's team finished with a record of 53–60, for fourth place in the newly createdAmerican League Central.
On April 27 at home,Scott Ericksonno-hit theMilwaukee Brewers—theMetrodome's first no-hitter—for a 6–0 win. His no-hitter was the third Twins' no-hitter, 27 years afterDean Chance no-hit theCleveland Indians in 1967.[4]
On May 20, the team put up 22 hits against theBoston Red Sox—putting up two club records that were set in the fifth inning, when eight consecutive players hit safely, and a total of ten hits were recorded in the half-inning. The Twins won 21–2.[5]
The Twins' All-Star representatives were outfielderKirby Puckett and second basemanChuck Knoblauch.
By Friday, August 12, the Twins had compiled a 53–60 record through 113 games. They had scored 594 runs (5.26 per game) and allowed 688 runs (6.09 per game).[6]
Throughout the strike-shortened season, the Twins' pitching staff struggled and finished with a 5.68 ERA: the highest in the majors. In 1,005.0 innings pitched, they gave up 1,197 hits and 634 earned runs: the most among all 28 teams. They did, however, issue the fewest intentional walks in the Majors, with 20.[7]
Terry Ryan was named Twins General Manager, replacingAndy MacPhail, architect of the team's1991 world champion team.
The highest paid Twin in 1994 was Puckett at $5,300,000, followed by Aguilera at $3,260,000.
Despite the short season,Kirby Puckett managed to belt 20 home runs and drive in 112 runs, winning his sixthSilver Slugger Award. OutfielderShane Mack had a solid year in his last year with the Twins, batting .333. Knoblauch and outfielderAlex Cole lit up the base paths, stealing 35 and 29 bases, respectively.Designated hitterDave Winfield had a mediocre year in his last season with his hometown team. (He would play in 46 games for theCleveland Indians in 1995 before announcing his retirement.)
| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| HR | Kirby Puckett | 20 |
| RBI | Kirby Puckett | 112 |
| BA | Shane Mack | .333 |
| Runs | Chuck Knoblauch | 85 |
The starting rotation was not a strong one, although the starters at least started consistently every fifth day, unlike in subsequent years for the Twins.Jim Deshaies,Kevin Tapani,Scott Erickson,Pat Mahomes, andCarlos Pulido started all but six games for the team. Despite the no-hitter, Erickson's year was disappointing, as he posted a 5.44 ERA.Rick Aguilera continued to be a reliable closer while the only reliable arm out of the bullpen wasKevin Campbell with an ERA of 2.92.
| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| ERA | Kevin Tapani | 4.62 |
| Wins | Kevin Tapani | 11 |
| Saves | Rick Aguilera | 23 |
| Strikeouts | Scott Erickson | 104 |
Matt Walbeck andDerek Parks were a strong 1-2 punch at catcher, at least defensively. (Both had .993 fielding percentages.)Kent Hrbek ended his career with a solid one defensively with a .997 average. As mentioned, Knoblauch excelled defensively at this point in his career.Scott Leius andPat Meares were defensively average on the left side of the infield. Puckett and Mack were strong in the outfield, whileAlex Cole was average.Pedro Muñoz also saw substantial time in the outfield.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 46 | .593 | — | 34–19 | 33–27 |
| Cleveland Indians | 66 | 47 | .584 | 1 | 35–16 | 31–31 |
| Kansas City Royals | 64 | 51 | .557 | 4 | 35–24 | 29–27 |
| Minnesota Twins | 53 | 60 | .469 | 14 | 32–27 | 21–33 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 15 | 24–32 | 29–30 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 70 | 43 | .619 |
| Chicago White Sox | 67 | 46 | .593 |
| Texas Rangers | 52 | 62 | .456 |
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 66 | 47 | .584 | — |
| Baltimore Orioles | 63 | 49 | .562 | 2½ |
| Kansas City Royals | 64 | 51 | .557 | 3 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 55 | 60 | .478 | 12 |
| Boston Red Sox | 54 | 61 | .470 | 13 |
| Minnesota Twins | 53 | 60 | .469 | 13 |
| Detroit Tigers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 14 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 53 | 62 | .461 | 14 |
| Oakland Athletics | 51 | 63 | .447 | 15½ |
| Seattle Mariners | 49 | 63 | .438 | 16½ |
| California Angels | 47 | 68 | .409 | 20 |
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | — | 4–2 | 8–4 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 3–4 | 4–1 | 7–3 | 4–5 | 4–6 | 7–5 | 4–6 | 3–3 | 7–2 |
