411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1989 Minnesota Twins season
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
March 2026
November 2013
Minnesota Twins 1989 American League West Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota 80–82 (80 82) 5th Carl Pohlad Andy MacPhail Tom Kelly WCCO-TVMidwest Sports Channel (Jim Kaat, Ted Robinson, Dick Bremer) 830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, John Gordon)
The 1989 Minnesota Twins season was the 29th season for the Minnesota Twins franchise in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, their 8th season at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome and the 89th overall in the American League.
The Twins finished 80–82, fifth in the American League West. 2,277,438 fans attended Twins games, the 7th highest total in the American League.
Offseason
October 24, 1988: Eric Bullock, Tom Herr and Tom Nieto were traded by the Twins to the Philadelphia Phillies for Shane Rawley and cash.Eric Bullock at Baseball Reference
November 3, 1988: Bert Blyleven and Kevin Trudeau (minors) were traded by the Twins to the California Angels for Mike Cook, Paul Sorrento, and Rob Wassenaar (minors).https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/blylebe01.shtml Bert Blyleven Stats - Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference.com April 23, 2018
December 7, 1988: Jeff Bumgarner (minors), Steve Gasser (minors) and Toby Nivens (minors) were traded by the Twins to the New York Mets for Wally Backman and Mike Santiago (minors).https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/backmwa01.shtml Wally Backman Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More Baseball-Reference.com
December 12, 1988: Randy Bush was signed as a free agent by the Twins.Randy Bush at Baseball Reference
December 21, 1988: John Christensen was released by the Twins.John Christensen at Baseball Reference
February 13, 1989: Lee Tunnell was signed as a free agent by the Twins.Lee Tunnell at Baseball Reference
March 26, 1989: Keith Atherton was traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Cleveland Indians for Carmelo Castillo.https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/atherke01.shtml Keith Atherton Stats - Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference.com April 23, 2018
Regular season
Kirby Puckett tied a major league record when, on May 13, he hit four doubles in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He was the thirty-fifth player to accomplish the feat.
When Jeff Reardon got his 30th save on September 14, he became the first major leaguer to reach 30 saves in five consecutive seasons.
Offense
Puckett led the AL in batting with a .339 average and hits with 215. Kirby hit 9 HR, drove in 85 runs, scored 75, and was rewarded with a Silver Slugger Award. Kent Hrbek hit .272 with 25 HR and 84 RBI. Gary Gaetti hit 19 HR and 75 RBI. Al Newman led the team with 25 stolen bases.
+ Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityHR Kent Hrbek 25RBI Kirby Puckett 85BA Kirby Puckett .339*Runs Kirby Puckett 75
*League leader
Pitching
Only two Twins had double digit wins: Allan Anderson (17–10) and Roy Smith (10–6). Frank Viola was 8–12 before being traded to the New York Mets on July 31. Reliever Jeff Reardon had 31 saves.
+ Team Leaders Statistic Player QuantityERA Frank Viola 3.79Wins Allan Anderson 17Saves Jeff Reardon 31Strikeouts Frank Viola 138
Defense
Third baseman Gary Gaetti and center fielder Kirby Puckett each won their fourth Gold Glove Award.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
MIN
Notable transactions
April 1, 1989: Randy St. Claire was signed as a free agent by the Twins.Randy St. Claire at Baseball Reference
June 5, 1989: 1989 Major League Baseball draft
Chuck Knoblauch was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (25th pick). Player signed June 9, 1989.Chuck Knoblauch at Baseball Reference
Denny Neagle was drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round. Player signed June 22, 1989.Denny Neagle at Baseball Reference
