1987 Minnesota Twins season
The 1987 Minnesota Twins won the World Series for the first time since moving from Washington in 1961, the second time that the franchise won the World Series. Having won only 85 games during the 1987 regular season, they won the World Series with the fewest regular season wins since Major League Baseball expanded to a 162-game season in 1961, and the fewest of any team since the 1889 New York Giants.
Tom Kelly became the fifth manager to win a World Series in his first full season on the job, and one of seven total, as of 2019, to accomplish the feat.
Offseason
- November 12, 1986: The Twins traded a player to be named later to the New York Mets for Ron Gardenhire. The Twins completed the trade by sending Dominic Iasparro to the Mets on April 4, 1987. Gardenhire would spend the next 28 years in the Twins Organization including a 13-year stint as manager from 2002-2014.
- January 9, 1987: Juan Berenguer was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
- February 3, 1987: Neal Heaton, Yorkis Pérez, Jeff Reed and minor leaguer Al Cardwood were traded by the Twins to the Montreal Expos for Jeff Reardon and Tom Nieto.
- February 20, 1987: Minor leaguer Mike Shade was traded by the Twins to the Montreal Expos for Al Newman.
- February 24, 1987: Billy Sample was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Twins.
Regular season
1987 was the first year the Twins started using their modernized logos and uniforms, which are still in use today.
Only one Twin made the All-Star Game, outfielder Kirby Puckett. The highest paid player was Kent Hrbek at $1,310,000; followed by Bert Blyleven at $1,150,000.
Over a late August weekend at Milwaukee, Puckett went 10 for 11, with four homers and two doubles, raising his batting average 13 points. The feat tied a major league record.
Joe Niekro, a pitcher for the Twins, was suspended for 10 games when umpire Tim Tschida discovered an emery board in his pocket. Tschida suspected Niekro was scuffing the ball, and saw the emery board fly out of Niekro's pocket. Niekro said he was filing his nails in the dugout, but American League president Dr. Bobby Brown didn't believe him, and ordered the suspension. When the Twins won the pennant, Niekro set a major league record as he'd waited 20½ years since his debut to reach a World Series game.
2,081,976 fans attended Twins games, the sixth highest total in the American League.
The Homer Hanky was introduced in 1987's pennant drive. When the Twins made the playoffs for the first time since 1970, three members of that team remained with the club now seventeen years later. Bert Blyleven was the only remaining player; Tony Oliva became the hitting coach and Rick Renick the third base coach.
Offense
This was the last year for a long time that the Twins were stocked with power hitters. In particular, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, and Tom Brunansky combined to hit 125 home runs. Hrbek, Gaetti, and Brunansky each surpassed 30 home runs, a number that no Twin would reach again until Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter in 2006.Kirby Puckett led the AL with 207 hits.
Despite the power in their lineup, the Twins were outscored 806-786, one of the largest such differentials for a World Series champion.
| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
| HR | Kent Hrbek | 34 |
| RBI | Gary Gaetti | 109 |
| BA | Kirby Puckett | .332 |
| Runs | Kirby Puckett | 96 |
Pitching
The top three starting pitchers, Frank Viola, Bert Blyleven, and Les Straker provided stability throughout the year. Mike Smithson, Joe Niekro, and Jeff Bittiger were less reliable. Newly acquired closer Jeff Reardon was a reliable option at the end of games. Juan Berenguer was the most reliable set-up man, posting a 3.94 ERA.Bert Blyleven led the AL with 46 home runs allowed.
| Statistic | Player | Quantity |
| ERA | Frank Viola | 2.90 |
| Wins | Frank Viola | 17 |
| Saves | Jeff Reardon | 31 |
| Strikeouts | Frank Viola | 197 |
Defense
The defense was not as strong as would be typical for Twins teams under manager Tom Kelly. Hrbek was the most reliable fielder at first base, and the outfield of Dan Gladden, Puckett, and Brunansky was reliable.Third baseman Gary Gaetti and center fielder Kirby Puckett each won their second Gold Glove Award.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Notable transactions
- March 31, 1987: Minor leaguers Jose Dominguez and Ray Velázquez and a player to be named later were traded by the Twins to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Dan Gladden and minor leaguer David Blakely. The Twins completed the deal by sending Bryan Hickerson to the Giants on June 15.
- May 10, 1987: Bill Latham was traded by the Twins to the New York Mets for Jayson Felice.
- May 22, 1987: Sal Butera was signed as a free agent by the Twins.
