1981 Minnesota Twins season

1981 Minnesota Twins
combined 41-68, seventh in the AL Western Division
File:Twins 6171.gif
Division	Western Division
Ballpark	Metropolitan Stadium
City	Bloomington, Minnesota
Owners	Calvin Griffith
Managers	Johnny Goryl and Billy Gardner
Television	KMSP-TV (Bob Kurtz, Larry Osterman)
Radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Frank Quilici)
Seasons

The 1981 Minnesota Twins finished a combined 41-68, seventh in the American League West. In the strike split season, the Twins were 17-39, seventh place in the first half and 24-29, fourth place in the second half. 469,090 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League. It was also their 21st and final season at Metropolitan Stadium, before moving their home games to the Metrodome the next season. The franchise would not play another outdoor home game until 2010, when Target Field opened.

Offseason

• December 8, 1980: Dave Edwards was traded by the Twins to the San Diego Padres for Chuck Baker.
• December 8, 1980: Jack O'Connor was drafted by the Twins from the Montreal Expos in the rule 5 draft.
• December 12, 1980: Willie Norwood was traded by the Twins to the Seattle Mariners for Byron McLaughlin.
• March 27, 1981: Bombo Rivera was released by the Twins.
• March 30, 1981: Ken Landreaux was traded by the Twins to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mickey Hatcher, Kelly Snider (minors), and Matt Reeves (minors).

Regular season

Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game: relief pitcher Doug Corbett.

Offense

John Castino batted .268 with 6 HR and 37 RBI. Shortstop Roy Smalley had 7 HR and collected 22 RBI.

Team Leaders

Statistic	Player	Quantity
HR	Roy Smalley	7
RBI	Mickey Hatcher	37
BA	John Castino	.268
Runs	Gary Ward	42

Pitching

Reliever Doug Corbett was the Twins' only bright spot on the mound, racking up 17 saves.

Team Leaders

Statistic	Player	Quantity
ERA	Fernando Arroyo	3.93
Wins	Pete Redfern	9
Saves	Doug Corbett	17
Strikeouts	Pete Redfern	77

Notable transactions

• June 8, 1981: Frank Viola was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft.
• August 23, 1981: Ron Jackson was traded by the Twins to the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Tim Corcoran to the Twins on September 4.
• August 30, 1981: Jerry Koosman was traded by the Twins to the Chicago White Sox for Ivan Mesa (minors), Ronnie Perry (minors), a player to be named later, and cash. The White Sox completed the trade by sending Randy Johnson to the Twins on September 2.

Roster

1981 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 30 Fernando Arroyo 34 Don Cooper 23 Doug Corbett 19 Roger Erickson 21 Terry Felton 39,27 Brad Havens 40 John Hobbs 15,31 Darrell Jackson 36 Jerry Koosman 33 Jack O'Connor 17 Pete Redfern 22 John Verhoeven 35 Bob Veselic 28 Albert Williams		Catchers 11 Sal Butera 15 Tim Laudner 18 Ray Smith 16 Butch Wynegar Infielders 24 Chuck Baker  2 John Castino  1 Tim Corcoran 12,21 Lenny Faedo 39 Gary Gaetti 25 Danny Goodwin 26 Kent Hrbek 15 Ron Jackson 14 Pete Mackanin  5 Roy Smalley 38 Ron Washington  7 Rob Wilfong		Outfielders 51,20 Dave Engle  4 Mark Funderburk 44,9 Mickey Hatcher 21 Greg Johnston 10 Hosken Powell 12 Rick Sofield 32 Gary Ward Other batters  8 Glenn Adams		Manager 42 Billy Gardner 45 Johnny Goryl Coaches 42 Billy Gardner 41 Karl Kuehl    Jim Lemon 46 Johnny Podres 43 Rick Stelmaszek

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
3B	John Castino	101	381	102	.268	6	36
SS	Roy Smalley	56	167	44	.263	7	22
LF	Gary Ward	85	295	78	.264	3	29
CF	Mickey Hatcher	99	377	96	.255	3	37

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Ron Jackson	54	175	46	.263	4	28
Chuck Baker	40	66	12	.182	0	6
Tim Corcoran	22	51	9	.176	0	4
Lenny Faedo	12	41	8	.195	0	6

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Albert Williams	23	150	6	10	4.08	76
Pete Redfern	24	141.2	9	8	4.07	77
Fernando Arroyo	23	128.1	7	10	3.93	39
Jerry Koosman	19	94.1	3	9	4.20	55
Roger Erickson	14	91.1	3	8	3.84	44

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Darrell Jackson	14	32.2	3	3	4.41	26

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Doug Corbett	54	2	6	17	2.57	60
Jack O'Connor	28	3	2	0	5.86	16
Don Cooper	27	1	5	0	4.30	33

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Cal Ermer
AA	Orlando Twins	Southern League	Tom Kelly
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Dick Phillips
A	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	Midwest League	Ken Staples
Rookie	Elizabethton Twins	Appalachian League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Orlando

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com