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
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
City	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Record	81–81 (.500)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General managers	Calvin Griffith
Managers	Billy Gardner
Television	KMSP-TV (Bob Kurtz, Ted Robinson) Spectrum (Harmon Killebrew, Dick Bremer)
Radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Joe Angel)
← 1983 Seasons 1985 →

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

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	84	78	.519	—	44‍–‍37	40‍–‍41
California Angels	81	81	.500	3	37‍–‍44	44‍–‍37
Minnesota Twins	81	81	.500	3	47‍–‍34	34‍–‍47
Oakland Athletics	77	85	.475	7	44‍–‍37	33‍–‍48
Chicago White Sox	74	88	.457	10	43‍–‍38	31‍–‍50
Seattle Mariners	74	88	.457	10	42‍–‍39	32‍–‍49
Texas Rangers	69	92	.429	14½	34‍–‍46	35‍–‍46

Record vs. opponents

1984 American League record v t e 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
Roster
Pitchers 32 John Butcher 37 Bobby Castillo 21 Keith Comstock 39 Ron Davis 23 Pete Filson 17 Ed Hodge 19 Rick Lysander 33 Jack O'Connor 19 Larry Pashnick 18 Ken Schrom 48 Mike Smithson 16 Frank Viola 30 Mike Walters 36 Curt Wardle 22 Len Whitehouse 28 Albert Williams		Catchers 20 Dave Engle 15 Tim Laudner 10 Jeff Reed Infielders  2 John Castino  1 Alvaro Espinoza 12 Lenny Faedo  8 Gary Gaetti 14 Kent Hrbek  5 Houston Jiménez  4 Chris Speier 11 Tim Teufel 38 Ron Washington		Outfielders 26 Darrell Brown 24 Tom Brunansky 21 Andre David  4 Jim Eisenreich 31 Mike Hart  9 Mickey Hatcher  7 Dave Meier 34 Kirby Puckett Other batters 25 Randy Bush 31 Greg Gagne 35 Pat Putnam		Manager 42 Billy Gardner Coaches 41 Tom Kelly 44 Jim Lemon 46 Johnny Podres 43 Rick Stelmaszek

Game log

Regular season

1984 regular season game log: 81–81 (Home: 47–34; Away: 34–47)
April: 11–13 (Home: 8–5; Away: 3–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 1 April 3 7:35 p.m. CST Tigers 1–8 Morris (1–0) Williams (0–1) – 2:10 34,381 0–1 L1 2 April 5 12:15 p.m. CST Tigers 3–7 Petry (1–0) Viola (0–1) – 2:33 8,373 0–2 L2 — April 23 @ Tigers Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: April 24) 17 April 24 4:30 p.m. CST @ Tigers 5–6 Morris (4–0) Davis (2–2) – 2:16 N/A 8–9 L1 18 April 24 7:21 p.m. CST @ Tigers 3–4 Abbott (1–0) Viola (0–3) López (1) 2:29 20,315 8–10 L2
May: 13–12 (Home: 8–4; Away: 5–8) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
June: 13–14 (Home: 6–7; Away: 7–7) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 74 June 29 4:35 p.m. CST @ Tigers 5–3 Williams (3–3) Morris (12–4) Davis (15) 2:50 N/A 37–37 W1 75 June 29 8:00 p.m. CDT @ Tigers 5–7 Hernández (4–0) Filson (4–2) – 3:00 44,619 37–38 L1 76 June 30 6:35 p.m. CDT @ Tigers 3–4 Petry (11–3) Schrom (1–3) Hernández (14) 2:43 48,095 37–39 L2
July: 17–10 (Home: 13–6; Away: 4–4) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak 77 July 1 12:30 p.m. CDT @ Tigers 9–0 Viola (8–7) Berenguer (4–6) – 2:21 43,484 38–39 L1 55th All-Star Game in San Francisco, CA 85 July 12 7:35 p.m. CDT Tigers 4–2 Viola (10–7) Petry (11–4) Davis (17) 2:18 29,729 44–41 W2 86 July 13 7:35 p.m. CDT Tigers 3–5 (11) Hernández (5–0) Lysander (0–1) López (10) 3:11 30,050 44–42 L1 87 July 14 7:35 p.m. CDT Tigers 5–6 (12) Hernández (6–0) Walters (0–3) – 3:40 46,017 44–43 L2 88 July 15 1:15 p.m. CDT Tigers 2–6 Rozema (6–1) Schrom (2–4) López (11) 3:00 27,965 44–44 L3
August: 15–16 (Home: 4–7; Away: 11–9) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
September: 12–16 (Home: 8–5; Away: 4–11) # Date Time (CT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box/ Streak
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Twins team member

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

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

Pitching

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

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Dave Engle, reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Cal Ermer
AA	Orlando Twins	Southern League	Charlie Manuel
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Dave Hilton
A	Kenosha Twins	Midwest League	Duffy Dyer
Rookie	Elizabethton Twins	Appalachian League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Elizabethton

Notes

1. Jeff Little at Baseball Reference
2. John Butcher at Baseball Reference
3. Mark Grace at Baseball Reference
4. 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.

External links

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com