Dan Masteller was drafted by the Twins in the 11th round.Dan Masteller at Baseball Reference
Denny Hocking was drafted by the Twins in the 52nd round. Player signed May 15, 1990.Dennis Hocking at Baseball Reference
June 29, 1989: Freddie Toliver was traded by the Twins to the San Diego Padres for Greg Booker.Greg Booker at Baseball Reference
Roster
1989 Minnesota Twins Roster Pitchers
17 Rick Aguilera
49 Allan Anderson
40 Juan Berenguer
51 Greg Booker
33 Mike Cook
54 Tim Drummond
39 Mike Dyer
46 Germán González
53 Mark Guthrie
30 Francisco Oliveras
18 Shane Rawley
41 Jeff Reardon
36 Steve Shields
23 Roy Smith
38 Randy St. Claire
36 Kevin Tapani
31 Freddie Toliver
27 Lee Tunnell
16 Frank Viola
47 Gary Wayne
50 David West Catchers
12 Brian Harper
15 Tim Laudner
4 Orlando Mercado
11 Greg Olson
52 Lenny Webster
Infielders
2 Wally Backman
21 Doug Baker
8 Gary Gaetti
7 Greg Gagne
58 Chip Hale
14 Kent Hrbek
56 Terry Jorgensen
9 Gene Larkin
26 Al Newman
20 Vic Rodriguez
55 Paul Sorrento Outfielders
25 Randy Bush
22 Carmen Castillo
5 Jim Dwyer
32 Dan Gladden
1 John Moses
34 Kirby Puckett Manager
10 Tom Kelly
Coaches
6 Tony Oliva
44 Rick Renick
43 Rick Stelmaszek
42 Dick Such
45 Wayne Terwilliger
Player stats
= Indicates team leader
= Indicates league 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 Brian Harper 126 385 125 .325 8 57 1B Kent Hrbek 109 375 102 .272 25 84 2B Wally Backman 87 299 69 .231 1 26 3B Gary Gaetti 130 498 125 .251 19 75 SS Greg Gagne Greg Gagne (baseball) 149 460 125 .272 9 48 LF Dan Gladden 120 461 136 .295 8 46 CF Kirby Puckett 159 635 215 .339 9 85 RF Randy Bush 141 391 103 .263 14 54 DH Jim Dwyer Jim Dwyer (baseball) 88 225 71 .316 3 23
Other batters
Note: G = Games pitched; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Al Newman 141 446 113 .253 0 38 Gene Larkin 136 446 119 .267 6 46 John Moses 129 242 68 .281 1 31 Tim Laudner 100 239 53 .222 6 27 Carmen Castillo 94 218 56 .257 8 33 Doug Baker 43 78 23 .295 0 9 Chip Hale 28 67 14 .209 0 4 Orlando Mercado 19 38 4 .105 0 1 Terry Jorgensen 10 23 4 .174 0 2 Paul Sorrento 14 21 5 .238 0 1 Lenny Webster 14 20 6 .300 0 1 Vic Rodriguez Vic Rodriguez (baseball) 6 11 5 .455 0 0 Greg Olson 3 2 1 .500 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 Allan Anderson 33 196.2 17 10 3.80 69 Frank Viola 24 175.2 8 12 3.79 138 Roy Smith Roy Smith (1980s pitcher) 32 172.1 10 6 3.92 92 Shane Rawley 27 145.0 5 12 5.21 68 Rick Aguilera 11 75.2 3 5 3.21 57 Mike Dyer 16 71.0 4 7 4.82 37 Kevin Tapani 5 32.2 2 2 3.86 21
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 Guthrie 13 57.1 2 4 4.55 38 Francisco Oliveras 12 55.2 3 4 4.53 24 David West 10 39.1 3 2 6.41 31 Freddie Toliver 7 29.0 1 3 7.76 11
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 65 5 4 31 4.07 46 Gary Wayne 60 3 4 1 3.30 41 Juan Berenguer 56 9 3 3 3.48 93 Germán González 22 3 2 0 4.66 25 Mike Cook Mike Cook (baseball) 15 0 1 0 5.06 15 Randy St. Claire 14 1 0 1 5.24 14 Steve Shields 11 0 1 0 7.79 12 Lee Tunnell 10 1 0 0 6.00 7 Tim Drummond 8 0 0 1 3.86 9 Greg Booker 6 0 0 0 4.15 3 Dan Gladden 1 0 0 0 9.00 0 John Moses 1 0 0 0 0.00 0
Awards and honors
Kirby Puckett – American League Batting Champion (.339)
Gary Gaetti – Gold Glove Award winner, third base
Kirby Puckett – Gold Glove Award winner, center field
Kirby Puckett – Silver Slugger Award, outfield
All-Star Game
Gary Gaetti, third base, reserve
Kirby Puckett, outfield, starter
Farm system
Minor League Baseball
AAA Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League Phil Roof AA Orlando Twins Southern League Ron Gardenhire A Visalia Oaks California League Scott Ullger A Kenosha Twins Midwest League Steve Liddle Rookie Elizabethton Twins Appalachian League Ray Smith Rookie GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Joel LepelLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: ElizabethtonJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
References
External links
Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com
Category:Minnesota Twins seasons
Minnesota Twins season
Category:1989 in sports in Minnesota