1993 Minnesota Twins season explained

Minnesota Twins
Season:	1993
League:	American League
Division:	West
City:	Minneapolis
Record:	71–91
Divisional Place:	6th
General Managers:	Andy MacPhail
Managers:	Tom Kelly
Television:	WCCO-TV Midwest Sports Channel (Jim Kaat, Dick Bremer)
Radio:	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, John Gordon, Jim Powell)

The 1993 Minnesota Twins finished with a 71–91 record, leaving the team tied for fifth place with the California Angels. Kirby Puckett won the All-Star MVP award on July 13 and St. Paul native Dave Winfield got his 3,000th hit over the course of the year.

Offseason

• October 26, 1992: Mike Maksudian was selected off waivers by the Twins from the Toronto Blue Jays.^[1]
• December 4, 1992: Kirby Puckett, after testing the free agent waters, signed a 5-year $30 million contract to remain a Twin. His deal is the second largest total package in major league history, topped only by the $32.5 million 5-year deal signed by Cal Ripken Jr. with the Baltimore Orioles last August.^[2]
• December 5, 1992: David West was traded by the Twins to the Philadelphia Phillies for Mike Hartley.^[3]
• December 9, 1992: Jim Deshaies was signed as a free agent by the Twins.^[4]
• December 17, 1992: Dave Winfield was signed as a free agent by the Twins.^[5]
• January 8, 1993: Randy Bush was signed as a free agent by the Twins.^[6]

Regular season

• At Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Twins' All-Star representatives were outfielder Kirby Puckett and closer Rick Aguilera. Puckett was named the MVP following his 2-for-3 performance with a solo home run and a run-scoring double.
• On September 16, Dave Winfield collected his 3000th major league hit, a run-scoring 9th-inning single off Oakland's Dennis Eckersley. Winfield was the first to do so wearing a Twins uniform, and the first ever to do so indoors.
• The highest paid Twin in 1993 was Puckett at $5,300,000, followed by Hrbek at $3,100,000.

Offense

Not only did Winfield get his 3,000th hit, but he also got his 500th double and 450th homer. He had a serviceable year as the team's primary designated hitter, hitting .271 with 21 home runs and 76 RBI. Other offensive highlights included Kent Hrbek becoming the second Twin (along with Harmon Killebrew) to reach 1,000 RBI and Brian Harper becoming only the fourth catcher in the prior 40 years to hit .300 in three consecutive seasons. Chuck Knoblauch continued his solid leadoff hitting, batting .277 and stealing a team-leading 29 bases. The weaker spots in the regular lineup included Pedro Muñoz (.233 average).

Team Leaders! Statistic !! Player !! Quantity

		25
		89
		.304
		89

Pitching

The starting rotation was reasonably competent, with Kevin Tapani, Willie Banks, and Jim Deshaies having ERAs in the low fours. Unfortunately, Scott Erickson was not able to follow up his very successful first three years in the majors, posting an ERA of 5.19 and leading the majors in losses (19). The fifth spot in the rotation was uncertain, with Eddie Guardado making 16 starts and Mike Trombley 10.

There were strong pitchers in the bullpen, starting with closer Rick Aguilera. He had 34 saves, and was American League Pitcher of the Month for June. Also having strong years were Larry Casian with an ERA of 3.02, Mike Hartley (4.00), and Carl Willis (3.10). This was not so much the case for pitchers such as George Tsamis (6.19) and Brett Merriman (9.67).

Team Leaders! Statistic !! Player !! Quantity

		4.04
		12
		34
		150

Defense

The team was strong defensively. Harper was a strong catcher, with a .988 fielding percentage. Hrbek was always strong at first base as well, making only five errors in 1993. Knoblauch was a good second baseman at this point in his career. Mike Pagliarulo played in about half the team's games at third, with reasonable competence. (Jeff Reboulet and Terry Jorgensen also saw time at the position.) The team intended Scott Leius to be the starting shortstop, but an early injury prevented this from occurring. It paved the way for Pat Meares to man the position for several years. He surprised the team by playing reasonably well during his rookie year. Puckett always excelled in center field, while Shane Mack and Munoz did okay on either side of him.