- June 2, 1987: 1987 Major League Baseball draft
- *Willie Banks was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round.
- *Terry Jorgensen was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round.
- *Larry Casian was drafted by the Twins in the 6th round.
- *Mark Guthrie was drafted by the Twins in the 7th round.
- *Chip Hale was drafted by the Twins in the 17th round
- *Bret Boone was drafted by the Twins in the 28th round, but did not sign.
- *Craig Paquette was drafted by the Twins in the 36th round, but did not sign.
- June 2, 1987: Eric Bullock was traded by the Houston Astros to the Minnesota Twins for Clay Christiansen.
- June 7, 1987: Mark Salas was traded by the Twins to the New York Yankees for pitcher Joe Niekro.
- June 24, 1987: Danny Clay and Tom Schwarz were traded by the Twins to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dan Schatzeder and cash.
- July 31: The Twins traded a player to be named later to the Cleveland Indians for Steve Carlton. The Twins completed the trade by sending minor leaguer Jeff Perry to the Indians on August 18.
- September 1: The Twins traded a player to be named later to the Boston Red Sox for designated hitter Don Baylor. The Twins completed the deal by sending minor leaguer Enrique Rios to the Red Sox on December 18.
Roster
Player stats
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 | 113 | 288 | 55 | .191 | 16 | 43 | |
| 1B | 143 | 477 | 136 | .285 | 34 | 90 | |
| 2B | 136 | 432 | 103 | .238 | 8 | 38 | |
| 3B | 154 | 584 | 150 | .257 | 31 | 109 | |
| SS | 137 | 437 | 116 | .265 | 10 | 40 | |
| LF | 121 | 438 | 109 | .249 | 8 | 38 | |
| CF | 157 | 624 | 207 | .332 | 28 | 99 | |
| RF | 155 | 532 | 138 | .259 | 32 | 85 | |
| DH | 110 | 309 | 85 | .275 | 8 | 34 |
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 |
| 122 | 293 | 74 | .253 | 11 | 46 | |
| 110 | 307 | 68 | .221 | 0 | 29 | |
| 85 | 233 | 62 | .266 | 4 | 28 | |
| 102 | 150 | 40 | .267 | 1 | 14 | |
| 51 | 111 | 19 | .171 | 1 | 12 | |
| 41 | 105 | 21 | .200 | 1 | 12 | |
| 20 | 49 | 14 | .286 | 0 | 6 | |
| 22 | 45 | 17 | .378 | 3 | 9 | |
| 12 | 15 | 4 | .267 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | 12 | 4 | .333 | 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 |
| Bert Blyleven | 37 | 267 | 15 | 12 | 4.01 | 196 |
| Frank Viola | 36 | 251.2 | 17 | 10 | 2.90 | 197 |
| Les Straker | 31 | 154.1 | 8 | 10 | 4.37 | 76 |
| Mike Smithson | 21 | 109 | 4 | 7 | 5.94 | 53 |
| Joe Niekro | 19 | 96.1 | 4 | 9 | 6.26 | 54 |
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 |
| Mark Portugal | 13 | 44 | 1 | 3 | 7.77 | 28 |
| Steve Carlton | 9 | 43 | 1 | 5 | 6.70 | 20 |
| Joe Klink | 12 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 6.65 | 17 |
| Roy Smith | 7 | 16.1 | 1 | 0 | 4.96 | 8 |
| Allan Anderson | 4 | 12.1 | 1 | 0 | 10.95 | 3 |
| Jeff Bittiger | 3 | 8.1 | 1 | 0 | 5.40 | 5 |
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 |
| Jeff Reardon | 63 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 4.48 | 83 |
| Juan Berenguer | 47 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3.94 | 110 |
| George Frazier | 54 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4.98 | 58 |
| Keith Atherton | 59 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4.54 | 51 |
| Dan Schatzeder | 30 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6.39 | 30 |
| Randy Niemann | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.44 | 1 |
Postseason
See 1987 American League Championship Series and 1987 World Series.The Twins won the American League Championship Series beating the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 1. Gary Gaetti was named the ALCS MVP. He'd set a record by homering in his first two post-season at-bats. The Twins won the series by winning two of the three road games at Detroit despite a 4-8 regular season record vs the Tigers as well as 29 regular season wins on the road.
The Twins won all four home games to top the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Frank Viola was named the Series' MVP even though it was the Twins bats that were instrumental in the first three wins outscoring St. Louis 29-10 in the process.