| Tom Kelly | |
|---|---|
 Kelly in 1987 | |
| First baseman /Manager | |
| Born: (1950-08-15)August 15, 1950 (age 75) Graceville, Minnesota, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 11, 1975, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 11, 1975, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .181 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 11 |
| Managerial record | 1,140–1,244 |
| Winning % | .478 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player As manager As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Jay Thomas Kelly (born August 15, 1950) is an American former professionalbaseball player,coach andmanager. As the manager of theMinnesota Twins ofMajor League Baseball (MLB) over 16 seasons from mid-September1986 through2001, he won twoWorld Series championships. Currently, he serves as a special assistant to thegeneral manager for the Twins.
Kelly was born inGraceville, Minnesota, and grew up inSayreville, New Jersey, attendingSt. Mary's High School in nearbySouth Amboy.[1]
Afirst baseman andoutfielder, Kelly threw and batted left-handed and was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 188 pounds (85 kg). He was drafted by theSeattle Pilots in the eighth round of the1968 Major League Baseball draft. After three years in the Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers organization, he was given his unconditional release on April 6, 1971.
On April 28, 1971, Kelly was signed as a minor league free agent by the Twins and sent to theDouble-ACharlotte Hornets in theSouthern League. From 1972 through 1975, Kelly would spend most of his playing time with theTriple-ATacoma Twins of thePacific Coast League, splitting time between first base and the corner outfield positions.
After starting the1975 season again in Tacoma, Kelly was called up to the parent Twins and made his major league debut on May 11, 1975. Kelly would play in 49 games with the Twins over the 1975 season, getting into 43 games at first base and two in the outfield. In 147plate appearances, he collected 15bases on balls and 23hits, with fivedoubles and onehome run (a solo blast offVern Ruhle atTiger Stadium on 26 May),[2]hitting a poor .181 with 11runs batted in. Prior to the start of the1976 season, Kelly was purchased by theBaltimore Orioles and assigned to the Triple-ARochester Red Wings; he would not return to the major leagues as an active player. In 1977, he returned to the Twins organization and Tacoma – spending part of the year as aplayer-manager. In 1978, Kelly appeared in 119 games for the Twins new Triple-A affiliate, theToledo Mud Hens. It was his last year as a full-time player.
Following the 1978 season, Kelly was sent down to manage the Twins'Class A affiliate, theVisalia Oaks in theCalifornia League, staying there through the 1980 season. He then spent 1981 and 1982 as skipper of the Double-AOrlando Twins, winning the 1981 Southern League championship.[3]
In1983, Kelly was appointed third-base coach on Minnesota managerBilly Gardner's big-league coaching staff. He retained the post whenRay Miller became skipper, and succeeded Miller as a manager on September 12, 1986. Kelly was the 11th pilot of the Twins since they moved toMinneapolis–Saint Paul fromWashington in 1961, and his 15-plus-year-stint as manager is the longest consecutive-season managerial term in theteam's history, which began with the founding of theAmerican League in1901.[4] During his tenure, the Twins won twoWorld Series crowns in the span of five years (1987 and1991); however, from1994 to1997 a long sequence of retirements and injuries (including superstarsKent Hrbek andKirby Puckett) hurt the team badly, and Kelly spent the remainder of his managerial career rebuilding the Twins.
A year after taking over the reins of the Twins from Miller, Kelly took the team that he had helped build through his role as one of the top people in the Twins'minor league organization and led it to a World Series championship. Though the'87 Twins were criticized for being the top team in aweak division (amassing only a .525 record in regular season play, which was the worst winning percentage for an eventual World Champion until surpassed by theSt. Louis Cardinals in 2006), they easily handled theDetroit Tigers in five games, losing only Game 3 of theAmerican League Championship Series to a heartbreaking 8th-inning two-run home run.
TheWorld Series was a well-fought contest between the Twins and theNational League championSt. Louis Cardinals, each team winning all of its home games. Games 1, 2, 4 and 6 were decidedly lopsided contests (10–1 Twins, 8–4 Twins, 7–2 Cards, 11–5 Twins), with Games 3, 5 and 7 being much closer contests, each being decided by only two runs (3–1 Cards, 4–2 Cards and 4–2 Twins).
After a 63-year drought, Tom Kelly's leadership helped propel the Twins to their second World Championship, and first since their 1961 relocation toMinneapolis.