| Boston | 2–4 | — | 7–5 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 1–8 | 3–7 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 1–5 | 7–3 |
| California | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 5–5 | 0–5 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–4 | 3–4 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–5 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 3–7 | 9–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 6–3 | 9–1 | 4–5 | 2–3 |
| Cleveland | 6–4 | 7–3 | 5–0 | 5–7 | — | 8–2 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 9–3 | 0–9 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 5–7 | 6–4 |
| Detroit | 4–3 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 4–8 | 2–8 | — | 4–8 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–7 | 5–4 |
| Kansas City | 1–4 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 7–3 | 4–1 | 8–4 | — | 5–7 | 6–4 | 4–2 | 7–3 | 6–4 | 4–3 | 6–6 |
| Milwaukee | 3–7 | 5–5 | 3–3 | 3–9 | 2–5 | 4–6 | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–7 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 7–3 |
| Minnesota | 5–4 | 8–1 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–9 | 3–3 | 4–6 | 6–6 | — | 4–5 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 4–8 |
| New York | 6–4 | 7–3 | 8–4 | 2–4 | 9–0 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 7–2 | 5–4 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 3–2 | 3–4 |
| Oakland | 5–7 | 3–9 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 0–6 | 4–5 | 3–7 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 5–7 | — | 4–3 | 7–3 | 5–1 |
| Seattle | 4–6 | 6–6 | 7–2 | 1–9 | 2–3 | 3–6 | 4–6 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 3–4 | — | 9–1 | 1–5 |
| Texas | 3–3 | 5–1 | 4–6 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 2–3 | 3–7 | 1–9 | — | 4–8 |
| Toronto | 2–7 | 3–7 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 3–7 | 8–4 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 8–4 | — |
| 1994 Minnesota Twins | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
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 | Matt Walbeck | 97 | 338 | 69 | .204 | 5 | 35 |
| 1B | Kent Hrbek | 81 | 274 | 74 | .270 | 10 | 53 |
| 2B | Chuck Knoblauch | 109 | 445 | 139 | .312 | 5 | 51 |
| SS | Pat Meares | 80 | 229 | 61 | .266 | 2 | 24 |
| 3B | Scott Leius | 97 | 350 | 86 | .246 | 14 | 49 |
| LF | Shane Mack | 81 | 303 | 101 | .333 | 15 | 61 |
| CF | Alex Cole | 105 | 345 | 102 | .296 | 4 | 23 |
| RF | Kirby Puckett | 108 | 439 | 139 | .317 | 20 | 112 |
| DH | Dave Winfield | 77 | 294 | 74 | .252 | 10 | 43 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedro Muñoz | 75 | 244 | 72 | .295 | 11 | 36 |
| Jeff Reboulet | 74 | 189 | 49 | .259 | 3 | 23 |
| Dave McCarty | 44 | 131 | 34 | .260 | 1 | 12 |
| Chip Hale | 67 | 118 | 31 | .263 | 1 | 11 |
| Rich Becker | 28 | 98 | 26 | .265 | 1 | 8 |
| Derek Parks | 31 | 89 | 17 | .191 | 1 | 9 |
| Steve Dunn | 14 | 35 | 8 | .229 | 0 | 4 |
| Denny Hocking | 11 | 31 | 10 | .323 | 0 | 2 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Tapani | 24 | 156.0 | 11 | 7 | 4.62 | 91 |
| Scott Erickson | 23 | 144.0 | 8 | 11 | 5.44 | 104 |
| Jim Deshaies | 25 | 130.1 | 6 | 12 | 7.39 | 78 |
| Pat Mahomes | 21 | 120.0 | 9 | 5 | 4.73 | 53 |
| Eddie Guardado | 4 | 17.0 | 0 | 2 | 8.47 | 8 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Pulido | 19 | 84.1 | 3 | 7 | 5.98 | 32 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Aguilera | 44 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 3.63 | 46 |
| Mark Guthrie | 50 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6.14 | 38 |
| Carl Willis | 49 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5.92 | 37 |
| Larry Casian | 33 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7.08 | 18 |
| Mike Trombley | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.33 | 32 |
| Dave Stevens | 24 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6.80 | 24 |
| Brett Merriman | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.35 | 10 |
| Kevin Campbell | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.92 | 15 |
| Erik Schullstrom | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.77 | 13 |
| Keith Garagozzo | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.64 | 3 |
Designated hitterDave Winfield won theRoberto Clemente Award, given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media.Rod Carew in 1977 is the only Twin to have won this award in the past.Kirby Puckett will win it in 1996.