Notable transactions

• June 3, 1993: 1993 Major League Baseball draft
  • Torii Hunter was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (20th pick).
  • Jason Varitek was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (21st pick), but did not sign.^[7]
  • Dan Perkins was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round.^[8]
  • Javier Valentín was drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round.^[9]
• June 27, 1993: Randy Bush was released by the Twins.
• June 30, 1993: Alan Newman and minor leaguer Tom Hauk were traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Gary Scott.^[10]
• August 15, 1993: Mike Pagliarulo was traded by the Twins to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later. On August 16, the Orioles sent Erik Schullstrom to the Twins to complete the trade.^[11]
• August 28, 1993: Jim Deshaies was traded by the Twins to the San Francisco Giants for Aaron Fultz, minor leaguer Andres Duncan, and a player to be named later. On September 1, the Giants sent Greg Brummett to the Twins to complete the trade.

Roster

1993 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers		CatchersInfielders		Outfielders		ManagerCoaches

Game log

|-style=background:#fcc| 1 || April 6 || 7:06p.m. CDT || White Sox || L 5–10 || McDowell (1–0) || Tapani (0–1) || Leach (1) || 2:48 || 51,617 || 0–2 || L1|-style=background:#cfc| 2 || April 7 || 7:05p.m. CDT || White Sox || W 6–1 || Deshaies (1–0) || McCaskill (0–1) || Aguilera (1) || 2:41 || 20,812 || 1–1 || W1|-style=background:#fcc| 3 || April 8 || 12:15p.m. CDT || White Sox || L 4–9 || Fernandez (1–0) || Mahomes (0–1) || – || 2:37 || 24,421 || 1–2 || L1|-style=background:#cfc| 4 || April 9 || || @ Royals|-style=background:#cfc| 5 || April 10 || || @ Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 6 || April 11 || || @ Royals|-style=background:#cfc| 7 || April 12 || 7:20p.m. CDT || @ White Sox || W 3–2 || Deshaies (2–0) || McCaskill (0–2) || Aguilera (4) || 2:32 || 18,263 || 4–3 || W1|-style=background:#fcc| 8 || April 13 || 7:06p.m. CDT || @ White Sox || L 0–4 || Fernandez (2–0) || Mahomes (0–2) || – || 2:23 || 20,821 || 4–4 || L1|-style=background:#bbb| — || April 14 || || @ White Sox || colspan=8 | Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 27)|-style=background:#cfc| 9 || April 16 || || Royals|-style=background:#cfc| 10 || April 17 || || Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 11 || April 18 || || Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 15 || April 23 || || Tigers|-style=background:#fcc| 16 || April 24 || || Tigers|-style=background:#fcc| 17 || April 25 || || Tigers|-style=background:#fcc| 20 || April 28 || || @ Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 21 || April 29 || || @ Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 22 || April 30 || || @ Tigers|-|-style=background:#cfc| 23 || May 1 || || @ Tigers|-style=background:#cfc| 24 || May 2 || || @ Tigers|-style=background:#cfc| 25 || May 4 || || Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 26 || May 5 || || Orioles|-style=background:#cfc| 27 || May 7 || || @ Mariners|-style=background:#fcc| 28 || May 8 || || @ Mariners|-style=background:#fcc| 29 || May 9 || || @ Mariners|-style=background:#cfc| 30 || May 10 || || @ Angels|-style=background:#fcc| 31 || May 11 || || @ Angels|-style=background:#cfc| 32 || May 12 || || @ Angels|-style=background:#cfc| 33 || May 14 || || Red Sox|-style=background:#cfc| 34 || May 15 || || Red Sox|-style=background:#fcc| 35 || May 16 || || Red Sox|-style=background:#fcc| 36 || May 17 || || Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 37 || May 18 || || Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 38 || May 19 || || Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 39 || May 21 || || @ Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 40 || May 22 || || @ Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 41 || May 23 || || @ Blue Jays|-style=background:#bbb| — || May 27 || || @ Athletics || colspan=8 | Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 14)|-style=background:#cfc| 44 || May 28 || || Indians|-style=background:#cfc| 45 || May 29 || || Indians|-style=background:#cfc| 46 || May 30 || || Indians|-style=background:#fcc| 47 || May 31 || || Rangers|-|-style=background:#cfc| 48 || June 1 || || Rangers|-style=background:#cfc| 49 || June 2 || || Rangers|-style=background:#cfc| 50 || June 4 || || @ Indians|-style=background:#fcc| 51 || June 5 || || @ Indians|-style=background:#cfc| 52 || June 6 || || @ Indians|-style=background:#fcc| 53 || June 7 || || @ Rangers|-style=background:#cfc| 54 || June 8 || || @ Rangers|-style=background:#bbb| — || June 9 || || @ Rangers || colspan=8 | Postponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 10)|-style=background:#cfc| 55 || June 10 || || @ Rangers|-style=background:#cfc| 59 || June 14 || || Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 60 || June 15 || || Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 61 || June 16 || || Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 62 || June 17 || || @ Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 63 || June 18 || || @ Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 64 || June 19 || || @ Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 65 || June 20 || || @ Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 66 || June 21 || || @ Red Sox|-style=background:#fcc| 67 || June 22 || || @ Red Sox|-style=background:#fcc| 68 || June 23 || || @ Red Sox|-style=background:#cfc| 69 || June 25 || || Angels|-style=background:#fcc| 70 || June 26 || || Angels|-style=background:#cfc| 71 || June 27 || || Angels|-style=background:#fcc| 72 || June 28 || || Mariners|-style=background:#cfc| 73 || June 29 || || Mariners|-style=background:#fcc| 74 || June 30 || || Mariners|-|-style=background:#fcc| 75 || July 1 || || Mariners|-style=background:#cfc| 79 || July 5 || || Tigers|-style=background:#fcc| 80 || July 6 || || Tigers|-style=background:#fcc| 81 || July 7 || || Tigers|- style="text-align:center; background:#bbcaff;"| colspan="12" | 64th All-Star Game in Baltimore, Maryland|-style=background:#fcc| 86 || July 15 || || @ Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 87 || July 16 || || @ Orioles|-style=background:#cfc| 88 || July 17 || || @ Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 89 || July 18 || || @ Orioles|-style=background:#cfc| 90 || July 19 || || @ Tigers|-style=background:#cfc| 91 || July 20 || || @ Tigers|-style=background:#cfc| 92 || July 21 || || @ Tigers|-style=background:#cfc| 93 || July 22 || || Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 94 || July 23 || || Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 95 || July 24 || || Orioles|-style=background:#cfc| 96 || July 25 || || Orioles|-style=background:#fcc| 97 || July 27 || || @ Mariners|-style=background:#cfc| 98 || July 28 || || @ Mariners|-style=background:#fcc| 99 || July 29 || || @ Mariners|-style=background:#fcc| 100 || July 30 || || @ Angels|-style=background:#fcc| 101 || July 31 || || @ Angels|-|-style=background:#cfc| 102 || August 1 || || @ Angels|-style=background:#cfc| 103 || August 3 || || Red Sox|-style=background:#fcc| 104 || August 4 || || Red Sox|-style=background:#fcc| 105 || August 5 || || Red Sox|-style=background:#cfc| 106 || August 6 || || Yankees|-style=background:#cfc| 107 || August 7 || || Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 108 || August 8 || || Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 109 || August 10 || || @ Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 110 || August 11 || || @ Blue Jays|-style=background:#cfc| 111 || August 12 || || @ Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 116 || August 17 || || Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 117 || August 18 || || Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 118 || August 19 || || Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 119 || August 20 || 7:06p.m. CDT || White Sox || L 2–4 || Fernandez (15–6) || Erickson (7–15) || Hernández (27) || 2:36 || 30,571 || 52–67 || L4|-style=background:#fcc| 120 || August 21 || 7:05p.m. CDT || White Sox || L 4–9 || Belcher (2–2) || Banks (8–8) || Hernández (28) || 2:51 || 31,590 || 52–68 || L5|-style=background:#fcc| 121 || August 22 || 1:06p.m. CDT || White Sox || L 0–1 || McDowell (20–7) || Deshaies (11–12) || – || 2:26 || 26,453 || 52–69 || L6|-style=background:#cfc| 122 || August 23 || || @ Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 123 || August 24 || || @ Royals|-style=background:#cfc| 124 || August 25 || || @ Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 125 || August 26 || || @ Royals|-style=background:#fcc| 126 || August 27 || 4:06p.m. CDT || @ White Sox || L 3–7 || Belcher (3–2) || Deshaies (11–13) || – || 2:44 || – || 54–72 || L2|-style=background:#cfc| 127 || August 27 || 7:28p.m. CDT || @ White Sox || W 7–2 || Casian (5–1) || Pall (2–3) || – || 3:19 || 32,481 || 55–72 || W1|-style=background:#fcc| 128 || August 28 || 6:06p.m. CDT || @ White Sox || L 1–4 || Bere (6–5) || Tapani (7–13) || – || 2:30 || 42,587 || 55–73 || L1|-style=background:#fcc| 129 || August 29 || 7:05p.m. CDT || @ White Sox || L 5–13 || McCaskill (4–7) || Guardado (3–7) || – || 2:55 || 29,351 || 55–74 || L2|-style=background:#fcc| 130 || August 30 || 7:05p.m. CDT || @ White Sox || L 1–4 || Fernandez (16–6) || Erickson (8–16) || Hernández (30) || 2:03 || 38,367 || 55–75 || L3|-style=background:#cfc| 131 || August 31 || || Indians|-|-style=background:#fcc| 132 || September 1 || || Indians|-style=background:#fcc| 133 || September 2 || || Indians|-style=background:#cfc| 134 || September 3 || || Rangers|-style=background:#fcc| 135 || September 4 || || Rangers|-style=background:#cfc| 136 || September 5 || || Rangers|-style=background:#cfc| 137 || September 7 || || @ Indians|-style=background:#fcc| 138 || September 8 || || @ Indians|-style=background:#cfc| 139 || September 9 || || @ Indians|-style=background:#fcc| 140 || September 10 || || @ Rangers|-style=background:#fcc| 141 || September 10 || || @ Rangers|-style=background:#fcc| 142 || September 11 || || @ Rangers|-style=background:#cfc| 143 || September 12 || || @ Rangers|-style=background:#fcc| 148 || September 17 || || Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 149 || September 18 || || Blue Jays|-style=background:#fcc| 150 || September 19 || || Blue Jays|-style=background:#cfc| 151 || September 21 || || @ Yankees|-style=background:#cfc| 152 || September 22 || || @ Yankees|-style=background:#fcc| 153 || September 24 || || @ Red Sox|-style=background:#cfc| 154 || September 25 || || @ Red Sox|-style=background:#cfc| 155 || September 26 || || @ Red Sox|-style=background:#cfc| 156 || September 27 || || Angels|-style=background:#cfc| 157 || September 28 || || Angels|-style=background:#cfc| 158 || September 29 || || Angels|-style=background:#cfc| 159 || September 30 || || Angels|-|-style=background:#fcc| 160 || October 1 || || Mariners|-style=background:#fcc| 161 || October 2 || || Mariners|-style=background:#cfc| 162 || October 3 || || Mariners|-|- style="text-align:center;"| Legend:      = Win      = Loss      = Postponement
Bold = Twins team member

Detailed records

American League
Opponent	W	L	WP
AL East
	4	8		40	68
	5	7		50	55
	8	4		72	62
	6	6		54	80
	5	7		65	74
	4	8		49	76
	2	10		27	64
Total	34	50		357	479
AL West
	9	4		65	38
	3	10		41	70
	6	7		44	45
Minnesota Twins
	8	5		77	75
	4	9		51	69
	7	6		58	54
Total	37	41		336	351
Season Total	71	91		693	830

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %
April	22	8	14		88	146
May	25	12	13		117	129
June	27	12	15		104	129
July	27	11	16		124	141
August	30	13	17		122	120
September	28	14	14		126	148
October	3	1	2		12	17
Total	162	71	91		693	830

	Games	Won	Lost	Win %
Home	81	36	45		360	433
Away	81	35	46		333	397
Total	162	71	91		693	830

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		147	530	161	.304	12	73
1B		123	392	95	.242	25	83
2B		153	602	167	.277	2	41
SS		111	346	87	.251	0	33
3B		83	253	74	.292	3	23
LF		128	503	139	.276	10	61
CF		156	622	184	.296	22	89
RF		104	326	76	.233	13	38
DH		143	547	148	.271	21	76

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
	98	350	75	.214	2	21
	109	240	62	.258	1	15
	69	186	62	.333	3	27
	59	152	34	.224	1	12
	56	144	38	.264	1	19
	49	106	21	.198	1	8
	20	57	11	.193	0	1
	27	54	13	.241	4	9
	35	45	7	.156	0	3
	15	36	5	.139	0	0
	15	33	5	.152	0	4
	17	20	5	.250	0	1
	7	20	4	.200	0	1
	10	18	3	.167	0	2
	5	12	2	.167	0	2
	3	7	2	.286	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
	36	225.2	12	15	4.43	150
	34	218.2	8	19	5.19	116
	31	171.1	11	12	4.04	138
	27	167.1	11	13	4.41	80
	19	94.2	3	8	6.18	46
	5	26.2	2	1	5.74	10

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
	44	114.1	6	6	4.88	85
	12	37.1	1	5	7.71	23

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
	65	4	3	34	3.11	59
	54	5	3	1	3.02	31
	53	1	2	1	4.00	57
	53	3	0	5	3.10	44
	41	1	2	1	6.19	30
	22	2	1	0	4.71	15
	19	1	1	0	9.67	14
	3	0	0	0	0.00	3

Other post-season awards

• Calvin R. Griffith Award (Most Valuable Twin) – Brian Harper
• Joseph W. Haynes Award (Twins Pitcher of the Year) – Rick Aguilera
• Bill Boni Award (Twins Outstanding Rookie) – Pat Meares
• Charles O. Johnson Award (Most Improved Twin) – Larry Casian
• Dick Siebert Award (Upper Midwest Player of the Year) – Paul Molitor
  • The above awards are voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA
• Carl R. Pohlad Award (Outstanding Community Service) – Brian Harper
• Sherry Robertson Award (Twins Outstanding Farm System Player) – LaTroy Hawkins

Kirby Puckett won the Branch Rickey Award, given annually to an individual in Major League Baseball (MLB) in recognition of his exceptional community service. The award was inaugurated last year and was awarded to Toronto Blue Jay Dave Winfield. In 1998, Paul Molitor becomes the second Twin to win the award.

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball.

^[12]

External links

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com
• Twins history through the 1990s, from www.mlb.com
• 1993 Standings

Notes and References

1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/maksumi01.shtml Mike Maksudian
2. Web site: Twins Re-Sign Puckett. . December 5, 1992 . Associated Press.
3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/w/westda01.shtml David West
4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/d/deshaji01.shtml Jim Deshaies
5. https://www.baseball-reference.com/w/winfida01.shtml Dave Winfield
6. https://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bushra01.shtml Randy Bush
7. https://www.baseball-reference.com/v/varitja01.shtml Jason Varitek
8. https://www.baseball-reference.com/p/perkida01.shtml Dan Perkins
9. https://www.baseball-reference.com/v/valenja01.shtml Javier Valentín
10. https://www.baseball-reference.com/n/newmaal02.shtml Alan Newman
11. https://www.baseball-reference.com/p/paglimi01.shtml Mike Pagliarulo
12. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007