After finishing the1990 season in last place with a 74-88 record, theTwins dominated theAL West in 1991, finishing 8 games ahead of the second-placeChicago White Sox with a 95–67 record. During this season, the Twins set the club record of 15 consecutive wins, and this winning streak propelled them into first place. In theAL Championship, the Twins easily beat theToronto Blue Jays in 5 games, winning the right to face theAtlanta Braves in theWorld Series. Marked by a series of close contests filled with dramatic plays and extra-innings, the 1991 World Series was later ranked byESPN as the greatest World Series ever.[5]
Following two closely contested victories at home, the Twins traveled to Atlanta where they suffered three straight defeats. Tom Kelly, prior to the Series' move to Atlanta, infamously said that managing without the designated hitter was "right up there with rocket science".[6] Although he was being facetious, the grueling Game 3 proved Kelly prescient as a series of double switches and substitutions emptied the Twins' bench and both teams' bullpens. Kelly was forced to pinch hitRick Aguilera in the top of the 12th and was prepared to send outfielderDan Gladden to the mound if necessary; however, the Braves won in the bottom of the 12th whenDavid Justice narrowly beat a throw to the plate. After a similarly close Game 4 and a dominating 14–5 Braves victory in Game 5, the Twins had to win the final two games at home.
Game 6 featured two climactic plays by Kirby Puckett who, in the top of the 3rd, made a sensational leaping catch against the center fieldacrylic glass to prevent a Braves' run. The Twins won 4–3 in the bottom of the 11th when Puckett blasted a home run offCharlie Leibrandt. Game 7 proved to be one of the greatest games in baseball history, as the game was scoreless for 9 innings and included a number of decisive and memorable plays. Kelly planned to take Twins starterJack Morris out after the ninth inning ended. Morris argued repeatedly with Kelly to allow him to stay in the game. Kelly finally gave in. "What the hell," Kelly said. "It's only a ballgame."[7] Morris ended up pitching 10 scoreless innings as the Twins won 1–0 in the bottom of the 10th, giving Minnesota its second World Series victory in five years.
In1998, management cleared all players earning over $1 million (except for pitcherBrad Radke) and rebuilt from the ground up; theteam went 70–92 and in fourth place in the AL Central, 19 games behind theCleveland Indians and five games ahead of theDetroit Tigers. On May 7, 2000, he won his 1,000th game as manager (having managed 2,092 games), doing so with a 4-0 victory over theDetroit Tigers at theMetrodome to become the 46th manager of the 1,000 wins club.[8]
A run of eight straight losing seasons ended in 2001, when theTwins led the division for much of the year before fading, finishing at 85–77, second toCleveland. He then resigned at age 51, citingburnout, and the threat of contraction. Kelly was succeeded as manager of the Twins byRon Gardenhire, and his rebuilding efforts paid off the year after he retired from the Twins, with a repeat of divisional championships in2002,2003, and2004.
The Twins retired Kelly's jersey number, #10, on September 8, 2012.[9]
A bronze statue of Kelly was unveiled outsideTarget Field on July 21, 2017.[10]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| MIN | 1986 | 23 | 12 | 11 | .522 | 6th in AL West | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1987 | 162 | 85 | 77 | .525 | 1st in AL West | 8 | 4 | .667 | WonWorld Series (STL) |
| MIN | 1988 | 162 | 91 | 71 | .562 | 2nd in AL West | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1989 | 162 | 80 | 82 | .494 | 5th in AL West | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1990 | 162 | 74 | 88 | .457 | 7th in AL West | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1991 | 162 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 1st in AL West | 8 | 4 | .667 | WonWorld Series (ATL) |
| MIN | 1992 | 162 | 90 | 72 | .556 | 2nd in AL West | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1993 | 162 | 71 | 91 | .438 | 6th in AL West | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1994 | 113 | 53 | 60 | .469 | 4th in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1995 | 144 | 56 | 88 | .389 | 5th in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1996 | 162 | 78 | 84 | .481 | 4th in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1997 | 162 | 68 | 94 | .420 | 4th in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1998 | 162 | 70 | 92 | .432 | 4th in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 1999 | 161 | 63 | 97 | .394 | 5th in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 2000 | 162 | 69 | 93 | .426 | 5th in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN | 2001 | 162 | 85 | 73 | .525 | 2nd in AL Central | – | – | – | |
| MIN total[11] | 2,385[a] | 1,140 | 1,244 | .478 | 16 | 8 | .667 | |||
| Preceded by | Orlando Twinsmanager 1981–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minnesota Twinsthird-base coach 1983–1986 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |